Author: Emil Lazarian

THIS YEAR GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES ABOUT 120 THOUSAND USD FOR GOLDEN APRICOT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 07 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. “The Golden Apricot
(Voske Tsiran) international film festival has already become the
component of the Armenian culture. It is not important at all who is
the festival’s founder, the state or an individual. The only thing
which is important is that the festival exists and moves forward
with proud steps,” Karine Khodikian, RA Deputy Minister of Culture
and Youth Affairs, declared at the June 7 press conference.
According to her, RA government and Ministry of Culture estimate and
attach importance to this festival exending year by year.
According to K.Khodikian, in this circumstance the state is only a
financial partner. “The best assistance of the Ministry of Culture
is financial, the amount of which increases year by year.” The Deputy
Minister informed that in the first year the state had allocated only
3 mln drams for the festival, in the second year it became 25 mln
and in 2006 doubled and became 50 mln drams (about 118 thousand USD).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN CHESS PLAYERS WON FIRST PLACE AT WOLRD CHESS OLYMPIAD AWARDED MOVSES KHORENATSI MEDAL
Noyan Tapan
Jun 07 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN. By President of Armenia Robert
Kocharian’s decree, international grand masters Levon Aronian,
Karen Asrian, Smbat Lputian, Vladimir Hakobian, Artashes Minasian,
Tigran Nalbandian, Arshak Petrosian and Gabriel Sargsian were awarded
Movses Khorenatsi medal. According to the message submitted to Noyan
Tapan by the RA President’s Press Office, the above-mentioned grand
masters were awarded for the significant contribution in the affair
of development of chess in the Republic of Armenia as well as for
winning the 1st place in the World Chess Olympiad.
Giving this high state award to the Armenian men’s team members won
the golden medal and olympic cup of the 37th World Chess Olympiad,
Robert Kocharian mentioned that whole Armenia watched the Armenian
chess players’ game and, according to the President, “it is a victory
that really inspired all the Armenians during these days.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WHY CITIZENS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BEAR ARMS
>From the desk of Sean Gabb on Wed, 2006-06-07 22:57
Brussels Journal, Belgium
June 8 2006
The current debate on armed crime is depressingly predictable.
Everyone agrees something must be done. Just about everyone agrees this
something must include laws against the sale or carrying or simple
possession of weapons. More controls on weapons, the argument goes,
the fewer weapons on the street: therefore lower levels of armed crime.
Now, this whole line of thinking is nonsense. Many European nations
have strict controls on the carrying of weapons. They also have high
levels of armed crime. Indeed, we are reaching the point where we
shall need to show proof of identity before buying knives and forks.
If we want to do something about armed crime that has any chance of
working, we need to rethink our entire approach. I would suggest that,
instead of trying to remove weapons from society, the authorities
should allow us to keep weapons for defence and to use them for
defence.
I am not talking about the right to carry baseball bats or pepper
sprays, or even various kinds of knife. These have their uses for
defence – but not against a determined criminal who may be younger and
faster and more experienced in close fighting. I am talking about the
right to arm ourselves with guns – and to use these where necessary
to protect our lives and property.
This is not a new approach. It is, rather, a return to the old policy
of countries such as Britain. Until the end of the 19th century,
anyone in Britain could walk into a gun shop and, without showing
any licence or any form of identification, buy as many guns and as
much ammunition as he wanted, and could carry loaded guns in public,
and could use these for selfdefence. The law not only allowed this, but
even expected it. We were encouraged to take primary responsibility for
our own protection. The function of the police was simply to assist.
We should go back to this old approach. We should go back because it
is a question of fundamental human rights. The right to keep and bear
arms for defence is as fundamental as the rights to freedom of speech
and association. Anyone who is denied this right – to keep and bear
arms – is to some extent enslaved. That person has lost control over
his life. He is dependent on the State for protection.
The default reaction to this argument is to cry out in horror and ask
if I want a society where every criminal has a gun, and where every
domestic argument ends in a gun battle? The short answer is no. The
longer answer is to say that more guns do not inevitably mean more
killings. There is no evidence that they do. What passes for evidence
is little more than an excuse for not trusting ordinary people with
control over their own lives.
Take armed crime, both professional and domestic. Britain had no
gun controls before 1920, and very low rates of armed crime. Today,
Switzerland has few controls, and little armed crime. Those parts of
the US where guns are most common are generally the least dangerous.
There is no necessary correlation between guns and armed crime.
Focusing on professional crime, gun control is plainly a waste of
effort. Criminals will always get hold of guns if they want them. At
most, it needs a knowledge of the right pubs to visit. Plainly, the
maniacs who carried out the recent drive-by shooting in Manchester do
not seem to have read the Firearms Acts 1920-97. They do not seem to
have noticed that most guns are forbidden, and that the few that are
allowed must be licensed. All control really does is to disarm the
honest public, and let the armed criminals roam through them like a
fox through chickens.
Indeed, free ownership of guns may often reduce armed crime. The
current round of official gungrabbing began after the Hungerford
massacre back in August 1987. But the wrong lesson was learned then.
Just consider what might have happened had someone else beside
Michael Ryan been carrying a gun in Hungerford High Street. He might
have been cut down before firing more than a few shots. As it is,
he killed nearly 20 people before armed police could be brought in
to stop the shootings.
Think of the burglaries, rapes and other crimes that might never
happen if the victims were armed, and therefore able to deal with
their aggressors on equal terms. Anyone can learn to fire a gun. And
nothing beats a bullet. As the old saying goes: “God made men equal,
and Smith and Wesson make damn sure it stays that way.”
But let us move away from armed burglars and rapists and the occasional
lone psychopath. We need guns to protect us from the State. So far
from protecting us, the State is the main aggressor. A low estimate
puts the number of civilians murdered by states this century at 56
million – and millions of these were children. In all cases, genocide
was preceded by gun control. How far would the Holocaust have got if
the Jews in Nazi Germany had been able to shoot back? How about the
Armenians? The Kulaks? The Chinese bourgeoisie?
The Bosnians? In all previous societies, guns and freedom have gone
together. I doubt if our own is any different.
I conclude with our own society. Our authorities have so far done
nothing to disarm violent criminals. There is nothing they can do in
the future to disarm them. This being so, can you seriously agree with
the argument that you should be disarmed, and therefore powerless to
defend yourself and your loved ones against the armed street trash
who are beginning to turn this country upside down?
Laugh at me. Call me mad. Call me evil. But just remember me when you
or your loved ones are being raped, or mugged, or dragged off never
to be seen again.
Dr Sean Gabb is the Director of the Libertarian Alliance. It exists
to put the radical case for freedom in social, economic and political
matters. Its web address is This article was
first published on 7 June 2006 in The Birmingham Post.

TURKISH MP: ARMENIA SHOULD OBSERVE THE U.N. RESOLUTION AND QUIT THE SEIZED AZERI TERRITORIES
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
June 8 2006
Turkey wishes to have open border with Armenia, member of the BSEC
PA committee on legal and political issues, member of Republican
People’s Party (CHP) of Turkey Mehmet Sevigen told journalists.
In Mr. Sevigen’s words, Turkey does everything depending on it
to open the border with Armenia, but the latter should also take
essential steps.
“Armenia should observe the U.N. resolution and quit the seized Azeri
territories,’ Sevigen said.
When touching upon Turkey’s acknowledgement of the Armenian claims
regarding the Ottoman Empire in 1915, Sevigen stated that the “events
of 1915 were not genocide but so-called genocide.” “Armenia should
surrender its claims for recognizing these events as genocide.
Historians should deal with the issue. Turkey has opened all its
archives of those times and invited all historians concerned. When
everything clears up we will see that matters do not stand the same
as politicians describe,” Sevigen said, reported IA Regnum.
More than 500.000 Turkish and Kurdish people were massacred by the
Armenian nationalists during the First Wolrd War.

GEOPOLITICAL DIARY: A RUSSIAN MESSAGE FOR NATO
Stratfor
June 8 2006
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday in a speech
to the Duma that “Every country has the right to make sovereign
decisions…. At the same time, the acceptance into NATO of Ukraine
and Georgia will mean a colossal geopolitical shift and we assess
such steps from the point of view of our interests.” This is pretty
blunt language for a diplomat. Russia does not want to see a colossal
geopolitical shift, and that’s what it thinks is happening.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also condemned Ukraine’s decision to
bar several senior Russian lawmakers from Ukraine. One of these,
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, is a fairly notorious Russian nationalist. The
Russian Foreign Ministry doesn’t much care for Zhirinovsky, but it
also obviously doesn’t care for Ukraine barring Russian legislators
— even if, as the Ukrainians put it, he was known for “insulting
statements about Ukraine.” At the same time, a Ukrainian diplomat
was also refused entry to Russia.
Both Ukraine and Georgia clearly want to join NATO. There are
multinational joint military exercises scheduled for July in Ukraine,
to include U.S. forces. These have met with protests by pro-Russian
Ukrainians, whom the Ukrainian government claims are being stirred
up by the Russians. At the same time, Georgia announced that it will
build a NATO-compliant military based in Gori, to join the one already
built in Senakskaya.
As we have said, NATO’s expansion to Ukraine would be the break
point for Russia. Adding to that a NATO base in the Caucasus would
absolutely convince the Russians that the United States is planning
to encircle them. Russia has been busy trying to demonstrate the cost
of this strategy to NATO and the United States. It has intruded into
U.S. areas of interest in the Middle East, particularly regarding
Hamas and Iran. It has not intruded as aggressively as it could,
still signaling Washington that things are not past the break point.
Nevertheless, as NATO accession looms for Ukraine and Georgia, things
will get less pleasant.
There is a fundamental difference in NATO’s admitting Georgia and
Ukraine from the admission of other former Soviet bloc nations. NATO is
a military alliance. Bringing in Hungary or the Czech Republic meant
little from that point of view; there is no real, immediate threat
for NATO to protect them from. Admitting Ukraine and Georgia would
mean entering into a formal alliance with countries that face serious
regional threats. It would mean making a commitment to defending those
countries and therefore, in some way, to assuring their stability. It
is hard to defend an unstable country.
Every other expansion of NATO has been notional. By that we mean that
it amounted to a political signal, far more than a serious political
commitment. That is not the case with these two countries. In fact,
that is the point the Russians are working very hard to make. The
Russian statement today was a message. Russia regards Ukrainian and
Georgian membership in NATO as a major, unwelcome geopolitical shift.
As such, Moscow will resist this process — and failing that, will
consider these two countries a threat to Russia.
Geographically, the defense of either of these countries against a
major regional power — which Russia certainly is — is a significant
burden. Neither country can defend itself. Moreover, each country has
other regional antagonists that NATO would be committed against — such
as, in Georgia’s case, Armenia. That is quite a tangle to get into.
What is attracting Washington is the opportunity to guarantee, by
surrounding it with NATO members, that Russia will not re-emerge as
a superpower. The Russians see this move as that, plus a threat to
the long-term territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. The
Russians do not believe that they can simply accept this as a fait
accompli, as they accepted other NATO expansions. Therefore, this
will trigger Russian responses in the region and more broadly.
The most important thing to watch here is relations between Russia
and China. China has been very careful not to get entangled with
anti-American alliances. It has important economic issues to deal
with. However, given recent U.S. statements on how it views China,
access to Russian military technology becomes more important to
Beijing. And Russia knows it does not, by itself, have the weight to
counter the United States. Therefore, the logic here, over the coming
months, is closer ties between Moscow and Beijing. When this happened
last, in 1948, Washington found itself in an uncomfortable position.
Therefore, it has to calculate how quickly it can move and consolidate
its position via NATO before the Russians can act.
And then there is also the question of the European members of NATO —
particularly France and Germany — whose acceptance of NATO expansion
up to this point has been a signal to Washington of a willingness
to cooperate. On the other hand, NATO is going to a complicated
and dangerous place. Paris and Berlin may not have the appetite for
Washington’s game.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VARDAN OSKANYAN: DELAY OF EU-ARMENIA TALKS ASSOCIATED WITH PROBLEMS OUR NEIGHBORS ARE FACING
ArmRadio.am
08.06.2006 15:13
RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan declared today in Yerevan that
the delay of EU-Armenia talks on the Actions Plan in the framework
of the European Neighborhood Policy is associated with “some problems
our neighbors are facing.”
“All questions were agreed upon during the second round of EU-Armenia
talks early in May, and we see no necessity of another round of
negotiations,” the Foreign Minister noted.
Vardan Oskanyan mentioned that the reason of the current situation
is that the European Union has not taken the decision to establish
individualized relations with South Caucasian countries and aspires
to adopt the Actions Plans with Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan
simultaneously.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SENATORS KERRY AND KENNEDY DEMAND ANSWERS ABOUT EVANS FIRING
ArmRadio.am
08.06.2006 11:17
Senators John Kerry and Edward Kennedy joined the growing list of
legislators demanding answers from the Administration regarding the
recall of US Ambassador to Armenian John Evans over his honest and
accurate public statements about the Armenian Genocide, reported the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
In a June 5th letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the two
Massachusetts Senators conveyed their concerns regarding reports that
the Ambassador was dismissed “due to the use of the word ‘genocide’
when describing the atrocities that were committed against the Armenian
people in 1915.” They added that, “Reports from diplomats at the time
make clear that genocide accurately described these events. Henry
Morgenthau, then our Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, described
these actions as a campaign of racial extermination.” They closed
their letter by noting that, “Allegedly the Government of Turkey
was dismayed by Amb. Evans’ remarks and expressed this to the US
Government. We would like clarification as soon as possible about
Amb. Evans’ premature dismissal after 35 years of exemplary service
to the United States Government.”
The letter was sent in the wake of the May 23rd White House
announcement nominating Richard Hoagland to serve as the new Ambassador
to Armenia.
Ambassador Evans will be replaced in Yerevan after Hoagland’s Senate
confirmation process is completed.
“We join with Armenians throughout Massachusetts and around the nation
in thanking Senators Kennedy and Kerry for demanding an explanation of
the circumstances of Ambassador Evans’ firing – particularly as they
relate to the role of the Turkish government,” said ANCA Executive
Director Aram Hamparian.
“Despite repeated Congressional inquiries dating back more than three
months, the Administration has yet to respond to a single question,
to provide any meaningful explanation of its actions, or to release
even one of the diplomatic cables from the Turkish government on
this matter.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RUSSIA’S VIMPELCOM AND SISTEMA BID FOR OTE’S 90 PCT STAKE IN ARMENTEL REPORT
AFX Europe (Focus)
Jun 08, 2006
ATHENS (AFX) – Russia’s VimpelCom and AFK Sistema are bidding for
Hellenic Telecom’s (OTE) 90 pct stake in ArmenTel, according to
Russian news agency Novosti.
It said VimpelCom will take part in the first stage of the tender,
but will not reveal any details until the tender results are announced.
OTE said in April it wanted to sell its stake in Armenia’s leading
mobile operator. The Armenian government holds 10 pct in ArmenTel,
which has about 330,000 customers.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH AUTHOR STANDS TRIAL ON CHARGES OF TURNING TURKS AGAINST MILITARY SERVICE
Suzan Fraser
AP Worldstream
Jun 07, 2006
Turkish author and journalist Perihan Magden went on trial Wednesday,
charged with turning people against military service after she defended
the rights of a conscientious objector in a weekly magazine column.
Magden is the latest in a string of writers and journalists to stand
trial for expressing their opinions despite heavy pressure from
the EU _ which Turkey hopes to join _ to scrap repressive laws and
improve freedoms.
In her column published in weekly Yeni Aktuel magazine in December,
Magden defended conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan who was sentenced
to a record four-year term in a military prison for disobedience after
refusing to wear his military uniform. Turkey, she wrote, needed to
establish a civilian service as an alternative to compulsory military
conscription.
At an Istanbul court on Wednesday, Magden denied that she was trying
to turn people against military service.
“I only argued that conscientious objection is a human right. It is my
right and duty to defend conscientious objection,” she said, according
to CNN-Turk television. The trial was adjourned until July 27.
Conscription in Turkey is obligatory for men over 20, and the country
does not recognize the right to conscientious objection. Objectors
have been prosecuted on charges of turning people against the military.
Magden could face up to three years in prison if convicted of the
charge of “alienating the people against military service.”
Conscientious objections find few supporters in Turkey where the
military is revered, conscription has widespread support and young
men are sent off to do their military service amid celebrations.
Magden, the author of “Two Girls,” and “The Messenger Boy Murders”
faced a group of nationalists who jeered her as she entered the
courthouse Wednesday, the Anatolia news agency reported. Security
forces moved the group _ made up of mostly of veterans and families
of soldiers killed in fighting against Kurdish rebels _ away from
Magden and her supporters.
In the most high-profile case, novelist Orhan Pamuk stood trial earlier
this year on charges of insulting “Turkishness” for commenting on the
mass killings of Armenians by Turks around the time of World War I,
which a number of governments and scholars have said were the first
genocide of the 20th century.
The charges were dropped amid intense international pressure.
Turkey vehemently denies that the mass killings were genocide, saying
the death toll is inflated and Armenians were killed in civil unrest
as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has made clear
it has no plans to change laws used to prosecute Pamuk and others,
saying the charges are eventually dropped and defendants are acquitted.
EU officials argue, however, that even if the charges are dropped the
threat of prosecution remains as a deterrent against people wishing
to express opinions.
In an interview with Milliyet newspaper published Wednesday, Hansjoerg
Kretschmer, the EU’s representative in Turkey, criticized Magden’s
trial and similar trials.
“If you think that the right for conscientious objection should exist,
why shouldn’t you be able to say so?” the paper quoted Kretschmer as
saying. “These are things that are unacceptable in Europe.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BLACK SEA BUSINESS DAY IN BAKU
The Messenger, Georgia
June 8 2006
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) will host Black Sea
Business Day, on 12 June 2006, in Baku.
The main goal of the conference, bank officials say, is to facilitate
contacts between economic decision-makers in BSTDB countries, as well
as to promote regional cooperation and investments in the Black Sea
region in general and in Azerbaijan in particular.
The Black Sea Business Day, which is an annual event, will address
the role of the financial sector in economic development, investment
opportunities in agribusiness and food processing, and infrastructure
development on a regional scale.
The Business Day is organized under the auspices of the Azeri
government and will be inaugurated by the President of Azerbaijan,
Ilham Aliyev.
High-ranking officials of BSTDB member-states, international
institutions, investors and businessmen are expected to be among the
participants, including Azerbaijani Minister of Economic Development,
Heydar Babayev; President of BSTDB, Hayrettin Kaplan; Minister of
Finance Samir Sharifov; Country Director for the Caucasus, Moldova
and Belarus of EBRD, Michael Davey; and Senior Regional Director of
German KfW Group, Oskar von Maltzan.
The Georgian delegation at the conference includes the President
of the National Bank of Georgia, Roman Gotsiridze, as well as the
Deputy Minister of Finance, Lasha Gotsiridze. The Executive Director
of Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Georgia, George Kakabadze,
will deliver a speech at the event.
Last year’s BSTDB Black Sea Business Day was held in Yerevan,
Armenia and the participants then discussed the role of international
institutions, the investment potential of the Caucasus, assistance
to SME sector development, and financial sector development.
BSTDB is an international financial institution established by
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova,
Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. With an authorized capital of
approximately USD 1.3 billion, the bank supports economic development
and regional cooperation in the region by providing trade and project
financing, guarantees, and equity for development projects supporting
both public and private enterprises in its member countries.
The Messenger’s Christina Tashkevich will travel to Baku to cover the
event and her stories about the conference will be available in next
week’s Messenger issues.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress