Author: Hambardsumian Paul

PanARMENIAN.Net

Pentagon head to discuss possible U.S. lease of Gabala
radar station
04.07.2007 14:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The U.S. Secretary of Defense, Dr
Robert M. Gates will pay a visit to Azerbaijan July 9.
According to a source in the Stratfor intelligence
center, Dr Gates will arrive to discuss the
possibility of leasing Gabala radar station after
expiration of the agreement with Russia in 2012.

Russia-U.S. joint use of Gabala radar station is
unreal, experts say.

Robert Gates is also expected to discuss deployment of
transit military bases in Azerbaijan, Day.az reports.

AZG Armenian Daily #123, 30/06/2007

Karabakh Issue

RA FOREIGN MINISTER VARTAN OSKANIAN: ARMENIA’S POSITION UNCHANGEABLE:
DE JURE RECOGNITION OF NAGORNO KARABAKH AND PARTICIPATION OF NKR
REPRESENTATIVES IN TALKS

"Azerbaijan’s problem is the lack of political will to tell the public
about the ongoing talks on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The publics
of both states should be informed of the fundamental settlement
principles. The statements of the sides should not be mutually
exclusive," Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told a news
conference in Yerevan.

"The international community knows the worth of Ilham Aliyev’s
statements and doesn’t always rate them as adequate," he said.

"Armenia has numerously repeated the settlement principles. These are
the status of Nagorno Karabakh, security guarantees, overland
communication with Armenia, territorial issues, refugees and displaced
persons. The negotiated document contains all these elements but
before determination of the status I will no comment on other
issues. Armenia’s position has undergone no changes since 1997. We
press for de jure recognition of Nagorno Karabakh and participation of
NKR representatives in the talks. I am ready to work with the next NKR
President," the Minister said.

When commenting on possible changes after the NKR presidential
election, Vartan Oskanian said, "This subject is mush spoken about,
however, there is no serious ground for it."

As to the regular meeting of the Armenian and Azeri FMs, Mr Oskanian
said, "The OSCE MG Co-chairs will hold separate negotiations with each
Minister. After that it will be possible to speak of
Oskanian-Mammadyarov meeting."

By Ara Martirosian

AFFAIRE DEVEDJIAN: POUR FILLON, "L’INCIDENT EST CLOS"

Agence France Presse
29 juin 2007 vendredi 2:35 PM GMT

Francois Fillon a estime vendredi que "l’incident est clos", après
les excuses du secretaire general delegue de l’UMP, Patrick Devedjian,
qui avait qualifie de "salope" l’ex-deputee UDF Anne-Marie Comparini.

"Qu’est-ce que vous voulez que je vous dise? Il ne faut jamais insulter
les gens et encore moins les elus", a declare le Premier ministre a
quelques journalistes qui l’interrogeaient a l’issue d’une ceremonie
a Nantes.

"M. Devedjian s’est excuse. Pour moi, l’incident est clos", a-t-il
ajoute.

Egalement presente a la ceremonie, la ministre de la Sante, Roselyne
Bachelot, a reagi "avec consternation" quand elle a appris le propos
de son ancien collègue du gouvernement Raffarin.

"Le mot est inqualifiable s’agissant d’une femme. C’est d’autant plus
consternant que cela s’adresse a un adversaire politique. On lui doit
d’autant plus de respect a ce titre. Ca montre que le combat pour le
respect des femmes n’est pas termine", a-t-elle ajoute.

Le president Nicolas Sarkozy a lui aussi reagi dans la journee depuis
Lyon en estimant que "ce n’est pas une facon de parler aux femmes,
ni a qui que ce soit d’autre".

Patrick Devedjian a traite de "salope" Mme Comparini (MoDem),
l’ancienne deputee UDF du Rhône, au cours d’un reportage diffuse
mercredi par la chaîne lyonnaise TLM et mis en ligne sur le site
Dailymotion.

Après s’etre excuse une première fois jeudi soir, il a dit vendredi
qu’il "regrette profondement ces propos qui etaient une exclamation
a la suite d’une parole" et qui etaient "prives". Il a reconnu qu’ils
constituaient "une faute".

Dans le reportage de TLM, consacre aux premiers pas a l’Assemblee des
deputes du Rhône nouvellement elus, Michel Havard (UMP) et Pascale
Crozon (PS), on voit Renaud Muselier, depute UMP des Bouches-du-Rhône,
presenter devant le palais Bourbon M. Havard a Patrick Devedjian,
en lui expliquant qu’il a battu Anne-Marie Comparini.

Après avoir felicite le nouveau depute, M. Devedjian ajoute:
"Cette salope!".

–Boundary_(ID_KQEySi92fHgsGV3sG9j C4A)–

CONSTRUCTING NEW BUILDING FOR REPUBLIC HOSPITAL IS PROBLEM OF VITAL IMPORTANCE FOR NKR HEALTH SYSTEM

Noyan Tapan
Jun 29, 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN. Though positive steps were recorded
in the health sphere of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh in the past
few years, there are still unsolved problems in that sphere, and the
country is not able to solve them by itself. This information was
provided to a Noyan Tapan correspondent by Zoya Lazarian, the Health
Minister of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. She mentioned that
these problems are mainly solved due to the assistance of Diasporan
benefactors. "The fact that the country is not known lays obstacles
in making use of the assistance provided by international donor
organizations," the Minister mentioned.

According to Zoya Lazarian, the construction of a new building for the
republican hospital of Stepanakert is a problem of vital importance
for the health system of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. "The
hospital, which is the only specialized medical center in Artsakh,
is currently operating in a building, which, according to specialists,
is impossible to repair," the Minister said.

She also mentioned that the amount of the sum allocated to the health
sphere from the state budget is growing year after year: in the past
five years it has increased by three and a half times.

SAAKASHVILI: SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETI "COMPLETELY INTEGRATED INTO GEORGIA"
By Anna Kamushadze

The Messenger, Georgia
June 26 2007

President Mikheil Saakashvili took a tour through Samtskhe-Javakheti
on June 21, meeting with local residents and opening new facilities.

The president focused on the successes and possible future of the
province, where over half of the population are of Armenian descent.

"There are three main factors in this region: one is stability and
calm, the second is the permanent supply of electricity, which is
very important, and the third is good roads," the president declared.

Saakashvili promised that the province will not be neglected.

"During my first term as president, none of the main roads in
Javakheti…will remain in poor condition," he said. Saakashvili
went on to talk of the attractive landscape, natural resources, and
historical treasure of the area, home to Borjomi’s mineral water
springs and the Vardzia cave monasteries. These bode well for the
development of the province, he says, where the poverty rate tops 60
percent and many residents claim to be marginalized by the state.

"A very important thing has happened in this region over the past
few years which many people cannot yet see. This region has become
completely integrated into Georgia."

Saakashvili, touring a new dairy factory in the village of Spasovka,
illustrated his optimism by holding aloft a piece of cheese on
a toothpick.

"This is not just cheese," he proclaimed to journalists, "this is
the combination of stability, roads and electricity."

Saakashvili also traveled to Akhalkalaki district, where he met
students who failed to pass university entrance exams because they
did not know Georgian. Saakashvili promised that stipends would be
given to prospective university students in the province to encourage
them on their way to a higher education.

It’s proposed that from August, 100 students from the majority ethnic
Armenian districts of Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda will receive grants
to enroll in Tbilisi schools to learn Georgian. Students from the
impoverished districts now must go to Minsk, Yerevan, Kiev or Russia
to continue their education in Russian.

"I offer you a solution-stay in Georgia and learn in your home
country. We will guarantee you the best education in the whole region,"
Saakashvili told the students.

Political analyst Archil Gegeshidze doubts that there are any links
between Saakashvili’s visit to Samtskhe-Javakheti and the current
discussions on repatriating Meskhetians (most commonly referred to as
Meskhetian Turks). Rather, he sees this trip as an effort to obviate
coming disaffection in the region.

"I think the president went there to somehow bring attention to the
region. After the withdrawal of the Russian bases [Russian military
bases, slated for withdrawal in 2008, are a major employer in the
region] a lot of people will be unemployed. They need to be integrated
into greater Georgian society and treated carefully. I think that’s
why the president himself visited the region," Gegeshidze told The
Messenger.

RAFAYEL VAHANIAN DEFEATS LAYOSH PARTISH IN 9TH STAGE OF INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT HELD IN ROMANIA

Noyan Tapan
Jun 26 2007

BAZNA, JUNE 26, NOYAN TAPAN. On June 25 Rafayel Vahanian defeated
Layosh Portish (Hungary) in the ninth stage of the International Chess
Tournament held in the city of Bazna in Romania. The Armenian grand
master and Alezandre Khalifman (Russia) are in the lead with six points
each. They will meet each other in the last stage of the tournament.

TURKEY ISN’T CONTENTED WITH HRANT DINK’S MURDER AND NOW DINK’S SON IS BEING CHASED

PanARMENIAN.Net
Analytical Department
16.06.2007 GMT+04:00

The question is what measures Ankara will take if all the citizens
of the Ottoman Empire of non-Turkish origins, who have systematically
been annihilated, are charged with "insult to Turkishness".

The hearings of the case of Hrant Dink’s murder in Istanbul will
be held on July 2, 2007. The sessions will be held behind closed
doors and the dissemination of any information about the course of
the hearings is strictly forbidden. Journalists will be deprived from
the right to give any reports on the course of the case and will not
be given any information about the hearings either.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Dink was murdered by 17-year-old nationalist
Ogyun Samast, who grounded the committed crime with "Dink’s insult
to Turkishness". It seemed that after the crime, which would have
tragic outcomes for any country fighting its way to Europe, the
attitude towards the Armenian-Turkish Press would change. However,
the Office of Public Prosecutor in Istanbul thinks that "Agos" has
once again violated provisions of the Article 301 and demands Hrant
Dink’s son’s and his colleague’s Sarkis Serobyan’s imprisonment with
the period of up to three years.

They are charged with the same "insult to Turkishness" and the cause
for the charge was the repeated publication of Hrant Dink’s interview
where he had touched upon the issue of the Armenian Genocide.

During the first court session Arat Dink blamed the prosecutors
in having their certain role in his father’s murder. "The biggest
absurdity and the most dangerous thing is that the determination of
the historical event like the Armenian Genocide is considered to be
offence for the Turkish Nation," quotes his words the Turkish Daily
News. In case Arat Dink is recognized guilty, which is beyond doubt, he
is facing imprisonment with the period of from 6 moths up to 3 years.

If we take a look at the county’s home policy on the threshold of
general elections, the launch of the military operations against the
Kurds and rather possible EU rejection of resuming the negotiations,
the decision of the Office of Public Prosecutor in Istanbul is
quite natural. In fact Turkey is not going to abandon its policy of
denying the Armenian Genocide for anything and carries on according
to its main principle – gain as much time as possible, maybe the
international community will one day get tired of raising the issue
of the crimes committed by the Ottoman Empire during the World War
I. The truth is that if the problem was with the Armenians only,
this variant would still work out, but there are also the Assyrians,
Pontiac Greeks, and the very Kurds with the hands of which the Young
Turks slaughtered whole nations. The question is what measures Ankara
will take if all the citizens of the Ottoman Empire of non-Turkish
origins, who have systematically been annihilated, are charged with
insult to Turkishness.

On the same day 86 Turkish scientists, writers and diplomats sent
letter to 53 Nobel Prize laureates, having called Armenia and Turkey
upon establishing relationships, co-operation and tolerance between
the two nations. "The present initiative will help to create the
world culture, which will have its fruits in the future. We declare
that we are ready to put all the efforts and have our certain
asset in putting an end to the created situation. The Armenians and
Turks have lived together in the Ottoman Empire and this can’t be
denied. Our nations share common cultural values and we assume that
these common values may serve as bases for the development of future
relationships. Turkey doesn’t define the tragic events of 1915 as
Genocide. After many researches and studies of different documents
some Turkish and foreign academicians came to the conclusion that no
Armenian Genocide had ever been committed in the Ottoman Empire. We
would like to say that we are ready to discuss this issue in united
commissions together with the Armenian historians and all the parties
interested. We assume that the dialogue is the only way to solve our
problems," the Turkish scholars write.

Thus the Turkish side didn’t come up with anything new, from one side
there is the charges according to the Article 301 brought forward,
and from the other side there is the call for discussions with the
historians. Perhaps the French President Nicola Sarkozy is right in
his strong conviction that Turkey has no place in Europe. In fact he
is right, as the denial of one’s own responsibility in the harsh crime
committed against humanity and the rejection of the right of freedom
of speech only contradict the values adopted and advocated in Europe.

COURT HALTS TRIAL OF EX-MP
By Hovannes Shoghikian

Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
June 19 2007

A controversial businessman and former parliamentarian who reportedly
provoked a mass brawl outside Yerevan last fall secured on Tuesday an
indefinite suspension of his trial thanks to his allegedly poor health.

Hakob Hakobian, who is affiliated with the governing Republican Party
of Armenia (HHK), went on trial in the southern town in Artashat last
month on charges of "hooliganism," tax evasion and other financial
irregularities. The high-profile case was brought last October
immediately after fellow lawmakers agreed to lift his legal immunity
from prosecution. The parliament’s decision was in turn prompted
by a violent incident in a village just south of Yerevan involving
Hakobian and his loyalists.

They reportedly stormed a local gas distribution facility that cut
supplies to nearby liquefied gas stations owned by Hakobian. The
pro-government businessman, better known as Choyt, was detained on the
spot and kept in custody for three days. He has denied responsibility
for the violence, saying that he arrived at the scene stop a "manly
fight" between security guards and local residents.

Hakobian, who was controversially barred from contesting the May
12 parliamentary elections, has failed to attend any of the court
hearings on the case so far, citing serious health problems. His
defense counsel, Mkrtich Vasakian, submitted to the Artashat court
on Tuesday a written statement by a Yerevan hospital saying that
Hakobian is suffering from a number of cardiac diseases and should
be spared the need to attend court hearings for at least three months.

The presiding judge, Gagik Sargsian, said the hospital reaffirmed this
assertion in response to a formal inquiry filed by the court. He said
the criminal proceedings against Hakobian will therefore be suspended
"until his recuperation."

The trial prosecutor, Vardges Gevorgian, did not protest against this
decision after the judge agreed to press ahead with the prosecution
of seven other defendants connected to Hakobian. They will now be
tried separately.

Speaking to RFE/RL, Vasakian insisted that his burly client is really
sick and needs a reprieve. He said he is confident that the judge’s
final verdict on Hakobian will be "fair."

The fraud charges leveled against Hakobian stem from his business
activities of the past 15 years. The former lawmaker, who is no
stranger to controversy, has vehemently denied them as well.

Addressing the National Assembly last October, he implicitly alleged
that he was not prosecuted earlier because he has for years bribed
law-enforcement and tax officials inspecting his businesses.

NAGORNYY KARABAKH MIGHT SWAP LANDS FOR INDEPENDENCE – POLL

Arminfo
18 Jun 07

Yerevan, 18 June: Part of [Nagornyy] Karabakh’s population is ready to
"pay" for the independence of the NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh republic]
with liberated territories.

Head of the Sociometer research centre Aharon Adibekyan told a
news conference at the Urbat club today that around 8 per cent of
respondents in a survey conducted in the NKR are ready to exchange
the liberated territories for its independence. He noted that more
than 90 per cent of the people questioned wanted Nagornyy Karabakh
to either be independent or become part of the Armenian Republic.

Adibekyan said that most of the respondents said that an NKR
presidential candidate and former head of the NKR National Security
Service, Bako Sahakyan, was likely to find a solution to the Karabakh
conflict.

A total of 700 people took part in the poll in Stepanakert, six
regional centres and 11 large populated areas.

ARS TO OPEN 13TH NURSERY SCHOOL IN KARABAKH

KarabakhOpen
15-06-2007 11:25:40

The Armenian Relief Society has recently opened another nursery school
in the village of Khndzristan, Askeran.

"It is the 12th nursery school. The sponsor is the Blue Cross of
France.

55 children already go to the nursery school. We are also likely to
involve children from the neighboring village," said Margaret Taranyan,
head of the Artsakh branch of the ARS.

The ARS launched the project of nursery schools in 1996, when after
the war the children of Karabakh needed nursery schools. The first
Sose nursery school opened in Stepanakert, for the children of
killed azatamartiks. Next the ARS opened nursery schools in border
villages. Now there are nursery schools in Stepanakert, Shushi,
Karin Tak, Aigestan, Khndzristan, Karega (Kashatagh), Avdur, Ashan,
Mets Tagher, Togh and Haghorti. Margaret Taranyan said 530 children
go to Sose nursery schools.

"Each nursery school has a sponsor who provides stationery, clothes,
shoes, food. Since there are no more children of killed azatamartiks
who go to nursery school, fortunately, the nursery schools start
to admit children of disabled persons, large families, orphans and
children of underprivileged families. We are opening another nursery
school in the framework of the ARF project in Yeghegnut, Karvachar
on September 1."

The ARS was set up in 1918 in the United States. It is the only
Armenian organization, which is member of the UN Economic and Social
Council. A branch of the ARS was opened in Karabakh in 1996. The
head of the Artsakh branch Margaret Taranyan says women work for the
Society, and any woman aged 18 and up can become a member of the ARS.

"The ARS implements several projects. One of them is the nursery
school project. The second project involves aid to 3000 children of
killed azatamartiks until age 18, 120 U.S. dollars each. The third
project is Yeremian Scholarship. The annual fund is 500 dollars. The
Yeremian family based in the United States help five students every
year. Besides, the ARS opened Sirun Optic in Stepanakert which provides
free services to people. It also provides free glasses. Formerly
it provided services to the families of killed azatamartics, now it
provides services to everyone."