Author: Hambardsumian Paul

SAAKASHVILI PLEDGES TO HELP MINORITIES
By Etuna Tsotniashvili

The Messenger
Dec 24 2008
Georgia

"Every ethnic group in Georgia should feel that they are
representatives of the country," President Saakashvili stated at a
meeting with the staff of news programme National Moambe, which is
broadcast in various languages, on December 22.

The President said the Georgian Government should take additional
measures to help ethnic minority groups to learn the Georgian language
better, something which would make it easier for them to integrate
with Georgian society. "We should improve the process of learning
the Georgian language for ethnic minorities, or rather, I would say
‘so-called ethnic minorities’ because I don’t accept such a term. I
don’t think they are either minorities or should be separated out
by ethnicity, but the learning of the Georgian language should be
enhanced in Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli and other regions of Georgia
where other ethnic group representatives live," he said.

Saakashvili talked about those teachers who work in areas populated
by minority ethnic groups and stated that after consultation with the
Education Minister the decision was made to increase the salaries of
teachers to GEL 1,000. "This will enable us to attract professionals
to teach there," he said.

Saakashvili said that the Ministry of Education made a very serious
mistake in expecting minority ethnic students to pass national entry
exams of the same standard as those for native Georgian speakers and
promised that this mistake will be rectified soon. "We should give
them special privileges to help them pass entry exams. Several hundred
representatives of minority ethnic groups should study at Georgian
higher educational institutions under the simplified programmes,"
he said, adding that the Government should create some incentives
for ethnic minorities so that they will stay in Georgia and continue
studying in local universities and institutions rather than going to
Baku or Yerevan.

At the end of his speech Saakashvili stated that Georgia’s
de-occupation will come soon and the unity previously created with
various ethnic groups will be decisive. The enemy called us everything
they could, but did not call us chauvinists or nationalists or accuse
us of pursuing ethnically discriminatory policies. "They failed
because such a position is totally unacceptable for the present
Georgian authorities, me personally, our nation and our multi-ethnic
society," Saakashvili said. "Our multi-ethnicity is not our weakness;
it is Georgia’s greatest wealth and strength," he added.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT BY GREEK CYPRIOT CHOIR AT SOURP ASDVADZADZIN CHURCH
Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra – [email protected]

Gibrahayer
Dec 08, 2008

Last Sunday, the Armenian church of Sourp Asdvadzadzin in Nicosia
was the venue for a heavenly Christmas concert. Participating were
the 15-member Chamber Choir "Polyfonia", directed by Maro Skordi,
the 8-member Guitar Ensemble "OKTO", directed by Demetris Regginos,
and organist Boris Alexandrov. For about 90 minutes, the Armenian house
of God was filled with heavenly melodies, songs and sounds, ranging
from the Cyprus carols, English songs and classical masterpieces to
traditional Latin, French, German and Spanish melodies.

The church bench were full of people of all ages, who with the help
of the music and the ecclesiastical environment were lifted up to
the skies.

Closing this article, I cannot but praise Vicky Kouyoumdjian’s divine
soprano voice – a voice we adore listening during the Sunday Badarak
-, who finished the concert with a solo on Lour Kisher (the Armenian
version of "Silent Night"), to the surprise and joy of the Armenians
present!

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all: Shnorhavor nor
Dari yev Sourp Dzenount.

PRESIDENT GUL FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST CHP’S ARITMAN

Today’s Zaman
Dec 23 2008
Turkey

President Abdullah Gul has filed a lawsuit against Republican People’s
Party (CHP) deputy Canan Arıtman, who claimed that Gul’s mother is
of Armenian origin. "Arıtman, who has political motivations, caused
doubts about the performance of the president, who has non-political
responsibilities," the petition states.

"The defendant’s claim, which is based on racism and discrimination,
is a heavy assault on the client’s personal and family values,
honor and reputation." The 1 YTL lawsuit petition submitted by the
president’s lawyer, Omer Kucuközcan, refers to Arıtman’s claims.

On Dec. 17, Arıtman attacked the campaign initiated by a group of
intellectuals to apologize for the Armenian massacres of 1915, which
Armenians claim constituted genocide.

"The false scientists signing it should apologize to Turkey," she
said, claiming that Gul — because of his "ethnic origins" — was
rubberstamping the campaign. "We see that the president supports
this campaign. Abdullah Gul should be the president of the entire
Turkish nation, not just of those sharing his ethnicity. Investigate
the ethnic origin of the president’s mother and you will see."

The petition states that Gul stands at an equal distance from all
citizens in his current position and that in his previous duties as
a deputy, foreign minister, deputy prime minister, prime minister
and president, he expressed his ideas openly at the national and
international platforms on the topic and on Turkish-Armenian relations.

"My client’s views have been distorted and it was suggested that he
has ethnic ties on his mother’s side, as if he stands closer to a
part of society because of that," the petition states.

The petition also states that according to the news reports, CHP head
Deniz Baykal has been uneasy about Arıtman’s statements.

"It would be impossible to compensate for the damages that occurred
because of this issue; however, we demand a compensation of 1 YTL
only to identify the injustice," the petition states.

Meanwhile, the CHP administration issued a warning to Arıtman after
she appeared on two TV news shows about her allegations about Gul
without the CHP administration’s permission.

On Sunday, Gul released a statement, saying: "I respect the ethnic
background, different beliefs and family ties of all my citizens and
see this as a reality and also the wealth of our country with its
imperial history. I also would like to emphasize that all my citizens
are equal to one another regardless of any differences. No one has any
superiority whatsoever over another one. Everybody has the equal and
same rights under the guarantee of our Constitution." He added, "I am
proud of our country, which has reached this level of understanding."

He also announced that his mother’s side, the Satoglu family from
Kayseri, and his father’s side, the Gul family also from Kayseri,
are Muslim and Turkish, according to centuries of written genealogy
records.

Speaking at a CHP congress Sunday, Arıtman responded to Gul’s
statement. "I never asked the president to announce his genealogical
background. I just wanted him to protect his nation and state, the
duty assigned to him by the Constitution."

"Why doesn’t the president show the principled stance shown by the
prime minister?" Arıtman asked during the congress. Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted harshly to the statement, saying he had
nothing to apologize for.

"It is wrong for the president not to demonstrate the same stance. How
can a president not protect the rights and pride of his state and
nation?" she asked, telling the Milliyet newspaper that the campaign
had worked to create the impression in the international community
that Turkey had accepted the allegations of genocide.

The declaration was signed and put on a Web site by a group of
academics, writers and commentators calling on others to join the
campaign. About 20,000 people have signed the statement so far.

–Boundary_(ID_fv0Hvhny65E8XQEX3YPEug)–

FIGHTING ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION N 106 IN CONGRESS SHOULD BE TURKEY’S PRIMARY TASK NEXT YEAR

NOYAN TAPAN

Dec 23, 2008
YEREVAN

International community’s pressure upon Turkey in the issue
of recognition of Armenian Genocide becomes stronger and
stronger. Turkologist Ruben Safrastian, the Director of the RA
NAS Institute of Oriental Studies, said at the December 22 press
conference. According to him, if 7-8 years ago someone spoke in
the U.S. about the Armenian Genocide committed in Turkey, he would
be considered bribed by Armenians. And currently those denying the
Genocide are considered bribed by Turks. The probability of adoption
of Resolution N 106 on recognition of Armenian Genocide in Congress
grows more and more, and next year fighting its adoption should be
Turkey’s primary task.

According to R. Safrastian, the current Turkish authorities consider
themselves Ottoman Turkey’s descendants, therefore they fail to
get rid of the policy of denying the Armenian Genocide. As to the
participants of the signature collection on the website I Apologize,
they are Turkish intellectuals making a small part of society.

Expressing readiness to establish relations with Turkey without
preconditions, Armenia showed a europeanized approach, which in R.

Safrastian’s opinion, is a very positive step. Armenia’s "football
diplomacy" was the continuation of that approach, to which Turkey
responded to some extent.

In R. Safrastian’s opinion, putting forward the idea of "Caucasian
platform" by Turkey was its attempt to oppose to strengthening of
Russia’s positions in the South Caucasus. After the August events
the geopolitical situation in the region changed in favor of Russia,
which dislocated its forces in Georgia’s formal territories. By
putting forward the idea of "Caucasian platform," Turkey tried to
show an initiative in the political sphere. And Russia welcomed that
initiative after Turkey renounced its initial plan to involve the U.S.

For Turkey, it was very important how the South Caucasian countries
will treat its initiative. Georgia abstained because of Russia and
increased Armenia’s role by doing so. According to the Turkologist,
for the first time in history Armenia received a serious diplomatic
value for Turkey, and an exclusive situation was formed, from which
Armenia should be able to derive benefit.

R. Safrastian said that Turkey’s activity in the Nagorno Karabakh issue
was also due to Russia’s factor, which strengthening its geopolitical
positions, decided to show political activity by initiating signing of
Maindorf Declaration. According to the Turkologist, Turkey will hardly
believe that Armenia will ever agree to Turkey’s being a mediator in
the Nagorno Karabakh settlement.

According to R. Safrastian, Russia-Turkey possible rapprochement is
much spoken about in the past 2-3 years. However indeed it is of
purely economic nature. These two countries’ geopolitical visions
in the Caucasian region are mutually exclusive: both Turkey and
Russia wish to involve the South Caucasus in the sphere of their
influence. Therefore these countries’ political rapprochement at the
state level is improbable, and no real danger threatens Armenia in
that respect.

BIOMETRIC PASSPORTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN ARMENIA STARTED JANUARY 1, 2010

ArmInfo
2008-12-23 14:38:00

Biometric passports and cards will be implemented in Armenia beginning
from January 1, 2010, Head of the Visa and Passport Department of the
Armenian Police Norayr Muradkhanyan said at today’s press-conference.

He also added biometric passports will be necessary for the citizens
of Armenia when leaving abroad, and identity cards will be used
inside the country. He also said that after implementation of a new
system, citizens of Armenia will have two documents confirming their
citizenship.

According to M. Muradkhanyan, beginning from 2010 persons having
reached the age of 16 will be given two documents at once, while the
earlier given passports will be replaced by the biometric documents
after expiration of their validity. He added that implementation of
the new system will essentially simplify the process of delivery of
identification documents.

Moreover, due to a more reliable control, this system will prevent
violations by the citizens when receiving social payments.

ARDSHININVESTBANK BONDS ADMITTED TO SALE ON ARMENIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

ARKA
Dec 22, 2008
YEREVAN

The nominal coupon bonds of Ardshininvestbank (Armenia) have been
admitted to the sale on the free platform Cbond on the Armenian Stock
Exchange (ARMEX).

The Marketing and Communications Department, NASDAQ OMX Armenia,
reported that 150,000 bonds have been admitted to sale, the nominal
value of one bond being 10,000 AMD and the annual coupon yield 10%. The
bond maturity date is December 5, 2009. The bonds are listed under
the abbreviation of ASBKB1.

As of December 22, 13 bond issues are in circulation on ARMEX. Two bond
issues are listed as Abond, ten issues as Bond and one issue as Cbond.

The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) issued Banking License #83 to the
Ardshininvestbank CJSC on February 27, 2003. The Ardshininvestbank
principal stockholders are the Region investment corporation (86.82%)
and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which purchased 10%
late last year.

The bank is an affiliate member of the MasterCard/Euriopay system
and a share holder of the Armenian Card CJSC.

This January the OMX Group (Sweden) purchased the Armenian Stock
Exchange and the RA Central Depository. This March, NASDAQ OMX Group,
Inc. became sole owner of ARMEX and RA Central Depository.

Over 3,900 issuers are listed on NASDAQ OMX. NASDAQ OMX technologies
facilitate the management of over 60 exchanges, clearing agencies
and central20depositories in over 50 countries.

ALI BABACAN: THE SOLUTION OF DISPUTES BETWEEN TURKEY, ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN WAS NEVER THIS CLOSE

armradio.am
22.12.2008 17:17

A solution for the disputes between Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan,
which has lasted since World War One, was never this close, Turkey’s
Foreign Minister told Hurriyet daily.

"The Serzh Sargsyan administration believes that solution of problems
with both Turkey and Azerbaijan will bring stability and welfare to
the country," Ali Babacan told in an interview with the daily.

He added that both Sargsyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham
Aliyev show the necessary will to find a solution.

"If they progress, our job will also be easier," Babacan said. "We
are not at the stage that we can put forward the final points, but
we have made much progress," he added.

WILL ELECTRONIC AUCTION BE CANCELED?

A1+
[03:22 pm] 19 December, 2008

Armenia’s Compulsory Execution Service (CES) is scheduled to put up the
assets and the right of property of Bjni Company for electronic auction
on December 19. The auction hasn’t started yet. There is no information
about the pending auction available on the service’s website wither.

CES Spokesman Ruben Grzelyan couldn’t give us any definite information
about the auction. Still yesterday it was supposed that the action
would be canceled as one of the creditors -"Saturn ShinMontaj" brought
in an action against recognising the bankruptcy of Bjni Ltd. The
Northern Civil Court noted the claim and appointed a temporary
administrator.

Grzelyan says they haven’t got an official recognition of the company’s
bankruptcy which would allow them to cancel the auction.

Ruben Grzelyan also added that yesterday the company’s administration
petitioned them to withdraw the action relying on the court’s
decision. "They have attached a copy of the court decision to
the petition. Yet, we cannot dismiss the case on that ground. The
court must officially inform us about its decision," note the CES
Spokesman. He promised to give us a concrete answer within two hours.

Advocate of the Bjni Company Ara Zohrabyan noted that if a suit is
filed against bankruptcy, the Service of Compulsory Execution must
dismiss the case.

ARMENIA, SITRONICS TO CONTINUE COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF HIGH TECHNOLOGIES

armradio.am
19.12.2008 13:44

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Tigran Sargsyan, received today
the President of the Russian "Sitronics" OJSC Sergey Aslanyan,
Vice-President Sergey Urezchenko and plenipotentiary representative
of the company in Armenia Armen Khachatryan.

The parties discussed issues connected with the further development
of cooperation in the field of high technologies. President of the
"Sitronics" Sergey Aslanyan presented the activity of the Company
headed by him, its participation in programs of federal importance for
Russia, the international relations and representation in the CIS,
in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and others, as well
as the future initiatives and programs of cooperation with Armenia
in the field of high technologies.

Sergey Aslanyan spoke about the creation of a venture investment
fund with participation of "Sitronics" OJSC, noting that the company
is ready to present the programs of cooperation in this sphere in a
short period of time.

The Prime Minister attached importance to the cooperation with
"Sitronics" Company and expressed confidence that it will be mutually
beneficial and effective.

ONLY THOSE WORKERS THAT UK NEEDS WILL BE ABLE TO COME TO UK

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.12.2008 18:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On 27 November 2008, Tiers 2 and 5 of the points
based system (PBS) that deals with immigration to the UK went live. The
Tiers sweep aside the old work permit system, the press office of
the UK Embassy told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Tier 2 ensures that only those workers that UK needs will be able to
come to the UK. To get in under Tier 2 skilled workers must have a
grasp of English language, prospective earnings of more than £24,000
per annum or have a decent qualification, and enough money to support
themselves for the first month of their stay.

Under Tier 2, UK companies must pass the Resident Labour Market test
by proving they cannot fill the post with a resident worker before
they can bring in someone from outside the EEA.

Tier 5 covers those travelling temporarily to the UK for primarily
non-economic reasons, such as sportspeople, entertainers and charity
workers. The entertainers coming to the UK for gigs or festivals will
be assessed under visitor visa rules.

>From 27 November foreign non-EEA nationals granted leave to remain in
the UK as a student or on the basis of marriage will be issued with an
IDENTITY CARD containing their facial image and fingerprints. Identity
cards will be mandatory for foreign nationals, and will provide
evidence of an individual’s nationality and status in the UK. It
will confirm the holder’s right to work and the services to which
the person is entitled.

This card will replace the sticker that would have previously been
placed in the person’s passport. People applying for leave to remain in
other categories will continue, for the moment, to receive a sticker.

–Boundary_(ID_W3NadtZ3mgwM1jKgaLJrNw)–