Author: Hambardsumian Paul

CODE OF GOOD AIMS AND CORRUPTION RISK
Lragir.am 20 July 06
On July 20 the government of Armenia adopted the Technical Code
of removal of the fertile layer of soil and requirements on its
preservation and use. The representatives of the Ministry of
Environmental Protection assure that this completes the enactment
of the Land Code of Armenia. The code really has good aims but it
contains corruption risk.
The technical code will cover all kinds of land works in Armenia. If
the fertile layer of soil is removed and, for instance, a mine is
operated, either the soil must be preserved or given to others
for use. The latter contains a corruption risk. Deputy Minister
of Environmental Protection Simon Papyan and Juliet Ghlichyan, a
senior official of the ministry, explained in detail that standards
of maintenance and removal of the fertile layer of soil have been
set down. But the problem is that if the head of the community or
the marzpet (the head of the regional administration), in case the
land does not belong to communities, can prove that they do not lack
fertile soil, they can give fertile soil to everyone they want. And
since in accordance with the Land Code of Armenia fertile soil is not
for sale, the head of the community or the marzpet officially will
not get anything in return for this favor, but if they need a layer
of fertile soil, there will always be another head of community or
another marzpet, who would answer their favor.
And since our officials are mainly guided by the principle “a post
stops being attractive unless you abuse it”, it is beyond doubt that
the head of the community or the marzpet will give the land to those
who would have “a kind eye on them”. Simon Papyan agrees that there
is such risk.
Statistics shows that fertile soil is highly demanded in Armenia:
about 70 percent of the territory of Armenia is on the verge of
erosion, the majority of land of the Ararat Valley is salinated and
unusable. Since Soviet times 7500 hectares of land is bad.
In order not to leave the responsibility for cultivation of this
land on the shoulders of the government, businesses have to present a
clear plan of cultivation of land with clear timing, and during its
economic activities it transfers money to the capital intended for
this very aim. And if this business is unable to prove that it can
provide necessary conditions for preservation of the removed layer
of fertile soil, it has to give it to someone else. In other words,
companies also need to get on well with heads of communities or
marzpets, who have a layer of fertile soil.

Chairman of the Human Rights Association of Turkey supports Hrant Dink
ArmRadio.am
19.07.2006 11:57
Representative of the Turkish “Peace Initiative” organization engaged
in human rights protection Sanar Yurdatapan suggested his support for
the editor-in-chief of the Istanbul based “Agos” newspaper Hrant Dink,
who was recently sentenced to six months of conditional imprisonment
for offending Turkish national identity.
According to the Turkish “New Anatolian” periodical, speaking at the
20th session of the Human Rights Union, Yurdatapan declared that his
organization considers that Article 301 of the Criminal Code should
be eliminated. Chairman of the Human Rights Association Yusuf Alatas
also suggested his support to Hrant Dink.

G8 Statement on Karabakh Made Baku Watchful
PanARMENIAN.Net
18.07.2006 13:41 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan assesses positively the G8 countries
keeping the Nagorno Karabakh issue in focus, stated chief of the
Department of Information of the Azeri MFA Tahir Tagizadeh. “Judging
from what we saw in media reports on the statement made by Russia
on behalf of G8, the leading states of the world keep their active
approach to settlement of the conflict, and this is positive,”
Tagizadeh said.
The Azeri MFA representative expressed watchfulness on the provision of
the statement, in which the G8 urge Azerbaijan and Armenia to prepare
their peoples to peace, not war. “If expressions on possibility of
other ways of solving the issue are meant here, it is necessary to
take into account the specific character of Azerbaijan’s situation. We
are not in a position to allow holding talks for the sake of holding
talks,” Tagizadeh underscored.
On the whole, the diplomat continued, the statement of G8 countries
is a positive one, “however in the overall context of latest urges
of the Azeri party towards OSCE MG co-chairs to become more active
(as it is known, G8 comprises all three co-chairing countries),
I would say that it is insufficiently specific unfortunately.”

ZORYAN INSTITUTE OF CANADA, INC.
255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
Tel: 416-250-9807 Fax: 416-512-1736 E-mail: [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: George Shirinian
DATE: July 17, 2006
Tel: 416-250-9807
Zoryan Institute Awards 2nd and 3rd Ph.D. Scholarships to Address
Shortage of Genocide Scholars
The Board of Directors of the Zoryan Institute is pleased to announce
the winner of its Ph.D. Scholarship Award for year 2006. The committee
unanimously chose Ms. Talar Chahinian-Mahroukian, who is studying
Comparative Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Her Ph.D. thesis, titled “Silent Tremors: Aftermath Experience in
French-Armenian Literature,” analyzes the published works of the group
of Armenian writers in France who initiated the literary movement
called Menk.
As part of her study, Chahinian-Mahroukian applies trauma theory to
interpret this post-genocide literary discourse. She has presented
papers on this subject at three academic conferences, both local
and international.
One of her professors described her as “.one of the most talented
students I’ve had the good fortune to work with since I came to
UCLA.” This award will enable her to complete her research of journals
and periodicals published in Paris between the two world wars, which
are found in the Mekhitarist Special Collection in Vienna.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude for being selected as
this year’s recipient of the 2006 Zoryan Institute Ph.D. Scholarship,”
Chahinian-Mahroukian stated. “I feel extremely humbled and honored to
be a part of the institute and to join its tier of doctoral students
working to enhance scholarship on the Armenian Genocide and Diaspora. I
believe that studying the Armenian Genocide and its aftermath through
the lens of literature has great value,” she continued. “For me, the
realm of literature provides a space for the intersection of multiple
disciplines, such as history, sociology and psychoanalytic theory
and, thus, offers a broad perspective of the genocide’s effects in
the conceptualization of an Armenian Diasporan identity. I am very
much committed to my project and look forward to the contribution it
will bring to the discourse on genocide and Diaspora. Aside from the
financial assistance, the institute’s Ph.D.
scholarship also offers a sense of reassurance for a doctoral student,
by broadening the often-solitary context within which the research
is conducted,” she added.
In addition to Chahinian-Mahroukian, the institute also awarded a
scholarship for the second year to Ms. Sevane Garibian of Paris,
who is studying the effect of the Armenian Genocide on the Nuremberg
laws and also on international criminal law related to crimes against
humanity. Since her award in 2005, Ms. Garibian has published three
articles; two in French and one in English entitled: “Pour une lecture
juridique des quatre ‘lois memorielles,'” “Le genocide armenien hors
la loi?,” and “Crimes against Humanity and International Legality
in Legal Theory after Nuremberg.” Her work led to her being cited
in the French Parliament debate in June on penalties for denying the
Armenian Genocide.
“I would like to express my warmest thanks to the Zoryan Institute
and its prestigious Committee for renewing my PhD Scholarship for
another year,” said Garibian. The trust this decision expresses and
the support it represents in my work are very important to me and
will give me the chance to finish writing my PhD thesis in the best
conditions.. I hope the Zoryan scholarship-but also the Genocide and
Human Rights University Program that the Zoryan Institute provides
each year-will encourage and motivate other young scholars from all
over the world to engage in and pursue research and publication in
this enormous field,” she concluded.
“It is thanks to the vision of people like Dikran and Sonia Bal,
who wanted to encourage new scholars in this field and provided the
financial means to establish this scholarship program, that we are
able to foster and nurture Armenian Genocide studies,” said Greg
Sarkissian, President of the Zoryan Institute.
The scholarship is open to currently enrolled Ph.D. students in
good standing at an accredited university who are preparing a
thesis on the Armenian Genocide or a comparative study with other
genocides. Candidates must have completed all requirements for the
Ph.D. except for the dissertation. Applications for the 2007 awards
are being accepted now, with a closing date of February 28th. For
inquiries, call 416-250-9807 or write to [email protected].
The Zoryan Institute is the first non-profit, international
center devoted to the research and documentation the contemporary
issues related to social, political and cultural life of Armenians
worldwide. To this end, the Institute conducts multidisciplinary
research, publication, and educational programs dealing with Republic
of Armenia, Genocide, and Diaspora within a universal context.

YEREVAN GOLDEN APRICOT FESTIVAL RECEIVES INVITATIONS OF COOPERATION FROM
ROTTERDAM AND PUSAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS
YEREVAN, JULY 17, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. For cooperation
with the Golden Apricot Yerevan International film festival and with
Armenian cinematographers, as well as their great contribution to
the world cinematography world-famous film directors Godfrey Reggio,
Krzsystof Zanussi, Dong-ho Kim and scriptwriter Antonio Guerra were
awarded gold memorial medals of RA Ministry of Culture and Youth
Affairs. The awards were given to them by Minister Hasmik Poghosian
at the July 15 meeting at the Ministry.
Film director Haroutiun Khachatrian, General Director of the Golden
Apricot festival, assured that the festival could not fully form
without the state support and financing.
The festival director also declared that this young festival has
already received invitations of cooperation from Rotterdam and Pusan
festivals. In 2007 January RA Ministers of Culture and Foreign Affairs
will leave for Rotterdam to sign the respective agreement-memorandum.

Robert Kocharian Went on Short Leave
PanARMENIAN.Net
17.07.2006 12:55 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Robert Kocharian left on a short
leave today, the RA leader~Rs press office told PanARMENIAN.Net. The
RA President will spend his vacation in Armenia.

BÝA, Turkey
July 14 2006
Dink Verdict on Way to European Court
Turkish-Armenian weekly “Agos” Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink’s lawyer
Fethiye Cetin says they will take his suspended 6 months prison
sentence to the European Court of Human Rights. Cetin expresses
sorrow for justice system, noting that the opportunity to s
BIA News Center
13/07/2006
BÝA (Ankara) – Armenian-Turkish bilingual weekly “Agos” newspaper
Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink’s lawyer Fethiye Cetin has said they will
take his suspended 6 months prison sentence to the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) following this week’s ratification of the verdict
by the Turkish Court of Cassation.
Cetin said they would apply to the ECHR as soon as they received
written notification of the Appeals Court’s decision that was taken
despite objections of the prosecution, saying the verdict was “at
the very least, sad for justice”.
“With regard to the interpretation of article 301, they could have
created a precedent that would have been extremely just and in
accordance with democracy. This would have been in the interest of
Turkey. This opportunity was lost” Cetin said, evaluating the court’s
conclusive decision that confirmed Dink’s sentence.
Dink was originally sentenced under article 301 by an Istanbul court to
6 months jail on October 7, 2005 where opinions expressed in his 2004
article series “The Armenian Identity” published in Agos were found
to be “insulting and ridiculing Turkishness”. Subject to the verdict
were Dink’s remarks “The poisoned blood that will spill from Turks will
be replaced by noble blood of the Armenians who will create Armenia”.
The same court later suspended the sentence justifying it with the
convict’s goodwill but the deferment was on condition that he did not
commit a similar offence for a period of five years and if he did,
would serve the previous sentence in full alongside any new sentence.
Following an appeal against the decision, the high court prosecutor
demanded Dink’s acquittal, but the demand which relied on the
evaluation that Dink’s controversial expressions were “allegorical”
rather more than insulting “Turkishness” was turned down. (EO/II/YE)
–Boundary_(ID_IHB8L2UqpPZ+/eZwjNKU7w) —

GERMAN COLONY HOTEL PLANS STIR DEBATE
by Jonathan Pearlman
The Jerusalem Report
July 24, 2006
A plan to build two high-rise hotels at the northern end of Jerusalem’s
German Colony is facing staunch opposition from residents, who say the
buildings will mar the residential nature of the leafy neighborhood.
A campaign against the hotels was launched after the district planning
commission made public plans for a 14-story Four Seasons Hotel at
the beginning of the colony’s main artery, Emek Refaim Street, in an
empty lot just south of Liberty Bell Park. Across the road, at the
corner of Emek Refaim and Bethlehem Road, developers are planning
the separate 12-story Colony Hotel and residential complex.
The latter will be built over the top of a 19th-century Armenian
church, which served as a community center for the German Templers
who founded the German Colony.
Residents say the hotels are at odds with the low-rise stone
houses built by the German Protestants around the turn of the 20th
century that still set the tone of the area, one of Jerusalem’s
most affluent. A community action group, run by employees of the
neighborhood’s International Center for Culture and Youth, has
hired architects, lawyers and conservation experts to examine the
plans and will submit an objection to the planning commission. The
group’s coordinator, Marik Shtern, told The Report the hotels would
set a dangerous precedent and could result in further high-rise
blocks being built around the nearby old train station and inside the
neighborhood. “Instead of the arch of trees that lead up to the German
Colony, we will have big blocks of walls of up to 50 meters high,”
he said. “You don’t have to live in the neighborhood to see it as a
personal assault.”
Shtern said the group had collected about 3,500 signatures for a
petition against the hotels. The group also held a conference on July
2 featuring panel discussions with the architects Hillel Schocken and
David Guggenheim and prominent Jerusalem residents including the poet
Haim Gouri. “This is a beautiful and very precious part of Jerusalem,”
Gouri told The Report. “But if they build buildings that do not suit
the style of the area, it will not keep its character.”
The action group has also enlisted the aid of descendants of the
German Templers, who were deported by the British to Australia after
the outbreak of World War II. During a recent trip to Jerusalem,
about 20 descendants visited the site and wrote a letter of objection
to the council.
But the lawyer representing the two hotels, David Shimron, said they
were being built on unused blocks and would improve the neighborhood.
“It’s important to allow development that is reasonable and helps the
area progress,” he said, adding that the Four Seasons was unlikely to
rise higher than 12 stories. Plans for the Colony Hotel, which will be
funded mainly by U.S. investors, were yet to be submitted for approval,
but it would preserve the character of the church, Shimron maintained.
Anahid Ohannessian, an Armenian Christian who lives on the church
grounds disagrees. “The hotel will eat up my house and cover the
church. It is a very bad plan, both aesthetically and culturally,”
he told The Report.
Jonathan Pearlman

Armenian nuclear plant halted temporarily – agency
Arminfo
14 Jul 06
Yerevan, 14 July: The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant [NCP] was
disconnected from the country’s energy system at 1023 local time
[0523 gmt] today, Gagik Markosyan, head of the NCP, has told an
Arminfo correspondent.
He said the plant had been halted because a false protection system
had started operating. There was no breach of nuclear or radiation
security, he stressed. He said that the plant would be again connected
to the country’s energy system tomorrow.
The NCP’s output went down to 1,458m kWh, i.e. by 4 per cent, over
the first six months of 2006. The plant is planned to be halted for
repairs and filling with nuclear fuel on 1 October 2006.

G8 Summit Opened in St. Petersburg Today
PanARMENIAN.Net
15.07.2006 13:24 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ G8 Summit opens in St. Petersburg today. For the
first time Russia leads the forum. Ensuring global energy security
will be a major subject at the summit.
A comprehensive document on energy security issues will be adopted at
the summit. It will be composed of two parts – a political statement
and an action plan.
According to many observers, matters of current international policy,
specifically Middle East situation, can also be a core question,
though these were not on the agenda initially.
Urgent international issues like struggle against terrorism,
non-proliferation, conflict settlement, as well as development of world
economy and finance, international trade, environment protection will
also be considered.
As reported before the G8 summit may also discuss settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Besides, according to reports, Armenian
and Azeri Presidents may meet within the summit, however the hearsay
was not confirmed.