Author: Jagharian Tania

BAYKAL LOSES VICE-CHAIR OF SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL TO TALABANI

Turkish Daily News
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was elected to a vice-chairmanship in
the Socialist International over the leader of the main opposition
Republican People’s Party, or CHP, who avoided attending the summit
in Greece and therefore was not nominated, reported the Anatolia news
agency yesterday.

Greece’s Panhellenic Socialist Movement, or PASOK, leader George
Papandreou was re-elected chairman of the Socialist International,
while the number of vice-chairpersons rose to 37 from 30, including
Talabani and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

The CHP’s Deniz Baykal, who formerly served as a vice-chairman, was
not included this time on the list fixed by the election committee
of the Socialist International.

The party is currently facing criticism from members of the socialist
community, who accuse the CHP of no longer representing social
democratic interests and who demand the party be expelled from the
socialist community.

Meanwhile, Anatolia reported that the ethics committee of the Socialist
International has not yet made a decision regarding the fate of
the CHP under the umbrella organization. Turkish press reports said
yesterday that the ethics committee decided to dispatch a four-member
delegation to Turkey to investigate the allegations that the CHP is
anti-democratic. The delegation will travel to Turkey in late summer
and research whether the CHP complies with the principles of the
Socialist International, said the reports.

In an address to his lawmakers in Parliament, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan said that Baykal could not attend the Socialist
International meeting and instead had to join a mulberry festival
in Turkey.

"The reactions to the CHP from the world are very meaningful,"
said Erdogan. "Their doors are closed both to the East and to the
West. They are not aware that they imprisoned themselves behind
the iron curtain understanding. Baykal cannot attend the Socialist
International (meeting). Why not?"

He said none of the existing 185 political parties in the world shared
the same views with the CHP and none resisted democracy or freedoms.

In response, Baykal said Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development
Party, or AKP, was not accepted by any international organizations,
though it wanted to join. "Everything is obvious; we did not attend
[the Socialist International meeting] and risked dismissal," he added.

Baykal also heralded that the CHP would open bureaus in the European
capitals in the upcoming days, not to receive instructions from
Europeans but to explain party policies and the importance of the
secularism principle for Turkey.

Meanwhile, the consultative membership of the Turkish Cypriot
Republican Turks’ Party, or CTP, in the Socialist International
was delayed after protests from Greek Cypriot and Armenian social
democrats.

FRENCH MPS CONDEMN SENATE FOR DROPPING MEASURE REQUIRING REFERENDUM ON TURKEY’S MEMBERSHIP IN EU

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.07.2008 15:32 GMT+04:00

French MPs prepared a statement condemning the French Senate for not
passing a constitutional amendment that would have put Turkey’s future
EU membership to a referendum.

"England held a referendum in 1972. Can you imagine that we behave
differently as regards Turkey, Russia, Morocco or Ukraine," the
statement said, Anatolia News Agency reports.

On June 26, France’s Senate dropped a measure from a proposed law that
requires a referendum on Turkey’s membership in the European Union. It
was one of the most sensitive parts of a broader institutional
reform package going through the French Parliament and required a
referendum before France could approve EU membership for any country
whose population exceeds 5 per cent of the population of the entire
27-nation union.

NATURALIZED AMERICAN WRESTLER EYES ’09 NATIONALS
Felisa Cardona

CBS Television
cbs4denver.com Showcase
Jun 30, 2008

DENVER (AP) â~@~U Tsolak Yeghishyan — a Colorado Springs cab driver
and wrestling champion — became an American on Monday, a few days
too late for him to try out for the 2008 U.S. Olympic wrestling team.

"From Day One, I’ve been dreaming about representing the U.S. in the
Olympics," he said just before he was sworn in at the offices of the
U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services in Denver. "But this is
for my heritage. This is for my ancestors."

The 37-year-old is one of thousands of immigrants nationwide who got
caught up in a government background-check backlog that delayed his
path to citizenship.

Yeghishyan came to the U.S. in 1996 and became a legal resident in
1999. He applied for citizenship in 2004.

He passed his civics test and learned English by watching television
and reading books.

But the naturalization process had become tedious so his lawyer,
Beverly Oserow, filed a lawsuit last summer in U.S. District Court in
Denver against the government in order to expedite his naturalization.

On Thursday, he found out that his lifelong wish to live as an American
was coming true.

"It should have been a long time ago," said Mary LeNoue, one of
several friends who showed up to celebrate at Yeghishyan’s swearing-in
ceremony.

"He’ll be fabulous," LeNoue said when asked what kind of citizen
Yeghishyan might be. "He is very conscientious."

Yeghishyan, who placed ninth at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta
while on the Armenian wrestling team, was ineligible to try out for
the U.S. team unless he was a citizen. Given his age, he was no sure
bet to make the team, though he hoped to try.

Although he is disappointed that he missed the opportunity, he is
elated to be an American and his attention is now on bringing his
pregnant wife, Lilit, and 14-month-old daughter, Helena, to the U.S.

"My family is partying," he said as he held onto a small American
flag and his certificate of citizenship.

Oserow said it could take another three to four years before his
family can join him in Colorado Springs.

Yeghishyan still intends to wrestle for the U.S., even though it
won’t be for the 2008 Games in Beijing.

"Now, with God’s grace, I will be healthy enough for next year’s
U.S. Nationals," he said.

By the 2012 Olympic trials, Yeghishyan will be 41 years old, an
advanced age for an athlete. But Yeghishyan has hope because he has
overcome many hardships in his lifetime, including surviving a deadly
earthquake in Armenia in 1988.

"Maybe I will do it," he said of trying out in 2012.

For now, Yeghishyan is just proud to be an American.

"I accomplished something big on my own," he said. "It’s very uplifting
and a huge sense of responsibility."

–Boundary_(ID_AkZUvgFkBdDj 7W9V+1/1vA)–

SWITZERLAND READY TO PROMOTE ARMENIAN-TURKISH RECONCILIATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.06.2008 13:58 GMT+04:00

Switzerland has always spoken out for the Armenian-Turkish
reconciliation, Micheline Calmy-Rey, head of the Swiss Federal
Department of Foreign Affairs said at a joint news conference with
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

"If requested, Switzerland is ready to help normalization of relations
and opening of the Armenian-Turkish border," Ms. Calmy-Rey said.

For his part, Minister Nalbandian reiterated that Armenia is willing
to open a dialog without preconditions.

Turkey closed the land border with Armenia in 1993 over the war in
Nagorno Karabakh. One of conditions Turkey sets to Armenia to reopen
the border is resolution of the conflict in favor of Azerbaijan

GOVERNMENT WITHOUT DEPARTMENT OF MIGRATION AND RESETTLEMENT

KarabakhOpen
27-06-2008 11:56:13

On June 26 the NKR parliament affirmed without debate the new structure
of the government according to which several departments of the
government were set up, including the department of tourism. In the
new structure of the government there is no department for migration,
settlement and refugees. By the proposal of the government the
ministry of social security will perform those functions. However,
there is no decision on this yet.

The chair of the Committee of State and Legal Affairs Garik Grigoryan
noted that the parliament had too little time for the discussion of
this issue, only a few days. Nevertheless, Speaker Ashot Ghulyan had
managed to hold a meeting of the standing committees and factions
before the session and demand explanations from the prime minister,
first of all regarding lowering the status of the department of
migration and settlement. The preamble of the bill on the new structure
of government holds that the structural changes are determined by
the requirements of the law on president.

Apparently the prime minister could not motivate the changes, at
least they were not reflected in the official information. Instead,
the information reflected the indignation of the members of parliament
that the role of such an important sphere is reduced.

In the meeting of parliament no questions were asked to the prime
minister.

The parliament passed the bill. 22 voted for the bill. 2 voted against
the bill. We have learned that the independent member of parliament
Gegham Baghdasaryan and the member of parliament from the region of
Kashatagh Karen Grigoryan disapproved the bill.

IRAN, ARMENIA SIGN AGREEMENT ON POWER PLANT CONSTRUCTION

Fars News Agency
June 25 2008
Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s Deputy Energy Minister and Armenia’s Energy and
Natural Resources Minister signed two Memoranda of Understandings
(MOUs) on construction of a hydro-electric power plant on Aras River.

According to a report by Islamic Republic of Iran’s Embassy in
Armenia on Monday, Rasoul Zargar, Iran’s Deputy Energy Minister in
Water Affairs, discussed the outlook of cooperation between Iran and
Armenia concerning generation of electricity and issues related to
construction of a hydro-electrical power plant on Aras River with
the Armenian Energy and Natural Resources Minister Armen Movsisyan
and his deputy in Armenia’s capital city, Yerevan.

The principle agreement on construction of Aras hydro-electrical
power plant was signed during President Ahmadinejad’s state visit to
Armenia in the year 2006.

CHAIRMAN OF CE CABINET OF MINISTERS: "THE SOLUTION TO NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT IS BEYOND CE COMPETENCE"

Today.Az
June 24 2008
Azerbaijan

Chairman of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers and Swedish
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt made a report on the first working day of
PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) summer session.

He said his organization always kept the situation in the South
Caucasus in the focus of attention, APA European bureau reports.

"Elections in this region were accompanied by some violations. It
is necessary to eliminate these violations and to achieve democratic
elections".

Carl Bildt said Council of Europe gave a fundamental importance to
the territorial integrity of Georgia.

"There is no doubt that Abkhazia will be granted with the wide
autonomous status in future, but it should not shadow the territorial
integrity of Georgia, because it can create threat for the stability
in the region".

Answering the question of Azerbaijani parliamentarian Ganira Pashayeva
"Why doesn’t Council of Europe demand from Armenia to fulfill its
obligation to withdraw its forces from the Azerbaijani territories?",
Bildt said the solution to this conflict is beyond CE competence.

"I can only say that the negotiations over the conflict solution are
developing and the presidents of both countries met in St. Petersburg
recently. I have no information about the results of this meeting,
but I can say that we should support such kind of meetings because
these meetings will bring the solution to the conflict closer".

CYBERTERRORISM IS ATTRACTIVE VARIANT FOR MODERN TERRORISTS, RA DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS

NOYAN TAPAN

JU NE 24

An international conference dedicated to prevention and response to
cyber attacks started on June 24 at Yerevan’s Ani Plaza hotel. As
Gegham Gharibjanian, the RA Deputy Foreign Minister, mentioned at
the conference’s opening, breaking into almost all spheres of life,
Internet not only facilitates solution of many problems, but also
brings many dangers and threats. According to him, some individuals
and groups, including terrorist ones, can use cyper space for the
purpose of creating threats not only for citizens, but also for states
and international organizations.

According to the Deputy Minister, cyberterrorism can weaken countries’
economy and make these countries vulnerable for a military attack. He
also said that cyberterrorism becomes an attractive variant for modern
terrorists, as it requires less expenditures, is more "impersonal,"
and the targets can be more various and numerous.

Mentioning that fighting cyberterrorism will be impossible without
use of the international scientific potential, G. Gharibjanian also
attached importance to cooperation in this direction as means of
developing the scientific thought.

The conference held with the participation of NATO member and partner
countries has been organized within the framework of the Euroatlantic
Partnership Council by the RA Foreign Ministry and NATO International
Staff.

PAVLIK-ABRAHAM: THE ONLY FIGHT THAT MATTERS
Anthony Coleman

EastsideBoxing.com
June 23 2008

Let me make one thing clear from the start: I thought that Abraham
was going to win the fight. I knew he was the better technician on
offense and defense and before his jaw was broken by a Miranda uppercut
in the first fight, Abraham was giving the business to the Columbian
born fighter. However, going into the rematch I didn’t think that he
would blast Miranda out of thing ring, but in the fourth round that is
exactly what happened. The German based Armenian couldn’t have been
more impressive in his KO victory and he has now created universal
demand in the boxing world for a showdown with the Middleweight
champion of the world, Kelly Pavlik.

The first two rounds were won by Miranda based purely on activity as
Abraham went into his high guard defensive shell. The whole time,
while Miranda swung for the fences Abraham was studying him and
waiting to attack. In the third round the game plan was put into
fruition as the German was able to tee off on Miranda with extremely
accurate counter punches. In the fourth round Abraham scored a left
hook knockdown over Miranda. "Pantera" was able to beat the count,
but then was sent back down by another huge left hook by Abraham. This
time he was slower in getting up and was still allowed to continue,
but the end was clearly at hand if couldn’t force a clinch. The clinch
didn’t happen and Abraham landed another brutal left hook that sent
Miranda a few feet into the ropes and then to the ground. The referee
immediately waved the fight off and Abraham had earned unquestionably
his greatest career victory.

I couldn’t have been more impressed with Abraham’s performance
and skills. He has good handspeed, a high defensive guard, is a
great counter puncher, has good footwork, and he is perhaps the most
underrated puncher in boxing today. Yet the most damaging aspect of his
game is his versatility. When he wanted to hang back and let Miranda
pound on his high guard, he was able to deflect the blows. When he
decided to draw the line in the sand and toss those counters he was
able to fade Pantera into oblivion. Abraham has now earned a permanent
fan in this boxing writer.

Although this fight took place at 165 pounds, the overall dominance
of his performance has made a potential showdown with Pavlik the
only fight that matters at Middleweight. If he is able to get back
down to 160 pounds he has now made himself unavoidable to Pavlik. If
this fight doesn’t happen within the year then Middleweight title is
essentially worthless.

Yet for the next few months, a Abraham and Pavlik showdown will
probably be put on hold because of Boxing’s politics. Abraham will
probably take on his IBF mandatory, Raul Marquez in October or
November; and Pavlik will probably take on Marco Antonio Rubio in
that same time period. If that were to happen then I would hope for
both fights to be shared on the same card so to create more demand
for this fight. It is not only the biggest fight to be made in the
Middleweight division, but in boxing PERIOD.

Sunday Age (Melbourne, Australia)
June 22, 2008 Sunday
First Edition

Paradise Lost: Smyrna 1922;
BOOKS – Cover notes

by Lucy Sussex

PARADISE LOST: SMYRNA 1922
Giles Milton
Sceptre, $35

The city of Smyrna (now Turkish Izmir) was a cool place in the early
1900s. The coffee and food were good, and Turks, Jews, Armenians and
Greeks co-existed without rancour. The place was Paradise to Giles
Milton and to its varied inhabitants. Its geography, between West and
East, would ultimately doom it – and the ending was savage. Milton
paints a broad canvas here, with characters as diverse as a wily and
tolerant Turkish governor, Rahmi Bey, wealthy English expatriates, and
a mild-mannered American YMCA worker, Asa Jennings. He needs the epic
mode, for a clash of empires is depicted. World War I saw the end of
the Ottoman empire, and the hope of a resurgent Greek one, the Megali
idea. Rahmi Bey, a superb diplomat, was able to protect the city when
in power, but its territory was in dispute. The Greek army invaded,
with dreams of an Anatolian province, but were defeated by Ataturk.
His army burnt the city, trapping refugees between an inferno and
European ships – who were neutral and would not intervene. Jennings
did, and saved hundreds of thousands. An extraordinary if grim read.