Author: Jagharian Tania

FIRST EVENT DEDICATED TO 75th ANNIVERSARY OF ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY HELD AT SYNOPSYS ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
May 1, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 1, NOYAN TAPAN. Education-science-production cooperation
between State Engineering University of Armenia (SEUA – "Polytechnic")
and Synopsys company will be contagious for many, while the RA National
Assembly is ready to encourage and assist with Synopsys’ initiatives,
the speaker of the NA Tigran Torosian during the April 29 festive
event dedicated to 75th anniversary of SEUA. The event was organized
by Synopsys Armenia CJSC – Armenian subsidiary of Synopsys company,
world leader in electronic automated design.

In the words of Rich Goldman, Vice President for Strategic Market
Development of Synopsys and CEO of Synopsys Armenia, SEUA is a
very important university for Armenia and one of the most famous
universities which prepared a great number of qualified engineers
and political figures.

"We are proud of having such good relations with SEUA. It is obvious
that this university will make a great contribution to the the
country’s building," he said.

General manager of Synopsys Armenia Hovik Musaelian in his turn
stated that over the 75 years of its existence, SEUA has implemented
its major mission by ensuring an efficient "university-production"
cooperation. According to him, although Synopsys cooperates with nearly
500 universities worldwide, the company management has repeatedly
noted that the cooperation with SEUA in Armenia is unique by its
nature and significance. The fact that an interdepartmental chair
"Microelectronic Systems and Chips" functions at SEUA shows that
the company has established quite serious cooperation with the
university. About 300 students study at the chair. Nearly 30% of
Synopsys Armenia’s employees are SEUA graduates.

The RA minister of economy Nerses Yeritsian also attached
importance, from the viewpoint of economic development, to the
successful experience of cooperation of Synopsys and SEUA by
education-science-business link. In his words, it is based on this
link that a knowledge-based economy should be built in Armenia. The
state will increase financing of sceintific developments and research,
and the financing experience of Synopsys will be used for calculation
of allocations for this purpose.

Rector of SEUA Vostanik Marukhian said that the event organized by
Synopsys Armenia launches a series of events dedicated to the 75th
anniversary of "Polytechnic", and the fact of holding this event at
Synopsys Armenia shows that the cooperation of SEUA and Synopsys, which
began four and a half years ago, is bearing fruit. In this respect he
considered it imporatnt that some graduates of SEUA interdepartmental
chair "Microelectronic Systems and Chips" now teach at the university,
which contributes to rejuvination of the teaching staff.

"FINANCES. LOANS. INSURANCE AND AUDIT EXPO-2008" EXHIBITION OPENS IN YEREVAN

armradio.am
02.05.2008 15:52

"Finances. Loans. Insurance and Audit Expo-2008" Exhibition opened
in Yerevan today.

Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, organized by LOGOS EXPO
Center Company, the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia
Artur Javadyan stated that "by joint efforts we will be able to
increase the level of the financial competence of citizens and support
the effective development of the financial system of Armenia."

"The exhibition is meant to improve the understanding of the society on
the provided financial service in Armenia. Organization of such events
is an important step from the point of view of securing transparency
of the financial system and protecting the rights of consumers of
financial services," Artur Javadyan stated. He added that training
programs will be organized this year within the framework of Central
Ban’s arrangements aimed to protect consumer rights.

"We will carry out such measures in future as well, informing the
society on the programs and tasks of the banking system of Armenia,"
the Chairman of the Union of Banks of Armenia Emil Soghomonyan stated.

Over 25 organizations are participating in the exhibition that will
continue through May 4th.

The following sections are presented at the exhibition: banking;
banking services for legal entities and individuals; mortgage
crediting; crediting of small and medium enterprise; consumer
express-crediting; car crediting; financial consulting; investment
management; insurance; realtor and assessment services; audit services.

The exhibition is conducted with the support of the Ministry of
Economy, the Central Bank of Armenia, the Armenian Development
Agency, the Union of Bank of Armenia, the Union of Manufacturers and
Entrepreneurs of Armenia.

EU GIVES CAUTIOUS WELCOME TO TURKEY’S FREEDOM OF SPEECH BILL

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
April 30 2008

The European Union gave a cautious reception Wednesday to amendments
approved by the Turkish parliament on its infamous Article 301 of
the criminal code regulating freedom of speech, reported the dpa.

In a statement issued on behalf of all 27 EU member states, the bloc’s
presidency called it "a constructive step forward".

"We look forward to its effective implementation. This step is both
positive for Turkey and an indication of Turkey’s continuing commitment
to the reform process," the statement added.

The European executive, the commission, said it was now looking
forward to "further moves to change similar articles in the penal
codes" so as to ensure an end to unwarranted prosecutions.

"Now the Turkish authorities need to focus on the implementation of the
reform to guarantee freedom of expression for all Turkish citizens,"
a commission spokesman said.

Late on Tuesday, Turkey’s lawmakers agreed to rewrite Article 301,
replacing "insulting Turkishness" with "insulting the Turkish nation".

The approved amendments also reduce the maximum prison sentence that
courts may inflict on offenders, from three to two years, and makes
the opening of court cases subject to approval by the justice minister.

The EU and human rights groups have long campaigned for changes to
the law, which have been used to prosecute hundreds of writers and
intellectuals. Of these, the most prominent has been Nobel laureate
Orhan Pamuk and ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was murdered
after being found guilty of "insulting Turkishness".

Article 301 has also been cited by opponents of Turkey’s entry into
the EU as evidence that it cannot join the bloc.

FREEDOM HOUSE MEDIA REPORT PAINTS BLEAK PICTURE FOR CENTRAL ASIA, CAUCASUS
Deirdre Tynan

EurasiaNet, NY –
April 29 2008

The news is bleak for media outlets in the Caucasus and Central Asia,
according to an annual report released by Freedom House on April
29. And the forecast calls for periods of repression, heavy at times.

Press freedoms worldwide are under threat, but the drift toward
repression in the former Soviet Union is the most pronounced and
alarming, said Karin Karlekar, the managing editor of the report,
Freedom of the Press 2008. "It’s very worrying. In past years we’ve
seen declines in the worst performing countries, but what’s interesting
this year is that we’ve seen declines in the whole region, from the
better performing countries all the way down to the worst performers,"
she said.

Freedom of the Press 2008 rates countries as free, partly free or
not free across three categories: the legal environment in which
media outlets operate; political influence on reporting and access to
information; and economic pressures on content and the dissemination of
news. Countries were scored on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing
total government control over mass media, and zero indicating perfect
freedom. [For a look at the entire table, click here].

"There were a wide range of trends. In the better performing countries
there was increasing pressure from governments on public broadcast
media. We noted in several of the mid-range countries there were
downward trends. In Kyrgyzstan that was mostly connected to the
political environment. In Georgia, political polarization, elections
and the state of emergency led to a crackdown on media. Armenia had
a similar sort of experience with pre-election tensions." In the 2008
survey Kyrgyzstan received a score of 70, Georgia 60 and Armenia 66.

Perennial human rights bad boys – Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – were,
not surprisingly, found at the bottom of the Freedom House table.

Despite Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s oft-stated
desire to liberalize, Turkmenistan retained its title as the most
media unfriendly state in Caspian Basin. Ashgabat’s total of 96
in 2008 remained unchanged over its tally the previous year. In
the world, only Burma and North Korea received a worse score than
Turkmenistan’s. "The government retained its absolute monopoly over
all media, directly controlling not only media outlets, but also the
printing presses and other infrastructure on which they depended,"
the Freedom House report stated.

Berdymukhamedov in recent weeks has demanded that state-controlled
mass media outlets improve the quality of programming. He added
that journalists should be more "creative" and trained by foreign
professionals. However, Karlekar countered that the media situation
in Turkmenistan is so debased "it would be difficult to say what
could be done to improve it."

"We were hoping to see some positive changes in Turkmenistan [after
the death of former dictator Saparumat Niyazov] but there’s been
scant change, which is very disappointing," she added.

Uzbekistan registered a 92 score in the 2008 report, up from its
91 the previous year. "The aftermath of government clampdowns in
2005-2006 left an already barren media landscape even more desolate
in 2007," this year’s report states. "Despite nominal constitutional
guarantees, Uzbek authorities showed no respect for freedom of speech
or of the press."

"Virtually all media were linked either directly or indirectly to the
[Uzbek] state, and the government used them to present a carefully
constructed picture of an ideal reality, with occasional forays into
limited criticism," the report continued.

After Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan proved the most
state most hostile to independent media. Astana saw its 2008 score
stand at 78, a two-point increase over the previous year. "Political
events underscored the overwhelming extent of partisan ownership and
presidential influence," the report said. [For background see the
Eurasia Insight archive]. Independent-minded journalists continue to
encounter "harassment and obstacles, including criminal charges and
civil libel suits," the report continued.

Azerbaijan and Tajikistan trailed just behind Kazakhstan, each
country receiving a score of 77. In examining Dushanbe’s conduct,
the report criticized the introduction of amendments criminalizing
libel and defamation on the internet, featuring penalties of up to
two years in prison. It also noted the government’s manipulation of
the judicial system to harass journalists and editors, and licensing
difficulties for both domestic and foreign media outlets.

Azerbaijan, the report points out, remains one of the world leaders in
imprisoning journalists. "Fearful of a ‘color revolution’ scenario,
the government continues to clamp down on all opposition media and
has no tolerance for criticism," the report added.

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF POLAND HOLDS PROCESSION IN MEMORY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

Noyan Tapan
April 29, 2008

WARSAW, APRIL 29, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. On April 24, the
Armenian community of Poland held a silence procession dedicated
to the memory of Armenian Genocide victims. The peaceful procession
started from the Blessed Virgin church and finished near the Embassy
of Turkey with an action of protest. The demonstrants carried flags,
placards, and candles.

AHARON CHILINGARIAN APPOINTED FIRST DEPUTY HEAD OF STS

Noyan Tapan
April 28, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, NOYAN TAPAN. People expect changes to be made in
tax administration sector too, and Armenia has no right to yield
to regional countries in this sestor’s development, even though
international organizations noted that tax administration is not
so good in the country, the Armenian prime minister Tigran Sargsian
stated on April 28 when introducing the first deputy head of the RA
State Tax Service (STS) Aharon Chilingarian to the STS staff.

Describing A. Chilingarian as an honest and decent person, the prime
minister said that he is also one of the best experts in this sphere.

In the State Tax Service, A. Chilingrian will coordinate the program
of reforms in tax administration. Prior to this appointment, he worked
at Aharon Paradigma consulting company.

DINK MURDER TRIAL SHOULD BRING COUNTRYWIDE ACCOMPLICES TO JUSTICE, URGE LAWYERS
Erol Onderoa~^Lu

BÄ°A, Turkey
April 28 2008

15 months later, with a hearing nearly every three months, the court
has still not determined all the responsible parties in Hrant Dink’s
murder trial. The lawyers do not think "a few young men planned
the murder."

The accused murderers of Hrant Dink, the slained editor of bilingual
Turkish-Armenian biweekly newspaper Agos, will appear before the judge
for the fifth time 15 months after the murder. On 28 April hearing
(Monday), the remaining questionings are expected to be completed.

The Istanbul 14th Criminal Court, which tries the 19 defendants,
eight of whom are arrested, had demanded at the previous hearing that
the physical surveillance reports and telephone records concerning the
arrested defendants Yasin Hayal and Mustafa Ozturk. It is established
now that Yasin Hayal was under the surveillance of the Trabzon
Police Department, a major province in the eastern Black Sea region
of Turkey, and is accused of inciting the killing, facing strict
life imprisonment. Similarly accused Mustafa Ozturk is a member of
Alperen Ocakları (translated roughly as Hero-Saint Hearths), a far
right nationalistic youth group linked to the Great Unity Party (BBP).

It is not known whether the reports will show a connection between
the Trabzon police, Alperen Ocakları and the Great Unity Party (BBP).

However, during the previous trial, the court had removed the
obligation that the head of BBP Trabzon provincial organization YaÅ~_ar
Cihan, the member of the Central Decision and Executive Committee of
BBP Halis Egemen and the two other people should join the hearings. Not
arrested, these defendants are charged with sentences of up to ten
years in jail for "being members of a terrorist organization."

Lawyer Cinmen: It was planned in Alperen Ocakları, the killers were
protected According to Ergin Cinmen, one of the lawyers of the slained
victim, who petitioned the court on February 22, there are indications
that the murder was planned at Alperen Ocakları: the statement
by Erhan Tuncel, who is being tried as the "inciter brother," that
"I still have the key to Alperenler Ocagı"; his picture with the
BBP leader Muhsin Yazıcıoglu; the fact that his place of work is
Alperen Ocakları and that his Alperen Ocakları connection was Ozturk.

The lawyers of the slained victim think that the killing of the
journalist on January 19, 2007 is not "a murder planned together by
a few young men and executed in spite of the authorities; they claim
that the local security units supported this group.

Ä°stanbul Police Department under investigation; except Cerrah

The court did not see the need to connect the ongoing trials of
the two police officers in Samsun, a Black Sea town near Trabzon,
and the two gendarmerie officers in Trabzon with the hearings of the
Dink trial. The police officers are accused of dereliction of duty,
as they had their picture taken with the accused triggerman O.S. and
the gendarmerie officers are accused with not preventing the murder
and hiding the evidence.

Following the lack of jurisdiction decision by Istanbul Chief
Public Prosecutor’s Office, Fatih Public Prosecutor’s Office,
also in Istanbul province, had opened an investigation into the
involvement of Istanbul’s chief of police Celalettin Cerrah and the
other Istanbul police department officers who are accused of not
taking into consideration the warnings before the Dink murder.

Recently, it had made it into the headlines that the Provincial
administrative Council of the Istanbul Governorship allowed the
investigation proceed only for Ahmet Ä°lhan Guler, the Head of the
Intelligence Office for the Istanbul Police Department, and the six
police officers but kept Cerrah out of it.

Upon hearing the confession "It was not us, but our superiors
who neglected their duties" of the two gendarmerie officers who
are tried for dereliction of duty in Trabzon, the lawyers of Dink
family petitioned the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office for having
Trabzon’s former Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Colonel Ali Oz and nine
gendarmerie officers brought to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s
Office to be tried in the murder case.

The purpose of the lawyers is to combine the trials of police and
gendarmerie officers in Samsun and Trabzon and perhaps the possible
trial of Cerrah and the officers tied to him in Istanbul with the
Dink’s murder trial.

–Boundary_(ID_hI8acMwImraidDf1aRbUAA)–

Economic Times, India
April 27 2008

Armenian PM welcomes Turkish dialogue request
27 Apr, 2008, 2205 hrs IST, PTI

YEREVAN: Armenia is ready to start dialogue with Turkey on improving
relations if Ankara does not set preconditions to talks, Armenia’s new
prime minister said on Sunday.

The two neighbours have no diplomatic links after Ankara severed ties
in protest against Armenian control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region
over which Armenia fought Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan in a war in the
early 1990s.

"I confirm the readiness of the government of Armenia to engage in
constructive dialogue and establish relations without preconditions,"
the press office of the Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarksyan said
he wrote in a letter to Turkey.

An Armenian backed administration controls the Nagorno-Karabakh
region. Armenia and Azerbaijan are still officially at war over the
mountainous area.

Last week Turkey’s foreign minister said he had sent Armenia a letter
calling for dialogue. Armenia is a mainly Christian state of around 3
million which lies on the edge of the Caucasus which hosts a pipeline
pumping oil to Europe from Asia. Armenia also accuses Turkey of
genocide during violence at the end of World War One.

Turkey denies the accusations and says that both Christian Armenians
and Muslim Turks died in fighting. "I assure you that our efforts will
be aimed at ensuring peace, tolerance and stability in our region,"
Sarksyan told Turkey in the letter. Sarksyan took over as prime
minister earlier this month. He had previously been central bank
chief.

Zenit News Agency, Italy
April 26 2008

Mass in Rome Marks Armenian Massacre

Monsignor Hopes World Comes to Recognize Genocide

By Robert Cheaib

ROME, APRIL 25, 2008 (Zenit.org).- A Mass in Rome celebrated by the
rector of the Pontifical Armenian College was among many events
marking the 93rd anniversary of the slaughter of thousands of
Armenians.

Monsignor Hovsep Kelekian celebrated the Mass in the Armenian church
of St. Nicholas of Tolentine.

He lamented the lack of an official international recognition of the
"’metz yeghern (great calamity) of the genocide" and expressed his
hope that "the genocide of the Armenian people be recognized by the
whole world" because "it is a fact."

In 1915 and the following years, vast numbers of Armenians were killed
within the Ottoman Empire as it broke apart. April 24, the day the
massacre began, is marked as Genocide Day in Armenia. The massacre
began that day when hundreds of intellectuals, doctors, lawyers,
journalists, priests and other representatives of the Armenian culture
and politics were arrested and eventually killed.

"We have gathered today to honor our martyrs and give thanks to our
relatives who gave us this life we live today," Monsignor Kelekian
said. "We hope that we can faithfully transmit to our descendants what
we have inherited — our faith and our Armenian culture."

After the Mass, prayers were said before the Khatc’kar memorial
erected in 2006 in memory of the victims.

The memorial Mass for the some 1.5 million victims was one of the
events of the awareness campaign led by the council of the Armenian
community of Rome.

L’Osservatore Romano today noted a petition from recently elected
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian that the international community
recognize the massacre. He said Thursday that such recognition is a
priority of his presidency.

Armenia’s goal is not revenge, Sarkisian added. "We are willing to
establish normal relations with Turkey even tomorrow, without
preconditions, but the denial of the genocide has no future, above all
now that many countries around the world have united their voices to
the chorus of the truth."

L’Osservatore Romano noted that 22 countries recognize the massacre as
genocide. Turkey denies that the killings were a systematic "genocide"
and considers it a crime to use that term to refer to the event.

[Marta Lago contributed to this article]

KAROYAN CALLS FOR TURKISH RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915.

Famagusta Gazette, Cyprus
April 24 2008

House President Marios Karoyan has reiterated the support of the
House to the demand of the Armenian people for the recognition of
the Armenian genocide of 1915.

In an address, at an event organised by the Committee in Memory of
the Armenian Genocide, Karoyan noted that "We recall the huge crime,
we honour the victims of the Armenian genocide and we condemn once
again the atrocious crime and the criminals."

Karoyan called on Turkey to recognise and admit its crime and to
apologise to the Armenian people and humanity as a whole.