Author: Jilavian Emma

TURKISH SOLDIER DENIES ANY INFORMATION ON DINK MURDER

Hurriyet
July 21 2008
Turkey

An officer of the Turkish army rejected Monday the claims of being
informed prior to the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink.

"I don’t remember any document regarding the assassination of Hrant
Dink," Colonel Ali Oz, the gendarmerie field officer of Trabzon at
the time of incident said in his interrogation in the northwestern
province of Bursa.

Oz and Captain Metin Yildiz claimed for failing to act on information
received prior to the assassination. Turkey’s northeastern province
Trabzon governor’s office gave the permission for the investigation
after assessing a report of the inspectors from the Turkish Interior
Ministry on Sunday.

Dink, editor in chief of Agos newspaper, was shot dead outside the
offices of the paper in Istanbul in January, 2007. Police arrested
the gunman and a suspected associate who was identified as Yasin Hayal.

The trial began in July 2007. Prosecutors have asked for a prison term
of 18 to 24 years for Dink’s assassin Ogun Samast and life sentences
for two key suspects, Erhan Tuncel and Hayal for inciting to murder.

"Turkey should have opened its border with Armenia still long ago to
make Amenian economy dependent on Turkey, not Russia"

ANS
19.07.2008 21:35

Political scientist Zardust Alizadeh told ANS PRESS while commenting on
prospects of opening of Turkey-Armenia borders.

"Azerbaijan shouldn’t accept opening of Turkey-Armenia borders as a
tragedy. This event has to take place at some point. I’m happy that
South Caucasian region starts to assess the events in view of reality."
Political scientist Zardust Alizadeh told ANS PRESS while commenting on
prospects of opening of Turkey-Armenia borders. He said if borders
open, it will be wrong to expect any concession from Azerbaijani side
on Qarabaq conflcit. "Qarabaq problem can be solved only owing to
efficient policy of Azerbaijan. This issue can be solved by noone
except us."

Alizadeh supposes, Turkey should have opened its border with Armenia
still long ago in order to make Amenian economy dependent on Turkey,
but not Russia. "In this case Turkey would have a great influence
opportunity on Armenia. Moreover, this situation can have a possitive
effect on Daqliq Qarabaq conflict settlement." /ANS PRESS/

ILLEGAL IMPORT FROM UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Panorama.am
17:27 18/07/2008

The representatives of State Customs Committee have revealed two cases
of illegal import of domestic equipments. According to the press and
public relations department of the Committee an attempt was made to
import expensive TV sets, domestic cinema, refrigerator and vacuum
cleaner from United Arabic Emirates.

Customs department of Bavria has revealed another 8 cases of illegal
importing. 60kg caviar, 6tones of office maintenance and clothes and

AVETISSIAN SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS IMPRISONMENT

A1+
16 July, 2008

Aslan Avetissian, resident of Ararat region, member of the Yerkrapah
Volunteer Union (YKM) and Levon Ter-Petrossian’s proxy, was sentenced
to a six months’ imprisonment on July 16. The verdict was brought in
by Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash districts
after a four hours’ consultation.

Aslan Avetissian was charged with calls for mass disorders and threats
against policemen /Article 225 of the RoA CC/.

Note, Prosecutor Hovsep Sarkissian had requested to sentence Avetissian
to a 1, 6-year imprisonment. Avetissian didn’t plead guilty of
the crime.

Advocate Liparit Simonian finds the verdict unfair. He is going to
appeal the verdict in a higher instance. Simonian says courts are
not independent in Armenian.

ARIF BABAYEV: "YEREVAN RECOGNIZES THE VICTORY OF AZERBAIJAN’S ATTACKING TACTICS IN THE INFORMATION WAR"

Azeri Press Agency
July 14 2008
Azerbaijan

Chief of the press-service of the Ministry of National Security of
Azerbaijan Arif Babayev interviewed with APA on the Serzh Sargsyan’s
thought at the meeting of Armenian National Security Service about
the coordination of information war by this organization…

-Frankly speaking this information doesn’t surprise us. I think it
is appearance of the conceptual essence of Armenian state policy,
including information aggression against Azerbaijan. We evaluate it
as Yerevan’s recognition before victory of Azerbaijan’s real and true
tactics of attack on the contrary with the Armenian false, lying and
slanderous information aggression.

Armenian special services planned and organized terrorist-diversionist
attacks against Azerbaijan after it achieved the independence and it
was proved by the operational investigation and judicial rules. As
a result of state terrorism and aggressive separatist policy of
Armenia against Azerbaijan, tens of terrorist attacks were committed
in Azerbaijan and thousands of our citizens were killed and wounded.

Armenian special services committed terrorist attacks against the
railways, navigation and Baku Subway and other significant state-run
facilities to create horror among the peaceful population and to
paralyze the strategic infrastructure for occupation of Azerbaijani
territories. Concrete organizers of those attacks were proved by the
evidences and facts and some of the terrorists were arrested, but
despite that if they work for the Armenian special services even now,
it shows what is the main mission of those bodies.

-What measures are the Azerbaijani special services taking against
the anti-Azerbaijan activity of Armenian relative bodies?

-Generally, the national security organizations together with other
relative government bodies are taking preventive measures against
all possible threats against national interests of Azerbaijan and
continuing this activity.

President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Mr. Ilham Aliyev is directly
leading the formation and realization of the country’s domestic and
foreign policies for the reliable protection of national interests of
Azerbaijani people and state. The successful implementation of this
strategy, as well as creation of useful environment for the political
course of the country’s leadership toward the solution to the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict is one of the priorities of the Ministry of National
Security. According to the President’s recommendation to keep attacking
position in the Nagorno Karabakh issue, the Ministry of National
Security together with other relative governmental organizations
provides appropriate activity in this direction and carries out
long-term comprehensive measures in the field of information war and
delivering information about the Azerbaijan’s realities to the world,
within its authorities and attacking and sequent tactics.

We all shouldn’t lose our vigilance because we know from the history
that how insidious are our enemies and we should never forget it. We
have to closely unite around President Ilham Aliyev for liberation
of our lands from the occupation and making Azerbaijan strongest and
most developed country.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a guarantor of security for Armenia

2008-07-14 17:26:00

ArmInfo. Nagorno-Karabakh is a guarantor of security for Armenia
against possible aggression of Azerbaijan as the security zone
consisting of 7 liberated regions with the NKR’s territory are a kind
of shield for Armenia, Head of public-scientific center Modus Vivendi,
former ambassador of Armenia to Canada Ara Papyan said during a
roundtable "Principles of the foreign policy of Armenia", Monday. "In
this context, conversations about ceding a region to Azerbaijan are
simply irrelevant as loss of even one region may lead to irreparable
consequences. In this case, Armenia may turn from the guarantor of
NKR’s security into a conflicting party as the possibility of
resumption of military actions will increase to a considerable extent",
he noted.

Papyan said, today’s attempts of the OSCE Minsk Group in the Karabakh
peace process look strange at least, as the mediators give the priority
to Stalin’s Constitution of the USSR, on the basis of which
Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhijevan joined the Azerbaijani SSR. "The only
document on the basis of which the conflict settlement should be
carried out, is the report adopted at the Paris Congress in 1920", he
noted.

According to the report, all the territorial disputes between the
republics of the South Caucasus should be settled on the basis of a
consensus between the leaderships of these republics, or on the basis
of ethnographic belonging of population if there is no consensus.
"Armenia should exert every type of effort to carry out the peace
process in the necessary course, particularly, in the course of
agreements reached due to US President Woodrow Wilson during the Paris
Congress and Sevr Agreement", Papyan said in conclusion.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Turkish President unlikely to arrive in Armenia
12.07.2008 13:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ If Russia recognizes territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t recognize the right of
nations to self-determination, for Karabakh has never been a part of
independent Azerbaijan, said Aghvan Vardanyan, member of ARF
Dashnaktsutyun.

`We closely watch the developments in Karabakh, where a new model of
statehood is being formed, the authorities enjoy public confidence and
serious programs are being implemented,’ he said.

Commenting on Serzh Sargsyan’s statement about the possibility of
formation of a commission of historians, Vardanyan said, `Armenian
Genocide is an undisputable fact and the President knows that. Any
official representing Armenia can’t have a different opinion. The fact
of Genocide doesn’t belong to the past but is an issue of security of
our nation.’

Asked whether Turkish President will arrive in Armenia, the ARFD
Bureau member said, `I don’t understand how a man, who imposed
blockade and set conditions to Armenia, can visit our country. Our
party has exact position on the issue and we will never negotiate with
him,’ IA Regnum reports.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Countries yielding to Azerbaijan’s provocations hamper Karabakh process
10.07.2008 19:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ If one of the sides speaks of one principle and
completely ignores the other, it seriously hampers talks for the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, Armenia’s Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian said when commenting on priority of the principle of
territorial integrity Azerbaijan constantly mentions about.

`The countries, which yield to Azerbaijan’s provocations, undermine
the peace process. No one should doubt that the conflict can be
resolved only through recognition of the NKR people’s right to
self-determination,’ he said. `Some 80 states were recognized in
1950-ies. Majority of current 192 UN member states became independent
through their right to self-determination.’

`It’s obvious that oil and gas income create an illusion of
power. This illusion was the main cause of Karabakh war, the
consequences of which are well known to everybody,’ the Minister said.

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS TO BE HELD IN 97 SYUNIK COMMUNITIES IN
OCTOBER

1

KAPAN, JULY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Local self-government elections have been
fixed in 97 out of 109 communities of Syunik for October 12. As Noyan
Tapan correspondent was informed by Vache Grigorian, the Head of the
Department Coordinating Activity of Territorial Services of Local
Self-government and Republican Executive Bodies of Syunik Prefecture,
community head and council of elders members elections will be held in
77 communities, community head elections in 5 communities, and council
of elders members elections in other communities.

It was mentioned that local self-government elections will be also held
in the region’s communities, where the term of community head and
council of elders authorities finishes in November-December.

November 12 has been fixed the term of completion of authorities of
local self-government bodies functioning at present, and the newly
elected bodies will assume their powers on November 13.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT ASKS CITIZENS TO BE MORE LAW ABIDING

Interfax News Agency
July 7 2008
Russia

President Serzh Sargsyan has urged Armenian citizens to abide by
national laws.Armenia marked Constitution Day on Saturday, and the
president addressed the nation.

This country and all of us must respond to new challenges. We cannot
do that without respect for the constitution and laws, the presidential
press office cited Sargsyan to Interfax.

We are passing through a crucial period. Once this period is over,
we must become more law-abiding, more democratic and better organized,
he said.

Sargsyan wished Armenian citizens to be determined in the
implementation of Armenian development programs.