Author: Kafian Jirair

GAMES OF 20th TOUR OF STAR ARMENIAN FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HELD

Noyan Tapan

Se p 22, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The games of the 20th tour of
Star Armenian Football National Championship took place on September
21. The following results were recorded: Gandzasar- Ararat 0 to 0,
Mika – Ulis 0 to 0, Shirak – Banants 1 to 1, Kilikia – Pyunik 0 to 1.

Currently the tournament table is the following: Pyunik 43, Ararat
43, Mika 35, Gandzasar 34, Banants 29, Ulis 19, Shirak 12, Kilikia
9 points.

ANCA URGES U.S. GOVERNMENT TO REVIEW RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.09.2008 14:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
has called on members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to
closely scrutinize ten serious shortcomings in the Administration’s
handling of the U.S.- Turkey relationship, during the September
24th confirmation hearing for James Jeffrey to serve as the next
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey.

The ANCA has, in connection to the confirmation process, circulated
the list of "Top 10 Bush Administration Failures in U.S.-Turkey
Policy" to Senate offices, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian
told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Among the main failings listed in the letter was its strident attacks
on growing bipartisan movement toward U.S. recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, including President Bush’s firing of Ambassador to Armenia
John Evans, and the "sad public spectacle," in October of 2007, of
the Administration caving in to Turkey’s threats against Congressional
recognition of this crime against humanity.

The full list is as follows:

1) The Bush Administration’s failure, in early 2003, to secure Turkish
cooperation in opening a vitally needed northern front against Iraq.

2) The Bush Administration’s tacit approval for successive invasions
of northern Iraq that have threatened to destabilize the territory
of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

3) The Bush Administration’s lack of any meaningful response to
Turkey’s increasingly close ties with Iran and Syria.

4) The Bush Administration’s contribution to the downward spiral of
Turkish public favorable ratings for the United States, which are at
12% according to the Pew Research Center.

5) The Bush Administration’s firing, in 2005, of the well-respected
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, over the Turkish government’s
objections to his truthful statements about the Armenian Genocide.

6) The Bush Administration’s sad public spectacle, in October of 2007,
of caving in to Turkey’s threats against the U.S. Congress’ recognizing
a crime against humanity. (This capitulation was compounded by the
decision of the President to send two of his Administration’s senior
officials, Under Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman and Assistant
Secretary of State Dan Fried, to Ankara to personally apologize for
America for the House Foreign Affair Committee’s approval of this
human rights legislation.)

7) The Bush Administration’s refusal to apply any meaningful pressure
on Turkey to lift its illegal blockade of Armenia.

8) The Bush Administration’s failure to take any concrete steps to
end Turkey’s closure of the Halki theological seminary.

9) The Bush Administration’s ill-advised efforts to legitimize
the illegal Turkish occupation of Cyprus by, among other actions,
facilitating U.S. and international access to illegal ports of entry
in the northern parts of this sovereign island nation.

10) The Bush Administration’s shameful silence on one of the highest
profile human rights cases in recent Turkish history, the prosecution
and official Turkish government intimidation of journalist Hrant
Dink, until after his assassination in January of 2007 on the streets
of Istanbul.

ARMENIA ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO STRENGTHENING MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL COOPERATION WITH NATO

DeFacto Agency
2008-09-18 15:37:00
Armenia

YEREVAN, 18.09.08. DE FACTO. The issues referring to strengthening
cooperation between Armenia and NATO Parliamentary Assembly were
discussed in Yerevan on September 17, at the RA FM Edvard Nalbandian’s
meeting with NATO PA Chairman Jose Lello.

According to the RA MFA Press Office, upon completion of the
meeting Minister Nalbandian mentioned importance of strengthening
ties between Armenia and NATO at the level of interparliamentary
contacts and voiced confidence that NATO PA visit to Yerevan would
contribute to development of cooperation between RA Parliament and
NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Edvard Nalbandian noted that Armenia attached great importance to
strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation with NATO, and the fact
that Armenian party participated in a number of projects within NATO
Partnership for Peace programs testified to it.

The interlocutors discussed the issues referring to security and
stability in the region. Minister Nalbandian presented Armenian
party’s viewpoint concerning latest events that had taken place in
the South Caucasus.

Upon the guest’s request RA FM presented current situation around
the negotiation process and perspectives of the Karabakh conflict
settlement, as well as touched on Armenian-Turkish relations.

ARMENIA IN NEW TV CONTROVERSY
By Gegham Vardanian

Institute for War and Peace Reporting
;s=f&o =346723&apc_state=henh
Sept 17 2008
UK

Opposition station hopes Council of Europe will fight for its right
to broadcast.

Government critics in Armenia say a small amendment to a new
broadcasting law is being used to keep the country’s leading opposition
news channel off the air.

Supporters of the A1+ television station, which ceased transmission in
2002 when broadcasting licenses were renewed, are hoping to win the
backing of the Council of Europe, CoE, which has already criticised
the Armenian government’s treatment of the channel.

The new law on TV and radio which parliament passed on September 10
commits the country to moving completely to digital broadcasting by
2015, with parallel analogue and digital transmission from 2010 on.

The government is offering currently active TV stations a chance to
bid for new digital broadcasting licenses from 2010.

The catch, as far as A1+ is concerned, is that the current licenses
are being automatically extended until June 2010, which means that
no other companies will have a chance to enter the market before then.

A1+ was a popular source of alternative news to the pro-government
line, which now dominates the electronic media in Armenia. Its removal
from the airwaves sparked large protests.

Economics minister Nerses Yeritsian, presenting the new bill to
parliament, denied that there was any political agenda behind it or
any link to A1+, saying that postponing the issuing of new licenses
was "the most fair and open mechanism".

"After 2010, when the current licenses expire, everyone will receive an
equal opportunity to take part in a competition and win a broadcasting
frequency," said Yeritsian.

Opposition members of parliament dismissed the minister’s arguments.

"This is an underhand way of stripping A1+ of its chances of going on
air and taking part in a license competition," said Zaruhi Postanjian
of the opposition Heritage Party. "This is being done so that the
market of existing TV companies won’t be extended to include one
more company."

A1+ had hoped to regain its broadcasting rights following a ruling in
its favour issued by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg
in June.

The court ruled that Armenia had breached article 10 of the European
Convention on Human Rights by denying A1+ a license. On September 17,
the court’s decision was sent to the CoE’s ministerial committee,
which will issue specific recommendations to Armenia, and monitor
their implementation every six months.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, PACE, in a
resolution on Armenia agreed on June 25, also referred to A1+ and
called for the national licensing authority "to now ensure an open,
fair and transparent licensing procedure".

When Claudia Luciani, director general for political affairs and
cooperation at the CoE, met the speaker of Armenia’s parliament
Tigran Torosian on September 11 she criticised the way the bill had
been passed the day before.

"The bill was adopted in haste, without any European expertise,"
she said. "It is not a step towards implanting the resolutions of
PACE but a step backwards, which means that both the government
and the national assembly have not taken the proposals in the PACE
resolutions seriously."

Even some pro-government supporters have failed to back the amended
broadcasting law. Armen Ashotian, a parliamentary deputy with the
governing Republican Party and chairman of parliament’s commission on
science, education, culture and youth, abstained on the first reading
of the bill and did not vote in the second and third readings.

"I am not sure that the technical advantages which are meant to
justify the law outweigh the political risks," Ashotian told IWPR.

A statement by five journalistic organisations called for the decision
to be overturned, saying it had "nothing to do with defending
the interests of broadcasters, consumers and the state, nor with
"guaranteeing equal opportunities and preventing market shocks" –
arguments the government has used to justify its amendments.

Movses Hakobian, a legal consultant to the media development
organisation Internews, said the entire law was conceptually flawed.

"There’s no definition of the transition to digital broadcasting,"
said Hakobian. "Even the justification [document] for the bill points
out that it’s currently impossible to make an accurate assessment of
the technical requirements this will impose on the state, its citizens
and the broadcasters, or of what the anticipated costs are. They have
no idea what the cost will be – what’s going to happen if the cost
comes to more than the budget can afford? What will we do?"

Minister Yeritsian responded that the government was seeking the help
of outside experts to ensure that the switch-over works. He said,
"We have a programme, but there are gaps and pitfalls. We have asked
for an international audit to be conducted on this and we need serious
international expertise."

Mesrop Movsisian, the director of A1+, believes that the whole bill
was designed to keep his company off the airwaves.

"It shows that the authorities are so frightened by the possibility
of suddenly hearing an alternative voice that they are once again
resorting to suppressing free speech in Armenia," he said.

Gegham Vardanian is a journalist with Internews in Yerevan.

BAKU CRITICIZES US DIPLOMAT OVER MEETING WITH KARABAKH SEPARATISTS

Lider TV
Sept 14 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s commercial Lider TV has criticized a US diplomat over
visiting the breakaway Nagornyy Karabakh region.

The meeting that the US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group which
mediates a solution to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, Matthew Bryza,
had with Karabakh separatists shows that he wants to see them at the
negotiating table, Lider TV reported on 14 September.

"Matthew Bryza has repeatedly called for this. However, he then claimed
that his remarks were misinterpreted," the TV report said. Bryza
should know that it is Armenia and Azerbaijan who have to resolve
the conflict because it was Armenia that occupied Nagornyy Karabakh,
a region of Azerbaijan, the report added.

"The US diplomat who satisfied Armenians in Armenia will visit
Azerbaijan in a few days and will tell us here what we want to hear,"
the TV report concluded.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 13 2008

No investigation into Ergenekon prosecutors, Justice Ministry announces

A statement from the press office of Justice Minister Mehmet Ali
Å?ahin on Friday announced that his ministry had denied a
request to initiate an investigation into prosecutors working on the
case of Ergenekon, a neo-nationalist gang believed to be the extension
of a clandestine network of groups with members in the armed forces
that planned to overthrow the government.

The possibility of launching a probe into the prosecutors conducting
the Ergenekon investigation had raised concerns in Turkey, where legal
proceedings against courageous judges and prosecutors fighting shadowy
dealings within the state structure are commonplace. However, the
statement released yesterday said the ministry had completed a review
of complaints filed against the prosecutors on the case and found no
reason to start an investigation. The statement said there was no
evidence indicating that the prosecutors have abused their duty,
authority or powers during the course of the investigation, and thus
no need for an investigation into any of them.

Ergenekon gang suspects currently in jail pending trial include
ex-army generals, academics, journalists and bosses of the crime
world.

In the past, another prosecutor in a similar situation, Van prosecutor
Ferhat Sarıkaya — who was investigating a bookstore bombing on
Nov 9. 2005 in the township of Å?emdinli in the southeastern
province of Hakkari, perpetrated by two-noncommissioned officers and a
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) member-turned-informant — was
disbarred by a higher judicial body supervising judges’ and
prosecutors’ dealings after indicting YaÅ?ar
BüyükanÄ&#x B1;t, the then-land forces commander who was
later promoted to chief of general staff.

Several legal figures had expressed concern earlier that the review of
complaints for a probe by the ministry might lead Ergenekon
prosecutors to the same fate as former Van prosecutor Sarıkaya.

What is Ergenekon?
The existence of Ergenekon, a behind-the-scenes network attempting to
use social and psychological engineering to shape the country in
accordance with its own ultranationalist ideology, has long been
suspected, but the current investigation into the group began only in
2007, when a house in Ä°stanbul’s Ã`mraniye district that was
being used as an arms depot was discovered by police.

The investigation was expanded to reveal elements of what in Turkey is
called the deep state, finally proving the existence of the network,
which is currently being accused of trying to incite chaos and
disorder in order to trigger a coup against the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) government.

The indictment made public in July claims that the Ergenekon network
is behind a series of political assassinations carried out over the
past two decades. The victims include a secularist journalist,
UÄ?ur Mumcu, long believed to have been assassinated by Islamic
extremists in 1993; the head of a business conglomerate, Ã-zdemir
Sabancı, who was shot dead by militants of the extreme-left
Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) in his
high-security office in 1996; secularist academic Necip
HablemitoÄ?lu, who was also believed to have been killed by
Islamic extremists, in 2002; and a 2006 attack on the Council of State
that left a senior judge dead. Alparslan Arslan, found guilty of the
Council of State killing, said he attacked the court in protest of an
anti-headscarf ruling it had made. But the indictment contains
evidence that he was connected with Ergenekon and that his family
received large sums of money from unidentified sources after the
shooting.

Eighty-six suspects, 47 of whom are currently under arrest, are
accused of having suspicious links to the gang. Suspects will start
appearing before the court on Oct. 20 and will face accusations that
include "membership in an armed terrorist group," "attempting to bring
down the government," "inciting people to rebel against the Republic
of Turkey" and other similar crimes.

The indictment also says Veli Küçük, believed to
be one of the leading members of the network, had threatened Hrant
Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist slain by a teenager in 2007,
before his murder — a sign that Ergenekon could be behind that murder
as well.

13 September 2008, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN Ä°STANBUL

24 Saati, Georgia
Sept 9 2008

In order to attain energy independence

by Tamar Khorbaladze

Russia using energy resources for political pressure

The international community presently expects Russia to honour the
six-point agreement. According to the most optimistic predictions, the
Russian troops will pull out of the parts of Georgia outside the
separatist provinces. However, along with the military force, Russia
can also use its energy resources for pressure. It has blatantly tried
to exert this kind of pressure not only on Georgia but also on the EU
countries.

[Passage omitted: Temporary suspension of Russian gas supplies to
Poland and Germany coincides with the meeting of the European Council
in Brussels]

For this reason, the search for alternative sources of energy supplies
was one of the central topics of the EU summit. Analysts believe that
the same question was the main factor behind US Condoleezza Rice’s
trip to North Africa. They have suggested that the first visit by a
high-ranking US official to Libya in 55 years was aimed at preventing
Russia and its Gazprom form establishing a monopoly over the country’s
gas reserves. Energy resources were also among the main subjects
discussed during US Vice President Dick Cheney’s visits to Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Ukraine and Italy. However, while the West is looking for
ways of reducing its dependence on the Russian energy supplies, Moscow
continues to use energy resources as a lever for political pressure.

Georgia relying on electricity produced domestically

There are only a few months left before the winter comes. Is Georgia
ready to survive the likely energy pressure? The government is
optimistic. "There are no problems whatsoever in Georgia in terms of
electricity and natural gas", Georgian Energy Minister Aleksandre
Khetaguri has said. He noted that the scheduled repair work is being
conducted now in order to avoid any problems in the winter. Khetaguri
also said that Georgia receives natural gas from different sources and
there will be no problems in that respect in the winter.

Has Georgia really been able to do what Europe is yet to achieve,
i.e. reduce the energy-related threats through the diversification of
energy imports?

Officials from the energy system often emphasize that the country has
effectively stopped importing electricity over the last two years. In
the winter, the country’s power supply consists of the electricity
generated domestically (at the Inguri and other hydroelectric power
stations and the Gardabani power station) as well as the electricity
received from abroad in return for the electricity exported in the
summer. The Inguri power station is still controlled by the Russian
military though representatives of the Georgian energy system have
said that the plant is working in the normal mode and it is impossible
to restrict the supply of electricity to Georgia for purely technical
reasons. The Russian-owned Telasi company is responsible for power
supply in Tbilisi. The Russians also own the 9th and the 10th blocks
of the Gardabani power station that are an important element of the
country’s power supply in the winter. The Georgian government has said
that it is not going to create any problems for the Russian companies
that operate in the country (naturally, no one can say anything in
public as to whether there could be acts of sabotage or whether those
blocks can break down at a critical time the way it used to happen
before the Rose Revolution).

Telasi itself has told 24 Saati that the company continues to operate
as usual. Valeri Pantsulaia, head of the Telasi public relations
service, said that contracts have been signed with the suppliers and
repair work has been completed in Tbilisi’s internal network. There
are some reserves too and Telasi can cope with a 10-15-per cent
increase in power consumption.

Georgia importing natural gas from different sources

As for Georgia’s gas supply, the country does indeed import gas from
different sources today. Specifically, the State Oil Company of
Azerbaijan Republic [SOCAR] resumed supplying the Georgian Gas and Oil
Corporation with gas on the basis of a new contract on 10 May
2008. Under this contract, Georgia is to receive 1.5m cu.m. of gas a
day in 2008. The country received a daily amount of 1.3m cu.m. from
the same source in 2007. Neither party has disclosed the price of
gas. Moreover, the state corporation receives natural gas as part of
the Sah Daniz project, as well as 10 per cent of the gas supplied to
Armenia by Gazprom. According to the official information, the
Georgian state corporation does not buy natural gas from Gazprom
today. However, there are private companies that have direct contracts
with Gazprom. As 24 Saati was told, Tbilkaztransgaz which is
responsible for the capital’s gas supply is one of these companies.
Interestingly, 12 of Georgia’s provinces receive gas from Russia’s
Itera, while the rest of the country receives it from Azerbaijan’s
SOCAR. Despite the diversification of import, analysts have said that,
without Gazprom’s natural gas, it will be impossible to supply the
entire country in the winter. They have also said that an increase in
the price of natural gas is inevitable regardless of whether the
negotiations are conducted by the state or the private companies.

There is another threat: Gazprom has offered to buy all of the gas
extracted in Azerbaijan. Although Azerbaijan’s Trend news agency has
reported that the offer was followed by a similar proposal from
Turkey, the fact is that the question is still being discussed. The
events that have unfolded in recent days indicate that Russia is
planning to use the question of Nagornyy Karabakh to exert pressure on
Azerbaijan.

…

[translated from Georgian]

GEORGIAN-RUSSIAN CONFLICT: RELATIONS WITH THE RA NATIONAL SECURITY

"Noravank" Foundation
12 September 2008

On September 11 of the current year in "Noravank" Foundation was
held a conference on "Georgian-Russian conflict: relations with the
RA national security" participated by state officials, political
and social organizations, think tanks as well as by mass media
representatives.

At the conference were discussed the peculiarities of the
Georgian-Russian conflict, the changes in situation in Sout Caucasus,
the RA national security as well as the problems connected with
Georgian-Russian information war.

By the end of the conference questions were asked to the reporters
and the subject was actively discussed by the conference participents.

HOW DO AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL SCIENTISTS VALUE TURKEY’S RECENT INITIATIVES FOR SOLUTION TO NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT? – OPINION POLL

Azeri Press Agency
Sept 11 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Elnur Mammadli-APA. "The Minsk Group says for years that
Nagorno Karabakh problem is resolved, only details remain, but 17
years later it is clarified that there is no any agreement, it was
imitation only. How we can believe that we will not lose another
17 years with Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s initiative", said
political scientist Vafa Guluzadeh in his interview to APA about
his reaction to Turkey’s recent initiative for solution of Nagorno
Karabakh problem. In his opinion Abdullah Gul said nothing concrete
except common words. "Gul did not say that he talked with Sargsyan
and Armenian troops would leave the occupied regions. There were no
such talks. Therefore these ideas are only the words".

Guluzadeh said the Minsk Group was not working and even if its
composition changed it would give nothing to Azerbaijan. "There is
one question. These lands will be liberated when Russia falls. It is
only imitation to establish groups or to organize meetings in Paris,
Brussels and other places".

Political scientist Rustam Mammadov also said that Russia had a key of
Nagorno Karabakh problem. "The foreign forces, who intend to interfere
it face with Russia’s dissatisfaction and military force. Both Europe
and the United States make step back before this force. It was observed
during the Georgian events. I do not believe that Armenia will make
steps toward the solution of the problem at Turkey’s direction, because
Armenia directly connects with Russia. Armenia will do that what Russia
orders". Mammadov said Turkey also understood that and it made efforts
to solve problems with Armenia only. The scientist said he did not
expect the elimination of the Minsk Group, "because the countries
represented in the Group tried to carry out their interests here".

Political scientist, MP Aydin Mirzazadeh is dissatisfied with activity
of OSCE MG and noted that it was impossible to establish the best
group than it. MP supports Turkey’s mediation and added that Turkey’s
mediation in MG would be good step.

"Co-chairs have been elected with agreement of the conflict
parties. There is need for mediation of Turkey. Armenia has rejected it
every time. If Armenia wants mediation of Turkey, Azerbaijan will agree
to it. All efforts should be made to solve Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Political scientist Gabil Huseynli noted that withdrawal of Russia
from OSCE MG was on the agenda today. To him, the US pursues policy
in this direction.

"Turkey wants to substitute MG with Caucasus Platform. Though
International actors, states defining world policy attach importance to
the role of Turkey in the region, they will not allow official Ankara
to enter OSCE MG. Change of format is real. If Azerbaijan insists on
the issue, probably Turkey can enter the group", he said. To him,
Turkey’s mediation in MG will have considerable influence on the
solution to the problem.

Political scientist, Head of Political Innovation and Technology
Center Mubariz Ahmadoglu positively assessed Turkey’s initiatives for
mediation. Moreover, he did not think that MG could be withdrawn from
the process.

"The relations between the US and Russia are tense and I cannot
imagine that their representatives will sit around the same table
soon. I do not think that MG can be collapsed. The group will function
inactively. It is understood in Turkey as well. I suppose to Turkey’s
mediation seriously. Armenian side is not expected to agree to it",
he said.

LEVON ZURABIAN: BARBARIC ACTIONS OF POLICE AGAINST PEACEFUL PROTESTERS ARE MANIFESTATION OF AUTHORITIES’ FEAR

Noyan Tapan

Se p 11, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN."The ruling regime does not
meet the people half-way, quite the opposite, it is trying to use
every opportunity to restrict citizens’ freedoms and strengthen the
dictatorship," coordinator of the center of the Armenian National
Congress (ANC) Levon Zurabian said at the September 11 press
conference. In his words, the illegal barbaric actions of police
against participants of peaceful protests are continuing, which is
a manifestation of the fear and panic of the authorities.

A statement of the ANC was read at the press conference. According
to the statement, the authorities are trying to use the fact that
the international community’s attention has shifted from the Armenian
problems to the events related to the Russian-Georgian war. "We will
be inflexible in our struggle for restoration of the rights of the
people. We must oppose our people’s love of freedom to the convulsions
of the regime," is said in the statement whose authors invite all
Armenian citizens to attend the September 15 meeting of the opposition.

L. Zuraian informed those present that the process of forming the
ANC’s structures is underway, ANC offices have been opened in all
the districts of Yerevan and in marzes. As for the number of those
who want to join the ANC, Zurabian said that their number makes tens
of thousands. A database with the names of persons who want to join
the Congress has been created at ANC.