Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ARMENIA TO AID FOE TURKEY AFTER QUAKE

Agence France Presse
October 27, 2011 Thursday 1:47 PM GMT

Armenia is to airlift aid to Turkey to help survivors of the
devastating earthquake despite decades of enmity between the two
neighbours, officials said on Thursday.

An Armenian plane carrying 40 tonnes of emergency supplies including
tents, sleeping bags and blankets was set to take off late Thursday,
the emergency situations ministry in Yerevan said in a statement.

The ministry said that Turkey had officially requested the aid from
Armenia.

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian on Sunday offered his Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul assistance and condolences after the quake
which has killed more than 500 people.

“I was saddened to learn the news about the loss of human lives,
the devastation and people buried under debris that resulted from the
earthquake,” Sarkisian said in his message to Gul, which was posted
on his website.

Relations between Yerevan and Ankara have suffered for years over
Turkey’s refusal to recognise the World War I-era mass killings of
Armenians as genocide.

Armenians say that up to 1.5 million of their kin fell victim to
Ottoman Empire forces.

Turkey counters that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as
many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their
Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian forces.

The border between the two countries is closed and Armenia last year
halted the ratification process of a landmark 2009 accord aimed at
establishing diplomatic relations.

FROM TURKEY TO TUNISIA AND BEYOND
By Haroon Siddiqui

The Toronto Star, Canada
October 27, 2011 Thursday

Turkey has become a place of pilgrimage for Arab Spring reformers.

They come here to learn about the “Turkish model” – democratic,
secular, modern and economically successful, attributes not normally
associated with Muslim nations.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is happy to oblige.

A pious Muslim in a striped suit, he led his religiously based Justice
and Development Party to a record third majority in June. In power
since 2002, he has pursued disciplined economic liberalization to
produce record growth – nearly 9 per cent this year, the highest in
the world. He has established civilian control over a military that
used to topple elected governments. He is also the first Turkish
leader to be popular among Arabs – no mean feat, given Arab memories
of imperial Ottoman rule over their lands.

Erdogan was the first Muslim leader to publicly urge Hosni Mubarak
to quit. On Libya, he hesitated initially (Turkish construction
companies had $25 billion in contracts there), but soon abandoned
Moammar Gadhafi and was among the first to help the Libyan rebels
($300 million cash). On Syria, too, he dithered (having spent years
to start Turkish-Syrian visa-free bilateral trade) but called for
Bashar Assad’s departure well ahead of Barack Obama.

Turkey has hosted and helped Syrian dissidents, just as it has
anti-Gadhafi forces as well as a range of veteran politicians and
young bloggers from Tunisia and Egypt.

Last month when Erdogan visited Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, he was
received like a rock star. In Cairo, he urged Arabs to build a secular
and not a religious state.

The advice upset the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest religious
and political group. Theocratic Iran accused him of poisoning Muslim
minds with secular ideas. Tehran’s overreaction only served to remind
people that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not visited a single
Arab Spring nation, indeed is not welcome in any.

On secularism, Erdogan talks about “neo-laicism,” differentiating
it from the old laïcite of Turkey or France. In the 1920s, modern
Turkey’s founder Kemal Ataturk established an authoritarian secularism
that penalized any expression of religion in state institutions.

French laïcite promotes strict separation of church and state (but
privileges Christian churches and schools).

Among those rejecting laïcite is Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of Tunisia’s
Islamic party Ennahda, which on Monday won the country’s first free and
fair election. For him, it evokes bad memories of France, Tunisia’s
former colonial power, as well as the dictatorial regime of Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali, both of which invoked Islam to prolong power.

Nader Hashemi, a native of Toronto and professor of international
relations at the University of Denver, notes that “for a generation of
Arabs, secularism is linked to dictatorship, corruption and nepotism.”

Rejecting authoritarianism means rejecting Saudi Arabia and Iran as
models. Saying no to French laïcite means rejecting a secularism that
selectively demonizes religion.

Turkey is, therefore, “a model very close to what Tunisia wants to be,
one that merges Islam with modernity,” says Ghannouchi.

But there’s also a contrarian view, articulated by Yusuf al-Qaradawi,
the Qatar-based Egyptian scholar: “What we want is neither the
democracy of the East nor the West but rather Islamic democracy.”

Turkey is not an Islamic democracy. It’s a democracy in which Muslims
are a privileged majority.

But Erdogan is moving Turkey away from its Kemalist contradictions –
a secular state that tightly controlled Islam, yet used the Islamic
identity to forge Turkish nationalism that ethnically cleansed the
Greek and Armenian minorities, and forcibly assimilated the Kurds,
the Alevis and the Laz .

Erdogan has extended limited linguistic and cultural rights to the
Kurds (while battling Kurdish separatist insurgency). Recently, he
began returning, or compensating for, Greek and Armenian religious
properties confiscated during the Kemalist era. He’s also making
overtures to the Alevis.

But his biggest challenge is yet to come – promised constitutional
changes to extend rights to Kurds and others.

How Turkey, the only Muslim member of NATO, implements equal

S. NIKOYAN: BAKU’S SUGGESTION AS CONFESSION

Panorama, Armenia
Oct 28 2011

“There is no logic in Azerbaijan’s suggestion, thus we can conclude
that Azerbaijan is faithful to destructive positions and is not
committed to the resolution of NK issue,” said NA Vice Speaker Samvel
Nikoyan to Panorama.am.

Official Baku is intended to develop an initiative according to which
without having agreed over the basic principles, a peace treaty can
be drafted.

“The co-chair states have repeatedly said to advance in negotiations
the basic principles should be agreed on, and only then it could
be possible to pass to new phases. Azerbaijan’s new initiative is
nonsense, since it cannot serve as a right way for the conflict
resolution. Their suggestion cannot be justified and efficient,”
said S. Nikoyan.

Mr. Nikoyan was asked if, 4-5 months later after Kazan, official
Baku had admitted he is the only side to be blamed for the failed
negotiations in Kazan: “OSCE MG co-chairs understood Kazan meeting
was failed because of Azerbaijan, and today Azerbaijan has publicly
admitted he failed the talks.”

ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE OF CONSTANTINOPLE WILL SEND ASSISTANCE FOR QUAKE VICTIMS IN VAN

news.am, Armenia
Oct 28 2011

ISTANBUL. – The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople has also
started collecting donations to help the victims of October 23
earthquake in Van, Turkey.

Armenian Deputy Patriarch of Constantinople, Archbishop Aram Ateshyan,
announced they prefer to provide cash assistance. “In the first phase,
we plan to transfer 40,000 liras [US$ 22,727]. Van is an important
center for all Armenians. It was the patriarchal center for hundreds
of years,” Ateshyan stated, Hurriyet daily of Turkey reported.

ATP STARTS FALL TREE-PLANTING SEASON WITH PARTNERS

Armenian Weekly
Thu, Oct 27 2011

YEREVAN-Armenia Tree Project (ATP) started its fall planting season
partnering with Synopsys Armenia, a world leader in software and
IP used in the design, verification, and manufacture of electronic
components and systems. ATP staff joined approximately 600 employees
of Synopsys Armenia CJSC, their families, and students to plant more
than 600 thuya (arborvitae) evergreen trees in the area surrounding the
European Regional Educational Academy and the Chess Academy of Armenia.

“Armenia Tree Project has been planting trees with Synopsys for almost
seven years now. We started our partnership in 2005 and annual tree
planting events became a unique tradition of the two organizations,”
noted Arthur Harutyunyan, the manager of ATP’s Community Tree Planting
(CTP) program.

The arborvitae trees were grown in ATP’s nurseries in the refugee
villages of Karin and Khachpar. Before the ceremonial event the
planting plots were prepared by ATP, and the trees will be constantly
monitored to ensure the highest possible survival rate.

“As a global company, Synopsys recognizes the responsibilities that
U.S. businesses have abroad. We were humbled to be among the 12
companies selected by the U.S. Department of State for our corporate
citizenship, innovation, and exemplary business practices in Armenia.

We continue to partner with and give back to the local community
by voluntarily planting trees in Yerevan and contributing to the
prosperity of Armenia,” said Chi-Foon Chan, Synopsys president and
chief operating officer.

“On behalf of ATP, I sincerely thank Dr. Chi-Foon Chan and
the employees of Synopsys for their remarkable leadership in
demonstrating corporate social responsibility in Armenia. As part of
our ongoing collaboration, more than 600 participants planted trees
and greenery at the Chess Academy, honoring Armenia as 2011 World
Chess Champions,” said Jeff Masarjian, ATP’s executive director. “In
addition, we planted trees together at the European Academy to mark
its 10 year anniversary. I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to
these institutions.”

“Synopsys employees view tree planting as a way to give back to our
community by reducing air pollution and helping to renew Yerevan’s
commitment to a healthy environment,” said Rich Goldman, Synopsys
Armenia CEO. “It’s heartening to see our employees plant trees with
their families. It helps cultivate a lasting culture of taking care
of the environment in which we live and work.”

ATP and Synopsys have planted thousands of trees in the different
communities of Yerevan, including Viasphere Technopark, Victory Park,
Tsitsernakaberd Park, on a hillside of Nor Nork district, near the
Holy Trinity Church in the Malatia Sebastia community, and along one
of the main routes leading to the genocide museum and in the public
park next to the Pyunic Association for the Disabled.

In November, ATP is partnering with KPMG, a network of member firms
offering audit, tax, and advisory services, to plant 300 trees and
shrubs in Musaler. The site is a shelter and support center for
abused women operated by the Paros Lighthouse Charitable Foundation
in Ptghunq Village.

All around the world, KPMG member firms are committed to the
communities in which they operate and corporate citizenship is at the
heart of each member firm’s values. According to KPMG, people in their
member firms get involved in local projects and initiatives that have
a positive impact on their community. The tree planting with the Paros
Charitable Foundation is an example of applying their values to life.

More than 50 managers from CIS countries will take part in the event
organized within the framework of the New Managers Conference held
by KPMG Armenia.

ATP’s mission is to assist the Armenian people in using trees
to improve their standard of living and protect the environment,
guided by the need to promote self-sufficiency, aid those with the
fewest resources first, and conserve the indigenous ecosystem. ATP’s
three major programs are tree planting, environmental education,
and sustainable development initiatives.

For more information about ATP, visit

ARMENIANS IN TURKEY CONVERT BACK TO CHRISTIANITY

yerkir.am
15:00 – 28.10.2011

A group of Armenians, raised as Sunni Muslims, were baptized on
Sunday, as Armenian Orthodox Christians in the Church of S. Giragos
(Surp Giragos), in the South-Eastern province of Dyarbakir. The church
was reopened on 22 October after two years of restoration work. The
group that was baptized were of Armenian origin, and their ancestors
had been converted after the Genocide of 1915.

There were guests from Armenia and the United States, including the
American Ambassador to Turkey, Francis Ricciardone and the former
Armenian Foreign Minister Raffi Hovhannesian, as well as Archbishop
Vicken Ayvazian, of the Armenian Orthodox Diocese of America. The
restoration was funded by the Armenians of Istanbul and the diaspora.

The main sponsors of the initiative were Vartkes Ergun Ayık, a
businessman of Armenian origin from Dyarbakir and Raffi Bedrosyan,
a former citizen of Istanbul who now lives in Canada.

“We had over 2600 churches and monasteries in Anatolia in the past.

Unfortunately, only a handful of sacred places remain. My request to
Turkey, as a spiritual leader, is that the churches be returned to the
Armenian community, better if they are used for religious services
rather than museums.” Ayavzian said to have been born in Turkey,
in the South-Eastern province of Å~^ırnak and speaks fluent Turkish.

INFORMATION DISPUTES COUNCIL EXPERT CONCLUSION ABOUT THE ARTICLE OF “FOURTH POWER” NEWSPAPER

Noyan Tapan
28.10.2011

Information Disputes Council Expert conclusion about the article “Know
the Pharaoh” published in the 09.04.2011 N322 issue of “Fourth Power”
newspaper and on its website:

1. Details of the Case

On 09.04.2011 an article titled “Know the Pharaoh” was published in
the N322 issue of “Fourth Power” newspaper. The article was about
director of the ARM National Gallery Paravon (Pharaoh) Mirzoyan.

Paravon Mirzoyan turned to the First Instance Courts of General
Jurisdiction of the Center and Nork-Marash administrative districts
of Yerevan (from here on – the Court) demanding that “Fourth Power”
newspaper, which belongs to “Koghmnaki Andzants M” (“Outsiders M”)
LLC, retracts the information that hurts his reputation, and pays the
claimant AMD 3,000,000 as compensation for the damage to his person
and dignity as a result of slanders and insults; and AMD 360,000 –
as compensation for his forensic expenses.

The Court has not yet passed a verdict.

2. The Function of the Information Disputes Council

Taking into consideration the fact that the function of the Information
Disputes Council is to form and publish professional conclusions of
advisory nature about disputes over slanders and insults, based on the
request of “Fourth Power” newspaper the Council has studied the case
and has published its professional conclusion on the disputed article.

3. The Relevant Principles of Local and International Right

According to article 27 of the ARM Constitution:

“Everyone has a right to express his/her ideas freely… Everyone has
freedom of speech, including the freedom to seek, receive, impart
information and ideas, with every information means, regardless of
the state frontiers. The freedom of media outlets and other means of
information is guaranteed…”

According to article 43 of the ARM Constitution:

“The basic human rights and freedoms established by article 27 of the
Constitution… may only be limited by law, if it is necessary in the
democratic society… for the protection of others’ constitutional
rights and freedoms, dignity and good reputation…

The limitations of the basic human rights and freedoms may not exceed
the framework established by the international obligations of the
Republic of Armenia.”

According to article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights
(from here on – the Convention):

“1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall
include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information
and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of
frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the
licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.

2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties
and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions,
restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary
in a democratic society, in the interests of national security,
territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder
or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of
the reputation or the rights of others, for preventing the disclosure
of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority
and impartiality of the judiciary.”

It follows from article 43 of the ARM Constitution and from part 2
of article 10 of the Convention that human freedom of expression may
be limited if the intervention

~U “is anticipated by law”,

~U serves at least one of the “legitimate aims” listed in the article
– in this case human “dignity and good reputation” or “protection
of the morals or rights”, and “is necessary for the democratic
society”. This last condition requires that the Convention decides
whether intervention subject to complaint derives from “urgent social
needs”, whether it is proportional to the “legitimate aims”, and
whether the reasons, brought up by authorities in order to justify
intervention, are “relevant and sufficient”.

4. The Analysis of the Disputed Article

The evaluation of the expressions mentioned in the claimant’s
application for the disputed article is based on the demands of
the case law of the ARM Constitution, article 10 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights,
article 1087.1 of the ARM Civil Code, and on journalistic ethics.

The analysis of the disputed article shows that some of its
expressions are evaluative judgments and present the journalist’s
opinion which is protected by article 10 of the Convention. When
publishing these expressions the journalist used his/her right to
create them in satiric style, which is also protected by article 10
of the Convention. Article 10 not only protects information, but also
the style and way in which it is presented. The remaining disputed
expressions do not lack factual bases.

Meanwhile, the expressions that the claimant qualifies as slandering
were published by another media outlet before, and “Fourth Power”
newspaper once again brought them up, with a relevant referral to
the initial source media outlet.

Evaluating things in their context, the Council finds that when hearing
this case it is preferable to use high level legal protection for part
2 of article 10 of the Convention. This is to say, that in every case
the necessity to intervene in media outlets’ freedom of expression
ought to be assessed based on whether there is an acute public demand
and whether such an intervention is “necessary in the democratic
society”. It is preferable that the Court views this case not only
as competing individual interests, but also from the point of view
of public interests. So, when passing a verdict, the Court may leave
the framework of narrow personal interests and pass such a verdict,
which can create favorable consequences for the public as a whole.

Conclusion

The Information Disputes Council finds that the disputed issue is not
so much in legal field, as it is in the field of journalistic ethics.

Hence, it would have been reasonable and effective if the claimant had
granted the hearing of the case not to the Court, but to non-forensic
bodies, particularly to the body of Ethics Observer, in order to
study and evaluate the disputed article.

POLITICAL FORCES MUST DECIDE PRIORITIES: FOR OR AGAINST SERZH SARGSYAN – ANM OFFICIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 28, 2011 – 19:57 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian National Movement (ANM) board chairman
cited current president Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation as the only
issue on Armenia’s political agenda.

At Armenia National Congress (ANC) opposition bloc rally, Aram
Manukyan urged the country’s political forces to sort out their
priorities. “Political forces must decide to either support Sargsyan’s
resignation or become his clients.”

Manukyan blamed the small number of today’s rally participants
on authorities who “increased the roads’ blockade to prevent ANC
supporters from making it to the demonstration.”

RUSSIA TO ESSENTIALLY AFFECT ELECTION OUTCOME IN ARMENIA

Tert.am
20:12 28.10.11

Moscow will essentially affect the outcome of elections in Armenia even
by expressing opinion about various political forces, former Foreign
Minsiter of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Arman Melikyan has said.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Melikyan said that one of the reasons
he thinks so is that almost half of Armenia’s economy operates with
Russian capital.

“All political forces are trying during the pre-election period and
will try to show their intimate behavior towards Russia,” said he.

In his words, through mutual visits and through all other means such
attempts are being done both by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia
and by the opposition bloc Armenian National Congress, or HAK.

Because the success of this or that team is dependent on Russia as
Armenia’s economy is by 50% related to Russia,” explained Melikyan.

Further, he said that Russia tries to simultaneously keep ties with
various political forces possibly with the aim to shape an atmosphere
of envy, create internal competition to earn Russia’s goodwill.

According to Melikyan, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will
hardly opt for bringing former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
back to office simply because Kocharyan’s name is linked to the 1-2
March 2008 crackdown that left at least ten people killed.

ARF SAYS PROPOSED INCREASE IN 2012 REVENUES SHOULD BE COLLECTED FROM LARGE BUSINESSES AND SHADOW SECTOR

ARKA
Oct 28, 2011

YEREVAN, October 28. / ARKA /. A parliament member from the
opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) said today the
proposed increase in next year’s revenues should be collected from
large businesses and shadow sector. The draft 2012 budget calls for
a 101 billion increase in revenues which is supposed to be secured
by improved tax administration and increase of tax rates.

Speaking at parliament briefing, Hrayr Karapetyan said the proposed
rise in tax revenues is feasible, but added that the main burden
should be on big businesses and the informal sector.

“If tax revenues will be increased at the expense of small and medium
businesses, we will be against it,” said Karapetyan.

He also urged the government to strengthen control over the privatized
entities. According to him, the government should challenge the
privatization agreement in the event of its owner’s failure to respect
their social commitments, in particular job creation.

The head of another parliamentary opposition party’s faction,
Zharangutyun (Heritage) Stepan Safarian, said the government’s plan
may affect small and medium businesses.

“We have already bitter experience … Even children understand that
the tax increase will be a new burden on small and medium businesses,”
he said.

The 2012 draft budget approved by the Cabinet, calls for 910 billion
drams in revenues and 1.042.5 trillion drams in spending. The projected
deficit is 132.5 billion drams. The revenue is projected to increase
by 6.8% from this year’s budget (852.4 billion drams) and the spending
is expected to grow by 41.5 billion drams.