Author: Kajoyan Gevork

RUSSIA CONTINUES WITHDRAWAL OF AMMUNITION FROM GEORGIA

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 7, 2007 Thursday 05:53 AM EST

Russia is continuing the withdrawal of military hardware from
Georgia. On Thursday a train loaded with weapons and ammunition
belonging to the 12th Russia base stationed in Batumi left Georgia
for Russia, a representative of the press and information department
of Russian Land Troops Colonel German Zhitenev told Tass. The train
includes 35 platforms and rail cars that carry five armored tanks,
forty-four pieces of motorized hardware and other military property.

This year thirteen trains and a truck convoy are to deliver ammunition
withdrawn from the 12th Batumi base and the 62nd Russian base in
Akhalkalaki to the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri (Armenia).

In accordance with Russo-Georgian agreements, the 62nd military base
in Akhalkalaki should be shut down by the end of 2007, and the 12th
base stationed on Batumi is to be closed during 2008, Zhitenev said.

U.S. HOUSE FOREIGN AID PANEL PROPOSES $68 MILLION FOR ARMENIA IN 2008

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.06.2007 17:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee on
foreign aid voted to allocate $68 million in fiscal year (FY)
2008 assistance to Armenia, a 48.5% increase over the President’s
budget request earlier this year, but less than the $75 million
sought by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The
State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee also approved $6 million in
direct assistance to Nagorno Karabakh, double the amount allocated
in FY2007. And despite recommendations of ANCA, the subcommittee did
not expand the Nagorno Karabakh aid program from solely humanitarian
to developmental assistance.

As to keeping the military assistance parity between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, the panel voted to allocate $3 million in Foreign Military
Financing assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan and an additional
$300,000 in International Military and Education Training. The foreign
aid bill does not directly set the level of funding for the ongoing
"Caspian Guard Program" in Azerbaijan. The Subcommittee also rejected
efforts by Azerbaijan’s lobbyists to weaken the Section 907 restriction
on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan, which was put in place more than
15 years ago as a response to Baku’s ongoing blockades of Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh. Economic assistance to Azerbaijan was set at
$18 million.

"We look forward to working with our friends on Capitol Hill, both
in the Senate and during the conference committee process, to bring
Armenia’s aid level at least to last year’s level of $75 million, and
to ensure full funding of our request for $10 million in humanitarian
and development aid to Nagorno Karabakh," ANCA Executive Director
Aram Hamparian said. The full House Appropriations Committee is set
to consider the foreign aid bill next week.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS TO BE FREE, FAIR AND TRANSPARENT IN KARABAKH: KARABAKH PRESIDENT

Panorama.am
18:39 07/06/2007

The presidential elections in Karabakh will be free, fair and
transparent and will comply with the standards of a democratic
state, Arkady Ghukasyan, president of Nagorno Karabakh, told a news
conference today. Ghukasyan underscored the elections in terms of
Karabakh’s image in the eyes of the international community. "We
will do everything possible for the elections to be free, fair and
transparent," Ghukasyan declared his commitment. Speaking about
himself, the president said he would stay away from work and take a
rest for some time after the elections.

"I have been in politics for 15 years. I plan to deal with personal
issues. In any case, I will stay in Karabakh. In case the new
authorities need my advice, I will be happy to share," Ghukasyan said.

Nagorno Karabakh presidential elections will take place on July
19. Bako Sahakyan, head of national security services, Masis Mailyan,
deputy foreign minister, Armen Abgaryan, NA deputy, Vani Avanesyan,
professor of Artsakh state university and Hrant Melkumyan, head of
communist party, have been nominated.

CLIENTS STAY IN CONTACT WITH BOOKSELLERS

A1+
[01:57 pm] 06 June, 2007

Book piles in Yerevan streets and crossings attract people’s
attention. Our reporter tried to find out whether book selling is
profitable nowadays.

Most booksellers confess that they sell their own books as they cannot
afford their bare necessities. "I have neither a job nor relative. I
pay 500 AMD for the place," says bookseller Anahit.

Still, there are people who have turned book selling into a profitable
business.

We keep in touch with our clients. They often ring us up and we fetch
the books from their homes to sell here. I don’t pay for the place and
mainly sell special literature, said a bookseller at "Yeritasardakan"
metro station.

Though many are content with book selling, the polling revealed that
books are not a trustworthy source of income as there are few buyers.

RENAULT BUS ADJUSTED TO DISABLED PEOPLE TO BE PRESENTED TO PUBLIC SOON

Noyan Tapan
Jun 06 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The project Availability is Independence,
which is implemented by Disabled Persons’ Union Pyunik in Armenia,
aims at making it possible for disabled people to freely make use of
public transport means. Within the framework of the project during
the June 5 discussion Hakob Abrahamian, Chairperson of Union Pyunik,
mentioned that it is envisaged to put at least 2 transport means in
action as a result of the project, ending on October 1. In his words,
the adjustment of transport means for disabled people is envisaged
by the 2007 annual project of disabled people’s social protection.

Jemma Bagdasarian, Head of the department for the problems of disabled
people and the elderly of RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs,
mentioned that the state budget has allocated no resources for the
solution of this problem. In her words, the Ministry organizes
various discussions in terms of finding variants of the problem
solution. Particularly, the issue of introducing a "social taxi
service" system in the republic for disabled children, having moving
problems, is under discussion.

And Arsen Gasparian, employee of the Transport Ministry of Yerevan
Mayor’s Office, mentioned that one of Renault buses belonging to Bus
LTD of Mayor’s Office, has undergone structural changes, directed to
the disabled people’s service provision. In his words, one of these
days the bus will be introduced to the public and the way of its
productive and purposeful exploitation will be decided. A. Gasparian
also informed that one of the trolley-busses to be brought to Yerevan
this year will be adjusted for disabled people, too.

Armen Alaverdian, Executive Director of Unison NGO, introduced their
version of the problem solution. He mentioned that the RA bill on
"Provision of public places and transport availability for disabled
and slow-moving people" was developed and introduced to NA on the
initiative of the organization. According to the bill, the claim on
providing at least one available transport in each route for the
disabled people should be included among the competitive claims,
announced for the purpose of transporting passengers by buses and
microbuses.

PREVIEW-MODEST HOPES FOR KARABAKH PEACE TALKS
By Jane Barrett

Reuters Alert, UK
June 6 2007

YEREVAN, June 6 (Reuters) – European mediators hope Azerbaijan and
Armenia will agree small steps to improve life for people of the
disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh at peace talks in Russia on
Saturday, even if they make little progress on the main issue of the
breakaway region’s status.

Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian region of Azerbaijan, broke away
in the late 1980s as the Soviet Union disintegrated, triggering a
war between separatists and the Azeri state from 1992-1994. More than
35,000 people were killed.

Since the war, the enclave and lands around it have been controlled by
a separatist army, backed by Armenian volunteers. Karabakh’s minority
Azeri and Kurdish population largely fled during the fighting.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan,
himself a former Karabakh leader, will meet in St Petersburg on
Saturday on the sidelines of a CIS summit amid signs both leaders
will stand by their positions.

One underlying fear is that if dialogue fails, violence could restart,
destablising an area emerging as a major energy producer and a key
oil and gas transport route between the Caspian Sea and Europe.

Mediators from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) said the parties could kickstart talks on a deal, which
would put aside the key issue of who rules the region and focus on
step-by-step rapprochement. "This is a golden opportunity," Miguel
Angel Moratinos, the Spanish foreign minister and current chairman
of the OSCE, which is guiding the negotiations, told reporters during
a visit to the Caucasus region.

The 140,000 population of Karabakh, backed by Armenia, overwhelmingly
voted in December in a referendum to reiterate their commitment to
full independence; but the mountainous region has not been recognised
by any nation.

Armenia is involved in talks on this most intractible dispute in the
former Soviet Union, but it denies being a party to the conflict.

Ahead of the meeting between Aliyev and Kocharyan at the summit of
ex-Soviet states, Armenia’s foreign minister said ensuring Karabakh’s
right to self-determination was paramount.

"If we can do that, I believe we will find solutions to other issues,"
Vardan Oskanyan said.

Azerbaijan wants Karabakh back but says it would give the region a
high level of autonomy.

"The current state of the negotiation process and also the known
statements by the Azerbaijani side in the past two months have left
very little hope for a positive result," Kocharyan’s press office
told Armenian Mediamax news agency.

STEP-BY-STEP SOLUTION

OSCE negotiators say that despite the lack of agreement on the
principal issue there is still a possibility of step-by-step moves
to ease the crisis.

Diplomats said Moratinos likened the proposal to talks between Spain,
Britain and Gibraltar, where the parties agreed to maintain different
opinions on the Rock’s sovereignty but work together on practical
steps to improve life around the area.

The fate of seven Azeri regions outside Karabakh seized by Armenian
nationalists and the return of 600,000 refugees who fled them during
the war could become a topic for discussions.

The OSCE hopes the two countries can agree to work on a "two-step
solution" under which separatists will withdraw troops from the
Azeri regions to facilitate the return of refugees. Azerbaijan would
guarantee the safety of a ground corridor between Karabakh and Armenia.

Both moves could be monitored by international peacekeepers.

Baku has already used part of its booming oil wealth to triple its
military budget in two years to around $1 billion, pretty much equal
to Armenia’s entire government budget.

Karabakh separatists have demanded a direct role in talks, something
Azerbaijan is unlikely to agree to.

Moratinos said once could hardly expect prompt solutions.

"We shouldn’t have false hopes. This is a complex situation and we
have to respect both sides," he said.

LETERME CASTS DOUBT ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Expatica Belguim, Belgium
June 5 2007

BRUSSELS – Flemish Christian Democrat (CD&V) leader and Flemish
minister-president Yves Leterme refuses to use the word "genocide"
to describe the mass killings of Armenians by Turkey in 1915.

Leterme said in an interview with Turkish newspaper Zaman that he
would prefer not to make any pronouncements on the Armenian genocide
but says international institutions are responsible for that kind of
determination, De Morgen reports.

"As a politician I make no judgement on that until the international
institutions have made a pronouncement on it. I hold firm to this
position and have nothing more to add," Leterme confirmed.

His statements put him in line with Dutch Labour leader Wouter Bos
(PvdA), who spoke of the "Armenian issue" rather than the "Armenian
genocide" in the run up to the Dutch elections. The discussion that
followed cost the PvdA votes.

?subchannel_id=24&story_id=40522

HEAD OF NATIONAL TV-RADIO COMMISSION: TARIFFS FOR PRE-ELECTORAL ADVERTISING WERE NOT TOO HIGH

ArmInfo
2007-06-05 19:58:00

Head of the National TV-Radio Commission Grigor Amalyan does not
consider that the tariffs for pre-electoral advertising were too high
as representatives of some political forces of the country claim.

He said at today’s hearings in RA Constitutional Court on the
claim of four political forces, the "New Times", "Orinats Yerkir",
"Republic" parties and the "Impeachment" bloc, which protest against
the results of May 12 parliamentary election, that the legislation
envisages no standards for determination of tariffs for pre-electoral
advertising. However, the latter breaks the usual TV-network of TV
companies, interrupting the TV-programmes.

So, it should not differ from the commercial advertising. Moreover,
the cost of a usual commercial advertising, for example, the pre-New
Year’s days, is much higher than the notorious 80,000 or 100,000 drams,
fixed by TV Companies per 1 minute of paid pre-electoral air time,
Amalyan said.

THE GENOCIDE OF PALESTINE – COL. DAVID ANTOON
by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

OpEdNews, PA
June 1 2007

Col. David Antoon graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in
1970 and served nearly three tours of duty in Vietnam. During his tour
of duty in that war zone he received 3 Air Medals, the Distinguished
Flying Cross and the Meritorious Service Medal. He retired from
the Air Force in in the early 90s and now flies a 747 for a major
airline. He has received two graduate degrees and has lived in the
Middle East and has traveled extensively around the world, including
the middle east. His last job before retiring was oversight of part
of the construction of the B – 2 Bomber.

In the early 80s Col. Antoon became a father, he and his wife, Linda,
a former AF Major and neonatal ICU nurse, have four children and it
was fatherhood that made him revisit the issues he had encountered
while first in the military.

Those issues brought him to confront national policy, the use of war
to subsidize corporations, how our money is spent, and the genocide
that is presently being carried out against Palestine. His oldest
daughter, a Fulbright Scholar, is studying maternal child health
issues in the Middle East.

All of us know about the genocide that took place in Nazi Germany;
some of us know about the genocide visited on the Armenians in the
opening years of the 20th Century and other blood baths that have
been carried out for political purposes across the face of the globe.

But how many of us are aware that today in Palestine another genocide
is underway? Carried out under cover of euphemistic media coverage,
carefully worded to disguise an agenda of death, thousands are dying
slowly, blown to bits. Children are targeted, shot, maimed. Using
a terror that makes Nazi Germany look mannerly and compassionate,
lives are being snuffed out coldly as part of a long term plan to
eliminate a nation from the face of the Earth.

Will we continue to tolerate a genocide in our midst? What can a
father do to stop it? What can a father do when that genocide is
distorting the world for the children he loves? One father answers
that and other questions.

Hear Col. Antoon Friday, June 1, at 4pm Pacific Time on the Spiritual
Politician at BBSRadio.com

gspot.com

Melinda Pillsbury-Foster is the author of GREED: The NeoConning of
America and A Tour of Old Yosemite. The former is a novel about the
lives of the NeoCons with a strong autobiographical component. The
latter is a non-fiction book about her father and grandfather.

Ms. Pillsbury-Foster has been active in politics since the Goldwater
Campaign. She left the Republican Party to join and become active
in the Libertarian Party in 1973, working as an activist and party
officer until she left the Libertarian Party in 1988.

She is also the the founder of the the Arthur C. Pillsbury Foundation

a_melinda__070531_the_genocide_of_pale.htm

HRAYR HAKOBYAN, NOUVEAU CHâTELAIN DU COGNAC
Ismaël Karroum

Charente Libre , France
30 mai 2007

Depuis Erevan, il trône sur un château et un domaine de quarante
hectares, dont une bonne partie plantee de vignes. Depuis octobre
dernier, Hrayr Hakobyan est proprietaire du château de Châtenay, au
bord de la Charente, ex-propriete de la famille Gregoire (des machines
a vendanger du meme nom). Il y possède le château, les vignes et la
distillerie. Un petit joyau charentais, tel un diamant de plus sur la
couronne de cet Armenien empereur des affaires. Et depuis le 6 avril,
il possède 100% des parts de la societe d’exploitation des domaines
de Chatenay et Marville, qui exploite les vignes et la distillerie.

Le nouveau lord of cognac, qui souhaitait conserver l’anonymat
lors de l’acquisition du domaine, est a la tete d’un empire. Sur
son site internet, on peut decouvrir qu’il possède une usine a
champagne, une compagnie aerienne, un restaurant, une compagnie
d’assurances, une agence de voyage… Et desormais, donc, un domaine
de cognac. Les Russes ne sont donc pas les seuls a s’interesser aux
vignes charentaises. Les oligarques armeniens aussi, d’autant qu’ils
sont, traditionnellement, de gros producteurs de brandy et du si
decrie cognac armenien.

4,8 millions d’euros

Hrayr Hakobyan est un vrai businessman. Pour s’offrir le château et
les vignes, il a debourse 4,8 millions d’euros. Age de 48 ans, marie
et père de quatre enfants, Hrayr Hakobyan est diplôme d’agronomie. Sa
première entreprise, au debut des annees 80, fut une cooperative
commercialisant du pain. Le developpement fut ensuite phenomenal. Un
developpement en famille, ecrit-il sur son site internet. En
collaboration avec son frère et sa soeur, sous l’oeil de leur père.

Selon une journaliste armenienne, installee a Erevan, Hrayr Hakobyan
est lie au pouvoir en place, ce qui est obligatoire ici pour pouvoir
faire du business. Mais il a plutôt une bonne reputation et n’a
jamais ete mele a un scandale politique ou criminel. Lie au pouvoir,
Hrayr Hakobyan ne fait toutefois pas lui-meme de politique.

Une ligne a dix millions

de bouteilles par an

La fratrie est a la tete de Armenian International Airways, une
compagnie aerienne, de Astghadzor Travel, une agence de voyage
commercialisant des billets d’avions et des sejours en Armenie. La
famille se diversifie: assurances, pisciculture, village de vacances
de luxe dans les montagnes armeniennes, restaurant a Moscou et Erevan,
manufacture de tabac, compagnie de taxis…

Mais le fleuron de la famille, c’est le Yerevan Champagne Wine
factory. Un domaine et une usine crees en 1939 et dont la famille
Hakobyan a pris les renes en 1995.

Contrairement a ce qu’indique son nom, la Yerevan Champagne Wine
factory ne se contente pas de faire du champagne… en Armenie.

C’est-a-dire un vin petillant en copiant la methode champenoise.

C’est aussi l’un des plus gros producteurs d’alcools d’Armenie. Elle
produit du vin, de la vodka, des brandies, des cocktails. Et
du cognac. Vieilli de trois a dix ans, dit le site internet de
l’entreprise.

En devenant proprietaire du domaine de Châtenay et de sa distillerie,
Hrayr Hakobyan n’aura plus besoin d’acheter du cognac en vrac. Il aura
la main sur toute la chaîne de production, et possède, a Erevan, une
mise en bouteille d’une capacite de dix millions de bouteilles par an.

Surtout, il possède deja ses entrees sur le marche russe, marche
en pleine progression pour le cognac. La croissance du cognac, son
explosion meme sur les marches russe et asiatique, attirent avec
avidite les capitaux etrangers. Après le rachat de Croizet-Eymard par
Russian Wine Trust, celui de Jensen par MVZ, groupe moscovite de vins
et spiritueux, et les investissements de Kin dans le domaine des Broix,
c’est donc un richissime Armenien qui investit dans le cognac.

La tendance n’est pas propre au cognac: dans le Bordelais, un château
est dans le viseur d’un Indien qui, comme Hrayr Hakobyan, a fait
fortune dans le vin petillant elabore avec la methode champenoise.

GRAPHIQUE: Hrayr Hakobyan, ici au bras de son epouse, est un magnat
armenien des affaires * repro CL

–Boundary_(ID_q/9Wt5+MPclaP+UaXD3phA)–