Author: Kalantarian Kevo

TURKISH FM SEES ARMENIA SOLUTION IN 2009

Jan 28 2009
Turkey

Turkey’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that 2009 could be a
milestone in Turkish-Armenian relations.

Speaking to CNN Turk TV channel in Davos, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ali Babacan said that he expected the problems between Turkey and
Armenia to be solved in 2009.

"Actually, it would not surprise me if a solution was found this
year. 2009 can be a milestone in Turkish-Armenian relations as long
as both parties maintain their political will till the end," he said.

Upon a question on U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George
Mitchell’s probable visit to Turkey, Babacan said that he had a phone
conversation with Mitchell the other night and currently they were
trying to set a date.

"He is on a fast tour. We are trying to determine the date on which
he could stop by Turkey or on which we could be available. However,
he expressed his desire to visit our country," Babacan said.

CARTOONS ILLUSTRATE LACK OF PRESS FREEDOM IN TURKEY

Radio Netherlands

ionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/netherlands /090127-Turkey-cartoonists
Jan 26 2009
Netherlands

In Turkey, prosecution for insulting the nation is almost an
occupational hazard for journalists and cartoonists. A number of
provocative Turkish cartoons are on display at an exhibition in
the Netherlands. Afterwards the organisers hope an internet auction
will raise money to cover the legal costs for these controversial
court cases.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a poor sense of
humour. In recent years, he has taken many a cartoonist to court. But
the deluge of court cases has not stopped the illustrators from mocking
the lack of press freedom in the country. In one cartoon, Sefer Selvi
draws the prime minister, dressed in hunting gear, shooting at one
of the newspapers he has taken to court. His dog tears up another copy.

"As soon as cartoonists raise taboos like the division between church
and state, the army, the Armenian genocide and Ataturk, the founder
of the republic of Turkey – the government intervenes,"

says freelance journalist Mehmet Ulger, chairman of Roportaj, a
Dutch organisation promoting press freedom in Turkey. He organised
the exhibition The Power of the Imagination, which opens in the
Press Museum in Amsterdam on 29 January. The murder of publicist and
journalist Hrant Dink in 2007 was reason to breathe new life into
the organisation, set up in 1996 as a bridge between journalists in
the Netherlands and Turkey.

"If you want to write news, then you have to keep inside the line"

Keeping inside the line On his computer, there’s a cartoon by Sefer
Selvi in which Prime Minister Erdogan paints a circle around a
dumbfounded journalist, saying: "If you want to write news, then you
have to keep inside the line". Mr Ulger: "Since 2004 Turkey has had
media legislation guaranteeing freedom of the press, as part of the
deal for Turkey’s accession to the European Union. But press freedom
has only improved on paper. Turkey is one of the few countries to
protect sources by law. But this doesn’t happen in practice. Even
the prime minister takes journalists to court."

Dutch censorship There have been cases in the Netherlands in which
press freedom has come under pressure. In April last year, Dutch Prime
Minister Jan Peter Balkenende demanded rectification when an imaginary
speech by him on Islam was printed in weekly magazine Opinio. In May
2008, a Dutch cartoonist with the pseudonym Gregorius Nekschot spent
the night in a cell for allegedly discriminating against Muslims in
his cartoons. Mr Ulger was surprised by the events.

"I don’t agree with the tenor of the cartoons, but Nekschot has the
right to draw what he likes."

Recalcitrant

More from NRC Handelsblad International Last year, charges were brought
against Turkish journalists and cartoonists 190 times. As a result the
media are cautious about what they publish, otherwise they risk losing
government advertising, the right to accreditation or a press card
and being investigated. Only a few media become recalcitrant. Mr Ulger:

"There is a lot of self-censorship, but now and then risks are
taken. If there is a lot of publicity around a case, the authorities
do not intervene straight away. Sometimes a year goes by before action
is taken."

The Power of the imagination exhibition can be seen from 30 January
until 8 March in the Press Museum in Amsterdam. During the opening
on Thursday 29 January, Dutch cartoonist Jos Collignon debates with
his Turkish colleague Guneri Icoglu, who was once sentenced to eight
months in prison for his cartoons.

Interfax, Russia
Jan 23 2009

Two Armenians detained in Georgia on suspicion of espionage – Interior
Ministry

TBILISI Jan 23

Two Georgian citizens of Armenian origin were detained on suspicion of
espionage on January 22, the Georgian Interior Ministry has reported.

The men will be questioned in connection with a criminal case
involving the creation of illegal armed groups and espionage, which is
now being investigated by the counterintelligence department, the
ministry has reported.

‘MITK’ ANALYTICAL CENTER: AZERBAIJANI HACKERS ARE SPONSORED BY GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS WHICH ‘MOVE AWAY’ UNDESIRABLE MASS MEDIA IN TERRITORY OF ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2009-01-22 13:42:00

ArmInfo. ‘We have no doubts that Azerbaijani hackers are sponsored
by the governmental organizations which ‘move away’ undesirable
mass media both in Azerbaijan and in the territory of Armenia’, the
statement of "Mitk" Analytical Center says. Despite the statements of
the Azerbaijani Minister of Communication and Information Technologies
Ali Abbasov as if saying his country has nothing common with this,
‘Mitk’ Analytical Center, the work of which is hampered by a hacker
from Azerbaijan for over two days, has no doubts that this is done
by the Azerbaijani specialists. ‘Mitk’ AC has found the person who
broken the Center’s site. This is a resident of Baku Bahran Akhundov.

Analytical Center ‘Mitk’ calls on all international organizations
and interested structures to promote stopping of the hacker attacks
at Armenian internet portals and websites and demand their making
answerable. ‘We are grateful to Armenian information technologies
specialists which abstain from making the replying actions and breaking
of Azerbaijani mass media activity. We are calling them to continue
taking a civilized attitude and refuse to be drawn at provocations
of Azerbaijani hackers’, – the state ment says.

To recall, the website of the ‘Mitk’ was attacked by hackers on
20 January.

RA FOREIGN MINISTER MET NEW AMBASSADOR TO THE PHILIPPINES

A1+
[08:35 pm] 22 January, 2009

RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandyan received January 22
the new Ambassador to the Philippines in Armenia Victor Garcia III
(residence in Moscow) on the occasion of the reception of copy of
his credentials.

The interlocutors discussed possible courses for development of
bilateral relations. The sides touched upon issues relating to
international organizations, particularly the broadening of relations
between the two countries in the UN and its specialized organizations.

FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN’S OFFICE TO PROTECT CUSTOMERS OF ARMENIAN BANKING SYSTEM

ARKA
Jan 23, 2009

YEREVAN, January 23. /ARKA/. The Office of the Ra Financial Ombudsman
is aimed to protect the rights and interest of customers of the
Armenian banking system, promptly consider their demands free of
charge thereby building up the public confidence in the Armenian
financial system, RA Financial Ombudsman Piruz Sargsyan told reporters.

The Office is to launch its activities in Armenia on January
24. P. Sargsyan pointed out that she was elected as a result of a
unanimous decision by the Board of Trustees of the Financial Ombudsman
Office Fund at its maiden sitting on December 22, 2008. Since 1995,
P. Sargsyan had worked at the Department for Legal Affairs of the
Central Bank of Armenia (CBA). P. Sargsyan said that the Office will
follow the international principles of impartiality, transparency,
efficiency and justice.

In this context she pointed out that the information on the order
of accepting and considering the complaints will be available on
the Ombudsman’s official website. The information on annual reports,
budget execution and results of the consideration of complaints will
be available as well.

"People can also get in touch with the Ombudsman’s Office by the
telephone number (010) 59 26 97 or by means of its e-main address
[email protected]," she said.

P. Sargsyan pointed out that complaints can be filed against banks,
credit institutions, insurance companies and brokers, investment
companies, pawnshops, broker-dealers, and money transmitters.

She said that the Office will consider only individual complaints.

"An individual person’s complaint will be considered if the actions or
omissions it is based on took place after the relevant law took effect,
namely, after August 2, 2008; if the complaint was first lodged with
the financial institution but was rejected; if the complaint is lodged
within six months after the customer receives a final answer from the
financial institution; if the customer does not receive an answer from
the financial organizations ten days after a complaint was lodged; if
the claim of ownership is not worth over 10mln AMD or an equivalent,"
P. Sargsyan said.

She also said that the RA Financial Ombudsman has the right to decline
a complaint if a verdict has been returned by court or by arbitration
tribunal, if court or arbitration tribunal consider a relevant case,
if a complaint contains libels or if the complainant resorts to
unfair practices.

Grigor Konjeyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Financial Ombudsman
Office Fund, pointed out that the Board is obliged to facilitate the
normal performance of the Office.

He pointed out that the Board is not entitled to interfere in the
consideration of complaints and applications by the Ra Financial
Ombudsman or in the de cision-making process.

The Financial Ombudsman’s Office was founded in Armenia in conformity
with the RA Law "On financial ombudsman". The RA Parliament adopted
amendments to the law on September 30, 2008.

Under the amendments, banks are to effect compulsory payments to the
office equal to 0.01% of their assets for the previous year instead
of 0.001%. For credit institutions the rate is 0.07% instead of
0.007%.

UKRAINE, ARMENIA DYNAMICALLY DEVELOPING INTERPARLIAMENTARY RELATIONS, SAYS LAVRYNOVYCH

NRCU – Ukrainian Radio
Jan 17 2009
Ukraine

Verkhovna Rada First Deputy Chairman Oleksandr Lavrynovych met with
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Armenia to Ukraine
Armen Khachatryan at his request, according to the press service of
the Ukrainian first deputy speaker.

Lavrynovych said that Ukrainian-Armenian interparliamentary relations
are dynamically developing at the level of national parliaments
and international organizations. He said that "effective cooperation
between public institutes, understanding between political parties and
interaction between entrepreneurs" had become common for Ukraine and
Armenia. During their meeting, the officials discussed a wide range of
bilateral issues, confirmed their countries’ course for integration
with international community and stressed the importance of the
interparliamentary component in this process. The two agreed that the
foreign political course of both countries depends on their national
parliaments as the only legislative bodies. Lavrynovych and Khachatryan
also stressed the need to give a new impetus to the interparliamentary
component of Ukrainian-Armenian relations, particularly at the level
of friendship groups and concerned committees from the two countries’
executive bodies. The sides also exchanged views regarding the need to
use significant potential to step up bilateral cooperation in social
and political, cultural, humanitarian, as well as trade and economic
directions at all levels.

YEAR DEVOTED TO TUMANYAN

Panorama.am
18:07 20/01/2009

This year famous Armenian writer Hovhannes Tumanyan’s 140th
anniversary and 60th anniversary of the foundation of his museum
will be celebrated, said the director of the museum Narine Tukhikyan
to Panorama.am.

On February 19, on the birthday of the writer parties commemorating
Tumanyan will be organized in the museum. The director of the museum
said that they plan to give a ball also.

N. Tukhikyan said that they have made arrangements with the President
of Writers’ Union to declare February 19 Day of Gifting Books.

During the year exhibitions, conferences and Olympics commemorating
Tumanyan will be organized.

"COMFORTABLE" RELATIONS ARE MORE IMPORTANT?

A1+
[11:45 am] 19 January, 2009

The Presidents of Armenia and Russian, Serzh Sargsyan and Dmitry
Medvedev, had a meeting in Moscow following the international gas
summit.

The President of Russian thanked his Armenian counterpart for accepting
the invitation and participating in the summit. The Presidents highly
appreciated the relations between the two countries, characterising
those as reliable and corresponding to the Armenian-Russian strategic
partnership.

Dmitry Medvedev noted that the Armenian-Russian allied relations are
more comfortable than the complex issues discussed during the gas
summit. President Sargsyan, in turn, attached great importance to
the cooperation with Russia and "Gazprom" in the field of energy,
assessing it as reliable and grounded on long-term interests.

Serzh Sargsyan underlined that the consumption of gas has tripled
in Armenia over the past years, and with the level of gasification
Armenia is leading not only in the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS), but also the world, as a whole.

Presidents Sargsyan and Medvedev agreed that the frequent high-level
visits and meetings provide an opportunity to discuss and find
solutions to trifle issues.

LEVON ARONIAN EARNS ONE POINT AFTER 2ND ROUND OF CORUS CHESS TOURNAMENT

Noyan Tapan

Jan 19, 2009

WJIK AAN ZEE, JANUARY 19, NOYAN TAPAN. The 71st Corus Chess Tournament
with the participation of 14 GMs is being held in Wjik aan Zee
(Netherlands). Two rounds have been held. Levon Aronian drew with Yue
Wang (China) and Teymour Rajabov (Azerbaijan) and shares 4th-11th
places with 1 point. Among leaders are Jan Smeets (Netherlands),
Sergei Karyakin (Ukraine) and Sergei Movsisian (Slovakia) with 1.5
points each.

The games of the 3rd round are scheduled for January 19. L. Aronian
plays against Daniel Stellwagen (Netherlands).