Author: Kamalian Hagop

RUSSIA AND U.S. TO CONTINUE SEEKING FOR SOLUTION TO MISSILE DEFENSE ISSUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.09.2007 18:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia and the United States will continue looking
for a solution to the ongoing dispute on U.S. plans to deploy missile
defense elements in Central Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin
said Friday.

The Russian leader met with President George W. Bush in Sydney,
in advance of a summit of the 21 leaders of Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation countries, to be held over the weekend.

"We discussed all problems on the bilateral agenda, and the most
important international issues, primarily the problem of missile
defense," the Russian president said after the meeting at the Sydney
Harbor Marriott Hotel.

"We noted that our experts should hold another meeting in the near
future and travel to Azerbaijan to visit the Gabala radar base,"
he said.

High-ranking diplomats from Russia and the United States will meet in
Paris on Monday to discuss U.S. plans to deploy interceptor missiles in
north Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic. The plans have
angered Russia, which considers them a threat to its national security.

At the G8 summit in Germany in May, Vladimir Putin proposed a
compromise solution, offering the U.S. the use of the Gabala radar
in Azerbaijan. The radar, located near the town of Minchegaur, 120
kilometers (75 miles) from the capital Baku, was leased to Russia
for 10 years in 2002.

The radar has been operational since early 1985. With a range of 6,000
kilometers (3,700 miles), it is the most powerful in the region and
can detect any missile launches in Asia, the Middle East and parts
of Africa, RIA Novosti reports.

"FIRST ARTSAKH FESTIVAL" DEDICATED TO 15th ANNIVERSARY OF SHUSHI LIBERATION TO BE HELD IN NKR BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 11 TO 15

Noyan Tapan
Sep 6, 2007

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. "First Artsakh Festival" dedicated
to the 15th anniversary of the Shushi liberation will be held in
Nagorno Karabakh between September 11 to 15 on the initiative of
the State Chamber Orchestra of Armenia. As Aram Gharabekian, the art
director and conductor of the orchestra, said at the September 6 press
conference, the best works of the Armenian and foreign composers will
be performed during the festival.

Within the framework of the festival, the chamber orchestra and the
chorus will have concerts in Stepanakert, Shushi, Martakert, Gandzasar
and in the village of Vank. And on September 15, the Artsakh State
Chamber Chorus and the Orchestra as well as the military brass band
will also take part in the gala-concert to be held in the Rebirth
Square of Stepanakert. It was mentioned that the RA Ministry of
Culture is the sponsor of the festival.

Touching upon the current situation of the Armenian art of singing,
A. Gharabekian said that there is a chaos in this field and there are
no values. "When you listen to today’s variety singers or to "stars"
as they call themselves, then you notice that the concerts with their
participation are like wedding parties", said A. Gharabekian. In his
words, it is unacceptable that the A. Spendiarian Opera and Ballet
National Academic Theater and the Aram Khachatrian concert hall are
given to any singer, because "those stages are only for professionals".

RIGHT TO DIGITALIZE ARMENIAN LITERATURE?

Panorama.am
20:24 04/09/2007

Yesterday at a press conference American-Armenian University rector
Harutyun Armenian informed journalists that the university had
digitalized all Armenian literature from up to the 18th century,
and is also ready to digitalize Western Armenian literature from the
18th to 20th century.

While respecting this titanic work, a few questions arise. For
instance, who will use this information, to whom will it belong,
who gave the right to do this work, and isn’t it a violation of the
law to assume this right of copyright of this literature?

In a conversation with a panorama.am journalist, Susanna Nersisyan,
director of the organization involved in the protection of copyrights
in Armenia, says that in this case no law has been broken. "In this
case, involving Armenian literature from up to the 18th century,
no law is broken if the organization or person makes no name or
content changes. But the spreading of this information, such as on
the Internet, breaks the law."

In Nersisyan’s words, modern literature is protected for 70 years,
with any usage needing permission from heirs of the author.

About the digitalization of huge amounts of work and its usage
we attempted to meet with the director of the Matenadaran, Hrachya
Tamrazyan. We were informed that he would not give an interview until
the first 100 days of his new position had been completed. We note
that the director was appointed on July 17, and that only 49 days
have passed since his appointment.

Asking the press department of the Culture Ministry whether the
American university had any agreements with the government concerning
activities of Armenian-dedicated subjects, Gayane Durgaryan said she
would look into this and answer us tomorrow.

RUSSIA: NARYSHKIN RISING

Stratfor
icle.php?id=294852&selected=Analyses
Sept 4 2007

Summary

As different factions within the Kremlin struggle for position in
the lead-up to Russia’s presidential election, new faces are emerging
among the ranks of power players. Among these rising stars is Deputy
Prime Minister Sergei Naryshkin, whom Russian President Vladimir Putin
appears to be grooming for the premiership. However, Naryshkin is not
the first new face Putin has brought in because of his neutrality,
and as the Kremlin battle grows even nastier, he could fall into the
power struggle as well.

Analysis

As Russia’s presidential race heats up, some unfamiliar actors are
playing larger roles in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continuing
agenda for the country’s resurgence. The different Kremlin clans have
been relentlessly working to carve out and secure their places in the
changing power balances that are emerging, with special attention to
the most coveted positions such as the premiership and the Economic,
Finance and Energy ministries. It has become more evident that the
battles inside the Kremlin are growing fiercer.

Furthermore, Putin is having difficulties balancing his larger agenda
for Russia with the competing interests of Russia’s economists,
military, commodities companies and energy behemoths. When he became
president in 2000, one of Putin’s chief goals was to reverse most of
the economic and political free-for-all from the Boris Yeltsin era.

Putin has tirelessly and mercilessly consolidated each sector of the
government and industry that had exploded into countless different
interests and businesses over the previous decade. For the most part,
Moscow has moved the country’s vast economy and those companies that
run it back under Kremlin ownership, control or influence.

However, this also has put politicians with few managerial or technical
skills in charge of many sectors of the Russian economy and created
competing interests within the government. The best example of this is
the fierce battle between Russia’s state-controlled natural gas giant
Gazprom and oil giant Rosneft. Each is determined to undermine the
other in attempts to secure energy assets and influence, and recently
this battle has flooded into the political arena where each company is
looking to secure its expansion by getting its people into top Kremlin
positions. Most wealthy and influential Russian enterprises are making
similar attempts to tip the balance of power. Almost every inner-circle
member and top government official can be linked to one industry,
company or sector — which has led to many political decisions (as
opposed to economic decisions) being made not only for the sake of
the state, but also for the sake of individual state oligarchs.

As the battle continued this summer, a not-so-well-known player has
emerged and taken several exceptional positions, showing he is one of
Putin’s picks for the future of the Kremlin: Deputy Prime Minister
Sergei Naryshkin. Naryshkin has become one of the politicians Putin
trusts most; he served in the KGB before the Soviet collapse and
studied with Putin in the KGB’s elite school. Also like Putin,
Naryshkin worked in the St. Petersburg regional government in the
1990s before being catapulted into the federal government along with
most of the "Petersburgers" when Putin took office. Naryshkin has
worked with almost every major power broker in the Kremlin’s higher
echelons. He has been a Rosneft board member, an adviser to Gazprom,
chief of investment for Promstroibank and a board member for several
military shipbuilding companies, aside from his current positions
as deputy prime minister under Mikhail Fradkov and chairman of the
Channel One television station. Naryshkin managed to do all this
without pledging allegiance to anyone but Putin.

While preparing for a power transfer in spring 2008, over the past
few months Putin has been grooming Naryshkin so that the deputy
prime minister can represent Russia’s military, economic, foreign and
domestic policies. Naryshkin is now in charge of Russia’s economic
relations and activities in Commonwealth of Independent States member
countries, the European Union and the Far East — meaning he gets to
decide which projects move forward, mediate between competing companies
and have the final say in financing for projects. He is in charge of
all the preparations — economic, construction, security and guest list
— for the 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Conference in Vladivostok. He
also has been named head of Russia’s state holding company in naval
construction, United Shipbuilding Corp., and rumors are swirling that
he will soon be named to First Deputy Prime Minister (and expected
presidential successor) Sergei Ivanov’s position as head of the War
Industries Committees, Russia’s military-industrial commission.

Long lists of highly influential Kremlin power brokers — including
Anatoly Serdyukov, Viktor Khristenko, German Gref, Alexei Kudrin,
Dmitri Medvedev and Ivanov himself — were expected to take these
positions before Putin placed Naryshkin in them instead. Though
many meaningless positions are dealt out in Russia, Putin has given
Naryshkin the green light to make decisions in his new roles —
something very rarely done.

Moreover, on Aug. 31, Naryshkin took up some of the duties usually
given to a foreign minister as he held two-day talks with Azerbaijan.

In the past, Naryshkin has only discussed second-tier economic issues
abroad, but in Baku he was sent with a slew of issues to tackle,
including missile defense, energy strategy and the conflict with
Armenia. Naryshkin also was tasked with telling Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev that Russia is fed up with Azerbaijan’s flirtations
with the West and attempts to get other energy-rich nations such as
Turkmenistan to join any projects that lack Moscow’s approval.

Beneath all these changes of position and power is the rumor that
Naryshkin is being groomed to take the coveted Russian premiership.

The reason Putin has given Naryshkin, rather than the usual players,
so many prized positions is that Naryshkin is considered neutral;
he does not belong to any specific clan inside the Kremlin yet.

Neutrality is becoming rarer as Russia’s energy companies, metals
groups, military-industrial complexes and diamond firms fight for power
with increasing ferocity. Putin’s thinking is that if Naryshkin can
remain neutral, he will do what is best for Russia and its overall
resurgence instead of what is good for one industrial, economic or
political group.

Of course, many of the Kremlin’s elite who began as neutral — like
Ivanov, who is now Rosneft’s champion, and Fradkov, who is the central
banks’ supporter in the Kremlin — have been snared quickly by one
group or another. Just as summer began, Kremlin bulldog and Putin’s
closest adviser Vladislav Surkov told the media to refrain from sharp
criticism of Naryshkin and told companies to refrain from courting him
until he was settled in his new positions. However, Naryshkin already
is receiving propositions, especially from energy giants Gazprom and
Rosneft, which see him as the deciding factor in the outcome of their
fierce competition in Russia and beyond. With so many influential
positions on his plate, Naryshkin will become the No. 1 target in the
struggle for power — and all the while Putin will expect him to keep
order and balance in an increasingly volatile Kremlin.

WHEN GOSSIP MIXES UP WITH POLITICS
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
Sept 4 2007
Armenia

HAMLET HAROUTYUNYAN, Head of "Artsakh" Compatriots’ Union and
member of the RPA Parliamentary faction answers the questions of the
correspondent of "Hayots Ashkharh"

"Do you believe that Levon Ter-Petrosyan will return to "big politics"
and accept the challenge of the members and supporters of the Armenian
pan-National Movement for being nominated a united candidate?"

"Levon Ter-Petrosyan is the first President of the Republic of
Armenia; he is a scholar, an intellectual deserving respect. But,
believing the first President of our country, I believe his promises
as well. In 1998 Levon Ter-Petrosyan promised that he was ready to
return to politics provided the whole nation asked him to do so.

Personally I, have noticed no such pan-national request or public
demand in our society. No such forums have been convened, and no
demonstrations have been held; the people have not publicly asked L.

Ter-Petrosyan to return to active politics.

I think the first President is consistent in his promises, and he
will stick to his promise in this case too. From this point of view,
I rule out the possibility of his running for Presidency, at least
in the present-day situation."

"Touching upon the re-arrangement expected this autumn, Hovhannes
Hovhannisyan, leader of the Armenian Liberal Progressive Party,
recently mentioned the following variant as a possible outcome of
the electoral processes: ‘Levon Ter-Petrosyan – President, Serge
Sargsyan – Prime Minister’. Is it possible to picture anything of
the kind in general?"

"Why do you pay attention to anything that is being discussed?

There are people who make reverences to everybody all around,
anticipating some outcome, but such outcome is absent, regardless
whether it is good or bad. Society has many ponderous statesman,
politicians and representatives of culture, and it is worth listening
to and considering their opinion.

Perhaps, it is due to the scarcity of materials that the media have
been recently holding such serious and long discussions about the
personality and ‘prominent’ ideas of people of any quality, age and
biography, as if they had made a brilliant discovery. H.

Hovhannisyan’s statement is so far from being true and so ridiculous,
that I don’t think it is worth paying attention to it. " "Whereas,
the well-known circles continue nourishing hopes that the RPA will
split in case Mr. Ter-Petrossyan’s appears on the political arena."

"I have to make the same statement. What we are speaking about does
not make sense; moreover, it is simply ridiculous. I don’t know
what serves as a source for such rumors. Personally, I am in that
atmosphere; I communicate with the Republicans, but I haven’t noticed
anyone to be looking forward to the advent of Levon Ter-Petrosyan or
any other activist.

Nowadays, gossip has, unfortunately, become so mixed up with politics
that sometimes it is impossible to avoid lumping everything together
and to distinguish gossip from specific political developments and
political prognoses. In fact, the political arena is more stable and
predictable in Armenia; therefore we are not in store of unexpected
developments and surprising changes in the near future."

"Do the ‘political developments’ inside the pro-Opposition camp give
us grounds to hope that the eternal search for a united candidate will
finally come to its logical end this time, and the struggle between
the Government and the Opposition will be put on ideological bases?"

"Generally, any government needs a strong opposition. That’s to say,
a classical opposition which can help the same government, by pointing
out its wrongs and flaws. We do not have a classical opposition,
and this is to the detriment of our state and our people.

All we have is a group of individuals seeking to accede to power. In
no country of the world does this kind of opposition have success.

Moreover, we turn out to have pro-opposition leaders, without having
an opposition at all. Those people do not simply have a social support;
if they had it, searches for a format would not be so difficult."

"Actually, separate ‘morsels’ representing the pro-Opposition camp are
trying to create some united format by setting up unions; however,
is it possible to unite those groups of people that form the social
support of the activists with different views, ideas and geo-political
orientation? Even if we admit that the meetings which the Opposition
organizes in cafes with the involvement of 10-20 people can produce a
desirable result, does it mean that the ranks of their adherents are
compatible too? Especially we, Armenians very easily reach agreements
around the table and then very easily step back from them.

Therefore, they have to try and create relevant social, economic
and ideological bases, rather than an illusion of the opposition
becoming united."

"Both the Opposition and the Government united around a single
candidate during the presidential elections in Karabakh. How come that
something which was possible in Karabakh cannot work out in Armenia?"

"The situation of Karabakh is a little bit different. Unlike Armenia,
there is no hostility between the Opposition and the Government
there. And perhaps, one of the misfortunes of the Armenian Opposition
is that there are some activists and groups that do not merely oppose,
but rather, have a hostile attitude towards the acting Government
and some of its representatives.

The opposition of Karabakh is a positive opposition, and it acts
with all the features characteristic to a classical opposition. The
Opposition of Armenia is an ‘opposition of threats’, and that kind
of opposition exhausts itself very easily. This is obvious to any
analyst."

THE RIGHT TO APPOINT A UNITED CANDIDATE BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE
Haroutyun Gevorkyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
Sept 3 2007
Armenia

Interview with HMAYAK HOVHANNISYAN, Head of the Union of Politicians

"It is not a secret that the period of summer holidays was the
final stage for the political circles to prepare for the upcoming
presidential elections. What political manifestations can we observe
in autumn?"

"To make an accurate prediction as to the political developments, it
is first of all necessary to properly realize the public demand that
was formed during the months following the parliamentary elections. The
discontent among the people has led to the crystallization of certain
attitudes, and in this situation, the upcoming political developments
will be conditioned by the conclusions to be drawn in future.

In my opinion, the public has developed a kind of understanding with
regard the necessity of having an alternative to the pro-Government
candidate, although such understanding is not yet clear enough. During
the whole post-election period there was, actually, some search for
an alternative.

Perceived by the public as the authorities’ favorite, Serge Sargsyan
will try to maintain the status quo after assuming the post of
President. This results from the absence of conspicuous changes during
the past 3.5-4 months. So, society is striving to have a serious
alternative during the presidential elections sub-consciously, while
the political circles pursue the same goal consciously.

The necessity for an alternative is equally realized both by
the political groups which are strictly against Serge Sargsyan’s
candidacy and the political circles which are kindly-disposed to
the pro-Government candidate. Even the majority of Serge Sargsyan’s
proponents hold the viewpoint that having a serious alternative will
be to the benefit of the political system, the state and the people.

While in the absence of an alternative, there will be no political
atmosphere enabling the country’s President to condition all his
actions by the state, public and national interests."

"Mr. Hovhannisyan, don’t you think that the public demand you specify
results from the de facto absence of the Opposition on the political
arena?"

"Of course, the public is well-conscious of the fact that the
Opposition operating on the political arena during the recent years has
no prospects. The high-flown appeals made by any of the pro-Opposition
parties do not inspire confidence. People do not pin hopes on this
pro-Opposition camp and these pro-Opposition leaders in terms of
achieving changes.

It is first of all the pro-Opposition parties that have to take
such bitter truth into consideration. They have to realize that
the pretentious attitude of appointing a united candidate through
gatherings, consultations and meetings has no real grounds.

The thing is that they are no longer vested with the right to agree on
a united alternative candidate, because they are doomed to periodic
and continuous defeat and failure. The right to appoint a united
candidate now belongs to people.

As well as to the public forces whose leaders do really enjoy the
people’s trust, develop and express public concerns and moods. Those
people are not represented by parties, and they are not responsible
for the defeats and failures of the Opposition. It is the political
activeness of those individuals that can be favorable for breeding
a reasonable alternative in public consciousness.

The search for an alternative enables some young assistants, who have
no relationship with our reality, to give Serge Sargsyan promises
of introducing second generation reforms. They offer themselves as
the only reliable support. They can, of course, be a support, but I
personally have strong doubts as to their being reliable. The Bible
says that the one, who betrays once, shall betray again."

"And in what way should the people express their desire as to whom
they prefer to see in the role of an alternative candidate?"

"It is quite possible for the situation of the pre-election period to
become similar to the situation of the 1998 presidential elections
when, returning to the political arena as an alternative candidate
after 10 years of negotiations, Karen Demirtchyan did not receive
support by all the parties indiscriminately (we set up the People’s
Party of Armenia in the summer of 1998, after the presidential
elections). He returned as a candidate supported by a thick layer of
society and relied directly on the people’s support.

This precedent is another proof that in conditions of the present-day
multi-party political system which is still in an unaccomplished state,
the decisions of party leaders and their haughty self-confidence
should not be relied upon.

In this context, the possibility of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
political return is worth discussions. Like Karen Demortchyan, Levon
Ter-Petrosyan had to quit politics as a result of the public moods and
some developments that were not favorable for him. It is predictable
that like Karen Demirtchyan, he has no desire to end his political
biography with a mournful, declining and defeatist epilogue.

Mr. Demitchyan also used to tell everybody that his political path
had come to an end, and never again would he assume any role in
politics. But I was sure that having been the leader of Armenia for
many years, a political figure of such caliber could not put up with
the idea of departing from politics in the status of a loser and
would, under any circumstances, try to return to big politics and
say his final word in new conditions.

These preconditions are so ponderous that Levon Ter-Petrosyan cannot
simply remain in the political underground. But the public demand
for an alternative presidential candidate is an extra precondition,
and it is not addressed to Levon Ter-Petrosyan at all.

I do not agree with the activists who are delighted to discuss the
alleged public demand for this particular person.

However, the public demand for a political alternative whose presence
is obvious, may result in L. Ter-Petrosyan’s nomination.

This will be possible only in case L. Ter-Petrosyan finds strength
enough to detach himself from the corporate circles, as did Karen
Demirtchyan in 1998 when he quit the Communist party and his
nomenclature-based past. The thing is that society wants neither
revanchism nor the reanimation of a political force that has been
denied, and it still has no confidence as to whether the first
President will return with a new image and new quality.

He, personally, has not yet taken any step to prove that during the
10 years of his political banishment he made a critical analysis as
to the political path he has passed, reached new ideas and detached
himself from the forces denied by society. Unless he assumes an
attitude superior to party interests and proves that he has detached
himself from his old supporters and circles, his personality cannot
enjoy public demand.

WORLD RENOWNED KOHAR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR VISIT SAN FRANCISCO AS PART OF FIRST-EVER NORTH AMERICA TOUR

SanFranciscoSentinel.com, CA
Aug 30 2007

The world renowned KOHAR Symphony Orchestra and Choir will grace the
Nob Hill Masonic Temple in October as part of its first-ever North
America tour of eight cities.

KOHAR is comprised of 150 performing artists, musicians, choral
singers, soloists, dancers, and a pantomime, fusing the sounds of
Armenian culture and heritage with classical music. KOHAR is the
only symphony orchestra that integrates jazz music with traditional
Armenian instruments to generate classical sound.

Tickets for the 8:30 p.m. San Francisco performance are available
online.

With audiences throughout the Near East and Europe and fans worldwide,
KOHAR Symphony Orchestra and Choir of Gyumri has performed in Beirut,
Lebanon; Nicosia, Cyprus; Istanbul, Turkey; and Moscow, Russia.

KOHAR Symphony Orchestra & Choir’s DVD was bestowed the Anoush
Achievement Award during the seventh annual Armenian Music Awards,
held at the Hollywood Palladium in California in May 2005. The award
was presented to KOHAR for its contribution to Armenian culture,
which is exemplified in the All Time Armenian Favourites DVD.

Less than 20 years ago, on December 7, 1988, eighty percent of Gyumri
lay under rubble, as a devastating earthquake hit Armenia, nearly
demolishing the city of Gyumri and killing 10,000 inhabitants. The
brothers Khatchadourian of Lebanon – Harout, Shahe, and Nar –
prompted by their hearts and able to give generously, provided
much-needed assistance to a city that still lacked permanent housing
and employment opportunities.

The brothers did more than revive a shattered economy, they nurtured
talent and excellence as well, and in the process helped to revive a
downtrodden city’s spirit, as they established the KOHAR Music School
for gifted children, founded in 1997, in honor of their parents Kohar
and Aram, and named after their mother. The school was built in an
old factory where the finest musicians were hired as instructors,
using top-of-the-line instruments and classrooms furnished with the
most modern equipment. In only three years, the school gave birth
to a symphony orchestra and choir, under the artistic direction of
Maestro Sebouh Abkarian of Cyprus.

OTHER CITIES, DATES AND LOCATIONS OF KOHAR’S AMERICAS TOUR INCLUDE:

Los Angeles Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 8:15 PM Gibson Amphitheatre
Universal CityWalk Universal City, CA 91608 Tickets

Detroit Tuesday, October 30, 2007 at 8:15 PM Max M. Fisher Music
Center Tickets Available Soon

Chicago The Harris Theater Tickets Available Soon

Boston Saturday, November 10, 2007 at 8:15 PM Colonial Theatre Tickets

Toronto November 26, 2007 Centre for the Arts – Main Stage Tickets

Montreal Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 8:00 PM Place des Arts – Salle
Wilfrid-Pelletier Tickets

New York Tuesday, November 20, 2007 8:15 PM Carnegie Hall – Isaac
Stern Auditorium Tickets

Watch YouTube at

HOW PROSECUTOR OF LORY REGION WAS KILLED
By Ara Martirosian

AZG Armenian Daily
31/08/2007

Sources close to RA prosecutor’s Office informed "Azg" about
some details on the murder of Albert Ghazarian, prosecutor of Lory
region. According to the information, after midnight Albert Ghazarian
left the prosecutor’s office and went home on foot. The head of the
investigative department walked with him and someone with the nickname
"Gotcho" some way and then left them and went home. Ghazarian and
Gotcho continued walking in direction of the houses of Ghazarian
and his relatives that were located in the left section after the
two crossroads on the way from the prosecutor’s office. When they
approached the house of Ghazarian, they heard the first shot that hit
the nech of the prosecutor. Anyway, he tried to escape, but he got
three other shots from the back on the left and right parts of his
chest and in his stomach. After the first shot, Gotcho began running
crying out "They shot him, they shot him." Having heard the shots,
the relative and the son of Ghazarian rushed out of the house. Soon
a policeman approached from the direction of the church not far from
the house. But, before they reached the spot, the killer had naturally
escaped. The first shot was already fatal for the prosecutor.

The killer followed Ghazarian through a smaller and darker street,
which he also used afterwards to escape. The killer shot from a
distance of 4 meters.

The supposition that the killer was a professional is proved by the
way the crime was committed, as all of the shots were aimed to hit
definite parts of the body.

ROLAND SHAROYAN: HOLDING 4th PAN-ARMENIAN GAMES IS GREATEST PRACTICAL STEP FOR STRENGTHENING ARMENIA-DISAPORA RELATIONS

Noyan Tapan
Aug 28 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 28, NOYAN TAPAN. The holding of the 4th Pan-Armenian
Games is the greatest practical step for strengthening Armenia-Diaspora
relations, the deputy chairman of the world committee of the
Pan-Armenian Games Roland Sharoyan expressed an opinion at the
August 28 press conference. In his words, along with numerous postive
changes, a number of shortcomings have also been registered this year,
particularly improper state of playing-fields and gyms because funds
allocated for the Pan-Armenian Games were not sufficient for their
improvement. To recap, the overall budget of the 4th Pan-Armenian
Geams made about 80 million drams (235 thousand USD).

R. Sharoyan considered it natural that a considerable part of medals
was won by sportsmen from Armenia. "There are powerful sport bases
in Armenia, and our sportsmen are always in a good shape," he said,
adding that our compatriots from the Diaspora have been intensively
preparing for competitions only for the last two months.

Speaking about the incident during the basketball match between the
teams of Yerevan and Cairo, the representative of the organizing
committee said that the team of Yerevan has been deprived of the
right to participate in the next Pan-Armenian Games. According to
R. Sharoyan, it is envisaged that a similar decision will be taken
with respect to the football team of Stepanakert.

TAN: ISRAEL MUST GET US JEWS TO BACK DOWN

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 28 2007

Turkish Ambassador to Israel Namýk Tan has clearly expressed Ankara’s
expectation of Israel to "deliver" US based-Jewish organizations and
ensure that the US Congress does not pass a resolution characterizing
as genocide the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I.

Turkish Ambassador to Israel Namýk Tan

Remarks by Tan, who last week cut short his holiday in Turkey to
return to Israel following the US-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
reversal of its longtime policy by calling the World War I killing
of Anatolian Armenians genocide, came in an interview published in
Monday’s edition of Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post.

"Israel should not let the [US] Jewish community change its position.

This is our expectation and this is highly important, highly
important," Tan said, while noting that he understood that Israel’s
position had not changed.

Two separate resolutions are pending in the US Senate and House of
Representatives urging the administration to recognize the killings
as genocide. Turkey has warned that passage of the resolutions in
the US Congress would seriously harm relations with Washington and
impair cooperation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US administration
has said it is opposed to the resolution, but the congressional
process is an independent one. In his message on April 24 — the
date Armenians claim marks the anniversary of the beginning of a
systematic genocide campaign at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire
— US President George W. Bush adhered to the administration policy
of not referring to the incident as genocide.

"If you want to touch and hurt the hearts of the people in Turkey,
this is the issue. This is the number-one issue. You cannot easily
explain to them any change in this," said Tan, who has requested
urgent meetings with Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik to impress upon
them the importance of this issue to Turkey.

In the eyes of his people, Turkey’s strategic relationship with
Israel was not with Israel alone, but with the whole Jewish world,
the Turkish ambassador elaborated. "They [the Turkish people] cannot
make that differentiation," he said.

Tan said he understood that the US-based Jewish organizations were
just that, reflecting Ankara’s awareness that there was no official
link between those NGOs and the Israeli government. Yet, he added, "We
all know how they work in coordinating their efforts [with Israel]."

Last week, Israel’s President Shimon Peres felt the need to assure
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan that Israel has not
changed its position on the Armenian issue. During a telephone
conversation with Erdoðan last week, Peres reiterated the Israeli
position that Turkey and Armenia should resolve the dispute on the
nature of the killings of Anatolian Armenians through dialogue.

According to Israeli media, Peres, during the same conversation,
also noted that Israel does not control US Jewish organizations,
which pursue their own agendas.

When reminded by The Jerusalem Post of quotes by Israeli government
officials reiterating that Israel does not control American Jewish
organizations, Tan firmly said he didn’t accept that argument. "On
some issues there is no such thing as ‘Israel cannot deliver’~B"
he said, adding that this was one of those issues.

Turkey’s Jews in Israel deplore ADL move

The New York-based Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) reversal of its
longtime policy by labeling the World War I killing of Anatolian
Armenians as genocide has sparked a harsh reaction from an umbrella
organization of Jews who migrated to Israel from Turkey.

The Union of Jews from Turkey in Israel (Turkiyeliler Birliði/Itahdut
Yotsei Turkia) deplored the ADL’s move in a statement released over
the weekend, saying that they have rejected comparison of the Armenian
allegations with "the disastrous genocide applied by Nazis on Jews
which has no precedent in the history of the humanity."

The statement penned by Momo Uzsinay, the organization’s head, brought
to mind the fact that US-based Jewish organizations have welcomed
Ankara’s initiative for resolving the issue via establishing a joint
commission of historians and experts from both Turkey and Armenia
to study the events of 1915 through usage of archives in Turkey,
Armenia and other relevant countries.

"Apparently, the ADL has now put its signature under such a reversal,
which is a questionable decision with political motives and under the
influence of concerns that it must adapt itself in line with certain
circles who change their minds according to political goals," the
statement said, noting that the ADL move came as a result of efforts
of the Armenian diaspora. "Our reality is the fact that Turks do not
have any intolerance toward minorities," it added.

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