Author: Kanayan Tamar

Turkey, Russia ‘Have Common Positions on Karabakh Conflict’
Baku Today
July 22 2005
Turkey and Russia have common positions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Nagorno Karabakh and the Cyprus conflicts, Turkish TRT channel quoted
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying.
Commenting on the results of his recent visit to Russia, Erdogan said
the similarity in the positions of Ankara and Moscow on such issues is
of great importance in terms of lifting isolation from Northern Cyprus
and settling the conflicts, which pose a threat to regional stability.

NEW APPROACHES FOR IDENTIFICATION AND PREVENTION OF CANCER PRESENTED
ArmenPress
July 19 2005
YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Health Ministry’s Oncology
Center and the Academy for Educational Development (AED) with funding
of the United States Agency for International Development organized
today “Cancer Prevention and Control at the Primary Level in Armenia”
seminar-meeting to present to family doctors and specialists delivering
primary health services cancer epidemiology, risk factors and new
approaches for early identification and prevention of the disease.
Armenian Deputy Health Minister Tatul Hakobian greeted the organization
of the forum and presented Health Minister Norayr Davidian’s message to
the participants in which he calls on health establishments to have the
issues on cancer prevention and control under their limelight. Tatul
Hakobian said the efforts which they have undertaken to make people
go to policlinics for examination were justified and at present
more people visit doctors and now there is a necessity to implement
practical steps in identifying the disease in its initial state.
USAID Armenian Mission Director Robin Phillips told it is necessary
to develop an anti-cancer national program in Armenia.
According to him, many countries adopt national policy for fighting
against the disease. During the meeting he welcomed the five-year long
cooperation between the Armenian Health Ministry and USAID which have
joint aim to develop the health primary control circle.
According to him, the events organized for cancer prevention will
first of all be useful for family doctors.
“It is necessary to display political will, combine abilities and
increase the level of public awareness for fighting against the
disease,” said Phillips. Hranush Hakobian, head of the Science,
Education, Culture and Youth Affairs Permanent Commission, also
underscored the necessity of developing a state program and releasing
funds from the state budget for fighting against the disease. “It
is necessary to fight against the disease by all means. It is also
necessary to implement such amendments, according to which a person
who has cancer will be treated by state released funds.”
Head of the Armenian Ontology Center Hayrapet Galstian said fight
against the cancer is not only health issue but also a national,
state and public one. During the recent years Armenian medical
facilities have been fulfilled with modern devices which promoted
the early identification of the disease. The cases of identification
of the disease have increased by 6% which results in decrease of
expenditures. Galstian said the early identification is not the issue
of oncologist but of the primary sector and family doctor. From this
point of view he considered the creation of Family Doctor Institute
in Armenia as a very effective step.
He said that at present there are 30,000 registered people with cancer
who have been treated for 10 years. According to him, practically
they are healthy people and have returned to their families and
society. According to the information possessed by the Ontology Center,
in 2004 6,174 people with cancerous growths were registered in Armenia,
48.7% of which were women. For comparison, the number of new cancer
cases in 1995 was 4,705, in 2000 – 5,413.
Increase is registered in the number of new cancer cases among female
reproductive organs. Beast cancer has the second leading place in the
cancer epidemiology in the country after lung cancer. The disease is
also spread among men who are often getting cancer in lungs, prostate
and in colo-rectal system.

PanArmenian News Network
July 19 2005
INTRACOM SIGNED [email protected] CONTRACT WITH VIVACELL
19.07.2005 04:53
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ INTRACOM has signed a new contract, amounting to
[email protected] in its first phase, with VivaCell, the trademark of K-Telecom,
which is second largest mobile operator in Armenia, for the
deployment of a mobile network. INTRACOM Company Press Service stated
to .am edition of PanARMENIAN.Net. According to the source, the aim
of the project, which INTRACOM undertook in cooperation with ALCATEL,
is to enable VivaCell to become a strong mobile operator in Armenia
that will provide the most advanced high-quality services to the
Armenian end-users. In particular, within the framework of the
contract, the project provides for the deployment of a complete
“turn-key” mobile network covering the entire territory of Armenia.
It should be noted that INTRACOM Company headquartered in Greece is
one of the main providers of ArmenTel telephone company, which has
concluded a $37-million contract of with INTRACOM in 1999. However,
the Interdepartmental Commission, formed by the Armenian Government
in 2001, has discovered misuse of the financial flows of common
activities of ArmenTel and INTRACOM. It should also be mentioned that
INTRACOM Company was founded by social immigrant Sokratis Kokalis,
who is observed to be in close cooperation with German State Security
Committee. Bundestag respective bodies are dealing with the
wheeler-dealer finance of Sokratis Kokalis and his company. Detailed
information is available in the Library section.

Alcatel’s Earnings Exceed Expectations, Shares Gain
Bloomberg.com
July 12, 2005
Alcatel SA, the world’s biggest broadband equipment supplier, said sales
and earnings rose more than the company expected in the second quarter,
lifted by demand for Internet-related and wireless phone products.
Sales rose 8 percent to 3.14 billion euros ($3.8 billion), instead of
the predicted 2 percent to 3 percent increase, the Paris-based company
said in a faxed statement today. Operating profit was about 251 million
euros, or more than 8 percent of sales, Alcatel said. The shares climbed
6.5 percent, the biggest gain in more than eight months.
“For once we have a good surprise from Alcatel, which isn’t doing as
badly as we thought,” said Andre Chassagnol, head of research at
Paresco Futures in Paris.
The gain in profitability brings Alcatel, under Chief Executive Serge
Tchuruk, closer to its goal of 10 percent operating margin for the full
year. The company disappointed investors in the first quarter with an
operating margin of 4.1 percent. Tchuruk, facing competition from
companies including Cisco Systems Inc., has sold units and cut more than
40,000 jobs, returning Alcatel to profit in 2004 after three years of
losses.
Shares of Alcatel rose 60 cents to 9.80 euros in Paris, the biggest gain
since Oct. 21. Still, Alcatel stock has declined 13.8 percent this year,
compared with a 12.9 percent increase in France’s CAC 40 index. Since
the beginning of 2000, the stock is down 78 percent, compared with a 25
percent drop in the CAC 40.
Shares of Cisco, the world’s biggest maker of computer networking
equipment, have gained 1.9 percent this year, compared with a 0.5
percent increase in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
Increasing Margin
Second-quarter earnings totaled about 13 euro cents per share, lifted by
a tax gain and a “one time capital gain” linked to the sale of an
unspecified investment in central Europe, Finance Director Jean-Pascal
Beaufret said on a conference call. More details of second-quarter
earnings will be provided in a full presentation July 28, he said.
Beaufret said the 8 percent margin in the second-quarter was a “little
bit higher” than expected and the margin would rise in the second half,
boosted particularly in the fourth quarter.
“The results are at the top end of what Alcatel was forecasting for the
year as a whole,” said Franck Hennin, who helps manage $2.2 billion in
assets at Richelieu Finance in Paris. “Its business is quite cyclical
and the second half is better for margins,” he said.
Margin Targin
The company said April 28 that profitability had been hurt by costs of
marketing new mobile-network equipment and the expense of currency
hedges. Alcatel today reiterated its goal of a 10 percent operating
margin for the full year.
Alcatel’s first-quarter operating income rose 27 percent to 107 million
euros from 84 million euros a year earlier. Revenue rose 3.7 percent in
the first quarter to 2.61 billion euros from 2.52 billion a year earlier.
First-quarter net income fell 55 percent to 124 million euros, or 9
cents a share, from 278 million euros, or 20 cents, a year earlier. Last
year’s first-quarter net income included the effect of the sale of
battery maker Saft. Alcatel sold the unit in January 2004 to Doughty
Hanson & Co. for 390 million euros.
Tchuruk, 67, trimmed Alcatel’s workforce by 8 percent last year to about
56,000 at the end of 2004.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Benedikt Kammel in Berlin at [email protected]
or
Simon Packard in Paris [email protected]
;sid=aXA3.zOHDboc

HUMORISTS FROM MILLI MEJLIS
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
14 July 05
The election to the Azerbaijani Milli Mejlis (the parliament) is in
November. The struggle for seats in the parliament has flared up. It
looks like the opposition have made up their minds to teach a lesson
to the authorities and win the majority of seats in the
parliament. And, by the way, they look quite confident int heir
victory. This confidence, first of all, emanates from the standpoint
of the West and first of all the United States which unambiguously let
them understand that it will support the opposition. It is enough to
consider the statement of the US ambassador to Azerbaijan during his
trip to Gyandja at the end of the last month. He particularly said
that the US government seeks to cooperate with democratic countries;
therefore, the US will support Azerbaijan in holding the election in
autumn. The ambassador is hopeful that the election will be fair. The
Karabakh proverb says they tell the complete word to the ass. However,
we are concerned about another thing; will the new parliament be as
amusing as the former? Do the Americans and other representatives of
the West, being so far from the Oriental colourful humour, who are
going to supervise the upcoming election, think about this peculiarity
of the Azerbaijani parliament? If not, its a pity. Because in Baku
they joke that there are two theatres of comedy in the capital of
Azerbaijan. One of them is the theatre of musical comedy, the other is
the Milly Mejlis of Azerbaijan. Moreover, it is generally accepted
that the actors of the theatre of musical comedy cannot compare to
their “colleagues” in Milli Mejlis by their professional skills, where
Speaker Murtus Aleskerov himself plays the role of the “fool”. Its a
pity that no tickets for the “performances” of the Azerbaijani
parliament are sold otherwise the inhabitants of Baku known for their
delicate taste for humour would book the tickets beforehand. This is
not exaggerated. Which parliament of the world would complain of the
symbol of justice Themis, more exactly the band around her eyes? What
is more, the meeting when the complaint was lodged was conducted by a
doctor of law. The answer is the Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan. Four
years ago, discussing the bill on the official symbol of the court of
justice, Member of Parliament Hasan Mirzoyev from the ruling political
party Yeni Azerbaijan stated with a practical air that the eyes and
ears of judges should be wide open in order for them to be objective
in considering the case. In answer to this Member of Parliament
Aliovsat Aghalarov noticed that the eyes of the judges can be open but
their pockets should be buttoned. In this meeting they could not do
without “anti-Armenianism” either. One of the parliamentary
“humorists” did not like the scales in the hand of Themis, which
allegedly resembles the Armenian cross. It was even proposed to
replace the scales with the yataghan of Khatayi Shah. After long
disputes presided by Murtus Aleskerov, who is, as you have already
guessed, the abovementioned doctor of law, the members of parliament
suggested a compromise. They decided that the scales should be left as
it is but at least one of the eyes of the goddess should be
opened. Hopefully, common sense prevailed as it does at the end of all
the comedies. Or in which parliament would the members of parliament
propose to “behead” this or that politician? Again the answer is the
Azerbaijani. A year ago Member of Parliament Jalal Aliev made this
proposal for the leader of Musavat, Isa Ghambar. One more question. In
which parliament of the world can the physical features become a
category for evaluating a politician? The answer again is the
Azerbaijani. At the meeting of the Milli Mejlis the member of
parliament representing the ruling political party Yeni Azarbaijan
Musa Musayev angrily swore at the chairman of the oppositionist
political party of National Independence Etibar Mamedov because the
latter had dared to criticize Ilham Aliev. “Even when sitting Ilham
Aliev is taller than Etibar Mamedov. How can Etibar Mamedov with his
stature ever criticize Ilham Aliev,” shouted Musa Musayev. There is no
end to the oddities of the humorists of the Azerbaijani
parliament. Either they decide on adopting laws on protection of
national moral values and on extremism only because “the Azerbaijani
oppositionists are immoral, ruin the system of national moral values
and are engaged in extremist activities”, or advise their colleagues
to have the mental doctor examine them and even accuse the members of
parliament of being homosexuals And last year the vice speaker of the
Milli Mejlis Ziyafet Askerov made “an epoch-making discovery” for the
Azerbaijani political establishment. He discovered that the leaders of
the Azerbaijani opposition “feel pathological hatred against one
another”. Ziyafet Askerov came to this conclusion after studying their
photos taken during the meeting of the coordinating board. “In the
photos one can see that their smiles are forced, and they hate one
another,” stated the vice speaker with a profound sense of duty. The
present mejlismen were not dignified (but instead they were faithful
to their humorist spirit) when they expressed their opinion on the
activities of the European organizations, particularly the OSCE,
although the official Baku did not join the statement of the CIS
countries criticizing the OSCE. At one of the meetings of the
parliament the members of parliament representing the political party
Yeni Azarbaijan were quite frank saying that the OSCE intended to
stage a coup in Azerbaijan and bring the local opposition to
power. They could not do without blaming the Armenians either. For
example, a mejlisman decided to open the eyes of the Azerbaijanis and
Armenians. “I knew that the OSCE is the “godfather” of the Armenians,
and now I have come to understand that the OSCE is also the
“godfather” of the Azerbaijani opposition,” announced Mr. Know-All. It
turns out that there are close “ties of kinship” between the Armenians
and Azerbaijanis, whereas the naive Armenians could not even imagine
this would be possible However, as it could be expected, Murtus
Aleskerov is full of hatred for European organizations. He openly
announced that the task of the head of the Baku office of the OSCE is
to make enquiries about the disputes taking place in the Milli Mejlis
and inform the Americans. This exotic accusation against the European
diplomat aroused the ironic laughter of the leader of the reformist
Popular Front Ali Kerimli. In the presence of the Baku mass media the
irritated speaker told Ali Kerimli to behave himself (A.G.) and went
on with this statement, “I personally appeal to you, Ali Kerimli. Keep
in your mind that with such oppositionists like you no power will be
ever shared.” Not without success did the performance of the mejlismen
pass after the cancellation of the NATO exercise Cooperative Best
Effort 2004 to have been held in Azerbaijan last September. The
training was cancelled because the Azerbaijani side refused to receive
the Armenian military men. This scandalous fact in the history of NATO
was presented by Member of Parliament Gudrat Hasanguliev as “the great
achievement of the Azerbaijani diplomacy”. And his colleague Ibrahim
Isayev hurried to congratulate the Azerbaijani people on the “historic
victory”. The “cast” of the Milli Mejlis was, as a rule, supported by
the former advisor on foreign affairs Vafa Guluzadeh. The rate of his
anti-Armenian activities is simply impressive. Apparently the former
advisor to Heidar Aliev wants to atone for his sin of close friendship
with the Armenians (in the Soviet times). According to Vafa Guluzadeh,
the legacies in Baku give the governments of their countries wrong
information about the genuine attitude of the Azerbaijanis towards
Armenians, which is outrageous hatred. Bravo, Vafa! Let there be more
similar statements addressed to the European organizations. Let them
understand at last why the Armenians of Karabakh do not want to be
subject to such statesmen as the tragedian Vafa Guluzadeg and the
“clowns” of the Milli Mejlis. Now quite seriously. Every performance
comes to its end. Soon the present “actors” of Milli Mejlis will leave
the stage of the theatre of absurd. We are hopeful that instead of new
“clowns” and Armenophobs they will be replaced by serious people of
sound judgement who will think for the fate of their
people. Otherwise, as the journalist E. Orudjev predicts, the
Azerbaijani people may come to a complete moral decay. God forbid.
ALEXANDER GRIGORIAN.
14-07-2005

PanArmenian News Network, Armenia
July 11 2005
BALTIKA BEER WILL AGAIN APPEAR AT ARMENIAN MARKET
11.07.2005 09:04
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Baltika brewing company of Saint Petersburg has resumed
supplies of its production to Georgia and Armenia, reported the company
press service. `The supplies to Georgia and Armenia were ceased in July 2004
due to causes not dependent on the company. Before export was interrupted,
Baltika had supplied over 136 thousand dals of beer to Georgia and 17
thousand dals to the Armenian market,’ the company noted. Before the yearend
Baltika plans to export over 100 thousand dals of its production to Georgia
and over 30 thousand dals to Armenia. The production grounds of the company
are situated in St. Petersburg, Tula, Khabarovsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara. The
company produces 36 kinds of beer and 5 soft drinks. At present Baltika
supplies its production to 38 countries of the world. The company export
sales in 2004 increased 14% as compares to 2003 and made 11.3 million dals,
Regnum news agency reported.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #128, 13/07/2005

Neighbors
AZERBAIJAN MAY BE EXCLUDED FROM EU NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM
Referring to diplomatic sources, the Baku based Zerkalo stated
recently that Azerbaijan may be excluded from the EU neighborhood
program, if the November 6 parliamentary elections do not keep in line
with the international criteria. Heikki Talvittie, EU Special
Representative, recently visited Baku, met with the Azeri authorities,
the opposition and the representatives of NGOs. The Finn diplomat said
that he will pay two other visits to Baku before the elections.

Zaman, Turkey
July 9 2005
Armenian Lobby Makes British Deputy to Retreat
By Selcuk Gultasli
European Parliament (EP) British Member Richard Howitt who supported
Armenian allegations in a statement he made together with the
European Armenian Federation defended his stance saying he was not
sufficiently informed about the panel he chaired last month.
A European Armenian Federation (AEF) statement said that Howitt
welcomed the panel without knowing the subject of discussion. The Ari
Movement was blamed for not informing Howitt about the purpose of the
panel in the statement that implied he was deceived by the Ari
Movement.
After the June 15 forum, the American Armenian Lobby sent a
delegation to Brussels to gather support for the AEF and also lobbied
the EP. The Armenian lobby pressurized Howitt in particular and the
Socialist Group that he is a member of. Howitt, who said several
times that he wanted to be known as “Mr. Turkey in Brussels,” related
that they had discussed about another meeting with Howitt after the
forum and negotiated some activities in September. The Ari Movement
issued a statement of condemnation opposing the EAF statement. The
Movement also sent a letter to Howitt and asked for an explanation
about the inconsistency in his remarks. The letter said Howitt’s
remarks were unethical and he should give an official explanation for
that. It was observed that the French members of EP influenced
Howitt’s statement.
Howitt: I am not regretful
The Ari Movement’s statement which claims that Howitt was not
properly informed about the issue is incorrect and he urged the
cooperation should continue. The statement ended with the sentence:
“the reactions of EAF will not affect Ari Movement’s fight to have
the 1915 events evaluated from a different perspective in Europe.”
In a telephone conversation with Zaman, Howitt stressed he did not
regret welcoming and leading the panel and he did not imply that he
was deceived by the Ari Movement. He further said he was one of the
members of EP who supported Turkey’s European Union (EU) bid most and
he did not want to offend Turkey and Turkish people with his remarks.
He said he wanted to send the same message to Armenians by signing
the same statement with them and added that the peace between Turkey
and Armenia will be one of the main issues of Turkey-EU relations.
Meanwhile the Armenian Lobby, which has been busy with heavy lobbying
in Brussels since June 15, the day the panel was organized, made a
similar attempt at influencing the European Policy Center (EPC) but
the Center did not issue any pro- Armenian statement.

A1plus
21:01:18 | 07-07-2005 | Politics |
WILL VENICE COMMISSION BE PLEASED
Today the draft constitutional amendments were sent to the Venice
Commission, RA NA Vice Speaker Tigran Torosyan reported.
The agreements achieved during the discussions June 23-24 between the
representatives of the Venice Commission and the RA authorities were fixed
in SDF 2005 052 document.
When asked whether the opposition will return to the parliament, Tigran
Torosyan said, `All the issues were settled jointly.’

A1plus
| 20:43:40 | 06-07-2005 | Social |
FOLLOWING THE RULES
Today in Kapan a joint session of the Armenian and Irani borderline
governors has taken place. General issues concerning the Armenian and
Persian drivers, as well as issues about opening a borderline market in
Nurduz have been discussed.
The Irani side called the Armenian to try to correspond to the international
criteria during transit good transportation, the Persian agency `Irna’
reports.