Author: Karagyozian Lena

SECOND FERRYBOAT TO ELIMINATE UKRAINIAN MONOPOLY

Armenpress
Feb 13 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 13, ARMENPRESS: A ferryboat with Armenia-destined
goods running between Russian port of Kavkaz and Georgian port of
Poti will become operational on March 1, Armenian transport and
communication minister Andranik Manukian said today.

He said the new ferryboat will resume Armenia’s direct connection
with Russia that has been possible only by air after Russian closed a
border checkpoint on its border with Georgia last year. Manukian said
the ferryboat will be transporting only Armenia-destined goods. It
will make two voyages a week. Agreements to that end were signed by
Russia and Armenia and Russia and Georgia.

Manukian said commissioning of the ferryboat will eliminate the
monopoly of the Ukrainian UkrFerry company that has set excessively
high tariffs. Thus, the Ukrainian company charges $,2400 for
transportation of one carriage, significantly up from $800 it charged
several years ago. Ukrainian railways charge $19 for transportation
of one ton of Armenia-destined goods across its territory. Manukian
said the new ferryboat line will reduce all these expenses.

Armenian officials expect that the ferryboat will bring to Armenia
120,.000 metric tons of goods and take out 15,000 metric tons of
goods in the first year of its operation. These figures will grow
significantly in the next several years.

EU CAN MAKE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO CONFLICT SETTLEMENT IN POST-SOVIET SPACE

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.02.2007 19:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Commenting the official Moscow demand to EU not
to interfere in the resolution of "frozen conflicts" and abandon
the expansion of its sphere of influence on these territories Peter
Semneby, the EU Special Envoy said that Russia and all other interested
parties should jointly help creating necessary conditions to resolve
the "frozen conflicts" peacefully. He said that EU was interested in
the resolution of conflicts and may make an important contribution
to the resolution of the conflicts. "That may be a contribution in
the form of new integral parts, including financial ones", said
Mr. Semneby. He added that the countries were interested in the
cooperation with EU, and that it was just the conflict parties which
were responsible for the resolution of the conflicts.

Touching the expansion of EU sphere of influence on the post soviet
territory, he said that the matter concerned the stable neighborhood
of mutual interest by adding that it would be interest both to EU
and Russia, reports Trend.

SOLDIER REMEMBERED AS A PATRIOT
By Eugene Tong, Staff Writer

Los Angeles Daily News
Feb 11 2007

In the eyes of her father, Carla Babayan Stewart was always his
beautiful daughter with an infectious smile.

But at Saturday’s memorial service for the 37-year-old Army specialist
killed in a convoy accident in Iraq last month, she had become
much more.

"I thought I was the tough one, the patriot of the family," said Edmond
Babayan, Stewart’s father and a retired Marine. "This young lady, she
said if her unit wasn’t called, she was going to go on her own anyway.

"I’m humbled by you, Carla. You turned out to be the brave, the tough,
the best patriot of all of us. All I can say is until we meet again,
I have to do my final salute to you as a humble Marine to my beautiful,
tough hero."

Babayan saluted his daughter’s flag-draped casket, then fell to his
knees in prayer as about 300 family and friends gathered at Forest
Lawn Memorial-Park Hollywood Hills cemetery to remember Stewart’s life.

Born in La Canada Flintridge, she enlisted in the Army Reserves about
two years ago and was assigned to the 250th Transportation Company
based in El Monte.

After completing basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., Stewart was
deployed to Iraq. She was killed Jan. 28 when her vehicle overturned
in Tallil.

Stewart’s mother, Emmy Aprahamian, said her daughter showed
immeasurable kindness toward others.

"Carla knew that our individual duty and responsibility in life is
to polish our souls and become better human beings," she said. "By
doing so, we heal ourselves and heal humanity at large.

"She was the light. She is my light."

That theme ran throughout the service – from the benediction delivered
by Archbishop Mousheg Mardirossian of the Armenian Apostolic Church
to the reflective dignity of the military funeral.

Uniformed soldiers punctuated the service with taps and a rifle
salute, while Stewart’s parents and brother released 37 white doves –
one for each year of her life.

"The best we can do is to remember Carla as she lived, bringing life,
love and joy to those who knew her and pride to a nation," said Esther
Agopian, who delivered the eulogy.

"We marvel at your will and we will always celebrate your strength,
your courage and your conviction," she said of Stewart’s memory.

The older of two siblings, Stewart grew up in La Ca ada Flintridge
and Glendale. She was an accomplished ballet dancer and enjoyed the
outdoors. She married Brendan Stewart in 1995.

Her brother, Richard "Rick" Babayan, was her "forever best friend,"
Agopian said. "With Carla and Rick as the dynamic duo, there never
was a dull moment in the Babayan household."

Yet Carla Stewart always yearned for a meaningful life in service
to others.

"Many times she would say to Rick, `It shouldn’t be either-or, should
it? Peace and justice should belong to all people, everywhere, all
the time; isn’t that right?"’ Agopian said.

Her fellow service members nicknamed her "Stuart Little" after a
helpful mouse in children’s books.

"(She was) always first to help with the biggest of tasks and always
greeted you with the biggest smile," said Agopian, reading an e-mail
from Sgt. Fredrick E. Moore, who served with Stewart.

In the message, Moore related a poem read during her Feb. 6 funeral
service in Iraq.

"We thought we felt your touch today in the breeze that rustled by,
and then we heard the angels say her spirit will never die."

74

WHO DESERVES THE HALL?

The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York)
Final Edition
February 5, 2007 Monday

Tonight’s game between Syracuse and Connecticut will feature two Hall
of Fame coaches in Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun. Both were inducted
into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

Staff writers Kim Baxter and Mike Waters discuss some other coaches
who are headed to Springfield and a few who need to do some work
before getting their tickets to the Hall of Fame punched.

Waters: It will be interesting to see how the Hall of Fame committee
views Eddie Sutton, who retired after last season with 798 wins.

He’s fifth on the all-time wins list behind Bob Knight, Dean Smith,
Adolph Rupp and Jim Phelan. He took Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma
State to the Final Four, but he never won it all. And there’s this:
His program at Kentucky came under an NCAA investigation and was put
on probation.

Which leads me to my Hall of Fame pick: Rick Pitino. Pitino picked up
the pieces of a shattered program at Kentucky and took it to multiple
Final Fours and the 1996 NCAA title. He also led Providence to the
1987 Final Four and Louisville to the 2005 Final Four. He’s two wins
shy of 500 and he’s a mortal lock for the Hall of Fame.

Baxter: I like Pitino as a Hall of Famer. First of all, his speech
will be priceless. Secondly, all those Bluegrassers will once again
be forced to think about how he got away and is now sticking it to
them at Louisville.

After Pitino, I’d have to say Roy Williams is a no-brainer as a coach
who will eventually be enshrined. The former Jayhawk and current
Tar Heel head man has won 512 games (15th on the current active list
and second-fastest ever to 500) and has a .8025 winning percentage
(second among active coaches). He’s won national championships at
Kansas and Carolina, becoming just the third coach to win titles at
two schools. He’s produced some great pros and his contribution to
the game is immeasurable. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see ol’ Roy get
choked up in his induction speech?

Waters: I think there’s an interesting dynamic when considering a
pair of Maryland coaches – Lefty Driesell and Gary Williams.

Driesell was often portrayed as a country rube (the Duke students
would hold up cutouts of Lefty’s bald pate with a gas gauge on empty),
but the man could coach. He won a lot of games (786 to be exact),
unfortunately, he never got to the Final Four.

His best Maryland teams came in the era of one team per conference
getting into the tournament. His 1974 team that lost to N.C. State
and David Thompson was a powerhouse.

Then there’s Williams. He has 576 career wins and, of course, the
2002 national title on his resume. Personally? I’d vote for Lefty.

After all, he did create Midnight Madness.

Baxter: One coach who possesses enough wins to garner Hall of Fame
consideration, but will probably never get that phone call, is Jerry
Tarkanian.

He won 729 games at Long Beach State, UNLV and Fresno State. He won
990 games in all divisions of college basketball. But besides his
towel-gnawing and run-and-gun UNLV teams, he’s probably best known
as the man with NCAA violations at each school he coached.

Too bad. For now, I guess the Armenian Hall of Fame and the UNLV Hall
of Fame will have to suffice.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 9 2007

`Genocide’ Issue Tops Gül’s Talks with US Congressmen

Friday , 09 February 2007

In Washington for talks with senior US officials, Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gül met with John Murtha, the chairman of the defense
sub-committee of the House of Representatives Appropriations
Committee, and House majority leader Congressman Steny Hoyer.

During both meetings Gül said a resolution proposed to the US House
of Representatives constitutes a threat to relations between the two
countries.

Gül later had talks with Congressman Robert Wexler, co-chairman of
the Turkish- American Friendship Group, Tom Lantos, the chairman of
the House Committee on Foreign Relations, and Congressman Roy Blunt.
Lantos had supported Turkey’s position on the "Armenian genocide"
issue in the past, but after the Turkish Parliament’s refusal on
March 1, 2003 to allow the deployment of 62,000 US troops in Turkish
territory to launch a northern front in the war with Iraq, Lantos
said he would shift his position and back the resolution.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Balman said Gül’s meetings
at the US Congress have been positive. US State Department spokesman
Sean McCormack said, "We understand very clearly that this is a
sensitive issue not only for the Turkish people but also for the
Armenian people." McCormack also said that the State Department is
working with the Congress to pass Turkey’s concerns regarding the
issue. However, he said, "I think Gül and the Turkish government
understand how our government system work, and that the Congress is a
separate body."
US President George Bush will have to persuade the new
Democratic-controlled congress, which does not need presidential
approval to pass such a resolution. Members behind the proposed bill
have said they expect a push by the administration and lobbyists
working for the Turkish government to keep the resolution from a full
vote by the House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will decide
whether to offer the bill for a full vote if, as expected, it is
approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has already
expressed support.

Gül said they do not plan to meet with Pelosi because she is "too
engaged" in the issue but he will meet with her close aides and
friends to make sure Turkey’s views are heard. Turkey rejects the
"genocide" label and argues that only 300,000 Armenians and at least
as many Turks died in mutual civil strife.

TURKEY WARNS US ON DRAFT BILL PASSAGE

Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
Feb 7 2007

Washington: Turkey’s Foreign Minister has said a proposed resolution
in Congress to condemn as genocide the early 20th century killings of
up to 1.5 million Armenians would, if passed, harm Turkish-American
relations.

Abdullah Gul, speaking after meeting with top US officials, described
the possible resolution as an irritant to otherwise close cooperation
with the United States on vital issues, including bringing political
stability to Iraq, preventing nuclear proliferation and connecting
Asian energy supplies with European markets.

Even as the Bush Administration says it would try to head off the
resolution, Gul warned that the US should not get involved in the
sensitive dispute.

ORINATS YERKIR DID NOT PRIVATIZE TERRITORIES, ARTUR BAGHDASARIAN ASSURES

Noyan Tapan
Feb 07 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Large-scale appropriations were done
in Armenia under the guise of privatization. Orinats Yerkir (Country
of Law) Party Chairman Artur Baghdasarian made such a statement at the
February 7 press conference. "If there is a person who can prove that
to sell 1 sq.m. territory for 3-5 dollars is right while its real value
is 100 times higher than this price, I will dispute with this person,"
A.Baghdasarian said. He refuted the rumors in press, according to which
when making part of ruling coalition OYP privatized territories. As
A.Baghdasarian assured, these rumors emerged as a result of black PR
carried out towards the party and do not correspond to reality. In
response to the question, what is OYP’s position to the violence used
towards rally participants early in the morning of April 13 2004
and to the circumstance that Baghramian Avenue, as the journalist
characterized, "had turned into barracks," A.Baghdasarian said:
"National Assembly Chairman is not the guard of the National Assembly."

RA CAPABLE TO HOLD ELECTIONS MEETING INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.02.2007 18:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OSCE PA President Goran Lennmarker met today with
Armenian National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosian. Head of the OSCE
Yerevan office, Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin was also present at the
meeting. The RA NA Speaker briefed on the domestic situation in Armenia
and the work carried out after the constitutional referendum. He also
noted the necessity of holding the parliamentary election in accord
with international standards.

For his Mr Lennmarker remarked that Armenia is capable to conduct a
fair election. "The OSCE PA observing delegation will be led by OSCE
PA Vice president Tone Tingsgard, since we attach big importance to
this mission," he said. He also noted the activities of the Armenian
delegation to the OSCE PA and voiced assurance that the delegation
will make a considerable contribution to the discussion on energy
security within the OSCE. In his opinion, enlargement of parliamentary
cooperation in the South Caucasian region in various fields,
specifically seismic defense, use of water and natural resources.

NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT SHOULD INCLUDE AGREEMENT ON NKR STATUS

Noyan Tapan
Feb 05 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia-European Union Parliamentary
Cooperation Commission reaffirms its full assistance to peaceful
settlement and fair solution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict in accordance
with principles of international law, which includes peoples’ right
of self-determination and respect of minorities’ rights. This was
mentioned in Commission’s statement-proposals adopted at the January
29-30 sitting in Brussels. The document was presented by Commission
Co-chairman, Chairman of RA NA Standing Committee of Foreign Relations,
Armen Rustamian at the February 5 press conference.

In the part regarding Nagorno Karabakh settlement the Commission
also mentioned that it continues to assist with OSCE Minsk Group’s
efforts aimed at finding a viable negotiations resolution acceptable
for the sides involved in the conflict, as well as reaffirmed its
firm assistance in connection with the involvement of EU Special
Representative in the issue of conflict settlement.

The document also registered that the Commission "shares the opinion
that the Nagorno Karabakh settlement should include an agreement on
Nagorno Karabakh status." It was also mentioned that the authorities
representing the sides should provide proper conditions for returning
refugees to their homes safely.

"The NKR people should be directly involved in conflict settlement
negotiations. Further strengthening of democracy and perfection of NKR
government will contribute to peaceful settlement of the conflict,"
the document adopted by the Commission read.

Turkey warns Lebanon, Egypt against oil exploration deal

non-egypt-against-oil-exploration-deal

HULIQ, NC
Jan 3

Turkey warned Lebanon and Egypt on Tuesday not to press ahead with oil and
gas exploration deals signed with Cyprus, saying Turkey and Turkish Cypriots
also had rights in the region.

Turkey was "determined to protect its rights and interests in the
eastern Mediterranean and will not allow attempts to erode them,"
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry warned in a statement.

Lebanon and Cyprus signed an agreement for the delineation of an
undersea border on Jan. 17 to facilitate future oil and gas
exploration between the two east Mediterranean countries.

The 200 kilometer-wide (120 mile-wide) seabed separating Lebanon and
Cyprus is believed to hold significant crude oil and natural gas
deposits. The exclusive zone agreement is designed to mark the
underwater areas where each country can carry out exploration and
exploitation work once oil or gas is discovered.

A similar agreement signed between Egypt and Cyprus allowed for the
joint exploitation of potential undersea oil and gas fields between
the two countries.

Turkey and Greece came to the brink of war in early 1987 over a
similar oil drilling rights dispute in the Aegean Sea. A clash was
averted after Turkey withdrew a seismic exploration ship and agreed
not to test in contested waters if Greece did the same.

Any crisis between Turkey and EU-member Cyprus over exploration rights
could potentially drag Greece into the dispute and could also further
complicate Turkey’s relations with the EU, which has agreed to slow
down membership negotiations with Ankara over its refusal to open
ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels and planes.

Turkey and Greece have nearly gone to war three times in the past four
decades over territorial disputes, including the 1987 standoff.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Turkey had "legitimate and legal
rights and interests" in the eastern Mediterranean and insisted
Turkish Cypriots also had a say on oil and gas rights concerning the
island.

"The delineation of the continental shelf or of exclusive economic
rights in the eastern Mediterranean is only possible through
arrangements that would take into account the rights and interests of
all parties," it said.

It also said Lebanon had signed the deal despite assurances to Turkish
leaders that it would not, the ministry said.

"Cyprus does not represent the whole of the island," the Turkish
statement said. "Therefore laws on the issue enacted by the Greek
Cypriot government or agreements made with other interested parties
have no validity for us."

"We remind them to also take into consideration the will of the
Turkish Cypriots and not to take any initiatives that may negatively
affect the process of resolution of the Cyprus issue," the ministry
added.

The Mediterranean island has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south
home of the internationally recognized government and Turkish Cypriot
north since a Turkish invasion in 1974 sparked by a coup supporting
union of the island with Greece. Turkey has no diplomatic relations
with the government in the south and supports a breakaway Turkish
Cypriot state, recognized only by Ankara.

The internationally-recognized Cypriot government said it would launch
an international tender in February for offshore oil and gas
exploration rights.

The Norwegian energy consulting firm PGS recently began a 3-D seismic
survey to determine the volume of exploitable hydrocarbon reserves off
the Lebanese coast.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat has said his people would not
renounce oil and gas rights in the Mediterranean and warned of rising
tensions if deposits were not jointly exploited by the two
communities.
– Pravda.ru