Author: Karagyozian Lena

ARMENTEL WILL BE DIVIDED
The Russian company Sistema Holding and the international consortium
including the Indian VTEL Holdings and Knightsbridge Associates will
share 90 percent of shares of Armentel, reports the news agency ARKA,
adding that a famous Armenian businessman represents the consortium.
The source, who is aware of the transfer of shares, informed that the
fixed-line telephone network will be bought by the Russian company,
whereas the Indian-Armenian consortium will buy the mobile network.
Sistema did not affirm or deny this news.

IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO DISMISS SERGE SARGSYAN
Lragir.am
24 July 06
Immediately after the extraordinary assembly of the Republican Party
the wish to leave the hall occurred. Not only because it was hot
in the hall but also to go out to the street to see what changed
in the country after the extraordinary gathering of the Republican
Party. It turned out that nothing had changed. The same heat. If
the assembly changed anything, it changed only for the Republican
or at best the government. And their behavior shows that something
did change for these two subjects. For the public, the Republican
Party and government are the same. However, this is not very close
to being true and this is the reason for holding an assembly when
it is 40 degrees outside. The Republicans have never made so much
effort, and it means that they have appeared in a new situation,
for throughout the gathering Andranik Margaryan and Tigran Torosyan
assured their fellow party members that the Republican will go on,
that there are no controversies between the old (Andranik Margaryan
and administrative-criminal community) and new (Serge Sargsyan +
a new “consignment” of the administrative-criminal community) members.
All this shows the contrary. In fact, there are no controversies,
but there are concerns that they will occur. Moreover, Andranik
Margaryan and Tigran Torosyan are worried that their controversies
as such may not manage to occur and something may happen to the party
that the wife of the founder of the Republican Party of Armenia Ashot
Navasardyan does not expect – Andranik Margaryan may be ousted from the
leadership of the party. And there are all the preconditions. After
the expansion of the council of the Republican Party the pro-Serge
Sargsyan members of the council are equal. In number, whereas by their
influence they exceed the team of Andranik Margaryan. For instance,
Karen Karapetyan and Harutiun Pambukyan officially lead the sphere of
economic and political activities of the Republican. And they became
Republicans only several days ago, they came with Serge Sargsyan.
Could Andranik Margaryan and Tigran Torosyan prevent the fast
expansion of influence of the defense minister? Maybe they could,
but it would require sacrifices in power. Whereas in the perception
of these people the political party is a means to remain in power and
they would not dream even in their nightmares that they can sacrifice
power for the party. Meanwhile, they are ready to sacrifice the party
for power. However, Margaryan and Torosyan now understand that by
losing the party they lose power. In other words, in this case they
do not sacrifice their status in the party for the sake of power,
the political party is taken away from them. There are no guarantees
that in this case Margaryan and Torosyan may benefit in 2007 more
than an ordinary Republican who wonders for what merits a two-day-old
Republican becomes a party leader. It is natural that the old leaders
of the Republican Party must assure their ordinary members that the
Republican will remain faithful to the tradition. There is nothing
else they can do, like a man who travels at night and shouts out of
fear not to be afraid. Andranik Margaryan and Tigran Torosyan are
now busy shouting.
And they have every reason to shout, in other words, to be afraid.
After all the Republican elite realizes that it is not realistic to
rely on their team any more. The prime minister and the speaker of the
National Assembly must remember how Hakob Hakobyan named Republican
Galust Sahakyan as an opponent to Republican Tigran Torosyan. By the
way, Hakob Hakobyan became Republican after Serge Sargsyan. For Galust
Sahakyan, for instance, it does not matter who will guarantee the
post of deputy mayor of his son, Andranik Margaryan or Serge Sargsyan.
On top of all, Andranik Margaryan cannot rely on Tigran Torosyan either
when on the very first day Torosyan hurried to assure Serge Sargsyan,
the newly elected chair of the Council of the Republican Party that
they do not have controversies, and such rumors are nonsense. He
hurried because there is no time, Serge Sargsyan announces that he
ahs launched a process which will produce its first fruits in three
or four months. And it can be seen with the naked eye that Tigran
Torosyan needs these fruits more than Andranik Margaryan. Therefore,
he needs to find a place in this process. There is no time for the
political party. The Republican Party is neither the first nor the
last. Loyalty has never done good to anyone in Armenia. Moreover,
“Betraying in time is not betrayal but far-sightedness,” the personage
of Garage said. The heroes of our time are not worse. Besides, once
Andranik Margaryan found a common language with Serge Sargsyan six
months ago and did not regret. Why shouldn’t Tigran Torosyan try as
well? Simply, there is a nuance. If six years ago the “language”
Andranik Margaryan found decided the fate of the Republican Party,
six years later the “language” found by Torosyan will decide the fate
of Margaryan. Especially that Serge Sargsyan is good at languages,
after all he is a philologist.
HAKOB BADALYAN

Sitting of the South Caucasian Parliamentary Assembly to be held in London
ArmRadio.am
21.07.2006 11:56
Sitting of the South Caucasian Parliamentary Assembly will be held in
London today. The presidency over the Assembly will be transferred
from Georgia to Armenia. Yesterday the Armenian delegation headed
by member of the Republican faction Ararat Malkhasyan left for the
capital of the United Kingdom.

American co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group to visit Armenia
Source: Trend
19.07.2006
Author: A.Mammadov
On July 29, American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Mathew Bryza
will pay a visit to Armenia, Trend reports quoting ARKA.
Within the visit, it is expected to hold meetings with Armenian
president Robert Kocharyan and Armenian foreign minister Vardan
Oskanyan.
Mathew Bryza was appointed the co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group from the
USA on June 15. M.Bryza substituted the previous American co-chair
in OSCE Minsk Group Steven Mann who was appointed c-chair on April
16, 2004.

Job-seeking Indians facing problems in Cyprus
Monday July 17 2006 13:10 IST
Newindpress (subscription), India
July 17 2006
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A number of Indians, who have gone hunting for
jobs in Cyprus are feared to have encountered legal problems there
after their employers reportedly breached the terms of contract.
Help for the beleaguered Indians could be slow in coming, as the
incidents are believed to have occurred in the Turkish-occupied area
of the politically-split island where the official Cyprus government
has little say.
The Armenian Research and Ethnographic Centre in Nicosia, which claims
to be an ethnic and civil rights NGO offering help and assistance to
Indian nationals, alerted this website’s newspaper, through a letter,
on the problems being faced by the Indian nationals.
According to the centre, many Indians have “encountered problems and
disputes with their employers,” some within weeks and others within
months of their arrival on the island in search of employment.
“In spite of the intervention of the Local Ministry of Labour
and Social Insurance, these people end up, if they were to fail
(to get help) through our office, at the law office of a local
advocate/barrister where they have to pay exorbitant fee, which they
cannot afford,” says the letter written by V H Malian, who is the
founder-director of the Armenian Research and Ethnographic Centre.
Malian says that his office has limits in intervening in such cases.
But he has a list of names of the Indians who are facing problems. So
does the Indian High Commissioner to Cyprus. The families of the
Indians also know about their plight, he writes.
Unfortunately, the Indian High Commission in Cyprus is yet to act
and his agency has failed to elicit any response from the recruiting
agencies of the Indians, he said.
When contacted, Andreas G Skarparis, the High Commissioner of the
Republic of Cyprus to India, said he was not aware of the problem,
but feared that the incidents could have taken place in the northern
areas of Cyprus which had been under Turkish occupation since 1974.
The claim of a Turkish Republic of Cyprus has not been accepted by
the UN.

PRESS RELEASE
Fund for Armenian Relief’s Fellowship Alumni Association
29 Rubinyants Street,
Yerevan, Armenia
Contact: Bella Grigoryan
FARFAa_Salzburg Medical Program Coordinator
Tel: (37410) 249677, 541128
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
OMI/FARFAA VIDEOCONFERENCE
European School of Urology
Weill Cornell Master Class in Urology
Yerevan, July 17th, 2006
Salzburg Medical Seminars Program, the Open Medical Institute (OMI)
program of the American Austrian Foundation, together with FARFAA
(Armenia) and with the technical support of the <> Medical
Center organized a videoconference on “Urology”.
All the equipment and technical support in Armenia was provided by
the <> Medical Center with the kind support of its chief
Prof. Ara Babloyan.
The videoconference took place on July 17th. 16 doctors from different
Yerevan hospitals have participated.
Dr.Hendrick van Poppel, ESU and Dr. E.D.Vaughan, Well-Cornell , USA
led the seminar. The lectures covered: Bladder cancer, diagnosis
of and new testing methods ( Dr. Michele Donat); Bladder cancer,
management of superficial bladder cancer (Dr. Harry Herr)
The goal of the videoconference was to present the latest information,
experience and knowledge of the international faculty members to
English speaking Armenian doctors.
This was our second videoconference experience with the Salzburg
Medical Seminars Program, (OMI). We hope that this activity will be
continued in the future and more and more Armenian specialists will
be involved in the Salzburg Medical Seminars Program to enhance their
professional level through theoretical knowledge and discussions.
We wish to acknowledge and to express our deep appreciation to
Katharine Aulitzky , Dr. Michele Donat, Dr. Harry Herr, Prof. Ara
Babloyan, John A. Riehl, Dr Gevorg Yaghjyan, Arman Babloyan and
Andreas Thauerer for their assistance and support.
Open Medical Institute (OMI) is a program of the American Austrian
Foundation (AAF) whose main goal is to educate physicians and
health care providers from countries in transition and foster their
professional growth ()
FAR FAA is a non-for-profit organization of medical professionals,
aimed at improving the health care system of the community and
advancing medical sciences in Armenia.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
HOUSE MEMBERS DISTURBED BY STATE DEPARTMENT NON-RESPONSE
TO CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRY ON AMB. EVANS’ FIRING
“The Bush Administration has once again failed to answer the
question of whether or not the early departure of U.S.
Ambassador to Armenia John Evans is related to comments he
made about the Armenian Genocide. Moreover, the Bush
Administration continues to duck when given the opportunity to
properly recognize the Armenian Genocide.”
— Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA)
WASHINGTON, DC – Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have
expressed disappointment at the Administration’s repeated failure
to provide a clear and straightforward explanation for the dismissal
of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans, even as the State
Department issued yet another letter sidestepping the issue, reported
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
In their response to the May 22nd letter spearheaded by Rep. Edward
Markey (D-MA) and cosigned by 60 House members, Assistant Secretary
for Legislative Affairs Jeffrey Bergner failed, once again, to address
reports that Amb. Evans’ was being recalled for his statements on
the Armenian Genocide. The letter began with the well-worn refrain
that “All Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the President and as
advocates of the President’s policies.” He went on to argue that,
“allegations that the U.S. is removing Ambassador Evans under pressure
from the Government of Turkey are simply untrue,” despite the fact
that numerous Turkish press accounts in March of 2005 reported that
then Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Faruk Logoglu did indeed protest
Amb. Evans’ remarks to State Department officials.
The State Department’s letter, sent to House Members on July 11th,
went on to state that “The United States has never denied the tragic
events of 1915. . . . We believe this tragedy is of such enormous human
significance that its characterization should be determined through
heartfelt dialogue, not through diplomatic or political proclamations.”
Several House Members immediately reacted to the response, expressing
concern that the State Department has, yet again, avoided providing
a clear reasoning for the Amb. Evans firing.
“The Bush Administration has once again failed to answer the
question of whether or not the early departure of U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia John Evans is related to comments he made about the Armenian
Genocide. Moreover, the Bush Administration continues to duck when
given the opportunity to properly recognize the Armenian Genocide,”
explained Rep. Markey. “The time has long since passed for President
Bush to follow through on his campaign promises and properly recognize
the Armenian Genocide. Only after President Bush accurately refers to
the mass killings of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide can we finally
tear down the last walls of denial.”
Similarly, Congressional Armenian Genocide resolution lead sponsor
George Radanovich (R-CA), lamented that “This response was,
unfortunately, what we have come to expect from the Administration
and those before it – respectfully acknowledging the mass killing of
1.5 million Armenians, but refusing to properly call it genocide. It
is simply incomprehensible to me how anyone can recognize the tragic
events of 1915, then turn around and implicitly deny that genocide
occurred by refusing to call it such for political reasons. I just
don’t understand that.”
Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) wrote a letter back objecting to the State
Department’s response and calling the President’s actions on Armenian
Genocide recognition “woefully inadequate.” Rep. Levin stated, “I did
have a strong negative reaction to your comments about 1915. I urge the
President to do more than ‘call on all concerned parties to engage in
thoughtful introspection’ which is woefully inadequate in the face of
the Administration’s repeated failure to call a genocide a genocide.”
Again responding to the State Departments July 11th letter, Rep. Adam
Schiff (D-CA) noted that, “The State Department’s non- response on
the issue of Ambassador Evan’s departure confirms what we all know —
the Ambassador was pushed out the door for telling the truth about
the Armenian Genocide. This marks a sad day for the State Department
when it compounds an unwillingness to acknowledge one of the great
crimes in human history and more, disciplines those who do.”
Rep. Schiff also commented on the State Department’s lack of response
to a series of questions submitted during a House International
Relations Committee hearing with Secretary Rice in February 16,
2006. “Secretary of State Rice’s failure to adequately respond to
questions I posed to her on this issue at a hearing months ago, is
a further indication of the Department’s illicit motive for Evan’s
hasty removal.”
Similarly, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) noted that “The belated
response from the State Department regarding our inquiry into the
removal of Ambassador Evans is yet another statement without a real
explanation. Reports suggest that Evans is being unjustly penalized for
speaking the truth. It is unacceptable for the Bush administration to
punish Evans for his comments. What he did was courageous and should
be viewed as such.”
In their letter to the State Department, Rep. Markey and fellow
Congressional cosigners expressed special concern about the destructive
precedent of recalling a U.S. diplomat for speaking truthfully on
matters of historical record. They wrote that, “we must not allow the
perception to linger that he [Amb. Evans] is being required to vacate
his position early for accurately labeling the cataclysmic events
of 1915 as genocide.” The Representatives, noting President Ronald
Reagan’s references to the Armenian Genocide, reminded Secretary
Rice that Amb. Evans “did nothing more than succinctly repeat the
conclusions enunciated by those before him.”
The Congressional signatories also expressed concern about the role of
the Government of Turkey in the impending removal of Amb. Evans from
his posting. “Were the United States to allow the views or beliefs
of a third country to interfere with our diplomatic postings to the
Republic of Armenia,” wrote the House members, “it would establish a
dangerous precedent and be injurious to the long- standing relationship
built on trust and friendship between the two countries.”
#####

COOPERATION BETWEEN RA AND NKR URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENTS TO DEEPEN
STEPANAKERT, JULY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. On July 13, NKR President Arkady
Ghukasian received the delegation of RA Urban Development Ministry
led by Minister Aram Haroutiunian that was in NKR on a cognitive visit.
Prospects of extending cooperation in the sphere of capital
construction between the respective departments of the two republics
were touched upon during the conversation. A.Ghukasian mentioned
issues of importing modern construction technologies and training
skilled specialists as the most important direction of cooperation.

European Commission welcomes opening of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline
ArmRadio.am
14.07.2006 16:02
The European Commission welcomes opening of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
oil pipeline.
“Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline will improve the security in regard
to the supply of oil and diversification of its ways, which is one
of our political objectives,” European Commissioner on Energy Andres
Pibalgsi said in as statement disseminated in Brussels. Yesterday he
participated in the official opening ceremony of the pipeline.
It is expected that by 2008 the volume of oil transported through
BTC will reach 1 million barrels or 50 million tones annually.

No Agreement on Purchase of Iran-Armenia Gas Pipeline by Russia Yet
PanARMENIAN.Net
12.07.2006 16:19 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is no agreement on the purchase of a sector
of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline by Russia yet, Co-chair of the
Armenian-Russian intergovernmental committee on economic cooperation
Serge Sargsyan stated at today’s press conference. In his words,
there is no agreement of the kind, since there is no pipe. “I will
request the Armenian Energy Minister ArmRosgazprom Director General to
furnish the essential information on the issue,” Serge Sargsyan said.
To remind, earlier deputy chair of Gazprom management committee
said that Gazprom is going to purchase the abuilding Iran-Armenia
gas pipeline. In his words, the intention is conditioned by the
instability of the situation and transit of Russian gas via Georgia.