Author: Karakhanian Suren

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Jan 26 2008

Turkish foreign minister views Mideast peace process, relations with
Greece

Davos, Turkish Foreign Minister & Chief Negotiator for the EU talks
Ali Babacan said on Saturday [26 January] that exploratory talks
aiming to resolve problems between Turkey and Greece were underway.

"The meetings will focus more on the solution from now on. Foreign
ministers and prime ministers will personally pursue the
developments," Babacan said while talking to reporters in Davos where
he came to attend World Economic Forum (WEF) meetings.

Commenting on Turkish-Greek relations, Babacan said there was a
strong mutual political will between Turkey and Greece to resolve the
problems.

"Aegean, minority matters and Cyprus are the problems between Turkey
and Greece. Solution of the problems in question will be in the
interest of both parties. There are historical relations. We should
work hard. A window of opportunity has opened but it will not stay
open forever. I think a rapid progress towards solution should be
recorded," Babacan said.

Relations with Armenia

Responding to a question about relations with Armenia, Babacan said,
"elections will take place in Armenia in February. Obviously, we can
discuss the problems more easily in case a government comes to ruling
in Armenia which has a positive stance and is open to dialogue and
cooperation."

Middle East Peace process

Babacan also commented on the Middle East Peace process and said
Turkey was one of the countries that contributed most to the
Annapolis talks.

"We showed our contribution to the whole world by helping some
countries attending the talks. But while talks on things to be done
with the old settlements continued, construction for new settlements
began," said Babacan.

Babacan noted that while Palestinian Mahmud Abbas carried out talks
on behalf of Palestine there was a separated administration in Gaza.

"This two-headed structure is the greatest obstacle in front of the
peace process," said Babacan.

Babacan recalled the recent embargoes and blockades over Gaza and
said "missile attacks launched from Gaza to Israel is wrong. But at
the same time it was wrong for Israel to enforce embargoes and form
blockades around Gaza.

Babacan said Turkey avoided enforcing embargoes on the north of Iraq
in its combat against terrorist organization PKK that would effect
the people over there, despite rising demands.

"If you take measures that would effect people’s daily lives in these
matters, you would only contribute to the enmity against you on the
other side. This will cause the people in the region to side with
those who are against you. Therefore we did not take any measures in
the north of Iraq that would effect the lives of civilians," said
Babacan.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Terry Davis: Kosovo independence may become precedent
for other conflicts
26.01.2008 13:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Recognition of Kosovo’s independence
will arouse ambitions in other separatists regions,
including Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Council of
Europe Secretary General Terry Davis told Georgian TV
channels in Strasbourg.

`I do not rule out that the leaders of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia will be invited to the Council of Europe
to represent their positions. All forms of dialogue
should be used for resolution of conflicts,’ he said.

For his part, President of unrecognized republic of
South Ossetia Eduard Koykoty intends to propose
Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili to open direct
talks. He also said he will request the leadership of
Russia and the OSCE to assist in organization of talks
on the following chapters: demilitarization of
conflict zones and establishment of trust between the
sides, economic rehabilitation and political status of
South Ossetia, Deutsche Welle reports.

SARKISIAN STRESSES SECURITY, PROSPERITY ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL
By Astghik Bedevian and Karine Kalantarian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Jan 24 2008

Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian campaigned in the southeastern Syunik
region on Thursday, again promising economic betterment and saying
that he would safeguard Armenia’s national security better than any
of his eight election challengers.

"The war [with Azerbaijan] made be a realist, I want to become
president of the republic," Sarkisian told hundreds of people attending
his campaign rally in the regional capital Kapan. His ten-minute
speech there was preceded and followed by a free concert of Armenian
pop starts traveling with the prime minister.

"I want to become president of the republic so that our cities are
not bombarded anymore, so that lights are always on in our homes in
the evening, so that we can turn the victory achieved at the cost of
your sacrifices and heroic acts by your sons and our comrades into a
document," he said in a town that endured cross-border shelling from
nearby Azerbaijani army positions during the 1992-1994 war.

Syunik is the second Armenian province visited by Sarkisian since
the official start of campaigning for the February 19 presidential
election on Monday. He started the campaign in the neighboring Vayots
Dzor region, promising to double household incomes in the country
within five years if he becomes president. This was also a key theme
of his speeches in Kapan and other regional towns.

"I will ensure that none of those who have backed me feels embarrassed
for electing me," the prime minister declared in the main Kapan
square adorned with his massive campaign billboard. "We have all
the possibilities of living at least twice as better in five years
from now."

As was the case during similar rallies staged by Sarkisian’s Republican
Party (HHK) ahead of the May 2007 parliamentary elections, many in
the crowd were teachers of public schools and their students.

Schoolchildren interviewed by RFE/RL claimed that they were ordered
by their teachers to come to the rally after their classes.

Meanwhile, more than 300 kilometers to the north, in the southern
Ararat region, the Sarkisian campaign faced allegations of vote buying
from local residents attending campaign gatherings organized by Artur
Baghdasarian, one of the opposition presidential candidates.

"Serzh Sarkisian said yesterday that those who hand out cash [to
voters] are traitors," a woman, who identified herself as Lena,
told Baghdasarian in the local town of Vedi. "Maybe the presidential
candidate doesn’t know that people are collecting [voters’] passports
on his behalf."

"They go from village to village, from house to house and hand out
cash," she claimed without naming names.

Vote buying has grown widespread in Armenia over the past decade. The
HHK and other pro-government parties were accused by their opponents of
heavily relying to the illegal practice during the 2007 parliamentary
polls. They both strongly denied such accusations.

"I must say that all those village mayors and other individuals who
commit electoral crimes will be strictly punished by law," Baghdasarian
told voters in Vedi. He also deplored what he called an atmosphere
of fear reigning in Ararat.

Much of the fruit-growing region is widely regarded as the de facto
fiefdom of the influential Deputy Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian,
who is also Sarkisian’s campaign manager.

AZERI PARTY TO HAND OVER RA ARMED FORCES SERVICEMAN HAMBARTSUM ASATRIAN TO ARMENIAN PARTY ON JANUARY 25

Noyan Tapan
Jan 24, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 24, NOYAN TAPAN. The Azeri party will hand over RA
Armed Forces serviceman Hambartsum Asatrian to the Armenian party on
January 25 near the Ijevan-Ghazakh border. NT was informed about it
by the RA Defence Ministry’s Press Service.

AI ISSUES MEMORANDUM TO GOVERNMENT ON REFORMS
Kristina Kamp

Today’s Zaman
Jan 24 2008
Turkey

A report released this week by international human rights organization
Amnesty International (AI) has said the state of human rights in
Turkey remained unsatisfactory in 2007.

Though some steps have been undertaken by the government to improve
human rights standards, human rights suffered a regression in 2007,
noted the "Memorandum to the Turkish Government," which is part of
the annual AI report on Europe and Central Asia.

Though AI said it was pleased that the current government had
reinstated its policy of "zero tolerance for torture," which was
followed by a drop in the total number of torture cases, it also
noted that the incidents of torture or other ill-treatment, especially
outside official detention centers, continued in 2007.

In this context the organization criticized solitary confinement of
prisoners in high-security F-Type prisons, as well as the June 2007
amendments to the Law on Powers and Duties of Police, which gave
police the power to stop and search individuals. Police authority to
use lethal weapons has also been expanded, the memo noted. "This law
as it currently stands does not meet international standards on the
use of firearms by law enforcement officers," stated the memorandum.

The organization also criticized a lack of independent and effective
investigation of criminal allegations, adding that in too many cases
the prosecution of perpetrators has not followed in many criminal
cases. One particular case mentioned in this context was that of
Nigerian asylum-seeker Festus Okey, who died in August 2007 after
being shot by police while in custody. The report noted that many
questions in the case remained unanswered.

The failure to prevent the murder in 2007 of Armenian-Turkish
journalist Hrant Dink and the subsequent flaws in the investigation
are cited as another example of the impunity of security officials.

The AI also expressed concern that "unacceptable hurdles are placed
in the way of human rights defenders." They have been subjected to
threats and intimidation from lawyers, police and security forces,
restrictions on freedom of movement, imprisonment and even killings,
it said.

The report also touched on the status of refugees and asylum seekers
in Turkey. "Turkey must fully respect the rights of asylum-seekers and
refugees, including respecting refugee status determination procedures
conducted by the UNHCR, allowing recognized refugees to be resettled."

Amendments of 301, 216 cited as urgent

"In order to achieve lasting, substantive improvements […] current
legal reforms have to be implemented, urgent legislative reform must
be adopted and the opportunity of the drafting of a new constitution
to advance the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms for all
must not be missed," the report said.

Particular references were made to Article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Code (TCK), which the report said should be abolished on the grounds
that it "poses a grave threat to freedom of expression due to the
fact that it is worded in broad and vague terms."

Further mentioned was Article 216, which prohibits inciting the
population to enmity or hatred on social, religious, sectarian,
racial and regional lines. While the organization said it "recognizes
that states are authorized to prohibit advocacy of national, racial
or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination,
hostility or violence," it concluded that "this article is formulated
more broadly than the relevant provisions in international human
rights law, and has been applied extensively in particular to prosecute
dissenting opinions and to stifle opposition voices."

Also Article 7 of the Law on the Fight Against Terrorism, which
criminalizes propaganda for a terrorist organization or for its aims,
was regarded as harmful by the organization. "Under this law the
peaceful expression of non-violent dissenting opinions has also been
criminalized," the report noted.

FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN ARMENIA’S REAL SECTOR OF ECONOMY LAST YEAR ROSE TO $600 MILLION

ARMENPRESS
Jan 23, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, ARMENPRESS: Foreign investments in Armenia’s real
sector of economy last year rose to over $600 million, according to
trade and economic development minister Nerses Yeritsian.

Speaking at a news conference today the minister said the volume of
investments in the first nine months of 2007 rose 58 percent from a
year before.

The bulk of foreign investments went last year into mining,
telecommunications, IT and aviation sectors.

The biggest foreign investors were Russia ($176 million), Lebanon
($134 million), Argentina ($25 million, USA ($21 million) and Germany
($20 million).

According to the minister, investments in IT sector last year amounted
to $10 million. The sector reported a 30 percent growth. According
to preliminary figures, some 480,000 foreigners visited Armenia last
year, who spent here $410 million, by $110 million more than in 2006.

VUJE TO BUILD 15 SMALL HYDROPOWER PLANTS IN NKR

Noyan Tapan
Jan 22, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. VUJE company specialized in
construction of energy facilities will build 15 small hydropowere
plants in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. The chairman of the
Representation of Armenian Organizations in Europe Ashot Grigorian
said at the January 22 press conference that the agreement on it
was reached during a recent meeting of the delegation of the NKR
and that of the Slovak Republic that came on a three-day visit
to Armenia. According to him, VUJE’s representatives will visit
Artsakh in February-March in order to familiarize themselves with
the conditions of construction work on the spot. In his words, VUJE
is one of the first European companies to express readiness to make
investments in Artsakh. A. Grigorian announced that the company also
intends to build two small hydropower plants in Armenia.

The executive director of VUJE Milan Ferenc indicated the availability
of good opportunities for implementation of the company’s future
programs in Armenia.

A. Grigorian said that Eximbank (Slovak Republic) intends to provide
credits of 30-50 million euros to Armenia. According to him, these
credits will carry an average interest rate of 6-9% with repayment
period of 5-10 years and will be used for promotion of the export of
Slovakian goods to Armenia.

It was stated that during the meeting of delegation members and
the Armenian defence minister, the sides agreed to sign soon an
agreement on military cooperation between the Republic of Armenia
and the Slovak Republic.

A. Grigorian said that the head of the delegation, former prime
minister of Slovakia, chairman of the Slovakian-Russian Union Yan
Carnogursky stated the "the Christian world must show activity in the
issue of Artsakh as well". By the way, he made a great contribution
to adoption of the resolution on recognition of the Armenian Genocide
by the Slovakian parliament.

THE ‘MAJORITY’ COMPLEX
Yusuf Kanli

Turkish Daily News
Jan 21 2008
Turkey

Having a majority does not mean having the right to remove main
pillars of a system

The prime minister is definitely right in getting outraged with the
"memorandum-like" statements coming from the judiciary. Rather than
issuing "preemptive statements" the judiciary should concentrate on
the issues in front of itself. What the chief prosecutor of the Supreme
Court of Appeals and the Council of State did separately last week were
very much in tune with the "preemptive strike" mentality introduced
to modern state administration jargon by U.S. President George W. Bush.

If there is a violation of the Constitution; if the fundamental
principles of the constitutional order of the country are being
eroded; if there is a "counter revolutionary" activity, than it is
the duty of the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals to
investigate and if there are sufficient reasons demand the required
judicial punitive action against those individuals, groups or parties
engaged in such activities.

To say the least, issuing such veiled threats and implying that he may
open a closure case with the Constitutional Court against the ruling
party or one of the opposition parties in Parliament is incompatible
with the notion of justice. Yes, in a country where punishment of
intentions has become a routine practice, perhaps such developments
can be considered as "normal," but are not we in efforts to leave in
the past such bad habits anyhow…

That being said, however, the reaction of the prime minister to the
statements coming from these top two courts demonstrated once again the
obsession of our government with the "turban business" and its lack of
interest in the promotion of overall individual rights in the country.

The prime minister, whose outburst the other week that he could not
understand how a prime minister could be sentenced to a three kurush
(about two cents) fine in compensation for describing our fallen heroes
as "heads," now went a step further and declared that the legislative
and the executive branches could not be moderated by the judiciary.

While in essence he was right and in a working democracy the three
powers – the legislative, executive and the judiciary – should not try
to dominate each other but at the same time neither the legislative
nor the executive can consider themselves immune from the judiciary
or superior to the judiciary.

Democratic governance of a country requires cohesive functioning of
these three powers. That is why in describing our republic we say
"pluralist, democratic state adhering to the principle of supremacy
of law."

The prime minister must understand that the psychology of "I have
almost two-thirds of Parliamentary seats; I received 46.7 percent
of the votes in the elections so I have the right to govern the
country the way I like" is not compatible with democracy. Even if a
party receives 90 percent or an even higher percentage of the votes,
there are fundamental principles and pillars of every country that
the political administration cannot touch.

Having parliamentary majority does not mean having the power to remove
main pillars of a system. Insisting on such policies, unfortunately,
may prove too costly…

Farewell to Koryurek

Saturday was the first anniversary of the murder of our friend
and colleague Hrant Dink. He was felled last year by Islamofascist
terrorism. Over 10,000 people attended a demonstration in front of
his Armenian-Turkish Agos weekly to reiterate their demand for justice
and repeat their indignation with the failure of the Turkish state to
capture and bring to justice those who masterminded the heinous murder.

Before the end of that sad day, unfortunately, we heard of yet another
murder; this time the news was about an elder brother, a colleague
who was felled by traffic terrorism.

Cuneyt Koryurek, the dean of athletics news in the Turkish media,
a man of integrity and dignity was hit by a car while trying to walk
across Harbiye Avenue in Istanbul’s ªiºli quarter and lost his life.

He was 77 years young.

The entire media was grieving Sunday the death of Koryurek. But for
us at the TDN, his loss was nothing less than losing a part of our
history. Koryurek was the designer of the original gothic logo of
the TDN when the paper started its publication life on March 15, 1961.

He was a friend, an elder brother and a much-respected colleague.

The Turkish media will miss him. May Allah let him rest in peace.

–Boundary_(ID_z6hd3PqpELP5V4NYglomew)–

OSCE MG CO-CHAIRMEN TO PREPARE NEW VARIANT OF BASE PRINCIPLES

arminfo
2008-01-21 09:27:00

ArmInfo. OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen will prepare new variant of the
core principles basing on the proposals given in Baku and Yerevan,
Russian Co-chair Yury Merzlyakov told at a press conference in Baku,
January 18, APA reports.

According to him it would not be right to assess the issue as
divergence between the parties. "One party demands independence,
the other refuses it.

Each of the parties gives interpretation to the core principles’
points important for them. There should not be such divergences after
the principles are coordinated," he said. French Co-chair Bernard
Fassier said that sometimes the parties demonstrate such different
positions that it shows rightness of the co-chairs, who have decided
that the core principles should be determined before the settlement
of the conflict. He noted that the co-chairs decided to give time
to the parties to withdraw from their positions a bit, in order to
assess the highlights, not the details.

American co-chair Matthew Bryza did not attend the press conference,
as he left Baku earlier.

Economic News
January 15, 2008 Tuesday

Armenia Meets Delegation from OSCE Minsk Group

Yerevan. ">OREANDA-NEWS. January 15, 2007. Serzh Sargsyan received
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Matthew Bryza, Bernard Fassier, Yuri
Merzlyakov, as well as Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzik and Adviser for Eurasian
Conflicts Michael Carpenter, who are in Armenia on a regional visit.

During the meeting, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process
has been assessed on either side. The parties have similarly
discussed the dissensions still available between the two sides to
the conflict.

Following the meeting with Serzh Sargsyan, the co-chairs left for
Stepanakert.