Author: Karakhanian Suren

MOSTLY ECONOMIC ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED AT SITTING OF ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN INTERPARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 16 2006
YEREVAN, October 16. /ARKA/. Mostly economic issues will be discussed
at the sitting of the Armenian-Russian parliamentary commission, Vahan
Hovhannisyan, vice-speaker and co-chair of the commission reported.
“The legislative basis for facilitating the activity of economic
entities and promoting entry to each other’s markets will be
discussed,” the vice-speaker said.
“There will be spokesmen from the executive power, particularly from
the ministries of transport and communication, and trade and economic
development,” Hovhannisyan reported.
Besides this, he said that the issue about putting the Armenian
enterprises, transferred to Russia against the debt, will be also
discussed.

Mediamax, Armenia
Oct 12 2006
NATO ENVOY PRAISES ARMENIA’S ACHIEVEMENTS
Yerevan, 12 October: “NATO is satisfied with the process and pace of
the implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan [IPAP]
between Armenia and the alliance,” the special representative of the
NATO secretary-general for the South Caucasus, Robert Simmons, said
in Yerevan today.
Simmons said this at a joint news conference with Armenian Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan.
He noted that “Armenia succeeded in achieving progress in the
implementation of the key directions of the IPAP”.
Simmons said that NATO would attentively follow the 2007
parliamentary elections in Armenia and added the conduct of free and
fair elections was one of the commitments under the IPAP.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said that the NATO
information centre, which was opened in Yerevan on 11 October, would
play a significant role in the process of informing the Armenian
public about NATO and Armenia-NATO relations.

AZG Armenian Daily #196, 14/10/2006

Culture
MONTHS OF ITALIAN CULTURE TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN
Hasmik Poghosian, RA Culture and Youth Affairs Minister, and Marko
Clemente, Italian Ambassador to Armenia, informed at yesterday’s joint
press conference that they have decided to hold a number of cultural
arrangements in Yerevan in November, December and January. Hasmik
Poghosian stated in her speech that on April 13, 2003, RA and Italian
governments signed an agreement for cooperation in the cultural,
educational, scientific and technical spheres. As a result of close
relations between our countries, the Armenian artists have frequently
visited Italy and the Italian men of art arrived in Armenia. “This
year, we have specified the our plans for cooperation. In August, we
held “Archeology and Renovation of Monuments” seminar in Armenia,” We
will complete the year by implementing the program elaborated by Mr.
Clemente and financed by the Government of Italy,” Mrs. Poghosian
stated.
In his turn, Mr. Clemente emphasized the importance of the
Armenian-Italian multi lateral cooperation and thanked the mass media
for highlighting the events within the framework of the cultural
programs. “The culture is a bridge that unites two peoples, that have
thousand years of history,” he said. Mr. Ambassador informed that the
months of Italian culture will begin in the performance of the
contemporary dance by Francesca Silva’s dance group at Alexander
Spendiarian Opera and Ballet Theatre. The retrospective session of
Italian cinema will be held in one of Yerevan’s cinemas. It is
envisaged that in December, two young Italian singers will perform in
two concerts. All the arrangements in the cultural program are for
free. “This is our concept. We want to bring the art to the people
that have no sources to freely enjoy the miracle of art. Thanks to
this program, we will contribute to the cultural development and to
education of the next generations,” Mr. Ambassador
said. Mrs. Poghosian congratulated the journalists with the “Day of
the Armenian Press” at the end of the press conference.
By Marietta Makarian

Brussels Journal, Belgium
Oct 13 2006
Belgian and Dutch Parties Try to Put Genie Back in the Bottle
>From the desk of Paul Belien on Thu, 2006-10-12 22:49
Belgium introduced voting rights for non-Belgian residents in order
to counter the `islamophobic’ and Flemish secessionist Vlaams Belang
(VB). As a result multitudes of Muslim candidates were elected in
major cities in last Sunday’s local elections. In Antwerp the
immigrants are now demanding an alderman’s post in the city
government, which consists of the mayor and ten aldermen. In Brussels
the Parti Socialiste (PS) is embarrassed at the election of Murat
Denizli as a Socialist councilor. Denizli is a hardright Turkish
extremist belonging to the Grey Wolves. In the Netherlands political
parties are facing serious problems with Turkish candidates who
refuse to acknowledge the 1915 Armenian genocide.
In Antwerp all the mainstream parties have (again) teamed up in a
coalition in order to keep the VB out of local government. In 1989
the Belgian parties signed an agreement – the so-called `cordon
sanitaire’ – that, no matter what the outcome of the elections may
be, they will never enter into a coalition with the VB. The VB has 20
of the 55 seats in the new Antwerp city council. The new governing
coalition of Socialists, Christian-Democrats and Liberals holds 33
seats. Of the latter 9 seats are held by Muslims (7 Socialists and 2
Christian-Dems), which gives them real vetoing power within the new
coalition. The most popular candidate on the Socialist list of mayor
Patrick Janssens is Fauzaya Talhaoui. She got more votes than any
other candidate apart from Janssens himself. Talhaoui wants to become
a city alderman, but her demand is posing problems for the mayor, who
had already promised the position of alderman to other politicians
before the elections.
Yesterday the Brussels newspaper Le Soir ran a front page article
about the problems in the important Brussels borough of Schaarbeek.
The paper says it had been widely known for three months that a
member of the Turkish Grey Wolves was a Socialist candidate there.
(It should be noted, however, that Le Soir, the largest paper in
Brussels, failed to disclose this to its readers until yesterday,
well after the elections.) The election of Murat Denizli, Le Soir
says, has led to `open warfare and an identity crisis’ within the PS
because the Grey Wolves are know to be `ultra-nationalist, racist,
anti-European.’
Denizli was introduced on the PS list by the Schaarbeek PS leader
Laurette Onkelinx, who is also the Belgian vice prime minister and
minister of Justice. Schaarbeek PS members told Le Soir that last
April the local section of the PS had rejected the list of candidates
which included Denizli and `other immigrants adhering to rather
religious and conservative Muslim values.’ Onkelinx, however,
demanded that the candidates be accepted because `they are popular
and the party had to win the elections at any price.’ Today it
bothers many traditional indigenous Socialists who failed to get
elected that the party sold out to the immigrant hard-right and the
Islamists. `The end justified the means,’ one of them told Le Soir.
They are condemning a multilingual electoral campaign which was
conducted partly in Turkish and Arab and during which Socialists
visited mosques to attract voters and held `ambiguous speeches
denying the Armenian genocide.’ `Whenever one of the Belgo-Belgians
[the indigenous Belgians] complained he was told off for being a
racist.’
In the Netherlands general elections are due on 22 November. Since
the Muslim vote tipped the balance in favour of the Socialists in
last March’s local elections, both the Socialists, currently in
opposition, and the governing Christian-Democrats are putting forward
dozens of Muslim candidates. However, when Wouter Bos, the Socialist
leader, removed the Turkish candidate Erdinc Sacan from the list
after the latter had denied the Armenian genocide of 1915 in a
Turkish newspaper (a Turkish paper in Turkey that is) this led to an
outcry both in Turkey and among Turks in the Netherlands.
The Dutch Christian-Democrats removed two Turkish candidates, Osman
Elmaci and Ayhan Tonca, from their list for the same reason,
eliciting another outcry from Amsterdam to Ankara. Last week the
Dutch newspaper NRC-Handelsblad commented that the parties `are
frantically trying to put the genie back in the bottle.’
The Socialists are nervous because the position of Bos’s running
mate, Nehabat Albayrak, on the matter of the Armenian genocide is not
clear. Albayrak, who already is a member of the Dutch Parliament,
refuses to comment on the issue. Nihat Eski, another Dutch
parliamentarian of Turkish origin, though he sits for the
Christian-Democrats, is being called a traitor by many Turkish voters
for saying that he thinks the 1915 genocide is a historical fact.
In Belgium Emir Kir, a leading Socialist politician of Turkish origin
and the Brussels secretary of state for monuments, is campaigning for
the demolition of the Brussels monument that commemorates the
genocide of the Armenians.

FRENCH IN ARMENIA ‘GENOCIDE’ ROW
BBC News, UK
Oct 12 2006
Ethnic Armenian campaigners in France hailed the result The French
parliament has adopted a bill making it a crime to deny that Armenians
suffered “genocide” at the hands of the Turks, infuriating Turkey.
The bill, proposed by the Socialists and opposed by the government,
needs approval from the Senate and president.
Turkey called the decision a “serious blow” to relations with France.
It has already threatened economic sanctions.
Armenia says Ottoman Turks killed 1.5 million people systematically
in 1915 – a claim strongly denied by Turkey.
The European Commission has said that the bill, if passed into law,
will “prohibit dialogue which is necessary for reconciliation”
between Turkey and Armenia on the issue.
The opposition against Turkey in the EU has begun to present an
ugly face
Cengiz Candar Turkish commentator
Turkish press divided Send us your comments
Turkey has been warning France for weeks not to pass the bill.
“Turkish-French relations, which have been meticulously developed over
the centuries, took a severe blow today through the irresponsible
initiatives of some short-sighted French politicians, based on
unfounded allegations,” the Turkish foreign ministry said.
Nobel prize
The bill sponsored by the opposition Socialist party provides for a
year in jail and a 45,000-euro (£30,000) fine – the same punishment
that is imposed for denying the Nazi Holocaust.
Q&A: Armenian genocide Turkish writer wins Nobel prize
The ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) did not back the law,
but gave its deputies a free vote.
It passed by 106 votes to 19, after most deputies left the chamber
in protest against what critics say is an attempt to attract votes of
the some 500,000 people of Armenian descent in presidential elections
next year.
Ethnic Armenians in Paris celebrated the result.
“The memory of the victims is finally totally respected,” said Alexis
Govciyan.
But French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin distanced himself
from the bill.
It is “not a good thing to legislate on issues of history and of
memory,” he said.
The vote came as controversial Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk won the
2006 Nobel Prize in Literature.
He has faced prosecution in Turkey for talking about the murder of
hundreds of thousands of Armenians during World War I and thousands
of Kurds in subsequent years.
The charges have since been dropped.
EU membership bid
Debate on the Armenian issue has been stifled in Turkey.
Arguments have raged for decades about the Armenian deaths
The official Turkish position states that many Christian Armenians
and Muslim Turks died in fighting during World War I – but that there
was no genocide.
The BBC’s Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says many Turks are angry
at what they see as double standards in the EU, where opinions are
sharply divided about whether Turkey should be allowed to join.
Turkey’s chief negotiator in EU membership talks, Ali Babacan, said:
“This is violating one of the core principles of the European Union,
which is freedom of expression.”
“Leave history to historians,” he added.
France’s President Chirac and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy have
both said Turkey will have to recognise the Armenian deaths as genocide
before it joins the EU – though this is not the official EU position.
There are accusations in Turkey that the Armenian diaspora and
opponents of Turkey’s EU membership bid are using this issue to
prevent Turkey joining the 25-member bloc.
–Boundary_(ID_oiYkTkdql/I+I2PcSk2t/w)–

UAE PRESIDENT VOICED READINESS TO DEVELOP COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.10.2006 17:57 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ October 9 Armenian Ambassador to the United Arab
Emirates Vahagn Melikian among other 11 Ambassadors handed credentials
to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, reported the RA
MFA press office. Vahagn Melikian conveyed Robert Kocharian’s best
wishes and voiced hope for strengthening bilateral relations in the
name of prosperity of the two peoples. For his part Sheikh Khalifa bin
Zayed Al Nahyan expressed readiness to deepen multilateral relations
with friendly states, including Armenia.

LEBANESE ARMY CONFISCATED ARMS IN SOUTH LEBANON
United Press International
Oct 11 2006
Beirut – The Lebanese army has confiscated weapons in south Lebanon
where it is being assisted by international troops to extend exclusive
government control.
Defense Minister Elias Murr said Tuesday the confiscation of
illegitimate arms south of the Litani River was in line with Security
Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war between Lebanon’s
Hezbollah and Israel on Aug. 14.
The area south of the Litani River is an 18-mile-deep area stretching
between the Blue Line, which divides Lebanon and Israel, and the river.
“Arms have been confiscated by Lebanese troops in the south,” Murr said
without elaborating or identifying the party whose weapons were seized.
He stressed, however, that the Hezbollah organization was responding
well to the army’s mission and refraining from any armed manifestation.
The Iranian-backed Shiite group has said it supports the government’s
decision to arrest any of its gunmen and confiscate his weapons if
they are displayed.
Murr said the United States and several European countries will supply
the Lebanese army with equipment and arms.
In a related development, seven Turkish army officers arrived in
Lebanon ahead of the Turkish battalion taking part in the U.N.
peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, UNIFIL, whose number was increased
to 15,000 in line with resolution 1701.
Turkey decided to contribute troops to UNIFIL despite protests by
Lebanon’s Armenian community, which objects to Turkey’s military
participation due the Turkish genocide of Armenians in 1915.
Picture: Lebanese army checkpoint . A hezbollah flag is shown in
the background.

MILLI MAJLIS ADDRESSES FRENCH PARLIAMENT ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Oct 10 2006
The Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan has sent a message to the
French Parliament to express concern over the bill penalizing denial
of the Armenian genocide to come out for discussion here on October 12.
Members of the Milli Majlis called their French colleagues for being
more careful in an approach to controversial historical events. They
expressed opinion that adoption of the bill would undermine such
basic human rights as freedom of speech and freedom expression.
“Adoption of the bill at the time of growing necessity for deepening
of inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue, will merely confirm
the claims on existence of double standards,” the message says.
“The allegations on so-called Armenian “genocide” in the Ottoman
Turkey in 1915 need to be investigated very thoroughly.”
The Azerbaijani MPs reminded their French counterparts that Turkey
has recently invited Armenian scholars and politicians and any one
who is interested to familiarize with historical documents covering
the Ottoman Turkey in early 20th century.
“Unfortunately, the invitation to the healthy discussion was neglected
by the Armenian side.”
They also reminded their colleagues that hundreds of thousands of
innocent Turks and Azeris were killed by Armenian nationalists at
the mentioned period.
“Should all this is taken into account, you will probably agree that
one-sided approach to historical events can lead to disrespect to
historical realities. The bill, which may be adopted under the pressure
of separate political groups and ethnic lobbies can only cast shadow
on reputation of France as the country of old democratic traditions.”
Apart form that, according to the message, the bill, if passed, will
question objectivity of France as the Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk group
dealing with peaceful resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh.

TURKISH INTELLECTUALS IN SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN FOR PERSECUTED WRITER
Submitted by Bill Weinberg
World War 4 Report, NY
Oct 9 2006
The New York Times notes Oct. 6 that charges were dropped against
Turkish novelist Elif Shafak, whose fictional character committed
the crime of refering to the “Armenian genocide.” But almost
simultaneously, charges were brought against another writer, Hrant
Dink, who dared to uphold historical truth. This Sept. 29 report
from Turkey’s BIA news agency indicates growing dissent among Turkish
intellectuals:
A number of leading Turkish intellectuals have launched a new
civil disobedience action declaring themselves accomplices of
Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink whose most recent prosecution in
a series launched by Turkish courts is based on opinions he expressed
in an interview with the Reuters news agency.
The action comes in the wake of an Amnesty International (AI)
statement on Dink that said the human rights watchdog organization
was dismayed at recent reports that yet another case had been opened
against Dink on charges of “denigrating Turkishness” under Article
301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The AI warned that if Dink was arrested on any of the charges leveled
against him, he would be declared a “Prisoner of Conscience” on the
international arena.
The latest charge against Dink was brought up following a statement
he made to Reuters on July 14 in which he mentioned the massacre of
Armenians during the Ottoman Empire. “Of course I’m saying it’s a
genocide” he said in the report. “Because its consequences show it
to be true and label it so. We see that people who had lived on this
soil for 4000 years were exterminated by these events.”
Civil disobedience underway
Those launching this week’s campaign in support of Dink from Turkey
have issued a public statement where they accept participating in
his offense subject to a new prosecution and request to be tried in
the same case.
Those who launched the statement were musician Sanar Yurdatapan,
spokesman of the Initiative Against the Crime of Thought, lecturer
Prof. Dr. Taner Akcam, teacher Erdal Yildirim, student Gulnur Elcik
and editor-author Nihat Ates.
But the statement is open for new signatories and expected to attract
dozens or hundreds other, under the statement “I participate in Dink’s
remarks, I undersign them. I want to be a defendant in this case.”
The statement itself can be found at and those
willing to sign it are asked to email [email protected]/
Background of the case
In reality issue to the case are not Dink’s remarks reflected to
the Reuters report but a 21 July 2006 news article in the weekly
Armenian-Tukish Agos magazine that he runs. Subject to the original
investigation was that news item and the remarks it contained.
A nationalist group of lawyers known for filing complaints against
Turkish intellectuals and writers, a group also held responsible for
interrupting many court proceedings with physical violence and dub
themselves now as the “Union of Grand Jurists,” brought up the first
criminal complaint against Dink on these remarks.
As result, under article 301 of the Penal Code, a case was launched
by the Istanbul Sisli Prosecutor’s Office where both Dink and Serkis
Seropyan, as executives of the newspapers, were put on trial.
Amnesty concerned
The recent civil disobedience action follows of a strongly worded
statement by Amnesty International on the Hrant Dink case which was
issued from London this week.
AI said it considers that this new prosecution was “part of an emerging
pattern of harassment against the journalist exercising his right to
freedom of expression,” noting that this is a right which Turkey,
as a State Party to the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, has a legal obligation to uphold.
AI’s statement said that the rights monitoring group was “particularly
concerned at this latest prosecution, the third against Hrant Dink on
charges under Article 301, because it seems to constitute a pattern
of judicial harassment against the writer for peacefully expressing
his dissenting opinion.
“Furthermore, he has already been given a six-month suspended
prison sentence following an October 2005 conviction on charges of
‘denigrating Turkishness’ (upheld by the Court of Appeal in July
2006), and therefore if found guilty again on the same charge would
be imprisoned. Should he be, Amnesty International would consider
him a prisoner of conscience,” it explained.
The Amnesty International statement also said that it considers this
latest prosecution to be “particularly disappointing following the
welcome acquittal four days ago of another writer, novelist Elif Safak,
on charges under Article 301 relating to statements made by characters
in her novel The Bastard of Istanbul.
“The organization had seen this as a positive step for freedom
of expression in Turkey but fears this acquittal may prove to be
the exception rather than the rule and demonstrates yet again the
failure of certain members of the Turkish judiciary and prosecution to
internalize international law, as required by Article 90 of the Turkish
constitution. The organization reiterates its call for Article 301
to be abolished in its entirety, thereby putting an end to arbitrary
implementation of this ill-defined law.”
The statement continued:
“Finally, Amnesty International notes that this prosecution reportedly
arises from a complaint lodged by elements of civil society opposed to
the abolition of Article 301, who have lodged similar complaints in
the past seeking to secure such prosecutions and who have repeatedly
staged provocative and sometimes violent protests at trials, creating
a threatening atmosphere in the courtroom. The organization calls
on the Turkish authorities to ensure that all necessary measures are
taken to ensure the protection both of the defendants, their lawyers
and supporters in such cases, and of the course of justice itself.”

STATE ENTERPRISES IN ARMENIA INFLICT DAMAGE TO COUNTRY RATHER THAN BRING PROFIT TO IT
ARMINFO News Agency
October 9, 2006 Monday
The state enterprises in Armenia inflict damage to the country rather
than bring profit to it.
The Armenian State Property Department press-service told ArmInfo that
the monitoring of 424 enterprises having government shares in the
second quarter of 2006 showed that 112 of these enterprises worked
with damage and the total volume of the damage caused was 1.868
billion drams. 277 enterprises worked with profit for the period
under review. The total profit made up 1.294 billion drams.
It is not the full picture of the activity of state enterprises.
1,039 enterprises are registered in Armenia in which the government’s
share is 50% and more. 153 of these enterprises are in the process
of liquidation. The others are monitored by the Ministry of Finance
and Economy of Armenia.