Author: Karapetian Hovik

ALVARD PETROSYAN: "WE ARE NOT THE ONES TO TAKE CHESTNUT FROM FIRE"

Panorama.am
18:12 08/10/2007

"Political intellect is the most searched thing in the life of
Armenia," Alvard Petrosyan, member of Dashnaksutiun and a writer and
a publicist, said during a meeting with reporters speaking about the
arrangement between Dashnaksutiun and Pan-Armenian National Movement
(HHSh) to launch a civilized combat during the elections. Petrosyan
also said the attention to that meeting is also conditioned by the
stereotype that Dashnaksutiun is unable to treat its rivals politely
and in a civil manner. Petrosyan said the arrangement was to engage
in political combat without throwing mud on each other, nothing more.

Asked about her attitude to an opinion expressed by Armenian Republican
Party (HHK) deputy Mkrtich Minasyan who said that if Dashnaksutiun has
decided not to engage in black PR, it will divert its arrow against
other forces, most probably meaning HHK, Petrosyan answered: "We are
not the ones to take chestnut from the fire. It is their problem that
they assign such a simple role to Dashnaksutiun. It is not acceptable
to treat a party of 117 years so simply."

TURKISH PREMIER CALLS FORMER US PRESIDENT CLINTON FOR SUPPORT OVER ARMENIAN BILL

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Oct 5 2007

Ankara, 5 October: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan phoned former
US President Bill Clinton and asked for his support against the bill
on Armenian allegations.

PM Erdogan reminded Clinton that the bill on the Armenian allegations
regarding the incidents of 1915 would be discussed at the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the US House of Representatives, and asked Clinton
to mediate, as the House of Representatives is predominantly occupied
by Democrats, sources said.

Erdogan, recalled that in his term in office Clinton had averted
similar initiatives and asked him to do whatever he can to prevent
Turkey-US relations from being harmed.

Panorama.am

13:58 06/10/2007

PARENTS: DOCTORS NOT WELL PREPARED

The campaign of the ministry of health against measles and German
measles was successful up the level that 387,476 persons from the age
6 to 27 were vaccinated in the first four days. However, the
impression was that those appealing to get vaccinated were not ready
for the process. We have drawn such conclusions from great number of
complaints by parents who called our editotiral office.

One of the parents said that her 17-year-old daughter informed the
doctos that she felt sick and asked if she may be vaccinated. The
doctor answered that only persons with sexual diseases and pregnant
women are not allowed to get the vaccination. The 17-year-old girl was
not given any other advice. She has been attending her classes with
symptoms of measles for 4-5 days now.

”They should also give advice, inform about possible consequances or
set children free from classes while making appeals to get the
vaccination” troubled parents said.

One of them asked if taking medication is prohibited after the
vaccination. We just remind that such questions must have been
answered by doctors.

Source: Panorama.am

PRESIDENT SAYS COURTS WILL BE MORE INDEPENDENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS MORE RESPECTED

Panorama.am
17:00 04/10/2007

President Robert Kocharyan received today Chairman of European Court of
Human Rights Jean Pall Costa. He has arrived in Armenia to participate
in a conference on human rights.

Welcoming the conference in Yerevan, the president of the republic
said that it is taking place in a very important period of time in
terms of judicial reforms in Armenia. In his words, such discussions
enable our specialists to have better understanding of how justice
develops in line with requirements of time.

Having mentioned that the reforms were set off with an aim to form
an impartial, qualitatively new judicial system based on principles
of independence, Robert Kocharyan said: . "Today we are working in
the direction of deeper reforms which will enable to ensure higher
level of independence of judiciary and more respect of human rights."

Bellevue News-Democrat
October 4, 2007

Wally Spiers

New book chronicles 1940 hoops state champs

"Men of Granite" is the story of how a group of kids who were
second-class citizens in town helped give Granite City the 1940 state
high school basketball championship.

The book, written by Dan Manoyan, a sportswriter for the Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel, is scheduled for publication in November and some
people in Granite City want to make it a bestseller.

"I’m not doing the book, I’m just trying to hustle it," said Babe
Champion, former Granite City coach and sports official and community
activist. He spoke to the Granite City Rotary Club Tuesday about the
book.

Champion wants civic clubs and organizations and other groups to buy
and sell the book as a fundraiser. The book will retail for $24.95.

"I promised to sell 1,000," he said. "But I hope we do a lot better
than that."

The book is the story of the 1940 Granite City High School basketball
team that won the Illinois state championship, the isolation of the
immigrants in town and how the team, with seven first-generation
Americans, came together to win and make a town proud.

Manoyan said the stories in the book are great, such as future NBA
star Andy Phillip getting his first pair of sneakers at the Lincoln
Place Center and they didn’t even match.

"But his wife said he kept them all his life," Manoyan said. "The book
is not only about the team, it’s about how their families happened to
come to the town, what they left behind, and what they faced when they
got there."

Manoyan was a sportswriter for a Waukegan newspaper in 1980 when he
had time to look through an Illinois High School Association record
book on a rainy spring night when all the baseball games were
canceled.

He came across this team from Granite City with all these immigrant
names. It attracted him because he is part Armenian.

But it wasn’t until a year and a half ago when he was driving through
St. Louis and saw the Granite City sign that it clicked in and he made
time to stop and look around.

He was able to get in contact with surviving team members Andy
Hagopian and John Markarian as well as the relatives of some other
players. He also talked to a lot of Granite City people including
Champion, who sent him all the newspaper stories about the team and
other items.

The team had four Armenians, a Hungarian, a Yugoslavian and a
Macedonian, Hagopian said. He said they had an advantage on the tip
offs because he could talk to former center George Gage in Armenian
without the opponents knowing.

He also recalled some of the adults who didn’t know English listened
to the game broadcasts with an interpreter at the Lincoln Place
Center.

Champion said he couldn’t be more impressed with the book.

"This is something Granite City needs to know about that time in
Granite City and a lesson for now," Champion said.

For more information, you can send e-mail to [email protected]
or write to: Men of Granite, P.O. Box 1493, Granite City, IL 62040.

Wally Spiers’ column runs five days a week. Have a column idea? Call
Wally at 239-2506 or (800) 642-3878; or e-mail: [email protected]

TURKISH LEADER RESISTS NIXING INSULT LAW
By Jan Sliva, Associated Press Writer

Los Angeles Times, CA
Oct 4 2007

STRASBOURG, France — Turkey’s new president called Wednesday for
changes to a law that makes it a crime to insult Turkish identity —
legislation the European Union wants the country to scrap.

Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk and slain ethnic Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink are among those prosecuted under the
controversial law. But Turkey, though aspiring to join the EU, so
far has resisted pressure to strike it from its legal code.

"We know there are problems with regard to Article 301. There’s
still room for improvement and there are changes to be enacted in the
period ahead," President Abdullah Gul told reporters at the Council
of Europe. "I support the idea of Article 301 to change."

Gul has said the law damages Turkey’s image by portraying it as a
country where intellectuals are jailed for speaking their opinion. On
Wednesday, he lamented an "unfair perception" that people were
imprisoned because of the law.

"No one is going to prison for expressing their view freely,"
he told with parliamentarians from the human rights watchdog’s 47
member states.

Gul gave no timeframe for changes to the law but said the government
is committed to improving its rights record — an issue that has
stymied Turkey’s bid to join the 27-nation EU.

Gul, formerly Turkey’s foreign minister, said his country is more
tolerant and democratic today than five years ago, when the country
launched widespread social and judicial reforms.

"All forms of discrimination are banned. Legal and constitutional
guarantees on the right to association and assembly are reinforced.

Cultural and religious rights have been upgraded," he said.

Gul’s visit the Strasbourg-based council is his first to western Europe
since being elected president in August after months of controversy
over his candidacy to a post traditionally held by a secularist. Gul
is from an Islamist-rooted party.

Also Wednesday, Gul warned against any territorial division of Iraq
as proposed by the U.S. Senate.

"One should not fall into the illusion that the current problems can
be overcome by the partition of Iraq," he said. "This would be the
worst scenario for the people of Iraq and the whole region."

MCA-ARMENIA AND "MOTT MACDONALD" LTD. (UK) SIGN CONTRACT

ARMENPRESS
Oct 04 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS: The Millennium Challenge Account –
Armenia announced today the award of a consulting contract for the
Environmental and Social Assessment and Oversight to "Mott MacDonald"
Ltd. The contract was signed by MCA-Armenia CEO Ara Hovsepian and
"Mott MacDonald" Managing Director James Perry.

The key responsibilities of the Contractor include: collection,
review and analysis of baseline environmental and social information;
development of environmental and social impact assessments; elaboration
of environmental management plans; preparation and implementation
of resettlement action plans (as needed) within the framework of
the Infrastructure Activity of the Irrigated Agriculture project;
environmental and social oversight over all activities implemented
as part of the MCA-Armenia program.

The contract value is USD 2, 545.745. "Mott MacDonald" is expected
to carry out this assignment in 48 months.

Millennium Challenge Account-Armenia (MCA-Armenia), a State Non
Commercial Organization established by the Government of Armenia,
is responsible for overseeing the transparent implementation of the
Compact signed between the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the
Government of Armenia.

SOCIETY HAS NO MODEL OF PRESIDENT
Anahit Yesayan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily, Armenia
Oct 4 2007

Interview with ethnographer Hranoush Kharatyan

"There are already a great number of candidates who have submitted
a claim for presidency. Do you think society has formed an image of
the country’s President? That’s to say, is it clear what characters
a president should possess and what he is disallowed to do?"

"In my opinion, there is no specific public demand at the present
moment. I even think that there are no clear-cut features as to the
phenomenon of ‘President’. To my mind, society mostly discusses the
negative features of the existing candidates. But as to what president
our society will have, it is unclear; there is no such public demand. I
don’t mean the political organizations and structures which, by the
way, do not have a clear-cut formulation of the future President’s
characters either.

For example, it is not formulated that the President must be the
embodiment of decency, honesty and dignity. These are not secondary
phenomena. There seems to be a desire for a powerful president,
however there is no clear-cut public demand for and idea about the
characters of such a powerful President.

What do they want? A group of people who want certain changes in
their life and another group of people who do not want any changes
at all. Theoretically, the people’s expectations from a specific
presidential candidate derive from here. Those who do not favor
changes can formulate their approaches towards the President’s
characters in a more clear manner. As to the people desiring changes,
they themselves have no clear idea about the kind of person they want
to see as President. There is no such model in our reality.

People have started to realize the well-known saying that ‘X is
a good guy, but it is not yet enough for him to be a good public
figure’ ". That’s to say, the ideas about a good person vanish very
quickly as a result of the uncertainty about the expectations from
that person. What should they expect of that "good person". On the
one hand, it is possible to understand this, but on the other hand,
it is unclear what they expect of someone who, apart from being a
good person, has a good idea about his job.

For instance, is there a demand for a dignified and honest person?

I am no sure there is such a demand. Who will be the country’s future
President? Does our society demand that he have the above-mentioned
characters? I don’t think so. I think that the moral characters of
people are among the topics which mostly are not mostly discussed in
our reality. What is discussed is the relationship among different
individuals. In my opinion, there is simply no model of President in
our society."

"The greatest intrigue is attributed to ex-President L. Ter-Perosyan
who has submitted a claim for presidency for the upcoming presidential
elections. He speaks after 10 years of silence.

What new things does he say? What will you generally say in that
regards? What do you think about his possible return?"

"I partially answered this question long ago, and I stick to the same
opinion. To my mind, it is still questionable to what extent L.

Ter-Petrosyan and, in a global sense, the Armenian pan-National
Movement have analyzed the period of their political rule and what
conclusions they have drawn as a result of their analysis. That group
currently criticizes the ruling authorities. And it serves them right
because there are a great number of issues subject to criticism,
and there are issues that remain unsolved despite the fact that it
is possible to solve them.

On the other hand, however, there is the following question/ To
what extent did the group of political co-thinkers present the
activities of the ruling period with all the consequences deriving
thereof? Personally I find that it was the ex-Government that lay the
foundation of all the flaws which later received deeper manifestations
in the country. And the norms of behavior, which perhaps became more
outstanding later, developed at that time. All these are materials
subject to analysis, and I believe that this group of political
co-thinkers has its own analysis.

BAKO SAHAKYAN: WE WON’T HAVE IT ANY MORE

Karabakh Open
Oct 3 2007

The minister of agriculture Armo Tsatryan is also deputy prime
minister. First of all, it means that agriculture is one of the
economic priorities. Second, the development of urban areas will be
combined with the development of infrastructures.

In the first meeting of the government yesterday fundamental changes
of approaches were announced

It became known that the yield of arable crops has been dropping over
the past few years, and wheat farming is not cost-effective. The areas
under crop were reduced as well. On the whole, the president and the
prime minister assessed the development of agriculture as negative.

Meanwhile, the government allocated funds for the development of
agriculture. For instance, the government provided 3 340 metric
tons of seeds and 1 177 metric tons of diesel to farmers from 2004
to 2006. 1641 metric tons of seeds and 666 metric tons of diesel
were repaid.

President Bako Sahakyan said it is due to unfair distribution of
the government assistance. "Some people got 50 tons of seeds each,
while others hardly got half a ton. We won’t have it any more,"
the president said.

According to the prime minister collaboration with local governments
will be reviewed as well, which are now ineffective. We need to offer
proposals to the parliament and find a legislative solution, he said.

The president also said the media should be more active in covering
the problems of common people and conveying the government policy.

BRYAN ARDOUNY: WE MUST PUT AN END TO DENIAL AND THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF GENOCIDE

ArmRadio – Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 3 2007

As part of the Armenian Assembly’s ongoing effort to secure passage of
H. Res. 106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution, the Assembly issued a
"call to action" yesterday as the House Foreign Affairs Committee
announced its decision to consider the resolution on Wednesday,
October 10th. The resolution is identical to legislation adopted
by the Committee in 2005 by a vote of 40 to 7, which included the
support of the Chairman and Ranking Member.

The legislation, introduced in January of this year by Congressman Adam
Schiff (D-CA), along with his colleagues Congressmen George Radanovich
(R-CA), Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI), as well as Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA), Thaddeus
McCotter (R-MI) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), garnered over 150 supporters on
the day of introduction, and has now grown to a majority in the House
of Representatives with over 220 cosponsors. H. Res. 106 also enjoys
the support of millions of Americans as evidenced by the broad-based
support of more than 50 organizations.

"Passage of this bipartisan human rights legislation will send a
powerful message to those who continue, despite the incontestable
truth, to deny the Armenian Genocide," said Assembly Executive Director
Bryan Ardouny. "Now is the time to ensure a resounding victory. We
must put an end to denial and the vicious cycle of genocide."

H. Res. 106 must pass in the House Foreign Affairs Committee before
it can be considered for a vote on the House floor.