Author: Kharatian Ani

105 JOURNALISTS FROM MANY COUNTRIES COVER THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN KARABAKH

arminfo
2007-07-19 16:39:00

105 journalists from Nagornyy Karabakh, Armenia and other countries
of the world cover the presidential election in Karabakh. A total
of 93 international observers are observing the course of the
election. This is an unpredictably high index, the leader of the
press-center of the NKR Central Electoral Commission Mikael Ajiyan
told Arminfo correspondent.

He also added that the press-center functions on a voluntary basis.

"Karabakh telecom" communication company and other companies and
enterprises that provided the center with computers and other
equipment, helped to organize the press-center. Armenian Public TV
provided the press-center with satellite communication. The necessary
papers about the NKR and its legislation were prepared on the eve of
the election and given to mass media representatives and observers,
which got one more opportunity to assure themselves that democratic
processes in the NKR are irreversible. The press-center leader is
sure that today’s presidential election will become a regular step
in democracy development and will finally lead to international
recognition of the NKR.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH VOTES FOR PRESIDENT

AP Online
Published: Jul 19, 2007

The Armenian-controlled breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh was
holding a presidential election Thursday amid a rumbling dispute with
Azerbaijan over the mountainous enclave’s unrecognized independence.

It is the fourth presidential election in the impoverished territory
inside Azerbaijan that has been controlled by Armenian and ethnic
Armenian forces since a shaky 1994 cease-fire ended one of the
bloodiest conflicts that followed the Soviet collapse.

The six-year war killed 30,000 people and drove more than 1 million
from their homes, including many of the region’s ethnic Azeris. Today,
it remains one of the region’s "frozen" conflicts.

Pollsters and analysts said former security chief Bako Saakian tops
the list of five candidates campaigning to replace the incumbent
Arkady Ghukasian, who is ineligible to run after two five-year terms
in office.

Saakian, 47, headed Nagorno-Karabakh’s security service since 2001,
resigning in June to stand in the election. He is running as an
independent and is backed by the Armenian government in Yerevan.

Azerbaijan, which has rejected the vote as having no legal meaning,
is still at loggerheads with Armenia despite more than a decade
of coaxing from international mediators led by the United States,
Russia and France to resolve the region’s status.

No country has recognized the independence of the mostly agricultural
region of 146,000 people, which has faced a steady brain drain and
dire economic problems despite financial aid from Armenia and the
Armenian diaspora.

Saakian has said that international recognition of Kosovo
as an independent state would pave the way for acceptance of
Nagorno-Karabakh’s sovereignty.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH’S SAAKYAN LEADS IN ELECTION

Reuters AlertNet, UK
July 19 2007

STEPANAKERT, July 20 (Reuters) – Bako Saakyan, former head of the
security service in Nagorno-Karabakh, was on course to become leader
of the breakaway republic, early election results showed on Friday.

Saakyan, 46, was leading with 87.1 percent of the vote after about
60 percent of ballots had been counted, deputy head of the election
commission Seyran Hayrapetyan told Reuters.

Masis Mailyan, Saakyan’s main opponent, had received 10.9 percent of
the vote. Muslim Azerbaijan, which lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh
after a war against Armenia in the early 1990s, has denounced the
election as illegal under international law.

RUSSIA’S CFE SUSPENSION WON’T TELL ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.07.2007 13:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia’s suspending the Treaty on Conventional Armed
Forces in Europe will hardly tell on the situation in the region,
including the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Armenian
political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. The problem is that Armenia and Azerbaijan are CFE members
and are obliged to fulfill the demands, according to him.

"As to the NKR, the republic has met the CFE requirement on voluntary
lines recently. The change of Russian flanking armaments will most
likely concern the regions bordering with Eastern European NATO member
states," he said.

July 14, 2007 Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on signed a decree
suspending the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. This
step was taken due to "extraordinary circumstances…which affect the
security of the Russian Federation and require immediate measures,"
the Kremlin said.

INSIGHT INTO TUTSI GENOCIDE

New Times
Africa News
July 15, 2007 Sunday

Rwanda

The Genocide week in Rwanda is characterized by a complexity of
issues like elsewhere in the world. This is the time when survivors of
Genocide are filled with fear and desire of both moral and physical
revenge. The perpetrators of Genocide on the other hand, are filled
with shame or desire to do more killings. It is a tense week as we
watch the films and listen to testimonies of all gruesome activities
that were committed against the Tutsis.Scholars on, the other hand,
battle it out asking themselves if it is worth having the memorial week
or not. And the debate goes on the controversy over the naming of the
1994 Genocide in Rwanda. Should it be called "The Rwandan genocide"
or "The genocide that killed many Tutsis and moderate Hutus" or
"The Tutsi Genocide?"

What do all these titles have to do with reconciling people and
vice versa? What actually happened in Rwanda was Tutsi Genocide and
the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda should be therefore, called the "Tutsi
Genocide." Shying away from this fact and the truth is tantamount
to denying the Genocide itself. If we have the Jewish Genocide,
the Herero Genocide, the Armenian Genocide, etc. why do we find it
difficult to have the Tutsi Genocide? Some radicals correctly put
it that it sounds more comfortable to most people to accompany the
Genocide in Rwanda with the killing of moderate Hutus.

Genocide is remembered in all countries where it happened for obvious
reasons. If you bury your father and forget him, you will never have
to tell his grandchildren, and this will ridicule you. We are told
stories by typical events and whether we want or not we shall keep
on experiencing the ills left by the genocide both the survivors
and perpetrators. There are therefore commemorations all over in the
worlds where genocide occurred.

Every year on April 24, people of Armenian descent organize blood
drives, picket Turkish embassies, and celebrate special church services
to commemorate the anniversary of the 1915 arrest of several hundred
prominent Armenians in Constantinople. The arrests were the beginning
of the genocide in which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were
slaughtered by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923.

However, they find themselves in similar circumstances that Rwanda
faces – of people who do not want to remember. Reasons for fear to
remember remain the same in both cases. This is one utterance reacting
to the yearly commemoration of the Armenian genocide."Genocide is
the most abhorrent and outrageous crime against humanity and we
are not going to prevent it by selectively remembering only some of
its victims."

The Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Day of 27 January is the
anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and
extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau – seen as a powerful symbol
of the horrors of the Holocaust. Holocaust Memorial Day is about
commemorating all of the communities who suffered as a result of the
Holocaust and Nazi persecution, and demonstrating that the Holocaust
is relevant to everyone in the UK today.

The day provides a focus – through the national and local events and
activities – for people to think about the continuing repercussions
of the Holocaust and more recent genocides on our society.

However, critics claim that the holocaust is too old to be remembered
now as other crimes have overtaken it. "If someone wants to honour the
victims of holocaust, war etc., then they should do so in there own
private way. Similar negative criticism does not spare the holocaust
either. "National memorial" days just drag up the past and do not
necessarily look to the future."

And what do Rwandan critics on the commemoration of the 1994 Tutsi
Genocide say?

Rwandans have mixed reactions with some against, others for and those
who do not care about the Genocide at all.

Whatever the line one takes, the fact is that we cannot afford to live
with hate. People have to be reminded about this. Holocaust Memorial
Day should influence behaviour changes today. We need to put it in
context of all suffering. Everyone should remember in their own way.

Lectures given in the days of commemoration must be able to
contextualize the issue of hatred and genocide in Rwanda.

The Holocaust Memorial Days for example aim to: remember all victims
of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution; reflect upon those affected
by more recent atrocities, in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Educate about the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism and all forms
of discrimination.

Ultimately, the day aims to restate the continuing need for vigilance
and to motivate people, individually and collectively, to ensure that
the horrendous crimes, racism and victimization committed during the
Holocaust are neither forgotten nor repeated, whether in Europe or
elsewhere in the world.

While teaching about the Tutsi Genocide of 1994 in Rwanda, similar
enlightenments must be brought to surface in all discussions.

Comparative studies and explanations are essential and ignorance
about other world genocides does not provide a clear cut explanation
of the Rwanda.

For example, the massacre of the Armenians in Turkey in 1915-23, the
Holocaust of the Jews in Hitler’s Germany, the mass killing of Tutsis
in Rwanda in 1994, and the ongoing slaughter in the Darfur provinces
of western Sudan today. You don’t just finish people (the Janjaweed)
the way you want when the whole world is watching.

The unfortunate part of it is that very few people have the concern,
the will and ability to take the comparisons down to earth and use them
in the context of Rwanda. Those few, therefore, should come in to help.

Any genocide has it own uniqueness and it is wrong to portray any
genocide as the same as others. This kind of understanding will allow
you to understand why the Holocaust is regarded classically as the
only unique genocide to have happened. But the uniqueness in the
Tutsi Genocide is evident; the speed with which it was carried out
and the relationship between the victims and the killers make it an
extremely unique genocide. So the problem should not be in the degree
of uniqueness but the context.

Remembering is very important in as far as the concept of evil
deterrence is concerned.

It gives us the bench mark of our morality as a society and the
ability to say no to evil. It is one of the steps in the long chain
of procedures to de-poison the Rwandan psyche and psychologically
rehabilitate the dehumanized psyche of the survivors.

The writer is a researcher at K.I.E

PM ERDOðAN REFUSES TV DEBATE WITH DENIZ BAYKAL

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
July 18 2007

Leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoðan turned down an invitation from Republican
People’s Party (CHP) chairman Deniz Baykal to appear on TV for a
debate, citing Baykal’s "indecent style" as the reason.

In an interview with NTV news station, aired Monday night, Erdoðan
rejected Baykal’s offer, instead calling on the CHP leader to reveal
his wife’s wealth. In response to questions on his son’s purchase of
a boat, Erdoðan said that the situation was being exaggerated. "There
are big ships and there are much smaller ones; there are new ones
and there are older ones," he said, noting that his son had indeed
bought a boat, but on credit and with payment in installments that
he would meet with his own salary.

Reiterating his stance against Baykal’s demand that the new president
be someone from outside Parliament, Erdoðan said: "I still deem it
disrespectful to think of a candidate from outside Parliament. I
definitely oppose the term ‘impartiality’. Doesn’t Baykal have
certain sides in his life? Is he able to act impartially in his
undertakings? He would then be able to gain people’s appreciation.

Nobody can be ever impartial about anything."

In response to another question on whether they had suffered any
problems with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in that regard, Erdoðan
gave the appointments of several ambassadors as an example. "New
ambassadors will be appointed. The stance of the Foreign Ministry is
very well known; they returned it (the requests for approval of the
appointments) as is to the president. The president cannot seek the
condition of ‘suitability’. He seeks legal compatibility. He isn’t
providing the legal grounds for returning the appointments made by
the Foreign Ministry."

When he was asked about whether the president, the parliamentary
speaker and the prime minister being from the same party would cause
any problems in terms of democracy, he gave an example from Germany
and said: "Is there no democracy there? We should get used to this.

These three posts were held by the same parties in the past; does
it become an issue [only] when the AK Party is in power? If people
implicitly say in the elections that ‘you will occupy all three of
[the positions]’, will we respect the people or act in the direction
of the minority’s demands? Are those elected and those to be elected
from the AK Party not children of this nation?"

Prime Minister Erdoðan also drew a comparison between the AK Party’s
term in power and the terms of Baykal and Democrat Party )DP) leader
Mehmet Aðar, remarking: "During Baykal’s term as deputy prime minister,
1,158 Turkish soldiers were martyred. The number of our martyrs is
73 this year; it was 163 last year. Baykal pretends not to look to
his own term [in office]."

He was also asked whether pro-Kurdish independent deputies and
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputies being under the same roof
would pose any dangers. "It will be a source of tension. It will
generate tension. Therefore, the importance of the votes to be cast
will be vital. The ground for conciliation will have been wiped at
the very inception. Our people have to seriously consider who they
will vote for. Let’s not miss this chance," he said.

As the final word, he said the AK Party would definitely realize the
"sorely needed" reforms in higher education if they won enough number
of seats.

—————————————— ————————————–

Purchasers of PETKÝM Kazakh Turks

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoðan reacted to the speculations on the
privatization of PETKÝM. In response to questions on the issue, he
said, "[The man] who bought PETKÝM is a Kazakh Turk. He also bought a
certain amount of Þekerbank’s shares. But, due to PETKÝM’s operation
field, he made a Russian firm his partner. There are Armenians in
the managerial team of this Russian company. The Kazakh firm will
take over all the shares of PETKÝM in the event the sale takes place.

Oyakbank was sold. Whose is it? Didn’t they spread similar speculations
about the sale of Erdemir? Finally it was bought by Oyak, which in
turn sold it to a French firm. Now, how will they explain this?"

–Boundary_(ID_/laptg2xW6mjStgIz/KoCQ )–

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL: GRANTING INDEPENDENCE TO KOSOVO WILL NOT CREATE PRECEDENT FOR SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 17 2007

The U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes that granting Kosovo
independence cannot be a precedent for separatist movements in other
countries, including Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Ki-moon stated at a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York
on 16 July, "I’d like to make it clear that this issue of Kosovo is
a sui generis (unique) issue" that will not create any precedence
for other situations such as for Georgia’s Abkhazia republic or
Azerbaijan’s disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

At the end of last week the United States and its allies sent the UN
Security Council the next 4th draft resolution on the future status
of Kosovo which caused serious objections by Russia.

Ban Ki Moon is concerned over the Security Council’s inability to
define the future status of Kosovo. In Europe, the UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon is warning that further delays to resolve Kosovo’s future
could lead to renewed violence in the Balkan region. "Any further
delay or prolongation on this very important issue will have a very
negative impact on all peace and security not only in Kosovo, not
only in the Balkans, but in all European situations.

"I hope the UN Security Council members can resolve this problem on the
basis of recommendations by my special representative. I also discussed
this issue with a number of heads of Security Council member-states,
including Russian President Vladimir Putin," the UN Secretary General
said. Recommendations by the UN Envoy Martti Ahtisaari include all
elements needed to define the future status of Kosovo.

THE KEYS TO HIS FUTURE
By Joyce Rudolph

Glendale News Press, CA
July 14 2007

Pianist Hovsep Hajibekyan will be performing at the Brand Park Recital
Hall in Glendale Saturday.

Hovsep Hajibekyan took the year off from college to pursue a personal
goal – to perfect his talent on the piano.

The Glendale resident is calling his public recital today a final
test that will show how much he improved over the year, he said.

"It’s one thing to play well, but it’s another thing to perform in
front of people an entire program and manage to keep the concentration
and not let nerves take hold of you," he said. "It’s part of the
learning process. it’s part of this quest to improve."

For the last three months he has been practicing three hours a day
in preparation for the recital, he said.

In addition, he has been working as an usher at the Los Angeles Music
Center and has watched the professionals, picking up their nuances
along the way, he said.

"I got to hear amazing concerts and learned valuable lessons from
listening and watching others perform," he said. "It was a paid
education."

Hajibekyan is now a lot more confident with his playing, he said,
and is enthusiastic about his recital.

The program consists of works by Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Arno Babajanyan, he said.

Hajibekyan’s former instructor, Jungwon Jin, a Glendale Community
College adjunct professor, recently heard him play Babajanyan’s
"Vagharshapat Dance."

"I was not familiar with the piece and he was able to communicate
it to me and make me understand it," she said. "And it’s a very
beautiful piece, and a very interesting piece, because it has Armenian
folk tunes in it. He was able to bring out the folk quality of its
Armenian origin."

Born in Armenia, Hajibekyan started the piano when he was 8. But it
wasn’t until he was much older that he became serious about playing,
he said.

His family moved from Armenia to Glendale in 2000. He graduated from
Glendale High School four years later and continued taking private
lessons on and off, he said.

The 21-year-old political science major completed two years of study
at Glendale Community College and was accepted to UCLA and UC Berkeley.

He starts UC Berkeley in August, and will work toward a bachelor’s
degree and then his master’s, he said. He is intrigued by foreign
policy and the political process here and abroad and is hoping for
a career with the state department, he said.

But music is his personal goal.

"I know how I want it to sound, but the hard part for me is how to
get it across, in a technical aspect," he said. "I want to play as
well as I can."

He is not hoping to become a concert pianist, because that takes more
dedication than he is willing to give, he said. But he wanted to rid
himself of some bad habits at the keyboard and believed this was the
perfect opportunity to take a break from his studies and dedicate
the time to his music, he said.

"Once you finish college, life sucks you in, [and there is] not much
time for fixing things on personal level," he said.

CHINA TO IMPORT ARMENIAN BRANDY

arminfo
2007-07-13 01:12:00

Development of relations with China is one of the priorities of the
Armenian foreign policy, Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan
said today when receiving the newly appointed Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary Ambassador of China to Armenia Hong Jiuyin.

As press-release of the government says, the Prime Minister said that
the Armenian government is ready to support the bilateral relations
development.

For his part, the Ambassador said about a number of prospective
and mutually beneficial programmes , in particular in the sphere of
agriculture, importing of the Armenian brandy to China and in the
sphere of education.

He also added that at the end of 2007 or at the beginning of 2008
the Armenian-Chinese company "Shanci-Nairit", founded in China, will
start rubber production. This is the biggest joint project between
Armenia and China. It is planned that in 2009 the company will start
producing 30.000 tons of rubber annually. 60% shares of the company
belong to the Chinese party and 40% to the Armenian one.

RA JUSTICE MINISTER, AMBASSADOR OF CHINA DISCUSSED ISSUES OF LJUDICIAL COOPERATION

armradio.am
13.07.2007 16:30

RA Minister of Justice Gevorg Danielyan received the Ambassador of
China to Armenia Xun Jiuyin.

Assistant to RA Minister of Justice Lana Mshetyan told ArmInfo that
issues of judicial cooperation between the Ministries of Justice of the
two countries were discussed during the meeting. Highly appreciating
the cooperation in the field, the Ministers of Justice of the two
countries stressed the importance of cooperation in the files of law.

In particular, at Gevorg Danielyan’s suggestion, the parties decided to
prepare a program of cooperation on legal issues, which will be worked
out by the Armenian side. Other opportunities of legal cooperation,
particularly retraining of cadres, holding joint forums and exchange
of experience, will be discussed in the future.