Author: Kharatian Ani

POLAD BULBULOGLU: WE PLAN MORE PRODUCTIVE AND LONG-LASTING MUTUAL VISITS BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 29 2007

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu will again meet with
Armenian ambassador to Russia Armen Smbatyan on returning to Moscow.

"We plan to organize more productive and long-lasting mutual visits
between the two countries," Polad Bulbuloglu said, APA reports.

The Ambassador underlined that international organization also advised
to establish relations between the two communities.

"The resolution of the Council of Europe on Nagorno Karabakh
regards Nagorno Karabakh as an occupied territory. There also are
recommendations to Azerbaijan in the resolution, one of them is
maintaining contact," he said.

GREECE READY TO SHARE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION EXPERIENCE WITH ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.06.2007 17:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan met
with Greek President Karolos Papoulias and the delegation led by
him. "The Armenian government is ready to promote implementation
of all agreements achieved by Presidents of Armenia and Greece and
strengthen ties between two friendly nations," Sargsyan said.

He expressed satisfaction with Greece’s assistance in various fields,
specifically in the military sector.

"Working for a long time in the security system I have held numerous
meetings with Greek official departments. I have felt their friendly
attitude and readiness for cooperation. Expansion of our cooperation
is specifically important now, when Armenia is implementing the
Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP). In this view,
Greece’s experience would be very useful," the RA PM said adding that
friendly states should settle urgent issues by uniting efforts.

For his part Mr Papoulias noted with regret that if Turkey could
change and abide by European values Armenia and Greece would not
have to target a major part of the GDP at security. "Armenia and
Greece always cooperate and support each other in all international
structures. Greece has gained enough experience in European integration
and Euro Atlantic partnership. We are ready to help Armenia,"
he emphasized.

The parties also referred to the activities of the Armenian-Greek
intergovernmental commission on cooperation. PM Serge Sargsyan marked
out agriculture, trade, tourism, education and defense as priority
lines in the 5-year program of the Armenian government.

"Greeks and Armenians have much in common. We managed to overcome all
difficulties and now we can make great achievements by cooperating
with each other," the Greek President said, the RA government’s press
office reports.

ARMENIA CAN MEET 30-40% OF ITS ENERGY NEEDS WITH OWN ENERGY RESOURCES IN NEXT 15-20 YEARS

Noyan Tapan
Jun 27 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 27, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia can meet 30-40% of its energy
needs with its own energy resources in the next 15-20 years. The
RA Deputy Minister of Energy Ara Simonian told reporters on June 27
that Armenia’s energy strategical program attaches special importance
to the development of renewable, alternative energy. In particular,
it is important to build small hydropower plants. Small hydropower
plants currently generate 200-230 million kwh of electricity, and
there is potential for constructing 270 small hydropower plants with
the capacity of 600-700 million kwh in the next 15-20 years. Their
construction will ensure 15% of the total energy consumption.

According to A. Simonian, the construction of three big hydropower
plants, namely the Meghri hydropower plant with the capacity of
130-140 megawatts, the Shnogh plant (75 megawatts) and the Loriberd
hydropower plant (60 megawatts) is also of key importance.

The deputy minister said that in terms of using solar energy,
Armenia is considered to be a country with quite a great potential
as compared with the average European one: the average potential of
European countries makes 1,000 kwh per square meter, while in Armenia
this index makes 1,720 kwh.

UKRAINIAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANY QUAZAR-MICRO ENTERS ARMENIAN MARKET

Noyan Tapan
Jun 26 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The IT company Quazar-Micro (Ukraine)
has completed the program of supplying the Enterprise Incubator
Foundation (EIF) with modern computers and server equipment. SRS-Zvezda
company on provision of property and area protection systems has also
participated in the program, EIF Director Bagrat Yengibarian said
on June 26. At the same time, he said that the company is beginning
to cooperate with Armenian IT companies. He expressed a hope that
Quazar-Micro will soon occupy its stable place in the Armenian market.

According to the Head of Quazar-Micro’s Marketing Department Sergei
Shcherbin, the company’s entrance into the Armenian market will help
Armenia to develop cooperation with the region’s leading IT companies
and to participate in a number of state programs, including educational
ones. In his words, the company will offer some long-term developments
to Armenian enterprises, including specialized solutions for managing
the cash flows of big organizations.

Quazar-Micro company is part of Sintronix Holding (Russia). In 2006,
the company’s turnover made 568 million USD.

ANKARA APPRECIATES GREECE’S SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S FULL EU MEMBERSHIP

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.06.2007 15:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ankara expects U.S. and Iraqi officials to take firm
steps on the PKK issue (Workers’ Party of Kurdistan), said Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul speaking to Greek daily Kathimerini. "The
Turkish government gives the highest priority to combating PKK
terrorists. High-level U.S. officials, including the president, had
expressed their intention to back Turkey’s anti-terrorist efforts," the
Turkish FM underscored. Alongside, A. Gul underlined Ankara welcomes
Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni’s statements supporting Turkey’s
full membership to the European Union, Turkiye daily reports.

LES MONDES TROUBLES D’ATOM EGOYAN EN HUIT OEUVRES

Le Temps, Suisse
23 juin 2007

Une nouvelle edition rend presque justice au grand cineaste
canado-armenien, de ses premiers films a "Ararat".

L’Essentiel d’Egoyan. Coffret de huit DVD. ARP/TF1 Video. Bandes
originales: anglaises. Sous-titrage: francais.

L’edition DVD a jusqu’ici ete ingrate envers Atom Egoyan, precieux
cineaste canadien d’origine armenienne. Exotica, son film le plus
emblematique, avait ete massacre dans un pressage belge de sinistre
memoire. Les premières oeuvres etaient inedites en zone 2, et
difficilement trouvables en galettes nord-americaines. Ararat, avec
Charles Aznavour, restait hors d’atteinte. Seul De Beaux Lendemains
jouissait d’une superbe edition en zone 1 avec sous-titres francais
et des supplements pertinents, dont un commentaire par le cineaste
et l’ecrivain Russel Banks, auteur du roman original.

ARP rend donc justice au realisateur en publiant huit films, en
particulier les premières oeuvres: Next of Kin, Family Viewing, et
Speaking Parts. Pour la première fois, une plongee raisonnee dans
les mondes d’Egoyan est possible, meme si Le Voyage de Felicia et La
Verite nue, dernier thriller en date, manquent a l’appel.

Plongee raisonnee, manière de parler: nous sommes face a un cineaste
en apparence cerebral, qui aime brouiller les pistes en faconnant
ses recits par couches, en decortiquant ses personnages par leurs
zones d’ombres, tout en les placant face a la froideur des lumières
des ecrans.

Les ecrans, car les histoires d’Egoyan reposent sur une declinaison
du regard et du voyeurisme sous leurs formes les plus contemporaines.

Ses heros sont traverses par l’image. Elle complète leur trouble
identitaire, une autre constante: un jeune homme qui s’invite
et s’invente dans une une autre famille (Next of kin), un agent
d’assurance qui se construit par sa profession (The Adjuster), un père
qui a perdu sa fille et s’enferme dans une routine obsessionnelle au
rythme du club de strip-tease qu’il frequente (Exotica), ou encore cet
avocat qui rassemble sa vie eclatee autour d’une cause, la defense de
parents dont les enfants ont peri dans l’accident de leur bus scolaire
(Beaux Lendemains).

Chez Egoyan, les destins sont souvent brises, mais les hommes et les
femmes qu’il concoit entretiennent une vie après la rupture, meme
factice, livree aux images ou aux souvenirs, ou encore en attente
d’un soubresaut de l’existence.

Avec, en sus, ses deux fables plus precisement armeniennes, Calendar
et Ararat, l’oeuvre de cet Ontarien ne en Egypte ne vise pas une
universalite artificielle, mais elle compose une belle humanite.

L’auteur s’est constitue un système de production a sa mesure, avec
des participants recurrents, dont sa compagne, l’actrice Arsinee
Khanjian. Ou le compositeur Mychael Danna, dont les partitions pour
Exotica et De Beaux Lendemains sont superbes.

Edite a l’occasion d’une retrospective a Beaubourg, ce coffret comble
donc un manque cruel. Certaines copies n’atteignent toujours pas la
qualite que les films meriteraient, mais elles supplantent aisement les
precedentes. Pour les premières oeuvres, un commentaire du cineaste
est propose en option. En revanche, les amateurs les plus ferus de
De Beaux Lendemains conserveront leur edition nord-americaine, ses
supplements n’ayant pas ete repris ici.

L’ensemble offre neanmoins une porte d’entree dans les fictions
sophistiquees et inoubliables d’Atom Egoyan.

–Boundary_(ID_dcy3ksr3Ircz96baa1+exA)–

ONLY DRAWS REGISTERED IN 11th TOUR OF ARMENIAN FOOTBALL HIGHEST LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

Noyan Tapan
Jun 25 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 25, NOYAN TAPAN. Games of 11th tour of Armenian Football
Highest League Championship took place on June 23 and 24. The following
results were registered: Banants – Mika 1 to 1, Shirak – Gandzasar
0 to 0, Kilikia – Ulis 0 to 0. The Pyunik – Ararat match was postponed.

TURKEY HOSTS BLACK SEA SUMMIT FOR "NEW HORIZON"

The New Anatolian, Turkey
June 25 2007

Turkey is set to host a summit of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC) today with the participation of heads of state and foreign
ministers from member countries.

The summit, which will be held under the banner, "Setting Sails for
New Horizons," is expected to give BSEC a new direction and momentum
under Turkey’s rotating chairmanship and celebrate the organization’s
15th anniversary.

The summit will gather 12 member countries and 13 observer countries
in addition to representatives from international organizations such
as the United Nations, European Union (EU), Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development, World Bank, the World Trade Organization.

The members of the group are the six Black Sea littoral states —
Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine — as well as
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Moldova and Serbia.

Host country Turkey, which currently chairs the group, says it
wants to give a new momentum to the organization and is calling
for increased efforts in the areas of transport, energy, trade,
environmental protection and combating organized crime.

One of the major objectives on the BSEC agenda is upgrading transport
infrastructure as a means of boosting trade and tourism, including
projects for a 7,500-kilometer (4,660-mile) ring road along the
Black Sea coast and regular maritime links between the ports of
member states.

Removing legal barriers to trade is another priority, with a special
meeting on the issue scheduled for September.

The group is also seeking to develop closer cooperation with the
European Union, and the vice president of the European Commission,
Guenter Verheugen, is expected to attend the summit in Istanbul.

The BSEC covers an area of nearly 20 million square kilometers (7.7
million square miles) with a population of some 350 million people.

Its member states have a total foreign trade capacity of about 300
billion dollars (223.5 billion Euros) annually.

The region is the second-largest source of oil and natural gas,
after the Persian Gulf region.

All member countries except Armenia are expected to be represented
by their presidents or prime ministers in Istanbul, Turkish officials
said.

Armenia, which has no diplomatic ties with Turkey, will be represented
by Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian.

The foreign ministers of member states will hold separate round of
talks this morning ahead of the summit meeting Turkish sources told The
New Anatolian that Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul would hold
bilateral meetings with counterparts on the sidelines of the summit,
without ruling out the possibility of him meeting also with Oskanian.

Turkish and Armenian officials have held talks in the sidelines of
international gatherings in the past.

Turkey refuses to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia, its
eastern neighbor, because of Yerevan’s campaign for the international
recognition of the alleged mass killings of Armenians under the
Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century as genocide.

In 1993, Turkey also shut its border with Armenia in a show of
solidarity with its close ally Azerbaijan, which was at war with
Armenia over Nogorno-Karabakh, dealing a heavy economic blow on the
impoverished nation.

The summit will begin at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace and will be chaired
by Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

The final declaration will be released at the end of the summit which
is expected to outline political directives that will shape the future
of BSEC and constitute a milestone in its history.

MHER MKRTCHIAN’S ARCHIVE RETURNED TO ARMENIA
By Hovhannes Yeranian

Yerkir.am
June 22, 2007

Fifteen years have passed since the death of the most popular actor
Mher Mkrtchian. Nevertheless, he has become even more popular, his
biography was enriched with legends and myths that have created the
image of the comic actor with sad eyes.

Irina Terterian-Mkrtchian, the daughter of Mher Mkrtchian’s daughter
Nune, is currently in Armenia. We asked to tell her about Mher
Mkrtchian’s unpublished memoirs.

"My grandfather started writing his memoirs during the last year of
his life. Probably he could feel something but he called my mother
and told her that he was starting his memoirs right away. He probably
felt he did not have much time left. He would tell about his life and
my mother would record him. He already had some memoirs in writing,
and what my mother recorded was his thoughts and stories," Irina
Terterian-Mkrtchian says.

The memoirs were left unfinished since Mher Mkrtchian died on December
28, 1993. In 1994 the Terterians left for Argentina and Nune took
Mher Mkrtchian’s archive and memoirs with her.

Irina Terterian was nine years old at that time. She recalls their
life in Buenos Aires was very difficult. Her mother’s attempts to
commemorate her talented father did not succeed since local Armenians
did not know Mher Mkrtchian. Nevertheless, in a couple of year Nune
succeeded in creating a theater named after Mher Mkrtchian.

However, she did not manage to publish her father’s memoirs even
though she had asked for the support of some sponsors. Nune died in
1998. Her daughter Irina, the granddaughter of Avet Terterian and
Mher Mkrtchian, came to realize her lifelong dream of creating Mher
Mkrtchian’s museum. With the support of the Ministry of Culture Irina
Terterian brought to Armenia Mher Mkrtchian’s archive that weighs 40kg.

The archive includes about 1500 photographs, over 1000 letters,
souvenirs, collection of key and many other items. These items are
now deposited in the Mher Mkrtchian Museum on Varpetneri Street in
Gyumri. The memoirs will soon be published.

"When I enter the museum I can feel my grandfather’s presence there.

I want to finish the job my mother had started. I want to publish
the memoirs so that people know the truth, the sad but true story. My
grandfather would joke even in dramatic situations. He was both sad
and loved life, people, his daughter, son, me. I want people to know
the truth," Irina Terterian-Mkrtchian says.

P.S. The popular actor could anticipate the future. In his memoirs he
wrote that when he dies they will clean the streets of Yerevan, these
and these people will come, and will say these and these things. On the
last days of December 1993, on the day of Mher Mkrtchian’s funeral,
everything happened the way the actor had anticipated. They cleaned
the streets of Yerevan, and people said the exact things the great
actor had predicted.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Laura Grigorian

Azat Artsakh Daily Newspaper, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
22-06-2007

Interview with the chair of the NKR Central Electoral Commission
Sergey NASIBIAN AA: Mr. Nasibian, election campaign starts June
20. How is it carried out through the media? Sergey Nasibian: First
of all, according to the legislation, the government provides free
and equal opportunities for the election of campaign, namely free
halls and other space, airtime on television and radio. The Central
Electoral Commission has adopted the order. The order and schedule
of electoral campaign on the public television and channel will be
adopted and controlled. The election campaign can use the media,
as well as meetings, debates, marches, demonstrations provided for
by the legislation, spreading of printed materials, recordings and
footages. A presidential candidate has the right for free airtime
on the public television and radio, not more than 30 minutes,
as well as to buy airtime on the election funds, not more than 80
minutes. The price of the airtime is 30 thousand drams per minute on
the public television and 15 thousand drams per minute on the public
radio. According to the amended the Electoral Code, the candidates can
use other licensed TV or radio channels (independent from the form of
ownership), again with equal conditions. The candidates cannot use
the equipment of companies which retransmit TV or radio channels in
Nagorno-Karabakh. Campaign on TV and radio channels is controlled by
the NKR Council of Public Television and Radio, which is authorized to
sue breaches. The Central Electoral Commission is authorized to submit
an opinion with the court. As to the print media, all the newspapers
and journals except for the ones founded by political parties must
provide equal opportunities for the candidates. AA: What forms of
electioneering are allowed and barred by the electoral code? Sergey
Nasibian: During the election campaign the publication and spread
of materials against the constitutional order, preaching violence
and warfare, as well as ethnic, racial, religious hatred. Besides,
during the election campaign it is illegal for the candidates to
give or pledge money, food, shares, goods, or provide or pledge
services. Printing and spreading anonymous materials is illegal. The
materials must refer to the responsible for the publication, the
publisher, and the number of copies. Slander against the candidates
during the election to mislead voters is fined 300-500 thousand
drams or sentenced to 5 years. AA: Mr. Nasibian, who has the right to
electioneer, and who does not have the right? Sergey Nasibian: Every
eligible citizen can electioneer for or against any candidate. But
there are also restrictions. For instance, the government and the
local government officials during their working day, the judiciary,
the police, the national security service, the procuracy, the military,
charities, religious organizations, as well as the members of electoral
commissions cannot electioneer. AA: What measures are taken if the
order of election campaign is breached? Sergey Nasibian: In case of
breaches the central electoral commission applies to the relevant
agencies (head of community, police, it depends on the breach),
as well as to the court of law to repeal the registration of the
candidate. Breaches of the order of the election campaign and the use
of other funds besides the election fund are the two cases when the
CEC can go to the court. The court of law must pass a ruling within
5 days. This is for the candidates. The citizens who breach the order
of election campaign, may be fined 200-500 thousand drams on Article
40.1 of the Electoral Code. We sometimes overlook cases of spoiling
posters or other visual materials, which can be defined as hooliganism
and fined. AA: Mr. Nasibian, what is an election fund? Sergey Nasibian:
The candidates can set up an election fund at any bank of NKR. It can
be the candidate’s own funds, the funds provided by the party which
names the candidate, donations of natural and legal persons. The
government and the local governments, non-resident persons and
organizations if 30 percent of shares are held by NKR of communities,
aliens, charities, religious organizations, international organizations
and international initiatives cannot contribute to this fund. The
money provided by the abovementioned natural and legal persons is
transferred to the state budget. The candidate can provide up to
1 million dollars, the political party which named the candidate
can provide 5 million, the candidate can spend 6 million drams. Each
natural person can provide up to 100 thousand drams, each legal person
up to 300 thousand drams. All the expenses of the campaign must be
covered with the money of the election fund, otherwise the CEC can go
to the court to repeal the registration of the candidate. AA: What
is the deadline of registration of observers and reporters? Sergey
Nasibian: The CEC will accredit local observers until July 10, and
international observers until July 18, reporters will be accredited
until July 18. As of June 19, 1 international and 7 local observers,
as well as 34 local and 8 international journalists (mostly from
Armenia) were accredited. Besides, there are preliminary arrangements
with observation missions and individuals. They are interested in the
presidential election of NKR but accreditation is always more active
during the last week, because usually short-term observers come. AA:
Mr. Nasibian, are the voters’ registers ready, and when will the local
electoral commissions be set up? The passport departments of the
Police made, printed and hung the voters’ registers at the polling
stations from June 1. Now the voters, the heads of communities and
the passport department are working towards precision. As to the
local commissions, according to the electoral code they will be set
up from June 30 to July 3.

Each divisional commission will appoint one member of the local
commission.