Author: Madatian Greg

PRESS RELEASE
BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA
November 20, 2006
Contact: Linda Yepoyan
Phone: 610-642-6633
[email protected]

BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA NOW THRIVING YEAR-ROUND

Yerevan, Armenia – With three years of successful volunteer program
sponsorship under its belt, Birthright Armenia has proven successful once
again in bringing new volunteers to participate in the progress of the
Homeland. This year an increasing amount of diasporans are recognizing
volunteerism as more than something to fill in the summer gap and are
choosing longer stays in the colder months. The proof is in the numbers.
With fall and winter enrollments up by more than 300% from 2004, the
2006/2007 volunteer program is proving to be one of the strongest yet.

So, why are these volunteers braving the cold and putting their current
professional lives on hold to volunteer in the Homeland?
Twenty-five-year-old Armenian Volunteer Corp (AVC) volunteer Laura T. states
that she chose a year-long volunteer program because she wanted to allow
enough time to make a genuine effort to contribute to Armenia. `One of the
main factors in committing to a long-term stay in Armenia is the
understanding that building relationships and trust within a community takes
time to develop. Personally, I anticipated many significant cultural
challenges and dramatic language improvements necessary before beginning to
understand how and where to contribute.’

Recognizing that longer-term stays enhance a volunteer’s connection through
total immersion, Birthright Armenia has made a significant push this season
to attract volunteers for community service programs outside the summer
months. All signs show that their efforts are working as the group is
currently partnering with more than 15 service organizations, bringing in
volunteers from more than 12 different countries. University of Maryland
Business School graduate and AVC volunteer Sevan Ohanian says that because
he wanted the experience of living and working in Armenia for a longer
period of time, the AVC fall program allowed him the flexibility to fulfill
his goals. Both Laura and Sevan felt that volunteering after the summer
busy season when most of the short-term volunteers had already left would
actually help them achieve more stability in a new environment.

As with the summer program, volunteers participating in the fall and winter
programs are dedicating at least 30 hours per week to volunteer activities
ranging from English instruction to governmental work to environmental
preservation. In addition, they are all engaged in the supplementary
services offered by Birthright Armenia to fully immerse participants in
Armenian culture, including weekly educational forums, Eastern Armenian
language instruction, excursions to the various regions of Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabagh, and social `havaks’ that bring together diasporan
volunteers and Armenian youth. Many of the volunteers are also living with
Armenian host families for either all or part of their stay as part of
Birthright Armenia’s homestay program.

Finally fulfilling a four-year dream of visiting Armenia, Laura points out
that living in the Diaspora often portrays a skewed vision of Armenia’s
current reality based on a `collection of historical myths.’ Although Laura
feels that even a year may not be long enough, she aims to `understand the
source and necessity of the myths and differentiate between the ones that
stunt our growth and the ones that inspire us to move forward.’

Sevan also used this sort of sentiment to propel him to the Homeland. He
notes that people are often quick to criticize Armenia instead of
recognizing it as a young country just barely out of communist reign.
`Instead of criticizing Armenia, we in the Diaspora need to do everything we
can to ensure its prosperity,’ Sevan asserts.

Volunteers and working professionals such as Laura and Sevan embody exactly
the ideals Birthright Armenia is striving to instill in all diasporans – the
idea that true service to the Homeland continues even after leaving Armenia.
Laura, who is currently working with the Women’s Center at Yerevan State
University and World Vision Armenia in the Building Sustainable Livelihood
Program, says she hopes to gain insight into Armenia’s current political
situation so that she can work in the future to `support community
re-empowerment and education to influence decision-makers, locally and
nationally.’

Sevan, who is aiming to return to the U.S. fluent in Eastern Armenia, feels
that since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union, the idea of a
dedicated Motherland has become an increasing influence in the lives of all
Armenians.  `It has given us a home and a country to call our own after all
that we have been through as a nation.’ Sevan is optimistic that his time
in Armenia will help him to spread the Homeland to other diasporans.

Hopefully volunteers such as Laura and Sevan are only the beginning of a new
wave of dedication and participation in the future of Armenia. As Laura so
aptly noted, Armenia must become more than a `collection of myths’ in order
to truly bridge the gap. `Armenia has been a very vague yet ever present
state of being in our family and in my life – you just are Armenian with no
special criteria and no questions asked. I hope that my visit will bridge a
history and build a new vision of where our family has come from.’

Birthright Armenia’s mission is to strengthen ties between the homeland and
diasporan youth by affording them an opportunity to be a part of Armenia’s
daily life and to contribute to Armenia’s development through work, study
and volunteer experiences, while developing a renewed sense of Armenian
identity. Visit for more information.

SWISS RIGHT-WINGERS TARGET ANTI-RACISM LAWS

Agence France Presse — English
November 16, 2006 Thursday 7:01 PM GMT

Switzerland’s largest political party, the right wing Swiss People’s
Party (SVP), said Thursday that it wanted to dismantle the country’s
anti-racism laws.

SVP leaders said that freedom of speech was endangered by the
legislation which was only adopted 12 years ago after being approved
by 54.6 percent of Swiss voters in a referendum.

"A suppression of the law could be backed by a majority now," SVP
president Ueli Maurer said.

The SVP also wants to eliminate the Federal Racism Commission set
up to oversee application of the law, and to pull Switzerland out of
the UN Convention Against Racism.

Currently the SVP has two ministers in the four-party, seven member
Swiss collegial government, including the Justice Minister Christoph
Blocher.

Blocher caused an uproar and was formally rebuked by his cabinet
colleagues in October after he criticised the Swiss anti-racism law
during an official visit to Turkey and reportedly suggested it should
be revised.

Apart from outlawing racist comments in public, the legislation also
prohibits the negation of genocide.

The Swiss lower house of parliament in December 2003 recognised the
massacre of Armenians by Turkey in 1915 as genocide, angering the
Turkish government and straining relations between the countries.

The SVP gained 27 percent of the vote in the last general election
in Switzerland in 2003, leapfrogging over its main political rivals.

It was also a driving force in a referendum earlier this year that
backed tougher new legislation on asylum proposed by the government.

Turkey and Central Asia Eye Closer Security Ties
By REUTERS, ANKARA

Defensenews.com
Posted 11/17/06

Turkey called on Central Asian states on Nov. 17 to form a united
front with Ankara in fighting terrorism and cross-border crime.

Turkey, hosting a gathering of Turkic-speaking countries in its
Mediterranean resort of Antalya, also pledged continued strong support
for Muslim ally Azerbaijan in its long dispute with Armenia over the
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"The development and stability of the Eurasian region are threatened
by international terrorism, religious fundamentalism, separatist and
extremist currents, illegal migration and other organized crimes
such as drug and weapons smuggling," President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
told his fellow leaders in televised remarks.

"We attach great importance to multi-level cooperation in the struggle
with terrorism and on issues which pose a threat to the region’s
development," he said, adding that Turkish business should step up
investment in energy-rich Central Asia.

Turkish firms are already active across the region, especially in
construction, though Ankara has abandoned the ambitious hopes of
building a pan-Turkic commonwealth that it nurtured in the early
1990s after the Soviet Union’s demise.

The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan were in
Antalya for the two-day summit.

But President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan stayed away in protest at
Turkey’s support for a U.N. report critical of his autocratic rule,
Turkish media said. Turkmenistan’s reclusive leader also did not show
up, sending an envoy instead.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev called for more joint transport
and communications projects to help bind together a vast, mostly
under-developed and poor region that stretches from the Balkans to
China’s western border.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev sought political support for his country’s
efforts to regain Nagorno-Karabakh, controlled by Armenian separatists
since armed conflict erupted in the early 1990s which killed an
estimated 35,000 people.

A major pipeline linking Caspian Sea oil fields to world markets
passes a few km from the conflict zone to Turkey.

Sezer made clear Ankara’s continued solidarity with Azerbaijan
despite concerns that Turkey’s poor relations with Armenia – their
shared border is closed due to the Karabakh dispute – could hurt its
efforts to join the European Union.

"I want to stress our continued resolve to support fraternal Azerbaijan
on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue," Sezer said.

AZG Armenian Daily #221, 18/11/2006

Meeting

RA PRESIDENT: SETTLEMENT OF CONFLICTS SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS
PRECONDITION FOR ESTABLISHING DIALOGUE AND COOPERATION

Armenia imparts great importance to the regional cooperation,
RA President Robert Kocharian said in his yesterday’s speech in
Bertelsmann Fund in Berlin.

"We believe that the resolution of conflicts itself should not
be considered as a precondition for establishing dialogue and
cooperation. Moreover, the regional cooperation should be considered
as a great trust-building measure, aimed at resolving existing
disagreements. It is obvious, that unsettled conflicts hinder the
process of natural development of the South Caucasus. That is why
we are determined to achieve the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs work hard to bring
closer our positions. Unfortunately, despite active negotiations
underway, there is little room for optimism. Our principle position
is that the people of Karabakh have implemented their right for
self-determination. It has been done in full accordance with the
international law. Many currently independent states came into
existence after former empires perished. Independence of Nagorno
Karabakh was attained during the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Moreover, it was the time of the end of the grand ideological
contradictions. Nagorno Karabakh has never been a part of independent
Azerbaijan. Through a successful construction of its statehood Nagorno
Karabagh Republic has proved its right for existence. It regularly
conducts democratic presidential and parliamentary elections. We
witness the development of the civil society. A generation has
already grown up, which considers itself to be the safeguard of that
statehood. We do not recall any case of a nation willingly putting it
down independence it has been enjoying for over 15 years. No one has
intention to do it in case of Karabakh. We speak about irreversible
changes that took place in the people’s mentality," R. Kocharian
said. "In the course of many years Armenia has been consistently
shaping its foreign policy, based on the concept of advantaging
from overlap of interests rather than exploitation of disagreements
existing in our region," RA President Robert Kocharian said. "This
has allowed us to combine perfect relations with Russia, EU, United
States, and Iran. It is also an important part of transformation of
our country and society. For decades, living in the Soviet Union,
we were trained to watch the world as black and white, representing
enemies and friends. The policy of complementarity also applies to our
security model. Armenia is an active member of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization, and at the same time has done a substantial
progress on its cooperation with NATO. The Individual Partnership
Action Plan has been approved, setting the framework for a long-term
institutional cooperation," he said. Besdies, he added that Armenia has
to keep on developing the sector of financial services. RA President
emphasized that Armenia has a good potential for shaping effective
banking system, which is being continuously improved. "Although we
see a considerable growth of foreign investments in Armenia, we know
there is still much to do in the near future", R. Kocharyan said,
having expressed gratitude for the technical assistance and direct
participation of Germany in this sphere of Armenia. "The Program of
technical assistance and financial cooperation, being carried out
together with KFW and GTZ, contributes greatly in this direction",
RA President said.

Moreover, R. Kocharyan noted that Armenia’s membership to the World
Trade Organization in 2003 contributed to the country’s integration
into the world economy and made the relations with partners more
predictable. In the recent joint investigation of Wall Street Journal
and Heritage Foundation, Armenia has taken the 27th place in the world
by the index of economy openness. "Efficiency of reforms reflects in
digits. The annual GDP growth within the last 6 years has totaled to
12,2%. The volume of foreign investments in 2005 has amounted to $500
mln", R. Kocharyan said. He stated that the achieved progress allows
the RA Government to start solving the social problems, set before
the society. "I would like to especially mention the Program for
overcoming the poverty, having been developed in close cooperation
of the Government with international financial organizations and
Armenia’s civil society. This experience is used by the World Bank as
an example for the development of such programs in other countries",
the President said. The processes developing in Armenia since the
proclamation of its independence can be characterized as economic,
social and political reforms, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
said. He added that no single sphere has been left unreformed after the
collapse of the USSR and Armenia’s transition to democracy and market
economy. Armenia has reformed its institutions, revised its policy,
restructured its economy. This processes were hindered by an imposed
war, severe power crisis and continuing blockade, but the Armenian
authorities responded by mobilization of resources, more active
reforms and more effective administration, Kocharyan underscored.

ARMENIA MAKES SIXTH ROTATION OF PEACEKEEPERS IN KOSOVO
By Ruben Meloyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep
Nov 15 2006

Armenia has made a sixth rotation of its peacekeepers in Kosovo as
a 34-member platoon left on a six-month mission to the Balkans to
serve as part of a Greek battalion on Tuesday.

Addressing the soldiers leaving for Kosovo, Armenia’s Deputy Defense
Minister Artur Aghabekian stressed that Armenia once again proves
its readiness to make its contribution to international peacekeeping
missions.

According to the deputy minister, despite the lack of experience,
Armenian peacekeepers have gained an image of a reliable partner due to
the last two years’ service, professional training and responsibility,
which, he said, lays the foundations for establishing Armenia’s
peacekeeping forces. According to Aghabekian, the peacekeeping
battalion will become a basis for Armenia’s professional army.

"We expect this battalion to turn into a brigade in the future," the
deputy minister said. "In 2007, we plan to begin the establishment
of the second battalion. And gradually we should remove the word
‘peacekeeper’, this should be an infantry battalion, manned with
professional servicemen and must be one of the main combat-efficient
subdivisions of Armenia’s armed forces: today performing peacekeeping
missions and tomorrow, if necessary, doing their duty on Armenia’s
borders."

Armenian servicemen have been part of the peacekeeping mission in
Kosovo since early 2004.

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICANEWS RELEASE
1 AMERICAN AVENUE
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
TELEPHONE (+374 10) 464700
FAX (+374 10) 464742
E-MAIL: [email protected]

November 11, 2006
The Embassy of the United States of America in Yerevan would like to express
its deepest concern for the Armenian soldier who was seriously injured in
Iraq, as well as its condolences for the Polish and Slovak soldiers who were
killed during the incident. Armenia’s contingent in Iraq is carrying out the
extremely important but dangerous work of bringing peace and democracy to
the country. The injured Armenian solider is receiving the best medical care
available, and we would like to thank him and his Armenian colleagues for
their vital role in the international coalition fighting the global war on
terror.

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Nov 9 2006

Lagendijk praises the report

The New Anatolian /Ankara

The regular report of the European Commission on Turkey was greeted
yesterday as an objective one which brought no new expectations to
Turkey in the words of Joost Lagendijk, the co-chair of the
Turco-European Joint Parliamentary Commission.

Lagendijk said right after the publication of the report that the
most important parts of the report were those on the
military-civilian relationship and freedom of expression.

He added that the many points in the European Parliament report,
penned by Dutch Rapporteur Camiel Eurlings, were not reflected in the
final version. The Parliament report had referred to the Turkish
recognition of an Armenian "genocide" as a precondition to
membership, although the reference was taken out at the last minute.

Lagendijk said that the report gave Turkey an additional three-four
weeks to Turkey to open its airports and harbors to the Greek
Cypriots and lack of progress might have negative consequences on
Turkey’s EU membership, said the Dutch Green deputy.

Peninsula On-line, Qatar
Nov 10 2006

Turkish House okays EU-sought religion law
Web posted at: 11/10/2006 4:1:30
Source ::: REUTERS
ANKARA – Turkey’s parliament approved yesterday a law required by the
European Union that will improve property rights of non-Muslim
religious minorities, but it is likely to fall short of EU
expectations.

Parliament approved the `religious foundations law’ by 241 votes for
to 31 against after months of sometimes stormy debate and much
fine-tuning of its wording.

The law was passed a day after the European Commission published a
report on Turkey, which called for greater rights for groups such as
religious minorities, criticised a lack of reform and set a deadline
for it to open its ports to EU member Cyprus or face unspecified
consequences.

The EU had criticised the foundations law draft, saying it failed to
provide for compensation to those whose properties have already been
sold to third parties since being taken over by the state or other
entities.

Brussels has urged Ankara to create a comprehensive legal framework
that allows all religious groups unrestricted freedom to operate in
this overwhelmingly Muslim but secular country.

The main minorities affected by the law are historic Greek Orthodox,
Syriac and Armenian communities and also Protestant and Roman
Catholic congregations. The reform prompted months of debate and
stirred nationalist fears, with opposition parties suggesting it
could increase the influence of the Istanbul-based Orthodox Christian
patriarch, the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians. The
EU has also expressed concern over restrictions on training of
Christian clergy in Turkey, an issue not tackled in the foundations
law.

Ankara is under EU pressure to reopen a Greek Orthodox seminary, but
has been unable to find a legal formula that both complies with
Turkish secularist principles and is acceptable to Patriarch
Bartholomew.

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, sometimes wary of EU-linked reforms he
fears may weaken the Turkish nation state or its secular structure,
could still block the foundations law, but parliament would be able
to override his veto.

PUTIN INVITED ALIYEV TO MOSCOW

A1+
[02:22 pm] 09 November, 2006

Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, is currently in Moscow on
working visit. Today, he is to meet with Vladimir Putin, President
of Russia.

The official sources don’t reveal the details as it is a working visit.

But the Russian media claims that the parties will discuss the possible
increase of the gas price imported to Azerbaijan. The two presidents
will also refer to the Karabakh conflict settlement.

Aliyev will stay in Moscow till November 10.

Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow from Brussels where he discussed
the prospects of Azerbaijan’s integration to the European Union
and NATO. Reminder: Ilham Aliyev is in Moscow on the invitation of
Vladimir Putin.

GODFRY HOPES INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS WILL WATCH PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA

Panorama.am
18:20 08/11/06

Anthony Godfry, temporary charge d’affairs of USA in Armenia, expressed
hope today that OSCE observers will watch the parliamentary elections
in Armenia. His optimism is connected with the statement of President
Robert Kocharyan who said an invitation will be sent to OSCE observers
to participate in elections. Godfry also said he had a meeting with
the chairman of Central Electoral Committee who assured the republic
is seriously getting ready for the elections.