Author: Maghakian Mike

RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN RELATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP

Largir, Armenia
Aug 29 2007

The deputy leader of the Orinats Yerkir Party Mher Shahgeldyan touched
upon the Armenian and Russian relation on August 29 at the Friday
Club where the reporters reminded him that 10 years ago on this day
the grand Armenian-Russian agreement was signed. The deputy leader
of the Orinats Yerkir Party was asked to evaluate the state of the
Armenian and Russian relation.

"The Armenian and Russian relation develops and develops dynamically,
especially more activity should be expected in economy to save classes
of our society from this situation," Mher Shahgeldyan says.

Rep. Rachel Kaprielian and Councilor Michael Ross Urge Jewish /
Armenian Solidarity on Recognition of Armenian Genocide

Thursday, August 30th at 5:30pm on State House steps

Boston – State Representative Rachel Kaprielian (Watertown) and Boston
City Councilor Michael P. Ross (District 8) are hosting a press
advisory to demonstrate the strengthening solidarity between the
Jewish and Armenian-American communities as the they underscore the
importance of officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide by the
Turkish government in 1915.

The event will feature Kaprielian and Ross as well as a survivor of
both the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, and a Rabbi and a member
of the Armenian clergy, and is scheduled to take place on Thursday,
August 30th at 5:30pm on the main steps in front of the Massachusetts
State House. Prominent members of both the Jewish and Armenian
communities, including Steven Grossman, State Representative Peter
Koutoujian, and area municipal officials will also be in attendance.

For more information please contact Representative Rachel Kaprielian
at (617) 905-3695.

REPUBLICAN PARTY TIGHTENS ITS GRIP ON NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

ARMENPRESS
Aug 27 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 27, ARMENPRESS; The governing Republican Party of
prime minister Serzh Sarkisian has further tightened its grip on the
parliament after a member, Khachik Manukian, won the repeat parliament
election on August 26 in a constituency in central Aragatsotn province.

Khachik Manukian, a businessman, was said by the Central Election
Commission (CEC) to have won 16,121 votes of the electoral district
No. 15, which embraces the town of Talin and several surrounding
rural communities.

His major rival, Mnatsakan Mnatsakanian, mayor of Talin, came in
second with 10,067 votes, Gurgen Shahinian, a candidate backed by the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) was the third with 7,248 votes.

The vacant seat in the 131-member National Assembly was contested also
by Raffi Hovhanesian, head of the Zharangutyun (Heritage) opposition
party, despite the fact that he had been elected to parliament in the
May 12 elections. However, Raffi Hovhanesian won only 1,220 votes
on August 26 and was the fourth among 6 contenders. Hovhanesian’s
unprecedented move does not run counter to the country’s Electoral
Code.

The CEC decided to hold a repeat parliament election in this district
after Khachik Manukian, who was declared the winner of the vote on May
12 amid allegations of vote rigging, made by his main challenger, Talin
mayor Mnatsakan Mnatsakanian, relinquished his parliamentary mandate.

According to CEC figures, the voter turnout on Sunday (August 26)
was almost 61 percent. Out of 60,139 eligible voters only 36,394 went
to the polls on Sunday.

The Republican Party will now directly hold 65 of the 131 seats in the
National Assembly. Forty-one of those seats were won under the system
of proportional representation, while the 23 others in single-member
individual constituencies.

The Armenian National Assembly consists of 131 deputies that are
directly elected every four years.

The Electoral Code, amended in 2005, provides for the deputies to be
elected according to a mixed electoral system. 90 deputies represent
the parties or blocs that have overcome 7% voting threshold in a
single national constituency. They are elected on a proportional basis.

The other 41 deputies were elected from single-mandate constituencies
by means of a one-round majoritarian system. Before the 2005 amendment
of the Electoral Code the distribution of the seats was: 75 seats
available for the majoritarian system and 56 for the proportional.

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Today’s Zaman
08/24/07

Turkey, Israel in bid to contain damage after ADL move
Turkish officials voiced "deep disappointment" on Thursday over an
influential US Jewish group’s labeling of the World War I killing of
Anatolian Armenians as genocide, stressing that calling the 1915
incidents genocide has neither historical nor legal grounds.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoðan expressed concern over the
Anti-Defamation League’s move during a phone conversation with his
Israeli counterpart, Shimon Peres, Israeli officials said. Erdoðan
stressed the "futility" of the organization’s decision to call the
events as genocide in the conversation and Peres responded saying that
Israel’s well known position on the issue of genocide claims has not
changed. The Israeli prime minister also said Israel attached great
importance to relations with Turkey and promised to "advocate Turkey’s
position on the issue in the US."

Separately, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül voiced Ankara’s uneasiness
and disappointment with the ADL move during a meeting with Israel’s
outgoing ambassador to Turkey, Pinhas Aviv, who paid a visit to the
minister at his office at ministry headquarters on Thursday. Turkish
diplomats warned that the ADL statement might have negative impacts on
Turkish-Israeli as well as on Turkey-US relations.

The New York-based Anti-Defamation League earlier this week reversed
its longtime policy by calling the World War I killing of Anatolian
Armenians genocide — a change that comes days after the ADL fired a
regional director for taking the same position. ADL Director Abraham
Foxman’s statement that the killings of Armenians by Muslim Turks
"were indeed tantamount to genocide" came after weeks of controversy
in which critics questioned whether an organization dedicated to
remembering Holocaust victims could remain credible without
acknowledging the Armenian killings as genocide.

Israeli news reports said yesterday that Turkish Ambassador Namýk Tan
was cutting short his holiday in Turkey to return to Israel and
express Turkey’s concerns over the ADL decision to Israeli officials.
But Foreign Ministry officials denied the reports, saying Tan was due
to return to work since his vacation ended.

Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in a
systematic genocide campaign by Ottoman Turks around the time of World
War I, but Ankara categorically rejects the label, saying that both
Armenians and Turks died in civil strife during World War I when the
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided
with Russian troops invading the crumbling Ottoman Empire.

Late on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Levent Bilman said in
a statement that there was no "consensus" among scientists and
historians that events of World War I constituted genocide, contrary
to the ADL’s conviction that there is. "Moreover, it is Turkey who has
asked Armenia to establish a joint commission and reveal the
historical realities. No positive response has yet been made to this
offer. The ADL’s attempt to rewrite history via a decision it made is
constituting a contradiction and its justification cannot be
understood," Bilman said, referring to the fact that Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan sent a letter to Armenian President
Robert Kocharian in 2005, inviting him to establish a joint commission
of historians and experts from both Turkey and Armenia to study the
events of 1915 in the archives of Turkey, Armenia and other relevant
countries around the world.

Bilman recalled that the decision announced by ADL Director Foxman
also emphasized that they "continue to firmly believe that a
Congressional resolution on such matters is a counterproductive
diversion and will not foster reconciliation between Turks and
Armenians and may put at risk the Turkish Jewish community and the
important multilateral relationship between Turkey, Israel and the
United States."

"On the other hand, the Jewish community in our country is a part of
our society and there isn’t any particularity that they should fear of
concerning developments related to the Armenian allegations," Bilman
said. "We consider this statement, which also constitutes fairness to
the unique position of the Holocaust in the history as well as to
memories of its [Holocaust’s] victims, as a misfortune and expect it
be corrected," he concluded.

Meanwhile in Washington, the US administration made clear that its
policy on the Armenian issue remained unchanged. "Our policy remains.
It’s clear. We mourn the victims of the tragic events of 1915 and call
on Turks and Armenians to come to terms with the past through candid
and heartfelt dialogue. We oppose attempts to make political
determinations on the terminology of this tragedy," Gonzalo R.
Gallegos, director of the Office of Press Relations at the State
Department, told reporters on Wednesday.

Ankara doesn’t exclude the probability of pressure on the ADL from
certain US Congress members. Two separate resolutions are pending in
the US Senate and House of Representatives urging the administration
to recognize the killings as genocide. Turkey has warned that passage
of the resolutions in the US Congress would seriously harm relations
with Washington and impair cooperation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US
administration has said it is opposed to the resolution, but the
congressional process is an independent one. In his message on April
24, which Armenians claim marks the anniversary of the beginning of a
systematic genocide campaign at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire,
US President George W. Bush adhered to the administration policy of
not referring to the incident as genocide.

ORINATS YERKIR MAY ALLY WITH PRO-GOVERNMENT FORCES

Lragir.am
22-08-2007 17:28:47

The deputy leader of the Orinats Yerkir Party Heghine Bisharyan did
not rule out that the party may ally with a pro-government party on
the eve of the presidential election of 2008, Regnum reported. "It may
result from the emergence of new formats in the political sphere," the
agency cited the deputy leader of the party who held a news conference
August 22 at the Hayatsk press club. Heghine Bisharyan said the party
is currently negotiating with other opposition parties. "For the
time being, I don’t want to discuss how the Orinats Yerkir Party is
going to run in the presidential election of 2008," Heghine Bisharyan
said. At the same time, she called the opposition parties to support
the leader of the Orinats Yerkir Party Arthur Baghdasaryan in the
presidential election of 2008.

Heghine Bisharyan thinks Arthur Baghdasaryan is "the most worthy
candidate."

The deputy leader of the Orinats Yerkir Party also stated the
political party is likely to reduce the number of the members of the
party counting 100 thousand now. Heghine Bisharyan said now it is more
difficult to become a member of the party. "We want to have only honest
and decent people in the party," the deputy leader of the party said.

MATTHEW BRYZA MARRIES TURKISH ZEYNO BARAN

ARMENPRESS
Aug 22, 2007

BAKU, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS: Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Eurasian Affairs and Hudson Institute senior
fellow, Turkish Zeyno Baran, will get married on August 23 in Istanbul,
Azerbaijani APA news agency said.

Mathew Bryza is also the U.S. cochairman in the OSCE Minsk Group,
which is the sole international body mandated by the OSCE to help
Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a peaceful settlement to their dispute
over Nagorno-Karabakh.

APA said some 300 guests are invited to the ceremony to be held on
Kurucheshma island of Istanbul.

Zeyno Baran and Mathew Bryza asked invitees to support "Father,
send me to school" campaign that aims to encourage Turkish girls to
education instead of gifts for their marriage. Invitations also show
bank accounts of the campaign.

TELEPHONE TARIFFS NOT RISING
Vasak Tarposhyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily Newspaper
21 Aug 2007
Armenia

"ArmenTel Changes Its Mind"

"ArmenTel" has taken back its claim for changing telephone tariffs,
by which they proposed an abrupt rise of especially the local
telecommunication service prices. The company informed the Commission
on the Regulation of Public Services about this on August 17.

Taking into consideration the before mentioned fact, during its August
24 session the commission is planning to take a corresponding decision,
according to which the current so called transitional tariffs will
be unchangeable.

"As a result of the negotiation between the Commission on the
Regulation of Public Services and "ArmenTel" CSC, on August 17,
2007, "ArmenTel" has submitted corresponding substantiations and
has proposed to keep unchangeable the prices of its basic and non
basic services, considering it maximum and "re-balanced" tariffs,"
the draft decision runs.

As we know on July 1 "ArmenTel" placed an order with the Commission
on the Regulation of Public Service regarding the clarification and
re-balancing of the tariffs of telecommunication service.

After the refusal of the claim the 45 days negotiation stage
started. The process seemed to draw to a close with certain reduction
of the tariffs. But 10 days before the end of the negotiation term
"ArmenTel" announced about taking back the claim.

Of course this step of the company is praiseworthy, but on the
other hand it is strange. We should remind you that with this claim
"ArmenTel" proposed to rise almost twice the subscriber fees of the
local net – from 1100 to 2040, to reduce the unpaid time limit with
5 drams, instead of 361-1600 to 1000 minutes.

Besides that price-rises were expected also for telephone installation
15000 instead of 12000 drams. It was also proposed to raise twice
the tariff of Internet service via telephone line 2 drams instead of 1.

With the price-rise they proposed to reduce the prices of international
calls, by 40-70%. There were some changes in the installation of
mobile net.

This version of changes was conditioned by the necessity of
re-balancing the tariffs of telecommunication service. That is to
say the tariff of the local telecommunication services should not
be compensated by the high prices of the international calls. But
suddenly it came clear that the current prices are not only balanced
but can be considered "maximum".

Such an abrupt change couldn’t take place in the market structure
during some month. Moreover to bring to such a re-balance of the
tariffs that only three months back gave big differences. The only
explanation here is that the order placed by the company was, mildly
speaking, not grounded, and was simply aimed at gaining super-profit.

The fact of taking back their claim is conditioned by the
liberalization of the telecommunication market, by which a new
situation is created for the participants of the market. Naturally
after the liberalization the situation of the market is changed,
but it is hard to imagine that "ArmenTel" was unaware of this fact
three months back.

We should underscore that during the session to take place on August 24
the commission is planning to make amendments in the license 60 given
to "ArmenTel". By this, in essence, Armenian telecommunication market
is totally liberalized. As we know after gaining "ArmenTel" shares
the new owners expressed readiness to refuse monopoly. Before that
monopoly had stopped functioning in the sphere of mobile communication,
which contributed to the abrupt reduction of prices.

These changes will most probably bring to the reduction of prices
for some services.

BY THE END OF JULY 2007 UNFAVORABLE BALANCE OF TRADE IN ARMENIA MADE UP $1 BLN OR 28% OF GDP

arminfo
2007-08-20 15:25:00

By the end of July 2007, the unfavorable balance of trade in
Armenia made up $1 bln or 28% of GDP. According to the preliminary
data, the Armenian National Statistical Service provided ArmInfo,
Armenia’s foreign trade turnover made up $2262.9 mln (800 bln AMD),
it increased by 37%, in January-July, 2007, as compared with the same
period of the previous year and by 4,3%, in July. This indicator
diamonds item exclusive increased by 50.1% and made up $2069.7 mln
by the end of July.

In the structure of the foreign trade turnover the export made up
$631.1 mln (222.9 bln AMD) increasing by 0.6% in July, and by 20.8%
within the period under review. Without the item of diamonds, the
export increased by 39.4% and made up $538.3 mln. The import increased
by 5.8%, in July, and by 44,5% in Jan-July 2007 making up $1631.8 mln
(577.6 bln AMD). Without the item of diamonds, the import increased
by 54.2% and made up $1531.4 mln.

According to the National Statistical Service, the AMD/USD exchange
rate is fixed at 354,08 AMD/ $1 for January-July of the current year.

AUTUMN CHALLENGES
Vardan Barseghyan

Hayoc Ashkharh, Armenia
Aug 16 2007

Do you think it is the preparation for the forthcoming presidential
elections or the attempts to unite are going to settle on the essence
and the main direction of the challenges in store for opposition during
the autumn political examination period? Let’s try to find the answer.

Definitions like "opposition", "radical opposition" or simply
"radicals" or "revolutionaries" usually given to Armenian knights
in shining armor of course reflect the nature of their political
mode of action- radicalism – but they hide the most obvious factor –
that in reality these powers don’t go with the real meaning of the
word "opposition". Because being against someone or acting against
a certain administration doesn’t mean they are opposition.

If we try to distinguish the form from the concept we will get the
following picture.

a) The first challenge in store for the radical powers is the issue
of becoming political opposition. To become political opposition means
to observe the task of coming to power through certain political goal,
attitude, program and ideological prism, something that unfortunately
the powers functioning in that camp still lack. Only after becoming
a political opposition can they think about unification before the
presidential elections, setting a common front and choosing a united
candidate.

b) The second and over again an unavoidable challenge faced by
all the pro-opposition powers is their choice of foreign political
guideline, the main reason of the split in the Republican Party once,
due to which A. Bazeyan left the party with his supporters. Though
the picture in the opposition camp in this sense is much clearer:
"Heritage" and "Orinats Yerkir", Armenian Pan National Movement
National Democratic Union are obviously pro-western parties, "Nor
Jamanakner" and Parties of communistic ideologies are pro-Russian. As
for People’s Party of Armenia – they themselves don’t know what they
are. The situation is interesting in case of "National Union" – one day
they are pro-western one day they are nationalists one day they glory
western democracy. However to become accomplished opposition power
the radicals have to orientate themselves in terms of foreign policy.

c) The third unavoidable challenge is their attitude regarding
the regulation of Karabakh issue. The powers and activists
representing the camp of the former authorities have certain,
clear system. They consider foreign threats as a means of the
legalization and strengthening of the acting power that is to say
"the worse the better". This means if Armenia and Armenians fail
to solve Karabakh issue it will be a precondition to get rid of the
acting administration.

d) The fourth challenge faced by the overwhelming majority of the
opposition powers is to re-gain their rating that came to zero during
the parliamentary elections. Due to internal disagreements it will
be very difficult for them to choose right tactics. That is why to
confront these tough challenges the various opposition powers will
try to create an illusion of unification.

Hence the coming autumn is going to be decisive in terms of
unification, consolidation and clarification of the policy of
amorphous pro-opposition powers. This means the main problem of certain
pro-opposition powers is going to be not with the acting authorities
but between themselves and in the clarification of their relations
with the external world.

ARMENIAN-AMERICAN GROUP KICKS OFF FUND RAISER DRIVE TO HELP DISADVANTAGED YOUNG ADULTS IN ARMENIA
Adrienne Krikorian

Business Wire
Mer Doon, Inc.
Published: Aug 16, 2007

Today, Our Home – Mer Doon, Inc., one of America’s top Armenian
support organizations, announced a new national fund raising effort
to help disadvantaged young adults in Armenia.

The campaign features the sale of a wristband designed in the colors of
the Armenian flag – orange, blue and red – and inscribed with the words
"Band of Hope" "Remembered and Loved." Wearing of the band conveys
the message that the holder is proud to have helped support a cause
in Armenia that is bringing relief and hope to people who need help.

The Band of Hope is available for quantity purchase by churches,
youth groups and other organizations desiring to make a difference
in the world.

They may be purchased through Mer-Doon in packages of 100 individually
wrapped units for $60, plus freight costs, per package and used by
organizations in their own fund raising drives,

Our Home – Mer Doon, Inc. is an American non-profit group, sponsored
in part by the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North
America. Mer Doon provides support to transitional homes in Armenia
for disadvantaged young women, so that they can acquire education
and life skills that will enable them to live production lives.

"The members of the Mer-Doon Board come from all across the United
States, demonstrating nationwide support for this uniquely important
project," said Adrienne Krikorian, President of the organization. "Our
desire is to provide a family environment for these young women who
have spent their lives growing up in orphanages or who come from
disadvantaged lifestyles in Armenia. Our goal is to provide them with
a safe and effective means to transition to adulthood with realistic
hope for living a happy and productive life. The program meets a
critical need in Armenia, as hundreds of orphan and disadvantaged
children supported by the Diaspora grow into adults. Without programs
like Mer Doon, the alternative lifestyles facing some of these young
women are catastrophic."

Armenia gained its independence after the fall of the Soviet Union
in 1991, following a devastating earthquake in 1988. Shortly after
gaining its independence, Armenia successfully supported the war
of independence by Armenians living in the adjacent territory of
Nagorno-Karabagh, formerly under the control of Azerbaijan. These
events led to massive numbers of orphans and families without the
means to support their children.

Armenia, estimated to have a population of about three million, is
located in an area historically known as the "cradle of civilization,"
sharing borders with Turkey, Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Estimates
of the number of Armenians now living in the Diaspora (outside of
Armenia) range from four-eight million. Substantial communities of
Armenians exist in the United States, on both coasts, as well as in
the upper mid-west areas, including both Detroit and Chicago.

More information about Mer-Doon is available on the Internet
at Orders for the Band of Hope and inquiries
about Mer Doon may be made through e-mail by sending a message to
[email protected] or by calling Krikorian at (818) 347-6107 or Mer
Doon’s U.S. Program Director, Julie Askekian, at (860) 828-6160.