Author: Maghakian Mike

HEAD OF ARFD FACTION TO NOMINATE HIS CANDIDATURE BY MAJORITARIAN
SYSTEM AT ELECTORAL DISTRICT N 04

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, NOYAN TAPAN. Hrayr Karapetian, Head of RA National
Assembly ARF Dashnaktsutiun faction, will nominate his candidature for
the parliamentary elections by majoritarian system at the place of his
residence, at electoral district N 04 of Yerevan’s Arabkir
community. He reported this on March 2, at the last parliamentary
briefing of NA of current convocation. H. Karapetian said that
Hayrapet Hayrapetian from Bargavach Hayastan (Prosperous Armenia)
Party, Sargis Muradkhanian from National Unity Party, Suren Mamikonian
from Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Party, Tigran Nalbandian from
Youth Party of Armenia, Hamazasp Uzunian from Progressive Party of
Armenia have already nominated their candidatures at that electoral
district. In H. Karapetian’s words, candidates for deputy can show the
best example of political struggle at the above mentioned electoral
district. H. Karapetian did not provide any information about ARFD
members’ another nominations by majoritarian system or about party’s
proportional list mentioning that it will be publicized on March 3,
the last day of candidates’ nomination. In response to Noyan Tapan
correspondent’s question, he said that there is no special reason for
such secrecy, the party has just decided not to publicize any
information about its candidates until the end of the term fixed for
nominations.

PACE COMMITTEE ON CULTURE, SCIENCE AND EDUCATION MEETS

Today, Azerbaijan
March 1 2007

The next meeting of PACE Committee on culture, science and education
was held.

The committee organized colloquium on religions and intercultural
dialogue after the meeting. Azerbaijan was represented by the member
of Azerbaijani delegation to PACE Rafael Huseynov in both meetings.

The meeting of the committee covered discussions over the situation of
democracy and human rights as well as on religions and intercultural
dialogue, APA reports.

The main point of the report made by Portuguese parliamentarian
Milon was on development of freedom of speech and media in his report
"Situation of human rights and democracy in Europe". Rafael Huseynov
also made report "Professional education and training of journalists
in Europe".

The reports had been adopted after discussions in the meeting of
the committee in the frame of PACE winter session. He said a draft
resolution will be made on the basis of his report at the meeting of
the PACE Standing Committee on March 16 in Paris.

Rafael Huseynov will represent the Council of Europe in the symposium
on religions and intercultural dialogue to be held on March 27-31
in Istanbul.

Mr. Huseynov stressed that Azerbaijan is an example of religious
tolerance. Saying that Islamic, Christian, and Jewish monuments exist
in Azerbaijan, and tolerance can be come across.

He also noted that Armenia is mono-ethnic country and said over
300,000 Azerbaijanis were banished from their lands. He underlined
that Armenia contradicts religions and intercultural dialogue and
humanist slogans of international organizations.

URL:

FINDING FAITH
By Linda Wallace, columnist

Mount Shasta Herald, CA
March 1 2007

Our forefathers had faith. This country was based on faith. Our money
carries the words, "In God we Trust." When we trust, we have faith.

If you recently read the American Profile – Western Edition, you’d
know George Washington, the father of our country, was guided by
his Christian faith. America’s spiritual roots were prevalent in
George Washington, born 275 years ago on Feb. 22. Did you know that
Washington took his oath of office on Inauguration Day using a Bible?

The article said George alluded to scripture in the Bible as "Holy
Writ."

Why are we thinking, as Americans, that this country’s greatness did
not come from our belief in the almighty God. The article brought out
the fact, 50 years ago, George Washington’s picture hung in every
classroom in America. Have you seen his picture in your child’s
classroom lately? Is he becoming faceless in America? I sure hope
not. All of us look at him each time we spend our one-dollar bills.

In 2005, college seniors were polled. Bill Clinton had a much higher
score of approval than George Washington, according to the article.

We need to keep teaching our children our country’s history. I
can’t help wondering, where are we heading in America? History is
important. Are we loyal to our government? What do we think about
our government?

Our world, I believe, is much more interconnected. The Internet
allows us to communicate with someone on the other side of the globe
any time we want to. Sadly, the have-nots are not able to do this as
easily as people who have money to buy computers.

I recently became aware, via e-mail from an Armenian, that my
"Armenian Mission" column dated Feb. 7, 2007 is being read on the web
by thousands of Armenians. The e-mail came from a gentleman in Newton,
Mass. I received another e-mail from an Armenian and also spoke
to Roger and Mary Benton who were contacted, via e-mail, about the
article by an Armenian website. Mary and Roger did not know about the
website. I certainly didn’t think my article would be read in Armenia,
but technology makes this possible. We all can learn from each other.

Our first president had the courage to stand strong and not give up
at Valley Forge. In one of his letters he said, " You can tell where
the soldiers have walked, not just by their footprints in the snow,
but by the bloodstains that are there."

His men were dying of exposure and starvation, eating only flour and
water. If it weren’t for Washington’s faith, his courage, and his
character to accomplish the job he had been given, America, as we
know it today, would not exist. What is our legacy today?

How can you not love a leader that shivered with his men at Valley
Forge in the dead of winter? After the houses were built for the
soldiers, he moved into his headquarters. He was a true leader,
who believed in all the rights he helped write in our constitution.

Washington knew all about faith.

Faith is what we all need. The dictionary defines faith as
unquestioning belief in God, religion, etc. It says anything believed,
having complete trust, confidence and reliance.

The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is being sure of what
we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (NIV) It says in 2
Corinthians 5:7, "We live by faith, not by sight. (NIV)

It is hard to find our faith, but George Washington did.

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TURKISH GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DECLINES OPPOSITION PARTY’S PROPOSAL TO START INVESTIGATION AGAINST PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Feb 28 2007

ANKARA, FEBRUARY 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On February
27, Turkish Grand National Assembly with correlation of 321 votes
opposed and 118 in favor declined the proposal of Republican-People’s
opposition party to start investigation against country’s Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Minister of Internal Affairs
Abdulkadir Aksu. This was reported by the Cihan news agency.

The Republican-People’s Party accuses Erdogan and Aksu of not doing
their duties properly, in particular, in connection with murders of
editor-in-chief of Istanbul’s Agos newspaper, Hrant Dink and Catholic
clergyman Andrea Santoro, attack upon the State Council.

The proposal had been introduced to the parliament’s management on
February 15.

PROPERTY OF ARMENIAN AIRWAYS TO BE PUT UP TO AUCTION ON MARCH 7

Noyan Tapan
Feb 28 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28, NOYAN TAPAN. Property of the total amount of 38
mln 751 thousand drams (about 110 thousand USD) of the bankrupt airline
Armenian Airways will be put up to auction on March 7. Chairman of
the bankruptcy commission on Armenian Airways Hrant Ghambarian told
this to NT correspondent.

According to him, IL-86 plane that belongs to the airline and is
currently in Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport will also be put up for
sale. The plane has been put up to action several times. It reserve
price now makes 122 mln 880 thousand drams but it is lowered by 20%
after each auction. By the way, about 2 million dollars is needed
to bring the plane into operational state, whereas at present such
planes are withdrawn from use.

To recap, two Tu-154 planes of the airline have been sold as scrap
metal.

The airline Express Line has purchased three YAK-40 planes of Armenian
Aiways.

Out of the airline’s bills payable, H. Ghambarian pointed out payments
of a total of 3.5 mln USD owed to disabled pilots and a salary debt
of 400 thousand USD. So far Armenian Airways received about 640 mln
drams as bills receivable and from sale of property, 130 mln drams
of which was paid to disabled pilots and about 90 mln drams was
transferred to the state budget.

OSCE ODIHR TO SEND A LONG-TERM OBSERVATION MISSION TO ARMENIA

armradio.am
28.02.2007 16:06

March 15-23 the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights (ODIHR) intends to send a long-term observation mission to
Armenia, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Vladimir
Pryakhin told ArmInfo.

In his words, 24 observers will arrive in Armenia during the period
mentioned, who will observe the election campaign. Ambassador Pryakhin
reminded that the Armenian side has requested the OSCE ODIHR, the
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe to send observing missions. "A sort-term observation
group comprised of 300 persons will arrive in Armenia 1-2 days prior
to the elections. The group is much larger than the one observing
the previous elections, which was comprised of 180 persons," the
OSCE Ambassador mentioned. He added that according to the current
procedure, every OSCE member state has the right to send a mission
comprised of 30 people, i.e. 30% of the quota. "There are countries
which do not use the right because of lack of means and specialists,"
Ambassador Pryakhin mentioned.

ASTANA TO HOLD TALKS OVER JOINING BAKU-TBILISI-KARS RAILWAY

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.02.2007 17:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Kazakhstan will hold talks over joining the project
of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway construction, Marat Tazhin, the Kazakh
Foreign Minister stated. Currently Kazakhstan is busy with examining
technical part of this project. In particular, this issue became one
of the key topics during negotiations between the Kazakh and Azeri FMs,
who currently is in Kazakhstan with a working visit.

E. Mamedyarov said that Azerbaijan intends to involve Kazakhstan in
the construction of the railway. The total budget of the project is
$420 million, Azeri Media reports.

POLAND READY TO MEDIATE BETWEEN ARMENIA, TURKEY – FOREIGN MINISTER

Mediamax news agency
26 Feb 07

Yerevan, 26 February: Poland is ready to act as a mediator and
normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey provided that both
sides agree, Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga said in Yerevan today.

Speaking at a news conference in Yerevan, Anne Fotyga said that Poland
enjoys historically strong relations both with Turkey and Armenia
and this serves as a basis for its willingness to play a role in
normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations.

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said that he briefed his
counterpart on Yerevan’s position, which is to establish diplomatic
relations with Ankara without pre-conditions.

As for Poland’s initiative, "it can only be welcomed; it will remain
on the agenda and it cannot be ruled out that it will be used one day",
Oskanyan said.

Such an initiative should not become "an end in itself", the Armenian
foreign minister said. "All sides must be certain that such mediation
will be able to bring about tangible results," he said.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 24 2007

`Passage of Armenian resolution would hurt projects worth billions’

A Turkish studies expert based in Washington has said if it was
passed in the House, the Armenian genocide resolution would sever the
bilateral ties between Washington and Ankara.
In an article at Washington Times titled "Armenian genocide folly,"
Soner Çaðaptay, director of the Turkish research program at The
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, wrote:
"At this critical juncture of spiraling instability in Iraq and a
resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, the United States cannot afford to
lose Turkey, a major, if underappreciated, partner for U.S.
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan alike."
Recalling that America’s favorability rating in Turkish opinion polls
is at an all-time low of 7 percent, Çaðaptay noted, "By passing the
resolution, the Congress would be passing judgment on Turkish
history, which the Turks would see as the ultimate insult."
A majority of Turks say that the 1915 deportation of Armenians from
Anatolia to Syria in the Ottoman Empire does not constitute genocide,
yet the House resolution will declares the events of 1915 to be
considered a genocide.
Çaðaptay argues that the House resolution would cause a massive
public outpouring of Turkish resentment against the United States and
this would inevitably cripple US-Turkish military cooperation.
"Three-quarters of all air cargo bound for Iraq transits through
Ýncirlik [air base in southern Turkey], and Turkey provides blanket
clearance for military over flights supporting Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. With its
proximity to Iraq, Ýncirlik also helps defray the cost of American
operations there. Six U.S. C-17 cargo aircraft based at Incirlik do
the job of nine or 10 military aircraft based in Germany, saving the
United States $160 million per year."
According to Çaðaptay, the passage of the Armenian resolution would
also hurt US businesses and consumers since Ankara is engaged in
several major defense cooperation projects with the United States,
including the Joint Strike Fighter in which Turkey has $175 million
invested and an expected purchase of 100 jets, and the upgrading of
200-plus Turkish F-16 fighters at a cost of $1.6 billion.
"The Armenian resolution would jeopardize such cooperative projects,
as well as kill a number of pending Turkish defense purchases from
the United States, including the Patriot PAC III Air Defense System
for $1.3 billion, 52 Sikorsky Black Hawks helicopters at a value of
$800 million, 10 heavy-lift Boeing and Sikorsky helicopters worth
$500 million and between 30 and 50 Boeing Apache or Bell Cobra
helicopters worth between $1.5 and $2 billion," Çaðaptay noted.

SOUTH CAUCASIAN COUNTRIES COMPETE FOR BECOMING REGIONAL FINANCIAL CENTER

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. In the opinion of Chairman of the
Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Tigran Sargsian, the financial systems
of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan will integrate soon. He also said
at the February 23 press conference that the financial sectors of
these countries are competing for becoming a regional center.

According to T. Sargsian, in this connection Armenia has some
advantages, which is also evident from international ratings of the
financial sectors of the Transcaucasian countries. "In terms of
financial sector reforms, Armenia is one or two steps ahead of Georgia
and Azerbaijan," the CBA chairman noted, adding that among these
advantages are reforms in the banking system and formation of
institutions in the financial sector. He expressed an opinion that the
supervisory system of the Armenian banking secyor is more efficient
than those in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Another advantage pointed out by
T. Sargsian is that the program on development of Armenia’s securities
market to be implemented by OMX AB, a Swedish-Finnish company
providing financial services, is actually a regional program. The CBA
chairman noted that one advantage of Azerbaijan and Georgia is that
participation of big foreign companies in their economies is greater
than in Armenia.

Besides, in T. Sargsian’s words, "they outdo in terms of implementing
large projects of leading companies." Accoprding to him, the fact that
Armenian Cascade Bank has its subsidiary in Georgia allows to compare
closely the banking sytems of Armenia and Georgia. In the words of the
CBA chairman, "Georgia expressed an intention to convene an
international conference, aiming to increase interest of financial
structures in itself and displaying a desire to become a regional
financial center."