Author: Maghakian Mike

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."

PanARMENIAN.Net

EU pays special attention to relations with South Caucasus
23.02.2007 15:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ For the European Union, and the
German Presidency specifically, relations with the
South Caucasus countries are of special importance,
said Gunter Gloser, the German Minister of State for
Europe. Germany very much supported the inclusion of
the three South Caucasian countries in the European
Neighborhood Policy. With a view to avoid new dividing
lines in Europe and to promote stability and
prosperity within and beyond the new borders of the
Union, the Commission pursues the European
Neighborhood Policy (ENP) through individual Action
Plans for each partner country, including Azerbaijan.
With the adoption of the Action Plans late last year
the relations between the EU and the region have
reached a new level,’ he said, reports Trend news
agency.

ARMENPRESS

OPPOSITION NEWSPAPER RESUMES WITH NEW CHIEF EDITOR AND
STAFF

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS: An Armenian
semi-weekly boasting the highest circulation has now a
new chief editor, Ms. Piruza Meliksetian, who has
replaced Hayk Babukhanian, evicted from the
newspaper’s office by police earlier this week.
In an editorial in today’s issue Hrant Khachatrian,
the long-time chairman of a small opposition party
called Constitutional Right Union, which owns the
newspaper called Iravunk, said the new staff has given
up what he called ‘the abusive style adopted by the
newspaper’s former impostor leadership."
"We are starting from scratch, because Babukhanian
and his henchmen have taken away everything- even my
personal documents," Khachatrian said.
According to Ms. Meliksetian, when they were about
to take the newspaper to the printing house late at
night a stone broke the room’s windows, but
fortunately it hurt no one. The turmoil in the party
that affected also the newspaper began last September
when the party held its congress during which
Babukhanian and his associates revolted against its
longtime leader, Hrant Khachatrian, and forced him to
resign. Khachatrian’s fellows took the case to the
court that ruled in their favor.
On February 8 Khachatrian and his supporters with
the court ruling in hand stormed the party’s central
office in Yerevan that also houses the "Iravunk," but
failed to get in. Their second attempt was successful.

AT MEETING WITH KOCHARIAN SARKOZY INTERESTED IN SITUATION IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.02.2007 17:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The President of the Republic of Armenia Robert
Kocharian, who is on his official visit to France, had a meeting
with French Minister of Interior and nominee for Presidential post
Nicola Sarkozy. They discussed Armenian-French cooperation issues,
as well as issues of international relations.

Nicola Sarkozy interested in the situation in the region of South
Caucasus, Mediamax reports. This is Robert Kocharian’s first meeting
with Nicola Sarkozy.

MADNESS OF THE ‘VALLEY OF THE WOLVES’ BESIEGES TURKEY
AyÞe Karabat Ankara

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 21 2007

"We are all Turks, and we all are the Valley of the Wolves," wrote
a fan nicknamed "ozioo," of the controversial TV show "Valley of the
Wolves," on the infamous TV series webpage forum.

S/he referred to a slogan which was used during the protests following
the assassination of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, namely
"We are all Armenians, we are all Hrant Dink." The slogan has later
come to be adapted to other uses as well.

Another fan, nicknamed "hayati unsal," a character from the series,
urges all fans to participate to a demonstration to be held in Ankara
in front of the sculpture representing the struggle for human rights
on Saturday afternoon. The fan says: "For the future of Turkey,
we should join this demonstration."

"Ozioo" and "hayati unsal" are not alone. The controversy surrounding
the TV series "Valley of the Wolves" has besieged Turkey since last
week, particularly after the privately-owned station Show TV decided
not to air the second episode, allegedly due to pressures from the
Supreme Council of Radio and Television (RTUK).

This madness started couple of years ago, when the TV series entered
Turkish social life. The series depicts a young man named Polat
Alemdar, who was adopted by a family and graduated from Political
Science Department, becomes an undercover agent to fight against the
mafia. But he uses illegal and brutal methods. After the success of
the series, came the movie: "Valley of the Wolves – Iraq," in which
Alemdar takes revenge for the Turkish soldiers who were "humiliated"
by American soldiers in Iraq. The movie contains heavily anti-Semitic
and anti-American elements. The movie became the most lucrative movie
ever produced by the Turkish film industry.

The movie was followed by the second season of the series: "Valley of
the Wolves – Terror." As the name implies, it was expected to discuss
the terror problem and address the Kurdish question. However, public
opinion was divided: some argued that it would provoke ethnic hatred.

RTUK reportedly claimed to have received thousands of petitions
against the series. RTUK officials deny accusations of forcing Show TV
to take the series off the air. Yet, instead of the second episode,
fans saw a farewell announcement from the producers speaking about a
"wheel of censorship." Since then, the mania over the "Valley of the
Wolves" has only gotten deeper.

Along with the discussion of censorship, many politicians including
some ministers have given statements on the TV show. According to
some conspiracy theories, there was a secret report sent to Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, which envisages a huge drop in votes
for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), and even
street clashes in certain cities if the show was broadcasted. Though
the prime minister’s office has dismissed this claim and denied the
existence of any such report, rumors continue, alleging this report
claims that the series will increase nationalistic sentiments, thereby
leading to an increase in votes for the Nationalist Movement Party
(MHP), and a drop in AK Party’s votes. The report further claims that
the series might lead to Turkish-Kurdish clashes in some cities.

Another rumor is that AK Party Diyarbakýr Deputy Ýhsan Arslan was
influential in Show TV’s decision. Reacting to this rumor, Arslan
felt obliged to make a statement. "Some people want to put an end to
my political career," he said. "Either they think that I am rich or
they might have another problem. All these claims that I am the one
who took the series off the air are just libels."

A number of nongovernmental organizations, from the Turkish
Health Workers Union to the Ankara Cubuk Terror Victims’ Solidarity
Association, have reacted to Show TV’s decision. Hundreds of comments
have been written. Among the protesters of the decision by Show TV
are a local newspaper from Corum and its workers, who put bandages on
their mouths to protest censorship. Also the Turkish Health Workers
Union made a statement which said: "Nowadays, the smoking age is
10 in Turkey and there are lots of immoral TV series. The decision
to cancel the airing of a nationalistic series which defends the
territorial integrity of Turkey cannot be justified." Another protest
came from the Ankara Cubuk Terror Victims’ Solidarity Association,
which condemned the decision to stop airing the series which would
"show the real face of terror."

The protests are not limited to written statements. The official
Web site of the series, kurtlarvadisi.com, is getting 120,000 hits
per second according to the ANKA news agency. Hundreds of thousands
of people are participating in the online polls run by newspapers
and forums.

Among the ministers who have made statements about the "Valley
of the Wolves" are Education Minister Huseyin Celik, Deputy Prime
Minister Mehmet Ali Þahin, State Minister Beþir Atalay and Deputy
Prime Minister Abdullatif Þener. However, the politician who made
the strongest defense for Show TV’s decision was AK Party Deputy
Chairman Mir Mehmet Fýrat. He said the decision was just as right
as the decision to abolish child pornography. The fans of the series
reacted harshly to Fýrat’s comments in the forums.

Meanwhile, some students attending a high school in Canakkale taped
themselves as they were playing with guns in their school and put the
video on YouTube under the title of "Youth of Valley of the Wolves."

Apart from numerous comments from columnists, the TV series has been
discussed in several scholarly studies. For instance, Gazi University’s
Faculty of Communication has published a special education of their
journal featuring the series.

Despite the fact that the series is associated with rising
nationalistic sentiments, there are several sociological reasons
behind its popularity, and one of the most prominent one is that
Turks take popular culture very seriously.

"Do not forget that sometimes art imitates the real life," sociologist
Tanýl Bora says. According to Bora, the magic of the series relies
on the fact that "Valley of the Wolves has an aesthetic fantasy of
destroying the enemy, and the enemy figures have a huge group." Bora
maintains that another reason for this mania is that the main character
of the series, Polat Alemdar, does not recognize any limit, as a macho
character. This character fits well to psychological shortcomings of
many members of the Turkish society, Bora remarks.

Mutlu Binark, a sociologist who specializes in communication, says
that the series has become a phenomenon because it makes references to
ever-increasing violence, especially in our daily lives. The people
from the middle and lower-class have started to consider violence
as a fact of daily life. Binark argues that the solution is not to
censor "Valley of the Wolves" or its kindred, but to develop the
consciences of individuals, with the ability to differentiate real
life from entertainment.

Despite the huge number of fans of the "Valley of the Wolves," the
planned protest in Ankara did not take place, as no one showed up. In
Istanbul, there were only 20 protesters or so. A fan on the forums,
nicknamed "polat," expressed his/her disappointment: "Is this all of
your love? Nothing can be done with you."

–Boundary_(ID_4wbPJKn7BlCPxFaUAE2fbQ) —

IN JANUARY OF 2007 ARMENIA’S GDP GREW BY 11,9%

Mediamax Agency, Armenia
Feb 20 2007

Yerevan, February 20 /Mediamax/. The growth of Armenia’s GDP in
January of 2007 totaled 11,9%, as compared to the same period of 2006.

As the press service of the National Statistical Service of Armenia
told Mediamax today, the GDP volume in January of 2007 totaled
83771.4mln drams.

The volume of industrial production in the republic in January of
2007 stood at 45038.4mln drams, having increased by 4%, as compared
to the same period of 2006.

The average monthly salary in Armenia in January of 2007 increased
by 28,8%, as compared to the same period of 2006, thus making 69145
drams. The salary of budget organizations has increased by 32,8%,
making 50628 drams during the accounting period, and the salary of
non-budget organizations stood at 82611 drams (growth – 24,8%).

The foreign trade turnover of Armenia in January of 2007 totaled
94,76bln drams or $260.3mln, having increased by 57,4% as compared
to the same period of 2006.

As the press service of the National Statistical Service of Armenia
told Mediamax today, the export volume during the accounting period
made 21,64bln drams or $59.5mln, and the import volume totaled 73.12bln
drams or $200.8mln.

The deficit of the foreign trade balance in January of 2007 stood at
51.48bln drams or $141.3mln.

ACP DIRECTOR: EXPLOITATION OF TEGHUT COPPER AND MOLYBDENUM MINE WILL NOT HAVE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENTAL ECOSYSTEM

Noyan Tapan
Feb 20 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The exploitation of the Teghut
copper and molybdenum mine will not have a negative impact on the
environmental ecosystem. Gagik Arzumanian, Director of Armenian
Copper Program (ACP) CJSC that received the concessional right of
the mine’s exploitation for 25 years, stated this at the February 16
discussion. The event followed a discussion held on February 9, during
which Chairman of the Union of Greens of Armenia Hakob Sanasarian
expressed concern about environmental consequences of the project’s
implementation. H. Sanasarian was also present at the February 16
discussion. G. Arzumanian said that the Armenian government should
allow exploitation of the mine. He explained that the water balance
of the Teghut copper and molybdenum mine (the Shnogh River) will
not be violated because the necessary water will be taken from the
Debet River and used in a "closed cycle". Besides, he ruled out the
possibility of leakage of underground waters from the tailing dump as
ACP envisaged all measures to prevent this danger. The ACP director
considered as unreasonable the concern that the mine’s exploitation
will cause damage to surrounding forests because 357.16 ha of forest
(57.7 thousand cubic meters of wood) will be cut during 25 years of
the project’s implementation.

He cited information published in the Armenian press, according
to which about 1 million cubic meters of wood on the total area of
about 8 thousand ha is cut in Armenia every year, 500 thousand cubic
meters of wood is cut annually in Lori marz. "Let’s use our energy
to solve more important problems. Why make so much fuss over this
issue?," he said. H. Sanasarian expressed his discontent that no
representatives of the RA ministry of nature protection attended the
discussion. "This ministry does not fulfil its obligations envisaged
by law," he noted, adding that the ministry’s examination of the
project was imperfect. H. Sanasarian considered as contradicting the
Armenian legislation the fact that the project of mine’s exploitation
was developed not for the whole period of 25 years but only for 8
years. According to G. Arzumanian, the mine should be exploited on an
area of 200 ha but ACP managed to purchase only 100 ha from the current
owners. He noted that if the company fails to purchase the remaining
area, "the state will consider it as a supreme public right and require
its mandatory alienation." In response to NT correspondent’s question,
G. Arzumanian said that ACP envisages to implement a number of social
program in the local communities (construction of residential and
recreational zones, water supply and sewerage systems, as well as
staff training), some of which have already been launched. In his
words, although the mine’s exploitation has not started, "revenues
of Shogh and Teghut communities have increased tenfold."

YURI MERZLYAKOV: THE RECENT CONSULTATIONS WERE VERY PRODUCTIVE

ArmRadio.am
20.02.2007 16:56

"Consultations in Paris were very productive," stated Russian
Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov, commenting on the
recent meeting of Co-Chairs held February 15-16 in French capital. He
underlined that in Paris the mediators met also with Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian. Merzlyakov said this meeting was also very
productive. The diplomat regrets that Elmar Mamedyarov was not present.

Asked why he did not meet with Azeri President’s Personal
Representative on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict negotiations Araz
Azimov, who was participating in the international energy conference in
Paris, Yuri Merzlyakov answered that first there wasn’t any request,
and second, according to the information of American Co-Chair Matthew
Bryza, Araz Azimov did not participating in the conference.

Commenting on Azimov’s statement that "Armenia steps back from its
stance on uncoordinated issues", Yuri Merzlyakov underlined, "the
Azeri side really had put certain questions, but the Armenian side
did not give certain responses to them." "We have not discussed these
questions in detail to agree with his opinion that Armenia refuses
from its stance," the Russian diplomat noted.

The Russian diplomat underlined that the Co-Chairs are trying to
organize a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and
Armenia at the beginning of March, APA reports.