Author: Nahapetian Boris

ARMENIANS LEAD WORLD CHESS OLYMPIAD

Panorama.am
15:25 24/11/2008

In the tenth round of World Chess 38th Olympiad in Drezden Armenian
men team managed to recover their defeat in the ninth round after
their game with the team of Serbia.

Levon Aronyan and Vladimir Hakobyan defeated their rivals, Gabriel
sargsyan ended in game in a draw and Tigran Petrosyan who was found
in a difficult situation managed to gain half a score.

To conclude our team defeated Serbians by 3:1 points and currently
the lead Olympiad. On 25 November Armenian team will meet with the
team of China.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL MEN’S TEAM WINS CHESS OLYMPIAD IN DRESDEN

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.11.2008 17:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian national men’s team won the Chess Olympiad
in Dresden, defeating China 2,5:1,5.

Levon Aronyan and Gabriel Sargsyan played in a draw while Tigran
Petrosyan defeated his Chinese opponent and secured victory for the
Armenian team.

The Armenian chess team confirmed its title of the world leader once
again after the outstanding victory in Turin in 2006.

AGOS LAWYERS DEMAND RESIGNATION OF JUDGE YALCINKAYA
Erol ONDEROÄ~^LU – [email protected]

BIA
Nov 24 2008
Turkey

Kemal Aytac, one of the lawyers for weekly Agos, Armenian-Turkish
newspaper, demanded resignation of Hakkı Yalcınkaya, judge for
the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Å~^iÅ~_li, Istanbul,
or his removal.

Kemal Aytac, one of the lawyers of weekly Agos, Armenian-Turkish
newspaper, demanded resignation of Hakkı Yalcınkaya, the judge of
the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Å~^iÅ~_li, Istanbul, who
prosecuted and sentenced Hrant Dink, Arat Dink and Serkis Seropyan,
or his removal from his position by the Ministry of Interior.

It is claimed that Judge Yalcınkaya had asked Kemal Kerincsiz,
during a phone conversation, before he was arrested for the Ergenekon
investigation, if he had any orders for him.

"If it is true he should resign, otherwise the ministry should launch
an investigation" Aytac said, "It is unbelievable. He was my classmate
as well. They are humans; there can be a close relationship at some
level. However, if this allegation is true then the judge should
resign, if not, then the ministry should launch an investigation and
remove him from his post."

It is found out that the Director-General of the Criminal Matters
of the Ministry of Justice already launched an inspection regarding
Yalcınkaya’s ruling of one and a half year prison sentence in Zihni
Cakır case.

"The rulings against Agos may be subject to new discussions"
Emphasizing that the past rulings regarding Agos may be subject to
reevaluation, Aytac says, "This is a new situation. This judge has
lost his credibility in the eyes of the public. Then, his rulings in
the past cases should be reevaluated."

"The citizens who will face this judge now on will not trust his
rulings, even if they are fair. He should not stay in his post in
order to protect the credibility of the judiciary system."

"He is a kind of judge who relies more on political justifications
rather than the law."

In his ruling about the Cakır case on September 12, 2008 regarding
"the violation of the secrecy of the investigation, he had made the
following ruling:

"(…)the expression of Ergenekon which unites the Turkish world,
including Pakistan and Afghanistan, was defiled, those who fight
against terrorism were presented as criminals in the book (…)"

"It is not even possible to imagine that General Kazım Karebekir
(one of the important generals in the Turkish Independence War)
could be in such betrayal. It is clear that this is a lie produced
by those who have a problem with the Turkish Army."

Yalcınkaya was rejected; he eventually ruled for an acquittal This
court had insisted on prosecuting Hrant Dink under article 159 and
convicted him to delay-able 6 months in prison. It had also sentenced
Arat Dink and Serkis Seropyan of Agos to delay-able one year in prison
under article 301 for "denigrating Turkishness."

The court had also tried Aris Nalcı and Seropyan for "attempting to
influence the trial process" and the two journalists were acquitted
in the case where their lawyers had rejected Yalcınkaya and two
other members of the court.

–Boundary_(ID_OcFOuTeGWXSA26yk6Z2J4Q)–

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 22 2008

`Armenian political forces welcome Turkey-Armenia dialogue’

Turkish and Armenian experts attended to two-day workshop organized by
the Armenian Caucasus Institute and the Turkish Economic and Social
Studies Foundation in Yerevan.

All political forces in Armenia, including the elite, are ready for
the improvement of relations between Armenia and Turkey, said an
Armenian expert as a seminar on Turkish-Armenian dialogue got under
way.

"Issues related to the borders, genocide and Nagorno-Karabakh are not
real obstacles to opening the border between Armenia and Turkey. We
can sign an agreement without making any references to Ottoman Turkey
or Bolshevik Russia. The Armenian elite do not oppose the process,"
said Alexander Iskandaryan, who is the director of the Caucasus
Institute, where a workshop titled "Turkey-Armenia Dialogue Series:
Breaking the Vicious Cycle" started yesterday with the cooperation of
the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV).
Referring to the ultranationalist opposition in Turkey to
Turkish-Armenian dialogue, Iskandaryan said the situation in Turkey is
more complicated than in Armenia. "But the issue now is part of
Turkish internal discussion. There are no third parties involved like
Washington or Brussels but a direct dialogue between Ankara and
Yerevan. I’ve traveled to Ä°stanbul and Ankara so many
times. This would be impossible seven years ago," he stated.

In reference to Turkey’s decision to close its border and sever its
ties with Armenia in 1993 to protest Armenia’s occupation of
Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, he said the Nagorno-Karabakh problem
is not a problem between Yerevan and Ankara.

Aybars Görgülü from TESEV highlighted the fact
that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been the biggest challenge
facing Turkish-Armenian relations because Turkey has made it a
precondition for the normalization of relations.

He also added that the joint declaration signed recently by Armenian
President Serzh Sarksyan and Azerbaijani President Ä°lham Aliyev
in Moscow in the presence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was an
important step to demonstrate their desire for a peaceful resolution
to the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.

"The catch here is the change in Russia’s position regarding this
intricate conflict. Russia’s strategy to freeze the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict has apparently changed after the conflict with Georgia,"
GörgülÃ& #xBC; said.

Iskandaryan said the issue of genocide exists in Turkish and Armenian
mentalities, but that it should not exist in diplomatic relations. He
noted the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s stance on the issue that
resolutions passed in other countries’ parliaments supporting Armenian
claims of genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during World War
I will not help dialogue between the two countries.

"The Armenian diaspora protects its own interests. This is related to
their national identity. It’s impossible to stop that in
Yerevan. Secondly, they are citizens of other countries, French,
American, etc. We are talking about relations between Ankara and
Yerevan," he added.

Meanwhile, the speakers reminded the audience at the beginning of the
seminar that TESEV Director Mensur Akgün and former Ambassador
Yalım Eralp, who were supposed to take part at the workshop,
had to stay in Turkey because they learned at the airport in
Ä°stanbul that Armenian authorities would not allow people who
hold the "green passports" issued to public servants to enter Armenia
without a prior visa application.

Akgün and Eralp told Today’s Zaman on Wednesday that they had
been to Armenia before with same passports. TESEV officials weighed
the situation and decided that the rest of the delegation, who carry
ordinary passports, should go to Yerevan for the conference, which was
organized months ago as a contribution to the civil society dialogue
between the two countries.

Today’s Zaman learned from the Armenian Foreign Ministry in Yerevan
that there was a change in the law one year ago about the rules
regarding all foreigners visiting Armenia. According to the new law,
people carrying ordinary passports can be issued visas at the
airport. But citizens of any other country carrying special passports
should obtain visas from the Foreign Ministry prior to their visit.

22 November 2008, Saturday
YONCA POYRAZ DOÄ?AN YEREVAN

PROPAGANDA OR REAL REVELATION
James Hakobyan

Lragir.am
12:09:55 – 19/11/2008

Apparently, beating reporters is becoming a tradition in
Armenia. During the presidency of Serge Sargsyan, the assault on the
chair of the Association of Investigative Journalists is a recurrent
case of violence against reporters in a very short period of time,
about half a year. This means either Serge Sargsyan prefers this
manner of settling scores with the press or someone else prefers,
who wants to stain Serge Sargsyan, his statements about tolerance,
the sincerity of his messages. However, insofar as the incidents
involving the reporter of the Haykakan Zhamanak Lusine Barseghyan,
the reporter of Radio Liberty Hrach Melkumyan, for instance, have
not been revealed, the public has every reason to suggest that Serge
Sargsyan prefers this manner of relating to the media, otherwise he
would pursue punishment of those who assault reporters. It is possible
that Serge Sargsyan does not have the possibility. Maybe he does not
control the situation sufficiently to be able to order law enforcers
to reveal those cases. In that case, however, if Serge Sargsyan does
not have this possibility, how is he going to function as guarantor
of state security?

It is possible that Edik Baghdasaryan’s case will be revealed. The fact
that the prime minister visited him at the hospital allows supposing
that the government intends to use the violence against=2 0the reporter
for its own PR. Therefore, it is not ruled out that this case will be
revealed in the framework of this intention, and the wrongdoers will
be revealed and punished. Moreover, it should not be ruled out that the
government will use the violence against the reporter to settle scores
inside the government. No doubt, the reporter was beaten by people
who carried out the order of some set in the government. The point is
that Edik Baghdasaryan publishes stories about officials, revealing
their corrupt activities. Logically, one of those sets has decided
either to prevent another publication or to punish for a previous
publication. Consequently, the government may use the opportunity,
like it did by visiting the patient, to put pressure on a group or a
definite person by revealing the crime. At least, this is possible,
and may come true, especially that the unprecedented response of the
prime minister seems to be half the job.

However, the revelation should not be considered as a change of the
real attitude of the government towards this phenomenon. The point
is that the government may reveal one of the three cases, or two
of the five cases. This does not mean that the government does not
tolerate violence against reporters. It is ingenuous to think that the
government does not tolerate beating as a way of settling scores unless
every case is revealed, unless the previous cases have been revealed,
un less all the attempts of settling scores by beating people in
the streets in Armenia which count over a dozen in the past six or
seven months have been revealed. Moreover, by selective revelations
the government will show that it also can use those assaults for
settling scores.

PRIME MINISTER OF ARMENIA: MEASURES TAKEN BY ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT JOINTLY WITH CENTRAL BANK OF ARMENIA ALLOWED TO RESIST THE FIRST WAVE OF THE WORLD FINANCIAL CRISIS

ArmInfo
2008-11-12 15:42:00

ArmInfo. The measures taken by the Armenian government jointly with
the Central Bank of Armenia allowed to resist the first wave of the
world financial crisis, Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sarkisyan said
today in the Parliament. As he said, the country is set a task today
to withstand a new wave of the world financial crisis which revealed
a number of risks to Armenia. In particular, the matter concerns
reduction or suspension of private investments, reduction of private
transfers, temporary freezing of the activity of mining enterprises to
the growth of metal prices, extension of the terms of some investment
projects in construction and reduction of investments. As a result,
this may lead to reduction of consumer prices, worsening of the payment
balance. The international experience shows that new phenomena appear
in such cases. So, a desire of individual participants in the financial
market to overcome the occurred crisis independently is able to cause
deepening of the shadow economy and appearance of new corruption
risks. Meanwhile, all the risks directly concern Armenia’s national
security strategy. In this situation, the government will assure
a macroeconomic stability and stability of the economy’s financial
sector, reveal new sources for a scheduled economy growth, that will
allow to extend the sales markets, moreover, they will contribute
to growth of the industrial production, vastly increase the export
volumes and improve the payment balance, especially as the world
financial crisis extends the opportunities of the developing countries
and leads to enhancement of their competitiveness. In this situation,
the role of the state will sharply grow.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE RECOGNIZED

Panorama.am
18:18 11/11/2008

"Solidarity" union cooperates with "Solidarity and Freedom" party,
and on this occasion the representatives of the movement left for
Turkey on October 30, says Sargis Avetisyan, the coordinator of
the movement in a press conference today. According to him, it was
decided to carry out their mission not only in Armenia but in regional
countries also. "We’ve decided to communicate with those parties,
and movements which have common ideology and the first meeting was
held with our Turkish colleagues, and that was not by chance," he says.

The coordinator of the movement says that "Solidarity and Freedom"
party is the only party in Turkish Majlis which raised the problem
of Armenian Genocide. According to the members of the party there
is no peace in region without good relationship with Armenia. It was
agreed that in December the members of the Turkish party will visit
Armenia and recognize Armenian Genocide.

LAWMAKER DENIES NAGORNO-KARABAKH BARRED FROM PEACE TALKS

Interfax
Nov 5 2008
Russia

Armenia’s chief envoy to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
(PACE) denied a claim by Armenian opposition politicians that a
declaration issued at an Armenian-Azeri summit on Sunday means that
Nagorno-Karabakh has forever been barred from talks to settle the
conflict over Azerbaijan’s disputed enclave.

"In general, I assess the Moscow declaration positively and can’t
accept the opinion that Nagorno-Karabakh has been ousted from
negotiations," David Arutiunian, head of the Armenian parliament’s
permanent commission on state law, told reporters on Wednesday.

Arutiunian argued that the main point of the declaration, which
the Armenian and Azeri presidents, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev,
signed during a meeting in Moscow, was that the two countries "have
reached an agreement to continue peace negotiations."

"However, I believe that peace negotiations are impossible without
active participation by Nagorno-Karabakh," Arutiunian added.

Arutiunian also argued that the recent conflict in Georgia offered
extra proof that conflicts of the Nagorno-Karabakh type cannot be
solved in a military way.

DEFEATIST POLICY OF ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES ON KARABAKH PROBLEM BEGAN IN MOSCOW AND WILL FINISH IN THE U.S, "UNION OF ARMENIAN VOLUNTEERS" STATES

Noyan Tapan

Nov 6, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. "The only guarantor of physical
security of Artsakh’s population is the Armenian soldier standing at
the frontier.

Any other quarantee given by the international community, organizations
and the states having their interests in the region is doomed
to fail," is said in the November 6 statement of "The Union of
Armenian Volunteers" social initiative. According to the statement,
the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the liberated territories is
fraught with repetition of a scenario of the Georgian-Ossetian war.

"The organizations engaged in settlement of the Karabakh conflict,
and the international community are obliged to realize that they
are negotiating with a man who represents neither the Armenians nor
Armenia. Sooner or later the unelected president will try to leave the
Republic of Armenia and bunch under the roof of one of his masters, and
you will have to begin the conflict’s settlement from the beginning,"
the statement reads.

The authors of the statement indicate that the practical steps
of the Armenian authorities’ defeatist policy started in Moscow,
continue in "Europes" and will finish in Washington. "The first
stage of the criminal regime’s defeatist policy – surrender has been
implemented. Prevent and stop it today, otherwise it will be too late
tomorrow," the former azatamartiks (freedom fighters) state.

MOSCOW NEGOTIATIONS ARE RA’S DIPLOMATIC WAIL, MARXIST PARTY LEADER DAVID HAKOBIAN CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan

Nov 6, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The Declaration on Nagorno
Karabakh settlement signed by the Presidents of Russia, Armenia,
and Azerbaijan on November 2 in Moscow is the diplomatic wail of
the third Republic of Armenia. David Hakobian, the Chairman of the
Marxist Party of Armenia, expressed such an opinion at the November
6 press conference. According to him, Armenia, the side winning the
military conflict of national-liberation struggle for 15 years running,
is defeated due to diplomatic incompetence.

"Armenia has chosen the variant of compromises to Azerbaijan, which
launched the war and was defeated, with the mediation of third
states, which in their turn, dictate their political interests,"
D. Hakobian said. In his opinion, those Moscow events showed that
Armenia’s diplomacy needs serious coordination, changing the tactical,
including cadre arsenal starting from the Ambassador of Armenia to
RF up to the RA President.

According to D. Hakobian’s estimation, Russia proved that it uses
dual standards in the Nagorno Karabakh issue. According to him,
"it carries out policy of keeping Azerbaijan in check at the expense
of the Armenians."

According to the leader of the Marxist Party, he means ceding the
seven NKR regions, which is inadmissible. According to him, the
diplomatic crisis of the Artsakh issue can result in a political
crisis, and the opposition can take advantage of that. According to
him, a possibility to consolidate the whole people around itself and
holding new presidential elections is given to the opposition.

For the sake of the national interest and coming out of the
formed situation D. Hakobian proposes NA invalidating the three
Turkish-Bolshevik Treaties of 1921 dividing Armenia into parts,
the Treaty of Kars, Treaty of Nakhichevan, and the decision of the
Caucasian Bureau. According to the speaker, after it Armenia should
come out of the negotiations process on Nagorno Karabakh settlement
and give place to Artsakh, then without the mediatory mission of the
third countries, proclaim the Armenian Republic of Artsakh.