Author: Nahapetian Samvel

ARMENIA, IRAN OPEN KEY GAS PIPELINE
By Ruzanna Stepanian in Agarak

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 19 2007

President Robert Kocharian and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad inaugurated on Monday a long-awaited pipeline that will
allow Armenia to import natural gas from Iran and ease its strong
dependence on Russian energy resources.

Lighting a symbolic torch, the two leaders officially opened the first
Armenian section of the pipeline during a ceremony held in Agarak,
a small Armenian town on the Iranian border.

The ceremony was delayed by four hours because rain and fog prevented
a helicopter carrying Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials from
crossing into Armenia. They had to arrive by car.

"This is a historic event. We have turned a new page in
Armenian-Iranian relations," Kocharian declared at an ensued joint
news conference.

Ahmadinejad likewise called the event a "big step" in the development
of bilateral ties. "I am very happy and grateful to Almighty God for
enabling us to open the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline and to provide a
new service to the people of Armenia," he said. "I told my good friend
[Kocharian] that we are very happy because he is happy, the government
of Armenia is happy, and the people of Armenia are happy," he added.

Work on the 40-kilometer section of the pipeline, connected to
a 100-kilometer stretch built on Iranian territory, began in
late 2005 and was financed by a $34 million loan provided by the
Iranian government. The Armenian side is to repay it with supplies of
electricity. The two governments agreed to build a third high-voltage
transmission line connecting the power grids of the two neighboring
nations for that purpose last year.

Officials said Armenia will initially be able to receive only up to
400 million cubic meters of Iranian a year, or less than a third of
its current gas imports from Russia. That capacity will rise to 2.3
billion cubic meters a year after the planned construction of the
pipeline’s second, much longer Armenian section.

Yet even that volume will hardly allow Armenia to re-export Iranian
gas to Georgia and other countries, something which seemed a real
possibility several years ago when the pipeline’s diameter was
projected at 1,500 millimeters. The Armenian government reportedly
agreed to cut it to just 710 millimeters under pressure from Russia
which feared losing its status as the region’s main gas supplier.

Yerevan is also widely expected to grant Russia’s state-run Gazprom
monopoly ownership of the newly built pipeline as part of a complex
2006 deal that reinforced Moscow’s grip on the Armenian energy
sector. Some analysts wonder whether the pipeline will actually boost
Armenia’s energy security under these circumstances.

Ahmadinejad and Kocharian, who made sure only journalists from Armenian
and Iranian state televisions could ask them questions, did not comment
on implications of the likely Russian control of the facility. The
two leaders spoke instead about what they see as huge progress made
in the development of Armenian-Iranian relations over the past decade.

"The peoples of the two countries are determined to further develop
their ties," said Ahmadinejad. "I believe that this [pipeline] project,
which we are putting into practice, will further reinforce friendship
and ties between our peoples."

"As recently as ten years ago our energy systems were not connected to
each other," argued Kocharian. "Now we are talking about constructing
a third high-voltage line and signed today an agreement to build a
hydro-electric plant on the river Arax [marking the Iranian-Armenian
border.]"

Kocharian gave no details of the multimillion-dollar energy project
that has long been discussed by Yerevan and Tehran. Iran’s Energy
Minister Parviz Fattah announced last July that construction of the
Arax plant will get underway "in early 2007."

TWO INTERNATIONAL AND TWO LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS ARE FOR THE PRESENT ACCREDITED AT CEC FOR OBSERVATION MISSION DURING PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

Noyan Tapan
Mar 13 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The CIS Interparliamentary Assembly
Council and Executive Committee among the international structures
for the present officially responded the RA authorities’ invitation
to implement observation mission during the May 12 parliamentary
elections. As Tsovinar Khachatrian, the RA Central Electoral Commission
(CEC) Secretary informed the Noyan Tapan correspondent, the mentioned
structures, correspondingly, placed orders for accreditation of 12
and 8 observers. As of March 12, 2 observation missions, "The Choice
is Yours" and the Center for Electoral Systems are for the present
accredited at the CEC among the local organizations. To recap,
the deadline for accreditation of observers is May 2. According to
the Electoral Code, international organizations, representatives
of foreign states, other RA and foreign public organizations, the
regulations issues of which involve issues of democracy and human
rights protection, and which do not support candidates or parties,
have the right of observation mission. International observers can
implement the mission in the case of presence of a corresponding
invitation. The right for invitation is preserved for the RA President,
NA, Government and CEC.

ARE TREES POORLY POSITIONED?
By Ng Tze Yong

Electric New Paper, Singapore
March 13 2007

Yes, they hide buildings, says Heritage Society president

No, they give buildings unique tropical look, says architect

GREEN is Singapore’s favourite colour.

Singapore is the Green City, the Garden City, the City in the Garden.

Victoria Memorial Hall behind a ‘curtain of trees’. — KUA CHEE SIONG

But, as our photos show, this garden may be looking just a tad
overgrown.

Be a tourist for a day.

You might find your patience – and photographic skills – put to
the test.

Several of our iconic buildings are obscured behind a ‘green curtain’
of trees. And it’s almost impossible to take an unobstructed picture
of them.

Sometimes, it’s almost comical to watch tourists squat and tip-toe
as they hunt for that postcard-perfect view.

During his Budget Speech last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
set out his vision of a ‘City in a Garden’.

And Singapore will be spending $700 million building more parks, park
connectors, rooftop gardens and even vertical and high-rise greenery.

That’s many more trees coming our way.

Is it time to start planning more carefully where and what we plant?

Dr Kevin Tan, the president of the Singapore Heritage Society, feels
there is ‘a certain insensitivity about the way some trees are planted,
especially those in front of landmarks’.

He said: ‘If you plant trees on road dividers, that’s fine. But why
plant big trees in front of historic landmarks?

‘The Urban Redevelopment Authority, Preservation of Monuments Board
and the National Parks Board should work more closely together.’

Mr Tim Auger, an editor, agrees.

When he was working on Singapore: The Encyclopedia, Mr Auger found
it tough to photograph Singapore’s landmarks.

‘If you cannot photograph a building properly, it’s hard to think
about promoting it as an icon,’ he said.

Besides, wouldn’t it be ironic if tourists who come here to see the
‘City in a Garden’ can’t see the City because of the Garden?

So why are we hiding historic buildings behind trees after spending
so much money to conserve them?

NO COMPLAINTS

The Singapore Tourism Board said it has not received any complaints
about this, while the URA said it has had some feedback from the
public about the issue.

Some say there is a case to be made for keeping the greenery.

Mr Simon Longman, director of streetscape at NParks, said trees have
‘aesthetic value’ and also provide much needed shade.

He added that Singapore is held up as a model for being a Garden City,
adding: ‘We should not be too hasty in abandoning our approach.’

The URA conserves historic buildings because they ‘imbue a city with a
sense of history and social memory’. But can they do that from behind
their ‘green curtain’?

Dr Yeo Kang Shua, a heritage lover who is also a trained architect,
said it’s a fine line to draw.

‘We can’t just look at the buildings or just the trees alone,’ he
said. ‘We need to look at the whole environment.’

He pointed out that there used to be a carpark in front of Victoria
Memorial Hall. ‘You could see the building completely. But the carpark
was an eyesore,’ he said.

Today, there’s a garden. But the trees obscure the view.

So is it better to have the carpark or the garden?

‘The camera is fixed. Humans are mobile,’ Dr Yeo said. ‘We can move
around to enjoy the building from different angles.’

Many of the pictures you see on the previous page are actually old
postcards.

Were the buildings photographed from those angles because that was
the best way to show the building?

‘Some buildings are meant to be monumental and enjoyed from far,’
Dr Yeo said.

An example: City Hall.

‘Other buildings are more intimate. They invite people to explore
its spaces up close,’ he said.

Like the Armenian Church. Its trees provide shade for its quaint
garden located in the heart of the city.

‘If you put these buildings on a pedestal, you make them look
unapproachable,’ said Dr Yeo.

This issue goes beyond historical landmarks.

Last year, a Straits Times columnist suggested cutting down trees in
Orchard Road because they overshadowed the buildings. Nature-lovers
promptly wrote in to protest.

But Orchard Road is a big street. For individual buildings, removing
just one or two trees will do the trick.

Ultimately, it’s an unusual tussle because it’s between romantics –
romantics who love old buildings versus romantics who love trees.

Which should we value more? The green or the old?

TREES COMPLEMENT

It’s not a win-lose situation.

Planted with care, tropical trees complement our landmarks, many of
which were built in the colonial style.

Said Dr Yeo: ‘Without these tropical trees, our churches will look
just like churches in England.’

Heritage guide Geraldene Lowe-Ismail loves the trees.

She said: ‘The shade allows tourists to linger and admire the building,
but it’s no good if they can’t see the building.’

Dr Tan suggests trimming or transplanting the trees.

‘We don’t even need to chop them down. Buildings are our heritage.

They are part of people’s memories,’ he said.

‘But trees are, too.’

,4 136,124730,00.html

Armenia Fund, Inc.
111 North Jackson St. Ste. 205
Glendale, CA 91206

Tel: 818-243-6222
Fax: 818-243-7222
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PRESS RELEASE
Contact ~ [email protected]

Armenia Fund’s Village Development Program Discussed in Paris

Paris, France – A special joint meeting took place in Paris, France
between Armenia Fund affiliates and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Armenia, on February 16, 2007. The meeting was chaired by the Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, H.E. Vartan Oskanian and the Executive
Director of `Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund Ms. Naira Melkoumian and was
organized by Armenia Fund’s French affiliate – Fonds Armenien de France.

The meeting discussed the scope of the Village Development Program which
identifies a total of 125 villages along the borders of Armenia in
clusters of five to ten villages. A number of international sources and
private donors are identified that will provide funding mechanisms for
economic and infrastructure development with the aim of revitalizing
each cluster. The participants decided to conduct a needs analysis for
the first cluster which will work as a pilot project. A number of other
clusters will be identified in the coming months and will be discussed
in detail during Armenia Fund’s Annual International Board of Trustees
meeting in May. The clusters will be included in Armenia Fund’s global
fundraising activities in fiscal year 2007.

In an attempt to better coordinate ongoing United Nations projects in
Armenia, present at the meeting was Armenia’s Ambassador to the United
Nations in Geneva, H.E. Zohrab Mnatsakian.

The Armenia Fund Village Development Program by its very nature and
scope has the potential to work closely with the Millennium Challenge
Account. Therefore, the CEO of Millennium Challenge Corporation in
Armenia Mr. Ara Hovsepian was present to assess the areas of synergy and
coordination. The Millennium Challenge Compact is a 5 year program
awarded by the U.S. government to Armenia with the purpose of rebuilding
the former Soviet republic’s rural irrigation and road network. The $235
million program is set to revive Armenia’s rural economy, as well as
boost the regional Development efforts currently underway by the
Armenian government.

Armenia Fund’s international Executive Director, Mrs. Naira Melkoumian
stressed that since the Fund’s establishment 15 years ago, the
organization has implemented large scale infrastructure development
projects and humanitarian aid in Armenia and Artsakh. She also briefed
the attendees on the Fund’s ongoing projects and emphasized that the
organization continues to enjoy the undivided support of the Diaspora.

Armenia Fund, Inc., is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation
established in 1994 to facilitate large-scale humanitarian and
infrastructure development assistance to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
Since 1991, Armenia Fund has rendered more than $160 million in
development aid to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia Fund, Inc. is
the U.S. Western Region affiliate of "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund. Tax
ID# 95-4485698

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 9 2007

Turkish Prime Minister: Azerbaijan and Turkey can Settle Issues

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend A.Ismaylova / The Prime Minister of
Turkey, Rajab Teyyub Erdogan, stated at the first Forum of the
Azerbaijani-Turkish diasporas on 9 March in Baku that Azerbaijan and
Turkey are able to settle issues and problems facing them only
through close co-operation.

According to him, Azerbaijan land has been occupied by the Armenian
side, but sooner or later justice will triumph. Amongst the issues
and problems facing Turkey, the Prime Minister mentioned the
so-called Armenian genocide and the unfair isolation of the Turkish
community of Cyprus.

Erdogan highlighted the importance of unifying and strengthening the
efforts of Azerbaijani-Turkish diasporas. In addition, he highly
assessed the importance of realizing joint regional projects in
strengthening the independence of the two countries.

Unpleasantness for Azerbaijan is unpleasantness for Turkey and
happiness for Azerbaijan is happiness for Turkey, Erdogan said.

AFX International Focus
March 9, 2007 Friday 4:20 AM GMT

Hong Kong stops sale of Armenian bottled water brand after US ban

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) – Hong Kong’s government has told shops to stop
selling an Armenian brand of bottled water US authorities said is
contaminated with arsenic.

The health department said US studies have found Jermuk products
contain up to 60 times the international standard for the poisonous
metal.

All Jermuk products, including still and carbonated water, came under
the Hong Kong order, issued after the US Food and Drug Administration
slapped a similar ban on the brand.

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
March 9 2007

TURKISH PREMIER VIEWS AZERI-ARMENIAN PROBLEMS, CYPRUS

Baku, 9 March: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended
the first forum of world Turkey-Azerbaijan diaspora institutions in
Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday [9 March].

Erdogan said that Armenia violated the boundaries of respect towards
territorial integrity which is the fundamental principle of
international law.

Noting that the world’s being indifferent towards this attitude of
Armenia is very regretful, Erdogan said that Turkey and Azerbaijan
will continue to support each other as they have been doing so far.

Regarding so-called Armenian genocide, Erdogan said that Turkey
opened its archives which include more than 1 million documents.

"We asked Armenia to open its archives too. We made calls to third
countries as well. We proposed historians, political scientists,
archaeologists, lawyers and art historians to work on the issue. But
we still have not received a response.

"Armenians try to show incidents which actually did not occur as if
they had occurred. They cannot and will not present the documents of
their claims to us.

"You cannot build the truth on lies," noted Erdogan.

Erdogan also thanked Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for inviting
President Mehmet Ali Talat of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) to the forum.

"Great cooperation, joint projects and friendly relations between
Turkey and Azerbaijan became the source of inspiration for Turks
living in other countries," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said on Friday.

Taking the floor in the inauguration of the first forum of world
Turkey-Azerbaijan diaspora institutions in Baku, Erdogan said that
Turkey and Azerbaijan fully supported each other during hard times
that the two countries went through.

"We have been going through a difficult period. We are living in a
critical geography. We have to act carefully because of the
developments that have been taking place in the Middle East. We are
worried over the situation of Turkomans in Iraq. On the other hand,
Turkish Cypriot people have been facing unfair isolations imposed on
TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). We can overcome these
problems through a sound cooperation and solidarity," Erdogan
underlined.

Noting that important projects that have been implemented between
Turkey and Azerbaijan in the recent years were the best examples of
sound cooperation between the two countries, Erdogan indicated,
"Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline would start to serve soon.
Construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will also begin."

Erdogan underlined that these projects made Turkey and Azerbaijan
more important countries in the world.

Meanwhile, State Ministers Besir Atalay and Mehmet Aydin and
representatives from the USA, Australia, TRNC, Iraq, some European
countries and Turkish republics attended the forum.

ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPER WOUNDED IN IRAQ WILL BE TAKEN TO AN AMERICAN MILITARY HOSPITAL

Arminfo
2007-03-07 16:23:00

Mar 9 Georgy Nalbandyan, the Armenian peacekeeper wounded in Iraq,
will be taken to a military prosthetics hospital in the US, says the
head of the department of engineer troops of the Defence Ministry of
Armenia Vostanik Adoyan.

To remind, presently Nalbandyan is being treated in germany. In Nov
2006 he was blown up by a mine in Iraq. His comrades from Poland and
Slovenia died, Nalbandyan lost his leg.

‘ZERKALO’: IN PRINCIPLE, BAKU IS READY TO TURN TO NATO FOR MEMBERSHIP

Yerkir
06.03.2007 16:32

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – In principle, Azerbaijan is ready officially to turn
to Brussels for NATO membership, Azeri newspaper "Zerkalo" reports
quoting its informed diplomatic sources. "However, alongside the
source informed that official Baku does not hurry in this direction,
which has serious causes.

The matter is that after official request if during the NATO
next summit a positive decision is made, the sides must pass to
an intensive regime of dialog. This period lasts from 3 up to 5
years. The problem is that during the intensive dialog stage NATO does
not offer candidates to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization security
guarantees. And actually, this factor will create serous problems for
Azerbaijan. After all, to put it mildly, Azerbaijan is surrounded by
unfriendly countries-Russia, Armenia, Iran," "Zerkalo" writes.

That’s why, the newspaper reports, "almost for sure we can say that in
case of official request to Brussels by Baku for NATO membership Russia
and Iran will function their additional mechanisms of pressure on
Azerbaijan." " In such cases the problem of providing security to the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization candidates is being settled through
bilateral agreements with NATO member states on military-political
cooperation, as a rule, with the United States. "However, in this
case with Azerbaijan US’s opportunities are limited…

The whole problem is in the so-called 907th amendment to the Liberty
Support Act, which does allow breaking the parity for military
assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan. Today the U.S. has opportunities
to provide Azerbaijan military assistance indirectly, that is to say,
through various NATO programs. First, Washington continues to hope
that it will be possible to reach some agreements during the first
half of 2007 on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. In this
case the White House will be totally free to act. But the solution
of the conflict is hardly to happen in near future.

Second, some agreements may be signed, which will allow, say,
to temporary deploy "a limited contingent of foreign troops in
Azerbaijan", first of all American, in case if "any threat occurs to
the oil pipeline and wells." But this variant too is not considered
fully trustworthy.

Third, functions of providing security guarantee to Azerbaijan can take
another NATO member-state with Washington’s consent-Turkey. The source
underlined that active negotiations are being held in this direction.

However, this variant too has its negative sides.

The source also noted Brussels is nervous not only for delay of
official request by Baku, but also with the fact that unlike Armenia
Azerbaijan even has not fulfilled the half of commitments in the
framework of Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO. But
recently, as they say, it seems things are moving, the source
underscored," "Zerkalo" reports.

TURKEY SEES SURGE IN ILLEGAL WORKERS
Ercan Yavuz Ankara

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 6 2007

Following the murder of Hrant Dink, it was claimed that 40,000 to
70,000 Armenians were working illegally in Turkey.

The Interior Ministry and the Labor and Social Security Ministry
launched a comprehensive investigation concerning foreign nationals
working illegally in Turkey.

Turkey’s unemployment rate is above 9 percent, and there are
approximately 5.4 million unemployed Turkish citizens. The issue of
illegal workers has just begun to be tackled after Dink’s murder.

During the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey last November, it was
alleged that foreign nationals were taken to Turkey to be illegally
employed and that Turkish security authorities were aware of this
process. As most of these illegal workers worked as prostitutes,
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Ýstanbul deputy Onur Oymen had issued
a parliamentary question concerning the allegations to be answered
by Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu. In the written answer sent to
Oymen, Aksu noted, "Foreign nationals are not illegally employed by
security forces or other government bodies."

274,458 people were deported

The Interior Ministry found out that 4,109 illegal workers from 32
countries were caught and deported within the last four months. The
number of illegal workers who were deported in the last year was
19,754.

Frequent deportation by the Interior Ministry shows that Turkey is
the most popular destination for foreign illegal workers. Overall,
274,459 people were reportedly deported within the last 10 years.

Between 1996 and 2006, 33,394 foreign nationals were deported
on charges of prostitution while 221,310 people were deported for
passport violations. Thus, the number of deported illegal workers
amounted to 274,458. Considering this figure relates only to those
who were caught and deported, the actual numbers of foreign nationals
working illegally in Turkey might be much higher than estimated.

The legality of employing foreign nationals in Turkey is audited
by labor inspectors from the Labor and Social Security Ministry and
insurance inspectors from Social Security Authority (SSK) as per the
provisions of the Work Permits of Foreign Nationals Law No. 4817.

According the Labor Ministry data, 4,104 nationals from 32 countries
were identified as illegal workers between 2002 and 2006. Within
this scope, 10,754 foreign nationals were deported due to illegal
employment during the last 10 years.

They pay fines, continue to work illegally

Foreign nationals who do not have residence permits in Turkey and
those who employ them are issued fines by Labor Ministry inspectors.

These foreign nationals can stay in Turkey if they pay these fines
and obtain a work permit. The fine levied illegal foreign workers is
YTL 1,000.

As the fine for the employers of illegal foreign workers is YTL 2,500,
many tourist establishments prefer to employ foreign workers.

These workers, who have come to Turkey with tourist visas and work
illegally, are deported irrespective of their nationalities.

A significant portion of illegal foreign workers in Turkey are
prostitutes. Romanian, Moldovan, Ukrainian, Georgian and Russian
women who entered Turkey following the disintegration of the Soviet
Union were later employed illegally by organized crime gangs in Turkey.

Despite the significant drop in such employment in recent years,
Turkey is still a center of attraction for illegal foreign workers.

Immigration, wars, economic crises and high unemployment rates in
the region are aggravating the problem for Turkey. Former CHP Kocaeli
Deputy Bekir Yurdagul even filed a report with the Labor and Social
Security Ministry on charges that the US Army employed illegal foreign
workers at Ýncirlik airbase in Adana.

A report issued by the Ýstanbul police maintained that the number of
Romanian paper collectors was increasing and that they stole traffic
panels, power cables, manholes and garbage bins, forcing their children
to steal as well.

The Ýstanbul police further stated that there was a 2 percent increase
in crimes disturbing public order.

–Boundary_(ID_QHST2mSZmwloTQuIsZeuGw)–