Author: Nahapetian Samvel

Azerbaijani TV station ANS
July 19 2008

ARMENIAN SOLDIER KILLED IN BORDER CLASH WITH AZERBAIJAN

A group of reconnaissance officers of the Armenian armed forces
attempted to cross our border in the village of Agdam in [western]
Tovuz District at about 0030 last night [1930 gmt 18 July]. The head
of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry press service, Col-Gen Eldar
Sabiroglu, told ANS that Azerbaijani servicemen resolutely thwarted
the attempt. One of the enemy’s reconnaissance officers, Gor Manasyan,
was killed and the others retreated. His body and weapon remained on
the Azerbaijani side.

ARMENIAN MPS WILLING TO ESTABLISH TIES WITH TURKISH COUNTERPARTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.07.2008 18:37 GMT+04:00

Armenian parliament members are willing to establish ties and hold
any kind of discussions with Turkish counterparts, the RA National
Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosian said.

"We held constructive talks during a meeting with head of Turkish
delegation to PACE Murat Mercan in 2003. Presenting the position of
our country, we expressed willingness to continue negotiations but
the Turkish delegation showed recitations and further contacts were
personal only," he said, Novosti Armenia reports.

DUTCH INSTITUTE WORKS FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF TURKEY

Today’s Zaman
July 19 2008
Turkey

A Dutch non-profit organization has been hard at work to improve
Turkey’s image abroad since last year.

Turkish officials often complain of Turkey’s negative image
abroad, which they feel has been formed unjustly and as a result of
prejudices. The image problem has also played a role, to a certain
extent, even in the settlement of such international disputes as
Armenian genocide allegations and the Cyprus issue and has even
slowed down Turkey’s EU integration process. Hence, they frequently
emphasize the urgency of working to improve Turkey’s image to the
level it deserves.

Improving a country’s image through the work of civil society
organizations is perhaps the best method in a foreign country. This
method is even more effective when that organization is established
by citizens of that other country — like the Turkey Institute in
the Netherlands.

Turkey Institute Director Lily Sprangers describes the institution’s
goal as providing a more balanced view on Turkey, which she defines
as a country much more dynamic than most people in the Netherlands
tend to believe.

"It plays an active role in its region, and many of the societal
challenges Turkey faces are comparable to those of the Netherlands. We
also want to emphasize the increasing economic — trade, investment,
etc. — ties between the countries that are largely unnoticed in our
country," she told Today’s Zaman in a written statement.

The Turkey Institute, which was established in the fall of 2007, was
initiated by leading experts on Turkey from the academic community,
former Dutch politicians, members of the Dutch business community and
Sprangers, who is also one of the founders of the Germany Institute
at the University of Amsterdam, which has an objective parallel to
that of the Turkey Institute.

"The addressees of the Turkey Institute are mostly Dutch people,
but Turkish migrants and especially their [grand]children are seen as
Dutch too and are therefore more than welcome to our activities. They
add their own experiences and specific knowledge to our meetings,"
Sprangers explained.

Around 360,000 ethnic Turks live in the Netherlands, most of whom
came to the country after the 1960s to meet labor needs there.

Sprangers acknowledges that by and large, Dutch society perceives
Turkey through the impression the Dutch have of Turkish immigrants,
as is the case in many other countries with immigrant populations. She
thinks blurred distinctions between people from Morocco and Turkey
in the Netherlands often result in an unclear picture of Turkey. In
order to overcome this, the Turkey Institute invites speakers from
Turkey on topics such as political developments, Turkey’s economic
position in the world market, relations between Turkey and its
neighboring countries, and through the Institute’s Web site a balanced,
multifaceted view on Turkey is being presented.

When reminded of the Dutch saying "no" to the referendum on the new EU
constitution in June 2005, which was generally interpreted in Turkey as
a signal that the Dutch electorate was against enlargement and hence
Turkish EU membership, Sprangers does not interpret it as the Dutch
people’s opposition to Turkish EU membership. She instead associates
it with the problems coming along with EU enlargement, such as the
arrival of many migrant workers from Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.

"Whether the negative feeling towards the idea of Turkey becoming a
member is fuelled by negative feelings on Turkey specifically or on
negative feelings on the EU or the EU-enlargement process is difficult
to make out," she says.

In this regard, she says that the institute, by pointing out many
positive potentials of Turkish membership, tries to assuage some of
these concerns, recalling that as an EU aspirant country Turkey has
the task of complying with the acquis communitaire. "The negotiating
process and the political will to join and to absorb will in the
end decide the matter. Turkey’s image with the public is important,
but not tantamount," adds Sprangers.

Events

Despite being a newly born institution, the Turkey Institute has so
far organized 10 public debates featuring Turkish speakers, including
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, academic Baskin Oran, journalist Mustafa
Akyol and others, as well as Dutch speakers including European Joost
Lagendijk, a member of the European Parliament who also co-chairs
the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee.

"Even the meetings that attract few people have been commented on
favorably. There is simply little knowledge on Turkey, and people
are eager to learn more," says Sprangers.

The Turkey Institute in the Netherlands can be reached at

MARY YOVANOVICH PREFERS "BIG GENOCIDE" TERM

Panorama.am
20:39 11/07/2008

Mary Yovanovich, the US Candidate of Ambassador to Armenia answered to
Barrack Obama request using "Big Genocide" term when talking about the
mass crime conducted by the ottoman Empire in 1915-1923 by bringing as
an argument that this is how Armenians name it, writes radio "Liberty"
referring to Armenian Attorney Office in Washington.

To Obama’s questions Yovanovich gave distinct answers. She said that
in case she is appointed as the Ambassador to Armenia she will keep
the tradition of visiting the Monument of Genocide to commemorate the
victims. She said that in order to use mass crime it would be better
to use "Big Genocide" as most Armenians do to describe what was done
by Ottoman Empire.

INFORMATION WARFARE REQUIRES CONSTANT ATTACKS
Anahit Yesayan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on July 10, 2008
Armenia

"Protecting oneself in the information warfare is already a defeat. No
protection is allowed in this war; it is necessary to launch attacks
all the time. The party which protects itself is defeated by 90
percent," HAYK DEMOYAN, Head of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute
is convinced.

"From the very first day of its formation, the Third Republic of
Armenia announced on the level of the country’s top figures that it is
ready to establish good-neighborly relations with Turkey. Moreover,
our country did not set any preconditions for establishing such
relations. In contrast to this, the Turkish side has always advanced
preconditions for establishing and regulating the diplomatic relations
with the Republic of Armenia.

The first and principal precondition advanced by the Turkish side
has a direct bearing on the Armenia-NKR-Azerbaijan relations. This
is simply unacceptable in the present-day international relations. It
is unacceptable because conducting foreign policy against the ethnic
background and establishing relations with a third country does
not absolutely correspond to the spirit of international relations
and international law. Let alone the fact of keeping the border
closed. Closing the border with any state is equivalent to a step
preceding the act of declaring war.

=0 A At present, Turkey certainly enjoys its strategic position and
the status of being a superpower in the region, thus trying to achieve
the desired result by way of using pressures against Armenia. And
what’s more, it is doing so considering not only its own interests
but also the interests of Azerbaijan, an ally country with which it
has ethnic commonalities.

That’s to say, by way of exerting pressure upon Armenia, Turkey
is trying to achieve two results: first for Turkey and then for
Azerbaijan.

In this respect, Armenia seems to be in an advantageous position
because we do not advance any precondition, expressing willingness
to establish all kinds of relations and negotiate around any
issue. However, considering the juncture of international relations, we
can say that the proposals of the Armenian side, which seem pragmatic
at first sight, do not always receive a positive response."

"In this context, how would you comment upon the President’s most
recent statement made in Moscow?"

"I believe many people have not read the text of the statement
and interpret it in their own way. This is very regrettable. The
President announced that we are ready to discuss any fact with the
neighboring state.

The discussion of any fact does not yet mean that the historical
fact of the Genocide is going to be discussed even if they set up a
committee. The fact itself is a fact whi ch has been proven.

I don’t think the country’s leader had such intention, as many people
would desire. And it is very regrettable that guided by the mentality
of kicking the ball into our goal we are trying to rejoice, without
ever thinking of doing the contrary."

"By making a proposal to set up a committee, Turkey is trying to make
an impression on the European structures that it is going to initiate
a joint discussion and propose a dialogue etc. What is Armenia’s
attitude in this context?"

"My first response was the following: it is necessary to carry out
activities based purely on information technologies and the methodology
of work. We leave aside all the emotive expressions saying this
country recognized the Genocide and the other called the fact into
question. Thus, we fall into a trap. It is the right time for us to
have professionals specialized in setting such traps.

This is called information warfare in which the weapon of the soldiers
is quite different and the military operations are carried out by the
use of quite different methods. It is necessary to establish this
kind of school, and it is commendable that in his meeting with the
officials of the National Security Service, the President struck the
direct nerve, stressing the importance of being the first to launch
attack in the information warfare with the neighboring state.

By the way, t he statement of the Armenian President was followed by
Mr. Aliev’s meeting with his country’s ambassadors who were given an
instruction to undertake offensive steps.

If the Turkish side undertakes the initiative by making proposals
constantly, the Armenian side may, in turn, initiate such proposals
too, previously having a good idea about the further steps.

In particular, the Armenian party may launch the attack by advancing
three initial arguments. First, we have hundred and thousand proofs
(by the way, not of Armenian origin) that confirm the fact of the
Genocide in a direct and indirect manner.

The second most important argument is that the Armenian Genocide
has now gained an international recognition. It is recognized by
countries, authoritative international organizations, highly-reputable
professionals specialized in Genocide studies and the International
Association of Genocide Studies, involving almost all the Genocide
study specialists of the world.

The third argument is that Turkey’s denial policy is currently in a
state of fiasco, i.e. it is totally crushed."

To be continued

KOMITAS STATUE UNVEILED IN QUEBEC

armradio.am
11.07.2008 11:09

His Eminence, Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate of the Armenian
Prelacy of Canada, joined the Armenian community in Quebec City for
the official unveiling of Komitas Vartabed’s bust.

The special ceremony was under the auspices of Mr. Jacques Langlois,
president of the Commission of the National Capital of Quebec and
Quebec City’s Mayor Régis Labeaume. On behalf of the Commission,
Mr. Denis Angers presented the biography of Komitas Vartabed and his
significance as a cultural titan and a proud representative of the
Armenian people.

Mr. Angers then invited Mr. Viken Afarian, president of Montreal’s
Armenian Community Centre, to speak on behalf of the Armenian people,
and was followed by Archbishop Hagopian’s blessing of the bust. His
Eminence was accompanied by Archbishop Souren Kataroyan and the
Prelacy’s Executive Council chairperson Dr. Jean Arakelian.

The statue, a gift from the Armenian National Committee of Quebec to
Quebec City, is located on l’Allée des poètes, rue D’Auteuil, and
its erection made possible thanks to the Agreement for the enhancement
of the National Capital between Quebec City and the Commission of
the National Capital of Quebec.

More than 300 Armenian community members, as well as representatives
of sister organizations, were present for this milestone, organized
as part of the summ er-long events celebrating the 400th anniversary
of Quebec City.

–Boundary_(ID_FiNvOUwqD8y3vp9IVfNQxQ)–

PRESS RELEASE
United Nations Development Programme / Armenia
14 Petros Adamyan St., Yerevan 0010
Contact: Mr. Hovhannes Sarajyan, Communications Associate
Tel: +37410 566 073
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site:

UNDP Supports Socially Disadvantaged Communities in Armavir Region

United Nations, Yerevan – On 9 July, 2008 Ms. Consuelo Vidal, the
United Nations Resident Coordinator / UN Development Programme (UNDP)
Resident Representative in Armenia visited Karakert, Shenik and
Yervandashat rural communities in south-western Armavir region to
monitor on-site the community-based development projects implemented by
UNDP Community Development Project in partnership with the Children of
Armenia Fund (COAF) and the USAID Global Development Alliance. These
villages have been in the focus of UNDP since 2005 as they are among the
most socially disadvantaged in the region, with a high rate of
unemployment and poor conditions or lack of major socio-economic
infrastructure.

In cooperation with the USAID Global Alliance and the COAF, UNDP
renovated secondary school #2 in Karakert community, including
installation of a new heating system, which improved the quality and
accessibility of secondary education for 750 children in Karakert
community. In 2006-07, the same partners undertook the full
reconstruction of the local Community Center, which offers 4,150
residents of Karakert and neighboring villages with services and leisure
activities, such as the community library, Internet club, leisure room
for chess, table tennis, and a performance hall with a capacity of 320
seats.

In Shenik community, UNDP, together with COAF and the USAID Global
Development Alliance, fully renovated the secondary school, which in
December 2007 opened its doors to 176 children and the staff.

In 2006 UNDP helped Yervandashat community to produce its 2006-08
development plan, which resulted in prioritizing the implementation of
several projects. At the end of 2007, UNDP in partnership with the COAF,
completed the renovation of the community’s 5-kilometer long potable
water network, which serves 750 households of the community supplying
them with clean water round-the-clock.
The installation of a dried fruit vacuum packaging workshop in
Yervandashat supported the revival of the local private sector and the
creation of seasonal jobs for the local residents. As a result, the
annual volume of dried fruit production over the last two years
increased by 20%.
With technical assistance and guidance from UNDP, Yervandashat
Development Center NGO was established in 2006. The Center, in addition
to many other activities, tries to integrate socially vulnerable groups
by involving them in business sector activities. It also publishes a
local periodical on a quarterly basis highlighting the daily life of the
community. Financing of the periodical is organized through the leasing
mechanism of the dried fruit packaging workshop project.

——————-
UNDP is on ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own
solutions to global and national development challenges. UNDP in Armenia
was established in 1993 and supports the Government of Armenia to reach
its own development priorities and the Millennium Development Goals by
2015.

ARMENIA MUST SPEED UP MILITARY REFORMS TO BE READY FOR POSSIBLY DANGEROUS DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN-AZERI RELATIONS: POLITICAL EXPERT

ArmInfo
2008-07-08 17:43:00

Armenia is still a dominating military force in the South Caucasus
but it must speed up its military reforms not so much because of
the growing military potential of Azerbaijan but mostly to be ready
for possibly dangerous development of Russian-Azeri relations,
says the expert of the Center for Strategic Analysis "Spectrum"
Richard Giragosian.

Armenia relies on Russia much too heavily. Meanwhile, the memorandum
signed during the last visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
to Azerbaijan implies a possible change in Russia’s policy on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Russian-Azeri relations are obviously
improving. But it was the first time that Russia had shown so
clearly that it was changing its traditional, responsible policy on
Nagorno-Karabakh. This policy is good for Baku and must be a signal
for Yerevan and Stepanakert.

Armenia’s key strategic mistake is that it attaches much too high
importance to Russia. Armenia is inclined to overestimate its own
significance for Russia and Russia’s significance for itself. So,
Armenia must adopt a new policy with respect to Russia – a policy
that will make it Russia’s equal ally rather than a country serving
Moscow’s interests.

ARMENIA’S PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY NOT ENDANGERED

NOYAN TAPAN

Ju ly 8
YEREVAN

Possible use of sanctions by PACE to Armenia cannot have an impact on
Armenia’s participation in the EU European Neighborhood Program. Raul
de Lutzenberger, the Head of the European Commission delegation in
Armenia, stated at the July 8 press conference.

According to him, EU has signed a detailed actions plan with
Armenia for several years, and according to the agreement with
the RA authorities, EU-Armenia relations’ progress will depend on
program’s proper implementation. "I do not consider that the the
European Neighborhood Program is endangered in connection with the PACE
Resolution, and further development of our relations will depend on the
speed and success of implementation of the actions plan’s provisions,"
the head of the European Commission delegation said.

According to Serge Smessov, the Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of France to RA, no great events are expected in the
region during the EU chairmanship of France, but it does not mean
that nothing will take place.

According to him, the Individual Actions Plan will be outlined more
concretely in the coming 6 months and will be implemented in two
stages, implementation of technical support and twinning programs. It
means that administration and organization in certain spheres will
be brought in line with European standards under the control of the
European commission.

As regards Turkey’s membership to EU, according to the Ambassador,
"no great events are expected here, either," as this process is rather
long. S.

Smessov also reminded to those present that France has some
reservations in the issue of Turkey’s membership to EU.

BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR RESIGNS OVER DISPUTE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.07.2008 17:49 GMT+04:00

The issue that has roiled U.S.-Turkish relations in recent months "how
to characterize the mass killings of Armenians in 1915" has set off
a dispute over politics and academic freedom at an institute housed
at Georgetown University. Several board members of the Institute of
Turkish Studies have resigned this summer, protesting the ouster of a
board chairman who wrote that scholars should research, rather than
avoid, what he characterized as Armenian Genocide, The Washington
Post reports.

"Within weeks of writing about the matter in late 2006, Binghamton
University professor Donald Quataert resigned from the board of
Governors, saying the Turkish ambassador to the United States told
him he had angered some political leaders in Ankara and that they
had threatened to revoke the institute’s funding.

After a prominent association of Middle Eastern scholars learned
about it, they wrote a letter in May to the institute, the Turkish
prime minister and other leaders asking that Quataert be reinstated
and money for the institute be put in an irrevocable trust to avoid
political influence.

The ambassador of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Nabi Sensoy, denied that
he had any role in Quataert’s resignation. In a written statement,
he said that claims that he urged Quataert to leave are unfounded
and misleading.

The dispute shows the tensions between money and scholarship, and
the impact language can have on historical understanding.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed when the Ottoman Empire
collapsed after World War I. Armenians and Turks bitterly disagree
over whether it was a campaign of genocide, or a civil war in which
many Turks were also killed," the edition says.

The Turkish studies institute, founded in 1983, is independent from
Georgetown University, but Executive Director David Cuthell teaches
a course there in exchange for space on campus.

Julie Green Bataille, a university spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail,
"We will review this matter consistent with the importance of academic
freedom and the fact that the institute is independently funded and
governed." The institute’s funding, a $3 million grant, is entirely
from Turkey.