Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

AZERBAIJANI PUBLIC TV MULLS OVER STARTING ARMENIAN-LANGUAGE PROGRAMS
ArmenPress
July 19 2005
BAKU, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS: Azerbaijan’s Public Television intends to
start broadcasting Armenian-language programs to keep “Azerbaijani
citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh informed about what is going on in
their country.”
Public Television chief manager Ismail Omarov was quoted by 525
Gazet as saying that ‘when Armenians in Karabakh learn the real
state of things they will be the first to protest against Armenian
occupation.” There is no final decision, however, he said.

REFUGEES FROM AZERBAIJAN PRIVATIZE IN KARABAKH DWELLING AREAS THEY LIVE
STEPANAKERT, JULY 16. ARMINFO. The refugees of NagornY karabakh,
who were deported from Azerbaijan in 1988-1992 and are citizens of
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, got an opportunity to privatize the
dwelling areas in hostels they live, which belong to state budgetary
institutions and communities.
As ARMINFO’s own correspondent in Stepanakert informs, except the
dwelling areas, which belong to state educational institutions,
they are privatized free of charge, if the refugees, who have become
citizens of NKR, have been living there over three years. The order
of the privatization was approved during the last sitting of NKR
Government. According to Pavel Najarian, Head of Department for
migration of refugees and settlement of NKR Government, this decision
will certainly improve the conditions of life of the refugees,
who live in the republic. “It must be the first step of he program,
through which the hostels will be liquidated. These buildings should
turn into apartments and be provided to refugees”, Najarian said.

Rabbit takes a leap forward in race to network devices
By Thomas Crampton International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune, France
July 17 2005
SUNDAY, JULY 17, 2005 — OXFORD, England For Rafi Haladjian, the next
leap ahead in technology starts with a toy called Nabaztag.
A plastic box shaped like a rabbit, with pastel ears and facial
features akin to Hello Kitty, it has a few flashing lights, a
rudimentary speaker, one button and a name derived from the Armenian
word for rabbit.
The device’s key characteristic is permanent wireless connectivity
to the Internet via a Wi-Fi network, preferably one that stretches
across the entire city in which it is located.
“This rabbit is not beautiful, it is not smart, and it is not
that useful, but this first generation has already sold out,” said
Haladjian, an Armenian who has long lived in France. “Wireless-linked
devices will soon be everywhere, and we are now taking the first
steps using Wi-Fi.”
Introduced in Oxford last week at the first European meeting of the
Silicon Valley-based TED conference – an acronym for technology,
entertainment and design – the rabbit concept received rave reviews
from attendees as a first in the next wave of wireless devices.
“I’ll be the first one to buy a rabbit, and I can’t wait to plug it
in – but then, I am a geek,” said Steve Lavi, managing director of
AI Investments, an Amsterdam-based technology venture capital fund.
“The device needs more utility for most users, but it may only take
small changes to go mass market.”
In an example of how technology innovators are sometimes forced to
create markets for their own products, Haladjian’s rabbit company,
Violet, is paired up with another company he founded, Ozone, which
is building a Wi-Fi network to cover Paris.
For now, the rabbit remains a basic communications device that
uses lights, sounds and movements of its ears to discreetly pass on
messages to anyone nearby. Sounds can include MP3 files of music,
voice or noises, and any combinations of colored lights and patterns
can be used to signal specific information. It costs ?95, or $115,
plus a ?3.90 monthly subscription fee.
Some of the functions that are available include a shining yellow
light to indicate that the weather will be sunny; a rising or falling
stock price shown by a pattern of lights; or the twisting of an ear
when someone wants to get in touch without interrupting a meeting
with a phone call.
By far the most popular application among the initial users, however,
is the ability to send an SMS, or short messaging system, message to
the device to make it throb red, telling a loved one that they are
being thought about.
“A device like this changes the actual environment of the recipient,
kind of like a bouquet of flowers,” said John Gage, chief researcher
at Sun Microsystems, at the TED forum. “Once they get enough of
them out there, I would love to see a global piece of installation
art created by moving all their ears at once.”
It is the networked aspect of the rabbit and other devices that
Haladjian sees as driving demand. In one version of networked
communications, for example, Haladjian each evening sends an SMS to
get a rabbit in each of his children’s bedrooms to tell them that
supper is ready. That is just the most basic illustration of a world
in which Haladjian sees people living within personalized networks
of multiple smart wireless devices.
“Your alarm clock, coffee maker and heater should all adjust in
a synchronized manner to the time at which you want to get up,”
Haladjian said. “The ultimate goal is to link all devices within a
home and even a city for your convenience.”
Future applications for the rabbit and other devices would rely on
constant access to the wireless Internet, and Haladjian claims he
has already covered 20 percent of Paris with his Ozone network.
Some of the things he is working on include an announcement by the
rabbit when a specific bus nears the neighborhood in the morning;
a teddy bear that can teach a child a language; an iPod-like device
that receives TV broadcasts across the network; and video games that
mix reality on the streets of Paris with the action on the screen.
“Believe me, I am not taking the trouble to build this network
to help people download e-mail in a cafe,” Haladjian said. “Our
success will depend on getting people to use the rabbit and other
devices that rely on a pervasive high-speed wireless network.”
His next application – to be introduced in September – will be a
mobile telephone that can make calls over the Internet.
Calls within France will cost nothing beyond the ?9 monthly
subscription fee, Haladjian said, while calls to places outside the
country will be a small fraction of the price offered by regular
phone companies.
The advantages of Wi-Fi over all other available technologies are
considerable, Haladjian believes. Broadcast units for Wi-Fi are far
cheaper to install than standard mobile phone towers, and Wi-Fi
offers bandwidth far greater than even the latest generation of
third-generation handsets.
Niklas Zennstrom, chief executive of Skype, the largest Internet-based
telephone service, said he shared Haladjian’s vision for the power
of Wi-Fi networks.
“We are already working hard to link up with Wi-Fi hot spot networks
in various cities,” Zennstrom said. “Wi-Fi chips are small, cheap
and everywhere, so we can start using them quickly.”
While Zennstrom said that his company intended to introduce a
hand-held phone for making calls directly over Wi-Fi this autumn,
there is every reason for him to purchase bandwidth wholesale from
a company that covers a major city.
Various city governments have made it their stated objective to offer
wireless Internet to their residents, but many such efforts have been
slow, so Haladjian said he began cobbling together his Paris network
by word of mouth.
Haladjian has been building the network by asking city residents to
sign up on his company’s Web site to offer antenna space on their
roof and roughly ?10 in electricity per year in exchange for getting
free wireless Internet access within a range of several hundred meters.
People who want to use the network but cannot or do not want to put
an antenna on the roof – of whom there are currently several hundred
– pay ?18 per month for unlimited access to the network.
Each roof unit costs Haladjian’s company roughly ?5,000 to install.
The network bounces the signal from antenna to antenna, so only a
few antennas need to be connected to the Internet via a land line.
“The units are so cheap that we don’t worry about overlap,”
Haladjian said. “Eventually, we may have to pay to place units in
some key areas.”
So far 400 people are providing space for antennas, and new units
are coming online at a rate of about 50 per month. By the end of
next year, Haladjian intends to have the entire city blanketed with
roughly 2,200 antennas.
For all his big visions of wireless networked devices, Haladjian said
that he remained dedicated to the principle of improvisation.
Acting on that concept, the programming code for the rabbit will be
made public within several months, at which point he hopes to learn
from users what sort of things they want from the device.
“My customers will direct this journey,” Haladjian said.
Citing the feature that prompts the Nabaztag to throb red when a loved
one sends an SMS as an example, Haladjian added, “The rabbit’s most
popular feature was only an afterthought for me.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Y. MERZLYAKOV: ARMENIAN AND AZERI PRESIDENTS TO MEET IN KAZAN LATE
AUGUST
YEREVAN, JULY 15. ARMINFO. Armenian and Azeri presidents Robert
Kocharyan and Ilham Aliev will meet in August, 2005, the OSCE MG
Russian co-chair Yury Merzlyakov informed at today’s press-conference
in Yerevan, speaking on behalf of co-chairs with a short statement.
“The main result of this visit is that we can announce you about the
meeting of Armenian and Azeri presidents in Kazan in late August,
during the Council of CIS-countries’ presidents”, he said. Merzlyakov
also informed that the meeting of Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers
Vardan Oskanyan and Elmar Mamedyarov will take place shortly before
presidents’ meeting, probably on Aug 23.

YERVANT ZORIAN: ARMENIAN IT-SPECIALISTS REMARKABLE FOR TENDENCY FOR NOVELTIES
Pan ARMENIAN Network, Armenia
July 15 2005
15.07.2005 04:58
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The chief management of Virage Logic Corp notes not
only the importance of High-Tech development but also creation of
Know-How, Vice President and Chief Scientist at Virage Logic Corp
Yervant Zorian said in conversation with “.am” PanARMENIAN.NET
reporter. He also noted that the Armenian IT-specialists are
remarkable for tendency for novelties. Yervant Zorian informed that
the main purpose of his visit is to sum up the outcomes of the work
carried out by the group of 50 specialists of the Yerevan Office.
Besides he met with the members of the Armenian Academy of Sciences
to discuss the further practice in the semiconductor industry. The
meeting participants also considered the possibility of organizing an
international conference entitled “Computer Science and Informational
Technologies” in the Armenian capital. To note, Yervant Zorian was
awarded the 2005 IEEE Industrial Pioneer Award at the Design Automation
Conference. The award was for his contribution to design-for-test
technology through Built-In-Test solutions and design tools. In 2003
he was named by EE Times as one of 13 people “who are influencing
the course of semiconductor development technology and taking it into
realms that exceed the bound set by the inventors of the transistor
more than 50 years ago.” To remind, Virage Logic Corp entered Armenia
in 1999. The Corporation has established representations in 12 cities
of 7 countries throughout the world.

Pan ARMENIAN Network, Armenia
July 15 2005
NO GUARANTEES FOR KARABAKH SETTLEMENT TILL END OF YEAR
15.07.2005 08:55
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During today’s press conference OSCE Minsk Group
Russian Co-Chair Yuri Merzlyakov stated that the progress in the
Karabakh conflict settlement is obvious. “There are elements that
allow speaking of settlement till the end of the current year.
However there are serious discrepancies and moot questions as well”,
he said. US Co-Chair Steven Mann noted that there are possibilities
but no guarantees for the settlement of the conflict till the end of
the year. “The issue may be settled in a year or in 100 years”, he
stated earlier. When commenting on the issue Personal Representative
of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk noted that even if the
Co-Chairs issue the finite draft agreement on the conflict settlement,
it does not mean that the issue will be resolved. “The agreement of
both parties to conflict is essential. There is no guarantee that a
proposal from outside will be adopted by the conflicting parties”,
he stressed.

Document on Garabagh conflict sparks discontent
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 15 2005
Baku, July 14, AssA-Irada
A draft document on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper Garabagh conflict
presented in an international seminar which started in Tbilisi, Georgia
on Tuesday has sparked discontent from the participating Azerbaijani
representatives. Deputy chairman of the parliamentary commission on
international and inter-parliamentary relations, MP Gultakin Hajiyeva
said the document serves Armenians’ national interests.
“The most scary fact is that the draft aims introducing Upper Garabagh
as an entity and proving that the region is developing dynamically,
with the economy, law, banking system being established there.”
Hajiyeva did not rule out that supplements and changes will be made
to the document, saying that the involvement of Azerbaijani experts
in the matter, although late, is appropriate.
Along with Hajiyeva, historian Musa Gasimov and representative of the
Azerbaijani community of Upper Garabagh Karim Karimov are attending
the event, which also brought together 20 experts.
The three-day seminar is organized by the International Crisis Group.*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 14 2005
Azeri, Armenian FMs to meet in Moscow

Baku, July 13, AssA-Irada
The next meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers Elmar
Mammadyarov and Vardan Oskanian is due in Moscow August 22. The
meeting is to take place as part of a regular event of the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Foreign Ministers Council,
the Foreign Ministry said.
The two ministers, who will meet four days prior to a meeting of the
two countries’ Presidents in Kazan, Russia, will focus on new details
relating to the settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict.
Mammadyarov and Oskanian last met in Paris on June 17-18.*

Armenian politicians differ about referendum on Karabakh’s status
Aravot, Yerevan
13 Jul 05

Text of Margarit Yesayan report by Armenian newspaper Aravot on 13
July headlined “The new stage in the Karabakh issue”
The opposition is against returning five districts [to Azerbaijan]
while the coalition is for. Commenting on the latest option for the
settlement of the Karabakh issue, which was recently reported by Radio
Liberty, Aram Sarkisyan, representative of the [opposition] Justice
bloc, said: “What is suggested by the authorities is first of all
unacceptable to the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR], because Karabakh
is not ready to speak about returning the districts yet. And the
problem of Karabakh’s status has not been settled yet. For this
reason, it is unacceptable to return the five districts and postpone
the referendum for 10 years. I would like to tell Mr [Armenian
President Robert] Kocharyan once again that by doing so, he is putting
an end to the entire process that has been under way until today,
i.e. he resigns himself to [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev’s
principle of starting from scratch. It turns out that at present the
districts will be given away for nothing. Imagine, the so-called
displaced people return to their homes, this means that during the
referendum, the Azerbaijanis who lived in Karabakh before 1988 should
also return and Shushi [Susa] should also be resettled. This means
that serious demographic changes will take place here. I would like to
stress that they will also include children born after 1988, imagine
how many there will be over 10 years. But the referendum has already
been conducted in Karabakh. What new referendum do they mean?”
According to him, the most important issue is who is Kocharyan today
that he is able to sign any agreement on behalf of Karabakh? Who is he
from a legal point of view? He has not recognized the independence of
the NKR. He has not declared Karabakh part of Armenia, which would
have given him the right to sign any document on behalf of Karabakh.
Aram Sarkisyan is sure that “it is nonsense when they say that today
we return the five districts, keep Lachin [Lacin] and turn Kelbadzhar
[Kalbacar] into a guarantee of the referendum. Why is that referendum
becoming the most important problem? Who said that we have the right
to return Kelbadzhar? This means that we shall return the whole of
Karabakh. This is not an option for us.”
The views of the coalition forces differ. According to a
representative of the supreme body of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation – Dashnaktsutyun, Armen Rustamyan, this scenario may be
discussed. Mr Rustamyan said that the following was a positive idea:
an arrangement to settle the problem by means of a package scenario,
security guarantees and their direct connection with the status [of
Karabakh]. The next is the determination of Karabakh’s status through
a referendum: “This is really a positive approach as it pre-supposes
accepting that the settlement of the problem should be based on the
principle of the self-determination of nations. Certainly, we
conducted a referendum earlier, but the holding of a second referendum
may be discussed as a compromise, and this does not mean denying
preliminary approaches.” Armen Rustamyan said that a 10-year delay in
conducting the referendum is unacceptable: “The date for the
referendum is important because of demographic problems.”
The leader of the parliamentary faction of the Republican Party of
Armenia, Galust Saakyan, is sure that those who drew up this document
wanted to please the Armenians, as well as the Azerbaijanis. “I think
this is connected with the parliamentary elections that will take
place soon [on 6 November in Azerbaijan].” There is an opinion that
this is the scenario that will be discussed during the upcoming
meeting between Kocharyan and Aliyev in Kazan.
But Galust Saakyan thinks that no problem will be settled in Kazan
“because all problems may be settled after the autumn, when the
parliamentary elections will already have been held in Azerbaijan and
local government elections and a constitutional referendum in
Armenia.” Galust Saakyan is sure that the public will eventually learn
about this kind of document and will have its say as “nobody may
assume responsibility to say ‘yes’ to any scenario because the people
should resolve the problem in cooperation with political forces”.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
07/13/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1)'Toronto Star' Editorial Board and Community Reps Meet on Armenian Issues 2) International Court Finds Turkey in Grave Violation of Human Rights 3) Iraq's Kurd Rebels Vow to Keep up Fight 1)'Toronto Star' Editorial Board and Community Reps Meet on Armenian Issues TORONTORepresentatives of Canada's Armenian Community met the Toronto Star's editorial board headed by editorial editor Bob Hepburn, to exchange views on a variety of issues, including the Armenian genocide Canada-Armenia relations, Mountainous Karabagh, and the establishment of a Canadian Embassy in Armenia. The Armenian delegation included Aris Babikian, president of the Armenian National Federation of Canada (ANFC); Shaen Mirakian, of the Armenian Community Centre of Toronto (ACC); and Vahan Ajemian, Armenian National Committee of Toronto (ANCT). "In light of recent developments, we had to update and sensitize the Toronto Star editorial board--especially after the April 23, 2004 House of Commons resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide," ANFC's Babikian said, describing the frank and open exchange. Since the adoption of that resolution, the Armenian National Committee of Canada and the ANFC, and their affiliated chapters in Montreal, Laval, Toronto, Hamilton, Cambridge, St. Catharines, Kitchener, London, Guelph, and Vancouver have routinely contacted the Canadian media asking them to clarify their stance on the ethical issue. A September 9, 2004 meeting between ANCC and ACC members and CTV-TV board, initiated an excellent segment on the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Following the efforts of ANCC members, the Literary Review of Canada published David Warner's January 2005 review of Taner Akcam's book "From Empire to Republic: Turkish Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide." As a follow-up, ANCC facilitated Michael Enright's CBC Radio "Sunday Morning" interview with Taner Akcam. On January 14, 2004 ANCC successfully secured a resolution from the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada--which represents over 400 newspapers and magazinesrecognizing the Armenian genocide. The ANCC broke the news of the banning of Atom Egoyan's "Ararat" in Turkey. Immediately afterwards, an explosion of coverage ensued, including editorials in The Globe and Mail and the National Post condemning the Turkish government's action. In 2002, renowned Canadian journalist and broadcaster Michael Coren, hosted a unique panel discussion between representatives of the ANCC and Turkish community, who debated the Turkish government's policy of denying the Armenian genocide. Following the success of that show, Coren invited ANCC representatives to talk about the Armenian genocide on his hour-long CFRB radio program. More recently, the ANCC disseminated to the media, unknown details of why a conference devoted to the Armenian genocide was "postponed indefinitely," due to pressure from the Turkish government and extremist groups. The ANCC has also introduced to the Canadian media, writings of progressive Turkish scholars and journalists who, in the past years, have condemned their government's denialist policies and have called on Turkish leaders to acknowledge the historical reality of the Armenian genocide. In addition, due to the persistence and behind-the-scenes efforts of ANCC and its members, The Globe and Mail and the National Post now refer to the Armenian genocide without ambiguity, and without quotes--or the prefix "alleged" in their editorials and stories. "We firmly believe that the media has an important role to educate and bring the truth of the Armenian cause to the Canadian public. With that in mind, the ANCC has, over the years, established an excellent relationship with Canadian media, based on mutual trust and respect," stated ANCC President, Girair Basmadjian. "As in the past, we intend to continue our communication with the Canadian media in an open, objective, and positive manner." 2) International Court Finds Turkey in Grave Violation of Human Rights (AFP)--The International Court of Justice (ICJ), on Tuesday, found Turkey guilty of inhumane treatment of a 17-year old boy while in police custody, and demanded they pay 8,000 euro to the boy. The ethnic Chalean was arrested on December 25, 1991, holding a Molotov Cocktail during a demonstration in Istanbul. The boy was condemned to death in 1996; the sentence was later reduced to 16 years imprisonment. The ICJ found that the boy was tortured while in police custody, and though he sustained physical injury, details were deliberately left out of medical reports. The ICJ also found that the crime against the youth is a grave violation of human rights, according to European law. 3) Iraq's Kurd Rebels Vow to Keep up Fight By Yahya Barzanji KHUNERA (AP)--In the jagged mountains along the Iranian border, a leader of the Kurdish rebels--who have been battling Turkish soldiers for two decades--vowed to keep up his fight until Turkey agrees to open a dialogue with militants. But it remains a request that Turkey refuses, saying all the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) must surrender or die. Fighting has recently intensified. Since May 30, soldiers and 24 rebels have been killed as the rebels stepped-up attacks, concentrating more on bombings than direct assaults. On Sunday, a bomb planted by a rebel splinter group injured 18 Turks and three tourists in Cesme, a popular Turkish resort. Both sides are looking to Washington to help create a solution to a two-decade fight that has left some 37,000 people dead and parts of southeastern Turkey in ruins. Turkish generals say the United States, which controls Iraq, must do more to stop rebels from crossing the border and carrying out attacks. Murat Karayilan, the military leader of the PKK, says that Washington, which is pressing for more democracy in the Middle East, must allow the Kurds a voice and vows to keep fighting. "We seek peace, but Turkey seeks war and wants our surrender," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It wants to get rid of us entirely. The Kurds' resistance will continue." He also said that the rebels, who were once fighting for a Marxist Kurdish state in the southeast of Turkey, now want to be part of a democracy. "We want to live in a democratic way and establish a democratic Kurdish movement while giving up extremist socialist ideas," Karayilan said. "We also notice a change in American policies, which now support democratic governments. America came to change the Middle East, and Kurds have a great role in this matter." Turkish officials have dismissed that claim as a mere change in tactics by the group, which the Turkish government and the US consider a terrorist organization. Turkish land forces commander, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit recently rebuffed a suggestion that the army end its offensive against the rebels. "In Turkey, no one in their right mind could say yes" to that request, the Cumhuriyet newspaper quoted Buyukanit as saying last month. "Our struggle against terrorism is continuing and will continue." Turkey considers all of its Muslim citizens to be Turks and has rejected Kurdish aspirations as an attempt to break apart the country. It was illegal in Turkey to speak Kurdish until 1991, and broadcasting in Kurdish only began in 2004. Statements from the rebels are rarely printed in Turkey, where such comments could be considered as aiding a terrorist organization, and rights activists have been jailed for saying that there should be a negotiated solution to the fighting in the southeast. The PKK announced a unilateral cease-fire in 1999, shortly after its leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured but annulled it in 2004, saying that Turkey had not responded. During a recent visit, Kurdish fighters escorted a journalist along a curvy, five-hour nighttime route to meet Karayilan. The visit included a stop at the PKK's "Martyr's Cemetery," which contains the graves of 25 fighters killed in battle and a large picture of Ocalan. "We no longer believe only in armed struggle as we did in the past," Karayilan said. "Today we believe in the diplomatic and political struggle in order to obtain our legitimate rights." The presence of an estimated 3,500 PKK fighters in Iraq--which effectively remains under US control more than two years after the U.S.-led invasion--complicates American efforts to rebuild this country after decades of dictatorship, war, and ongoing insurgency. It is believed that there are some 2,000 PKK fighters in Turkey. Confident of the safety of their mountain redoubt, the PKK fighters seemed to enjoy good relations with local villagers and Iraqi arms merchants who sell them weapons. As a concession to Iraqi sensitivities, however, PKK fighters routinely move about only at night. "We want to solve the problem through dialogue," Karayilan said. "But if they attack us, we will defend ourselves." All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress