Author: Nalbandian Albert

VAHAN’S ENTHUSIASM IS NOT THE SAME
James Hakobyan

Lragir.am
30 Aug 06

The time when the water of the homeland was as sweet as the pomegranate
wine is over. Now the water of the homeland is not only as sweet as
the pomegranate wine but also more profitable than the pomegranate
wine. The public may not buy and drink wine but they cannot do without
water. The ruling elite of Armenia has realized this and turned the
water supply system into a golden stream. French Armenian Artashes
Barseghyan told several days ago in surprise what is happening to
water of the Homeland. The public remained silent and became worried
by his words. But they worried about this poor man who worried so
much rather than the sphere of water supply. Meanwhile, in Armenia
almost everyone knows this and for a long time now. There was even a
monitoring. And the surveyor was the deputy speaker of the National
Assembly Vahan Hovanisyan. The restless Dashnak found out that the
water board spent the loan inefficiently. However, this discovery
remained a mere discovery because Vahan is not as enthusiastic as
he used to be. After the survey of his commission, the head of the
water board Gagik Martirosyan was dismissed but appointed adviser
to the prime minister. In this sense, Vahan Hovanisyan, in fact,
discovered the wisdom and abilities of Martirosyan for the prime
minister, and they decided that it was a pity to waste the talent.

In other words, only the prime minister benefited from the monitoring,
who acquired a new adviser. There was no more news, especially with
regard to the situation. And the situation in the sphere is the
same, whereas Vahan’s enthusiasm is not the same, especially with
the new relatives he has. However, Vahan with his enthusiasm is not
as important for the country as the state of water supply. The point
is that enthusiasm cannot quench thirst or it quenches only Vahan
Hovanisyan’s thirst. And most probably the deputy speaker of the
parliament quenched his thirst and bid farewell to enthusiasm. How
about the others? And the others are still waiting. It is pointless
to expect that they will entitle the citizens in turn to monitoring
of water supply at least to enable them quench their thirst in
turn. Though their turn would come earlier at the fountain of the
central square. Although the monitoring and the fountain quench thirst
differently. Thirst and water are a wide concept, consequently so
is satisfaction.

And in this ambiguous situation a lot of water flows to the pockets
of a number of people. And there is nowhere else to flow. In order to
flow somewhere else it needs pipes. And the pipes leak. If they fix
the holes, the water will flow to apartments and the pockets will
remain empty. Therefore, nobody would like to forget about their
pockets and fix the hole in the public pipe. Especially if this hole
guarantees millions of foreign loans. There is only one way out –
entrust the hole in the pipe to people who do not have pockets.

And there is no need to strip these people. Even there is no need
to replace the people who are presently in charge of the pipelines
and the sphere of water supply in general. Simply they should be
given pocketless uniforms with long stripes resembling pipes. Let
them go on to attend to this sphere in this uniform. The pipes will
be replaced on time and the water will flow where it should.

Muslims alarmed over redrawn map for Islamic world

Web posted at: 8/27/2006 3:0:18
Source ::: Internews

WASHINGTON â~@¢ Muslim circles have expressed alarm and disgust at
the publication of a redrawn map of the Islamic world in a journal
closely linked to the US armed forces.

The Armed Forces Journal, which has published the redrawn map of the
world of Islam along with a long explanatory article, is published by
the Army Times Publishing Company, a part of Gannett Company, Inc,
the world’s largest publisher of professional military and defence
periodicals.

The proposed scheme places Pakistan on the chopping block. According
to the plan, "Iran, a state with madcap boundaries, would lose a
great deal of territory to Unified Azerbaijan, Free Kurdistan, the
Arab Shia State and Free Balochistan, but would gain the provinces
around Herat in today’s Afghanistan — a region with a historical
and linguistic affinity for Persia.

"Iran would, in effect, become an ethnic Persian state again, with
the most difficult question being whether or not it should keep the
port of Bandar Abbas or surrender it to the Arab Shia State.

"What Afghanistan would lose to Persia in the west, it would gain in
the east, as Pakistan’s North-west Frontier tribes would be reunited
with their Afghan brethren Pakistan, another unnatural state, would
also lose its Baloch territory to Free Balochistan. The remaining
‘natural’ Pakistan would lie entirely east of the Indus, except
for a westward spur near Karachi. "The city-states of the UAE would
have a mixed fate — as they probably will in reality. Some might
be incorporated in the Arab Shia State ringing much of the Persian
Gulf … Since all puritanical cultures are hypocritical, Dubai,
of necessity, would be allowed to retain its playground status for
rich debauchees. Kuwait would remain within its current borders,
as would Oman."

The redrawn map claims to "redress the wrongs suffered by the most
significant ‘cheated’ population groups, such as the Kurds, Baloch
and Arab Shia, but still fail to account adequately for Middle Eastern
Christians, Bahais, Ismailis, Naqshbandis and many another numerically
lesser minorities."

It adds that "one haunting wrong can never be redressed with a reward
of territory: The genocide perpetrated against the Armenians by the
dying Ottoman Empire."

The author, Ralph Peters, argues that even those who abhor the topic
of altering borders would be well-served to engage in an exercise
that attempts to conceive a fairer, if still imperfect, amendment of
national boundaries "between the Bosporus and the Indus."

According to him, "We are dealing with colossal, man-made deformities
that will not stop generating hatred and violence until they are
corrected. As for those who refuse to ‘think the unthinkable’,
declaring that boundaries must not change and that’s that, it pays
to remember that boundaries have never stopped changing through the
centuries. Borders have never been static, and many frontiers, from
Congo through Kosovo to the Caucasus, are changing even now. Ethnic
cleansing works."

Peter argues that for Israel to have any hope of living in "reasonable
peace" with its neighbours, it will have to return to its pre-1967
borders, with essential local adjustments for legitimate security
concerns.

He writes that the most "glaring injustice" between the Balkan
Mountains and the Himalayas is the absence of an independent Kurdish
state. There are between 27m and 36 m Kurds living in contiguous
regions in the Middle East.

He calls Iraq an unnatural state and calls for a greater Kurdish
state, which will include Turkish, Syrian and Iranian Kurds. A Free
Kurdistan, stretching from Diyarbakir through Tabriz, would be the
most pro-Western state between Bulgaria and Japan, he adds.

Iraq’s three Sunni-majority provinces might eventually choose to
unify with a Syria that loses its littoral to a Mediterranean-oriented
Greater Lebanon.

The Shia south of old Iraq would form the basis of an Arab Shia State
rimming much of the Persian Gulf. Jordan would retain its current
territory, with some southward expansion at Saudi expense. For its
part, the unnatural state of Saudi Arabia would suffer as great a
dismantling as Pakistan.

–Boundary_(ID_tcRSA/nGW6tl6sk1s8ddeQ)- –

AZG Armenian Daily #162, 26/08/2006

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ARMENIA DISCUSSES ISSUE OF SENDING ITS PEACEKEEPERS TO LEBANON

In upcoming weeks Armenia will discuss the issue of sending its
peacekeepers to Lebanon, RFE/RL quoted Geham Gharibjanian, deputy
foreign minister, as saying. "We continually get detailed information
from Lebanon via our embassy, and as soon as the international
peacekeeping forces are deployed and begin operating, our tasks will
become clearer."

Aztag Daily, Lebanon
Aug 25 2006

The Three Armenian Political Parties in Lebanon Issue Joint Statement
on Turkish Participation in Peace-Keeping Forces

Representatives of the three Armenian political parties active in
Lebanon – The Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the Social Democrat
Hunchak Party, and the Liberal Democratic (Ramgavar) Party held a
meeting at the Shaghzoyan Center in Beirut, on August 24. After the
meeting, they issued the following statement. Below is the text of
this statement:

We, the leaders of the three Armenian political parties, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, the Social Democratic Hunchak Party and the
Liberal Democratic Ramgavar Party, deeply appreciate the efforts of
the Lebanese government to set a ceasefire, stop the bloodshed caused
by war, establish peace and stability and restore what has been
destroyed in the recent Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

We also welcome the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that intends
to increase the number of the peacekeepers in South Lebanon. We,
however, voice the Lebanese Armenian community’s rejection of the
idea to include Turkish troops in the peacekeeping forces because:

a. Participation of Turkish troops in the international forces
breaches the principle of impartiality for international forces and
therefore would obstruct the efforts of establishing peace and
stability in Lebanon. No country participating in the international
forces should be an ally of a conflict party. Turkey, however, has a
history of enmity with many countries and nations, and its history
demonstrates the bloody core of its relations with those nations. In
addition, Turkey has a military treaty with Israel which also
includes the cooperation of special services. That treaty threatens
the peace process in the region, and Turkey’s biased foreign policy
makes us mistrust Turkey.

b. Turkey continues its occupation of Cyprus, blockade of Armenia and
refuses to recognize the 1915 Armenian Genocide it perpetrated and
refuses to apologize for that crime.

c. Turkey continues to violate human rights and rights of minorities
making it ineligible for peacekeeping mission.

d. There is no doubt that any country participating in international
forces should be accepted by the Lebanese public: Turkey’s history of
violence in Lebanon does not grant it such acceptance considering
that the Lebanese people in its collective memory still endures the
consequences of Turkish crimes and tyranny.

Taking into account these realities, we reaffirm our opposition and
refusal of the inclusion of Turkish troops in the peacekeeping forces
to be deployed in South Lebanon and demand that the Lebanese
government reject the inclusion of the Turkish troops in these forces
in support of the Lebanese Armenian community, which is an important
element of Lebanese society.

In this letter addressed to the Lebanese government, we demand that
the Lebanese government take into consideration the Armenian position
in its agenda, given that the views of all communities in Lebanon
should be respected.

Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Social Democratic Hnchak Party
Liberal Democratic Party

ARMENIANS OF SOUTHERN RUSSIA TO HELP COMPATRIOTS IN LEBANON

AZG Armenian Daily
25/08/2006

Bishop Movses Movsisian, head of the Armenian Diocese in Southern
Russia, called for helping the Lebanese-Armenians and all Christians
of Lebanon, Yerkramas newspaper of Russian-Armenians reports. This
appeal to the flock of the Armenian Church states that the war brought
great suffering to all Lebanese people and that Catholicos of All
Armenian Karekin II has blessed all fund-raising initiatives to help
this people.

CITIZENS MAKE CHARGES AGAINST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AT CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

Panorama.am
16:59 23/08/06

Congratulating on the 16th anniversary of Declaration for Independence,
NA Speaker Tigran Torosyan said the document has been a source of
aspiration for the nation in the course of 15 years, together with
Karabakh movement. The speaker recalled that our constitution makes
reference to the Declaration for Independence. The constitution also
grants the right to apply to the Constitutional Court on personal
basis as of July 1. The number of people, who took the advantage of
this right, has been considerable, Torosyan said. He also informed
the reporters that the Constitutional Court has forwarded 7 cases
to the National Assembly based on citizen complaints. The citizens
complained about the constitutional essence of several laws. Speaker
Torosyan expects more such cases to come and thinks about ways to
forward such cases to the executive.

TURKISH TROOPS IN LEBANON WOULD CREATE INSTABILITY, SAYS BRUSSELS GROUP

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23/08/2006

The European-Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy has added
its voice to those opposing Turkey’s participation in any peace-keeping
contingent in southern Lebanon, because of its continued abuse of
human rights, continued occupation of the north of Cyprus and Turkey’s
close military ties with Israel.

The EAFJD announced in Brussels that it "welcomes with relief the
cease-fire that has put an end to the Israeli bombings of Lebanon
and to the suffering of the people. The Federation also supports the
International Community’s current efforts aimed at the normalization
of the region under the aegis of the United Nations."

However, it is "gravely concerned about the possibility of Turkish
troops participating in the peacekeeping force in this sensitive
region.

"Let’s remember that Turkey is the old colonial power of the Near East
with clear territorial ambitions vis-a-vis Arab countries. Turkey’s
record of genocide, torture and suffering is permanently inscribed
in the collective

memory of the Lebanese. Furthermore, Turkey’s current abuse of
its own ethnic minorities, including those of Arab nationality,
is a well-known reality in the region," declared Hilda Tchoboian,
chairwoman of the European-Armenian Federation.

"The presence of Turkish troops in an international force would
be a serious mistake with dire consequences for the peacekeeping
operations. Turkey is not a peacemaker. Turkish forces will only
aggravate the current delicate

situation in South Lebanon by adding Turkey’s own regional liabilities
to the present complexities in Lebanon. After so much suffering,
the Lebanese people deserve better," added Hilda Tchoboian.

The European-Armenian Federation also emphasizes that Turkish
troops would be particularly ineffective and inappropriate due to
the fundamental conflict of interest between their responsibility
as credible and responsible peacekeepers and the higher national
interests of Turkey anchored in the extensive requirements of its
military and strategic alliance with Israel.

The Federation therefore urges the International Community to make
a more suitable choice for the makeup of the UN peacekeeping force.

UNHCR PRAISES ARMENIA FOR ITS REFUGEE-RELATED POLICIES
By Anna Saghabalian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Aug. 21, 2006

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has praised
the efforts of the Armenian government to create conditions that
promote the integration of refugees into society.

Antonio Gutierrez, paying his first visit to the region, reiterated
on Monday that granting citizenship is the best tool for protecting
refugees if the ultimate goal of the government is to ensure their
full integration into society.

"I hope it is the ultimate goal both in Armenia and Azerbaijan,"
he told a press conference in Yerevan.

Gutierrez stressed the high level of his agency’s cooperation with
Armenia and expressed his particular satisfaction with the efforts of
the country’s authorities to create a legislative and institutional
framework for immigrants and asylum-seekers, extending special thanks
to the Armenian government for accepting refugees from Lebanon.

For his part, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said that
the UNHCR Office has worked in Armenia for years and has been a great
help to the Armenian government to solve different problems connected
with refugees.

"Although we are a non-political agency, we are extremely interested
in the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict," Gutierrez said.

"We think that the agreements that will allow displaced people to
return to the places of their former residence can become an element
of mutual trust that in turn can promote an ultimate solution to the
problem in the future."

Regarding the possibility of refugees recovering their lost property
or getting compensation for that, Gutierrez said: "We think that
one of the positive things of the peaceful solution could be the
restoration of property rights on both sides. If we speak about the
return of refugees, it could be the restoration of their ownership
rights. If the return is not on the cards, then it can be solved
through compensation."

Gutierrez denied the recent Azeri press reports that quoted him as
calling the policy of the Armenian government related to refugees
a failure.

He also denied having made a series of other statements that appeared
in the Azeri press and were ascribed to him.

In particular, the Azeri media quoted Gutierrez as saying that the
situation with forcibly displaced people in Azerbaijan was the gravest
in the world.

"I couldn’t have said such a thing, as it is a common knowledge that
this problem is much bigger in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan or Colombia
than in Azerbaijan," he said.

Gutierrez said that instead of the word ‘excellent’ he used the
expression ‘more mature’ to describe the UNCHR’s relations with
Azerbaijan and stressed that he was "careful enough never to use the
word ‘Armenia’ in his press conference in Baku.

To a reporter’s question to share his impressions of the refugee
camps in Azerbaijan, Gutierrez said: "The only thing that I can tell
you is that necessary investments are being made in Azerbaijan to
create new homes for refugees. There are still people who live in
very poor conditions in both countries, but I can say for Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia that the governments in these countries take
very seriously the necessity of improving the situation of refugees
living in extreme conditions."

ANTI-AZERBAIJANI LEAFLETS IN GEORGIA

AZG Armenian Daily
22/08/2006

Unidentified people disseminated anti-Azerbaijani leaflets in
illiterate Russian in Azerbaijani circles of Georgia, Day.az quoted
Dashgin Gyulmamedov, chairman of the National Assembly of Azerbaijanis
of Georgia, as saying. Along with offensive words, the leaflets
contain threats, "you were warned once in 1991-1992. Get out of
Georgia." According to Gyulmamedov, some of the disseminators were
identified and, as Azeris claim, are linked with the Ministry of the
Inferior of Georgia.

Azeri leader calls for better fight against Armenian lobby

Azartac news agency, Baku
18 Aug 06

18 August: President Ilham Aliyev said at the second gathering of
the heads of Azerbaijan’s diplomatic missions abroad that powerful
Armenian lobby organizations are carrying out a smear campaign against
our republic abroad every day. The Armenian lobby is also behind some
biased foreign media reports about Azerbaijan, Aliyev said.

The president stressed that we should strengthen our policies and
struggle in this area. He said Azerbaijan’s diplomatic missions
should be very active on this issue. They have to maintain close ties
not only with the state agencies of the countries where they work,
but also with members of parliament, non-governmental organizations,
the media and the public in order to inform them of the truth about
Azerbaijan, the president said. Aliyev said Azerbaijan has opened
embassies in 21 countries over the past two years.

[Passage omitted: Aliyev said Azerbaijan needs more embassies abroad
to strengthen its international standing]