Author: Nalbandian Albert

ARMENIAN MP IN CYPRUS WANTS MELKONIAN TO REOPEN

hp?id=11987&nt=Politics
09/07/2008

Representa tive of the Armenian religious group at the House of
Representatives Vartkes Mahdessian will not be raising an issue
of right to vote in the parliament so as not to complicate matters
regarding the Cyprus problem with the changes to the Constitution
that this move would demand, but intends nevertheless to discuss his
participation in meetings of the House Defence Committee after the
decision for obligatory army service of male members of religious
groups.

In an interview with CNA, Mahdessian describes his seat in the
parliament as iconic but notes that much progress has been made and
expresses hope that over the remaining three years of his term he
would manage to meet the aims set out by the religious group.

He adds that a quarterly bulletin is posted to all members of the
religious group, containing his activities, and that he operates a
well-equipped office with full-time staff, while committees of the
religious group have been active in various fields and have produced
results.

Asked if the representation of the religious groups in the House of
Representatives is satisfactory, Mahdessian notes that "sometimes I
feel our presence is iconic."

"We participate in the House Education Committee and I must admit that
its Chairman, in all meetings, gives us the floor, but we cannot submit
draft legislation, we cannot vote in the Committee or the Plenary,
and these are disadvantages," he points out.

Mahdessian wants the criterion for knowledge of the Greek language in
order to qualify for a position in the civil service and other sectors
to be revised, so that the members of the Armenian religious group
are not at a disadvantage compared to the Greek Cypriot applicants.

He also requests the reappointment of the Presidential Commissioner
for Religious Groups, who will coordinate and monitor the course of
various problems faced by the religious groups, namely the Armenians,
Maronites and Latins.

Mahdessian says the decision of the University of Cyprus to enroll
students with international exams opens new horizons, adding that
Cyprus should learn to behave as a European country.

He furthermore expresses hope that Melkonian, the Armenian school,
and the woods around it, with each tree being planted by an orphan
whose parents were killed during the Armenian Genocide, will be
spared from commercial construction. Mahdessian notes that for the
time being the issue is at a standstill, since it is being used to
host a state school.

Mahdessian says the Armenians of Cyprus did not have a say in the final
decision, since the decision-making centre is in New York. However,
he managed, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior, to
register Melkonian as a protected building.

Replying to questions, Mahdessian said a total of 165 children are
enrolled at the Nareq junior schools in Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca.

Regarding the Armenian monastery in the Turkish occupied areas,
Mahdessian notes that it is dilapidated with no immediate prospects
of restoration, adding that for the first time since the 1974 Turkish
invasion about 250 Armenians were allowed to organise a pilgrimage
to the monastery, not without obstacles.

Asked about his relationship with Yerevan, capital of Armenia,
Mahdessian says efforts were being made to promote contact with the
Armenian Ambassador in Athens, who is however accredited to other
countries as well.

"Armenia is a new state and is facing huge problems but we are trying
with all our might to further improve the relationship between Cyprus
and Armenia, which are friendly," he points out.

Reporters without borders (press release), France
July 8 2008

In first open hearing in Hrant Dink murder trial, court rejects merger
with parallel cases implicating police officers

The sixth hearing in the trial of newspaper editor Hrant Dink’s
alleged murderers was held yesterday in Istanbul and for the first
time since it began just over a year ago, the press was able to attend
because the leading suspect, Ogün Samast, the youth from the
city of Trabzon who allegedly shot Dink, has now turned 18.

The court yesterday heard evidence from several witnesses and
considered requests from lawyers representing the Dink family. Some
progress was made but the court continued to refuse to accede to the
family’s request to merge the case with two other cases under way in
Trabzon and Samzun involving police officers who allegedly had prior
knowledge of the murder plot or demonstrated sympathy for the alleged
shooter.

Those who gave evidence yesterday included police informer Coskun
Igci, one of the 19 defendants. He claimed that he did everything
possible to dissuade alleged mastermind Yasin Hayal, his former
brother-in-law, from committing or plotting Dink’s murder. He added
that he finally warned the two gendarmes with whom he had a connection
that he had come to the conclusion that Hayal would not abandon his
plan.

Three witnesses, including two employees of Dink’s Armenian-Turkish
newspaper Agos, yesterday identified Samast as the man who shot Dink
outside the newspaper’s office in Istanbul on 19 January 2007 and then
fled down Safak Street.

At the request of the Dink family’s lawyers, the court asked about
Hayal’s contacts with the outside world while in prison in Trabzon in
2004 for the bombing of a McDonald’s in the city. The Turkish prison
authority will have to provide passwords giving access to the prison’s
computer records of the visits Hayal received. A copy of the
intercepts of his telephone calls from November 2005 to 19 January
2007 will also have to be handed over to the court.

In an attempt to assess the role played by Erhan Tuncel, another
alleged mastermind, and whether he really did, as he claims, alert the
authorities in Trabzon before the murder, the court has requested the
real names of the intelligence officers with whom Tuncel says he was
in contact. Until now, they have been referred to by their code names
of `Memduh,’ `Ã-zgur,’ `Ahmet’ and `Kürsat.’

The judges also expressed their desire to hear evidence from two
members of the Trabzon intelligence service, Engin Dinç and
Ercan Delir, and asked Microsoft to provide details of Tuncel’s email
and MMS correspondence.

The Istanbul police were also asked to provide the court with
information about any threats Dink may have received prior to his
murder.

The court refused to merge the Istanbul trial with the two other cases
under way in Trabzon and Samzun despite the insistence of the Dink
family’s lawyers that this is essential for the trial’s success. In
Trabzon, two gendarmes are being prosecuted on charges of `negligence
in the exercise of their duties.’ In Samsun, two members of the
security forces are on trial for posing with Samast for a photograph
following his arrest on the day after the murder.

The next hearing has been set for 13 October. The court still has to
hear testimony from 13 other witness before beginning to consider
material evidence.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SHOULD BE SOLVED THROUGH TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF AZERBAIJAN: CZECH MINISTER

Trend News Agency
04.07.08 11:43
Azerbaijan

The Czech Republic adheres exact position on the [Armenian-Azerbaijani]
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, urging its resolution within the framework
of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

" Czech Republic’s position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict urges
the peaceable resolution to the problem within the framework of the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," Karel Schvartzenberg, the Czech
foreign minister, stated in Baku on 4 July. This is the problem of
international scale, but not only of Azerbaijan, the he stressed.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.

Goal.com, Switzerland

06/07/2008 08:15

Der Zakarian Offers Nantes Progress Report

Nantes head coach Mikel Der Zakarian has told l’Equipe that he is
upbeat about les Canaris’ chances in Ligue 1 next season however
survival remains the priority of the newly promoted club.

Twelve months ago Nantes were contemplating life in Ligue 2 after
relegation from the top flight. Their supporters had dissented,
invading the pitch in the final home match of the season – a 0-0 draw
with Toulouse – as relegation became a grim reality.

Der Zakarian had briefly taken co-charge of the side that term, taking
over from Georges Eo in the closing weeks as Nantes’ challenge was
dying. Along with Japhet N’Doram, the Franco-Armenian coach threatened
to breathe new life in the struggling side but ultimately
resuscitation would have to wait a further season.

The 45 year-old knows that his rescue job will not be completed until
Nantes secure their spot in Ligue 1.

In an interview today with l’Equipe, der Zakarian revealed that the
club’s ambition this season would simply be to survive.

`We start like all the other teams, even if our status as a promoted
side obliges us to remain humble,’ states der Zakarian to l’Equipe
with understated optimism, `Ligue 1 is a very different competition
and will be much more difficult than the one we played last year.’

`Our ambition is simply to play well, particularly for the supporters
who place a great deal of faith in us. They informed me of their
desire to see us as a powerful force while playing nice football. That
is also my objective, although I have to remain realistic.’

`To play neatly does not interest me. Only the victory counts.’

In order to achieve enough triumphs to secure safety the Nantes boss
believes he needs another three players, one man in each outfield
sector. `The idea, it is to reinforce the backbone of the group,’ Der
Zakarian explained.

Despite the English press linking forward Ivan Klasnic to Wigan, the
Croatian was in Nantes on Friday examining what les Canaris could
offer him.

`There was positive feedback from him,’ Der Zakarian revealed, `but
the negotiations are not finished and it is difficult to advance. All
that I know is that the transfer is not completed yet. We will see
well how that goes.’

Sochaux defender Guarin N’Daw has also been linked with a move to the
Atlantic-coast however Der Zakarian refused to comment on that
particular piece of speculation.

Nantes have already added veteran goalkeeper Jérôme Alonzo
to their ranks this summer as well as rangy defender Ibrahim Tall,
midfielder Djamel Abdoun and young Brazilian prospect Doulao to their
ranks this summer.

Robin Bairner, Goal.com

Hürriyet, Turkey
Sunday, July 06, 2008 00:32

Armenia’s Sarkisian invites Turkish president to watch football game

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has invited Turkish President
Abdullah Gul to watch a football match in Yerevan, a spokesman told
AFP on Saturday. Turkey and Armenia has no diplomatic relations since
Yerevan invaded Azerbaijani province of Nagorny Karabakh.

"The president has invited Turkish President Abdullah Gul to visit
Armenia on September 6 to watch the World Cup qualifying match between
Armenia and Turkey," Sarkisian’s spokesman, Samvel Farmanyan, told
AFP.

Gul had congratulated Sarkisian after his election victory in
February.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic links since Ankara intensified
its protests against Armenian invasion and violence in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Armenia invaded in a war with
Azerbaijan in the early 1990s. The border between Turkey and Armenia
has been closed.

There have been recent calls to reopen the border between ex-Soviet
Armenia and Turkey to help growing trade ties between the two, which
are currently conducted through third countries such as Georgia.

Armenia, with the backing of the Diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million of
their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915. Turkey
rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along with at least
as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when the Armenians
took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.

15th INTERNATIONAL APRICOT SYMPOSIUM TO BE HELD IN ARMENIA

NOYAN TAPAN

JU LY 2

The 14th International Apricot Symposium was held on June 15-21 in
the city of Matera, Italy on the initiative of the International
Organization of Gardeners. Representatives of the RA Ministry
of Agriculture also took part in it. As Samvel Avetisian, the RA
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, said at the July 2 press conference,
Armenian apricot took the first place with its taste properties at
the exhibition organized within the framework of the symposium. At
the same time it was decided that the 15th Apricot Symposium will be
held in Armenia.

According to S. Avetisian, there are special standards for apricot
worked out in the European Union, and Armenian apricot should be
brought in line with them. In the Deputy Minister’s words, according
to these standards, not only fruit’s taste property, but also color,
preservation term, fruit’s size are important: Armenian apricot is
inferior in that respect. The Deputy Minister said that when buying
fruit Europeans first of all look at its appearance and not taste:
in particular, reddish apricot is evaluated rather highly on the
international market.

S. Avetisian said that it is envisaged to cooperate with
international centers engaged in apricot cultivation technologies
before symposium’s organization to find new ways of cultivation of
Armenian apricot. According to the Deputy Minister, though Armenia is
considered the homeland of apricot, "we do not know how to cultivate
apricots today." According to him, apricot trees being high-trunk
do not give a possibility for the fruit to develop proportionately,
which brings to losses. And dwarf trees are planted in Europe, the
height of which does not exceed 2-2.5 meters, the sun completely
penetrates into the tree and the fruit develops proportionately.

Besides, gardens are coated with a net there, as a result of which
trees are protected from hail and frostbite. S. Avetisian said that
they have already applied to UN FAO with the request of providing
assistance for planting dwarf gardens and introduction of new
technologies in Armenia.

OFFICIALS AND GENERALS SUSPECTED IN LINKS WITH ERGENEKON ARRESTED IN TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.07.2008 18:19 GMT+04:00

Turkish CNN Turk television broadcast that within the Ergenekon
investigation four other people have been arrested. The detainees
are Retired General Hursit Tolon, the President of the Ankara Chamber
of Commerce (ATO) Sinan Aygun, the President of the Ataturk Thought
Association (ADD) and retired General Sener Eruygur and the Ankara
representative for Cumhuriyet newspaper Mustafa Balbay.

Investigation is underway.

Ergenekon is supposed to be involved in the murder of Turkish Armenian
journalist, Agos newspaper editor Hrant Dink in January 2007

CASSATION COURT OF ARMENIA IS CONSIDERING CLAIM ON PRIORITY OF BI LINE TRADEMARK

ArmInfo
2008-06-30 23:38:00

The Cassation Court of Armenia is considering the claim on the priority
of BI LINE trademark. As lawyer of BI LINE company, one of the largest
enterprises engaged in sale and service of computer equipment, Hayk
Haroutyunyan told ArmInfo correspondent, a preliminary trial was
held at the Cassation Court of Armenia, which covered the history
of the court proceeding at previous instances. To note, BI LINE also
applied to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. "We hope
that the case will be completed in Armenia. We are sure of this as
preference should be given to those who were the first to register
intellectual property, this is fixed in the Constitution of Armenia",
Haroutyunyan noted.

To recall, in August 2007 BI LINE company filed a claim against
VimpelCom OJSC and ArmenTel CJSC (VimpelCom’s branch in Armenia)
and disputed the legitimacy of using the Beeline brand in Armenia by
VimpelCom and ArmenTel. BI LINE stated that the brand Beeline and
BI LINE (registered in 1996) are alike to the extent that they can
be confused.

Along with consideration of the case at the Economic Court of Armenia,
in its turn, VimpelCom filed a claim to the RA Intellectual Property
Agency and denied BI LINE’s argument about the similarity of the
trademarks. Under these circumstances, BI LINE withdrew its claim
against VimpelCom.

"Otherwise, the consideration of our case at the Economic Court
would have been suspended until completion of proceedings at the
Agency. Though, in fact, of the two similar claims the one filed
earlier should have been considered at first", Haroutyunyan said.

On December 7, the Economic Court of Armenia rejected BI LINE’s claim.

"Being the claimant, BI LINE received no invitation to the court, and
in this case the verdict should have had no force, strictly speaking",
Haroutyunyan said.

After the decision of the Economic Court, BI LINE filed a claim to the
Cassation Court. "This body was the higher authority for cases of the
Economic Court (before its abolition). However, there we were denied
the consideration of the case, therefore we addressed the claim to the
Court of Appeal. On June 6, the court confirmed our claim’s rejection
published by the Economic Court", Haroutyunyan recalled. He specified
that along with consideration of the case at the Court of Appeal,
BI LINE continued gaining consideration of the case at the Cassation
Court approved by the law as the higher authority for the Economic
Court. According to Haroutyunyan, the claim was accepted a month ago,
and the company resumed its claims against VimpelCom OJSC.

THE TRUE HERO
Jeanné McCartin

Portsmouth Herald News
July 01, 2008 6:00 AM
NH

Businessman Christos Papoutsy of Rye turned detective to find out
who really rescued the Greek refugees of Smyrna in 1922. His search
led to Methodist minister Asa Jennings.

Christos Papoutsy had heard the story of Smyrna all his life. His
father was from a nearby island in the Mytilene area of Greece. It
was there refuges of the 1922 "Great Catastrophe" were first taken
after being rescued from the shores; their backs literally pushed
against the harbor.

Nearly all Greeks know the story, he says. It’s repeated over and
over. While all but forgotten by history it remained a reason for bad
blood between some Greeks and America. It was known that the American
Navy sat by as Greeks, mostly women, children and the elderly, died
there, baking in the sun, hungry and thirsty.

The Greeks’ version of the story was that they, along with the
Armenian population of the Aegean province, Turkey, were forced by
Turks from their homes. They were also subjected to other numerous
atrocities in the process, says Papoutsy. Those who survived were
pushed to the water’s edge, were not allowed back, nor offered a way
out. Imprisonment or worse awaited them. Numerous books recounted
the event, always it was the Japanese Navy that finally came to
their rescue.

While traveling with Mary, his wife, to the region, he’d meet a few
authors of books on the subject. Conversations with them and other
things he heard led him to question details. "Things simply didn’t
add up," he says.

For a man like Papoutsy, not adding up doesn’t sit well. The disquiet
the discrepancies set off would launch a quest for the truth and 10
years later his book "Ships of Mercy: The True Story of the Rescue
of the Greeks, Smyrna, September 1922." What he discovered (with the
help of Mary, he reminds throughout the interview) is a reversal of
the long-held beliefs and a forgotten American hero.

First, a bit about the author. Papoutsy, now of Rye, was born in
Haverhill, Mass., a second-generation Greek-American. These days he’s
a semi-retired, successful business executive, once a global leader
in the electronics industry.

He’s the founder of Hellenic Communication Services, and a supporter
of numerous Greek cultural and historical organizations. The Christos
and Mary Papoutsy Charitable Foundation, founded by the pair, supports
many philanthropic endeavors, including the Professor John C. Rouman
Classical Lecture Series at the University of New Hampshire; the
Distinguished Chair in Ethics at Southern New Hampshire University
and art endeavors. The two also formed a foundation in Greece to help
the village where his father was born.

He and Mary launched the Seacoast Women’s Entrepreneurial Program
(now the Women’s Business Center).

Papoutsy works at being a man of principle. He lectures and writes
on ethical concepts and principles in business and has published
"Ethics, CSR & Sustainability." Hence, something "just not adding up"
isn’t enough.

It’s not about blaming; it’s about reasons and answers for
Papoutsy. These days he surmises that the first book on the subject
identified the Japanese as the rescuers and all those that followed
drew from it as a source. It was easy to continue the falsehood given
the lack of official Greek papers on the matter.

"No one checked to see it was true," he says. "We corroborated
our facts."

To understand how the misinformation started and continued you have to
take a look at the times, he says. "From that date (1922) till this,
Greece had many upheavals, wars, civil wars …; World War I, World War
II. Many of their records were destroyed and burned. We think that’s
part of the confusion, why it was not properly recorded in Greece."

In his own research he combed "every university, newspaper and museum
throughout Greece and found nothing."

In addition, the 1922 refuges increased Greece’s population by 25
percent. "It was a tremendous stress on the Greeks."

He corroborates his own findings with sources from throughout the
world. He found many of his facts in Naval archives, discovered
in France, Italy, England, Belgium Japan and the United States,
"to name a few."

"We weren’t looking for a particular answer. …;. We didn’t care
who had rescued them. …; We looked for the records," he says. "We
wanted the truth."

He and Mary read the ship logs and captain’s diaries; "Those records
where the captain writes what he feels, sees, smells every minute of
the day. …; There were Italians, French, American and more in the
harbor. They all cooperated."

Papoutsy also interviewed survivors. "We talked to about a dozen
survivors, now in their 90s, in good health with good memories. Then
we had diaries we found in Greek, we had translated."

One of the most interesting facts, corroborated by the Japanese
government itself, was there were no Japanese ships in that harbor in
’22 and would not be till ’27.

Eventually they stumbled on the name of Asa Jennings, a Methodist
minister, working for the Smyrna YMCA. "Someone hinted he was
involved. We went to YMCA in Turkey." It eventually led them to the
YMCA records ("which go back hundreds of years") at the archives at
the University of Minnesota.

"Lo and behold we find the Jennings (information). Then we found the
grandson and the medals the Greeks had given him, of which the Greeks
had no copies. …; They’d made him an unofficial admiral."

It was Jennings who had single-handedly orchestrated the rescue of the
people on Smyrna, Papoutsy says. Jennings had dealt with the Turkish
government, Greeks, French, English and American to put together an
acceptable plan. This man and his tireless efforts to rescue 300,000
people is the heart of Papoutsy’s book.

"To stumble across this unsung hero!" says Papoutsy. "We hope to
honor this fellow. …; He was an incredible man."

The Turks had forbidden the Greek ships in area water to re-enter
the harbor.

"Jennings made the negotiations that allowed the ships to go back
under the protection of the U.S. navy. It’s in all the captain’s
logs. . …; He is truly a forgotten hero."

The Greeks were allowed in, led and under the protection of an American
destroyer, flying American flags.

Many survivors are gone. "But there are people that want to hear the
story, want to know who saved ‘my grandfather mother, father.’"

His book will soon be published in Greek, in Greece and released in
Australia in July. He’s currently in early stage talks regarding a
documentary, which will be done in Greece. He plans to meet with the
Greek ambassador in Washington soon. There’s all that and the usual
lectures he gives on business ethics — something he can’t let go of,
he says. There’s more need for it now than ever he says.

"I’m not a historian or academic, I went after the book like a business
transaction, with due diligence, like a detective," he says. "I just
thought we should know the truth."

–Boundary_(ID_Vu5865sqisw4xFb919C68 g)–

POLITICIAN: "PACE RESOLUTIONS ON NKR CONFLICT UNCERTAIN"

Panorama.am
17:09 30/06/2008

Today the politician Sergey Shakaryanc had a meeting with the
journalists and talked about the PACE Summer Session results. To the
question how the politician assesses the statement done by PACE that
Azerbaijan can not fix development in its democratic institutions
unless its full territorial coverage is gaped.

The Politician said that such resolutions mean nothing, as Europe does
not own the mandate of the final regulation. The mandate belongs to
certain organization, and it is OSCE Minsk group, said the politician.