Author: Nalbandian Eduard

TURKISH PRIME MINISTER WARNS US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

arminfo
2008-01-24 15:02:00

ArmInfo. Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned US
presidential candidate Barack Obama after he pledged he would support
Armenian claims of genocide at the hands f the late Ottoman Empire
if he wins the race, Turkish Daily News reports.

He reiterated that Turkish-US ties would receive a serious blow if the
Congress passes a resolution recognizing Armenian claims of genocide.

"Everybody knows that passage of such a resolution would lead
to irremediable wounds in Turkey-US relations," Erdogan said in
Parliament.

According to the prime minister, such remarks stem from lack of
sufficient information on the part of the presidential candidates
about US foreign policy in general.

"These unfortunate remarks by a presidential candidate risk casting
a shadow on our relations," Erdogan said. "Our relations should not
be sacrificed due to slander campaigns by certain lobbies."

Obama pledged to support passage of the resolution, shelved twice in
the US Congress under pressure from the administration, which feared
it risked spoiling ties with NATO ally Turkey, in a letter sent to a
leading American-Armenian group, the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).

SLOVAK COMPANY PLEDGES TO BUILD 15 HYDRO POWER PLANTS FOR NAGORNO-KARABAKH

ARMENPRESS
Jan 23, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, ARMENPRESS: A Slovakian VUJE company has pledged
to build 15 small hydro power plants for Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ashot Grigorian, an Armenian businessman living in Slovakia and
chairman of an organization seeking to boost bilateral ties, said the
agreement was reached by members of a Slovakian business delegation
and Nagorno-Karabakh officials when they met in Yerevan the other day.

Ashot Grigorian said Slovak specialists will visit Nagorno-Karabakh
in February and March for a first-hand knowledge. He said VUJE plans
also to build two small such plants in Armenia.

Grigorian said Slovak Exim bank plans to give a 30-50 million euro
loan to Armenian banks at 6-9 percent interest rate.

TURKISH NATIONALISTS PLOTTED TO KILL NOBEL WINNER

Khaleej Times
Jan 23 2008
United Arab Emirates

ISTANBUL – Police believe Nobel laureate novelist Orhan Pamuk and
Kurdish politicians were on the hit list of an ultranationalist group
whose alleged members were detained this week, newspapers reported
Wednesday.

Thirty-three people, including retired soldiers, journalists,
nationalist lawyers and underworld figures, are being interrogated
in Istanbul, prosecutors said in a statement.

They were detained Tuesday as part of a probe into the discovery of
hand grenades and bomb detonators in a house in Istanbul in June,
the statement said, without giving other details.

Police believe the suspects were planning to assassinate Pamuk, who
won the 2006 Nobel literature prize, prominent journalist Fehmi Koru
and Kurdish politicians Leyla Zana, Osman Baydemir and Ahmet Turk,
the daily Milliyet reported.

Police are also investigating whether the suspects were involved in
several politically motivated attacks that shocked Turkey over the
past two years, the daily Sabah said.

They include the murders of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,
Italian Catholic priest Andrea Santoro and a senior judge killed by
a gunman who stormed into the country’s top administrative court,
the daily said.

Officials said the suspects include Kemal Kerincsiz, a lawyer
notorious for initiating legal action against Pamuk, Dink and other
intellectuals for disputing the official line on the World War I
Ottoman era massacres of Armenians.

Turkey fiercely rejects Armenian claims, backed by several Western
countries, that the killings were genocide.

Another prominent detainee is retired general Veli Kucuk, who has been
accused of organising extra-judicial killings of Kurds in the 1990s.

The suspects also include a retired colonel, a newspaper columnist,
the spokeswoman of the Turkish Orthodox Church and two prominent
underworld figures.

Sabah termed the detentions a blow against the ‘deep state’-a term
used here to describe members of the security forces acting outside
the law to preserve what they consider Turkey’s best interests,
often employing the services of the underworld.

Dink’s family claims that the journalist’s self-confessed teenage
assassin was incited by people who remain at large and enjoy the
protection of some members of the security forces.

ARMENTEL COMPANY PROVIDES NEW NUMBERS IN ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency
Jan 23 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, January 23. /ARKA/. The ArmenTel telecommunication company
has started providing telephone numbers with new area codes – 099.

"The ArmenTel Company is happy to inform that, to meet the demand
for mobile telephone numbers, it plans to start proving new mobile
telephone numbers with the area code 099," reports ArmenTel’s press
service.

In December 2007, the RA Public Service Regulatory Commission approved
the provision of area codes to two mobile communication operators.

The K-Telecom Company (VivaCell brand) will have the area codes 93
and 94, and the ArmenTel Company 91 and 99 instead of the previous 92.

Two mobile communication companies are operating on Armenia’s market –
ArmenTel, fully owned by the VympelCom (Russia), and VivaCell, with
the MTS (Russia) holding its control stock.

Mediamax, Armenia
Jan 16 2008

KARABAKH LEADER COMMENTS ON SETTLING CONFLICT

Yerevan, 16 January: The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic
[NKR], Bako Sahakyan, said that Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian propaganda
and bellicose statements not only contribute to establishment of an
atmosphere of confidence between the sides but also have an extremely
negative effect on the negotiations process.

Bako Sahakyan said about this on Tuesday [15 January] during the
meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen for the Nagornyy
Karabakh settlement, Matthew Bryza (the USA), Yuriy Merzlyakov
(Russia) and Bernard Fassier (France), the press service of the NKR
president told the Mediamax news agency.

Issues related to a settlement of the Karabakh conflict were
discussed at the meeting. Sahakyan reiterated the importance of
Karabakh’s participation in the negotiations process, without which,
according to him, it is impossible to settle the problem.

The leader of the NKR reiterated that official Stepanakert is for a
peaceful settlement of the conflict and for establishment of direct
dialogue with Baku. Sahakyan also noted the importance of monitoring
of the contact line between the NKR and Azerbaijani armed forces by
the OSCE mission as one of the major components of maintaining the
cease-fire, saying that the politization of this issue by Azerbaijan
is impermissible. An agreement was reached at the meeting concerning
a monitoring to be held on 16 January with participation of the
co-chairmen.

In their turn, the international mediators expressed their readiness
to contribute to peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict and
establishment of peace in the region in every way possible.

[translated

US embassy refused to conduct exit polls at presidential election in
Armenia

19-01-2008 19:02:17 – KarabakhOpen

The US embassy to Armenia and the USAID has decided not to conduct exit
polls at the presidential election in Armenia.

As REGNUM was told at the US embassy press office, the decision was
stipulated by the fact that the International Republican Institute and
Baltic Surveys Ltd/Gallup failed to agree on all procedural issues
after intensive and detailed discussions and to find a solution that
would suit all parties.

`We will continue sticking to the idea that exit polls can be a useful
means regarding raising transparency and confidence in the election.
Taking into account limited time for organization process and questions
raised by various political figures, we have made a decision that it
would have more sense that we do not conduct such poll as there are
problems in conducting it that can result in negative processes in the
political dispute,’ says a statement of the US embassy.

DOES IT EXIST?
Nik Wagner

KarabakhOpen
18-01-2008 13:25:59

"The NKR government is lately realizing a program of reforms directed
at the improvement and development of educational and teaching
process. The reforms are also directed at the creation of optimal
conditions for the training of young specialists. They are called to
contribute to the adoption of democratic principles in the sphere of
education with a wide use of generally accepted leading methods."

( tm)

A recent Karabakh Open article (24 December 2007) quoted the Artsakh
State University Rector Hamlet Grigorian: "The rector enumerated the
achievements of the past year – scientific conference, cooperation
with private universities, purchase of inventory, etc." Additionally,
"The rector mentioned that nobody uses the internet in the university
– he understood this when he disconnected it and did not get any
complaints. The rector also complained that the library is not
useful either."

( ndex.php?lang=en&id=3&nid=7105)

This article, "There is money, there are no specialists" also
criticized the staff: "Besides hailing achievements, the rector also
complained of the staff. Although it is not clear who is to blame
for the bad work of the staff and to whom the rector complains."

More-in-likely there are many who wonder about the Artsakh State
University rector with respect to the role of a university in the
21st Century.

A search of the Web via Google on 5 January 2008 yielded the following
information:

1. According to the "Education and Science" menu site of the NKR
Government office, "There is one state high educational institution
functioning in NKR – Artsakh State University, and 11 private colleges,
including the 0University "Mesrop Mashtots" that prepares specialists
of different profiles for the Republic." This government document also
spoke of "The poor material and technical equipment of the educational
institutions certainly has a negative impact on the organization of
educational and teaching process. The lack of visual aids, didactic
materials, laboratory appliances, modern educational-technical means,
computer and other equipment is bitterly felt."

( … also see
=en&id=2&nid=7129 for
an additional perspective.)

2. The American University of Armenia website document:
files/8.html speaks of the
number of applicants during the years of 2001 to 2005. Artsakh State
University is 19th out of 32 with 12 applicants. This is impressive,
yet could it have been higher? Recent data from the American University
of Armenia indicated that in 2005-2006 two students from Artsakh State
University applied to AUA and only one was admitted. There were no
applicants in 2007 for 2007-2008.

3. Prime Minister Ara Harutiunyan thinks that there is a lack of
specialists in all the spheres as reported in the 5 January 2008
issue of Karabagh Open.. "We need to hire more people, especially
specialists…."

4. There are numerous websites listing Artsakh State
University: – is the "Official Website of
Artsakh State University in Karagakh, Armenia" … according to

– Karabagh Telecom () links the Official
website of Artsakh State University as

– Another website, AmFlorist.com, also has a link to the Artsakh State
University website as It mentions that it was
added on 26 July 2006 to its list of Armenian Universities.

– Braintrack University Index’s website states that it is "The world’s
most complete Education-Index." Its second listing under Armenia is
Artsakh State University.

?level=3&pprevid=196) – The
Top Hayastan website identifies Artsakh State University as being in
Stephanakert and provides its website as

(http://www.karabakh-open. com/src/index.php?lang=en&id=2&nid=7129)

Each of these websites performs a valuable function of directing
interested individuals … students, other universities, parents,
government officials, and others to universities including Artsakh
State University.

Sadly, though, each of these sites including the official one for the
University displays "Great Success! … If you are seeing this page
instead of the site you expected, please contact the administrator
of the site involved. (Try sending an email to )" is the suggestion
provided.

()

The 24 December 2007 Karabakh Open article started with "There
is money, there are no specialists. In a recent open session of
the Board, the rector of Artsakh State University Hamlet Grigoryan
announced proudly that the ‘university has sufficient funds for the
educational process.’" Yet, what is the purpose for which Artsakh
State University was created?

What is the purpose of any university?

Meriam-Webster.com, an on-line English language dictionary provides
this reflection on the nature of a university: "an institution of
higher learning providing facilities for teaching and research and
authorized to grant academic degrees; specifically: one made up of an
undergraduate division which confers bachelor’s degrees and a graduate
division which comprises a graduate school and professional schools
each of which may confer master’s degrees and doctorates."

( ictionary/university) The Yerevan
State University Charter states that "he activities of YSU, as a
state self-governed higher educational institution, are directed to
the organization of basic scientific research and the organization
of educational process in the area of Armenological, Biological,
Social-economic, Humanities and Technical Sciences and in the sphere
of different branches of culture…."

( hp?page=4&lang=2)

An excerpt from the "Mission Statement" of the American University of
Armenia: "As an institution of higher learning, the American University
of Armenia provides teaching, research, and service programs that
prepare students to address the needs of Armenia and the surrounding
region for sustainable development, in a setting that values and
develops academic excellence, free inquiry, scholarship, leadership,
and service to society." ()

There was hope for a successful search of the Artsakh State University
website either directly and indirectly for similar statements regarding
its educational purpose. Probably, the following quotation attributed
to Rector Grigoryan may be the closest to the "hope": "… ducation
in any field must be practical."

( ADC/news.asp?id=153)

A university serves to train students in many disciplines. As a
result, the training does need to be practical to be effective. To
spoon-feed information into the brains of students without asking them
to interrelate that information with previous classroom and personal
experience knowledge may defeat the true purpose of education, the
initial NKR cite, and the comment of Prime Minister Harutiunyan. Thus,
in order to provide students with the means to learn practical things
within a setting placing emphasis on thinking skills, graduate, and
take a place in society, the curriculum necessitates that students
do research and interact with other students and their professors in
order to negotiate meaning; thus becoming the specialists of which
Prime Minister Harutiunyan and Minister of Education Vladik Khachatryan
spoke of in the Karabakh Open article dated 26 December 2007.

To deny students and their professors’ internet access seems juvenile
and contradictory to the role a university or any educational
institution needs to play within the community it resides. To
imply that the ASU Library may close is perhaps a form of book
burning. Universities like Yerevan State, the American University
of Armenia, Oxford, Harvard, the Sorbonne, the University of Tokyo,
the University of California, and many others provide libraries to
enrich the means to become specialists.

ARMENIA AGAIN AMONG PARTLY FREE COUNTRIES

18/01/2008
AZG Armenian Daily

It’s already 7 years that Armenia is ranked among partly free
countries, according to the recurrent report of "Freedom House"
organization. Nagorno Karabakh, Turkey and Georgia are also ranked
among partly free countries. Georgia lost one point as compared with
last year by indexes of political rights and political freedoms.

Already 4 years Azerbaijan is qualified as a not free country.

Only Ukraine from CIS countries is ranked among free countries.

On the whole, according to "Freedom House" 90 countries are qualified
as free countries, 60 – as partly free and 43 – as not free.

EU SET TO OPEN TWO MORE CHAPTERS OF TURKEY’S ACCESSION TALKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.01.2008 13:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Union is set to open two more chapters
of Turkey’s accession talks by the end of the July, EU Commissioner
for Enlargement, Dr. Olli Rehn announced in Brussels.

The chapters on taxation and free movement of goods will be opened,
he said, adding that he is pushing for the energy chapter to follow
suit soon as possible, Turkiye reports.

The accession talks had been earlier frozen over Turkey’s position
on Cyprus.

Serzh Sargsyan: Every new family in Armenia will have an opportunity to
buy a flat and a car

2008-01-15 19:03:00

ArmInfo. Every new family in Armenia will have an opportunity to buy a
flat and a car, says the electoral program of presidential contender,
Prime Minister of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan that was officially made
public on Tuesday.

The program says the second-generation reforms in Armenia are the most
important task of the country. Reforms will create the next conditions
for development of business and investments. ‘To boost investments and
active business, the tax and customs systems in the country must become
competitive in the international arena. The country must not create
obstacles to establishment and development of business. It must create
equal conditions for business development and risk reduction. We will
support all the new Armenian companies meeting international
requirements and promote the rapidly growing small and medium-size
enterprises. The country will stimulate introduction of corporate
system of management in the real sector. Corporate management system
will be introduced at enterprises with government stakes. The country
will always boost the transparently operating companies to raise the
public trust in business. ‘

The program says structural reforms and modernization of
infrastructures must remain in the focus of state attention. Under the
second-generation reforms, a new quality of industrial policy based on
innovations is proposed. In addition, the program proposes agriculture
industrialization and full activation of the
production-processing-market network, which will allow increasing
incomes in the agricultural sphere.

The financial system of Armenia has a real potential for becoming the
financial center in the region. ‘The entry of Nordic OMX to Armenia is
a bright evidence of it. We will continue deepening our policy of
financial mediation. Financial services will be available throughout
Armenia. Every new family will have an opportunity to buy a flat and a
car. Insurance companies and pension funds will create preconditions
for savings. No one must remain in Armenia without life and property
insurance,’ the electoral campaign of Serge Sargsyan says.