Author: Nalchajian Markos

DINK MURDER TRIAL UNDERWAY

Turkish Daily News, Turkey
July 3 2007

The trial of 18 defendants – including the suspected assassin who
is a minor – charged in connection with the murder of prominent
journalist of Armenian origins Hrant Dink opened yesterday in branch
14 of Istanbul’s court for serious crimes.

A scuffle took place at the entrance of the courthouse before the trial
started between Fuat Turgut, the lawyer of the alleged inciter Yasin
Hayal and a joint attorney Umit Abanoz, as Turgut said to Dink’s wife
Rakel Dink and his daughters Delal and Sera "You are Armenians, you
have Armenian passports. There are far too many Armenians here." Upon
those words, Abanoz shouted, "You are a provocateur, take off that
cloak… Get this man out of here." Fuat Turgut verbally attacked
Turkish Daily News columnist Cengiz Candar as well. The affray ended
as police intervened.

The Dink family participated in the trial as plaintiffs, while
the applications of weekly Agos and daily Birgun in which Dink
was columnist to be a plaintiff was accepted by the court, one of
the lawyers of the Dink family Fethiye Cetin announced in a break
during the trial. The court rejected a demand by Ayþe Onal to be a
plaintiff since she was not directly harmed by the event. She is
a member of International PEN and Turkey Journalist Association
(TGC). The editor-in-chief of weekly Agos Etyen Mahcupyan and Ali
Bayramoðlu watched the trail as well as represented Agos.

The criminal organization should be disclosed:

The criminal organization behind the murder not only consists of the
defendants, said Cetin, as she answered questions in front of the
courthouse, before the trial got underway. The whole organization
should be disclosed, Cetin said, noting that their argument would
be based on this point. The police and gendarmerie forces were
negligent, which amounts to the committing of an intentional crime,
those allegations should be combined with this case, Cetin added.

Only the ones who pulled the trigger will face judgment today, said
Aydýn Engin to the TDN, who is columnist for weekly Agos, where Hrant
Dink was the editor-in-chief. Aydýn Engin was investigated as well just
like Dink on accusations of denigrating Turkishness. Emphasizing that
this case would provide clues whether behind the scenes connections
of the murder will be revealed or not, "I want to be hopeful but I
cannot be in today’s Turkey," Aydýn said.

Yasin Hayal sent around 20 letters to the court saying, "The police
directed us, now they should protect us," said Hayal’s lawyer,
Fuat Turgut before the trial. Claiming that Erhan Tuncel used his
client and the minor who is suspected of being the assassin, Turgut
argued that Hrant Dink was an old terrorist but he was presented as
a journalist, and as a result too many defendants were collected
to create uproar. They will be released during the first trial,
he alleged.

There is definitely no criminal organization, Turgut said, alleging
that if there is one, it starts with defendant Erhan Tuncel and goes
above him. Tuncel is another important suspect in the murder, as it
was revealed that he was a police informer and informed the police
several times about a possible plot to kill Dink.

Speaking to journalists waiting outside, the Dink family’s lawyer
Kemal Aytac said the young hit man was using his right to silence,
while Tuncel said he didn’t know why he was being tried because he
was a paid member of the state.

The gunman’s lawyer asked the court for a child psychologist and a
child prosecutor because his client was younger than 18, but both
requests were rejected by the court.

Strict security measures

Police took heavy security measures around the courthouse in central
Beþiktaþ, including barriers closing nearby streets. Police officials
conducted body searches and checked the bags of reporters who wanted
to go to the courthouse. Lots of foreign and local reporters followed
the case.

More than 400 lawyers are involved in Dink’s case as joint
attorneys. Prominent lawyers like Ergin Cinmen, Yucel Sayman and
Alp Selek are the joint attorneys in the case. Selek is the father
of sociologist Pýnar Selek, who was accused of having connections
with the bombing in Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar in 1998. Pýnar Selek was
acquitted last year. Yucel Sayman was the former head of Istanbul bar.

People gathered for the trial

ISTANBUL – Anatolia News Agency

Around 1,000 people gathered in Beþiktaþ early in the morning,
carrying banners saying "We are all Armenians, "we are all Dinks,"
and "We are all witnesses, demand justice," which was signed as
‘the Coordination to watch the Hrant Dink case.’ Hrant Dink’s wife,
Rakel saluted them as she was going to the courthouse, while the people
applauded her. Making a press statement, Tores Dincoz emphasized that
they gathered in front of the courthouses in which Hrant Dink was
tried, but Dink was taken away, as they were not strong enough. "We
gathered here to prevent the blackening of truths," Dincoz said.

–Boundary_(ID_Y2dRHEIL17G5Vitve2bM1g)–

THE VISIT OF THE ARMENIAN AND AZERI INTELLECTUALS TO KARABAKH, YEREVAN AND BAKU WAS OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE TO ALL THE PARTIES AND NECESSARY MORE THAN EVER

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.06.2007 GMT+04:00

The President Ilham Aliyev as always was faithful to his principles. He
announced, "The conflict may be resolved exclusively on the bases of
the principles of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan with high
autonomy granted to Karabakh."

After the meeting of the President of Armenia and the President of
Azerbaijan held in Saint Petersburg, something definitely was to
happen. The meeting was to lead either to war, or to some peaceful
methods of conflict resolution. War wasn’t unleashed, but the visit of
the representatives of the Armenian and Azeri intellectuals was a great
shock to the Azeri society; Arkadi Ghukasyan from a "separatist leader"
became the President of "self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh" in no time.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "I consider that Nagorno-Karabakh must participate
in peace talks. Even if you call Ghukasyan a separatist, he is the
President of Nagorno-Karabakh and must participate in negotiations.

This is my personal opinion. According to some information disseminated
by press I left Karabakh with my eyes bent. I declare with all
the responsibility that I have nothing to be ashamed of and have
no fear from anyone at all. My viewpoint is based on the actions I
take presently, and I think it is necessary to carry on establishing
similar contacts," said Polad Bul Bul oghlu, who turned out to be the
most honest person among the Azeri Delegation. He, by the way, denied
the information which said that his father had been shot. Perhaps
Karabakh should have the chance to receive as many Azerbaijanis as
possible, for them to see how the Azeri Press and Akif Nagi try to
throw dust on their eyes.

According to RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanyan, the
initiative of the Armenian and Azeri Ambassadors to RF Armen Smbatyan
and Polad Bul Bul oghlu is positive and very timely. "This visit may
become the basis of reestablishment of confidence between the nations,
which has been discussed during the negotiations more than once. The
OSCE Minsk Group has nothing to do with the organization of the visit.

During the meeting in Saint Petersburg the Ambassadors appealed to
Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev with the suggestion, which was
accepted," said Vartan Oskanyan.

According to the President of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkadi Ghukasyan,
it is necessary to enter into dialogue and create an atmosphere of
confidence between the nations. "The initiative of the Ambassadors
may create a healthy and constructive atmosphere in the process of
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict resolution," said Ghukasyan, confirming that
the artificially created intolerance and call to war only impede the
conflict regulation process. In the opinion of the President of Armenia
Robert Kocharyan, the establishment of contacts and the atmosphere
of mutual confidence between the two nations built by means of the
very contacts will have their irreplaceable asset in the process of
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict resolution. "In spite of existing problems,
it is very essential to find common borders, and Armenia is well
willing to assist the process," mentioned the President of Armenia.

As for the President of Azerbaijan, he as always was faithful to his
principles. He announced, "The conflict may be resolved exclusively on
the bases of the principles of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan
with high autonomy granted to Karabakh."

Yet what happened in Baku can’t be left unmentioned; Akif Nagi tried
to upset the press-conference of the representatives from Azerbaijan;
however the police took away the members of "Karabakh Liberation
Organization" from the hall.

The visit immediately gave birth to different comments, which lead
to one and the same opinion; the visit of the Armenian and Azeri
intellectuals was of great significance to all the parties and
necessary more than ever. Eldar Namazov thinks that the authorities
of Azerbaijan must explain the aim of the visit, forgetting that
Ilham Aliyev gives explanations only when he thinks it necessary
himself. And the viewpoint of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Azerbaijan is quite incomprehensible. According to the Head of the
Press-Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Khazar Ibrahim,
Polad Bul Bul oghlu and Armen Smbatyan realized this visit "in the
course of their personal initiative as former ministers of culture
of Azerbaijan and Armenia". One thing is not clear though; how can
the Ambassador who is appointed by the President of the country visit
this or that country "in the course of personal initiative"?

In Armenia the visit was taken the way typical of any civilized
society. By the way, in times of Heydar Aliyev Armenian journalists
and experts often visited Baku, however everything ended during Aliyev
Junior, who believing in the power of oil, thought that he could
solve his problems on his own, not thinking that the world community
can finally turn down Baku’s oil, which in fact is needed by Turkey
only. After all 0.6% of world oil supply doesn’t change much. It is
not difficult to prove the President of Azerbaijan the above mentioned
fact, and the present visit is one of the most evident proves.

ACCORDING TO YERJANIK ABGARIAN, DANGER OF RESTARTING ARTSAKH WAR IS
BECOMING STRONGER

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN. According to political scientist
Alexandre Manasian, the promotion of the Armenian side concerning the
Karabakh conflict is developing in the wrong direction. He mentioned
during the June 29 debate with Yerjanik Abgarian, a member of the
"Alternative" political NGO, that as a result of a wrong promotion "a
situation has been created where we are considered to be usurpers of
the territories belonging to us." In Alexandre Manasian’s opinion, the
approach, according to which Armenia is fighting for the
self-determination of Artsakh, is not right, either, as in that case it
would mean that Armenia accepts the fact that the Republic of Nagorno
Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan. In the political scientist’s
conviction, it would be right if Armenia accepted and introduced to
other countries that currently only consultations are being conducted
between Yerevan and Baku in order to continue the triple side
negotiations interrupted some years ago.

As for Yerjanik Abgarian, he believes that "Turks are not good
diplomats, the thing is that there are no good ones to interact with."
He also observed that currently "those, who are not lazy" in the
international scene are speaking about the territorial completeness of
Azerbaijan. Y. Abgarian mentioned that the striving for status quo
leaves Armenia out of all international and regional projects. Instead,
he believes, the danger of restarting the Artsakh war is becoming more
and more real: the army of Azerbaijan is quickly arming itself.

Pour M. Fillon "l’incident est clos" entre M. Devedjian et Mme Comparini
LEMONDE.FR avec AFP | 28.06.07 | 23h00 . Mis à jour le 29.06.07 | 18h31

,1-0@2-3 224,36-929432@51-929435,0.html

L’incident est clos", a affirmé François Fillon, vendredi 29 juin. Le
premier ministre a souligné que le secrétaire général délégué de l’UMP,
Patrick Devedjian, s’était excusé après avoir insulté l’ex-députée UDF
Anne-Marie Comparini, en utilisant le terme de"salope". Pourtant,
l’ex-candidate du MoDem aux législatives a de nouveau demandé, vendredi, à
Patrick Devedjian, de"s’excuser publiquement".

La polémique est née jeudi, quand ont été reprises sur Internet les images
d’un reportage diffusé mercredi par la chaîne lyonnaise TLM : on y voit le
secrétaire général délégué de l’UMP utiliser le terme de "salope" à
l’adresse de l’ancienne députée du Rhône, en compagnie des UMP Renaud
Dutreil et Michel Havard, qui a battu Mme Comparini aux législatives.

Vendredi, Ségolène Royal a fait savoir qu’elle avait téléphoné à Anne-Marie
Comparini pour l’assurer de son soutien. "Ce n’est pas une façon de parler
aux femmes, ni à qui que ce soit d’autre", avait peu avant estimé Nicolas
Sarkozy. Interrogé pour savoir s’il pensait qu’il fallait sanctionner le
responsable de l’UMP, M. Sarkozy a relevé qu’"il s’est excusé". La ministre
de la justice, Rachida Dati, a, quant à elle, estimé que l’insulte n’était
"pas tolérable".

"M. DEVEDJIAN SAVAIT QU’IL ÉTAIT FILMÉ"

Dominique Perben, candidat UMP à la mairie de Lyon,"déplore de tels propos
et réaffirme son estime personnelle à Anne-Marie Comparini". Michel Mercier,
sénateur et président de l’UDF du Rhône, a également condamné l’attitude de
Patrick Devedjian. "Je condamne fermement ces propos inadmissibles. (…)
Nous confirmons notre amitié et notre estime à Anne-Marie Comparini."
Pourtant, Patrick Devedjian a estimé vendredi sur France Info s’être déjà
excusé : "J’ai présenté dès hier soir des excuses privées à Anne-Marie
Comparini et des excuses publiques même par voie de communiqué." Avant de
téléphoner directement à Mme Comparini, le secrétaire général délégué de
l’UMP a en effet adressé un communiqué à l’Agence France-Presse, jeudi soir,
pour "regretter son interjection déplacée". Il y "renouvelle toute son
estime et son amitié" à l’ancienne députée UDF du Rhône et y "déplore" "la
diffusion sur Dailymotion d’images volées lors d’une conversation privée".
Selon son entourage, "ces propos n’avaient aucune vocation à être diffusés".
Plus tôt, le directeur d’antenne de TLM, Jean-Pierre Vacher, a expliqué que
M. Havard, par ailleurs secrétaire général de l’UMP dans le Rhône, "était
très gêné". "Il nous a demandé de ne pas le diffuser, a-t-il ajouté, mais M.
Devedjian savait qu’il était filmé, et nous trouvons assez déplorable de
tenir de tels propos, donc nous l’avons laissé dans le reportage."

BY 2017 IT IS ENVISAGED TO INCREASE 50FOLD INSURANCE PREMIUMS TO ARMENIAN INSURANCE COMPANIES

Noyan Tapan
Jun28, 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN. It Is Envisaged That By 2017, The Total
Amount Of Insurance Premiums To Be Paid To Armenian Insurance Companies
Will Increase 50fold From 4.5 Billion Drams (About 10.8 Million USD)
In 2006, While The Ratio Of Insurance Premiums To GDP Will Make 2%
Instead Of The Current 0.18%, Member Of The Central Bank Of Armenia
(CBA) Board Vardan Movsesian Said. According To Him, The 2006 Index
Applies To Non-Life Insurance Premiums As Life Insurance Premiums
Were Not Almost Registered In 2006.

V. Movsesian Noted That With This Aim It Is Planned To Form Actuarial
Institutions, As Well As Institutions On Registration And Assessment
Of Insurance Cases, And To Ensure Cooperation Of Other Sectors Of The
Country’S Insurance And Financial System. Besides, The CBA Intends
To Encourage The Entrance Of Famous International Insurance Companies
Into Armenia’S Insurance Market And To Reduce The Maximum Amounts Of
Reinsurance In parallel with the growth of insurance premiums.

In the words of V. Movsesian, a united electronic database of
insurance cases will be created with the participation of all bodies
interested. It is also envisaged to introduce medical compulsory
insurance and compulsory insurance of civil responsibility of vehicle
owners in the Armenian insurance system.

The speaker noted that the CBA jointly with the RA Police started
developing the database of car accidents. According to V. Movsesian,
today 60-70% of car accidents is not registered.

MEMORIAL PLAQUE OF POET HAMO SAHYAN OPENS IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Jun 28, 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN. The memorial plaque of the great
Armenian lyric poet of the second half of the 20th century Hamo
Sahyan was opened on June 28 at 3 Kasian Street (Yerevan) where the
poet lived in 1960-1973.

Sculptor Getik Baghdasarian is the author of the memorial plaque.

In the words of the Chairman of the Union of Writers of Armenia Levon
Ananian, Hamo Sahyan’s unique poetry is infinitely modern and it
always accompanies all that is human and beautiful. The poet managed
"to restore and enrich our centuries-old lyric poetry, and in his
works he put new word and new spirit into the Armenian literature".

The Director of the Hamo Sahyan cultural center Shchors Davtian said
that H.

Sahyan was the innovator of modern Armenian literature. By
his definition, by his aesthetic and philosophical comments on
interrelations of man and nature, H. Sahyan extended the place of
nature in the development of the modern civilization. "Thanks to the
perfection of his language and the great significance of his works
Hamo Sahyan entered the orbit of poetry, having "contact edges"
with both old and modern lyric poets," S. Davtian said.

VICE-SPEAKER OF THE ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT VAHAN HOVANNISYAN: THE SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW ON TELEVISION AND RADIO DON’T VIOLATE FREEDOM OF SPEECH

arminfo
2007-06-28 16:13:00

The suggested amendments to the law on television and radio don’t
violate freedom of speech, vice-speaker of the Armenian parliament
Vahan Hovannisyan told ArmInfo correspondent.

To recall, the suggested amendments foresee to stop broadcasting of
foreign radio companies at Public radio and multifold increase of
tax for rebroadcast.

He also added that the amendments don’t lead to violation of freedom
of speech. let us say, Armenian radio broadcast at the BBC. If they
want to broadcast for Armenia so much, let them pay and broadcast
at private radio companies. What is taking place is a painful and
unpleasant but necessary process, – vice-speaker said.

The RPA faction member Armen Ashotyan agrees to Hovannisyan. He told
Arminfo correspondent that in the suggested amendments they mean
regulation of foreign radio companies’ broadcast at the territory
of Armenia and have nothing in common with violation of the freedom
of speech.

The member of the Orinats Yerkir faction Hovannes Markaryan did
not agree to this. He told ArmInfo correspondent that the suggested
amendments is a direct infringement of freedom of speech. The faction
thinks it is unacceptable and is going to vote against adoption of
these amendments. To recall, representatives of the Heritage party
voiced the same position.

KAROLOS PAPOULIAS: GREEK AND ARMENIAN LOVERS OF LIBERTY CAN ADMIT NEITHER BLOCKING OF BORDERS NOR PRESENCE OF 40 THSD SOLDIERS IN CYPRUS

ArmInfo
2007-06-26 21:59:00

Greek and Armenian lovers of liberty can admit neither blocking of
borders nor the presence of 40 thsd soldiers in the Cyprus, which
is an EU member, Greek President Karolos Papoulias said at a meeting
with Tigran Torosyan, Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Tuesday.

The Armenian parliamentary press-service told ArmInfo that during the
meeting the Greek President expressed content with the changes that
have taken place in Armenia since his previous visit. He emphasized
that the two countries’ histories have events which are difficult to
forget. He said that some forces don’t learn from history and continue
making mistakes.

In his turn, Torosyan said that Armenia and Greece are centuries-old
friends and have similar histories and development prospects. He said
that there is one important commonality between the problems of Cyprus
and Nagorno-Karabakh: both peoples wish to live freely. Torossyan is
sure that their wish will come true.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT INTENDS TO BUILD A NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

ArmRadio.am
26.06.2007 15:53

"The Armenian Government intends to build a second nuclear power plant
in Armenia, but this idea is still in the bud, since the sources of
financing, technologies and conditions are not known yet," RA Prime
Minister said in the National Assembly in response to the MP Arthur
Baghdasaryan’s question about the intention to build another nuclear
power plant.

Turning to the construction of the second Iran-Armenia gas pipeline,
the Prime Minister clarified that it cannot be considered a second
pipeline.

These are works to improve the gas pipeline for increasing its output
capacity. "The second gas pipeline does not mean a new, larger and
independent pipeline. But if there are suggestions, we are ready to
discuss those, although, I think, it is connected with a number of
problems," the Prime Minister mentioned.

In response to the question about the development of small and
medium businesses, Serge Sargsyan said the Government will foster
the development of the sphere and has a separate action plan. "The
reality is that the tax services have problems with equal approach
to both small and medium businesses. Everyone should pay taxes. This
will be the core of our tax policy," the Prime Minister underlined.

OFFICIAL SLOVAK DELEGATION TO VISIT ARMENIA

ArmRadio.am
25.06.2007 16:09

On June 29th the official delegation of the Slovak Republic headed
by Mrs. Olga Algaerova, State Secretary, first Vice Minister of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic will arrive in
Armenia, the Consulate of the Slovak Republic informs.

Other members of the delegation are Mr. Augustin Chisar, the Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic in Armenia,
Mr. Stefan Rozkopal, the Head of the NIS Department of the MFA of
the Slovak Republic, Mr. Gagik Martirosyan, the Honorary Consul of
the Slovak Republic in Armenia, Mr. Metod Spacek, the Chief of Staff
of the State Secretary, as well as Mr. Martin Pangrac, the Second
Secretary of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Armenia.

The official opening ceremony of the Slovak Consulate in Armenia,
a number of official meetings, as well as Press Conference are
anticipated during the visit.