Author: Nalchajian Markos

TWO "RPA" CANDIDATES NOMINATED FOR SEPTEMBER 7 ELECTIONS OF EREBUNI DISTRICT HEAD

Noyan Tapan

Au g 13, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 13, NOYAN TAPAN. By the established deadline: 6
pm. August 13th, 2 candidates were nominated for elections of the head
of Yerevan’s Erebuni community to be held on September 7. 20 candidates
were nominated for elections of a 15-seat council of aldermen. NT was
informed by spokesperson for the RA Central Electoral Commission Tatev
Ohanian that the current head of the community Mher Sedrakian and Armen
Harutyunian (both are members of the Republican Party of Armenia –
RPA) submitted bids by the self-nomination order for running in the
elections of the community head.

The deadline for registering the candidates is 6 pm, August 18th.

AMERICAN TROOPS HELP DEFEND GEORGIA

Strategy Page
Aug 13, 2008

August 13, 2008: As Russian troops invade, from bases in southern
Russia, 127 American military trainers remain in Georgia (the one in
the Caucasus). They weren’t the only foreign troops around, as at the
end of July, a thousand Ukrainian, Azeri, Armenian and U.S. troops
departed after holding joint training exercises with their Georgian
counterparts.

For the past three years, several hundred American military trainers
have run the GSSOP (Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations
Program), which has trained over 5,000 Georgian troops, many for
eventual service in Iraq. The trainers were American soldiers and
marines, who imparted their combat experience to the Georgians. This
was much appreciated, as Georgia aspires to membership in NATO. That
requires the Georgian being able to achieve NATO standards in training
and equipment. Georgia hoped to get into NATO by next year.

The U.S. trainers, usually a team of 70 Americans taking a 600 man
Georgian infantry battalion through a 17 week training program,
concentrate on combat subjects. Other training programs instructed
support and staff troops.

Georgia has been an active participant in peacekeeping operations since
1999, when they sent 200 troops to Kosovo, and kept troops there until
the present. In 2003, 70 peacekeepers were sent to Iraq. The following
year, 50 troops were sent to Afghanistan. In 2004, the Iraq contingent
was increased to 300. That was increased to 850 in 2005. Last year,
the Iraq force was increased to 2,000. The Georgians were highly
regarded by troops they worked with on these peacekeeping missions.

Georgia has a population of about 4.6 million, and an active duty
military of about 28,000 troops. Russia has a population of 142
million, and an active duty military of about a million personnel. The
U.S. has been helping Georgia train and equip an army reserve force of
about 100,000. Only about a fifth of that force has been organized so
far. Georgia was hoping to develop a sufficient qualitative advantage
to discourage the Russians.

GOOGLE EXPLAINS MAP BLANK ON GEORGIA, AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA

Today.Az
13 August 2008
Azerbaijan

Anyone looking on Google Maps at Georgia in recent days for further
information about the conflict with Russia in the past few days will
have drawn a blank.

Google Maps doesn’t currently display cities or roads in Georgia or
its neighbors Azerbaijan and Armenia, for the simple reason that the
data Google isn’t good enough, the company explained.

"We never launched coverage in those countries because we simply
weren’t satisfied with the map data we had available," said Dave
Barth of Google.

"We’re constantly searching for the best map data we can find, and
sometimes will delay launching coverage in a country if we think we
can get more comprehensive data," Barth continued.

However, feedback the company has received about the blank maps has
caused Google to have a rethink.

"We’re hearing from our users that they would rather see even very
basic coverage of a country than see nothing at all. That certainly
makes sense, and so we have started preparing data for the handful
of countries that are still blank on Google Maps," said Barth.

TRUTH AND LIES

The Sun
Monday, August 11, 2008
UK

ARARAT is a very powerful film from renowned director Atom Egoyan,
best known for his masterpiece The Sweet Hereafter.

The film is based around events of 1915-1918, when Turkey killed around
1.5million Armenians, something that Turkey has neither apologised
for nor hardly acknowledged to this day.

Raffi (David Alpay) is a young driver on a movie being made about
the Armenian holocaust.

On returning to Canada with cans of 35mm film he is stopped by customs
officer David (Christopher Plummer) and interrogated.

As the two talk, secret emotions begin to emerge and a present-day
story is enacted against the backdrop of the Armenian tragedy.

Egoyan says: "The challenge was to harness the epic consequences
of genocide with the intimate moments shared by contemporary
characters. If history is in the telling, life is in the making."

A strong movie — beware, though, some of the footage included is
very graphic.

INTERIOR MINISTRY PLANE LANDS IN YEREVAN TO BRING SLOVAKS FROM GEORGIA

TASR-Slovakia
Aug 11, 2008

Yerevan/Bratislava, August 11 (TASR-SLovakia) – A special aircraft sent
by the Slovak Interior Ministry has landed in the Armenian capital
Yerevan in order to bring Slovak citizens home from war-hit Georgia,
SLOVAKIA was told on Monday by the director of the ministry’s press
department Igor Skocek.

Around a dozen Slovak citizens have so far expressed their desire to
board the special plane.

The aircraft landed in Yerevan because the airport in the Georgian
capital Tbilisi is closed. It is expected that the plane will return
to Bratislava on Monday evening.

According to Slovak diplomats, no Slovaks have been harmed in the
fighting in Georgia.

The conflict began on Thursday, when Georgia sent forces into the
breakaway republic of South Ossetia, where Russia has peacekeeping
units. Russia responded by deploying its own tanks and troops to push
the Georgian army out.

Russia took over control of the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali
on Sunday. Georgia says that it has withdrawn its forces and is now
calling for peace talks.

POLICE INVESTIGATE MEMPHIS CONGRESSMAN STEVE COHEN CLASH WITH JOURNALIST

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.08.2008 14:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Capitol Hill Police and local Memphis law enforcement
have launched separate investigations of Congressman Steve Cohen’s
forced removal of Armenian American journalist Peter Musurlian from an
August 6th press conference, reported Armenian National Committee of
America – Western Region (ANCA – Western Region) told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Musurlian reportedly spoke with officers from the Memphis Police
Department as well as Capitol Hill police, describing Rep. Cohen’s
angry tirade and physical attack on the reporter. Memphis television
and radio stations provided extensive coverage of the altercation,
along with Rep. Cohen’s subsequent ethnic slurs directed at Armenian
Americans.

"Rep. Cohen’s violent and bizarre actions against Musurlian are,
taken in the most charitable light possible, conduct ill-befitting
a Member of Congress," stated ANCA Western Region Board Chairman
Vicken Sonentz-Papazian. "We know of at least two ongoing criminal
investigations and I suspect the House of Representatives will be
instituting disciplinary proceedings against Rep. Cohen for both his
criminal assault and defamatory remarks toward the Armenian American
community once Congress returns. Equally disturbing is Rep. Cohen’s
characterization of both Musurlian, a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces,
and Armenian Americans as killers and assassins. This incident raises
serious question as to whether this man is fit to remain a Member of
Congress," concluded Sonentz-Papazian.

Following a series of unanswered interview requests filed earlier
this week, Musurlian attended several Cohen public events on Tuesday
evening, documenting his campaign activities and looking for an
opportunity to speak with the Congressman. Musurlian’s efforts to
participate in a Wednesday press conference, hastily called by Cohen
at his own residence, were cut short when a volatile and clearly
agitated Cohen forcibly shoved Musurlian out the door, slamming it
in frustration. He then instructed his aides to throw Musurlian’s
tripod at the journalist.

Throughout the process, Cohen made disparaging references to
Musurlian’s ethnicity, referring to him repeatedly as "that Armenian
guy" and Armenian-Americans as "those Armenians," going so far as
to generalize Armenians as assassins and killers. "There have been
Armenians who assassinated and killed many people including people in
this country," stated Rep. Cohen, "and I don’t rest very comfortable
with one of these fellows coming into my home."

Musurlian, who served as a journalist for the U.S. Armed Forces
covering the conflicts in Bosnia and Croatia, traveled to Memphis to
document the days leading up to the August 7th Democratic primary
between first-term incumbent Steve Cohen and challenger, former
civil rights lawyer, Nikki Tinker, for LA based Horizon Armenian
Television. Musurlian works for a public access TV station in Burbank,
California, in addition to running his own production company,
Globalist Films.

COHEN OUT TO STRONG LEAD IN EARLY VOTING

Memphis Commercial Appeal
ug/07/cohen-takes-early-lead-over-tinker-towns-jr/
Aug 7 2008
TN

By Trevor Aaronson (Contact) and Zack McMillin (Contact) and
Bartholomew Sullivan (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal

In a contentious primary that garnered national attention this week,
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen took a substantial early lead over his Democratic
rivals.

Based on early votes and absentee ballots results, Cohen leads with
80.56 percent of the votes. His main challengers, attorney Nikki
Tinker and state Rep. Joe Towns Jr., trail with 17.22 percent and
1.44 percent, respectively.

The escalating political clash between Cohen and Tinker, who first
faced each other in the crowded 2006 Democratic Congressional primary,
reached the national level today. Presumptive Democratic presidential
nominee Sen. Barack Obama and former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. denounced
Tinker’s recent TV ads.

One featured a Ku Klux Klan rally. Another criticized Cohen, who is
Jewish, for attending "our churches" and voting in 1997 against a
measure that Tinker’s campaign contends would have permitted prayer
in public schools.

"These incendiary and personal attacks have no place in our politics,
and will do nothing to help the good people of Tennessee. It’s time
to turn the page on a politics driven by negativity and division so
that we can come together to lift up our communities and our country,"
Obama said in a statement.

Ford, who held the Congressional seat for 10 years before Cohen won
it in 2006, was similarly critical of Tinker, his protege and former
campaign manager.

"Whenever race, religion or gender is invoked in a political contest,
it generally means the candidate has run out of legitimate arguments
for why he/she should be elected," Ford said in a prepared statement
e-mailed to The Commercial Appeal.

Ford, now chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, did not
endorse a candidate for the Ninth Congressional District. However,
his wife, Emily Threlkeld Ford, contributed $3,300, the legal maximum,
to Tinker’s campaign.

Cohen said today he believed Memphis voters would see the ads as
nothing more than acts of political desperation.

"The Memphis voter is much more sophisticated than the Tinker camp
thought," he said. "They’re going to vote on issues and character
and achievement, and not on race."

In recent days, Cohen has been forced to mount a two-front defense
as he vies for a second term in Washington, D.C.

In addition to Tinker’s assaults, Cohen told news media he’d been
harassed by an American-American activist angered by the congressman’s
opposition to a resolution that would have condemned Turkey for
genocide against Armenians after World War I.

On Wednesday, during a press conference at his Overton Park home,
Cohen refused to allow the activist, documentarian Peter Musurlian,
to participate in the event. The congressman’s staff said only invited
local media were allowed the home.

Cohen eventually intervened by saying he would grant an interview
outside. When Musurlian retreated to the door, Cohen grabbed his
forearms with both hands and shoved him out. "Outta here," the
politician said.

Musurlian, from Glendale, Calif., said he is in town producing a
documentary on the race. Armenian-Americans from around the country
have donated as much as $30,000 to Tinker.

Cohen said his opposition to the resolution was related to a request
from Gen. David Petraus, who told the congressman passing the
resolution would result in Turkey cutting off aid to American forces
in Iraq. That stance is in agreement with all U.S. presidents going
back to Jimmy Carter and many former secretaries of state.

TURKISH DAILY NEWS: SARGSYAN-GUL POSSIBLE MEETING WILL BE A THAW IN BILATERAL RELATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.08.2008 15:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Associate professor Kamer Kasim, a writer at the
International Strategic Research Center, or USAK, said Armenia must be
willing to change its attitude on three key matters currently harming
Turkey-Armenian relations for the football diplomacy to achieve any
meaningful results. "The first is a deletion of the expression "Western
Armenia" from its declaration of independence, and a signature of an
agreement on good neighborliness and the inviolability of borders,"
Kasim said, the Turkish Daily News reports.

Kacim continued, saying, "Second is progress in the Nagorno Karabakh
case, and third is dropping charges of genocide against Turkey."

Armenia’s declaration of independence adopted in 1990 says that the
republic stands for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide
at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey severed diplomatic ties with Armenia as a token of solidarity
with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

An alternative to an all-or-nothing approach to the expected fresh
diplomatic initiative would be to focus on soft topics shadowed by
hard politics. "I do not expect great things from an eventual meeting,
but it is evident that there will be a thaw in bilateral relations,"
Fuat Keyman, a professor of International Relations at Koc University
commented.

Keyman noted that Turkey must take the lead in softening relations
and stop pushing Armenia into a corner. "I believe that Turkey is
an important player in the Caucasus, Balkans and the Middle East. As
Turkey has more influence, Armenia is more and more isolated," he said,
making reference to three important projects that connect Georgia,
Azerbaijan and Turkey and bypass Armenia – the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
oil pipeline inaugurated in 2005, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas
line opened end 2006 and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, construction
of which started this year. "Moreover, as Turkey’s negotiation process
with the European Union advances, economic and cultural relations
will improve with Armenia," Keyman asserted.

There are internal difficulties that seem to narrow the scope of
bilateral dialogue, Kasim argued. The status of Nagorno Karabakh is
unlikely to benefit from whatever diplomatic thaw Turkey and Armenia
seek to achieve in the short term, both experts agreed. "Sargsyan is
of Karabakh origin, so are his supporters," noted Kasim, pointing to
difficulties the Armenian president might face even if he is willing to
adopt a policy change. "Even if the president is willing for progress,
it will be negotiated behind the scenes and made public at the last
minute," Kasim said.

Another point is the Armenian position, which holds that Armenia
is ready to talk without any preconditions. "This is propaganda by
Armenian because it is Turkey that brings conditions," Kasim said,
pointing out that no concrete policy changes have yet been proposed
by Yerevan.

It is unclear whether or not President Abdullah Gul will fly to
Yerevan for the match on Sept. 6.

UAR: ACTUALLY, RELATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY WRETCHED

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.08.2008 17:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Closed borders and absence of diplomatic ties prove
that relations between Armenia and Turkey remain wretched, said Gegham
Khalatyan, Vice President of the Union of Armenians of Russia.

"The Presidents’ statements on normalization of relations are just
declarative and do not inspire optimism," he said.

"It’s well known that Armenia reiterates readiness to normalize
relations without preconditions, while Turkey goes on stipulating
conditions, including resolution of the Karabakh conflict in favor
Azerbaijan and change of policy of calling for worldwide recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, a crime which has been already condemned
by 20 countries throughout the globe. There is no force that can
prevent triumph of justice. Neighborliness is impossible unless the
Turkish leaders find the courage repent of their deeds. Turkey openly
supports Azerbaijan which threatens Armenia with war. It’s not a sign
of good intentions," UAR Vice President said, ANF news agency reports.

AZERBAIJAN RETURNS FOUR ARMENIAN HOSTAGES

arminfo
2008-08-04 12:13:00

ArmInfo. After long negotiations with the Armenian party, Azerbaijan
returned four Armenians hostages Monday at 12:20 in area of the village
of Yeraskh, Nakhijevani direction of Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

To recall, April 19 night four Armenian citizens – Vanik Zmboyan
(Gavar), Aryom Zohrabyan (Noraduz), Karen Torosyan (Noraduz) and
Aghasi Yenokyan (Noraduz) crossed the Azerbaijani border near
Nakhijevan. According to the available information, a group of
civilians "came to help" their friend who had been moved to a new
military unit. A conflict arose between the young men and his fellow
servicemen, and " the chaps" came to the unit by several cars to
showdown. A squabble took place. The commander of the unit fired
into the air to stop the squabble, and "the chaps" left the unit. As
the young men knew that place badly, one of the cars made a turn in
the wrong place and crossed the Azeri border. A total of 13 people
took part in the attack on the unit, including those in captivity. A
criminal case under the article "hooliganism" has been instituted.