Author: Nanijanian Alex

79% OF YEREVAN’S POPULATION HAS 24-HOUR WATER SUPPLY, DIRECTOR OF YEREVAN WATER COMPANY CLAIMS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 14 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. 79% of Yerevan’s population has a
24-hour water supply, even though water losses make 80%. Serge Popoff,
Director General of the company Yerevan Water, stated this during
the December 14 press conference. According to him, in the past six
months enough work has been done to improve the sector. Particularly,
the Kanaker-Zeytun district currently has water supply 9 hours a day
instead of the previous 3 hours, 65 water pressure messuring devives
were installed, 1,376 illegal connections were relealed.

S. Popoff said that in the past 6 months 500 mln drams (about
1.3 mln USD) has been invested in the sector. It is envisaged to
invest 800 mln drams in 2007, which will allow to build new chlorine
stations and to re-equip completely several operating ones. Besides,
a new laboratory to control drinking water quality will be put into
operation soon. Starting February 1, five instead of nine branches
will operate. It was noted that all pumps in the city yards will be
replaced. According to S. Popoff, although the company has benefited
from the dram’s appreciation, it cannot reduce the drinking water
tariff, because its change is connected with two other factors –
electricity and inflation.

REFERENDUM IN KARABAKH CAN REMAIN UNRECOGNIZED, BUT IMPOSSIBLE TO BE IGNORED

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.12.2006 15:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ With the adoption of the Nagorno Karabakh
Constitution a new factor occurred in the region, which different
international bodies and Azerbaijan can use, told Manvel Sargsyan,
the head of analytical center ‘Kavkaz’ the PanARMENIAN.Net. In
his words, this factor gives a lot choices both to Armenia and the
Nagorno Karabakh. "The referendum can remain unrecognized, but it
is not easy to ignore the fact of collective will of the people of
this territory. At least the referendum is the leading law of this
territory, and to qualify it as illegal is not easy.

Nobody can do it – the world has not seen anything more legal than
the national law. After all we can qualify as illegal all the legal
acts of Azerbaijan – there is no sense in it," Sargsyan stressed.

Alongside the Armenian political analyst underlined that the nations
live their life. "All the others can define their attitudes towards the
actions of this or that nation. They can recognize their right. The
other nations can also try forcefully to lead away a nation from its
own way with disdain. If a nation has chosen its way it must prove to
himself and all the others the effectiveness of that very way and be
able to defend its choice. Up till now the NKR was able to do that: the
time will show if there is a will to continue that initiative. And the
world always recognizes those who deserve it," said Manvel Sargsyan.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BRASS ATTACKED IN LUBLIN

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.12.2006 13:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Several unknown malefactors painted in blue the brass
in front of Saint Family church in Polish City of Lublin. The memorial
is devoted to Roman Catholic Church Pope John Paul II, who became the
first to acknowledge and condemn the Armenian Genocide of 1915. In this
regard the Armenians of Lublin installed a brass as a tribute to John
Paul II and the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire,
reports The Gazeta Wyborcza. Reverend Richard Yurak says, that he is
not going to turn to the police yet, but he will be have to do it if
the act of vandalism takes place again. It is worth mentioning that
the signboard of the Armenian Embassy in Warsaw was attacked in 2005,
but the malefactors are not found yet, reports IA Regnum.

THE CYCLE CONTINUES
By Jessica Akunna, Daily Targum

Daily Targum , Rutgers Univ, New Jersey
November 10, 2006 Friday

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.

Approximately 12 years ago, cries from a foreign land went ignored
for about 100 days. Women were raped and murdered. Families were
systematically butchered and erased. The underlying reason for these
atrocities in Rwanda was that they were born Tutsi. Films such as
Hotel Rwanda and Sometimes in April brought to light these unfortunate
events to many people who never knew such a past existed.

Sadly, this genocide in Rwanda removed 800,000 individuals from
the earth.

It is now 91 years after the Armenian genocide, 62 years after the
gruesome Holocaust in Europe and 12 years after the crisis in Rwanda.

In our world’s dark history, these three events have something
obviously in common — they ended the freedom to live because of one’s
cultural identity. It is now 2006 and currently a similar cry permeates
out of the Western region of Sudan. It is quite visible — we see it
bubbling through our television sets, in our newspapers and across
the Internet. The Janjaweed, an Arab militia in Sudan, is responsible
for killing 400,000 and counting ethnic black Africans in Darfur.

Images of bloodshed and bodies on sand paved roads reappear in my
head when I think about the events going on so far away. Vibrant
colored scarves cover women as they sit with their babies in their
hands. However, through all that color, there is no life in their eyes
because they sit with the realization they will never see their loved
ones again. And to add insult upon injury, many have been raped at the
campsites where they have come for refuge. Unfortunately, because of
understaffing and a lack of security, incidents of rape and acts of
sexual violence are severe occurrences at the refugee camps. Recently,
African Union troops have been ordered to leave firewood patrols
where they usually escort women to retrieve necessities such as
firewood, water and food. With a lack of security, women and girls
are increasingly being raped. The act of sexual violence is such a
traumatizing experience because it hurts one beyond the physical and
it can be detrimental and damaging to one’s psyche. With a lack of
counseling centers and support groups, who is actually hearing the
woes of these women? How are these women coping with all the madness?

As a member of the human race, a college student and black woman,
what can I, or rather we, as individuals, do to help resolve this
complex situation miles and miles away? U.S. Sen. Barack Obama,
D-Ill., has said on a recent episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show that
we should write to our congressmen to voice our concerns. Currently,
legislators are working on a law that will protect civilians in Darfur,
as well as protect foreign aid workers. Although it may seem like a
slow start, it is better to be active rather than inactive.

This means we have to raise some kind of consciousness because as
human beings, we all have the right to live and be free from sexual
degradation.

AZERBAIJAN WANTS SPAIN TO SUPPORT EVERY PROGRESS IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Author: A.Ismayilova

TREND, Azerbaijan
Dec 11 2006

Elmar Mammadyarov, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, said in talks
with journalists that he met with the Spanish Foreign Minister
Migel Anhel Martinos in Brussels within the framework of a meeting
of the OSCE Council of Ministers and witnessed his interests in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

He was commenting on the fact of chairmanship of Spain at the OSCE
in January 2007.

Mr. Mammadyarov said that he conveyed to Mr. Martinos, that Azerbaijan
wishes to see Spain, as an OSCE chairman-in-office in 2007 and would
like Spain to take interest in the conflict and support any progress
in the process of talks.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH REGION APPROVES NEW PRO-INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTION

Makfax, Macedonia
Dec 11 2006

Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region has overwhelmingly approved a
new pro-independence constitution in a referendum held Sunday.

According to figures released on Monday, 98.6 % percent of voters
approved the constitution, describing Karabakh as a sovereign state.

The Head of the Central Election Commission, Sergey Nasibyan, said
the constitution was passed and that from now on, December 10 can be
treated as the Constitution Day in Nagorno Karabakh.

Neither Azerbaijan nor the international community recognizes
Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence.

ija/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=2&a mp;NrArticle=47092&NrIssue=216&NrSection=3 0

ARPA INSTITUTE
18106 Miranda St., Tarzana CA 91356 . PHONE/FAX (818) 881-0010
24 B, Baghramian, Mech. Inst. Bldg. of ASc,Yerevan, Armenia

Jointly with
The Armenian Educational Foundation Chair of Modern Armenian History, UCLA

Present : Lecture/Seminar

"Tigranakert in Artsakh: Discovery and Initial
Excavations of a Lost Armenian City"

by: Dr. Hamlet Petrosyan
Thursday, December 21, 2006 @ 7:30PM
Merdinian Auditorium
13330 Riverside Dr. Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Directions: On the 101 FY Exit on Woodman, Go North and Turn Right on
Riverside Dr.

Abstract: The archaeological excavations of Tigranakert by a team of
archeologists from the Institute of Archaeology & Ethnography, National
Academy of Sciences, Republic of Armenia, pinpointed in 2005 what it
believes to be the exact location of Tigranakert in Artsakh and carried out
short-term excavations in the city and surrounding areas in 2006. The
research team studied the historical and archaeological environment of the
lower hills of the Khachenaget River and came to the conclusion that the
ruins of Tigranakert are comprised of fortified sections, vast urban
quarters, and two cemeteries found in the surroundings of the Shahbulagh
springs. The discovery of Tigranakert has utmost significance, a city that
unveils the ethnic-cultural homogeneity of Artsakh and Armenia from the
early centuries B.C. to the 13th-14th centuries A.D. The territory,
according to 7th century historian Sebeos, was a part of Utik and
Tigranakert Avan, which belonged to Artsakh. In order to pinpoint
Tigranakert in Artsakh clearly and accurately, the investigative team
selected the Khachenaget valley as a conditional center and studied the
monuments of an area within a radius of about 10 kilometers. Among the
monuments in that area are two spacious ruins placed at the right and left
banks of the Khachenaget River, almost at equal distances, one from the
district of Sofulu and the other from the springs of Shahbulagh. This
lecture will present the most recent findings.

Dr. Hamlet Petrosyan, is a senior researcher and professor at the Institute
of Archaeology, National Academy of Armenia. He is the chief of the
Tigranakert excavations in Artsakh and has extensive background in
excavations and archeological research and analytical studies on ancient
cites in the Middle East.

For more Information Please call Dr. Hagop Panossian at (818)586-9660 or
e-mail Prof. Richard Hovannisian at
<mailto:[email protected]>hovannis@ history.ucla.edu

RA PRIME MINISTER: YEAR OF ARMENIA IN RUSSIA BECOMES NEW STAGE IN HISTORY OF ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Dec 8 2006

YEREVAN, December 8. /ARKA/. On Saturday during the solemn ceremony of
closing the Year of Armenia in Russia in St. Petersburg the RA Prime
Minister Andranik Margaryan stated that the Year of Armenia in Russia
had become a new stage in the history of Armenian-Russian relations.

"In January 2006, at the solemn opening ceremony of the Year of Armenia
in Russia, presidents of our countries wished this event to become a
real step, aimed at enlarging our cooperation. Today we can say for
sure that the Year of Armenia in Russia was a success and became a new
stage in the history of Armenian-Russian relations", Margaryan said.

He pointed out that Armenian-Russian friendship and traditionally
established unbreakable contacts became the reliable base for dynamic
and constructive development of allied relations between the two
states.

"I hope that the Year of Armenia in Russian enabled Russian
people discover the modern Armenia, with all its potential and
possibilities. Today our state surely heads for the future, taking
into account the vital reality and at the same time maintaining
secular national traditions", Margaryan emphasized.

More than 300 events in 40 regions of Russia were held in the scope
of the Year of Armenia in Russia. Russian people got acquainted with
the best6 symphonic orchestras of Armenia, exhibitions of many museums
and galleries of the country, saw performances of Armenian dramatic
theatres.

45 FAMILIES IN ARMENIA CONTROL OVER 50% OF GDP: EX-PRIME MINISTER

Yerevan, December 8. ArmInfo. 45 families in Armenia control over
50% of the republic’s GDP, the ex-Prime Minister of Armenia, Hrant
Bagratyan, said at today’s press-conference.

According to him, such a tight control affects the economic and
political life of Armenia. Change of values has happened within
the last 10 years and all the internal political developments
cause redistribution of influence in the economic, political and
cultural spheres but not a growth of economy, Bagratyan said. He
added that Armenia is a small country and no one hampers the country’s
Parliament to pass Laws, contributing to demonopolization of business,
of the import, in particular. It is possible, for example, to limit,
by the Law, the import of oil to the country as not to create oil
magnates. The present situation does not allow to form a healthy
competition in the country, Bagratyan said.

He assured that today’s two-digit rates of RA economy growth are
exaggerated in fact 2-2,5 times at minimum. Actually, the country’s
economy resolves only the vital problems of feeding a three-million
population of the Republic and a serious development is out of the
question. No modern technologies or even a culture of production
have been implemented for the last years. H. Bagratyan noted that
the reconstruction of the Yerevan "Zvartnots" airport in view of this
was carried out mainly by Turks.

TURKEY SHOULD NOT BE FULL OR PRIVILEGED EU MEMBER
By Nilgun Gulcan (U.S.A.K.)

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Dec 8 2006

The European Union leaders have been playing very dirty games with
Turkey. There is no criteria for Turkey’s membership. They are changing
the main principles when Turkey has fulfilled those which required
by the EU. The Brussels asks Turkey such a democracy and economy
which the current members do not have got. However Turkey shows great
efforts to catch the asked criteria. Turkey’s democracy and economy
are better than the new comers, namely Bulgaria and Romania. Turkey
has better human rights record than many EU countries. However talks
with Turkey is in danger. Why? What happened?

– Has Turkish economy collapsed?

– No. Turkish economy has boomed. The growth rate is among the
fastest economies.

– Has Turkey’s democracy have any difficulties?

– No. Tayyip Erdogan is the strongest civilian Prime Minister in
Turkish political history.

– Are the minorities under governmental pressure?

– No. All the minority schools, newspapers, societies, churches, etc.

are open and freely service to their people.

The only problem is Cyprus. Actually, the Southern Cyprus – Greek
Cyprus. The Republic of Cyprus was established as a Turkish and Greek
Cyprus. However The Greeks made a military coup, and occupied all
the seats assigned to the Turkish Cypriots by the Constitution. Many
Turks were massacred and many more were tortured. If Turkey did not
intervene the clashes, there have been no Turkish Cypriot on the
island. The Cyprus Issue would have been another Bosnia or Kosova
story. In another word, Turkey’s only crime is to save the Turkish
Cypriots from a massacre. Although the aggressive side was the Greeks
and they aimed to annex the whole island to the Greece motherland,
the European Union (Community) punished the Turkish Cypriots and
Turkey. When the Greeks usurped all legal and political rights
granted by Cyprus Constitution and when the Greeks seized all of the
Turkish properties (houses, lands etc.) without legitimate authority,
Turkish Cypriots established their own state: The Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC). They had no chance but the TRNC, because they
were not able to pass the border. They could not become civil servant
in the south; they could not sell or use their own territories etc.

Strangely the TRNC was recognized by only Turkey. The Southern Greek
Cyprus was recognized by the West as the only legitimate body on
the island. Naturally the Turkish people saw this unjust attitude
as religious solidarity. Christian West was supporting the Christian
Greeks despite of their crimes in the Cyprus Issue. The European Union,
under the pressure from Greece, imposed a severe isolation.

Now the Turkish Cypriots cannot make trade, cannot directly fly
to any country, and even they cannot post a letter to any European
country. In another word, they were the victims, and they have been
punished. In 2004, the United Nations proposed a peace plan (Annan
Plan). The EU leaders promised Turkey and the TRNC that all isolation
would be ended if the Turkish side supports the Annan Plan. The EU
also warned that those who say ‘no’ to the Plan would be punished.

Turkish Cypriots strongly supported the plan and re-unification of
the island. However the Greeks strongly rejected the Annan Plan.

Papadapulos, leader of the Greek side, said "we do not want to lose
our state for re-unification". Strangely against, the EU did not keep
its own word. Not only the EU, but also the US did also not keep its
promise. Thus the Christian Cypriots were accepted as full member of
the European Union, while the Muslim Cypriots were left outside. The
severe isolation continues on the Turkish Cypriots, and the Greek
Cypriots are enjoying the EU full membership. The Greek Cypriots have
been doing anything possible to prevent Turkey’s EU membership talks.

They create problems, they reject anything positive for Turkey etc.

The Greeks do not want to make any negotiation to solve the Cyprus
Problem, because they have no problem to make compromise. They think
that it is a matter of time, and Turkey will have to give up in
insisting a just solution in Cyprus. According to the Greek side,
Turkey will not back the Turkish Cypriots for EU membership. This
is a clear blackmail. The Greek Cyprus with Greece halt Turkey’s
EU membership.

What is not understandable is that France, Germany and Austria leaders
allow the Greeks playing dirty games because Chirac and Merkel are
also against Turkey’s membership. According to them, Turkey is a Muslim
country and not belongs to the ‘Christian European’ civilization. They
cannot find any excuse for their anti-Turkey policies and therefore
they back the Greeks. They all know that Turkey’s EU membership and the
Cyprus issue are separate issues. However they play domestic Christian
and even racist politics at the EU level. Chirac and Merkel divide
the European continent as ‘Christian’ and ‘Muslim’ one. They ignore
more than 100 million Muslim Europeans. For Chirac, the 600.000-Greek
Cyprus is more important than 75 million-Turkey, because Chirac wants
the religious French, Armenian and Greek votes in France.

Turkey on the other hand offers new options to the EU. Mr. Erdogan
makes efforts to solve the Cyprus problem. He has made a lot of
compromises. However he has to understand that the EU does not want
any solution for neither Cyprus Problem, nor Turkey’s EU membership.

The Dark Ages understanding dominates the EU, and Turkey will never
able to satisfy the EU by making compromises. Turkey should stop all
this comedy, and clearly say a ‘NO’ to the European Union. We the
Turks do not need the full, half or privileged EU membership.