Author: Navasardian Karapet

TO BE GUIDED BY COMMUNITY THINKING

NKR Government Information and
Public Relations Department
February 25, 2009

Yesterday, the NKR Prime Minister Ara Haroutyunyan met with inhabitants
of the village Nerkin Houratagh of Martakert region. Being present at
the annual accounting of the local administration for 2008, the Head of
the Government received "first hand" important information about the
present of the village, listened to the anxieties of the people. The
greater part of it, as it was expected, was concerning the housing
problem, though the other issues of common community importance
were of no less acuteness. During the Artsakh War the village was
invaded by the enemy and subjected to great destruction. In spite
of all serious everyday inconveniences, the considerable part of
the village’s inhabitants had returned in their native hearths and
harnessed themselves into restoration of the village. During the past
10-15 years considerable works were carried out here, nevertheless up
today there are a lot of unsettled-unregulated issues remaining. Now,
in the village, having about more than 800 inhabitants, increase of
children births is observed, thus both for numerous families, as well
as for new families the issue of provision with satisfactory dwelling
becomes of greater importance.

Touching upon requests and demands of the people, the Prime Minister
A.Haroutyunyan had clarified that for settlement of community problems
distinct division of deeds between the state and the community must
be done.

Well, it was mentioned that the Government will assist in issues
of providing the community with drinking and irrigation water,
gasification, in reconstruction of their culture house and the
kindergarten, in repairing of roads, but as to the housing problem-
people must care themselves, particularly those who are not included in
special social groups and for whom the Government realizes construction
in the framework of various housing programmes. "You had always been
constructing your dwellings yourselves and the task of the Government
was to create good conditions for work, especially for being occupied
with agriculture," A.Haroutyunyan announced. He promised assistance
in acquiring agricultural techniques as well, which will help them
to carry out more active land cultivation.

The Prime Minister appealed to the villagers to be guided with
community thinking, to get best use of the state target programmes
and to achieve serious results in agriculture.

CAUCASIAN REGION’S STABILITY AND SECURITY ALSO CONDITIONED BY ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN RELATIONS

Noyan Tapan

F eb 25, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. The delegation led by Georgian
parliament Speaker David Bakradze that arrived in Yerevan on February
24 on a two-day official visit met with RA National Assembly Speaker
Hovik Abrahamian the same day.

H. Abrahamian highly assessing the current level of Armenian-Georgian
friendly relations gave assurance that Georgian parliament Speaker’s
official visit to Armenia will contribute to further development and
strengthening of the two countries’ interparliamentary relations. D.

Bakradze, in his turn, expressed confidence that his first official
visit to Armenia will be an important step in the issue of partnership
development between the two friendly countries’ parliaments.

Touching upon the regional problems, H. Abrahamian said that Armenia
keeps a neutral position in the issue of settlement of Abkhazian and
South Ossetian conflicts expecting the same balanced approach in the
issue of NKR from the Georgian side. He emphasized the necessity to
implement programs aimed at strengthening transport infrastructures in
the region in this context attaching importance to the construction of
the Yerevan-Gyumri-Ninotsminda-Akhaltskha-Batumi motorway being part
of the North-South transport corridor. Touching upon the problem of
churches belonging to the Armenian Apostolic Church working for many
centuries in Georgia, H. Abrahamian expressed the hope that issues
regarding return of churches will be also settled after solving the
issue of legal status of Armenian Apostolic Church Georgian Armenian
diocese.

D. Bakradze also attached importance to development of
interparliamentary cooperation in all directions, activation of
economic contacts, development of transport infrastructures. He said
that the number of Armenian tourists visiting Georgia increased
50-fold within five years. D. Bakradze highly assessed Armenian
side’s position in the issues of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In his
affirmation, Caucasian region’s development, stability, and security
is also conditioned by the Armenian-Georgian relations. Touching
upon the problem of Armenian churches, D. Bakradze assured that the
Georgian authorities will do their best within their jurisdiction to
settle the problem.

DEFENSE UNDERSECRETARY BAYAR SEES NO PROBLEM IN TURKISH-ISRAELI RELATIONS

Today’s Zaman
Feb 24 2009
Turkey

Turkey’s undersecretary for the defense industry, Murad Bayar, has
said that there is no problem in Turkish-Israeli cooperation in the
defense area.

"Turkey and Israel have mutual interests [in defense cooperation],
and projects are being conducted in this framework," he told reporters
visiting Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, in connection with the
International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) 2009. Bayar stated
that no problems should be expected in this respect. "As these are
long-term projects. We cannot modify projects in their final phase. Any
change will take time," he said, adding that Turkish-Israeli interests
are mutual. According to 2007 figures, arms procurement deals between
Turkey and Israel have reached about $2 billion. This amount, which
has been in favor of Israel, should now be over $2 billion, bearing
in mind that some projects, though few, have been signed with Israel
since then.

Despite earlier Turkish uneasiness over Israel’s failure to deliver
military technology, Israel continues to be the major country that
does not deny military technology to Turkey in areas where Ankara is
seriously lacking.

"No change is planned in ongoing projects. As for future projects, our
stance will be to consider Turkey’s interests. In the final analysis,
the decisions on all projects are made by the Defense Industry
Implementation Committee [SSÄ°K]. The SSÄ°K is presided over by the
prime minister. The chief of general staff and the defense minister
attend its meetings. This committee is capable of shaping the country’s
policy. In the decision making phase of projects, we act according to
its guidance. Nevertheless, my observation is that all of our projects
are implemented according to the country’s interests," he said.

Turkey and Israel signed military cooperation and defense industry
agreements in 1996.

Bayar also commented on the impact of the global economic crisis on
the defense sector.

"The sector is currently unaffected as resources are predefined
and projects are long-term projects," he said. Pointing out that
short-term changes in the sector are generally not possible for the
sector, Bayar noted that the crisis had some benefits for the sector by
causing a drop in many hidden costs. Yet, he said, companies dealing
with raw materials as well as other companies affiliated with the
defense industry may be affected by the crisis.

"In these sectors, for example, in the automotive sector, there are
some private companies that produce vehicles both for the military
and for the private sector. These companies are likely to be hit by
the crisis. The defense industry’s affiliated sectors, too, may be
affected, but I do not expect problems for the main contractors. I
guess all of them saw increases in their turnovers in 2008, and this
is likely to also continue in 2009," he said.

Major military projects between Turkey and Israel Under a deal
signed on Dec. 25, 2008, the Turkish Air Force Command (THKK) will
upgrade 12 of its McDonnell Douglas RF-4E photographic reconnaissance
aircraft with imagery intelligence (IMINT) systems. Elta Systems and
Elbit Systems Electro-Optics-Elop, subsidiaries of Israel Aerospace
Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems, respectively, will supply IMINT
systems over a four-year period. Turkey’s Aselsan will act as the
systems integrator. The upgrade is intended to provide the THKK
with a real-time intelligence-gathering capability. It is understood
that there are plans to integrate the same IMINT systems onto F-16
aircraft should they prove successful with the RF-4Es. The Turkish
Armed Forces’ (TSK) RF-4E aircraft are operated by its 113 Squadron
based at Eskisehir. The cost of the project is around $165 million,
including the $24 million share of Turkey’s Aselsan, which will be
the main contractor on the project.

Israel’s IMI has already started the delivery of the 170 US-made M60
A1 tanks from Turkey’s inventory that Israel modernized at a cost of
around $1 billion under an agreement signed between Israel and Turkey
that became effective in November 2002.

Israel delivered two of 10 long-delayed unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) to Turkey on Nov. 29. Two of the Heron UAV systems arrived in
Turkey while the delivery of the remaining eight systems it still
awaited. However, the Aselsan-developed electro optical payload
(Aselfir300T) prevents the Heron UAVs from reaching a desired altitude
of 30,000 feet due to its high weight of 120 kilograms. There are
now reports that Turkey may abandon plans to install the Aselfir300T
systems on the Israeli Herons to quicken their delivery to the
TSK. Turkey signed a $183 million contract with Israel’s IUP consortium
(then Israeli Aircraft Industries and Elbit Systems) in 2005 for the
delivery of the 10 Heron UAVs. But the delivery of the Herons faced
an almost two year delay due to problems that have occurred over
Aselsan systems. As a stop-gap measure, the Undersecretariat for
the Defense Industry (SSM) purchased three Israeli Aeronautics-made
tactical Aerostar UAVs, and an Israeli Aerospace Industries Searcher
tactical UAV was also bought to replace a Heron UAV that crashed in
July of last year on a mission in the Southeast.

A $118 million contract was signed with Israel in July 2002 for the
co-production of counter measure dispenser systems (CMDS) currently
being equipped on an unspecified number of Turkish helicopter platforms
in the inventory of the TSK. When Israel failed to obtain critical
SA-7A and SA-7B surface-to-air missile technology from Russia so
that Turkey would be able to domestically develop similar types of
missiles, Ankara purchased reverse engineering training technology from
Belarus’s Biltek company. CMDS have been part of Turkey’s Helicopter
Electronic Warfare Suite (HEWS) project in order to fulfill the TSK’s
self protection requirements amid threatening environments as well
to increase its capabilities in the field of helicopter electronic
warfare. The HEWS project was launched in 1997 when outlawed Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists shot down a Turkish Super Cobra in May
1997 and a Cougar helicopter in June 1997 using Russian SA-7 "Grail"
surface-to-air missiles provided by Iran and supplied through Armenia
in which 13 personnel were killed. In another incident in November
1998, 16 Turkish personnel were killed when their Sikorsky S-70A
Black Hawk utility helicopter was shot down by the PKK.

Israel’s IAI completed in 2002 and 2003 the modernization of 54
Turkish F-4Es bringing them to Phantom 2000 standard in a project
code named F-4E/2020. The 54 F-4Es are equipped with AGM-142 Popeye
medium-range air-to-surface missiles. The upgrade of the 54 F-4Es in
an agreement that was signed in January 1997 was financed through an
Israeli state credit amounting to over $700 million.

An Israeli and a Singapore consortium modernized 48 F-5A/B and NF-5A/B
fighters as lead-in trainers for Turkish F-16s. The first four aircraft
were modernized at EskiÅ~_ehir 1st Air Support and Maintenance Center
Command under Israel’s IAI’s responsibility while the remaining 44
aircraft was upgraded by the Turkish personnel in cooperation with
Israel. The project is valued at about $130 million. The modernization
involved avionics and structural changes to the F-5s under an agreement
signed on Sept. 24, 1998 between the SSM and a consortium comprising
IAI, Elbit and Singapore Aerospace. The project went into effect in
1999. IAI has been in charge of system integration, Elbit in software
and Singapore Aerospace has been responsible for mechanical harness
and routing installations. The project is code named F-5/2000.

D. BAKRADZE PUTS FLOWERS ON THE MEMORIAL TO THE VICTIMS OF GREAT GENOCIDE

ARMENPRESS
Feb 24, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 24, ARMENPRESS: Accompanied by the head of the
staff of Armenian parliament Gegham Gharibjanian Speaker of Georgian
parliament Davit Bakradze visited today Tsitsernakaberd, put flowers
on the memorial to the victims of the Great Genocide and watered the
fir-tree in the park of relationship which was planted by Georgian
president Mikhail Saakashvili.

The Speaker of Georgian parliament also visited the museum-institute
of Armenian Genocide where he got acquainted with the history of
Armenian Genocide presented by the head of the institute Hayk Demoyan.

Speaker of Georgian parliament wrote in the writing-pad of the
museum-institute. "Right to live is the holiest of all the rights,
we must remember the history and do everything to prevent repetition
of genocides and ethnic filtrations in our times".

In response to the question of a journalist D. Bakradze noted that
the parliament of his country will not discuss the issue of Armenian
genocide in the near future.

"I think that the visit of the delegation of Georgian parliament to the
museum of Genocide and the impression we got here makes our attitude
towards this fact clear from ethical viewpoint. First of all it is the
responsibility of political figures that the history never repeats,
so that no ethnic filtrations and genocides take place especially in
our times and on our eyes. It is a very painful theme for Georgian
people as well",- he said.

According to D. Bakradze, the bilateral parliamentary relations on the
whole reflect the partnership relations which exist between Armenia
and Georgia.

"No doubt there are still opportunities for further improvement
and one of the aims of my visit is to discuss in what directions
our parliaments can cooperate through different commissions and
task-groups. We are ready to develop the relations not only on the
levels of visits", – speaker of Georgian parliament noted.

MEMORIAL PLAQUE UNVEILED IN PARIS IN HONOR OF FRENCH RESISTANCE HERO MISAK MANUSHYAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.02.2009 20:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On Feb 22, a memorial plaque was unveiled in Paris
14th district in honor of outstanding public figures of France: Misak
and Melina Manushyan, who had lived there before Misak Manushyan’s
arrest.

The ceremony was attended by renowned singer Charles Aznavour, Paris
Vice Major Catherine Vieu-Charier, two of Manushyan’s comrades-in
arms – Anri Karayan and Arsen Chakaryan as well as representatives
of French Ministry of Defense, Paris Municipal Government members
and leaders of Armenian-French organizations.

A traditional ceremony in memory of Manushyan’s group was held in
Vaulx-en-Velin on the same day.

GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING WORLD CUP: ARMENIAN WRESTLERS WIN BRONZE

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.02.2009 16:43 GMT+04:00

The Armenian Greco-Roman Wrestling team gained a 5:2 victory over
Cubans in their combat for the third place at the World Cup held on
Feb. 19-21 in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

The following wrestlers contributed to the victory of the Armenian
team: Shavich Gevorgyan (weight class: 55 kg), Artak Harutyunyan
(weight class: 60 кг), Khosrov Melikyan (weight class: 66 kg),
Arsen Julfakyan (weight class: 74 kg), Arman Geghamyan (weight class:
96 kg). Arthur Shaghinyan (weight class: 84 kg) and Yuri Patrikeyev
(weight class: 120 kg) were defeated.

8 wrestlers, two of them in 66 kg weight category (Khosrov Melikyan
and Sasun Ghambaryan) represented Armenia under supervision of chief
coach Levon Julfakyan.

Armenian wrestlers drubbed Hungarians 7:0 and gained a 4:3 victory
over Azeris, having been defeated by Russians who won the championship
taking a 5:2 win over the French team.

Lebanese bank to purchase 51% of bank Anelik (Armenia)

YEREVAN, February 20. /ARKA/. A Lebanese bank plans to purchase 51% of
the stock of Bank Anelik (Armenia) for 9bln AMD ($30mln).

In his interview to ARKA, Board Chairman Samvel Chzmachyan reported
that $15mln converted into Armenian drams, have been transferred to the
bank’s account at the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA).
`The second part of the sum is to be received within a month,’
Chzmachyan said.

He reported that the transaction will bring the bank’s capital up to
14.3bln AMD. Thus, in terms of capital, the bank will rank among the
six or seven leaders of the Armenian banking system.

Chzmachyan pointed out that the global financial crisis influenced the
cost of the transaction.
`We estimated our bank at a much higher value, but before the crisis,’
he said.

Bank Anelik was founded on July 9, 1990, incorporated on October 1,
1991. In October 1996 the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) issued General
License #9 to the bank, which is officially named Bank Anelik CJSC.

According to the information at ARKA’s disposal, Bank Anelik has the
11th largest assets, 14th largest authorized capital, 18th largest
total capital and 10th largest liabilities.

As of December 31, 2008, the bank’s assets reached 36.2bln AMD,
liabilities 30.6bln AMD, total capital 5.6bln AMD, balance sheet profit
901.5mln AMD. Last year20the bank’s profit totaled 468.1mln AMD. The
bank has ten branches, as well as Anelik RU daughter bank in Moscow,
Russia. `0–

LEVON ARONIAN MADE A DRAW IN LINARES 2009 FIRST TOUR

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.02.2009 15:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian played in a
draw with Norway’s Magnus Carlsen on the first day of Linares 2009
International Chess Tournament which kicked off on February 19.

World Champion Viswanathan Anand gained a victory over Azerbaijan’s
Teimour Radjabov.

The second tour of Linares 2009 due today will feature a game between
Aronian and Anand.

The total prize fund amounts 314000 euro, and the winner’s prize fund
is 100 000 euros.

The 1 tour results: Viswanathan Anand (India)- Teimour Radjabov
(Azerbaijan) 1-0 Levon Aronian (Armenia) – Magnus Carlsen (Holland)
0,5:0,5 Leinier Dominguez (Cuba) – Alexander Grischuk (Russia)
0,5:0,5 Wang Yue (China) – Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) 0,5:0,5

2 tour participants: Anand – Aronian, Carlsen – Dominguez, Grischuk –
Wang Yue, Radjabov – Ivanchuk.

CONSULTING CONTRACT SIGNED

A1+
[04:30 pm] 20 February, 2009

The Millennium Challenge Account – Armenia SNCO announced the award
of a consulting contract to the joint venture consortium of GITEC
Consult GmbH (Germany) in association with HGSN Ltd (Armenia).

The consortium will provide consulting services for the design
solutions for rehabilitation of Ararat Valley Drainage System under
the MCA-Armenia Irrigated Agriculture Project Infrastructure Activity.

The contract was signed at the MCA-Armenia office on February 20, 2009
by Mr. Ara Hovsepyan, MCA-Armenia CEO and Mr. Wolfgang Jendrischewski,
Director of Water Resources and Sanitary Engineering Department of
GITEC Consult.

The contract includes analysis of the ecological situation, hydrology,
surface and subsurface horizontal drainage systems and wells in the
Ararat Valley, social and health assessment, as well as designer’s
field supervision.

The contract value is $998,243, and will last 31 months, including
17 months for design activities and 14 months for field supervision.

SHOW OF MIGHT AND TOLERANCE
By Neville Hawcock

FT
February 19 2009 23:11

Shah ‘Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, British Museum, London

‘Shah ‘Abbas I and a pageboy’, Muhammad Qasim (1627) You enter
this show through a dark, curving corridor before emerging into the
glorious space-within-a-space of the British Museum’s old reading
room with its fine Victorian dome, a setting used for the museum’s
previous empire-builder blockbusters on China’s first emperor with
his terracotta retinue and on the Roman emperor Hadrian. But it seems
particularly apt in the case of Shah ‘Abbas I, the Safavid ruler of
Iran who in 1587 ruthlessly ousted his weak and half-blind father to
take over a failing state riven by civil strife and squeezed by the
Ottomans to the west and the Uzbeks to the east. By the time of his
death in 1629 he had created an imperial power stretching from the
Tigris to the Indus, with unified rule of (religious) law of which he
was nonetheless absolute arbiter, healthy commercial and diplomatic
ties with Europe, and flourishing arts and architecture.

The show soberly takes us through a sequence of impressive achievements
– ‘Abbas’s nurturing of trade ties with the west; his removal of Iran’s
capital to Isfahan, which he duly embellished with magnificent mosques;
his charitable bequests to the country’s great shrines – as one20would
expect from an exhibition resting so heavily on loans from Iran.

But more human particulars, sometimes lurid or eccentric, keep
breaking through – the sorts of details that an orientalist critique
would treat as strictly haraam. We learn for instance that, on the
advice of the court astronomer, ‘Abbas once abdicated the throne for
three days when a comet was sighted; his stand-in, a dervish from a
supposedly subversive sect, was hanged for his trouble.

Chinese flask, c1403-35 Yet in spite of such cruelties (‘Abbas also
blinded two of his sons and killed another for fear of a coup against
him, leaving his throne to his grandson) one gets the impression of
a tolerant, outward-looking culture.

Many treasures here here are not obviously Persian. Richly illuminated
Armenian gospels are the legacy of ‘Abbas’s nurturing of an Armenian
merchant class in Isfahan to corner the lucrative silk trade. Chinese
vases and dishes, highly prized in 17th-century Iran, are on show
because they were donated by ‘Abbas to the shrine of Safi, the Sufi
founder of the Safavid dynasty.

Especially arresting are a pair of 17th-century English portraits
of the adventurer Robert Sherley and his wife Teresia, he in rich
Iranian attire, she, though of noble Circassian birth, in a lustrous,
voluminous English dress and, oddly, holding a pistol – a reference,
one theory has it, to two occasions whe n she saved her husband from
attack. Sherley and his brother Anthony were freelance ambassadors
for ‘Abbas; also on show is a letter from Robert to his "Moste
deere brother", who is berated for not fulfilling his duties. Can a
mini-series be far behind?

Portrait of Shah ‘Abbas, attributed to Bishn Das, c1618 There is,
of course, some exquisite Iranian art: one a superbly understated
portrait, on brown tinted paper, of a kneeling scribe. The folds
of his robe- long sleeves wrinkled up by his hands – his lined and
alert face, his luxuriant black beard, the tufts of hair poking
out from his scruffy turban, are rendered in clean, confident ink
lines counterpointed by touches of colour – deep blue on his turban,
undershirt and ink-bottle, red on the slippers next to him. Perhaps
he produced some of the glorious calligraphy nearby is his, great
fluid sweeps of nasta’liq script – a style perfected, we are told,
by a scribe who dreamt of flying geese – against opulent grounds of
twining flowers and swirling golden arabesques.

Modern, theocratic Iran owes much to ‘Abbas, who consolidated Shia
Islam as the state religion and encouraged clerics to establish the
country’s framework of law. He built mosques – a slideshow of some
of the most impressive is a welcome chance to sit down – and walked
the 600 miles from Isfahan to Mas hhad on a pilgrimage to the shrine
of Imam Riza. Yet one of the most striking portraits here shows
‘Abbas, recognisable by his droopy black moustache, cosying up to a
pageboy and enjoying a flask of wine. Though it seems to have been
intended for a personal album, it testifies both to the human side of
a formidable ruler and to the fact that piety is not always cloaked
in fundamentalism.

The exhibition runs until June 14 In partnership with the Iran Heritage
Foundation