Author: Tadevosian Garnik

ERGENEKON UNVEILED: GANG CHARGED WITH TERROR, SUBVERSION

Today’s Zaman
July 15 2008
Turkey

Ä°stanbul Chief Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin yesterday announced at
a press conference that a long-awaited indictment against suspects
in the Ergenekon investigation has been completed and submitted to
a higher criminal court for review.

The indictment against Ergenekon, a shadowy criminal network made up of
retired — and possibly current — army members, academics, journalists
and others allegedly plotting a coup against the government, has
been in preparation for a year since the investigation started last
summer, when police discovered a house full of ammunition and guns
in Ä°stanbul’s Umraniye district.

Engin said the suspects are being accused of various crimes, such as
"membership in an armed terrorist group," "aiding and abetting an
armed terrorist organization," "attempting to destroy the government
of the Republic of Turkey or to block it from performing its duties,"
"inciting people to rebel against the Republic of Turkey," "being in
possession of explosives, using them, and inciting others to commit
these crimes," "inciting others to stage the 2006 Council of State
shooting and a hand grenade attack at the Cumhuriyet newspaper’s
Ä°stanbul office," "acquiring secret documents on national security,"
"recording personal data," "encouraging soldiers to disobey superiors,"
"openly provoking hatred and hostility" and other similar crimes. He
did not clarify which suspects were accused of which crimes.

Engin said the indictment included accusations against 86 suspects,
48 of whom are currently in custody. He also said the indictment
is 2,455 pages long. Two former senior generals arrested this month
are not yet being charged. Also, earlier press reports were wrong in
claiming that the indictment used as evidence excerpts from a diary
allegedly kept by retired Naval Force Commander Adm. Ozden Ornek.

The prosecutor made clear that a terrorist organization is not always
defined according to the conventional meaning. He said, "According
to Article 1 of the anti-terror law, those who are convicted of
endangering the existence of the Turkish Republic, weakening,
destroying or seizing the authority of the state, eliminating
fundamental rights and freedoms or damaging the internal and external
security of the state and public order are considered perpetrators
of terrorism."

Council of State and Cumhuriyet attacks

Although the link between Ergenekon and the 2006 Council of State
shooting and a hand grenade thrown at the staunchly secularist
Cumhuriyet daily had been established previously by some media
organs, this is the first time the group is formally being accused
of having incited the perpetrators, who, in the wake of the attacks,
had appeared to be religious fundamentalists. Documents seized during
the Ergenekon investigation over the past year have shown, one after
another, that the group had staged and also planned a large number of
politically motivated attacks and assassinations to create chaos and
fear in the country, which they hoped would eventually trigger a coup
d’état and foment public opinion supporting military intervention.

The chief prosecutor said documents and evidence gathered during
the operations carried out in the investigation into the Umraniye
arms depot had continued to this day with the work of three public
prosecutors authorized by the relevant articles of the Code on Criminal
Procedure (CMK).

He said the three prosecutors have prepared an indictment regarding
the parts of the investigation that have been completed so far. Engin
said the indictment was presented to the Ä°stanbul 13th High Criminal
Court through Turkey’s National Judiciary Network Project (UYAP)
after review by the authorized deputy chief prosecutor.

Lengthy preparation period

The prosecutor said that the latest wave of detentions and arrests in
the Ergenekon investigation, which came on July 1, 2008, had launched
a new phase in the investigation. He said another indictment would
be presented for the individuals detained in the latest operation.

"One of the topics criticized most frequently by media organs as well
as the public about the indictment was that its preparation took more
than a year," the prosecutor said, explaining: "According to the public
prosecutors, the preparation of the indictment, comprising 2,455 pages
and backed by 441 folders of evidence, has extended to today due
to a number of unavoidable reasons, such as the large scope of the
investigation, the large number of suspects being held, hundreds of
thousands of pages of documents acquired at the end of technical and
physical operations and searches requiring more operations in turn,
ordering, classifying and reviewing of these documents, expecting
official replies from institutions that have been queried about these
documents and the necessity brought by the new CMK that every single
evidence forming the basis of an indictment should be collected before
a case can be opened."

Engin also said the condition of those who were taken into custody and
arrested had been reviewed throughout the investigation on a monthly
basis by various courts, which have all ruled to keep the suspects
in jail.

The chief prosecutor noted that the court to which the indictment
had been presented had not yet announced its decision on whether the
indictment has been accepted or rejected. Until the indictment is
approved by the court, the confidentiality of the document will be
observed, Engin said. He said it was not possible at this time to
make a detailed explanation about the indictment or the case.

The prosecutor emphasized that the various crimes he had read out loud
at the beginning of the press conference were not being attributed to
all of the suspects. He said under a provision of the Article 220 of
the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) "leaders of organizations are penalized,
additionally, as perpetrators of the crimes committed during the
activities of the organization."

Who are the Ergenekon suspects?

The gang is accused of a number of failed coup attempts planned by
some of the suspects while serving in the military as high-ranking
generals. According to news reports, the indictment uses as evidence
documents seized in the suspects’ offices and homes during the
Ergenekon investigation which revealed that some retired generals had
attempted to stage four coups against the Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) government.

The indictment claims Ergenekon operations were behind the killing of a
senior judge in a 2006 shooting at the Council of State. News reports
earlier linked the group to the assassination of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, who was shot dead by an ultranationalist
teenager in January 2007, but it is not yet clear whether the
indictment makes this accusation.

Retired generals HurÅ~_it Tolon and Å~^ener Eruygur, who were both
arrested in the latest wave of operations this year on suspicion of
"setting up and leading an armed gang," have not yet been charged. The
powerful chairman of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO), Sinan
Aygun, who will be indicted separately along with the other suspects
who were taken into custody earlier this month, was released yesterday.

————————————– ——————————————

More than 100 journalists cover Ergenekon announcement A press
conference called yesterday by Ä°stanbul Chief Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz
Engin to make an announcement regarding the Ergenekon indictment was
covered by a large crowd of national and international media entities.

Engin called the conference for 11 a.m. initially, but the
announcement actually began 15 minutes earlier. In addition to nearly
100 journalists, 40 TV cameras and 21 live TV crews, foreign press
agencies including Al Jazeera, The Associated Press, Reuters and Iran’s
Press TV showed up to cover the announcement. The press conference,
held in front of the BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ Courthouse in central Ä°stanbul,
was broadcast live on virtually all of Turkey’s TV stations.

Engin read the five-page text of his announcement from a podium during
the nearly 20-minute press conference. At the end of the statement,
he replied to a single question regarding the reason the operation had
been named "Ergenekon." The chief prosecutor said the word Ergenekon
was used by the group to refer to themselves and that the name had
nothing to do with the prosecutors. Police officers serving at the
BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ Courthouse yesterday had tightened security both inside
and outside of the courthouse during the conference.

–Boundary_(ID_DkqgKoqf4Q1sJ/jBgcq2bA )–

ARF: Genocide not up for discussion

y/fpg07120802.htm
Volume 74, No. 27, July 12, 2008

YEREVAN (ARF Press Office)”The ARF Bureau is adamant that the facts of
the Armenian Genocide not be up for discussion, and that no
high-ranking official representing Armenia have a different approach,’
read an announcement issued by the ARF after its first plenary session,
which ended Tues. July 8. `Universal recognition of the genocide is
vital for the existence, security, and future of our people and
statehood,’ it continued.

The announcement also summarized the Bureau’s meeting conclusions and
emphasized the need for the diaspora’through the formation of the
Diaspora Ministry’to become an essential political and economic
component in making Armenia an important actor on the world stage.

The Bureau also outlined the importance for the ARF to become a more
active force in domestic Armenian affairs, given the internal and
external challenges facing Armenians today.

A specific emphasis was placed on ensuring that the Karabakh question
remains on the national agenda. The Bureau also determined the
responsibilities of ANC chapters and others in garnering international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and strengthening Armenia’s
statehood.

It also welcomed the recent election of the ARF representative to the
Executive Board of the Socialist International
.

`The ARF Bureau’s responsibility is to improve the moral consciousness
in Armenia, strengthen its democratic standards, development social
stability, resolve economic issues, and ensure the unity of Armenia and
the diaspora,’ the statement read.

San Francisco Chronicle, CA
July 13 2008

Armenian refugees stuck in legal limbo

Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, July 13, 2008

On the cusp of adulthood, Fresno high school valedictorian Arthur
Mkoyan, 17, is wrestling with choices about his future that few
American high school graduates face.

Arthur graduated from Bullard High School last month with a 4.0 grade
point average and a letter of admission to UC Davis, where he planned
to study chemistry in autumn. But the Armenian-born teenager’s life
has been in limbo since his parents’ asylum petition was rejected
after a 16-year process.

In April, federal immigration authorities detained Arthur’s father,
Ruben Mkoian (father and son spell their surname differently),
preparing to deport him. His mother was allowed to remain free to care
for Arthur and his 12-year-old, U.S.-born brother until the date of
their departure.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., heard about the family’s case and, on
the very day of Arthur’s commencement, and just days before the
family’s scheduled deportation, she introduced a private bill in the
U.S. Senate that led to Mkoian’s release after two months in detention
and could grant the family lawful permanent residence.

Such bills rarely pass – an estimated 3 percent are approved – but as
long as the legislation is pending, the removal order remains
suspended, which gives Arthur and his family a temporary reprieve that
could last a couple of years.

Extremely long wait The family’s case points to the cumbersome nature
of the asylum process, which for this family took 16 years – almost an
entire lifetime for the California-raised teenager – and raises
questions about the wide variations from one judge to another in the
rate at which asylum is granted.

Arthur’s story also draws attention to a long-stalled bill, dubbed the
DREAM Act, which if passed would allow youngsters like him who were
raised in the United States but lack legal immigration status to get a
green card if they pursue college or military service.

"I worked so hard to get into UC Davis, and I’ve been wanting to go
there since I was in my sophomore year," said the soft-spoken Arthur,
who is ineligible for financial aid or loans because his immigration
status is uncertain. "It’s saddening … but (without loans) we don’t
have the money to support my going to college."

Arthur’s parents fled Armenia in 1991 after his father, a police
sergeant, exposed corruption at the government office where he worked
and, in what he believes was retaliation, the family’s house was
burned down and a shop they owned was ransacked.

"The only way to survive was to leave the country," said Arthur’s
mother, Asmik Karapetian. "My husband came here because he thought it
was going to be safe for us."

Mkoian and his family settled in Fresno, where they had friends, and
Mkoian applied for asylum. It was seven years before he was called for
an interview, Karapetian said. His claim was denied, and he appealed
all the way to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco,
which turned him down earlier this year, saying he had failed to
establish a "well-founded fear of persecution" if he returned to
Armenia and that the passage of time had made his case less
compelling.

Family thrives Meanwhile, Mkoian found work as a truck driver and
Karapetian became a medical assistant. Their two sons grew and
thrived.

Arthur swam, played basketball on a church-sponsored team and
volunteered at a local hospital. Most of all, he excelled in math and
science.

"I just kept up a really high standard for my grades through
elementary and high school," he said. "My mom really pushed on
that. … It’s thanks to her."

Arthur’s high school chemistry teacher, Christine Lindley, described
him as a shy kid with a winning smile who worked incredibly hard. When
she heard the family was facing deportation, she wrote a letter to
Feinstein on Arthur’s behalf.

"You’re taking a kid who’s an (advanced placement), valedictorian-type
kid, who’s going to take his place in society, and you’re kicking him
out," said Lindley. "I realize the wheels of justice are like the
mills of God, but 16 years is a really long time. … Children need to
get on with their lives."

Experts in asylum law say that the Mkoian case moved more slowly than
most, but that backlogs in the 1990s were common. Today, cases are
handled more rapidly, according to David Leopold, national vice
president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

"It’s devastating for a family who’s been here close to 20 years to be
told, ‘Now it’s time to go. We’re not going to give you the protection
you’ve asked for,’ " he said. "These determinations should be made
more quickly, because it’s not fair to families."

An uneven process In addition, says Leopold, the asylum process –
which is designed to protect people who face persecution in their home
countries – suffers from wide disparities in the rates at which
different immigration courts grant asylum.

On average, 38 percent of all asylum claims – and 42 percent of
Armenian claims – between 2000 and 2004 were granted, according to
asylumlaw.org, which tracks cases. But while one Miami judge granted
asylum in just 3 percent of the 1,152 cases he heard, a New York judge
offered asylum in 88 percent of his 1,478 cases. And while a Los
Angeles judge granted asylum in just 7 percent of the 64 Armenian
cases she heard, an immigration judge in San Francisco offered asylum
in 94 percent of his 36 Armenian cases.

"Those numbers raise some questions," said Jayne Fleming, an asylum
expert who is pro bono counsel at the law firm of Reed Smith in
Oakland. "My strongest recommendation would be to provide free legal
representation to people applying for asylum. Second would be to have
some sort of review system when you have vast disparities between
judges with issues that look pretty much the same. Third, what kind of
training is being provided (to judges) on country-specific issues?"

Leopold commended Feinstein for introducing the private bill for
Arthur’s family, but urged her to take to take a leadership role in
pushing for passage of the DREAM Act, a bill for which she was a
co-sponsor.

"The DREAM Act is a win-win for everybody," he said. "How can there be
a rational argument against helping a child who has been raised here
and has done well at school and has an opportunity to give back to
this country? It’s a chance for these kids to have a future,
particularly kids who find themselves in circumstances they could not
prevent."

Advocates for tighter restrictions on immigration oppose the DREAM
Act, calling it a stealth amnesty and saying the bill would unfairly
reward illegal immigrants.

With the DREAM Act still stuck in Congress and with prospects slim for
passage of the private bill, Arthur Mkoyan has shelved his dreams of
attending UC Davis and is preparing to enroll at Fresno City College
in the fall.

Mostly, Arthur is grateful that his father is no longer locked up in
an immigration jail in Arizona.

"I’m hopeful that someday we can get our green cards and apply for
citizenship, but it’s looking pretty tough right now."

NKR PRESIDENT GAVE INSTRUCTIONS TO SUSPEND CONSTRUCTION OF DWELLING HOUSE IN STEPANAKERT

DeFacto Agency
July 9 2008
Armenia

On July 7 Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Bako Sahakian visited
a number of building objects in Stepanakert and familiarized himself
with works being carried out on the spot.

According to the Central Department of Information under NKR President,
taking into consideration serious shortcomings committed in the course
of construction works Bako Sahakian gave instructions to urgently
suspend construction of a dwelling house at address Azatamartikneri
Str. 7, until NKR Ministry of Urban Development presents an expert
conclusion.

SCENES FROM THE "NEVER-ABATING BELL TOWER"

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on July 08, 2008
Armenia

Northern Avenue Turns Into a Market Place

As you remember during the demonstration on July 4 near Matenadaran
Levon Ter-Petrosyan announced that the struggle is entering the stage
of sit-in.

The revolutionaries reviewed their tactics and they are going to
refuse the extreme methods of struggle, like hunger strike. They are
starting their "summer season".

They also announced that before the "fiery" meeting on August 1,
they would start a 24-hour sit-in. The same day some activists of
Armenian Pan National Movement came to the Northern Avenue and started
their sit-in.

ARMENIAN LEADER CONGRATULATES US EMBASSY ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

Armenian Public TV
July 3 2008

[Presenter speaking over video of the visit and reception] President
Serzh Sargsyan visited the US embassy in our country on the occasion
of the US National Holiday, the Independence Day. He congratulated the
embassy staff and spoke about the ties between the two countries. The
leader of the country attached importance to development of the
Armenian-US relations, considering those in the context of economic
successes, development of democracy and regional stability. The
US charge d’affaires, Joseph Pennington, organized a celebration
reception at the embassy in the evening, at which he said that people
immigrate to the USA for different reasons, but there is a striving
which is common for everyone – a wish to live in freedom. Pennington
said the Armenians of the USA are a solid community, which has a big
contributions to the successes of the USA.

[Pennington speaking at a reception with voice-over Armenian
translation] As a true friend of Armenia, the United States will
always support the Armenian people and the Armenian government.

President Serzh Sargsyan visited the US Embassy in Armenia today and
congratulated the embassy staff upon the US Independence Day. While
meeting US Charge d’affaires Joseph Pennington, Sargsyan spoke about
the US-Armenian ties in the context of economic successes, regional
stability and development of democracy. Armenian officials attended
the celebration ceremony at the US Embassy in Yerevan today. Video
shows the visit; Pennington speaking at a reception with voice-over
Armenian translation.

From: Sebouh Z Tashjian <[email protected]>
Subject: ANKARA: Gul has first talks w/Medvedev, courtesy meeting w/Sarksyan

Today’s Zaman, Turkey

Gül has first talks with Medvedev, `courtesy meeting’ with Sarksyan

Gül (C) is seen chatting with his Armenian counterpart, Sarksyan, and
Azerbaijani President Aliyev (L). Photo

Weekend festivities in Astana to celebrate the 10th birthday of the
Kazakh capital city offered an opportunity for the first bilateral
meeting between Turkey’s President Abdullah Gül and Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev since Medvedev’s March election.

Astana was also the venue for a first courtesy meeting between Gül
and Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan, elected in February. The three
leaders, none of whom have yet concluded their first year in office,
attended celebrations for the 10-year anniversary of the world’s
youngest capital, Astana, which was designated the country’s leading
city by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. On Saturday Gül and
Medvedev held bilateral talks closed to the press on the sidelines of
the Astana gathering. "Turkey and Russia are two countries whose
relations with each other have been proceeding in regards to
neighborhood, friendship and in every way. I believe that all of us
will work in cooperation to carry our relations to a further level. As
both you and we have this political will, I believe we can carry this
out," Gül said, as the two leaders posed for the cameras ahead of
their meeting.

Medvedev expressed pleasure over his meeting with Gül and pledged
efforts for improving bilateral relations with Turkey. Later in the
day, his presidential aide, Sergei Prikhodko, said Medvedev and Gül
had agreed to exchange visits and discussed prospects for interaction
between the two countries in the fields of investment and tourism.

Prikhodko said Medvedev had invited the Turkish president to make an
official visit to Russia, while Gül said he would be glad to see his
Russian colleague in his country.

During the meeting, the leaders of the two countries considered
possibilities for increasing trade and expanding cooperation to carry
out key infrastructure projects. "Abdullah Gül noted Turkish
construction companies’ great interest in realizing key infrastructure
projects in Russia. Turkey showed interest in attracting construction
companies to carry out tasks on the [Winter] Olympic Games in Sochi,"
Prikhodko said.

Also on Saturday Gül spoke briefly with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and Sarksyan at the presidential Akorda Palace. Gül walked
arm-in-arm with the two leaders for a while. During the walk, Sarksyan
started the conversation, saying, "I know Turkish," in
Turkish. However Aliyev assisted their conversation, acting as a
translator.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Gül called his conversation with
Sarksyan and Aliyev a "courtesy meeting." During the conversation he
congratulated Sarksyan for his election to the presidency and told him
that he had received a formal invitation to visit Yerevan for a
football match in September, Gül said. "We are assessing the
invitation," Gül briefly told reporters, when asked whether he would
accept the invitation. Armenia and Turkey will play against each other
in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Sept. 6 in a qualifying match
for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be held in South Africa.

07 July 2008, Monday

TODAY’S ZAMAN ASTANA, ANKARA

Panorama.am

12:49 05/07/2008

IN `WOMAN’S WORLD’ EVERYTHING FOR WOMAN

`Woman’s World’ seventh international specialized exhibition opened in
Artist’s Union organized by `Expomedia’ center.
‘The mission of organizing the exhibition is to show what improves and
makes easy woman’s everyday world and gives enjoy to them,’ said Anna
Hakobyan, the director of `Expomedia’ center to Panorama.am. And quite
another objective is to present businesswoman’s image differently.

32 local and international organizations take part in the
exhibition. The exhibition is divided into thematic sections, in
particular `Everything for Mothers and Children’, `Perfume, medical
and cosmetic items’, etc.
Note that the exhibition is available till July 6.

Source: Panorama.am

MONETARY BASE REDUCES BY 2.5% TO 394.6BLN DRAMS IN ARMENIA IN MAY

ARKA
July 2

Monetary base reduced by 10bln drams or by 2.5% down to 394.6bln
drams in Armenia in May.

The RA National Statistical Service reports that cash drams outside
the banking system totaled 333.3bln drams at the end of May as compared
with 329.2bln drams in the beginning of the month.

Required reserves in drams amounted to 26.8bln drams against 28.7bln
drams at the end of April; required reserves in foreign currency were
33.7bln drams against 45.7bln drams.

External assets (privatization funds excluded) reduced by 15.1bln
drams to 409.2bln drams at the end of May. Net internal assets were
minus 14.6bln drams against minus 19.8bln drams in the beginning of
the month (minus 18.8bln drams in the beginning of the year).

An 8.3% reduction in monetary base was recorded in Armenia against
the beginning of the year. ($1=302.65drams).

4 ARMENIAN SPORTSMEN BECOME BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS IN EUROPEAN BOXING YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP

NOYAN TAPAN

Ju ly 1

Armenia’s boxing youth national team returned to Yerevan from the
Bulgarian city of Plovdiv on June 30. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was
informed by Fedya Alexanian, team’s principal coach, 8 out of 10 team
members won the start games and 4, Hovhannes Bochkov (46 kg, Gyumri),
Narek Abgarian (48 kg, Yerevan), Artur Kirajian (57 kg, Yerevan), and
Poghos Adibekian (75 kg, Abovian) passed to the final. "Unfortunately,
then they were beaten and only received bronze medals. Nevertheless,
boys’ general preparedness is good and they are a worthy shift for
the national team," F. Alexanian said.