Author: Talalian Arpi

Panorama.am
15:11 27/12/2008

EDVIN MARTON: `STAGE, LIFE AND PERFORMANCES NOT JOB FOR ME’

World famous violinist Edvin Marton takes out his violin of
Stradivarius and plays `Godfather’ for the journalists. EMMY Award
holder Hungarian musician Edvin Marton is in Armenia.

`This is my first visit to Armenia, but I have good Armenian
friends. I know that you have famous artists, sculptors and
musicians,’ said Edvin.

`Stage, life and performances are not job for me, but a success and
happiness,’ said the violinist and added `I like to write music near
water and I know about Sevan. I think of visiting it, maybe, I could
create some music,’ he said.

Source: Panorama.am

Panorama.am
15:23 27/12/2008

POLL: CRISIS IMPACT EVIDENT ON ECONOMY OF ARMENIA

The poll results showed that 90% of Armenian population is aware of
world economic crisis and only 10% has never heard about it, reports
Armenian Marketing Association which is a member of `Eurasian Monitor’
international research consortium.

According to the results of the poll 47% of the population thinks that
the crisis will have an impact on the economy of Armenia, 22% thinks
that it has already had its impact, 18% says that it will have a
partial impact and only 9% thinks that it will have no impact.

To the request whether the crisis will have certain impact on the
requestor’s family, 43% says that it can have certain impact. 13% of
them said that they have already suffered, 22% answered ` partially
and 19% answered ` no.

Source: Panorama.am

CHARLES AZNAVOUR CITIZEN OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

armradio.am
26.12.2008 11:14

On December 25 the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, signed a
decree on granting Armenian citizenship to renowned singer, public
figure, National Hero of the Republic of Armenia Charles Aznavour
and his impresario, Movses Khorenatsi Medal holder Levon Sayan,
President’s Press Office reported.

PRESIDENT OF THE NKR MET RECTOR OF THE ARMENIAN STATE AGRICULTURAL…

Azat Artsakh Daily
25 Dec 08
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]

On 25 December President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic Bako Sahakyan
met rector of the Armenian State Agricultural University Arshalouys
Tarverdyan. Issues related to developing science in the republic were
discussed at the meeting. Within this context it was mentioned that
from January 2009 a branch of the university will start functioning in
Nagorno Karabagh. The Head of the State considered important opening
of the new educational establishment In Artsakh and the role it is to
play in developing the main branch of the NKR’s economy, the sphere of
agriculture. NKR minister of education and science Vladik Khachatryan
partook at the meeting.

CHENNAI’S LAST ARMENIAN NOW AT HOME IN BANGALORE
Prashanth G N & Ajitha Karthikeyan

Times of India
hennais_last_Armenian_now_at_home_in_Bangalore/art icleshow/3881996.cms
Dec 24 2008
India

BANGALORE/CHENNAI: He is a priest and works in an international
call centre. He is the last Armenian who lived in Chennai and he
has now made Bangalore his home. Michael Stephen’s story is also
the fascinating story of the Armenian community in India which is
preparing to celebrate Christmas not on December 25, but on January 6.

Stephen, who lives and works in Bangalore along with three other
Armenian families, explains the unusual date of celebration: "We
Armenians are Eastern Orthodox Christians. We follow the old system of
celebrations. It was in 325 AD that December 25 was marked as the day
of Christmas. But our community goes much earlier than that date and we
used to celebrate Christmas on January 6 before 325 AD. We follow that
to this day. In fact, Orthodox Russians celebrate it on January 7."

Stephen plans to meet the other three Armenian families living in
Bangalore to exchange greetings for Christmas. "We will have our
cuisine which will be barbecued stuff along with non-fried food. In
all, we may be around 12 to 14 people in Bangalore fewer than the
Jewish community."

Stephen also plans to visit Chennai for Christmas to toll the bells in
the Armenian Church located in the northern part of the city. "I lived
there for 10 years and now I am here. I was a priest at the church
(Church of Virgin Mary) and I happened to be the last Armenian in
Chennai before I moved here. So it’s a sense of wanting to go back."

It will be a happy homecoming for Stephen as the 236-year-old church
is getting a facelift, thanks to an initiative by the small Armenian
community settled in Kolkata. A team of 60 artisans from West Bengal
had been sent by the Kolkata congregation to renovate the dilapidated
church without distorting its architecture.

The church stands under the shade of a huge mango tree near Parry’s
Corner. The silence is broken only on Sundays at 9.30 am when an
Anglo-Indian caretaker, T Alexander, tolls the church bells; the
regular service stopped decades ago.

About 350 Armenians, including Rev Haruthian Shmavonian who brought
out the world’s first Armenian journal that was published in the city
in 1794, have been laid to rest in the vicinity of the church.

Stephen says the first Armenians came to India in the seventh century
and permanent settlement began in 1586. They came by sea as traders
and merchants.

"Most of us settled in the coastal cities. You’ll find a lot of us in
Kolkata though we are down to just four in Mumbai. There were many in
Madras though none now. Interestingly many Armenians worked in Tipu
Sultan’s court in Mysore as interpreters for which they were allowed
to trade. There are just 120 Armenians in India."

Stephen’s greatgrandfather came in 1902. He was the only major general
in the Indian army he died in 1991. "A foundation stone that he laid
is still seen at the 515 Army base close to M G Road."

While Stephen lives here, many of his friends and community members
live in Kolkata. "We have an Armenian street in Kolkata and Chennai,
even in Singapore. There are 10 Armenians in Singapore. The Armenians
also owned the Grand Oberoi in Kolkata and about 20 buildings in
Chennai. Now we maintain schools which have Armenian and Iranian
students and our own churches in Kolkata and Chennai."

Stephen says most Armenians in Bangalore and other cities are over
45 years of age. "We are the third generation and not many young are
around. We’ve integrated with the communities here. I speak a bit of
Kannada, Tamil and, of course, Armenian. And I love idlis."

ARMENIAN MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTS 2008 PROGRAM

NOYAN TAPAN

Dec 23, 2008
YEREVAN

The RA ministry of energy and natural resources effectively implemented
the 2008 program, the minister Armen Movsisian stated at the December
22 press conference to summarize 2008’s results. In his words, the
energy system of Armenia is well-prepared for 2008-2009 winter and
the system will have no problems during its activity in that period.

As regards the programs implemented in 2008, the minister said that
they succeeded in connecting Kajaran-Ararat section of Iran-Armenia
gas pipeline to the country’s distribution system six months earlier
than it was planned.

Besides, the construction of the platform of Yerevan Thermal Power
Plant’s steam-and-gas unit with a capacity of 275 megawatts is being
done according to the schedule. The tests of the gas turbine to be
installed was started by Alstom company (Germany), and Armenian experts
will also take part in the tests. It is envisaged transporting the gas
turbine to Armenia in mid 2009, and after assembly work in June-July,
it will be connected to the Armenian energy system in 2010.

Speaking about work of the Russian-Armenian company founded in 2008 for
geological survey of uranium mines, mining and processing in Armenia,
the minister said that the company began conducting geological
physical and geological chemical survey, and drilling operations
will start in 2009 which will allow to receive full information
on uranium resources in Armenia by late 2009. The minister did not
rule out that Armenian nuclear fuel will be used in the new power
unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant. It was mentioned that the
feasibility study of the new unit’s construction has been completed,
and a tender for a company to manage the construction will be held
soon, with its results to be announced in late February 2009.

A. Movsisian informed those present that at the recent sitting of
the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission held in Tehran,
an agreement was reached to build a pipeline 250 mm in diameter
for transporting processed oil products in the Tabriz-Yeraskh
direction. According to the minister, an Armenian-Iranian joint
venture with equal shares will be created for implementing this
200-240 million dollar project in two years.

Construction work will begin in the spring of 2009. The current
platforms of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline will be used by 60-70% during
the construction of the above mentioned pipeline. The minister also
announced that an investment program on a capacity growth was launched
at the Tabriz processing plant. A project to build an oil refinery
in Yeraskh is also on the agenda.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN: ARMENIA WILL MOVE ALONG THE PATH OF DEVELOPMENT IN 2009
Karen Ghazaryan

"Radiolur"
23.12.2008 17:01

On the occasion of Christmas and New Year, President Serzh Sargsyan
today invited heads and representatives of mass media to a reception
at the President’s Office.

On the occasion of Christmas and New Year, President Serzh Sargsyan
today invited heads and representatives of mass media to a reception
at the President’s Office.

"Let 2009 be full of events and let the reporters and mass media be
able to inform the society on-the-fly," the President said, at the
same time expressing hope that the news will be mostly positive.

President Sargsyan also expressed confidence that Armenia
will move along the path of development in 2009 and will have
achievements. According to him, there will be events that will come
to reinforce the security of our country and the faith of our people
in our future.

"Let 2009 be a year of success, let us work together in 2009 to lead
our country along the path of development. I wish health and happiness
to you and your families, and a growing audience to your media,"
Serzh Sargsyan said.

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Dec 19 2008

France says no need to worry about Turkey-EU relations in 2009

Brussels, France’s Secretary of State for EU affairs Bruno Le Marie
said on Friday [19 December] that "there was nothing to worry about,"
regarding EU-Turkey relations in 2009.

Speaking during EU’s 6th Accession Conference, Le Marie said EU
expected Turkey to proceed with the reform process, be loyal to
neighbourly relations and fulfil its commitments regarding Cyprus.

He said Turkey bore high strategic importance for EU noting that it
contributed to EU’s stability by taking up an active role in solution
of regional problems and acting in line with EU’s foreign policy for
the most part.

Le Marie praised the role played by Turkey in the conflict in Georgia,
Iraq, Middle East peace process, and in indirect talks between Israel
and Syria. He said Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul’s visit to Armenia
had a symbolic significance and expressed their hope that this process
would result in complete normalization of relations between the two
countries.

Also speaking during the conference EU Commissioner for Enlargement
Olli Rehn said EU needed to act fairly towards Turkey and be loyal to
its commitments.

Rehn pointed out that it was important for Turkey to carry out the
reform process after two tough years and said they expected Turkey to
meet the criteria in chapters regarding taxation, social policy and
employment, environment and competition which were likely to be opened
in the near future.

Rehn said there was a positive atmosphere recently in EU-Turkey
relations noting that the conflict in Georgia highlighted Turkey’s
strategic importance.

AZERBAIJANI EMBASSY IN EGYPT PUBLISHES BOOK ON NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT BY GERMAN RESEARCHER IN ARABIC

Azeri Press Agency
Dec 18 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Viktoriya Dementyeva – APA. Book "The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan. A Brief Historical Outline" by German
writer and publicist Johannes Raun published in Germany a year ago
has been translated into Arabic and published on the initiative of
Azerbaijani embassy in Egypt aiming to inform the Arabic community
of Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan and historical
truths about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The embassy told APA
that the presentation of the book had been held in Cairo. The embassy
realized the initiative taking into account that publication of the
book reflecting neutral position of a foreign researcher on Nagorno
Karabakh conflict will be met with interest by the Arabic community
and officials and scholars of 22 Arabic countries.

The books gives copious information about the occupation of 20 percent
of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia, the genocide committed by
Armenian Armed Forces against the Azerbaijani civilians in Khojaly
on February 26, 1992, displacement of hundreds of thousands of
Azerbaijanis from the occupied territories.

The book writes that early in the 20th century Armenians, specially
"Dashnaksyutun" Party persecuted and committed terror not only against
Azerbaijanis, but it also against other nations living in Azerbaijan,
as well as Germans.

The copies of the book were presented to a number of Egyptian
officials, governmental and non-governmental organizations, scientific,
educational and cultural institutions, investigation and research
centers, libraries, foreign embassies and representations of
international and regional organizations in Cairo.

According to the treaty signed between Azerbaijani embassy in Egypt
and the country’s famous "Al-Ahram" agency, 1500 copies of the book
are presented to book-centers in all provinces of Egypt.

GOV’T MAY FINALIZE LONG DELAYED MILITARY SATELLITE PROJECT

Today’s Zaman
Dec 19 2008
Turkey

Turkey’s top decision-makers on arms procurement met Thursday to
decide on the acquisition of a long-delayed Gökturk electro optical
satellite system worth around $250 million.

An Executive Committee (EC) meeting of the Turkish Undersecretariat
for the Defense Industry (SSM), the top decision-making body on arms
purchases, was held yesterday afternoon. The SSM meeting was chaired
by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Minister of National
Defense Vecdi Gönul and Chief of General Staff Gen. Ä°lker BaÅ~_bug
participated in the meeting.

This was the first EC meeting that BaÅ~_bug has taken part in as chief
of general staff. There have been expectations that BaÅ~_bug might
get involved more heavily in choosing the best system on the market.

BaÅ~_bug does not want to disregard the fact that Turkish technology
in some areas is not up to the highest standards and that a satellite
system relying on Turkish technology might end up being an unprofitable
product to be exported, said a Turkish defense industry source.

It is believed that BaÅ~_bug can contribute more to the selection of
weapons without causing a conflict with civilians. As Today’s Zaman
went to press, the EC meeting was still continuing.

At the top of the agenda was the acquisition of a satellite project,
the finalization of which was postponed twice since last year.

But because of differing opinions between the government and the
military — with the former said to be favoring the Italian proposal
and the latter, the German model — a selection among the competing
companies might not be made, Turkish defense industry sources
speculated.

EADS Astrium (Britain), Ohb-System (Germany) and Telespazio (Italy)
are competing in the satellite project. French Alcatel offers the
satellite’s camera system in the Italian proposal. The camera system,
which is the most critical component of the satellite, is required to
have a resolution below one centimeter and will feature the capability
for border surveillance.

Italian Telespazio has reportedly been the frontrunner in the project
from a technical viewpoint. A recent decision by the French Senate
to rule out a debate on a resolution blaming Turkey for the genocide
of Armenians in 1915 may play a factor in easing Turkey’s hard-line
approach on France’s contribution in the Italian offer, the same
sources said.

Israel’s IAI was earlier eliminated from the project when it has
imposed restrictions on Turkey, including a ban on the use of the
Israeli system in Israeli airspace and listing several countries that
Ankara is prohibited from selling the Israeli satellite.

The SSM issued a request for proposals (RFP) in August 2006 for the
acquisition of a 0.8 meter resolution reconnaissance and surveillance
satellite system, which would also include ground stations and
integration.

Contract requirements — such as maximum local content, technology
transfer and prior approval from the respective bidder governments —
have deterred US companies from participating in the tender.

The RFP conditions for the Gökturk satellite include a five-year
operational life with 97 percent availability, land and maritime
surveillance capability, and a secondary mission objective to meet
civilian satellite imagery requirements. The program should also
directly involve Turkish engineers and image specialists.

Turkish Air Force Commander Gen. Aydogan Babaoglu said in July that
Turkey plans to launch a military observation satellite into space
in 2011.

The EC may also discuss the procurement of 84 general purpose
helicopters for which US Sikrosky and Italian Agusta Westland are
competing. The project is estimated to cost around $2.5 billion.

Decision-makers may also announce the winner of a project for the
acquisition of 2,720 tactical wheeled vehicles under four different
variants, including mine resistance personnel carriers for the Turkish
Armed Forces (TSK), to be produced with a maximum local input. Ten
local companies are competing in the project.

Turkish defense industry sources do not rule out the possibility that
the number of these projects might be halved because of the economic
crisis. "This number has already been high and not realistic,"
said a retired general. Turkey spends around $5.5 billion for arms
purchases yearly.

It is still unclear whether the government or the military will
announce any measures such as cancellation or delay of some of the
military projects due to the effects of the economic crisis.

According to the latest figures, gross domestic product (GDP) growth
slowed to a 0.5 percent crawl in the third quarter of 2008 compared
with the same period in 2007, representing a total increase of 3
percent for the first nine months of 2008. The same statistics put
the official unemployment rate at 10.3 percent.

In a related development, Gönul confirmed Thursday that an
Israeli-made searcher Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) crashed. Turkey
leased the searcher UAV when its Heron UAV was lost in July this year
during a mission in the Southeast.

Gönul denied a news report that one of the two Heron UAVs delivered
to Turkey late last month crashed. The ground tests of those Herons
are still continuing and the one lost was not a Heron UAV, he said.

–Boundary_(ID_6vvG1oRzDWL1QpXTP2wZ0g)–