Author: Talalian Arpi

EurasiaNet, NY
May 8 2008

ARMENIA: ADMINISTRATION, OPPOSITION TAKE TENTATIVE STEPS TOWARD
OPENING DIALOGUE

Marianna Grigoryan 5/08/08

They may still hate each other, but political necessity is pressuring
two arch foes in Armenian politics, President Serzh Sarkisian and
opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian, to start talking to each
other. Even so, significant obstacles stand in the way of the start of
a substantive political dialogue.

The March 1 violence in Yerevan created a political chasm dividing the
opposition and government, with each side blaming the other for the
loss of life. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Since
then, the international community has pressured the Sarkisian
administration to open a dialogue with Ter-Petrosian. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive]. More recently, Armenian politicians
representing varying shades of the political spectrum have started
pressing for the two to negotiate a political truce.

An April 17 resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE) warned that Armenia faced expulsion from the
organization if it did not take immediate action to heal the rifts
created by the March 1 violence. Other organizations have also
threatened to punish Yerevan, including the Millennium Challenge
Corporation, which has cautioned that millions of dollars in
assistance could be lost if Sarkisian’s administration does not
promote national reconciliation. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive]. Meanwhile, inside the country, growing concern about
Azerbaijan’s intentions regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process
has played a significant role in generating pressure for political
unity in Yerevan. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"It is necessary that these two major figures should meet each other
face-to-face," Raffi Hovannisian, the leader of the Heritage Party
stated during an April 30 news conference. A few days earlier,
Hovannisian announced that his attempt to arrange a meeting between
Sarkisian and Ter-Petrosian had failed.

On May 2, Ter-Petrosian indicated that he was ready to talk to
Sarkisian, but the offer was conditioned on the government’s
compliance with the April 17 PACE resolution. "We are ready to begin a
dialogue with the regime. Such a dialogue, however, cannot be started
with the purpose of bringing one of the sides to its knees,"
Ter-Petrosian said.

The central demand of the PACE resolution is the release of all
opposition activists in government custody. According to the data
published by the Prosecutor-General’s Office, there are 58 individuals
in custody in connection with the March 1 events. Officials insist,
however, that the detainees are not political prisoners. Meanwhile,
the Ter-Petrosian camp fixes the number of detainees at 92, and
emphasizes that many of those in custody are high-level opposition
politicians.

Sarkisian aides have indicated that the president is ready to talk. At
the same time, the administration has made no move to release jailed
opposition leaders. Some opposition leaders contend that arrests of
Ter-Petrosian supporters have been continuing in the weeks since PACE
issued its resolution. Administration officials brush off criticism,
insisting the issue is not political, but a matter of law enforcement.

"If people broke law they must be punished within the framework of
law. Law must be equal for all. We have no political prisoners. One
shouldn’t make statements in advance, everything will be cleared up as
a result of the investigation," MP and spokesman for the governing
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Eduard Sharmazanov told EurasiaNet.

Sharmazanov hinted that the Ter-Petrosian camp was behaving in a
politically irresponsible way, putting personal interests above those
of the nation. "There should be dialogue in democratic countries, but
obscenities and political nihilism are not part of that," he said. He
also accused Ter-Petrosian of trying to bully the government, saying;
"To go for a dialogue with preconditions is no longer dialogue, but an
ultimatum."

Not surprisingly, pro-government politicians are backing talks without
preconditions, while opposition leaders insist that the PACE
conditions be met. Naira Zohrabian, an MP from the Prosperous Armenia
Party, suggested that Ter-Petrosian, in embracing the PACE resolution,
was trying to create a justifiable reason for avoiding talks. "Setting
forth preconditions is simply an excuse to somehow steer clear of
dialogue," Zohrabian said.

Suren Sureniants, a leader of the opposition Hanrapetutyun Party,
insisted that a dialogue could produce results only if opposition
activists could trust administration officials. The only way to build
such trust, he indicated, would be for the government to release
jailed opposition figures. Sureniants himself spent 52 days in prison
for his role in the organization of anti-government rallies following
Armenia’s contentious presidential election in February. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "Speaking figuratively, a
dialogue cannot take place between the prosecutor and the accused,"
Sureniants said.

Richard Giragosian, an independent analyst based in Washington, DC,
suggested that the emphasis on "political dialogue" was missing the
main point of Armenia’s domestic crisis.

"What is needed is a `policy debate,’ not a political dialogue,"
Giragosian told EurasiaNet. "Such a policy debate is long overdue, and
as Armenia remains under blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan, and under
threat from an arms race in Azerbaijan, the time has now come for a
serious re-examination and re-assessment of Armenia’s future."

Even if the opposition and administration do not straighten out their
differences soon, Ter-Petrosian insisted during his May 2 news
conference that domestic political divisions would not hamper
Armenia’s response to a foreign policy crisis, especially one
connected with the Karabakh issue. "Azerbaijan must realize that
regardless of the political situation in our country, it would meet
with united resistance of the Armenian people in the event of
unleashing military aggression against Karabakh," Ter-Petrosian said.

Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the ArmeniaNow.com
weekly in Yerevan.

Posted May 8, 2008 © Eurasianet

Asia Times, Italy
May 7 2008

Tequila and Turkish nationalism

By Fazile Zahir

FETHIYE, Turkey – All over Turkey, on April 23, proud parents gazed
adoringly as their children leapt, sang and danced in celebration of
National Sovereignty Day and National Children’s Day. The public
holiday for the whole country was established by the country’s
founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, as a reminder to boys and
girls that they are the future of the new republic.

It was a remarkable gesture by a man who had no children himself but
adopted eight and reflected the love and deep esteem he had for
children. Most kids are hugely grateful because not only do they get a
day off school but adults must to be nice to them and presents are par
for the course.

In most towns, the city council and schools organize a day of
festivities. It is usual that older children are corralled into a
rudimentary marching band and blow and bang their way along main
boulevards with ample enthusiasm if not musical talent. The nursery
classes get to wear fancy dress and all age groups wave flags, perform
folk dances and join in athletic displays at local sports
stadiums. Children are also chosen to replace the state’s highest
political personages for the day and even the president and prime
minister literally give up their seats to a younger charge.

Parliament is convened with child "MPs" and they hold a special
session to discuss children’s issues. The child premier and president
are then mandated to sign off on executive orders on what are mainly
educational and environmental policies.

For most parents it is an annual opportunity to revel in the
accomplishments of their child’s school and in the adorable behavior
of the little ones. For others, however, the day is much more
disquieting.

The date itself is telling: April 23, 1920, was the day that the Grand
National Assembly met in Ankara as Ataturk’s forces were still
fighting the Allied invasion in their efforts to establish an
independent country. The date marked the establishment (at least in
the minds of the Turkish forces) of the independence and sovereignty
of their state. To simultaneously dedicate this momentous day to the
nation’s youth was how Ataturk chose to hand down his mandate that
their future role was the continued protection of this sovereignty.

"The most important thing is to teach our children and youths to
maintain Turkish liberty and their own will and struggle with the
enemies who attack our national traditions," Ataturk said in
1922. Every year this message is hammered home in an unsubtle
manner. For any parent, perhaps Armenian or Kurdish, with doubts about
the manner in which the nation was forged, the validity of its current
boundaries and even of the jingoistic effect on their children’s
ethnically Turkish classmates, the florid celebration of Turkish
nationalism may be unwelcome.

The army marks the day by reminding citizens that it is Children’s Day
and National Sovereignty Day. This year they produced three posters,
the first shows Ataturk on the background of a Turkish flag with the
slogan "The common ground of both independence and equality is the
sovereignty of the state" (their emphasis) and has a small child
inserted almost as an afterthought into the bottom right corner of the
poster.

The second is less patriotic and has a picture of children and the
globe and simply wishes all children everywhere a happy holiday. But
the third returns to the theme of Ataturk’s legacy and features a
picture of the great man in parliament with some children hugging each
other with the strapline "Happy Sovereignty and Children’s Day to
Turkey’s modern and enlightened children".

One can only assume that the choice of the words "modern and
enlightened" is not intended to encompass those young daughters of the
nation who choose to cover their heads.

The indoctrination of nationalism is not just limited to Children’s
Day. Every Turkish school child must every day repeat an oath of
fealty to the Turkish state, normally en masse in a playground before
a statue of Ataturk. Ziya Selcuk, university professor and former head
of the government’s Training and Education Board says, "In newly
founded nation states like ours education is an effective political
lever to train and transform people … but in recent decades this
concept, which needs to be loosened, continues."

Batuhan Aydagul, deputy coordinator of the Education Reform Initiative
elaborates, "There’s still some emphasis on militarism, the importance
of being martyred, the importance of going to war, dying in war and so
on." It is a common concern amongst pro-reform teachers that children
are not encouraged to give opinions opposed to established ideas and
the idea of criticizing Ataturk risks attracting the attention of
public prosecutors.

In its latest progress report, the European Union also criticized
education materials, citing the negative portrayal of minorities such
as Armenians, and said further work was needed to remove
discriminatory language from textbooks. Turkey is still involved in a
long process to join the EU.

But there are innocent motives as well in Children’s Day and for the
past 25 years Turkey has been working hard to globalize the
event. Large numbers of foreign children are sent to participate in
the celebrations. They stay with host families, giving each side the
chance to learn about other cultures, and the visitors join in the
special kids parliamentary session giving it a unique international
flavor.

Two of this year’s international participants raised eyebrows in their
formal meeting with the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The child
from Palestine, Riyad Jabarin, was the first. He invited the whole
Turkish parliament to come to Mecca and pray for peace for Palestinian
children and the press was quick to note that Erdogan chatted to him
in Arabic. The other was the Mexican participant who presented
Turkey’s teetotaller premier with a big bottle of tequila.

The United Nations Children’s Fund, moved by the example of global
brotherhood, has also designated April 23 as International Children’s
Day. In Turkey, neither celebration, Sovereignty or Children’s Day, is
likely to be ignored or dropped any time soon, but perhaps future
generations can look forward to a time when they are not so tightly
intertwined.

Fazile Zahir is of Turkish descent, born and brought up in London. She
moved to live in Turkey in 2005 and has been writing full time since
then.

(Copyright 2008 Fazile Zahir.)

JE08Ak01.html

Interfax News Agency, Russia
May 6 2008

Yerevan, Baku need to build confidence to continue Karabakh talks-
Armenian foreign minister

YEREVAN May 6

To continue talks on the Karabakh conflict resolution the parties to
the conflict must build confidence between them, Armenian Foreign
Minister Edvard Nalbandian said.

"Today the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict need to establish
mutual confidence and a constructive environment in order to continue
the talks," he said at the meeting with his French counterpart Bernard
Kouchner in Paris.

"It has to be reinstated that there is no alternative to a peaceful
resolution of the Karabakh conflict based on the talks," the Armenian
foreign minister also said.

Nalbandian said he hoped that at the meeting with Azeri Foreign
Minister Elmar Mamedyarov on May 6 the parties will continue the
constructive dialogue in order to find, with the help of OSCE
(Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Minsk Group co-
chairmen, ways of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the
Armenian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson told Interfax on Tuesday.,

The OSCE Minsk Group consists of representatives from the United
States, Russia and France.

ARTSAKH WOULD LIKE TO SET UP RELATIONS WITH IRAN

KarabakhOpen
02-05-2008 12:32:11

"Relations with Iran have special importance in developing
international relations. It should be noted that so far such relations
have encountered problems for different reasons. There are also
preconditions for the development of economic relations between the two
countries. As to the political aspect, Iran already has experience of
a mediator," said the advisor to the NKR foreign minister A. Puluzyan.

In answer to the question what possibilities of promoting relations
with Iran there are, he said the best basis for the development of
relations is the common border. The adviser to the minister says
so far no realistic projects on the use of the border the length of
which is 80 km have been offered.

A. Puluzyan thinks there are considerable prospects for economic
cooperation and investments. Among the factors the adviser noted the
Armenian community in Iran which counts 150 thousand, and which has
a considerable potential for investments.

The adviser also underlined that the Iranian culture is present
in Artsakh.

Evidence to this is the Iranian monuments, mosques in Shushi, Aghdam
and other cities of Artsakh which Azerbaijan ascribes to itself. "We
focus on the preservation of the monuments of Iranian culture. We
also know that the Armenian monuments in Iran are preserved by the
government. It may be a good basis for friendly relations between
the two countries. The NKR government has made efforts to preserve
and restore the Iranian monuments.

This fact should be viewed in the context of the efforts of Azerbaijan
to present the Karabakh conflict to the Conference of Islamic Nations,
for instance, as a religious conflict. However, we can prove that
we have friendly relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran," said
A. Puluzyan.

FOREIGN STUDENTS OF ARMENIAN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS WILL STUDY IN ARMENIAN LANGUAGE

arminfo
2008-04-30 19:35:00

ArmInfo. Armenian Education Ministry changes its course of propaganda
of Armenian language. Minister of Education and Science of Armenia
Levon Lazarian told ArmInfo the Armenian language will be introduced
as teaching language at the higher educational establishments having
foreign students.

The minister explained this step by the desire of Armenia to bring
the knowledge of Armenian to the international level. , – Lazarian
said and added that special training to study Armenian language
will be organized for foreign students. At present more than 6.000
foreign students study at state universities of Armenia, 2700 of
which are foreigners, all the rest – representatives of the Armenian
Diaspora. Training for them is chiefly being held in English, French
or Russian languages.

SAFAR ABIYEV: "ARMENIA’S WITHDRAWAL FROM THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES IS AN IMPORTANT POINT OF AZERBAIJANI-TURKISH JOINT INTERESTS"

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 1 2008

Baku. Mahbube Gasimbeyli-APA. Azerbaijani Defense Minister
General-Colonel Safar Abiyev met on Thursday with the Commander of
Turkish Air Forces Army General Aydogan Babaoglu, Press-Service of
the Defense Ministry told APA.

Safar Abiyev underlined strong historical, spiritual and cultural
ties between Azerbaijan and Turkey and said Azerbaijan was always
seeing Turkey close together in rugged times. Speaking about the
present level of Azerbaijan-Turkish relationship, the minister said
there was successful cooperation in the military field as it was in
other fields. He emphasized the importance of further development
of the cooperation. He said Azerbaijani Army made a big progress in
the past several years through the modernized military training and
education. The minister said Azerbaijani Armed Forces have always
felt the support of Turkish Armed Forces. "There are many points
which unite Azerbaijan and Turkey and important point is the Armenian
withdrawal from the occupied Azerbaijani lands".

In his turn, Turkish General said he absolutely shared thoughts of
Azerbaijani defense Minister and Turkey would always be loyal to the
principle of "One Nation in Two States".

NOT BY WORDS BUT BY DEEDS
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 01, 2008
Armenia

By the overwhelming majority of the votes (87-for, 3-against
and 1-abstaining), the Parliament expressed confidence in the
government headed by Tigran Sargsyan, approving the action plan
for the forthcoming 5 years: "pretentious", "ambitious" but still
"painful" for some people.

Before that the MPs and the representatives of all the 5 fractions
expressed their standpoints regarding the action plan of the
government.

On behalf of "Orinats Yerkir" party Heghine Bisharyan proposed absolute
support to the "audacious and pretentious" program.

Stressing the importance of the formation of the institute of
responsibility she assured: "Our political team is going to be
consistent in supporting the government and we will do our best to
put into practice the program we approved. It is a government of a
new start. Consequently, with the confirmation of those steps we must
switch on the clock of the new start."

Head of ARFD fraction Hrayr Karapetyan mentioned in his turn:
" Not all the proposals made by Dashnaktsutyun party are included
in the government’s action plan. In general it is not possible to
include the programs of all the political powers of the coalition in
this program. In that case there would have been one party, and one
political power in Armenia, with all the bad consequences deriving
from it.

In our view the priorities declared by the government must suit all
the political powers considering themselves bearers of the national
ideology, including Dashnaktsutyun."

Vardan Bostanjyan expressed the attitude of "Bargavach Hayastan" party:
"We must wish success to the government for implementing similar
program. It is of high quality and correct and we must welcome and
vote for it."

He also brought the attention of the MPs on "certain priorities
covered in the program" that in many cases don’t go beyond the form
of beautiful words. Like, for example, increase of the quality
of governance, fighting protégé and bureaucracy, free rivalry,
assistance to entrepreneurs, etc.

The speech of the representative of the Republican Party Artak
Davtyan was laconic and to the point. "Formation of effective
governing system, development of education and science, proportional
territorial development, social protection of our citizens, these
are the priorities declared in the program. It is only in case of the
implementation of those priorities that we can have a qualitatively
different country in 2012.

Taking into account this fact, as well as attaching importance to
the fact that the digital index of the program submitted by the
government is the minimum value recorded in the pre-election program
of the President, the implementation of this program requires great
power and devotion from each member of the government.

That is why by saying, "yes" to the action plan of the government RPA
faction appeals to the coalition partners to avoid party-addiction,
which according to Garegin Njdeh "must be uprooted from the guidelines
of our political figures and parties. Their role must mainly be
the unification of our people around the realization of state and
pan-national programs, being guided by moral principles and standards."

According to the evaluation of the Speaker of NA Tigran Torosyan the
government action plan is not only "very ambitious" but it is very
"special for our country. During the period before the submission
of the program, unfortunately, we revealed various flaws, that still
exist this or that way and I don’t think that tomorrow they will be
completely annihilated.

People are mostly concerned about this or that personality than the
approaches and standards submitted by the government. For around
5 decades they appointed people in different positions and then
dismissed, by different methods – ordered articles discrediting,
and libeling them. It is a really serious issue and serious
challenge. Maybe some people have become accustomed to this working
style, but this is the principal flaw existing in the society."

The Prime Minister summarized the discussion by the principled
approaches of his team and Serge Sargsyan: "We are going to
implement changes and we will start from ourselves. This program is
"pro-governmental". We will reveal the failures and propose solutions."

He also added: "The way you trust our words, I would like to assure
you that the same way, we trust you. Your moral assistance is more
binding than the criticism heard, all the time, in our address. And
we must try to prove with our work that your moral assistance is to
the point. We really need that assistance, because it is a good way
to unite for healthy cooperation.

I would like to assure you that there will be no difference between
our words and deeds. We are really interested in strengthening the
rights of the opposition by law, because we can’t have a strong
government without a strong and constructive opposition."

–Boundary_(ID_4QkslsbpMrBT/i50 eoo9oA)–

7th FESTIVAL OF BRITISH FILMS TO OPEN ON APRIL 29 IN MOSCOW CINEMA

Noyan Tapan
April 29, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The solemn opening ceremony of the
7th festival of British films will take place on April 29 in Yerevan’s
Moscow cinema. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the British Council in
Armenia, it is the 7th year this festival is organized in Armenia on
the initiative of the Embassy of Great Britain in Armenia and the
British Council. The festival’s goal is to present British culture
to Armenian society. Six films having received many prizes will be
presented within the framework of the festival this year.

HRAT GNU/LINUX – FIRST ARMENIAN LINUX DISTRIBUTION

LinuxWorld.com, NJ

http://www.linuxworld. com/community/?q=node/3935
April 28 2008

Operation System (OS) Linux is not well known in Armenia. Often it
is used for internet providers and organizations as server. Linux as
desktop for workstations is not far in use here in Armenia.

One of the problems may be OS language. For nowadays it is
very important for many people to work on computer using native
language. Basically it is necessary for pupils and kids in the
preschool education.

That’s means that we must provide our compatriots with such OS which
has following options.

* Price simplicity: it means that the OS is free.

* Easy installation: the system should install needed software by
default, and only for experts may be other options.

* OS functionality may take into consideration the preferences of
software for Armenian users.

* OS in essence must be developed as Open Source, involving world-wide
experience (we do not mean that our offered system must be the only
Armenian OS. It is in great need to translate other OS, too. Simply,
we want other users to have an opportunity to use free OS and software,
which can be used on present, past and future computers.)

The author of the Hrat GNU/Linux project is Vardan Gevorgyan, who
manages a small group of volunteers. The project is open, interested
may join. More, we think that the success of the project and the
power of considered system mostly relays on the compatriot’s support.

The Hrat GNU/Linux OS is based on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution.

Project can be supported in follow:

1. Translations 2. Package creations 3. Donation

1. Translation

Now we work on the translate.debian.am web-site, which gives an
opportunity for interested people (translators) to make translations
on-line.

People who have made any translations will be involved in the file
header as a translator.

Unless the translate.debian.am web-site is in creation process the
translations will be done by e-mail.

2. Package Creation

For this kind of support the deep computer skills are needed:
especially in Linux OS.

AHARON CHILINGARYAN APPOINTED FIRST DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE STATE TAX SERVICE

armradio.am
28.04.2008 17:40

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan today introduced the newly appointed
First Deputy Chief of the State Tax Service adjunct to RA Government
Aharon Chilingaryan to the staff.

Congratulating him on appointment, the Prime Minister thanked Aharon
Chilingaryan for the wish to move from the private to the state sector,
since, according to Tigran Sargsyan, there are more opportunities
in the private sector to get revenues. Tigran Sargsyan characterized
the newly appointed Deputy Chief of the State Tax Service as one of
the best specialists of the sphere.

Thanking for appointment, Aharon Chilingaryan underlined his
willingness to invest all his resources. In his words, there are
many issues that cannot be solved by the tax system only. However,
there are a number of issues this body is able to solve alone. "I’m
grateful for trust and feel very accountable before everyone. We should
do our best for the system to work more effectively and transparently,"
Mr. Chilingaryan said.