Author: Tamamian Anna

est

MediaMatters
for America

October 12, 2007

NY Times again omitted Bush’s 2000 pledge to "properly recognize[]"
"genocidal campaign" against Armenians

Summary: An October 12 New York Times article about a House of
Representatives resolution labeling the killing of Armenians by the
Ottoman Empire from 1915-1923 as genocide reported that the Bush
administration opposed the resolution. However, the article did not
mention that as a presidential candidate in 2000, Bush sent a letter
to the Armenian National Committee of America, in which, according to
a press release on the organization’s website, he wrote that "[t]he
Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies
comprehension" and that if elected president, he "would ensure that
our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian
people." An October 11 Times article also did not mention the letter.

An October 12 New York Times article about the resolution approved by
the House Foreign Affairs Committee on October 10 — labeling the
killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915-1923 as genocide
— reported that the Bush administration opposed the resolution
without mentioning that as a presidential candidate in 2000, Bush sent
a letter to the Armenian National Committee of America, in which,
according to a press release on the organization’s website, he wrote
that "[t]he Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that
defies comprehension." According to the excerpt of the letter posted
on the website, Bush also said that if elected president, he "would
ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the
Armenian people," as Media Matters for America documented. The New
York Times also did not mention Bush’s pledge in an October 11 article
about Bush’s objection to the House committee’s resolution. Similarly,
two separate reports on the October 11 edition of CNN’s The Situation
Room noted the administration’s objections to the resolution without
mentioning Bush’s reported promise in 2000 to "properly recognize[]"
the Armenian people’s "tragic suffering." During the 5 p.m. ET hour of
The Situation Room on October 10, CNN senior Pentagon correspondent
Jamie McIntyre noted:

At issue, a House resolution labeling the killings of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I genocide.

President Bush used that word himself as a candidate back in 2000,
but says now the timing couldn’t be worse.

McIntyre did not note Bush’s 2000 pledge, and CNN has not mentioned
the fact that Bush had previously used the term "genocidal campaign"
to describe the Ottoman Empire’s treatment of the Armenians since
McIntyre’s report on the October 10 edition of The Situation Room.

In an October 10 statement, Bush urged members of the House "to oppose
the Armenian genocide resolution":

On another issue before Congress, I urge members to oppose the
Armenian genocide resolution now being considered by the House Foreign
Affairs Committee. We all deeply regret the tragic suffering of the
Armenian people that began in 1915. This resolution is not the right
response to these historic mass killings, and its passage would do
great harm to our relations with a key ally in NATO and in the global
war on terror.

>From the October 12 New York Times article:

The committee vote in the House, though nonbinding and largely
symbolic, rebuffed an intense campaign by the White House and earlier
warnings from Turkey’s government that such a vote would gravely
strain relations with the United States.

In Washington, the Bush administration tried to ease the hard
feelings between the countries, and vowed to try to defeat the
resolution on Capitol Hill.

"One of the reasons we opposed the resolution in the House
yesterday is that the president has expressed on behalf of the
American people our horror at the tragedy of 1915," said Dana Perino,
President Bush’s chief spokeswoman. "But at the same time, we have
national security concerns, and many of our troops and supplies go
through Turkey. They are a very important ally in the war on terror,
and we are going to continue to try to work with them. And we hope
that the House does not put forward a full vote."

[…]

For his part, Ross Wilson, the United States ambassador to Turkey,
also tried to calm relations, issuing a statement on Thursday saying
that the partnership between Turkey and the United States was strong
and would remain so. He added that he, President Bush and Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice regretted the committee decision.

During the 4 p.m. ET hour of The Situation Room, anchor Wolf Blitzer
stated that "the Bush administration is warning of some major
consequences, ramifications, if the full House moves forward with this
legislation." In the 5 p.m. ET hour of the program, CNN State
Department correspondent Zain Verjee reported that Rice will be "be
reaching out to top House leaders, trying to convince them not to let
the resolution go through in the full House." Neither Blitzer nor
Verjee mentioned the pledge Bush reportedly made in 2000.

According to the Armenian National Committee of America’s press
release, Bush called the Turkish killing of Armenians a "genocidal
campaign" and vowed that the United States would "properly
recognize[]" the event. The blog Think Progress highlighted the press
release on October 10. Despite his pledge as a candidate to "ensure"
this recognition, as president, Bush does not appear to have used the
term "genocide" — or a variant thereof — to describe the killings,
according to a search of the White House website. From the "partial
text" of Bush’s letter on the Armenian National Committee of America
website:

The twentieth century was marred by wars of unimaginable
brutality, mass murder and genocide. History records that the
Armenians were the first people of the last century to have endured
these cruelties. The Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign
that defies comprehension and commands all decent people to remember
and acknowledge the facts and lessons of an awful crime in a century
of bloody crimes against humanity. If elected President, I would
ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the
Armenian people.

>From the 4 p.m. ET hour of CNN’s The Situation Room on October 11:

BLITZER: Turkey recalling its ambassador to the United States. The
announcement coming after a House panel approved a bill describing
mass killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide.

Our congressional correspondent Dana Bash is on the Hill. She’s
watching this story for us.

Dana, the Bush administration is warning of some major
consequences, ramifications, if the full House moves forward with this
legislation.

BASH: They sure are, Wolf. But you know, a small but very vocal
Armenian-American community, they have been lobbying Congress for
decades to call the mass killings actually genocide.

In the past, congressional leaders simply have not voted for it
because of that kind of pressure from the Turks and from presidents,
Democrats and Republicans, and the intense lobbying from high-powered
lobbyists that the Turks hired in order to do that. But that pressure
is not swaying the Democratic leaders now running Congress.

[begin video clip]

BASH: Mass killings of Armenians by the Turks took place
nearly a century ago. So why is the House moving to label it genocide
now?

HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Because now — there’s
never a good time. And all of us in the Democratic leadership have
supported — are making — reiterating Americans’ acknowledgement of a
genocide.

BASH: Defiant Democratic leaders say they view this as part of
their mandate, restoring America’s moral authority around the world.

REP. TOM LANTOS (D-CA): When the Turkish government says there
was no genocide of Armenians, we have to set them straight.

BASH: For Foreign Affairs chairman Tom Lantos, fighting for
human rights is personal.

BASH: You escaped two labor camps in Hungary?

LANTOS: Yes, yes.

BASH: And you were how old?

LANTOS: Well, by that time, I was 16.

BASH: He is the only Holocaust survivor in Congress.

LANTOS: I feel that I have a tremendous opportunity as a
survivor of the Holocaust to bring a moral dimension to our foreign
policy.

BASH: Lantos pushed the symbolic resolution calling Armenian
killings genocide despite intense pressure against it from the Bush
administration. He dismisses Turkish warnings this could jeopardize
U.S. relations with Turkey, a critical Mideast ally that insists the
Armenian deaths were not genocide.

BASH: What if it says, "You’re not going to be able to use our
air space anymore," or, "You’re not going to be able to use our
country to get critical supplies to the men and women who are fighting
in Iraq"?

LANTOS: Well, with all due respect to the Turkish government,
the Turkish-American relationship is infinitely more valuable to
Turkey than it is to the United States. The Turkish government will
not act against the United States because that would be against their
own interests. I’m convinced of this.

[end video clip]

BASH: But the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee
disagrees, and that Democratic chairman, Ike Skelton [D-MO], Wolf,
wrote this letter to the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, which CNN has
obtained. And in it, he warns that the Armenian resolution could
actually hinder the Democrats’ chief goal in this Congress, and that
is bringing troops home from Iraq. He says that is because Turkey, of
course, is a key transfer port — point, I should say, for getting
troops home from Iraq.

BLITZER: Dana Bash on the Hill for us. Thanks, Dana, very much.

>From the 5 p.m. ET hour of The Situation Room on October 11:

BLITZER: A strong reaction from Turkey right now. The Turkish
government pulling its ambassador from the United States. That after a
House committee passed a resolution saying Turkey committed genocide
in World War I against Armenians.

Our State Department correspondent, Zain Verjee, is following this
story for us, and it’s escalating literally by the hour, Zain. What’s
going on?

VERJEE: It is, Wolf. Here at the State Department, officials are
doing a lot of damage control. The big worry here today at the State
Department is that could Turkey turn from a friend into an enemy.

[begin video clip]

VERJEE: Turks take to the streets, tired of supporting the
U.S. and having little to show for it. Turkish officials say they just
don’t trust the U.S., which they thought was their closest ally. They
feel betrayed by a congressional committee vote calling the killing of
Armenians by Turks in World War I genocide. Turkey warned of
consequences, and now it’s making good on its threat, recalling its
ambassador the U.S. for consultations.

TOM CASEY (State Department spokesman): That is their
decision. I think that it certainly will not do anything to limit our
efforts to continue on reach out to Turkish officials.

VERJEE: Turkey is threatening more action if the resolution
passes the full House.

EGEMAN BAGIS (foreign policy adviser to Turkish prime
minister): Despite our warnings, U.S. Congress wanted to play
hardball. We now have to play hardball, as well.

VERJEE: Like cutting off its air space to the U.S. military,
like it did with France and Canada, who passed similar measures. It
could also end access to Incirlik Air Base, which the U.S. military
uses to transport critical cargo and fuel supplies to Iraq.

RICE: The passage of this resolution at this time would,
indeed, be very problematic for everything that we are trying to do in
the Middle East.

VERJEE: And might open a dangerous new front in the Iraq war.
Turkey wants to destroy Kurdish rebels, called the PKK, that have
launched cross-border attacks from northern Iraq, killing Turks.

BAGIS: PKK for us is what Al Qaeda is to you.

VERJEE: And Turkish officials say if the U.S. won’t go after
the PKK, Turkey will. Turkish helicopters crossed into Iraqi airspace
Thursday, and troops are dangerously poised along the border.

[end video clip]

VERJEE: And secretary of state, Wolf, Condoleezza Rice is reaching
out to the top Turkish leadership, trying to assure them that the U.S.
is a strong friend and a very good ally and that Turkey is important
to the U.S. She’s also going to be reaching out to top House leaders,
trying to convince them not to let the resolution go through in the
full House. Wolf.

BLITZER: Zain, lots at stake right now.

>From the 5 p.m. ET hour of The Situation Room on October 10:

BLITZER: The Bush administration right now is in a tense standoff
with Congress over a resolution that would pin the genocide label on
Turkey for mass killings carried out during the First World War. The
White House and military commanders are deeply worried about the
impact on the current war in Iraq by what’s happening in the House of
Representatives right now.

Let’s go to live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie
McIntyre. He’s watching this story. Why is the Pentagon, in
particular, Jamie, so concerned?

McINTYRE: Well, it’s coming at a really bad time. Turkey sent
warplanes and attack helicopters into northern Iraq today to pound
Kurdish rebel positions, a possible prelude to an incursion. The U.S.
is urging restraint on Turkey, and, at the same time, the Bush
administration is accusing Congress of making things worse.

[begin video clip]

PELOSI: The House will be in order.

McINTYRE: As if to underscore her defiance of the Bush
administration, Speaker Nancy Pelosi gaveled the House to order with a
prayer by an Armenian chaplain.

CATHOLICOS KAREKIN II (Armenian Apostolic Church): With a
solemn burden of history, we remember the victims of the genocide of
the Armenians.

McINTYRE: That historical note has become a testy
confrontation with the White House. At issue, a House resolution
labeling the killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks during World War I genocide.

President Bush used that word himself as a candidate back in
2000, but says now the timing couldn’t be worse.

BUSH: This resolution is not the right response to these
historic mass killings, and its passage would do great harm to our
relations with a key ally in NATO.

McINTYRE: The Pentagon argues the resolution would anger
Turkey and hamper the war effort in Iraq. Seventy percent of air
cargo, including armored MRAP vehicles, as well as 30 percent of fuel,
fly by way of the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.

– K.H.

CHANCES FOR IRAQ INCURSION TO GROW IF ARMENIAN BILL PASSED

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 11 2007

The possibility for a cross-border operation into Iraq to hunt down
the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists would increase if the US
Congress passes a resolution backing Armenian allegations of genocide
at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire, officials and analysts said.

Demonstrators hold Turkish flags and a banner that reads: ‘I can’t
stand even American tourists’ during a protest against a ‘genocide’
resolution in the US Congress in front of the US Consulate in Ýstanbul.

Egemen Baðýþ, a senior lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AK Party) who is having talks in Washington with two other
lawmakers in the US Congress and the administration against the
resolution, said the resolution would make it hard for the Turkish
government to continue close cooperation with the United States and
resist calls from the public to go after the PKK terrorists who have
mounted deadly attacks on Turkish soldiers in recent weeks, according
to The Associated Press.

"If the Armenian genocide resolution passes, then I think that the
possibility of a cross-border operation is very high," Ýhsan Daðý,
a professor of international relations at the Middle East Technical
University and a regular columnist for Today’s Zaman, said.

Turkey has previously said it would prefer that the US and its Iraqi
Kurd allies in northern Iraq crack down on the PKK but warned it
would take the matters into its own hands if no action is taken.

Supporters of the resolution have been trying to counteract Turkish
warnings that passage of the resolution would harm bilateral relations
with arguments that Turkish-American relations were too important to
Turkey for the government to scuttle.

But these warnings come amid the Turkish government’s ongoing efforts
to send a motion to Parliament to authorize a cross-border operation
into northern Iraq, which should it occur could seriously upset
US efforts to stabilize the country. Many in the US also fear that
a public backlash in Turkey could lead to restrictions on crucial
supply routes through Turkey to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the closure
of Ýncirlik, a strategic air base in Turkey used by the US Air Force.

Baðýþ underscored that possibility. "Let us not forget that 75
percent of all supplies to your troops in Iraq go through Turkey,"
he was quoted as saying by the AP. The resolution calls on the US
administration to ensure that the alleged genocide is reflected in the
US foreign policy. Turkey categorically rejects genocide charges and
says the relations will receive a deep blow if the resolution passes.

Strong appeal from Bush, Rice, Gates

Turkish and US officials exerted last-ditch efforts before a planned
vote of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee late
yesterday. In a statement, President George W. Bush strongly opposed
the resolution, saying it would do "great harm" to ties with key ally
Turkey and urging the Committee members to oppose it. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates also issued
a joint appeal at the White House just hours before the committee
was to vote on the measure.

"The passage of this resolution at this time would be very problematic
for everything we are trying to do in the Middle East," Rice said,
adding that the measure would be "very destabilizing to our efforts
in Iraq and Afghanistan because Turkey, as an important strategic
ally, is very critical in supporting the efforts that we are making
in these crucial areas." Gates said the United States relies heavily
on Turkey for resupplying US forces in Iraq.

President George W. Bush was to make a statement later asking Congress
not to support the resolution.

On Tuesday, President Abdullah Gul warned of "serious troubles in
the two countries’ relations" if the measure is approved.

"I have been trying to warn the lawmakers not to make a historic
mistake," Baðýþ said. A measure of the potential problem came in a
warning the US Embassy in Ankara issued Tuesday to US citizens in
Turkey, a key NATO ally.

"If, despite the administration’s concerted efforts against this
resolution, it passes committee and makes its way to the floor of the
House for debate and a possible vote, there could be a reaction in the
form of demonstrations and other manifestations of anti-Americanism
throughout Turkey," the statement said.

Armenian-American interest groups also have been rallying supporters
in the large diaspora community to pressure lawmakers to make sure
that a successful committee vote leads to consideration by the full
House. The resolution seemed to have enough support on the committee
for passage, but the majority was slight and some backers said they
feared that Turkish pressure would narrow it further. Most Republicans
were expected to vote against the resolution.

On Tuesday, Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly
of America, sought to shore up support in letters to the committee’s
chairman, Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos of California and its ranking
Republican member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. "We have a unique
opportunity in this Congress, while there are still survivors of the
Armenian genocide living among us, to irrevocably and unequivocally
reaffirm this fact of history," Ardouny claimed.

–Boundary_(ID_avn+pvjBlAf5RpyD4FKHDg)–

DEMIRCHIAN’S PARTY DOES NOT RULE OUT ELECTION SUPPORT FOR EX-LEADER
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 10 2007

Stepan Demirchian’s opposition People’s Party of Armenia (HZhK) does
not exclude that it may support the election bid of ex-president
Levon Ter-Petrosian if the latter decides to run for president and
manages to build broad-based political support for his campaign.

The party’s secretary Grigor Harutiunian said on Wednesday that while
the HZhK can participate in the elections with its own candidate,
they would still prefer rallying around a single opposition candidate.

"Consolidation is the only way to wage a successful struggle against
this regime. Participating separately opposition candidates are doomed
to failure," he added.

The HZhK representative described Ter-Petrosian as a politician
with a proven track record who can become a presidential candidate
enjoying broad-based opposition support. He hinted at the presence of
Ter-Petrosian’s former allies in the current leadership who, he said,
"all know his possibilities."

While admitting many negative phenomena that dogged Armenia’s first
post-communist administration led by Ter-Petrosian, Harutiunian
said that "all the negative things that began under the previous
leadership have reached an unprecedented scale today, increasing a
thousand times."

"A person is of no value today, pervasive corruption curbs the
country’s development. They can now easily buy people’s votes," he
charged. "The parliamentary killings on October 27, 1999 happened
[under the current administration] and all those responsible for that
were promoted in office."

CONGRESSIONAL VOTE COULD TRIGGER TURKEY’S INVASION OF IRAQ

World Tribune
07/me_turkey_10_10.asp
Oct 10 2007

ANKARA – Turkey is finalizing plans to invade Iraq in an effort to
destroy the Kurdish Workers Party.

Turkey concluded two days of high-level discussions that focused on
plans for a major military incursion of northern Iraq. Officials said
the General Staff has presented plans for an invasion by thousands
of Turkish troops, backed by attack helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft
and armored vehicles, of Iraq’s Kandil mountains, the stronghold of
the PKK.

The meetings took place on the eve of a vote on a U.S. congressional
resolution that would deem Turkey responsible for the killing of 1.5
million Armenians during World War I. Officials said passage of the
so-called Armenian Genocide resolution could prompt a decision by
Ankara to invade Iraq.

"There will be a backlash and no government can be indifferent to
that," Turkey’s ambassador in Washington, Nabi Sensoy, said.

Officials said the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan
has urged the Bush administration to block a vote in Congress on the
Armenian Genocide resolution. On Oct. 10, the resolution was scheduled
for a vote by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which could lead
to another vote by the full House.

Turkey has directed U.S. military contractors to oppose the resolution
in the Democratic-controlled House, where it was expected to
pass. Ankara has also recruited Israel and its lobby to work against
the resolution.

"The lobbying has been the most intense that I have ever seen it,"
Rep. Adam Schiff, the sponsor of the House resolution, said.

The calls for a Turkish invasion have intensified in wake of the
killing of 15 Turkish soldiers and police officers over the weekend.

The soldiers were killed in PKK improvised explosive device operations
in the Sirnak province along the Iraqi border.

"Institutions concerned have been given the necessary orders and
instructions to make all kinds of legal, economic and political
preparations to end the presence of the terror organization in a
neighboring country in the upcoming period, including if necessary
a cross-border operation," the government statement said on Tuesday.

The PKK attacks triggered a military offensive against Kurdish
insurgents along the Iraqi border. Officials said the military has
amassed tens of thousands of troops for an invasion of Iraq that
could take place over the next few days. They said the outline of
the military plan was relayed to parliament.

"If we’re talking about hot pursuit, then there is no need for
parliamentary authorization," Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul
said. "If it’s a cross-border operation, then there is need for one."

Over the last six months, Turkey has conducted a series of exercises
and operations along the 500-kilometer border with Iraq. Officials
said Ankara has carried out small-scale incursions into northern Iraq
to attack suspected PKK strongholds.

Under the latest plans, Ankara would launch a major operation in
the Kandil mountains meant to destroy PKK bases before the onset of
winter, where ground maneuvers would be virtually impossible. Turkey
has assessed that about 5,000 PKK fighters were in the Kandil mountains
or inside Turkey.

Turkey’s General Staff has sought approval from the government of
Prime Minister Recep Erdogan for an invasion of Iraq. But Erdogan,
under pressure from the European Union and the United States, has
demurred, and instead sought to obtain cooperation from Iraq for
operations against the PKK.

"I am not sure that unilateral incursions are the way to go, the way
to resolve the issue," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
said on Tuesday. "We have counseled them both in public and private
for many, many months [on] the idea that it is important to work
cooperatively to resolve this issue."

On Tuesday, the U.S. embassy in Ankara warned Americans in Turkey of
the prospect of violence in wake of House passage of the Armenian
genocide resolution. The embassy said anti-American demonstrations
could take place throughout Turkey.

"The Department of State advises U.S. citizens traveling or residing in
Turkey to be alert to the potential for demonstrations, and to avoid
large gatherings," the embassy said. "Even demonstrations intended
to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into
violence. American citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas
of demonstrations if possible, and to avoid areas of demonstrations
if possible. Particular caution should be exercised in places known
to be frequented by Americans."

ARMENIAN UNIBANK’S ASSETS REACH AMD 48 BILLION BY LATE SEPTEMBER AFTER GROWING 30% OVER ONE YEAR

ARKA News Agency
Oct 10 2007
Armenia

YEREVAN, October 10. /ARKA/. Armenian Unibank’s assets reached AMD
48 billion by late September 2007 after growing 30%, compared with
the previous year, the bank’s press office reports.

According to the report, individuals’ deposits exceeded 21 billion
and credit portfolio grew to 32 billion.

The press release says Unibank started functioning six years ago and
is now reckoned among the country’s five biggest banks.

Unibank is the largest holder of individuals’ time deposits.

According to the information, the bank widened the range of services
and implemented reforms in 2007. As a result, the number of its
clients grew to 30,000. Unibank was founded in 2001 in Yerevan.

50% of the bank’s shares belong to Uniastrum Asset Management. The
bank has 29 branches, of which 12 in Yerevan, 15 in provinces and
two in Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Unibank has representation office
in Moscow. ($1 = AMD 333.32)

ARMENTEL’S 3G LICENCE UPS ANTE IN ARMENIAN MOBILE MARKET
by Michael Lacquiere

Global Insight
October 9, 2007

Armenian mobile operator Armentel has been granted a 3G licence. The
licence allows the provision of 3G services in the 1920-1935 MHz
and 2110-2115 MHz frequency bands. Armentel’s monopoly of the mobile
sector ended in 2005 with the launch of K-Telecom, which has since
become the country’s market leader with 986,000 subscribers at the
end of the first half of 2007, compared to Armentel’s 471,000. On
1 October 2007, Armentel also relinquished its monopoly of numerous
other areas of telephony, including the fixed-line, leased-line and
IP telephony markets (seeArmenia: 3 October 2007:).

Significance:Having seen first its monopoly and then its leadership
of the mobile market taken away by K-Telecom, Armentel will hope to
establish a decisive lead in an as-yet unexplored 3G market. Extra
spice in the contest between Armentel and K-Telecom is added by the
fact that Armentel was this year fully acquired by Russia’s VimpelCom,
while K-Telecom was just last month acquired by VimpelCom’s major
Russian rival, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) (seeArmenia: 17 September
2007:). VimpelCom and MTS are currently racing to launch 3G services
in Russia and, with press reports suggesting that K-Telecom is likely
to obtain its own 3G licence in Armenia imminently, it appears that a
similar battle will now be waged by the Russians’ Armenian units. At
the moment it is unclear when Armentel intends to launch 3G services,
or what sort of demand there will be among subscribers. At the start
of the year, mobile penetration in Armenia was just 14.5%, and the
percentage of high-end post-paid subscribers to Armentel’s network
has traditionally been low–factors that suggest that 3G uptake will
not necessarily be strong. However, in the second quarter of 2007,
Armentel reported monthly ARPU of US$17.3, a high level that indicates
that it may be within the means of its current subscriber base to
embrace 3G services. Competition in the sector is likely to make 3G
services more affordable.

HEAD OF ARMENIAN DELEGATION TO PACE: THE EUROPEAN MISSION’S REFUSAL TO VISIT THE REGION IS A RESULT OF AZERBAIJAN’S INTENSIFYING PRESSURE ON EUROPEAN STRUCTURES

ArmInfo Agency, Armenia
Oct 8 2007

ArmInfo. "The European missions’ refusals to visit the region
that have recently become frequent are the result of Azerbaijan’s
intensifying pressure on the European structures and increasing
caution of Europeans," Chairman of the Armenian delegation to PACE
David Harutyunyan said in the Armenian Parliament, Monday.

According to him, during the meeting with Lord Russell Johnston,
the head of the PACE temporary commission on Nagorno-Karabakh, and
Samed Seidov, the head of the Azeri delegation to PACE, the Armenian
side suggested continuing the discussion on the above- mentioned issue
concerning Stepanakert. Touching upon the statement of Armen Rustamyan,
a member of the Armenian delegation, D.Harutyunyan noted that his
speech concerned the activity of the International Organization for
Migration. In addition, Gultakin Hajiyeva, a member of the Azeri
delegation to PACE, made a report on migration at the session. She
seized the opportunity and evaded the main topic of her report,
dwelling upon the problem of refugees and Nakhijevan’s blockade from
the Armenian side. Afterwards Armen Rustamyan made a speech. He noted
that Ms. Hajiyeva evaded the main topic of her report, touching upon
the Karabakh problem, and displayed discriminatory treatment to the
topic. During the meeting with Secretary General of the Council of
Europe Terry Davis, the Armenian parliamentary delegation stressed the
fact that Azerbaijan, which regularly sets preconditions, frustrates
the PACE and CE international experts’ visits aimed at gathering facts
and assessing the situation with the medieval khachkars (cross-stones)
in the area of Old Julfa’s cemetery.

REFUGEES APPEALED TO BAKO SAHAKIAN

A1+
[05:12 pm] 08 October, 2007

"Refugees and International Law" Civil Society network forwarded
a letter to NKR President Bako Sahakian with the request to second
refugees of Soviet and post-Soviet countries.

The network submitted 25 000 signatures from the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, the Russian Federation, Australia, the USA, Sweden, Ukraine,
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other countries who demand material and
moral compensation from Azerbaijan.

The refugees authorize the NKR government to act on their behalf.

FRANCE, TURKEY AGREE TO MEND FENCES DESPITE EU SPAT

Agence France Presse
Oct 5 2007

ANKARA (AFP) – France and Turkey said Friday they would work to
mend fences and seek closer cooperation, despite lingering disputes
over Ankara’s EU membership bid and the Armenian massacres of the
Ottoman era.

"We share a desire to improve our ties in every field… I see our
talks today as the beginning of a new impetus in bilateral relations,"
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said after talks with visiting
French counterpart Bernard Kouchner.

Kouchner was the highest-level French official to visit Ankara since
Nicolas Sarkozy, a staunch opponent of Turkey’s bid to join the
European Union, was elected president in May.

Sarkozy argues that most of Turkey’s territory is in Asia and that the
idea of a united Europe would be diluted if its borders stretch that
far. He has instead proposed a close partnership agreement with Turkey.

Ankara has slammed Sarkozy’s stance, insisting that full membership
is the the only objective of its accession talks.

Pledging that Turkey would pursue its democratic reforms to catch up
with European norms, Babacan stressed that "we expect the EU to stay
loyal to the promises that it has made to Turkey."

Kouchner said the talks had laid the ground for an extensive dialogue
on Turkey’s EU aspirations.

"Our relations had cooled a bit. I hope they will warm up in the
coming days," he said.

Kouchner said he hoped a French bill passed in October 2006 calling
for jail sentences for those who deny that Ottoman Turks committed
genocide against Armenians during World War I would not stand in the
way of improving ties.

Turkey has threatened unspecified measures against the bill, which
followed a 2001 French parliament resolution, which had already
poisoned bilateral ties, recognising the killings as genocide.

In a newspaper interview published Friday, Kouchner insisted that
Turkey’s EU accession talks were an "open-ended" process that did
not guarantee membership.

Sarkozy told Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the
sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York last month that the
negotiations would lead to closer ties between Turkey and the EU,
"even though we disagree on the ultimate goal of these talks,"
Kouchner told Milliyet.

"Therefore, everything is open-ended today," he said, adding that a
debate on the future of Europe was also needed.

Turkey conducted far-reaching reforms to win the green light for
accession talks in October 2005 despite strong opposition in European
public opinion, notably in France.

Last year, its bid took a serious blow when the EU, in response to
Ankara’s refusal to grant trade privileges to Cyprus, suspended talks
in eight of 35 policy areas candidates must negotiate.

Kouchner said France wants to cooperate with Turkey in the field of
energy in particular and would try to overcome Turkish opposition
to the participation of Gaz de France (GDF) in the Nabucco pipeline
project to carry natural gas from the Middle East and Central Asia
to the EU via Turkey and the Balkans.

"This is a very important issue for France and I hope for speedy
progress," he told Milliyet.

The Turkish gas company BOTAS is reportedly blocking GDF’s inclusion
in the project in retaliation for the Armenian genocide bill.

Kouchner said France also backs a strong Turkish role in resolving
regional issues such as the turmoil in Iraq, the dispute over
Iran’s nuclear programme, the instability in Lebanon and the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Kouchner was to meet Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul before wrapping
up his visit late Friday.

DAVIT HAKOBYAN: LIE IS THE ART OF KINGS

Lragir, Armenia
Oct 4 2007

"Lie is the art of kings," said Davit Hakobyan, leader of the
Marxist Party, in a news conference on October 4 with regard to Serge
Sargsyan’s explanation of the rise of prices of food on October 3 who
said food became expensive in the world, which caused the prices to
go up in Armenia.

"He is not telling the historical truth that two weeks ago Robin Hood
invited all the tax and customs officials and instructed to fill the
budget at any price to announce about a 2.5 billion budget two days
later," Davit Hakobyan says. According to him, Robert Kocharyan was
even unable to collect one billion, let alone 50 percent revaluation
of the dram against the dollar.

"Now he is announcing 2.5 billion. Why doesn’t he announce 6-7
billion? The budget of Estonia with a population of 1.5 million is
6-7 billion," the Marxist says. According to him, instead of pointing
to new sources of return, the government is trying to fill the budget
with taxes. "Sargsyan does not care that a loaf of bread of 300 g is
sold at the price of one kg of bread. He does not see this. Or, he
should show on some web site the prices of food on any international
or regional market," Davit Hakobyan says.