Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

VIVACell-MTS MAKES THE DREAMS OF 11 HOMELESS FAMILIES IN GYUMRI COME TRUE

Lragir.am
19:47:00 – 08/12/2008

AMD 93,370,438 allocated by Armenia’s leading mobile operator for
obtaining 11 apartments for the homeless people in Gyumri

One day before the 20th Anniversary of the 1988 earthquake,
VivaCell-MTS made the dreams of 11 homeless families in Gyumri come
true. The good will of an Armenian Company who felt that something
should be done was motivation enough to extend helping hands to 11
needy families who now moved to their simple, decent and affordable
apartments before the Armenian freezing winter started and to meet
the New Year with rebuilt hope and new dreams. Now they can raise
their children in safe and decent conditions.

"We dare to dream because we believe in the future of Armenia,
and we care for our nation", noted VivaCell-MTS General Manager
Ralph Yirikian.

AMD 93,370,438 allocated by Armenia’s leading mobile operator for
obtaining 11 apartments for the homeless people in Gyumri

BARBED WIRE FENCE DIVIDING TWO NEIGHBORS

Hurriyet
Dec 4 2008
Turkey

YEREVAN – Despite diplomatic relations picking up in recent months
with President Gul’s visit to Yerevan, the border between Armenia and
Turkey remains closed. People that remember once breakfasting in Turkey
and lunching in Armenia, now have a barbed wire fence cutting them off

There is a lake between Turkey and Armenia that separates the
two countries. The Armenians call it "Aghuryan," and the Turks,
"Arpacay." The lake is so fertile it is swarming with fish. Neither
Armenians nor Turks can fish in the lake. Just 20 minutes from the
lake, barbed wire splits a railroad in two.

It is just one segment of the immense railway that stretches through
Armenia to Turkey. The entrance to Haygazsor Village at the north
of the lake is under the control of Russian and Armenian soldiers. A
sharp lookout is kept at the border of the village. It is forbidden
for an ordinary Armenian to enter the church of the village, even
for the Sunday service. The only way to attend the service is with
special permission to enter the village.

Before sunrise, in a cab driven by a Mr. Suren, we hit the road for
Gyumri, the closest border point to Turkey and the second biggest
city in Armenia. We spoke with Mr. Suren throughout the journey and
occasionally stopped at villages to speak to villagers. We were told
by 90 percent of villagers that they escaped from various cities
and towns of Anatolia, especially Kars, during the events of 1915,
to Armenia, which was then under Soviet rule.

The Armenian language they speak has an Anatolian accent. Every village
has its own special dialect. Because of this, it is sometimes hard
for people in neighbouring villages to understand each other. The
villages are no different from typical Anatolian villages and neither
are the villagers. They have named the places they live in after the
towns and cities in Anatolia they migrated from. Nearly all of the
villagers understand Turkish, even if they do not speak it.

Protecting the churches The major problem these villagers face is
the regular supply of water. While Yerevan, the extremely modern
and European looking capital of Armenia, is only 40 minutes away,
these villages are still without pipes. The villagers also face great
difficulties when the temperature drops below -40 degrees during
winter. Heating is as much of a problem as water.

We traveled from Yerevan to Gyumri in just over two hours in fits
and starts. The first stop for the Hurriyet Daily News was at a
journalist’s club in Gyumri called Asparez. Without delay, we continued
on to the border with the club president, Levon Barsexyan. Along
the way Barsexyan acquainted us with the city. He told about the
one storey houses built precaution to Gyumri’s location on a fault
line. Barsexyan said the streets and houses in Gyumri were similar
to those in Kars. "The Armenians migrated from Kars to Gyumri and
brought their lifestyle with them to this city."

Barsexyan’s grandfather was born in Kars. Before the closing of the
border, they used to go to Kars for breakfast and be back in Gyumri
for lunch. According to Barsexyan, the Soviet rulers demanded the
demolition of the churches of Gyumri but the people cleverly built
tall buildings around the churches, hiding the churches in within the
buildings courtyards. They saved many thousand-year-old churches from
demolition this way. When the Republic of Armenia gained independence
after the fall of the Soviet Union, the tall buildings were demolished
and the churches were visible once more.

During Soviet rule, Gyumri was called "Leninagan," in homage to
Lenin. Barsexyan said the city was now known by both names. There
are still visible traces in the village of the 1988 earthquake. We
walked around Gyumri under Barsexyan’s guide and reached the border
with Turkey.

Barsexyan warned us to hide our cameras as a precaution as we
approached the barbed wire. A few minutes later, we passed down the
road, walking along the railway line, half of which extends into
Turkey. We reached the border between the two countries, and looking
through the mesh of barbed wire, I gazed upon the country of my birth,
before rounding up my week long trip to Armenia.

Azerbaijan Business Center, Azerbaijan
Dec 3 2008

Armenia and Georgia pollute Kura river on the border with Azerbaijan

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The National Environmental Monitoring Department
(Azerbaijan Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources) has conducted
monitoring for the third 10-day period of December to define level of
pollution in the Kura and Arax transborder rivers.

The Ministry’s press service informs that the monitoring revealed
exceeding multi-fold the norm of phenols and copper compounds in the
Kura and Arax rivers adjoining to points under transborder pollutions.

The main water contaminants in Shikhli-2 point of Kura River are
phenols and copper compounds, content of which has exceeded maximum
allowable coefficient 3-5 fold, in Agstafachay River ` copper
compounds exceeded the coefficient 3 fold and phenols ` 2 fold,
Agstafachay water storage ` phenols and copper compounds 2 fold.

Such biogenic matters as ammonium containing in these waters fit the
norms, but content of nitrite in points Agstafachay of Kura river
overtop 3 fold the norm level of thickness.

The cause of that is discharge of water without treatment from
industrial and stock-breeding enterprises on the territory of Armenia
and Georgia.

`It was revealed that content of phenols and copper compounds in Arax
River on the border with Armenia exceed the norm multifold. In
Goradiz, Shakh-Seven 1 and Bakhramtepe points content of main
pollutants – phenols and copper compounds was exceeded 3 fold,’ it was
informed.

Oxygene regime in all points was in norm and ranged 5.95-6.93 mg/l.

2009 EUROPEAN JUDO YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan

Dec 5, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. An International Judo Tournament is
held on December 3-5 in Tehran, in which 4 sportsmen from Armenia,
Gor Azizbekian (60 kg, Artsakh), Paylak Vardazarian (66 kg,
Gyumri), Artur Abrahamian (66 kg, Yerevan), and Artak Abrahamian
(73 kg, Yerevan) also take part. Armenian national team’s coaches
Artur Gevorgian and Haroutiun Amirkhanian accompanied them to the
competition place. Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed about it
by Chairman of Judo Republican Federation Alexan Avetisian, who has
lately returned from Athens, where he took part in the work of European
Judo Association’s 60th jubilee congress. The calendar schedule of
the 2009 events was discussed at the congress, and a decision was
made to hold the European Youth Championship in Yerevan next September.

WHAT MEDIATION IS POSSIBLE?

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
03 Dec 08
Armenia

If Turkey does not conceal the crimes committed in 1918

As we know, during his visit to Baku, the Turkish Foreign Minister not
only announced that the regulation of the Armenian-Turkish relations
depended upon the further course of the Armenian-Azeri relations,
i.e. the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, but also made certain
confessions that deserve special attention.

As mentioned by the Turkish Foreign Minister, "The Nagorno Karabakh
conflict concerns not only Azerbaijan, but also Turkey and the
whole region.

Since 1918, we have been standing by Azerbaijan and will always stand
by it in future."

This leads us to the following conclusion:

a) By making that statement, the official Ankara confesses that it
considers the Karabakh issue to be "its own business".

b) Furthermore, Turkey views the Karabakh conflict in the context of
the issues concerning the South Caucasus. It follows from here that the
problem fits the logic of Prime Minister R. T. Erdoghan’s proposal on
establishing a "Security and Stability Platform in the South Caucasus".

c) And after all, Turkey, in the person of its Foreign Minister Ali
Babajan, confesses that since 1918 it has been standing by Azerbaijan
and will always stand by it in future.

The following question comes up: what is, in that cas e, the motive
of Turkey’s unrestrained desire of organizing the Armenian, Turkish
and Azeri Foreign Ministers’ trilateral meeting in Helsinki, within
the frameworks of the session of the Council of the OSCE Ministers?

If Turkey considers the Karabakh issue to be "its own business",
i.e. it is a conflicting party and does not conceal the fact that it
"stands by Azerbaijan", then it cannot be a mediator. Moreover, if
the Karabakh issue is a matter concerning the whole South Caucasian
region, with Turkey being a conflicting party, then its "platform of
security and stability in the South Caucasus" is nothing more than
the expression of the unilateral intentions of one of the parties to
the Karabakh conflict.

When, apart from considering the Karabakh conflict a matter concerning
both Turkey and Azerbaijan, Ali Babajan also confesses that his country
"has been standing by Azerbaijan since 1918 and will always stand
by it in future", there emerges another puzzle. And what happened
in 1918 that makes the Turkish Foreign Minister start the history of
the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations from that particular year?

Let’s note that this was the year when, having committed the Armenian
Genocide, the Turkish army launched a new aggression against the South
Caucasus, putting half a million of Armenians to the sword and thus
establishing an artificial country that came to be known as Azerbaijan.

Thus, the country that is now trying to act as a mediator in the
Karabakh settlement talks does not actually conceal the fact that
the state bearing the name "Azerbaijan" was founded through its own
efforts in 1918, so it will always support it.

All that gives rise to the following question: if Turkey admits its
responsibility for the past inasmuch as Azerbaijan is concerned, how
come that it denies the same responsibility for continuing the Armenian
Genocide and exterminating half a million of Armenians in the South
Caucasus. Because the statement made by Ali Babajan may lead to the
assumption that in 1918 the Turkish troops were busy establishing the
same "Security and Stability Platform" currently proposed by Turkey.

We believe that in the meeting held in Baku on November 30, the Turkish
Foreign Minister not only expressed his refusal to act as a mediator in
the Karabakh settlement talks but also introduced to the Armenian party
all the legal bases for questioning Ankara’s proposal on establishing
"Security and Stability Platform in the South Caucasus".

If Turkey refuses to recognize the Armenian Genocide, including the
extermination of around half a million of Armenians in the South
Caucasus, can the Republic of Armenia now have any guarantees that
in case of appearing in the same region, the country will not repeat
the crimes committed in the past but not recognized so far?

Therefore, as long as there is no clear-cut evidence as to the norms
of international law by which the perpetrator of Genocide guides
itself, attempting to act as the guarantor of its victims, Turkey’s
desires remain within the scope of the clear-cut bans prescribed by
"Convention on the Prevention of and Punishment for Genocide" (adopted
by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1948). The relevant clauses
of the document envisage international taboo for the manifestation
of such desires.

Having politely and diplomatically rejected the proposal on holding a
trilateral meeting in Helsinki with the participation of the Armenian,
Azeri and Turkish Foreign Ministers, our Foreign Ministry did not
consider the Armenian diplomacy’s chances of having periodical meetings
in such format and giving a negative response to Turkey’s desires.

That is, Foreign Minister Ali Babajan’s statement saying, "Since 1918,
we have been standing by Azerbaijan and will always stand by it in
future" was perceived by the Armenian party as a clear-cut attitude
by the present-day Turkish leaders who are proud of the fact that in
1918 the Turkish Army exterminated around half a million Armenians
in the territory of the South Caucasus and first of all, in Baku,
the present-day capital town of Azerbaijan. And this serves as a
ground for the Republic of Armenia to refuse Turkey’s current and
future attempts of acting as a mediator, unless it confesses to and
repents for the war crimes committed in the South Caucasus in 1918.

ARMAN MELIKYAN: MEDIATORS TRYING TO CONVINCE ARMENIA THAT PROBLEM OF ARMENIAN REFUGEES DOESN’T EXIST

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.12.2008 16:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nagorno Karabakh will not be resolved though mutual
concessions, former NKR Foreign Minister said.

"It will be either unilateral concessions on Armenia’s part or
the things will remain as they are. If attempts to impose ‘mutual
concessions’ on Stepanakert and Yerevan succeed, we will lose,"
Arman Melikyan told a news conference on Thursday.

The future of the Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan is one of the
most important issues, according to him.

"The liberated territories belong to the Armenians who were exiled
from Azerbaijan," he said, adding that the mediators are trying to
convince Armenia that the problem of Armenian refugees doesn’t exist.

"Our army did their work with honor. Now, politicians and diplomats
should demonstrate their skills to find a solution favorable for us,"
Melikyan said.

GENERAL DIRECTOR OF ARMENIAN NPP: EXTENSION OF NPP OPERATION TERM AFTER 2016 POSSIBLE

ARKA
Dec 3, 2008

YEREVAN, December 3. /ARKA/. General Director of Armenian Nuclear
Power Plant (NPP) Gagik Markosyan does not rule out the possibility
of extension of the operation term of Armenian NPP after 2016.

The respective decision is to be made by the country’s government,
he said at the 10th meeting of the president-headed Nuclear Power
Safety Council.

According to Markosyan, bringing the plant safety to an international
level is a first-priority task today.

"In 2016, four nuclear power units in the world, in Russia in
particular, will have already gained a 45-operation experience and
we will be able to take advantage of the experience to make a more
conservative and calm decision," Markosyan said.

The NPP General Director stressed that the final decision on extension
of the operation term will be made based on the actual condition of
the Armenian NPP in 2016.

Markosyan also reported that last week a tender was held for seismic
studies in the territory where the new nuclear power unit is to
be built.

Armenia is planning to build a new NPP unit with capacity
of approximately 1,000 megawatt costing $4bln. In 2006 Armenian
Parliament revoked the state monopoly for owning new nuclear power
units in order to attract foreign capital for the project.

The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was commissioned=2 0in 1976
(the second unit – in 1980).Currently only the second unit of the
plant with output of 407.5 megawatt is operated.

In September 2003, the financial flows of Armenian NPP were placed in
trust management of INTER RAO EES Closed Joint Stock Company owned by
"Rosatom" Russian State Corporation. According to experts, Armenian
NPP can be operated till 201.

BAKU CONVINCED TERRY DAVIS OF "DESTRUCTION OF AZERI MONUMENTS" IN KARABAKH?

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.12.2008 13:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Destruction of historical monuments in the occupied
territories" of Azerbaijan is a blow to Azerbaijan, Europe and the
entire world, the Council of Europe Secretary General said Tuesday
in Baku.

Mr. Terry Davis regretted protraction of PACE mission dispatch to
Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"The sides differ on the issue. So, the Council of Europe suggests
that the mission should make the things clear," he said, Trend Azeri
news agency reports.

It’s worth noting that the mission’s arrival has been several times
frustrated owing to Azerbaijan’s demand that the European officials
visit Nagorno Karabakh via the territory of Azerbaijan, what is
impossible and absolutely inadmissible for the Armenian side.

TURKS THREATEN ITALIAN AND TURKISH JOURNALISTS WITH REPRISAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.12.2008 13:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Italian journalist and the author of L’olocausto
armeno, Alberto Rosselli has been receiving death threats for three
years already.

Anonymous phone calls started several months after the publication of
his book, in 2007. The police said those were trunk calls. At that,
the callers were aware of the everyday life of Mr. Rosselli and his
wife, independent French journalist Jean Eckian told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The head of Info-Turk news agency, Dogan Ozguden, is threatened with
Lynch law not only by ultra-nationalist Turkish press but also by
the Turkish Embassy in Belgium, where he had to migrate in 1971,
over his position on the Armenian Genocide.

KIDNESS PARK. ANOTHER GIFT TO THE CITIZENS OF HRAZDAN TOWN PROVIDED BY
VIVACELL-MTS

Lragir.am
11:07:21 – 29/11/2008

27 November, Yerevan, Armenia ` VivaCell-MTS announces the official
opening of the Kindness Park of Hrazdan town. For the implementation of
this unique project VivaCell-MTS allocated AMD 43.5 mln.

Paved, beautiful fountain park, with pools, round squares, cafés,
chapel and a stage inside. A park separated into three sectors ` for
children, youth and elders. And all this is realized with beautiful
decorations and modern technological inventions. This is how the
rejuvenated Kindness Fountain Park in Hrazdan looks like.