Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

COURSES OF BUISNESS ENGLISH FOR THE MFA EMPLOYEES

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2008-08-01 16:28
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

On July 20-30, under the auspices of the Armenian General Benevolent
Union (AGBU), the "Americans for Artsakh" American NGO organized and
conducted intensive courses of business English for the employees of
the NKR Foreign Ministry.

The courses were aimed at improving the NKR Foreign Ministry employees’
knowledge and skills of communicating in business English. The courses
were carried out by the Executive Director of the "Americans for
Artsakh" NGO, Sarah Ludwig, who is also a specialist of the English
language at the "International Language Center" in Washington, DC
(USA).

The Ministry’s employees, who finished the courses successfully,
were given corresponding certificates.

STATE COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC COMPETITION OF ARMENIA PROVIDES ARMENTEL WITH 30 DAYS TO SETTLE ISSUE OF ‘LAST MILE’

arminfo
2008-07-30 14:51:00

ArmInfo. The State Committee for Economic Competition of Armenia
provided ArmenTel CJSC with 30 days to settle the issue of provision of
the ‘last mile’ to Internet providers, Ashot Shahnazaryan, Chairman
of the Committee said at a meeting of the Committee. To recall,
providers demand from ArmeTel a right to provide internet services
like Hi Line service of ArmenTel. A. Shahnazaryan underlined that
provision of the ‘last mile’ i.e. wires linking home phones and
operators meets the RA Law ‘On e-communication’. ‘It meets the
standards of the telecommunication sector in Europe where owners
of telecommunication network have been repeatedly fined dozens of
millions of euros for refusal to provide Internet-providers the
‘last mile", Shahnazaryan said.

‘We are ready for a dialogue with providers but the regulations of the
‘last mile’ provision, the rights and responsibilities of every party
to the infrastructure must be strictly indicated in the legislation. In
Europe companies were fined after relevant law was passed’, Alexander
Birman, ArmenTel Director for Operations, said.

For his part, David Sandukhchyan, Head of ArmenTel Juridical Service,
said that in its decision the Committee has not exactly mentioned
which market of services ArmenTel occupies a dominating position
or is de-facto monopolist in. ‘Market of Internet-services is not
included here since other big companies and not we are included in
the register of dominating subjects of the market’, D. Sandukhchyan
said. He underlined that after the official decision of the Committee
the procedure of appeal will be determined.

For his part, Vice President of Web provider Kolya Hovhannisyan
called the given decision by the Committee optimal. ‘Fining ArmenTel
would not be in favor of other providers if the situation were left
unchanged. To develop business in conformity with the law is of great
importance to me. That is why I share the stance of ArmenTel regarding
the necessity of such regulations to strictly define who and in what
cases is responsible for failures and breakdowns. There are also
other questions that must be underlined in the legislation’, he said.

To recall, in May 2008 ArmenTel and a number of Internet-providers
signed a memorandum that outlined the possible provision of
Internet-services by providers via telephone wire.

ARMENIAN PM RECEIVES REPRESENTATIVES OF THE WB

ARMENPRESS
JULY 29

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian received today chief economist
of the World Bank’s Armenian programs Samis Mitra and the delegation
headed by him.

Governmental press service told Armenpress that during the meeting
the prime minister thanked the representatives of the World Bank for
the development of comprehensive documents reflecting the priorities
of the Armenian government, saying that it was a notable support to
the government.

The sides also referred to the reforms in the pensions, tax and
customs spheres.

GEORGIAN WRITER SERGI SAJAI: "ARMENIANS ARE NOT LIONS, THEY ARE JACKALS, SERVING TO STRONGER PEOPLES"

Today.Az
July 28 2008
Azerbaijan

"Though Armenian philosophers consider themselves to be Caucasians,
Armenians have not become Caucasians with their mentality and
behavior and their steps bring dissonance to the entire policy of
the Caspian-Caucasus states", said Georgian writer Sergi Sajai.

He said about the reason of Armenian nationalism in the Caucasus,
which Georgia and Azerbaijan had to face for many times through their
history, that Armenians are not of Iberian-Caucasian race.

"In this connection, any empire, willing to occupy the Caucasus, rely
on Armenians. It is more profitable for the empires to have business
with Armenians, as they can point at Armenians’ being aliens in the
Caucasus at any time", said the Georgian writer and added that this
can not be attributed to Azerbaijanis and Georgians, as these nations
are aboriginal in the Caucasus.

"We have to deal with Armenian imperialism here. But Armenians are not
lions, they are jackals serving to stronger peoples. By saying jackals,
I mean not all Armenians, but their leadership, contaminated with the
poison of Armenian nationalism", said the writer noting that once
Georgia provided refuge to Armenians, who escaped from Turkey and
settled in Javakhetia and Abkhazia and shared the last things they
had. According to the writer, Armenians bit the hand that fed them.

"They demonstrated criminal policy, aimed at occupation of neighbor
lands, both on the state level and in everyday life. For example,
last year the Armenian society "Artvin-Trabzon-Batumi", functioning
in Yerevan, published an article, which stated that as Armenians
are autochthonous people in the Caucasus, they have a right for the
North-West of Georgia (Abkhazia). In this connection, the members
of the said society justify genocide and expelling of Georgians from
Abkhazia", said the writer.

LORD RUSSELL-JOHNSTON DIES ON THE EVE OF HIS 76TH BIRTHDAY

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.07.2008 17:33 GMT+04:00

Former President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
from 1999 to 2002, head of the subcommittee on Karabkah, Lord
Russell-Johnston of Minginish died last night of bone marrow cancer
on the eve of his 76th birthday.

PACE President, Lluis Maria de Puig, today expressed his deepest
sadness and sorrow at his death and extended his condolences to
his family.

"It is a sad day for all defenders of justice, peace and humanity. He
leaves a great void in the hearts of all Europeans who had the
privilege of crossing his path. His passion for European politics and
his sense of friendship will always remain," Lluis Maria de Puig said.

"We need moralpolitik, not realpolitik, was the message that guided
him through his longstanding political career. Lord Russell-Johnston
always behaved in a European way, basing attitudes on values. He
worked relentlessly to extend the boundaries of human rights, because
he was convinced that no other approach can so well secure peace,
prosperity and freedom.

In the Council of Europe, we are proud of our values, principles
and standards. May I thank Lord Russell-Johnston, on behalf of our
Assembly, for his tremendous contribution for making Europe a more
humane and better place," PACE President concluded.

THE FOREIGN POLICY PANORAMA

Zaman Online
July 26 2008
Turkey

Turkey’s foreign and domestic policies are going through a colorful
period nowadays. There is a process of reconstruction taking place, and
this troubled period will continue until the advent of a new balance
of power. This exhausting climate makes it very hard to perceive links
between diverging events — however, it also offers the excitement
of witnessing the establishment of the world’s new balance of power.

Since last year, Turkey has chosen to strengthen its strategic
partnership with the US, following a long period of tension caused by
the Iraq war and the US policy on northern Iraq. As a consequence of
this choice, Turkey was able to play a critical role in reintroducing
Syria to the international system, by preparing the groundwork
for Israel-Syria negotiations. The Israeli-Syrian relationship
can also contribute to a resolution of the Lebanese and Palestinian
questions. Within this context, Turkey has also developed its relations
with the Gulf states in order to widen the regional "circle of peace."

Through several high-level official visits to Baghdad, Turkey showed
that it was willing to play a role in incorporating Iraq into the
international system, and has promised to maintain peaceful relations
with northern Iraq. In other words, Turkey has become the stimulator
of the Israel-Syria-Iraq relationship. It’s also a known fact that
Turkey was backstage during the Geneva process. There, it was proposed
that Iran pursue its ties with "the West" through Turkey. Let’s hope
that this situation doesn’t harm the Turkey-Iran relationship per se.

On the other hand, Turkey recently abandoned its classic attitude on
the Cyprus issue. Turkey supports the UN-brokered initiatives aiming to
establish a "single state of two societies" model, and helps maintain
negotiations between the two sides of the island. This positive
approach was demonstrated by the opening of the Lokmacı gate. Despite
the domestic opposition’s pressure, which claims the island was "sold"
to the Greeks, the Turkish government has taken a great risk and has
supported Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat’s positions.

It appears that the current time is also the period of a turning
of relations with Armenia. There was already an effort made at
establishing dialogue, as demonstrated by the invitation of President
Abdullah Gul to Yerevan to watch a football game. It’s the first
time in many years that there is a credible chance of establishing
diplomatic relations between the two neighbors. Let’s hope for some
progress on this matter.

When the current situation is thoroughly analyzed, one can state
that Turkey has endorsed a facilitator role to help its regional
partners normalize their relations with "the West." However problems
remain concerning Turkey’s own "Westernization" efforts. Turkey is
amid a turbulent period in domestic political life and also has a
normalization problem with Europe. While several of Turkey’s neighbors
plus the US prepare conditions allowing Turkey to make an approach
toward Europe, some European countries try to limit Turkey to its
own region. In fact, the durability of the above-mentioned positive
atmosphere will only be assured if Turkey stays on the EU track.

It’s obvious that some European countries are disturbed by Turkey’s
renewed relations with its neighbors and its efforts to "carry"
them to the West. Maybe they have understood that the relations
in the Mediterranean/Black Sea/Middle East axis will be normalized
under the US’s auspices, and all this with Turkey’s contribution. If
we are not wrong, this means that these European countries still
haven’t reached a decision about Russia, the US or the EU’s political
future. Nevertheless, things are advancing very rapidly, and there is
no time for indecisiveness. Those who are still indecisive may suddenly
find themselves in a situation that necessitates urgent decisions.

–Boundary_(ID_MG/DpCz6GiNjqjU1fwpFHw) —

TRABZON IN AN UPROAR OVER LIGHTHOUSE IN THE FORM OF A CROSS

AsiaNews.it
July 24 2008
Italy

The building is part of a commercial complex reminiscent of the
sea. The design wounds "the sensibilities" of the city where the
assassination of Fr Santoro was carried out, and that of Dink planned.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Sadly famous for being the site of the
assassination of the Italian priest Andrea Santoro (in 2006), and where
the killing of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was planned (last year),
the Turkish city of Trabzon is in an uproar over a commercial center,
the structure of which – inspired by the sea – includes a lighthouse
(in the photo) in the shape of a cross.

In reporting on the affair, the Turkish Daily News emphasizes the
"emotions" of the city’s inhabitants toward Christianity, because
of events in the past. The stumbling block is the "Trabzon Forum",
a commercial center inaugurated in the presence of prime minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In the city, on the Black Sea, the imposing
structure is made to evoke a wave with a lighthouse beside it. This
was built with two balconies to allow visitors to admire the view. But
that makes it look like a cross.

And controversy has broken out. The architect, Levent Eyuboglu,
calls it a "misunderstanding", and even the director of the local
Karadeniz newspaper, Erhan Esaspehlivan, says that the people react
against anything that denigrates their own religion. "Islam is a noble
religion, and cannot be denigrated by little things like these. But
if you come and build a cross in the city center, we can’t overlook
it". On the other hand, a commentator for the same newspaper, Gursel
Colakoglu, says the matter has been blown out of proportion, in an
especially "sensitive" city.

Apart from the controversy, the people are convinced that the city
is in need of investment, like the new commercial center.

SITUATION IN ARMENIA CONTAINS ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC CRISIS

ArmInfo
2008-07-23 17:00:00

The situation in Armenia contains elements of public crisis,
representative of Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktiutyun
supreme Body, Armen Rustamyan, said today.

‘The first reason of such a situation is that the ill-timed resolving
of the accumulated problems led to unsatisfactory development rates
of the country in the main directions – democracy establishment,
legal state building and social problems resolving’, – Rustamyan
said. He also added that ARFD has a task to promote raising of the
development rates of the country by means of its programmes. He also
said that the post-election tension in Armenia is the second reason
of the public crisis.

‘Serious discussion was held in this context and temporary commission
of the National Assembly to investigate the 1-2 March events should
do everything possible to make its conclusions acceptable for the
community and raise trust in its activity’, – he said.

‘There is such a situation in Armenia at present when we should
simultaneously make democratic reforms as well as ensure national
security and political stability’, – Rustamyan concluded.

GOLDEN APRICOT’S EXPECTED AWARDS AND THE "MERMAID’S" IMAGINARY WORLD

AZG Armenian Daily
23/07/2008

Culture

During the seven days of the Golden Apricot film festival Yerevan
became the crossroads of cultures. French film director Cathrein
Breya presented to the Armenian public the uttermost of feminine
attractiveness and Serbian Director Goran Paskalevich remained
faithful to his motto: never to betray the principles and show real
human feelings in the films.

On July 19 took place the closure ceremony of the festival and
the distribution of the awards. The grand prix was awarded to Anna
Melikian’s "Mermaid". Alice, the hero of the film, lives on the shore
of the sea. She is able to make wishes come true. Once in Moscow
he meets a stranger, who wore a cross with the "Save and Protect"
inscription. That moment changed her life.

Two special awards went to the "Wonderful City" by Aditya Asarat
(Thailand) and the "Lemon Tree" by Eran Ricklies (Israel).

The Silver Apricot was awarded to Indian film "Laqshmeen and Me",
which tells about a woman working 12 hours a day and facing abuse
and violence all the time.

The main awards in the Armenian Panorama contest were given to Arik
Nazarian’s "The Blue Hour", Diana Mkrtchian’s "Gatha" and Mariam
Ohanian’s "Watery Novels". Turk director Huseyn Karabey’s "My Marlon
and Brando" was awarded a special prize. Special award "The Taler of
Parajanov" went to Wim Wenders, Germany, and Darioush Mehrjouee, Iran.

SERZH SARGSYAN: POSSIBLE VISIT OF TURKEY’S PRESIDENT TO ARMENIA MAY POSITIVELY AFFECT DISCUSSION OF ISSUES CONCERNING TWO COUNTRIES’ PUBLIC

ArmInfo
2008-07-21 15:29:00

Possible visit of the Turkish president to Armenia may positively
affect discussion of the issues which concern the two countries’
public, RA President Serzh Sargsyan said at today’s press-conference
dedicated to summing-up of the first 100 days of his presidency.

As S. Sargsyan said, when the matter concerns a neighbouring country,
one should not talk of the terms ‘but wait as much as required’. He
added that healthy discussion of the existing problems is already
marked both in Turkey and Armenia. Commenting on the fact of meeting of
the Armenian and Turkish diplomats, the president said that contacts
among the officials have never stopped, and there is nothing strange
that representatives of Armenia met their Turkish counterparts in
Switzerland. He emphasized that both Armenia and Turkey will only
win having established the relations.