Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

POLICE CONTINUES BEING INTERESTED IN "BJNI"
Translated by L.H.

AZG Armenian Daily #211
16/11/2007

Local

It is informed that the 6th department workers of the police open
the computers, captured from the factory "Bjni", in the absence of
the factory representative.

"SIL Concern" office informed Noyan Tapan agency that according
to received information false information is being recorded in the
computers about the reception and sale of mineral water "Bjni".

The workers of the above-mentioned department on November 5 captured
not only the computers but also the registers of the factory "Bjni",
and because of it the factory does not work until today.

LIBERTY SQUARE "CLOSED"

A1+
[08:14 pm] 15 November, 2007

The construction of the stage in the Liberty Square for 17 November
Dima Bilan’s concert is in the process. The stage equipments cover
the main territory of the Square. Besides the main stage, another
smaller stage is installed right in the center of the Square, which
is foreseen for stage lighting.

Following the preparations for the concert, one thinks of tomorrows
gathering. Where will the participants of the gathering stand?

We should remind that tomorrow on 16 November at 17 p.m. a gathering
will be held with the participation of the RA First President in the
Liberty Square.

Although it is already evening, the clean-up of the Yerevan center
is still carried out. The North Avenue is being cleaned diligently
for the official inauguration due tomorrow morning.

SEYRAN AVAGIAN AND LILIT GEVORGIAN APPOINTED MEMBERS OF COUNCIL OF RA CONTROL CHAMBER

Noyan Tapan
Nov 14, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Seyran Avagian was relieved of
the post of the advisor to the RA President and appointed member of
the Council of the RA Control Chamber for a four-year tenure by the
November 13 decree of Robert Kocharian, the President of the Republic
of Armenia.

According to the information provided to Noyan Tapan by the RA
President’s Press Office, Lilit Gevorgian was relieved of her post of
the assistant of the RA President and appointed member of the Council
of the RA Control Chamber for a three-year tenure by another decree
of the President.

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS: 301 NEEDS "DEEDS NOT WORDS"

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Nov 13 2007

The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have urged the Turkish authorities
to move to end the words and start acting to change Article 301 of
criminal law allowing prosecution for "insulting Turkish identity"
after the Turkish Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin declared the
government intends to amend the law.

"It’s been two years now since, alongside Turkish journalists and press
freedom organizations, we have called for the law to be amended and
proceedings dropped against those who criticize, on the pretext that
they are" insulting Turkish identity," the worldwide press freedom
organization declared.

"We cannot forget that Turkish authorities have used Article 301
as a tool of terrible repression. It gives voice to and stokes up
nationalist tensions at work in Turkey and finds fervent advocates
in the Turkish legal system," the organization said.

Turkish journalist of Armenian origin Hrant Dink who was murdered on
January 19, 2007 was himself prosecuted under this article. His son,
Arat Dink was given a one-year suspended prison sentence on 11 October,
for reprinting in the weekly Agos an interview given by his father
to the Reuters news agency, in which he recalled that the massacres
of Armenians between 1915 and 1917 were genocide", it continued.

Justice Minister Sahin told the Anatolian News Agency that the Justice
and Development (AK) Party government had decided to amend Article
301. He stressed that the council of ministers would "at the first
opportunity" examine about five drafts on the basis of proposals
from civil organizations, select some and then seek debate on them
in parliament.

This statement was in response to the conclusions of the annual
progress report on Turkey unveiled by the European Commission.

The report stressed that "considerable effort is still required
on freedom of expression" and urged the Turkish government to take
"immediate steps" in this area.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul told the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe on 3 October that he was in favor of amending
Article 301. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, made similar promises
in November 2006 ahead of the publication of the annual EU report.

Article 301 headed "denigration of Turkish identity, of the republic,
the institutions or organs of state", says whoever "openly denigrates
the government, organs of state justice or military or police
structures" risks a prison sentence of six months to three years.

Not only do the Turkish courts severely apply this law, but they
ignore paragraph 4 which stipulates that, "Expressions of thought
intended to criticize shall not constitute a crime".

HUMAN RIGHTS ARE NOT PROTECTED IN KARABAKH – DAVIS

Russia & CIS General Newswire
November 6, 2007 Tuesday 11:28 AM MSK

The situations in Kosovo and Nagorno Karabakh are not similar,
Council of Europe Secretary general Terry Davis has said.

There is no separatist regime in Kosovo, the territory is being
run by the UN and that security guarantees are being provided by
the military, who have the mandate of the international community,
Davis said at a news conference in Yerevan on Monday.

Nagorno Karabakh stands in line with Abkhazia, Transdniestria and
South Ossetia, and this problem is being seen from this particular
angle in an international context, he said.

The Council of Europe is implementing various programs in Kosovo,
including those of strengthening the institution of human rights
commissioner. The UN, too, is running programs of its own there, Davis
said. This situation is not be found in Nagorno Karabakh, although the
Council of Europe does implement some individual programs in Karabakh,
he added.

Unlike in Kosovo, in Karabakh people’s rights are under threat and
not protected, Davis said.

Concerning the recent local elections in Nagorno Karabakh and the
absence of a reaction to them from the Council of Europe, Davis said
that the regime in Nagorno Karabakh has not been recognized by the
international community. If the Council of Europe does not condemn the
election in Nagorno Karabakh, this does not mean that it recognizes
them, he explained.

Davis said the day would hopefully come when these conflicts will be
finally settled by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe’s Minsk Group.

TURKEY TO USE RIGHT TO ACT AGAINST TERRORISM – PREMIER

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Nov 6 2007

["PREMIER ERDOGAN: ‘WE HAVE COME TO POINT OF USING OUR RIGHT STEMMING
FROM INTERNATIONAL LAWS AGAINST SEPARATIST TERRORIST ORGANIZATION’"
– AA headline]

WASHINGTON D.C. (A.A) -06.11.2007 -Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said Monday, "we have come to the point of using our right
stemming from the international laws, against separatist terrorist
organization which threatens our territorial integrity, public order,
security and peace by getting deployed in north of Iraq. This is
an authorization granted by the international laws and we will use
this authorization."

Speaking at the National Press Club, Prime Minister Erdogan said,
"no one should expect us to sacrifice our national interests for
irrational power plans in the region. Turkey does not endure wasting
more time with some mechanisms and proposals which were tried before
but failed to yield any results."

"Turkey expects the United States and the central Iraqi government
to take tangible and urgent steps that will put a certain end to PKK
terrorism originating from northern Iraq. Our government has been
taking all necessary measures in the fight against the separatist
terrorist organization and will continue to take in the future,"
he said.

Erdogan said, "on numerous occasions I stressed that Turkey has the
power to protect itself. Today, I confirm it once again. We have
come to the point of using our right stemming from the international
laws, against separatist terrorist organization which threatens our
territorial integrity, public order, security and peace by getting
deployed in north of Iraq. This is an authorization granted by the
international laws and we will use it. Our parliament authorized
our government to use this right. And, this decision of the Turkish
parliament is an expression of our people’s feelings and expectations."

"The only target of Turkey is the separatist terrorist organization
which deployed itself in northern Iraq. This should be well-understood
by the whole international community," Erdogan added.

Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Turkey would exercise its
right to protect itself and its nation against terrorism if necessary
international support and cooperation could not be provided.

"Because, States are obliged to protect their territorial integrity
and their own citizens," Erdogan said.

Erdogan delivered a speech at the National Press Club in Washington
D.C.

Regarding his recent talks with US President George W. Bush, Erdogan
said that their opinions on various issues were quite similar. "I
think we have understood each other well and we have agreed on basic
matters," he said.

Erdogan said relations between Turkey and USA were currently passing
a series of tests.

"Our meeting with Bush was quite beneficial in terms of its timing
and content," Erdogan said.

Erdogan, who noted that Turkey was a strategic country located in
a risky geography, said the country had an important role regarding
the stability in the region and the world.

He said that the strategic partnership between Turkey and USA was
also of great importance both for the region and the world.

Erdogan said there were two vital issues for Turkey as regards to its
relations with the US and listed them as "the resolution regarding
the Armenian allegations on the incidents of 1915" and "the presence
of PKK terrorist organization in the north of Iraq".

"I hope the US Congress will remove this issue from its agenda,"
said Erdogan, regarding the resolution on Armenian allegations,
and added that he expressed Turkey’s stance on that matter during
his talks with Bush.

– "THERE ARE PARTIES WHICH SUPPORT TERRORISM" – "An international
cooperation is necessary for the fight against terrorism. Terrorism
is an international phenomenon. There are parties which support
and encourage it and provide a continuous logistic support for it,"
Erdogan said.

He said Turkey, which worked hard for peace and stability in its
region, could not get the necessary international support regarding
its fight against PKK.

Erdogan criticized EU-member countries for not supporting Turkey on
the matter.

"Stability in Iraq means stability for us as well. However, instability
in this country will also cause us inconvenience," he said.

– DEFINITION OF A TERRORIST – Erdogan criticized the way the press
handled terrorism issue as well.

"Description of members of the terrorist organization PKK as rebels
and resisters, but not as terrorists really saddens us. We also
see such approach in the US press, nearly in all of it. This is
unacceptable. ‘Terrorist’ when it comes to Al Qaida, but ‘rebel’
when it comes to PKK…," Erdogan said.

"Such an approach is incomprehensible. Here, the world press should
also be aware that it is passing a test," he added.

Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday Turkey was not after a war,
but it took a decision to wage an operation.

Erdogan replied to questions of reporters at the National Press Club
in Washington D.C.

Erdogan said he was quite pleased with USA’s recognition PKK as a
terrorist organization and recalled US President George W. Bush’s
statements declaring PKK as an enemy of Turkey, Iraq and USA.

Erdogan said sharing intelligence was of vital importance for Turkey.

Upon a question on whether he would trust Iraqi Kurds regarding the
fight against terrorism, Erdogan said they discussed how to cooperate
on the issue with US officials and representatives of the central
administration in Iraq during the recent International Conference on
Iraq held in Istanbul.

"All parties confirmed that we can cooperate. So, we have to trust
now and we will see what happens in time with the steps we will take,"
he said.

– "NOBODY BUT TURKEY WILL DECIDE" – Erdogan said, "Only Turkey will
decide on how many soldiers will be deployed inside its borders and
where to deploy them at the moment," upon a question on what USA or
Iraqi Kurdish leaders should do to avoid Turkish soldiers’ presence
at the border.

"I would like to underscore one thing here: Our target is the terrorist
organization PKK which settled in the north of Iraq, our target is
never the civilians," Erdogan said.

– "WE HAVE PROTECTED THE PESHMERGA" – A reporter recalled that "Iraqi
Kurdish representatives cooperated with Turkey and fought with PKK
in 1990’s" and asked Erdogan what happened to those relations.

"At that time, Turkey protected nearly 600,000 peshmerga which ran
away from Saddam Hussein’s violence and took shelter in our country,"
Erdogan said.

"It is quite thought-provoking that such relations became reversed
nowadays," he said.

Upon a question on whether the rising nationalism against terrorist
attacks in Turkey targeted citizens with Kurdish origin, Erdogan said,
"No actions targeted our citizens with Kurdish origin. Our nation’s
reaction targets the terrorist organization and its supporters".

Moreover, upon another question, Erdogan said Turkey’s neighbouring
countries Iran and Syria had problems with terrorist organization
PKK as well.

"I would like to underscore that we are not after a war. We took a
decision to wage an operation. This is an operation and our technical
teams, mainly the General Staff, know the way to conduct it. I do
not believe that it will cause any problems in southeastern Turkey or
in our country," Erdogan said, upon a question on whether a probable
clash with PKK would affect the economy in Turkey’s southeast.

Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday a PKK terrorist’s escape
after he was released pending trial in France and Austria’s paving
the way for this terrorist to proceed to Iraq, were unforgivable
mistakes of these two EU-member countries.

Replying to questions at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.,
Erdogan said Turkey’s EU membership process was also on the agenda
during his recent talks with US President George W. Bush.

Erdogan said Bush expressed his ongoing support for Turkey’s adhesion
to the union.

Commenting on Turkey’s relations with France, Erdogan recalled the
recent escape of a PKK terrorist from France and Austria’s stance on
the issue.

"We have delivered a diplomatic note to Austria in connection with
that incident. Moreover, we have expressed our sorrow to France. Such
incidents should not take place," Erdogan said.

Regarding Turkey’s EU membership process, Erdogan said, "We are
determined to become an EU member and we will firmly carry on with
this process".

Erdogan commented on the resolution regarding the Armenian allegations
on incidents of 1915 as well.

Upon a reporter’s question on what happened in those years, Erdogan
underscored that a genocide never took place and it was an act of
deportation.

"We have the relevant documents in our archives," Erdogan said.

"This issue is used by the Armenian diaspora to accumulate interest,"
Erdogan said, upon a question on why this historical issue was always
on the agenda.

FEATURE – 20TH CENTURY’S FIRST GENOCIDE
by Ray Davies

Morning Star, UK
November 7, 2007 Wednesday

Despite pressure from the Foreign Office, enormous efforts from
official Turkish delegations and the day-long attempt by 150 Turkish
pro-government demonstrators to break up the event, Cardiff played
host to the successful unveiling of a monument to the 1915 Armenian
Genocide on Saturday.

The Welsh capital has become the first city in Britain to dedicate
a public space to a memorial to the estimated 1.5 million victims of
this, the first modern genocide.

Two-thirds of the Armenian population were killed or exiled and the
surviving diaspora was scattered across the world.

Hundreds of Armenians made the journey from across Britain and as
far afield as Australia to come together on this historic occasion,
to remember, mourn and celebrate their survival.

Welsh Assembly presiding officer Dafydd Elis-Thomas joined the
Armenian ambassador to Britain to unveil the monument in the Temple
of Peace gardens.

The Armenian bishop, backed by the Armenian church choir, consecrated
the carved stone or khatchkar, an ancient symbol of Armenia.

The unveiling was the culmination of years of dedicated campaigning led
by Eilian Williams, supported by the Welsh Centre for International
Affairs and the Cardiff branch of the United Nations Association to
achieve recognition for the Armenian tragedy.

Speeches and dedications were interspersed with music, dance and
poetry.

The vociferous Turkish demonstration stood in the gardens below
the meeting chanting slogans and holding large banners denying the
Armenian genocide.

But the police contained them and songs of peace inside the hall
drowned out their shouting.

It was an emotional and humbling experience to see the effect on the
Armenian audience as they joined in singing the civil rights song We
Shall Overcome.

They listened to Cor Cochion’s rendition of Gehat Hob Ikh A Haym,
written in 1944 in the Polish ghetto, and Mae Gen I Freuddwyd –
Martin Luther King’s "I have a dream" speech in Welsh.

Other entertainment was provided by the 50 members of Cor Aelwyd
Hamdden from north Wales, a group of young Armenian dancers and
traditional duduk players.

The Armenian ambassador spoke passionately about the shared historical
links between Wales and Armenia, from the father of the Eisteddfod
Iolo Morgannwg to his grandson Aneurin Williams MP, who helped build
the League of Nations, the organisation which brought the Temple of
Peace into being.

Williams was also the most passionate defender of the Armenian cause
in the House of Commons.

The angry Turkish protest has only succeeded in drawing the world’s
attention to this wrong and begun to reverse the global historic
amnesia about Armenia among those who need to maintain Turkey as an
ally in NATO wars.

There is no doubt that the unveiling of this Celtic/Armenian cross
will bring forward the day when the world accepts the reality of the
tragedy of the first genocide of the 20th century and, in remembering,
help to heal the century-old injustice.

AZERBAIJAN DENIES THE RELIGIOUS COMPONENT

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 12 2007

Azerbaijan has stated for a number of times it is not a religious
conflict, the deputy chair of the state committee for religious
organizations of Azerbaijan Elchin Askerov said in an interview
with Day.az with regard to a recent statement by the Armenian prime
minister.

"It is not a religious statement, and the Sheik-ul-Islam has stated
it for a number of times. By stating the opposite thing, Sargsyan
is attempting to present the situation as a traditional conflict
between the two civilizations, he wants to say that Armenia is at the
intersection of the civilizations, the Christian world is to the West
of it, the Muslims are to the East of it, the Christian and Muslim
cultures clash at this intersection. It is groundless to insist on
the religious component of the Armenian and Azerbaijani conflict,"
Askerov stated.

In view of the logic of the official Armenian propaganda, his statement
will be an additional argument for Yerevan to state that Serge Sargsyan
was right since the Azerbaijanis are denying his words. In other words,
Serge Sargsyan spoke in Armenia’s favor, therefore Azerbaijan rejects
his thesis.

REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ARMENIA TO PUT FORWARD CANDIDATURE OF SERGE SARGSIAN

Noyan Tapan
Nov 10 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The 11th conference of the
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) made a decision on November 10 on
putting forward the candidature of RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsian,
the newly-elected Chairman of the party, in the February 19, 2008
presidential elections. After making this statement Tigran Torosian,
the Deputy Chairman of the party, mentioned that the decision was
made in the sitting of the RPA bloc taking into consideration the
way Serge Sargsian has passed, his political experience, as well as
his services done in favour of the homeland.

Thanking for the decision on putting forward his candidature ,
Serge Sargsian declared in his speech that after the parliamentary
elections the role of the Republican Party of Armenia has become of
essential significance in the inter-political field, since it made a
majority in the National Assembly, thus assuming responsibility before
the people. At present, according to Serge Sargsian, the provision
of stability in the country and "avoiding from senseless political
contradictions" are problems of importance.

"We live in a region full of dangers," the Chairman of the Republican
Party of Armenia mentioned, stressing that there are unsettled problems
in neighbour Georgia, relations between the United States of America
and Iran are strained, as for Armenia, it has problems with Turkey
and Azerbaijan. In the words of Serge Sargsian, Armenia will not be
subject to the Turkish-Azeri blackmail and will continue its policy on
establishing relations with Turkey without preconditions. Armenia,
in his conviction, will not change its principles with regard
to the Karabakh conflict, that is, international recognition of
self-determination of the people of Artsakh, a common and defended
border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Nagorno
Karabakh.

"THE AUNTIE FROM PARIS" IS LEAVING FOR PARIS

KarabakhOpen
09-11-2007 13:05:58

The French director Narek Durian kept his promise. "The Auntie from
Paris" performed first at the Dramatic Theater of Stepanakert will be
performed in Paris from November 23 to December 4. Narek Durian says
now only the Karabakh origin of the artists will attract audience
but he says he believes that one day they will grow.

Now the play by Komitas Danielyan "We and Our Mountains" directed by
Narek Durian is on at the Dramatic Theater. He says he is amazed by
the play although the artists are not quite good.