Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 10 2006
AMD 50MLN TARGETED FOR CHILD AND YOUTH SPORTS DEVELOPMENT IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, March 10. /ARKA/. Armenian Government allocated AMD 50mln
for child and youth sports development. The Government’s press
service says the money is to be given to Government-affiliated State
Sport Committee for passing it on to Armenian Football Federation.
($1 = AMD 453.13). M.V. –0 –

Civil Georgia, Georgia
March 12 2006
New Opposition Party Holds Inaugural Assembly
The political party of ex-Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili –
`Georgia’s Way’ held its inaugural assembly on March 12. MP Gia
Tortladze became the chairman of the party’s political council. MP
Tortladze is a member of the Democratic Front parliamentary faction,
which also unites MPs from opposition Republican and Conservative
parties.
Addressing up to 2000 supporters gathered in the Philharmonic Hall in
Tbilisi Salome Zourabichvili said that currently the country faces
two major threats: return back to pre-Rose Revolution period and, as
she put it `revolutionism.’
`We do not need any more revolutions… Democracy will celebrate and I
will be very happy if the government change will occur through free
and fair elections,’ Zourabichvili said.
She also said there are signs that promises of Rose Revolutions have
been forgotten by the authorities. `We see a `a team of
neo-Shevardnadzists’ in the Parliament,’ Zourabichvili said referring
to the ruling National Movement party.
The leader of Georgia’s Way also criticized the Interior Ministry for
a high-handed tactics and a failure to protect `personal security’ of
ordinary citizens.
`Culture has always been a pillar of [Georgia] and not the police, or
any other structures as claimed by some politicians,’ Zourabichvili
said referring to the statements made by influential parliamentarians
from the ruling party who described the Interior Ministry and
Minister Vano Merabishvili as a `pillar of stability’ in Georgia.
Zourabichvili also said that Georgia needs `the strong army.’ `But
not because we should go into war,’ she added.
She also said that we should respect each citizen of Georgia. `We
forget the meaning of this word: citizen. Yesterday I head all day
through while listening [news] about Tsalka incident: Armenians,
Armenians. Who are they? They are Georgian citizens and the problem
is that the citizens are protected neither in Tsalka, nor in
Tbilisi,’ Zourabichvili said.

ON THE EDGE OF A NEW FRINGE
Budapest Times, Hungary
March 13 2006
The Budapest Fringe is adding an experimental edge to the end of the
well-known Budapest Spring Festival and perhaps will bring a carnival
atmosphere to the streets. Whilst the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe
drew only eight performers when it was launched in 1947, Budapest’s
fringe has already got off to a sharper start.
Close to 1,000 artists will appear at eight venues between Friday,
March 31 and Sunday, April 2 from noon till 2 am. Some, in true
fringe style, are alternative, while others are not so close to
the edge. According to Spring Festival director Zsofia Zimanyi,
the organisers want to give unknown artists the chance to come face
to face with an international festival audience. “This way street
performers and rock bands, as well as professional groups not in the
main programme of the festival will also be able take part,” she said.
“We were shocked to receive so many applications to perform,” says
Zimanyi. Alongside the many Hungarians, a number of foreigners will
also perform. Most are from neighbouring countries, but France and
Japan will also be represented. According to Zimanyi the festival
will act as a kind of talent show, with the most successful artists
to appear at the main Spring Festival next year.
Well known and unknown
Whilst many of the artists are unknown to Hungarian and international
audiences alike, they will be joined by some well-known names, such
as Ando Drom, known for their mix of authentic Gypsy music and daring
innovations, at the Korona theatre on April 1. David Yengibarjan,
famous for his blend of Armenian folk music, and Argentinian tango,
will play together with the trio of Montreal-based jazz trombonist Tom
Walsh at one of the Fringe’s closing concerts at the Merlin Theatre
on April 2.
“There are no restrictions on the nature of performances and
no artists were turned away,” says Zimanyi. Unlike in Edinburgh,
performers are not expected to pay for the use of stages. Financing
the Fringe will come to around HUF 20-30 million (EUR 78,000-117,000)
from the Spring Festival’s total budget of HUF 1.2 billion (EUR 4.67
million). Performers have been given the choice whether to charge or
not, but most shows will be free.
Other performances include contemporary dance from the L1 experimental
collective, the Hungarian Youth Opera Singers with Mozart’s La
finta giardiniera, Cavalcade fire acrobats and an English-language
performance of Alfred Sutro’s comedy A marriage has been arranged,
as well as an individual take on Debussy and Prokofiev by the Kontars
Improvisation Centre.
Quality and quantity
Whilst only five city-centre venues were planned, more were added
as artists lined up. The event will extend from the Merlin, Orkeny
and Korona theatres, the Godor club, the Pavilion in the town-hall
garden and open-air venues at Vorosmarty ter and Madach ter.
If this year’s Fringe proves to be a success, Zimanyi has hopes
of attracting more international artists, or perhaps extending the
Fringe from three days to a week next year. “This is still a very
early stage for this event and we can’t vouch for what the quality
of the performances will be like, but the main thing is that already
the idea has taken off.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSKANIAN: ARMENIA ALREADY MADE ITS PART OF COMPROMISES IN NK CONFLICT
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 13 2006
Armenia has made its part of concessions in the settlement of the
conflict. We are anticipating Azerbaijan to make concessions now,”
Armenian FM Vardan Oskanian stated (APA).
“Nagorno Garabagh people’s right to self-determination is the key
issue in Nagorno Garabagh settlement, Baku will touch upon the issue
willy-nilly, If Azerbaijan does not make compromise, it will mean,
that Azerbaijan remains on maximalist positions. Armenia has made
its part of concessions and it was not easy, he emphasized. “I do
not know how our people will take it,” Oskanian remarked.

TRIAL OF RAZMIK SARGSYAN RESUMED
A1+
05:11 pm 13 March, 2006
The Criminal and Military Court of Appeal restarted to hear the trial
of soldiers Razmik Sargsyan, Musa Serobyan and Arayik Zaryan. They
are accused of the murder of soldiers Movses Mkrtoumyan and Roman
Eghiazaryan.
The Court of the first instance of the Syunik region had sentenced
them to 15 year of imprisonment on the basis of the only confession
of Razmik Sargsyan which, according tot eh advocates, was acquired
by means of beating and torture.
By the way, Razmik Sargsyan stopped his hunger-strike on January
9. Nevertheless, according to his advocates, he still has health
problems.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH NOVELIST FACING PRISON OVER GENOCIDE CLAIMS
The Herald, UK
Ankara October 17 2005
A Turkish novelist who could face prison over charges he insulted
his country has defended himself, insisting he did not describe the
killings of Armenians in the early 20th century as a genocide.
Orhan Pamuk, one of Turkey’s best-known writers, is to go on trial on
December 16 and could face up to three years in prison for comments
on the killings of Armenians and Kurds.
The United States and the European Union have called on Turkey to
drop charges to ensure freedom of expression.
“I did not say, we Turks killed this many Armenians,” Pamuk said. “I
did not use the word ‘genocide’.”
Turkish prosecutors filed charges against Pamuk after he told a Swiss
newspaper in February “30,000 Kurds and one million Armenians were
killed in these lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it”.
He was referring to Kurds killed during Turkey’s two-decade conflict
with autonomy-seeking Kurdish guerrillas and to Armenians killed
around the time of the First World War.
The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, is branded as a terrorist group by
the US and EU. Indeed, Turkish authorities yesterday blamed Kurdish
rebels for an explosion caused by a remote-controlled bomb which
injured five people at an Istanbul filling station on Saturday.
Armenians say 1.5 million of their countrymen were killed by Ottoman
Turks, which Armenia and several nations recognise as a genocide.
Turkey, however, denies that the mass killings were genocide, saying
the death toll is inflated and that the Armenians were killed in
civil unrest as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
Asked about the numbers of people killed that he referred to in his
interview with the Swiss newspaper, Pamuk said “they were spontaneous
remarks”.
“There are martyred Turkish soldiers among those 30,000 to 35,000
killed people. Let’s express our respect to them,” Pamuk said,
complaining that he had become a victim of a “defamation campaign”.
The EU, which Turkey hopes to join, has said it will be watching
closely when Pamuk goes on trial in December.
Pamuk’s books, which include the internationally acclaimed Snow and
My Name is Red, have been translated into more than 20 languages and
the novelist has received numerous international awards.

C.H.P. CLINGS TO ITS FAIRY TALE
By SemÝh ÝdÝz
Turkish Press
Oct 17 2005
Inal Batu is one of the leading figures of the Republican People’s
Party (CHP) and he was shut out by the party administration. Speaking
to Haber Turk on Friday, Batu said that he was afraid of nobody and
that he would continue to speak his mind. Former Ambassador Batu said
that the decision to start Turkey’s European Union talks taken at
Luxembourg on Oct. 3 wasn’t ideal. However, he also said that Turkey
had moved to a higher class. In short, he is one of the people in the
CHP pleased with the outcome. However, he doesn’t care for the CHP’s
stance. He complains that although it has many international ties,
the CHP doesn’t use these ties on Turkey’s behalf on the EU issue.
Indeed, it’s difficult to say that the CHP lobbied hard for Turkey by
using its contacts at the Socialist International meeting before the
Luxembourg summit. Meanwhile, CHP leader Deniz Baykal met neither
with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, nor with any other social
democrat leader. The CHP staff was distant from social democratic
members of the European Parliament and national parliaments.
Actually, this is understandable because can you imagine CHP deputy
leader Onur Oymen or CHP Deputy Sukru Elekdag discussing the Kurdish,
Cyprus or Armenian issue with social democrats at the EU? When they
open their mouths, one could see that they’re not on the ‘social
democrat wing’ of the political spectrum because the political view
they claim to own is humanist, socialist and internationalist.
However, they’re proud of being nationalists and partisans for state
control.
In sum, the fact that the common view of social democracy clashes
with the remarks made by these people prevents them from taking their
place among their ‘comrades’ on the international level. They can’t
even exhibit solidarity with their brothers in the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). They are afraid of giving an appointment
to discuss the Kurdish issue to the intellectuals who were received
by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and who call themselves social
democrats or socialists.
One can find information on definable characteristics of socialism in
the Declaration of Principles accepted by the Socialist International
in 1989 at socialistinternational.com. When the content of this
document is compared with the CHP’s remarks and stance, we see that
this party insists on keeping a lie alive. Actually, if the CHP says
that it’s not social democratic at all, there would be no problem.
However, it can’t say that and it’s falling apart in this dilemma.
–Boundary_(ID_Q5X3wHZfIipWX+SNfjJ1QA)–

Agence France Presse — English
October 14, 2005 Friday 3:32 AM GMT
Armenia faces key referendum on boosting parliament’s powers
by Mariam Kharutyunyan
YEREVAN
Armenia will hold a referendum on November 27 on constitutional
changes that would strengthen the Caucasus nation’s parliament, but
which have failed to win round opponents of President Robert
Kocharian.
Reforming the constitution has moved up the agenda of this ex-Soviet
Caucasus republic since a 2003 referendum failed to gain the required
number of votes to endorse reforms, leading the 46-nation Council of
Europe, a democracy-promoting body, to threaten symbolic sanctions.
“Fulfilling this obligation is important for our country,” analyst
Alexander Iskandaryan said. “The existing constitution, which was
accepted in 1995, is now obsolete and needs to be amended for the
country’s political development. Otherwise we will stand still.”
For the reforms to be approved, at least half of those who vote must
give their approval and the “yes” votes must equal at least a third
of eligible voters.
The package, which was approved by parliament on September 28, would
limit the president’s powers, boost the role of parliament and the
cabinet and would also strengthen the independence of the judiciary.
It also aims to strengthen human rights protection.
Under the reformed constitution, “parliament would at any time be
able to vote no confidence in the government, ordinary citizens could
address the constitutional court, and parliament would appoint a
human rights ombudsman,” parliament speaker Tigran Torosyan said.
“The parliament is becoming the strongest branch, which is natural
for countries seeking major reforms,” he said.
Kocharian has resoundingly endorsed the reform package.
“This is undoubtedly a high quality document,” he said earlier.
But this view is not unanimously shared.
>From February 2004 until recently the opposition had boycotted
parliament, angered at what it saw as abuses by Kocharian. It only
returned at the urging of the Council of Europe, which has been
involved in drafting the reform package.
The opposition declined to vote on the reforms, objecting that the
president would still have the right to dissolve parliament if it
blocked government-backed legislation over a two-month period.
The opposition also objects that the constitution leaves in place the
president’s immunity from prosecution, both during and after his term
in office.
“The president should know he will answer for violations of the law,
both during his rule and afterwards,” said Viktor Dallakyan, a leader
of the Justice opposition bloc.
Following popular uprisings in three other ex-Soviet republics —
Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan — the opposition sees in the
referendum a chance to boost its standing and push out Kocharian’s
leadership, Dallakyan said.
“If this project does not go through, it will be the authorities’
political death,” Dallakyan said.
However analysts doubt that the opposition can really win mass
support.
“It may be that the opposition will not let this chance pass and will
destabilise the situation, but it will not be able to manage a
revolution… there is no basis for it in the country and the
opposition lacks the forces to do it,” Iskandaryan said.
Baku residents questioned by AFP had mixed views, but underlined
their dissatisfaction with the present situation.
“I do not yet know what changes there are, but I will vote for it
because European experts have worked on it. It can’t be worse than
the present constitution,” Mkhitar, a 60-year-old street vendor, told
AFP.
Arus Mnatsakanyan, a 46-year-old mother of three, said she doubted
the changes would have much effect.
“It is not what is written in the law that matters, it’s how it is
implemented,” she said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Council of Europe Press Division
Ref: 537b05
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
[email protected]
internet:
Le Congrès observe les élections locales en Arménie
Strasbourg, 13.10.2005 – Le Congrès des Pouvoirs Locaux et Régionaux
du Conseil de l’Europe observera, le dimanche 16 octobre, les
élections locales dans plusieurs régions d’Arménie : Armavir, Lori
et Tavush.
La délégation du Congrès, présidée par Sean O’Brien (Irlande,
SOC), rencontrera les candidats aux élections, le président de la
commission centrale électorale, les membres des commissions
électorales régionales, les gouverneurs des régions concernées,
la délégation arménienne auprès du Congrès ainsi que des
représentants des médias et des ONG, dont l’Institut national
démocratique pour les affaires internationales (IND).
La délégation se compose également de David Lloyd-Williams
(Royaume-Uni, GILD), John Biggs (Royaume-Uni, SOC), Christopher Newbury
(Royaume-Uni, PPE, rapporteur), Luca Ciriani (Italie, GILD) et de Marja
van der Tas (Pays-Bas, PPE).
Une conférence de presse finale aura lieu le 17 octobre à 15h à
l’hôtel Ani Plaza à Erevan.
Pour plus d’information, veuillez contacter :
Bureau de la Représentante Spéciale du Secrétaire Général,
Bojana Urumova
Tél : + 374 1 24 33 85 / 87, Email : [email protected]
Congress to observe local elections in Armenia
Strasbourg, 13.10.2005 – On Sunday 16 October, the Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will observe local
elections in several regions of Armenia: Armavir, Lory and Tavush.
The Congress delegation, led by Sean O’Brien (Ireland, SOC), will meet
election candidates, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission,
members of regional electoral commissions, the governors of regions
concerned, the Armenian delegation to the Congress, as well as
representatives of the media and NGOs, including the National Democratic
Institute for international affairs (NDI).
The delegation also includes David Lloyd-Williams (United Kingdom,
ILDG), John Biggs (United Kingdom, SOC), Christopher Newbury (United
Kingdom, EPP, rapporteur), Luca Ciriani (Italy, ILDG) and Marja van der
Tas (Netherlands, EPP).
A final press conference will take place on 17 October at 3 p.m at Ani
Plaza Hotel in Yerevan.
For further information, please contact:
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General to
Armenia, Bojana Urumova ; Tel: + 374 1 24 33 85 / 87, E-mail :
[email protected]
To receive our press releases by e-mail, contact :
[email protected]
A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops
common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 46
member states.

2787th ANNIVERSARY OF EREBUNI-YEREVAN CELEBRATED
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 11 2005
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The 2-day celebration
“Erebuni-Yerevan”, during which a number of events were held in the 12
communities of the capital city, came to a close with the festivities
in Republic Square of Yerevan on October 9. The celebration started
on the previous day at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre after
Spendiarian.
“The capital represents a third of the country’s population and a
considerable part of its scientific and cultural potential. The
development over the past decade has shown that despite various
difficulties, we proved worthy and capable of creating our
independence. Taking a look at Yerevan, we feel sure that we are on
a path toward a sustained growth,” Mayor of Yerevan Ervand Zakharian
said.
In his words, the urban development programs, which had remained on
paper for many decades, have been successfully implemented in recent
years. It was noted that the construction of Yerevan’s Main Avenue
started, while Northern Avenue will be delivered for use in 2007.
Yerevan Mayor underlined the necessity for creating favorable
conditions not only for Kentron community but also for the other
communties in order to repair streets, reconstruct accident-prone
buildings and construct new dwelling houses.
E. Zakharian stated that the target allocations for improvement of
Yerevan increased substantially this year. Work is underway to enhance
the quality of public transport services, repair irrigation networks,
lay streets with asphalt and improve street lights.
Yervand Ghazanchian, People’s Artist of Armenia and Chairman of
the Union of Theatrical Workers of Armenia, Azat Gasparian, Honored
Artist of Armenia, Perch Zeituntsian, a prosaist, and Harutyun Kehyan,
a footballer, were presented with Yerevan Honorary Citizen cetificates.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress