Author: Tavakalian Edgar

ARMENIA HAS MUCH TO LEARN FROM BELARUS, IN PARTICULAR, IN ISSUE OF PRESENTING ETHNOGRAPHY, RA MINISTER OF CULTURE CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 30, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN. The Days of Armenian Culture held
on October 22-28 in Belarus passed in a warm and pleasant atmosphere
and received a warm welcome by the Belarusian people. The Days of
Armenian Culture were organized within the framework of the agreement
On Cooperation between the RA Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs
and Belarusian Ministry of Culture. As Hasmik Poghosian, the RA
Minister of Culture, mentioned at the October 30 press conference,
Days of Belarusian Culture were held in 2005 in Armenia within the
framework of the same agreement.

According to the Minister, Armenian culture was presented in Belarus
completely thanks to a multi-genre cultural program. According to her,
not only state, but also non-state ensembles and groups were involved
in the cultural program. The Erebuni dance group functioning in the
Armenian community of Belarus also joined them on the spot.

Hasmik Poghosian said that the term of signing a new agreement on
cooperation between the two states in the sphere of culture will be
determined during the coming visit of the delegation of Belarusian
Ministry of Culture, as the term of the previous agreement is expiring
this year.

Mrs Poghosian said that a number of agreements on cooperation in the
museum, book and publishing spheres have been reached during this
visit. "I think we have much to learn from Belarus, especially in the
issue of presenting ethnography. Their Museum of Ethnography works
within the jurisdiction of their Academy’s Institute of Ethnography,
while in our country the Museum of Ethnography has nothing in common
with the Institute of the same name, whereas that is a serious and
important science especially for such small nations like ours," the
Minister emphasized. Joint exhibitions will be organized in the two
countries’ Museums of Ethnography next year.

H. Poghosian said that among CIS countries, Armenia has no state
cultural programs only with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. And those
with Georgia though exist, nevertheless, "are very weak." "When
I assumed the Minister’s post, my first visit was to Georgia, we
agreed with the Georgian Minister of Culture to determine a concrete
cooperation plan during the next meeting in Yerevan, but in spite of
sending three invitations the meeting has not been held so far."

2008 DRAFT STATE BUDGET ENVISAGES RAISING AVERAGE SALARY OF PROSECUTORS FROM 147 TO 375 THOUSAND DRAMS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 30, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN. By the 2008 draft state budget,
the total amount of expenditures on maintenance of state governance
bodies is programmed to make 44.3 billion drams, which exceeds by
0.9% the expenditures in 2007, the RA deputy minister of finance and
economy Pavel Safarian stated at the October 30 joint sitting of the
RA National Assembly Standing Committees.

According to him, the growth of expenditures as compared with this
year is mainly conditioned by structural changes in the judicial
system, the prosecuor’s office, in some other state governance bodies
and by an increase in salaries of employees of the state governance
bodies. More than half of the overall expenditures on maintenance
of state governance bodies – about 24.8 billion drams is envisaged
to direct to the wage fund in 2008. The average salary of employees
of the state governance machinery will make 127,491 drams in 2008
aganis 116.7 thousand drams in 2007, that of civil servants – 123
thousand drams against 106 thousand drams, of diplomats working in the
ministry of foreign affairs – 200 thousand drams against 161 thousand
drams, and the salary of employees of the prosector’s system – 245
thousand drams against 119 thousand drams, with the average salary
of prosecutors making 375 thousand drams against 147 thousand drams
(about 445 dollars) in 2007.

POLICE AGAIN PROTECTED IN DINK MURDER CASE
Erol Onderoglu

BÝA, Turkey
Oct 30 2007

Administrative Court has refused permission to try seven police
officers from the Trabzon police department, arguing that they had
no involvement in the murder of journalist Hrant Dink.

First it was the Trabzon Governor’s Office Province Administration
Council which refused the trial of the police intelligence department’s
president Ramazan Akyurek, former Trabzon Police Chief Resat Altay
and police officers Engin Dinc, Faruk Sari, Ercan Demir, Ozkan Mumcu,
Mehmet Ayhan and Muhittin Zenit.

Zenit became well-known after the recording of a telephone conversation
between him and police informant/murder suspect Erhan Tuncel hours
after the murder was made public.

Cetin: Possibilities have become exhausted

The joint attorneys had then asked the Regional Administrative Court
for a decision. Fethiye Cetin, lawyer for the Dink family, said that
they had not officially been notified of the court decision yet,
but that she was curious how it would be justified. The Trabzon
Governor’s Office had not offered any justification for refusing the
investigation of the police officers.

When bianet asked whether the lawyers were considering an application
to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Cetin replied:
"The possiblities for an effective application have gradually been
exhausted. Once the decision reaches us, we will evaluate those paths."

Dogan: Application to ECHR a possibility

Joint attorney Erdal Dogan added that a trial may be opened against
Zenit because of the telephone conversation with Tuncel, although
the Istanbul Public Prosecution had previously dismissed proceedings
against him.

He also said that they may demand a new investigation after the
unsatisfactory conclusions of the Prime Ministerial Review Committee.

Should there be no results, Dogan said, an appplication to the ECHR
would be a possibility:

"If there is no development, we may appeal to the ECHR on the grounds
that an effective investigation has not been possible."

Initial demand for investigation of police

Following Erhan Tuncel’s statement, the Istanbul Public Prosecution
had initially demanded an investigation of the Trabzon Police Force.

On 7 August, the Trabzon Governor’s Office Province Administration
Council, based on a preliminary report by the Prime Ministerial
Review Committee, had refused permission for seven officers to be
investigated. Lawyers of the Dink family had then applied to the
Regional Administrative Court.

Trial continues on 11 February

The trial of Hrant Dink’s murder continues at the Istanbul 14th
Heavy Penal Court with 19 defendants, eight of them detained. The
next hearing is on 11 February 2008.

Hrant Dink was shot dead in front of the office of the weekly
Turkish-Armenian Agos newspaper in Sisli, central Istanbul, on 19
January 2007. Human rights activists in Turkey and around the world
are demanding that the trial go beyond the obvious murder suspects
and uncover the involvement of more powerful forces behind the murder.

–Boundary_(ID_jVyihJZ8/Lh7Bs6qRGPNeA)–

Russia & CIS General Newswire
October 26, 2007 Friday 6:17 PM MSK

Leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia may agree on Karabakh principles –
diplomat

The possibility of a gentlemen’s agreement between Baku and Yerevan
on the Nagorno Karabakh settlement principles is not ruled out by
U.S. co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk group Matthew Bryza.

In his opinion, such an agreement may be signed before the
presidential elections, Bryza told the press in Baku on Friday.

Such an agreement will bind the sides to stick to the settlement
principles after the elections in Armenia, he said.

Bryza said that at the meeting with co-chairmen in Yerevan, Armenian
President Robert Kocharian did not rule out the possibility of such a
gentlemen’s agreement before elections.

Baku lost control over Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent seven districts
in a bloody Armenian-Azeri conflict in the early 1990s. The problem
is being settled with international mediation, with the mediation of
the OSCE Minsk group representing the United States, Russia and
France.

Associated Press Worldstream
October 25, 2007 Thursday 3:36 PM GMT

Belgian premier appeals to ethnic Turks to stay calm after violent
protests

Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt appealed to Belgium’s ethnic Turkish
community on Thursday to show restraint, a day after some 100 youths
were detained by police due to rioting in Brussels.

Verhofstadt said he deplored the violence, which erupted after
hundreds of protesters of Turkish descent took to the streets in
several neighborhoods to demonstrate against recent attacks by
Kurdish rebels in Turkey.

"Everyone in Belgium, whatever their background, has a right to live
in freedom," Verhofstadt said. "Violence is not an answer."

Mayors of Brussels’ various municipalities backed the prime
minister’s call for call and condemned Wednesday’s violence, which
damaged cars, trams, buses and bus shelters across various
neighborhoods.

Fighting erupted after police tried to contain the youths, and 10
officers were injured. Police used water cannon and batons in
confronting the youths.

Three youths were still in custody Thursday and could face criminal
charges, officials said.

Tensions have risen in recent weeks due to the situation in Turkey,
where leaders were discussing a possible military operation into
neighboring Iraq following attacks by Kurdish rebels operating from
Iraq.

Community leaders also said tensions rose after a U.S. congressional
committee passed a resolution calling the World War I-era killings of
Armenians a genocide, which the Turks consider an affront.

LEVON TER-PETROSIAN: IN ORDER TO OVERCOME THE DEADLOCK ON THE KARABAKH CONFLICT ISSUE, IT IS NECESSARY TO RETURN TO THE PREVIOUS FORMAT OF NEGOTIATIONS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 26, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. In the past 10 years, the Armenian
authorities have done everything to create a desperate situation
around settlement of the Karabakh problem, the first Armenian president
Levon Ter-Petrosian stated at the October 26 rally.

According to him, the document proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs, to which the Armenian authorities have agreed, is nothing
else than the stage-by-stage option rejected by them 10 years
ago. "Thus, the current Armenian authorities have secretly agreed to
a program they presented as a defeatist and treacherous one at the
time," L. Ter-Petrosian noted.

In his words, this position of the Armenian authorities can have
two explanations: either it is their next in turn "bluff" in order
to delay the solution of the problem, or they finally realized that
only by using the stage-by-stage option, it is possible to settle
the diametrically opposite positions of the conflict parties – both
in the past and now. As he put it, the parties have allegedly come to
an agreement on the document, and only a few points remain, on which
there are still differences. However, according to L. Ter-Petrosian,
these points may have such a principal character that the issue will
remain unsettled for a long time. "Pinning its hopes on oil dollars,
Azerbaijan does not hurry at all. For some unknown reason, Armenia does
not manifest a will to solve the issue," L. Ter-Petrosian noted. He
added that although it has been declared that the sides have come to
a 90% agreement on the document, there are grounds to suspect that
by his habit, Robert Kocharian will not sign this document (in order
to avoid responsibility), laying the burden of responsibility on the
next president.

L. Ter-Petrosian stated that a deadlock situation has formed around the
Karabakh problem, and in addition to R. Kocharian, among those guilty
of creating it are the RA foreign minister Vartan Oskanian, and the
former NKR president Arkady Ghukasian, who has yielded the mandate of
Karabakh as a full and equal party to negotiations to Armenia. He noted
that the way out of this situation is a difficult but definite one:
in order to overcome the deadlock on the Karabakh conflict problem,
it is necessary to return to the previous negotiating format, in
which Nagorno Karabakh was presented as a full and equal party.

L. Ter-Petrosian pointed out the necessity to radically change the
Armenian authorities’ destructive policy aimed at postponing rather
than solving the problem. According to him, it is necessary to clean
"own barns" and to prevent reproduction of the current criminal regime
by means of a powerful national wave, to restore constitutional
order in Armenia, to fight against corruption and create a legal,
free and just state. "Everybody must realize that the future of
Nagorno Karabakh depends on Armenia’s might," he said.

JOURNALISTS FROM REGIONS SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN JOINT PROJECTS

KarabakhOpen
25-10-2007 11:36:46

In the framework of the project Journalism and Peace Building financed
by the International Alert discussions were held in the regions on
the topic of the meetings of Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists,
whether they are necessary and useful in the post-conflict period. The
journalists of the Hadrut-based Dizak Newspaper, Askeran-based Bert
and Martakert-based Jrabert had a conversation with the initiator of
the discussion Karine Ohanyan, reporter.

She told about joint projects involving cooperation between Karabakh
and Azerbaijani reporters, as well as the fact that the same reporters
participate in them and it is necessary to involve new people since
the more a journalist travels and the more people he meets, the better
informed he will be. Meanwhile, mostly the journalists of the capital
participate in the regional projects, and journalists working for
the regional newspapers should also be involved in these projects.

"We have little opportunities for contacts meanwhile they are
necessary, for only direct contact enables telling each other the
truth," said the reporter of the Dizak. The editor of the Bert also
approved cooperation.

"Our societies are different. In Azerbaijan, the opinion of journalists
is shaped by their propaganda. I track the Azerbaijani media, and
I see a lot of military rhetoric there, unlike our media. I think
we need to focus on ideology and propaganda." The reporters of the
Bert said in their region more Azerbaijani TV programs are received
than Armenian. "We track their speeches, their calls for war. In this
climate it is difficult to start a dialogue."

The reporters of the Jrabert also have a positive attitude towards
meetings of Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists. "What else if not
a dialogue?

We have nothing to lose – the Azerbaijani border is 15 km from here.

Better words than weapon…"

On the whole, the reporters of Askeran, Hadrut and Martakert want to
be involved in meetings of Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists. They
think it is one of the ways of resolving the conflict.

TER-PETROSSIAN FRUSTRATED POLICEMEN’S PLANS

A1+
[08:41 pm] 24 October, 2007

"I feel ashamed for people who wear uniforms with an emblem of the
Republic of Armenia and beat women. The incident resembles a backstreet
uproar," Alternative Initiative member Nikol Pashinian said today
while commenting on yesterday’s events at Abovian-Koryun intersection.

By saying a backstreet uproar, Pashinian meant the policemen who
had handed out their megaphone, used tear gas and beaten women
with sticks. "We have witnessed how "red berets" hit a reporter. I
immediately recalled the March 8 events in Turkey when women were
severely beaten by policemen in boots."

Pashinian was injured during the clash with the police. The eleven
participants of the march were detained and taken to the police
department. Some of them underwent a forensic examination.

According to Pashinian the arrest was well planned by the police
but their plans dashed away after Ter-Petrossian’s visit. The latter
stated that he would quit the building only with the detainees.

"I daresay people’s collective will-power won over illegality and
permissiveness reigning in the country.

Yesterday we witnessed a new political process which can be stopped
neither by the authorities nor by the police," Pashinian said.

USA OFFERS ARMENIA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN 2008 PRESIDENTIAL POLLS

Mediamax
Oct 24 2007
Armenia

Yerevan, 24 October: During a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister
Serzh Sargsyan on Tuesday [23 October] in Washington, US Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice expressed on behalf of the US government
readiness in case of necessity to assist the Armenian authorities in
the solution of technical problems while organizing the presidential
elections of 2008.

As Mediamax was told in the press service of the Armenian government,
the sides discussed a wide circle of issues, including the process of
the Karabakh conflict settlement, the relations of Armenia with the
neighbours, issues of energy and security, as well as the participation
of the Armenian military in international peacekeeping operations.

Touching upon the topic of Nagornyy Karabakh, Serzh Sargsyan and
Condoleezza Rice stressed the importance of acceleration of the
negotiation process. As the Armenian prime minister noted, the
militant statements of the Azerbaijani authorities do not promote
the activization of the peace talks at all.

Tuesday evening Serzh Sargsyan also had a meeting with the leadership
of the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA).

INTERNAL POLITICAL SITUATION IN IRAN BECAME REASON OF SUDDEN INTERRUPTED VISIT OF IRANIAN PRESIDENT TO ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2007-10-23 14:37:00

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cut short a two-day visit to
Armenia today due to the "internal political situation" and talks on
the Iranian nuclear issue expected in Rome, a diplomatic source in
Armenia told AFP. "He shortened his visit and is returning to Iran
because of the internal political situation in the country," the
source said. "Also this is linked with the discussion of the question
of Iran which is happening today in Rome", the source reported.

To note, the president of Iran failed to attend the Memorial to
the Armenian Genocide victims because of the interrupted visit. His
meeting with RA parliamentarians was also scheduled at noon.