Author: Tigranian Ani

HOVHANNESIAN: NEW ARENA FOR STRUGGLE HAS BEEN OPENED

Armenian Weekly
January 18, 2010

YEREVAN-Even though the Constitutional Court ruled that the
Armenian-Turkish protocols are in line with the Armenian Constitution,
the ruling contains several positive elements, said Vahan Hovhannesian,
a member of the ARF Bureau and the leader of the ARF faction in
parliament, during a news conference on Jan. 14.

The Constitutional Court ruling says that the subject of the protocols
is the establishment of relations between Armenia and Turkey and
that all the other issues derive from that subject, so they should be
based on additional agreements, Hovhannesian said, according to Yerkir.

He added that concerns regarding the Artsakh issue and the
Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement are now off the agenda as the Court
ruling underlines that the protocols have nothing to do with third
countries.

As for the recognition of the borders, Hovhannesian said he was
not satisfied with the Court’s formulation that "the borders are
not recognized through protocols because, under the Armenian law,
borders are defined by international treaties."

"So the issue of the border remains open," Hovhannesian said.

HAITI GIVES A CHANCE TO AMERICA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD

RIA Novosti
21:1218/01/2010

Moscow. (RIA Novosti political commentator Dmitry Kosyrev) –
A three-minute tremor in Haiti was sufficient to create a new
international situation for the United States and the rest of the
world. By adopting a smart policy towards Haiti America can win back
its positions, compensate for all its failures (Iraq and Afghanistan),
reverse the anti-American attitudes, and regain its status of a
superpower.

Washington is obviously aware of this. Last week U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton interrupted her Pacific trip and returned home.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and two former presidents from different
parties – Bill Clinton and George W. Bush – have joined the efforts
to save Haiti. Apparently, these efforts will not be limited to
rescue flights to the disaster area. President Barack Obama got it
right. If America saves not only a thousand lives but a de facto
destroyed country, it will restore its international reputation.

This is a huge task. Haiti is like Afghanistan or Somalia. As a state
it exists only formally and governs a limited territory. Strictly
speaking, nobody knows what to do with such failure states. Europeans,
for instance, are doing all they can to avoid military involvement
in Afghan affairs. As for Somalia, the outside world has imposed
maritime quarantine there, albeit not very successfully, but does
not want to interfere in its affairs beyond the coastal line.

Now imagine if Afghanistan or Somalia are struck by a natural
disaster, which will kill about 100,000 people and five times more in
a week. It is not possible to stay away. This is what the situation
in Haiti is like. There are no authorities (its government is located
on a semi-destroyed police station on the airport’s outskirts), no
communications, no fuel… The country has virtually ceased to exist
even in its former shape.

There are no precedents with a possible exception of the tsunami in
December 2004, which took 160,000 lives in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

Indonesia and its authorities are not the most effective in the world
but a multi-national rescue operation was a success. It even put an
end to the local separatist movement.

This is what Haiti needs today – not only help with saving lives but
also complete resetting of its deadlocked state and society. This would
be a good example for Somalia, Afghanistan and some other countries.

But how can this be done in a country with 7.8 million people?

Democratic elections will not work in this case. The UN Trusteeship
Council, which has done almost nothing in the past few years, could
suspend Haiti’s sovereignty for two or three years.

However, judging by the first signs, America is losing its chance.

Everything started out well. Like in Indonesia in 2004, American
warships were the first to act. In Russia almost everyone has quoted
Fox News, which was flushed with America’s grandeur and lashed out
at Russia and China for not helping as much as the United States. But
this is only natural because the earthquake took place 700 miles off
America’s shores. When Spitak in Armenia was hit by an earthquake,
Russia was the first to help and America followed suit.

Now the problem is how to prevent new refugees from Haiti from arriving
in the United States? Washington at least decided not to deport 100,000
or 200,000 illegal immigrants from Haiti who have been in the United
States for a long time and were ready for deportation.

A conflict has already flared up with France. Ostensibly the American
military have occupied the airport in Port-au-Prince and do not allow
aircraft from other countries to land in the capital. The U.S.

favorite "special force" style, which is quite appropriate under the
circumstances, is creating problems for the United States, all the
more so since Americans have long fallen out of favor in Haiti.

Will it come to shootouts in the streets? Maybe the United States
should let France take the lead in helping the French-speaking
population of Haiti? There are numerous issues and resolving any of
them may become a major precedent in the future.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not
necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti

INTERNATIONAL LOANS WILL FORCE ARMENIA TO MAKE POLITICAL CONCESSIONS: BAGRATYAN

Tert.am
17:16 ~U 18.01.10

Armenia is in need of serious medical assistance in both policy and
economy, said Armenian National Congress (ANC) representative and
former prime minister Hrant Bagratyan in a press conference today.

"It doesn’t take an economist to understand that the situation is
devastating," he said.

The ANC rep turned his attention to the loans Armenia has received
from international agencies in order to fight against the crisis
from Russia.

"If you don’t return the funds after 4 years, you have to make
political concessions," he noted, adding, that if the Armenian side,
as it seems today, is refraining from the proposed solutions to
settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a few years down the line
"it’ll be begging for it."

As for the country’s economic growth, the former prime minister
drew attention to the fact that, over the last 2 years, Armenia has
fallen behind Azerbaijan twice. Bagratyan is convinced that "a group
of patriotic individuals" could take charge of the situation.

"We will change the tax system, we won’t allow the working president
to be a millionaire, like the second president. And we won’t allow
the church to get involved in business affairs… then what Christ?"
concluded Bagratyan.

Requiem service for repose of souls of victims of 1990 Armenian
massacres in Baku to be held on January 17

ETCHMIADZIN, JANUARY 16, NOYAN TAPAN. On January 17, following the
Divine Liturgy, a Requiem service for the repose of the souls of the
innocent victims of the 1990 Armenian massacres in Baku will be held
in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the information system of the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin reports.

Aram I: presence of Christianity in Middle East important for the
whole Christian world
16.01.2010 15:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Greek President Karolos Papoulias met Friday with
the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I.

Upon receiving greetings of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Mr.
Papoulias expressed his gratitude, stressing that Lebanon is capable
of significantly contributing to preservation of peace in Middle East.

A number of important issues were discussed at the meeting. Aram I
emphasized the importance of Christianity’s presence in Middle East
for the whole Christian world, specifically noting the necessity of
preservation and strengthening of Christianity in its very homeland on
the background of interreligious relations.

The Holy See of Cilicia (also known as "the Catholicossate of the
Great House of Cilicia" is one of two sees of the Armenian Apostolic
Church. Since 1930, it has been headquartered in Antelias, Lebanon.
Aram I has been Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church
since 1995.

Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 15 2010

Protocol debate linked to Armenia, Azerbaijan ties

Friday, January 15, 2010
ANKARA – Anatolia News Agency
Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be developed before a
debate is launched in a Turkish parliamentary committee regarding the
historic diplomatic protocols between Ankara and Yerevan, the head of
the committee has said.

`We are all eager to bring the protocols to the committee and the
Parliament floor, and we do want to see a normalization in relations,
but at this time it would be in vain to debate the issue that is
highly likely to be revoked by the committee," Murat Mercan, chairman
of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Turkish Parliament, told
reporters Friday.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations and their border has
been closed since 1993, after Armenia’s invasion of 20 percent of
Azerbaijani territory. And also by Armenia’s putting pressure on the
international community, with the backing of its diaspora, to gain
recognition of its `genocide’ claims instead of accepting Turkey’s
call to investigate the allegations.

"The Turkish people are very sensitive about the rapprochement between
Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as Azerbaijan’s rights. Efforts to
settle problems between [Baku and Yerevan] would help Turkey ratify
the protocols," Mercan said.

Yes We Can! Part I

Asbarez
Jan 15th, 2010

BY HENRY D. ASTARJIAN M.D.

Some dream of it, many don’t! When contemplated, many say it is
impossible! When brought to focus they give you a hundred reasons as
to why it is a losing proposition; the faint hearted freeze at the
thought; The ones who have guts to face the issue, don’t have
leadership, yet the leadership of the major political parties do not
even have it on their radar screen! Or if they do, they tremble before
its challenges! The issue on their political platform like Maurice
Ravel’s Bolero, is repetitious, rhetorical, and aimless. Yet they
manipulate the emotions of their audiences by uttering the cliché
rhetoric `Miatsial Azad Angakh Hayastan’ (United Free Sovereign
Armenia). This is the topic which generates all that is mentioned
above, and it is the height of hypocrisy. People would not tolerate it
anymore; the political Parties would lose whatever credibility they
have left – which is less than that of the Congress of the United
States- and the legitimacy of their leadership would further
deteriorate to incredulity.

Miatsial Azad Angakh Hayastan!

The concept is right, the cause is legitimate and just, the task is
difficult, and to some, who are oblivious to the vagaries of the
political situation, it is unrealistic at best. These are people who,
given a successful project will give you ten reasons why it will not
succeed.

The situation of all these factions is fully understandable; Armenian
Diaspora, though fully recovered physically, is severely traumatized
psychologically to a degree that mere mention of Turkey generates
hatred, disgust, and anger. Even the third generation Diasporan
Armenian, talks about their ancestral home in `Turkish Armenia’, and
recant the stories of horror, death and destruction that the Turks and
some Kurds, mostly of Zaza tribe, have inflicted upon its innocent,
most valuable citizens, the Armenians, the Assyrians, and of late the
Kurds.

To these people, Turkey is a giant; it is a member of NATO, it is
indispensable in implementing the policies of the United States in the
region, it is an ally of Israel, it is a counterbalance to Iran, and
can check Syria anytime. It has a unique strategic land mass, which
enables her to control the Black sea despite the international
treaties regulating naval passage. For all these reasons, and more
Turkey is untouchable.

This is how Turkey looks from outside! What is inside is another
matter. Kemal Ataturk’s pronouncement of Turkey being `Independent,
layik, and democratic’ has completely failed. Turkey is neither of
those; Turkey may be relatively independent, but is neither secular
nor democratic. One man one vote does not make democracy, and I am not
even talking about Jeffersonian democracy; democracy is a way of life,
which Turkey does not have, makes no effort to achieve, and can not
achieve even if its rulers desired it, though they don’t.

Claimed secularism is contrary to the realities of Turkish society,
which is Islamist, it is Islamist, it is Islamist, despite Turkish
official denial. And the dominant sect is the Naqshbandi branch of
Islam., which is now in power. This sect has many branches, of which
the Golden Chain Naqshbandi-Haqqani, globally headed by Sheikh Nazim
al-Qubrisi of Cyprus, is the most influential in Turkey. To this sect
belong Necmettin Erbakan ( The mid 1990s Prime Minister of Turkey who
was tried and convicted for embezzlement, stashing 140 kilos of gold,
later pardoned by his ally, President Abdullah Gul), Recep Tayyip
Erdogan (Turkey’s Prime Minister), and Abdullah Gul (Turkey’s
President).

It is this clique which has been elected by Turkey’s people,
admittedly in a democratic way. So, if Turkey is secular, how did
these Naqshbandi Islamists come to power?

The year was 1993. In a rally in Berlin, sheikh Nazim al-Qubaisi was
introduced as the lead speaker. A long white bearded, turbaned man
with bulged eyes ascended the podium acknowledging the thunderous
applause of the audience, by glorifying God: `Allaahu Ekber’, which
echoed `Allaahu Ekbar’ in the huge stadium, by their pronouncement,
you could tell they were not Arabs. He was the epitome of the sheikhs
and mullahs of the Ottoman era Turkey, who preached in mosques during
the Friday Prayers, calling for the annihilation of the infidel
Armenians and Assyrians, and asserting the supremacy of Islam, as
being the Deen-ul-Haqq (The legitimate religion) and the Khalif, the
Khalif of All Muslims.

His speech spewed rhetorical flame asking the audience to win the
battle against the infidels. To me he looked and behaved like the
Ottoman General, who rallied his troops at the gates of Vienna, before
being soundly defeated.

In the audience, seated in the front row, were non other than Erbakan,
Erdogan, and Abdulla Gul; the present top brass of Turkey.

This situation does not sit well with the Kemalists, especially the
military hierarchy. Their prophet is the Free Mason Kemal Ataturk
whose orientation was secularism European style. To achieve that he
beheaded hundreds of sheikhs and mullahs, like Sheikh Qubrusi
including Kurds. The mere existence and strong presence of the
Islamist government is a prime indication of the death of Kemalism.
For some wishful thinkers, it is morbidly wounded, but not quite dead
yet; for them Ataturk remains to be their prophet, yet for the
Islamists the real prophet is Mohammed, and rightfully so.

There exists bitter enmity between the Army, the guardian of Ataturk
doctrine, and the Islamist government, which is the true
representative of the people. The army, the guardian of the faith, has
ruled Turkey with iron fist, since the inception of the `Secular
Republic’. They continue to muzzle free speech; hundreds of
journalists, including our Hrant Dink, have been tried and convicted.
Utter criticism of the government is construed as `Insulting
Turkishness’ requiring punishment. This is none other than Pavlovian
control of the mind Turkish society is thus split. Turkey’s society is
even more fragmented; Kurds and their non-Kurdish sympathizers, on one
side, and the establishment on the other.

This clash of faith and philosophy is Turkey’s Main dilemma, and might
be cause for its transformation to another entity, especially when the
Kurdish Cause is entered into the equation. Could the condition be
changed?

This is Turkey to which the corrupt Armenian Government is cow-towing,
trashing the Nations interests. See you next week!

EDITORIAL: CORPORATE TAX IN THE CIS

Who’s Who Legal
Jan 15 2010

Our research identifies 34 eminent lawyers from nine different
countries in the CIS region.

Baker & McKenzie and Salans received the most nominations. We feature
four nominees in this chapter from Baker & McKenzie. In Moscow,
Sergei Zhestkov specialises in supply-chain tax planning, tax advice
for mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructuring. The "highly
knowledgeable" Alexander Chmelev heads the CIS tax practice group and
is a member of the firm’s European tax steering committee. Alexander
Bychkov focuses on Russian tax and tax structuring; in Baku, Aykhan
Asadov practises general tax planning.

Salans has three nominees listed. At the firm’s office in Almaty the
"highly recommended" Aigoul Kenjebayeva is a managing partner and
focuses on the legal and tax implications of investing in Kazakhstan.

Ophelia Abdullayeva is based in Baku and has recently assisted a
major international telecommunications company on tax issues. Evgeny
Timofeev co-heads the firm’s tax practice from Salans’s Moscow office
and a member of the expert council on tax legislation of the State
Duma budget committee.

In Russia we identify a further seven leading lawyers, the majority
of whom are based in Moscow. Sergey Pepeliaev is the managing partner
of Pepeliaev Goltsblat & Partners and has "very good experience"
in handling tax disputes in arbitration courts, courts of general
jurisdiction and the constitutional court of the Russian federation.

At Herbert Smith LLP Oleg Konnov offers tax advice to a range
of foreign and local companies, particularly in the context of
international tax treaty analysis and OECD guidelines. Maxim Alekseyev,
a senior partner at Alrud Law Firm, focuses on tax audits and the
implementation of planning schemes in joint ventures and businesses
with 100 per cent foreign investments.

>>From DLA Piper LLP the "top-class" Scott Antel has advised
multinational clients on taxation matters concerning investment
structures, the development of greenfield and brownfield manufacturing
sites and the negotiation of regional tax concessions. In the
firm’s St Petersburg office, Ruslan Vasutin focuses his practice
on transaction structuring and reorganisation, developing efficient
cross-border fund remittance techniques and coordinating tax dispute
procedures. The "very well-regarded" Victor Matchekhin from Linklaters
LLP also makes it into the chapter while Irina Dmitrieva at White &
Case LLP heads the firms tax practice in Moscow and specialises in
Russian and international tax matters related to direct investments,
M&A, private equity, corporate restructuring, real estate, leasing
and structured finance transactions.

Our research identifies a wealth of talent in Belarus. From Borovtsov
& Salei, Vassili Salei is "brilliant" while Alexander Botian
provides "excellent counsel". The "very good" Igor Verkhovodko at
Businessconsult specialises in tax regulations and Timour Sysouev
has also been noted for his work in the field. Law Firm Trust has the
"very experienced" tax specialist Eugene Lazarenkov within its ranks.

At Stepanovski Papakul and Partners, Valery Papakul advises on taxation
optimisation while Tatiana Emelianova from Vlasova Mikhel & Partners
also stands out as a leader. Dennis Turovets is the managing partner
at Magisters and is "quite brilliant" while Pavel Tsarev from Re Vera
Consulting Group is "a definite candidate for inclusion in a list of
the best".

We select four lawyers in Ukraine for our list. Two of these are at
Amparo Consulting Group with Evgeniy Slavniy and Alexander Zlenko both
receiving high levels of recommendation in our research. Alexander
Minin from KM Partners is "strongly recommended" and known for his
participation in the Lukor court dispute against the country’s tax
authorities. At Arzinger, the "very good" Anna Pogrebna also makes
it into the chapter.

Azerbaijan contains an additional two leading lawyers in the field.

Jeyhun Bayramov at Omni Law Firm is "well respected" and Elchin
Mammadov from MGB Law Offices provides "brilliant" counsel.

Almat Daumov from Grata Law Firm in Kazakhstan concentrates on tax
issues, particularly for financial institutions and oil industry
companies. In Uzbekistan his colleague the "excellent" Zafar Malikov
is currently a managing partner and controlling the firm’s activities
in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Prior to joining the firm he worked
for PricewaterhouseCoopers as a tax consultant.

Elsewhere, in Armenia, David Sargsyan from Ameria Legal Practice also
features in this chapter and provides "high quality" counsel. In
Kyrgyzstan. Kalikova & Associates’ Maksim Smirnov is seen as a
"top-class" lawyer in the field. Located in Moldova Alexandr Muravsky
is a partner at Dartax Consulting and is "very talented", focusing
his practice on tax disputes.

is/article/19722/editorial-corporate-tax-cis/

PROTOCOL RATIFICATION PROCESS MORE COMPLEX IN ARMENIA THAN IN TURKEY: NALBANDIAN

Tert.am
18:10 ~U 14.01.10

Armenia, as well as Turkey, has pledged to do everything possible
to ratify the Protocols in a reasonable timeline, said RA Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian to journalists following a joint press
conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

"A more complex process in ratifying the Protocols are taking place
in Armenia; in Turkey, [it’s] more simplified," said the minister,
recalling that the Protocols were sent to the Turkish parliament
already in October, while prior to being discussed in Armenia’s
Constitutional Court just a couple of days ago, the Protocols underwent
a longer route.

"I wouldn’t want to think that Turkey is intentionally hindering that
process, that would mean that they aren’t following through on their
assumed responsibilities," said Nalbandian.

Lavrov, in turn, added that Russia has an interest in the immediate
settlement of Armenian-Turkish relations.

"The sooner that happens, the better it will be for the region,"
he said.

Continuing, the Russian foreign minister said that Russia is prepared
to assist in the process through the implementation of structural
projects in which both Armenia and Turkey have an interest. Lavrov
particularly pointed out the supply of electricity, as well as
railway projects.

ARMENIAN USERS GET INFORMATION THROUGH TURKISH TRAFFIC

news.am
Jan 14 2010
Armenia

Armenian Internet users receive data from websites technically operated
in U.S. and Eurozone through Turkish TurkTelecom company, a senior
official well-informed in the Armenian IT told NEWS.am off record.

According to him, previously Armenia was getting data from the
websites maintained by the U.S. and European area through American
company cooperating with regional provider Russian Rostelecom company.

However, certain problems between Rostelecom and American company
emerged resulting in American companyâ~@~Ys leaving regional market.

Presently, TurkTelecom replaced the latter a couple of days, the source
says. Rostelecom assures that in the near future the issue will be
settled and Armenia will reestablish communication with American and
European servers.