Author: Toganian Liana

ARMENIAN VIEWERS OPEN THE WAY

esctoday.com, Netherlands
March 30 2007

The Eurovision Song Contest that was held last year in Athens had
a newcomer from the ‘far east’ of Europe. The young singer Andre
represented Armenia with his cheerful up-tempo song Without Your Love
and received a decent 8th place in the final. The gate to Eurovision
was opened for other Transcaucasian countries Georgia and Azerbaijan.

When the Istanbul 2004 and Kyiv 2005 contests were broadcast in
Armenia, no one knew this would change the future of the Eurovision
Song Contest. By email and telephone, an enormous quantity of Armenian
viewers expressed their wish for their country to participate in the
Contest. Yet it was not that easy for Armenia to participate. According
to the rules of the European Broadcasting Union, television channels
must not only have broadcast the contest the previous years, they
must be active members of the broadcaster’s union to enter the
competition. Armenia could not participate in the Contest until they
were accepted into active membership during the EBU General Assembly
in Dubrovnik (Croatia). This opened the door for Armenia and other
Transcaucasian countries to participate in one of the world’s biggest
television events: The Eurovision Song Contest.

In 2005 together with Georgian Tele and Radio Broadcasting, the Public
Television Company of Armenia became an active member of the European
Broadcasting Union (EBU). A year later young Andre was sent to Athens
to represent 3 million Armenians. According to many Armenians that
was an important milestone in the country’s history.

They saw Armenia’s participation in Eurovision as the opening of gates
to Europe. This year the Eurovision Song Contest is welcoming Georgia
with its debut. Georgia is realizing its Eurovision dream by sending
the young singer Sopho Kalvashi to Helsinki, who will be performing
the song Visionary dream.

Next year the Contest could welcome Azerbaijan. The Azeri Television
became an active member of EBU in January 2007. The country’s
membership was accomplished too late to be able to participate this
year in Helsinki. Azeri’s should be able to realize their Eurovision
dream next year, in…. Well, that location will be the surprise for
Azeri’s and millions of Eurovision viewers.

RENOWNED SOCIOLOGIST AND JUK LAY A BET

Panorama.am
17:12 30/03/2007

"If People’s Way Party (JUK) receives 0.8 percent of votes, I will
say farewell to sociology," Aharon Adibekyan, head of Sociometer
sociological center, told a news conference today.

Earlier Manuk Gasparyan, chairman of JUK, said that the center is
publishing figures according to orders.

Gasparyan laid a bet with the sociologist saying he must leave
sociology in case JUK collects more votes.

At the doors of parliamentary elections, several figures have ordered
sociological surveys to Aharon Adibekyan. Refusing to name the
customers, Adibekyan said 30 percent of population knows who to vote,
30 percent will not participate in elections and another 30 percent
is undecided. The sociologist believes regression of Orinats Yerkir
and emergence of Prosperous Armenia in the political field explained
the unprecedented situation.

The sociologist names 8 political parties that can overcome 5 percent
limit in the elections. Prosperous Armenia is in the first place,
followed by Armenian Republican Party (HHK), Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnakcutiun) and National Unity (AM).

Adibekyan believes HHK is still in the leading position whereas
Prosperous Armenia managed to take votes from the opposition. The
sociologist says these are preliminary data since changes may take
place in the course of the election campaign.

ARMENIAN DELEGATION IN TURKEY TO ATTEND CEREMONY TO MARK RESTORATION OF ARMENIAN CHURCH

International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
March 29 2007

ANKARA, Turkey: The spiritual leader of Turkey’s Armenian Orthodox
community on Thursday called on Turkey to open up a newly restored
ancient Armenian church for worship at least once a year, saying the
move would help reconciliation between Turks and Armenians.

Patriarch Mesrob II was speaking at a ceremony marking the restoration
of the Akdamar church, perched on a rocky island in Lake Van, a
vast body of water in eastern Turkey. Turkish authorities restored
the church as a gesture to its neighbor and its own ethnic Armenian
minority, but opened it up as a museum – not a place of worship.

Mesrob expressed gratitude for the restoration of the sandstone
church but added: "Our request from our government is for a religious
and cultural service to be held at the church every year and for a
festival to be organized."

"If our government approves, it will contribute to peace between
two communities who have not been able to come together for years,"
Mesrob said.

Akdamar’s restoration – at a cost of US$1.5 million ([email protected] million)
– has been showcased as a step by Turkey to help overcome historical
animosity between Turkey and Armenia, who are locked in a bitter
dispute over mass killings of Armenians in Turkey around the time of
World War I.

Turkey has no diplomatic ties with Armenia but still invited Armenian
officials to the ceremony. Armenia’s Deputy Culture Minister Gagik
Gyurjyan, accompanied by a 20-member delegation, including officials,
historians and other experts, traveled to Turkey for the ceremony.

One of the finest surviving monuments of Armenian culture 1,000 years
ago, the church had deteriorated over the past century, neglected in
the years following the mass killings of Armenians at the hands of
Ottoman Turks. Rainwater seeped through the collapsed, conical dome.

Its basalt floors were dug up by treasure-hunters, its facade riddled
with bullet holes.

On Thursday, police detained five trade-union representatives who
staged a demonstration on a jetty on Lake Van to protest the church’s
restoration. The protesters carried Turkish flags, pictures of Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, modern Turkey’s founder, and a banner that read:
"The Turkish people are noble. They would never commit genocide,"
the government-run Anatolia news agency reported.

Akdamar, called the Church of Surp Khach, or Holy Cross, was
inaugurated in A.D. 921. Written records say the church was near a
harbor and a palace on the island on Lake Van, but only the church
survived.

Armenia has welcomed the restoration, but said a better move toward
improved ties would be the opening up of the border with Armenia and
the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 during a war between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, a Muslim ally of Ankara. Landlocked Armenia’s
economy suffered as a result.

Turkey is lobbying hard against a proposed U.S. congressional
resolution that would recognize the killings of Armenians in the last
century as genocide.

Some of Turkey’s 65,000 Armenian Orthodox Christians complain of
harassment in Turkey, which has an overwhelmingly Muslim population.

Hrant Dink, an ethnic Armenian journalist murdered in Istanbul in
January, was apparently targeted by nationalists for his commentaries
on minority rights and free expression.

__

Associated Press writer Selcan Hacaoglu contributed to this report

RECTOR OF RAU AGAINST ‘DER SPIEGEL’

Arminfo
2007-03-29 13:47:00

An article was published in the 10th number of the ‘Der Spiegel’
magazine from March 5, 2007, that analyses the influence of "Gazprom"
on the international policy of Russia where, in particular, the
conclusions regarding Armenia were presented with reference to the
RA ex-Prime Minister, the Rector of the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic)
University Armen Darbinian.

By ArmInfo request to comment this article, A. Darbinian said
the following: "Unfortunately, a high reputation is not always a
guarantee of a high-quality analysis. I appreciate the reputation of
"Der Spiegel", however, my reputation is dearer to me. Therefore,
I would like to say that everything that is published with reference
to me is a figment or falsification. The authors did not even try to
clarify whom they had met and talked with. They represented me as a
Director of some non- existent Armenian-Russian Economic Institute.

This fact is an evidence of their non-professionalism and improbity.

As for the essence of the publication, I really consider the deal
on the creation of "ArmRosgazprom" enterprise one of the most
successful Russian-Armenian projects, and I am glad to be directly
related to it. I have never been a supporter of confidential political
dialogues. Of course, there was no confidential address to any of the
Russian politicians, including the RF Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov,
just as there was no response as well. Moreover, my position concerning
the activities of "Gazprom" is known to all and it was published more
than once. It lies in the fact that, unfortunately, the interests of
"Gazprom" not always coincide with those of Russia. I have already
addressed the gentlemen from "Der Spiegel" with a requirement to
deny the information that was published with reference to me, and I
am ready to assert my rights judicially, in the German court as well.

INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL WORK IS ON STABLE BASES IN ARMENIA, MINISTER OF SOCIAL SECURITY SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Mar 29 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The Institute of social work in Armenia
is on stable bases. Aghvan Vardanian, the RA Minister of Labour and
Social Issues stated about it at the March 29 conference entitled
"Formation of Institute of Social Work in Armenia: Achievements
and Problems." He mentioned that the system of social services was
formed in conditions of social tension existing in the country in
1993. That system was to organize works of addressed allocation of
the humanitarian aid.

In A. Vardanian’s words, a social worker’s functions change during
the time, making them corresponding to the population’s needs and
process of the country’s social-economic development. The Minister
attached importance to the RA law "On Social Assistance" functioning
from 2006 in which the "Social Work and Specialists of Social Work"
part exists. "The law also envisages working out and adoption of ethics
rules for specialists of social work, methodological instructions on
paying home visits," he stated.

A. Vardanian mentioned at the same time that there are problems in this
sphere as well. Those are, particularly, working out of standards of
the social work, continual training of social workers and increase
of special qualification. The Minister expressed a hope that the
themes being presented and discussed during the conference will assist
improvement of the quality of social services to different groups of
the population as well as will serve a basis for working out of the
state policy.

PACE CO-REPPORTEUR ON AZERBAIJAN ADDRESSES TO LETTER TO MONITORING COMMITTEE

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 28 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / Òrend corr A. Gasimova / Tony Lloyd, a Co-repporteur
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
Monitoring Committee, failed to participate in the meeting of the
organization, but sent a reporting letter.

"Our report reflects the efforts made by Azerbaijan in definite
spheres, such as ongoing cooperation with the Venice Commission
on reconsideration of the Elections Code and the Law on Freedom of
Assembly, foundation of the Justice Academy, increase of the number of
judges and organizing exams for administration of new judges with the
support of the Council of Europe, recent adoption of the National Acton
Plan on Human Rights Protection, as well as the Azerbaijani President’s
constructive position on the Karabakh conflict," the letter states.

Lloyd said the report stresess the spheres that should ensure holding
the Presidential elections in accordance with the international
standards, the dialogue between the overwhelimg majority and the
opposition, rise in number of the attorneys, necessary conditions
for independent press and the final decision on the ANS Broadcasting
Channel issue.

–Boundary_(ID_HB9vHdpaZg5ErWB8iDWfnQ)–

DINK INVESTIGATION REVEALS STRIKING DETAILS
Emre Soncan, Ufuk KoroÐlu Ýstanbul

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 28 2007

The local branch head of the nationalist political party BBP, detained
as part of an investigation into the murder of ethnic Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, had met with one of the key murder suspects
10 days before the killing, a police interrogation uncovered.

Yaþar Cihan, head of the Trabzon branch of the conservative nationalist
Grand Unity Party (BBP), who was detained as part of an investigation
into the January killing of journalist Hrant Dink, was questioned,
first by the police and then by the prosecutors, about the case
on Tuesday.

Five people were arrested on Sunday in Trabzon and taken to Ýstanbul
for questioning, including Cihan and a member of the branch committee,
Halis Egemen. Cihan was picked up after a photo was found of him with
the BBP leader and Erhan Tuncel, one of the suspected masterminds of
the killing and a police informant.

In his testimony, the file of which Today’s Zaman was able to view,
Cihan admitted to having spoken on the phone with Tuncel five or 10
days prior to the murder. Cihan said he had phoned Tuncel to make an
appointment to exchange opinions on political inclinations among youth
groups affiliated with the party, but the meeting never took place as
Tuncel said he had no time due to examinations he was required to take.

Cihan also said Tuncel was a regular customer of his Cihan Coal
Company. Cihan said he had no knowledge about a bombing at a Trabzon
McDonald’s restaurant, carried out by Yasin Hayal, another key suspect
in the case, two years ago. However, Cihan allegedly assisted the
family of Hayal, said to be the inciter of the Dink murder, with YTL
1,000 when he was in prison but insisted it was part of donations he
regularly makes to needy families. Cihan said he first met Hayal in
2001 at a nationalist youth organization that Hayal frequented.

"He seemed to be aggressive. I always kept a distance, thinking his
aggression could one day get out of hand. I don’t know what sort of
people he hangs out with. He once visited me in my office when he
got out of jail," Cihan testified, saying that was the last time he
saw Hayal.

In his testimony, Cihan said he would never have guessed that Tuncel
would take part in such an act, saying: "He was very cultured person;
he read a lot. Occasionally he would say radical things, but I’ve
never heard him speak about terrorism or bombings. He was generally
good at commenting about recent events, and he was much better behaved
than most of the young people I meet."

Cihan said in his testimony he didn’t know O.S., the teenager who
allegedly shot Hrant Dink. Speaking to the media shortly after his
release, the BBP member said he was ready to testify at any time,
if that should prove be necessary.

BBP members detained as result of phone tapping

In related developments, reports on Tuesday said the two BBP members
detained in Trabzon on Sunday were held by the police because of
records showing they spoke to Tuncel on his phone. Sources told Today’s
Zaman that the Trabzon police intelligence unit had been monitoring
the phone conversations of Tuncel, a dark figure said to be a police
informant, information which was neither confirmed nor denied by
authorities. An Interior Ministry report on the murder investigation
by national security chiefs that was leaked to the media accuses
Ýstanbul police chief Celalettin Cerrah of failing to protect Dink,
who was shot dead outside the offices of his weekly newspaper Agos,
even though the Trabzon police had warned their Ýstanbul colleagues
of a plot to kill Dink. News reports had said that Tuncel had warned
the Trabzon police 17 times about the plot before they passed the
message on to Ýstanbul.

–Boundary_(ID_H4ZnxabTZTX05kdIGIc DNw)–

DIASPORA WAITED FOR DUAL CITIZENSHIP LAW A LONG TIME

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.03.2007 15:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Diaspora waited for the law of Dual Citizenship
in Armenia a long time," Chairman of the European Armenian Federation
Hilda Tchoboyan told at the interview to PanARMENIAN.Net. "When
Armenia’s independence was declared a lot of us hoped that the Armenia
government will recognize us as his own citizens. Unfortunately it
did not happen. The Diaspora was very upset. And now we got moral
satisfaction, we have a motherland where we can come and do everything
possible for her prosperity," she underlined. Tchoboyan also thinks
it is natural the fear of "local" citizens of the RA that the Diaspora
will take the power into its hands, elect the president and so on. "We
are not going to do that, the law clearly indicates our rights and
obligations. I consider the adoption of this law as very important,
if even it is a bit belated step," the EAFJD Chairman underscored.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 26 2007

"GLOBAL FINANCE" MAGAZINE: ARMENIAN CONVERSEBANK BEST

YEREVAN, March 26. /ARKA/. The "Global Finance" magazine has awarded
the Armenian Conversebank the title "Best banks of developing
countries in 2007".
The press service of the Conversebank reports that the "Global
Finance" magazine has recognized the Conversebank Armenia’s best bank
the third year in succession.
Among the criteria for selecting the winner are services rendered to
clients, competitive rates, introduction of new services and
strategic relations.
The awarding ceremony is to be held in Washington, USA, this October,
during an annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank.
The "Conversebank" CJSC was registered on December 20, 1993. By
December 31, 2006, the bank’s assets had amounted to AMD 35.5bln,
total capital AMD 9.6bln, net profit AMD 1.4bln and balance profit on
the capital account AMD 5.5bln. The banl’s authorized capital had
amounted to AMD 1,296,366ths. P.T. -0–

Russia to gain from Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, energy official says

Arminfo
26 Mar 07

Yerevan, 26 March: Both Armenia and Iran, as well as Russian
businesses, may benefit from gas supplies from Iran to Armenia,
Armenian Deputy Energy Minister Ara Simonyan has said.

He said that the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline will provide the companies
with Russian capital with long-term and stable orders. In particular,
the fifth unit of the Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant (Hrazdan – 5),
currently under construction, and the Armenian-Russian company
ArmRosgazprom [Hayrusgazard] can count on such orders, he said. He
said that Armenia will be paying for the Iranian gas with
electricity. (According to Armenia’s Regulatory Commission on Public
Services, Armenia will supply 3 kWh for 1 cu.m. of received gas.)
Under the agreement, the Yerevan Thermal Power Plant (TPP) is a party
to the gas-for-electricity deal but even after it acquires a 205-MW
combined cycle gas turbine on the loan extended by the Japanese Bank
for International Cooperation (allowing to produce 1.4bn-1.5bn kWh of
electricity annually), it will not be able to process the entire
volume of the imported Iranian gas into electricity. Its current
capacity is 550 MW, out of which only 50 MW is used due to economic
reasons. Under the agreement, Iran will supply to Armenia 1.1bn
cu.m. of gas beginning 2009, and up to 2.3bn cu.m. of gas beginning
2019, Simonyan said. He said that the Yerevan TPP could offer the
remaining Iranian gas to Hrazdan -5 for electricity generation and
then buy electricity at the prices set by the Regulatory Commission on
Public Services and export it. All the countries of the region have
electricity shortage, and only the Armenian energy system produces
more than consumed. He said that the agreement with the Yerevan TPP is
signed for 20 years, and this means that at least for this period,
Iran will be buying electricity generated in Armenia.

Simonyan, however, thinks that due to the present low effectiveness of
the Armenian thermal plants, the efficiency of the gas-for-electricity
deal will be minimal. Currently, the Yerevan and Hrazdan thermal power
plants utilize 372-400 grams of fuel to generate 1 kW of
electricity. The construction of a new unit of the Yerevan TPP and the
implementation of the Hrazdan-5 project will help raise the
effectiveness of the electricity generation, he said. Accordingly,
Armenia could use gas surplus for its own purposes. He said that the
construction of the Iran-Armenia pipeline became a locomotive for the
implementation of modernization projects for the two TPPs as well as
for the construction of two 400-kW electricity lines with Iran and
Georgia.

The construction of the Iran-Armenia pipeline will help strengthen
cooperation between Armenia, Iran and Russia in the electricity and
gas sectors, he said.