Author: Toneyan Mark

ERGENEKON NET CATCHES 39 MORE

Hurriyet
Jan 23 2009
Turkey

ANKARA – Another day, another 39 detainees in the Ergenekon
saga. Mostly police and military officers are taken in, but there is
also a raid on a union and a TV channel. Opponents say the government
is suppressing voices ahead of local elections. The latest Ergenekon
wave swept up 39 people yesterday morning, 20 of who were police and
military officers.

The latest Ergenekon wave swept up 39 people yesterday morning, 20 of
who were police and military officers. The 39 are alleged to be part
of assassination teams directed by Ä°brahim Å~^ahin, an ex-police
officer currently under arrest as part of the Ergenekon case.

Police also raided the Metal Workers’ Union headquarters and the
Eurasia TV, or ART, in Ankara. The union’s president Mustafa Ozbek,
VERSO Survey company’s owner Erhan Göksel, and senior journalist
Unal Ä°nanc were also rounded up.

Police demanded the keys for locked rooms in the union building and the
building’s plans. Another raid was conducted on the Å~^irinoglu Social
and Strategic Research Center, presided over by Ä°nanc. Turkmeneli
Human Rights Association Head SavaÅ~_ Avcı was also taken into
custody. ART, a channel with an anti-Justice and Development Party,
or AKP, stance and with nationalist leanings, resumed broadcasting
from Cyprus.

Among detainees are 17 police officers from a special operations unit,
two non-commissioned officers, three lieutenants, seven journalists,
and five union activists. One of the detainees in Sivas has been
released.

Istanbul Acting Prosecutor Turan Colakkadı said there might be
more detentions based on documents and evidence discovered in the
raids. "Searches are executed under court order. Prosecutors are
immediately informed of the suspectb, who have the right to object
to the court," Colakkadı said.

The searches and confiscations were the subject of controversy due
to the observance of procedural rules. Searches were undertaken in
30 locations in various cities, said Colakkadı. The latest wave
covered 13 cities, including Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa,
Hakkari, Elazıg, Igdır, and Hatay. "A supplementary indictment to
the Ergenekon case is in its final stages and will be completed in
a month," said Colakkadı.

Meanwhile, Professor Yalcın Kucuk and deputy leader of Independent
Republic Party, or BCP, Engin Aydın, arrested in an earlier wave of
Ergenekon detentions, were released yesterday.

The Ergenekon case aims to unveil and bring down an alleged
ultra-nationalist gang that has conspired against the government in
an attempt to provoke a coup. Prosecutors describe the alleged gang
as a terrorist organization.

Opposition in uproar, major union prepares a summit Union leaders,
the main opposition Republican People’s Party and detainees’ relatives
condemned the detentions as part of a suppression campaign.

"It is impossible to implicate any union in the Ergenekon case. The
reason for the union’s existence is democracy itself," said President
of the Turkish Confederation of Labor Unions, or TURK-Ä°Å~^ Mustafa
Kumlu. TURK-Ä°Å~^ has decided to hold an extraordinary session to
assess the aftermath of Ozbek’s detention and the Ergenekon case
Monday. Road Workers’ Union President Ramazan Agar also visited
Ozbek’s house. "We are in a time when being a Turk in Turkey is a
crime," said Mustafa Ozbek’s son, Haydar Ozbek.

VERSO’s owner Göksel told reporters before he was taken to a police
station, "Ramazan Akyurek is my greatest enemy." Akyurek is Istanbul
Police’s Intelligence unit chief and is implicated in the murder of
Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink by the Workers’ Party, or Ä°P
leader, Dogu Perincek. Perincek, under arrest in the Ergenekon case,
claimed in 2007 that Akyurek was an Islamist and associated with
religious community chief Fethullah Gulen.

A member of the directors’ board of the Security and Judiciary
Reporters Association, Mehmet Balıkcıoglu, said 50,000 books and
200,000 documents had been seized in the searches. Most of the books
were about Turkey’s founder Ataturk, he said.

"The trade unions have been silenced and media organizations have
been intimidated," said the main opposition Republican People’s Party,
or CHP, spokesman Mustafa Ozyurek. "Turkey is fast becoming an empire
of fear," he said.

Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Å~^ahin said he could not meddle in the
judiciary’s affairs as a minister. Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan
urged restraint.

–Boundary_(ID_1DkfV2andl7hTLeZCsBdPQ) —

INTERNATIONAL VISHEGRAD FUND PROVIDES SCHOLARSHIP TO ARMENIAN STUDENTS

ARMENPRESS
Jan 23, 2009

YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, ARMENPRESS: International Vishegrad fund provided
scholarship to the Armenian students for 2009-2010 academic year. The
applicants can get education in the accredited universities of
Vishegrad countries – Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

Public relations department of Armenian Education and Science
Ministry told Armenpress that within the frameworks of 1 million
884,000 euros the fund also provides grant places for a number of
students from Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
Greece, Macedonia, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Serbia.

The grant places are provided for magistracy of 1-4 semesters and
1-2 semesters of post-graduate education. The Armenian applicants
may apply by January 31.

MUBARIZ AHMEDOGHLU: "I DO NOT THINK THAT US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA WILL CALL 1915 EVENTS IN OSMAN TURKEY AS AN "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE"

Today.Az
politics/50231.html
Jan 21 2009
Azerbaijan

"I do not think that US President Barack Obama will call 1915 events in
Osman Turkey as the "Armenian genocide", considers Mubariz Ahmedoghlu,
head of the Center of Political Innovations and Technologies.

He said the shift of powers in the United States does not mean changes
in the external political course of the United States. "Certainly,
there will be some changes in the external policy of the United States,
but on the whole I think these changes will make about 5-10%, that is,
they will be insignificant.

The recognition of the so-called "Armenian Genocide" by the United
States is a fundamental issue, related to the interests of the United
States in the Middle East and the Caucasus. Therefore, I do not think
that the US president will call the 1915 events in the Osman Turkey as
"Armenian genocide", said Ahmedoghlu.

As for the further US-Azerbaijani relations, Ahmedoghlu announced that
both Hilari Clinton and Richard Lugar, who visited Azerbaijan several
times, Barack Obama visited our country and is well informed about its
importance in the region and is aware of its problems and capacities.

"Therefore, I do not think that they will give preference to Armenia",
concluded Ahmedoghlu.

BENITA FERRERO-WALDNER: "AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA MUST SETTLE THE CONFLICT ONCE AND FOREVER"

Today.Az
olitics/50217.html
Jan 21 2009
Azerbaijan

"The discussion of ways of the Karabakh conflict resolution is on the
agenda of our talks. Azerbaijan and Armenia must settle the conflict
peacefully and once and forever", said EU commissioner on external
ties and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner at a
briefing following the meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mamedyarov.

"All our hopes are bound to the upcoming meeting of the Presidents of
the two countries. Anyway, we should find comprimises for settling
this issue. Both sides should find correct variants of compromise",
said she.

At the same time Waldner noted that the conflict resolution will
create conditions for the prosperity of the whole region.

As for the role of the OSCE Minsk Group on the conflict resolution
she noted that EU considers this format of the organization of the
meetings of the presidents to be admissible.

"If a program of conflict resolution is developed in the framework
of this format, we, in turn, will provide any assistance for its
implementation. We will also assist in the restoration works and
return of internally displaced people after the conflict resolution",
said Waldner.

NALBANDYAN DIDN’T EVEN OPEN HIS WINDOW

A1+
[05:12 pm] 20 January, 2009

"Land givers are traitors", "Leave, Nalbandyan"-this is how the
"Miatsum" national initiative kicked off its first protest of 2009
near the RA Foreign Affairs Ministry building.

Today marked the third time that the members of "Miatsum" demand
from Edward Nalbandyan a meeting with them and they assure that they
have strictly important information regarding the Karabakh conflict,
which is first and foremost in the interests of Nalbandyan.

"Miatsum" stood near the building for two hours today screaming
"Artsakh, Armenia, Unite" and singing various national liberation
songs, but their voice remained unheard.

"Everybody, as well as the OSCE co-chairmen who have arrived in Yerevan
today, must realize that the Armenian people make the decision for
all issues, including the Karabakh conflict. No government official
can make a decision on behalf of the Armenian people. The co-chairs,
the representatives of the Council of Europe and other international
organizations must grasp the concept of that," told "A1+" member of
the "Heritage" party Zaruhi Postanjyan.

In addition what Postanjyan said, commander of the Shushi separate
squadron Jirair Sefilya said:

"We are going to keep coming here as long as it takes Nalbandyan to
accept us and we are certain that in the end, he will receive our
delegation because he is obliged to do that."

Sefilyan is sure that the idea of not handing over the lands liberated
at the price of blood is not only the idea of "Miatsum", rather,
the entire nation.

As always, Paranzem Torozyan, mother of one of the first victims of the
Artsakh war Edik Torozyan, was among the participants of the "Miatsum"
protest. "My son died for the unification of Armenia and Artsakh, for
the liberation of our historic lands, but today these traitors are
selling our homeland. They build buildings in central Yerevan. They
should go and build something in Karabakh. They haven’t done anything
to date because they have always thought about handing the lands over."

Unlike the previous protests, today there wasn’t even anybody staring
from the windows of the Foreign Affairs Ministry building. A couple
of police officers came and tried to stop the "Miatsum" march towards
Northern Avenue. For nearly 20 minutes, "Miatsum" activists stood
there, sang and screamed out their slogans.

The police either understood or received a command to open the road. At
Northern Avenue, the slogans turned into "Struggle, Struggle until
the end."

Azerbaijan Business Center, Azerbaijan
Jan 17 2009

Russia and Azerbaijan still investigate alleged transfer of Russian
weapons to Armenia

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Foreign mnister Sergey Lavrov of Russia assured
his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov that Russia transferred
to Armenia neither any weapons nor 102nd Russian militay base located
in Gumri of Armenia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan informs that in the
course of a telephone conversation between the two ministers on 16
January Lavrov told of investigation conducted jointly with the
General Staff of Armed Forces of Russia on the occasion of alleged
transfer of Russian weapons to Armenia.

The parties agreed to continue consultations with the purpose to
clarify further this matter.

GREEN CHRISTMAS IN IRAN
by Maryam Jalali

Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Jan 15 2009
UK

Environmentalists urge Iran’s Christian Armenians to go artificial
and save a real Christmas tree.

Every day, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and many senior Iranian
officials of Iran go past Tehran’s oldest flower shop to reach the
presidential Palace. Around Christmas, the window display normally
has fir trees on sale.

This year, however, there were no Christmas trees on view ahead of the
Christian festival, which falls on January 6 because of the eastern
calendar used by Iran’s Armenian minority.

But this was not the result of government restrictions on Christian
practice. Instead, the shop’s owner explained that Armenians had
been persuaded by environmental groups to opt for small living trees
in pots, or artificial trees imported from China, instead of the
traditional cut Christmas tree

That was not the case everywhere, though. Despite the
environmentalists’ best efforts, shops in some Christian neighbourhoods
around the country still had rows of pine trees stacked up on the
pavement outside. These trees are sourced from commercial plantations
which grow them especially for Christmas.

Iran has some 100,000 Christians, mostly of the Armenians’ unique
Apostolic Church. About ten per cent belong to the Armenian Catholic
Church, which is affiliated with Rome.

In the Iranian capital, most Christians live in the eastern areas of
Narmak and Majidiyyeh, as well as in centrally-located neighbourhoods
like Karimkhan and Bahar.

Among the city’s main Armenian shopping areas are the Mirza-ye
Shirazi and Villa (or Nejatollahi) streets. The latter is particularly
well-frequented by tourists looking for traditional handicrafts. At
one end of this old street stands the great Church of St Sarkis,
while a short walk away is a confectioner’s shop specialising in
sweets and cakes for the New Year period.

Outside the shop, a large Christmas tree stand in the middle of
Karimkhan street, which the city authorities decorate with coloured
lights to remind Muslims and non-Muslims alike of the western New Year
(the Iranian year runs from March to March).

For Iranian Muslims, Christmas [surely Christmas, not new
year?] commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, who is revered in
Islam and is mentioned frequently in the Koran, which also devotes a
"sura" or verse to the Virgin Mary. Some years ago, a park near the
Christian neighbourhood in Karimkhan Street was renamed Hazrat Maryam,
after Mary.

Villa Street has many shops selling Christmas cards and decorations
such as crystal balls and silver stars. There are also artificial trees
which come in all sizes and ready decorated if the customer wants it.

A campaign by environmentalists to save the world’s s trees led
many Armenians to start buying artificial trees, which also have the
advantage of being reusable.

Last year, Tehran municipality also offered small living pine trees
to the Christian community, free of charge.

At the far end of Villa Street, close to the Church of St Sarkis,
there are still real trees on sale, leaning against the wall of
Hazrat Maryam Park. They are priced according to their size, colour
and density and the shop’s location.

This year, the Golestan flower shop in north Tehran had trees ranging
from deep green all the way through to silver. Yet one customer went
for a small living tree which could later be planted in the ground. He
said an artificial tree was out of the question as it would not be a
"good omen"

Maryam Jalali is a journalist in Tehran

Mianeh is an IWPR-run initiative to provide an independent open
webspace for ideas, analysis and debate for Iranian journalists
and writers. This article is taken from Mianeh’s bilingual website,

BAKU DOESN’T ACCEPT RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY’S EXPLANATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.01.2009 18:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed "regret"
over the fact of "free of charge delivery of Russian armament to the
amount of $800 million to Armenia."

"The work carried out gives reason to believe the information to be
true," says a statement issued by the Azeri MFA.

The Ministry says that the delivery "is a violation of the UN
Resolutions on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and of the UN Resolution
‘On the Situation in the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan.’

"Full responsibility for the consequences of this action rests on
Russia," the statement says.

The Russian Defense Ministry refuted Wednesday Azeri media reports
about delivery of Russian armament to Armenia.

The reports are clearly untrue, said Alexander Drobyshevsky, a
spokesman for the Ministry, told The Echo of Moscow.

Earlier, the Armenian Defense Ministry also denied the reports that
Russia supplied Armenia with military hardware to the amount of
$800 million.

The reports are absolutely false, the RA Defense Minister’s spokesman,
colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Azeri ANS TV quoted Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman Alexander
Petrunin as saying that "Russia delivered military hardware to Armenia
in the framework of a transnational agreement."

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT ENLARGES SIZES OF POVERTY AND BIRTH BENEFITS

ARKA
Jan 15, 2009

YEREVAN, January 15. /ARKA/. Armenian Government enlarged sizes of
benefits for low-income families and birth benefit on Thursday.

Labor and Social Affairs Minister Arsen Hambartsumyan said the basic
family benefit was enlarged from AMD 8,000 to AMD 10,000 and a lump-sum
benefit for newborn babies was increased from AMD 35,000 to AMD 50,000.

The benefit for the birth of the third and a next child rose from AMD
400,000 to 430,000 and the monthly benefit for care of a baby in age
under two years reached AMD 18,000 against former AMD 3,000.

The government set AMD 250,000 benefit for families of perished
national heroes and AMD 150,000 and AMD 100,000 for holders of first-
and second-degree Warrior Cross.

The Government also set rules for benefit payment and inclusion of
women in the group of single mothers.

Hambartsumyan pointed out the necessity to specify criteria for
eligibility to receive a single-mom benefit, since there are already
11,000 so-called single mothers in Armenia now.

The minister also said that the Government makes every effort to
prevent the benefit enlargement from affecting pensions. ($1 = AMD
305.48).

VOLUME OF NATURAL GAS IMPORTED TO ARMENIA IN 2008 INCREASED BY 9.74%

ARMENPRESS
Jan 15, 2009

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS: Volume of natural gas imported to
Armenian in 2008 increased by 9.74% and reached 2 billion 254 million
cubic meters, instead of 2 billion 54 million of 2007.

Press secretary of "Armrusgasprom" company Shushan Sardaryan told
Armenpress that during the mentioned period volume of gas realization
increased by 11.2% and reached 2 billion 078.95 million cubic meters
instead of 1 billion 869.31 million cubic meters of 2007.

Consumption of the natural gas by the population increased by 10.8%
and reached nearly 589 million cubic meters, instead of 532 million
of 2007. During 2008 the energy sector realized nearly 607 million
cubic meters or by 19.8% more than in 2007.

Volume of gas consumed by the industry have reduced a little and
reached nearly 453 million cubic meters, the volume of consumption of
the gas by budget companies increased by 31.3% and reached 36 million
cubic meters instead of 27 million in 2007.

Volume of consumption by vehicle-gas refuel centers increased by 20.4%
and reached nearly 344 million cubic meters.