Author: Torgomian Varazdat

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF OPPOSITIONIST JAMANAK-YEREVAN SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS IN JAIL
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 9 2006
Aram Babajanyan, editor-in-chief of an opposition newspaper Jamanak
Yerevan, was sentenced to four years in jail on a decision passed by
Yerevan City Court, APA reports.
The court found him guilty in evasion of military service. Public
Prosecutor Janna Kotikyan claimed the editor-in-chief had faked
documents to evade military service. But, the court considered this
charge groundless and found Aram Babajanyan guilty for draft evasion,
but not forgery. His lawyers will soon appeal against the decision.
Armenian media rate the arrest of Aram Babajanyan as persecution of
freedom of expression in the country.

ARMENIAN FOODSTUFFS TO BE PRESENTED FOR FIRST TIME AT TORONTO’S ETHNIC FOOD EXHIBITION
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Some Armenian foodstuffs will be
presented for the first time at the Ethnic Food 2006 Exhibition to be
held in the Canadian city of Toronto at the Armenia pavilion organized
by the Artisan Food Inc. and the Center for Agribusiness and Rural
Development (CARD). More than 50 products manufactured in Armenia –
tinned goods, juices, teas from Armenian plants and wines will be on
display at the exhibition. NT was informed about it from the Armenian
company Artisan Food Inc. According to the company, the number of
wholesale enterprises-purchasers on the Canadian food market exceeds
22 thousand, with their annual turnover amounting to 19 bln USD.

Armenpress
OPPOSITION MP SLAMS FELLOWS
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS: A prominent
opposition MP slammed today his fellows saying the
opposition has never been so discredited in 15 years
of Armenia’s post-Soviet history.
A parliament member Shavarsh Kocharian told a news
conference today that the people have to have an
alternative to the incumbent regime but the
developments of the last couple of years have
demonstrated that the opposition is not that
alternative.
Shavarsh Kocharian, who is head of a tiny party,
argued that this is due to the frustration in the
opposition ranks and among ordinary people. In this
sense he emphasized the key importance of 2007 and
2008 national elections saying they will be crucial in
terms of Armenia’s future.
Kocharian said his party in cooperation with
Democracy NGO has developed a program that will ensure
free and transparent elections, but added that $4
million are needed to materialize it. He said the
program was sent to all stakeholders, including
opposition parties, but none responded. He said
opposition leaders are preoccupied now with
competition with each other rather than with seeking
for something that will help to conduct fair
elections.
“I do not see a political will inside the
opposition, there is no definite program that will
differ from what the authorities say,” he said.
Kocharian also expressed his ‘demographic’ concerns
saying the birth rate in Armenia is lower than in many
industrialized European nations. According to him,
half of Armenian females of marriage age are single.

Turkiye, Turkey
(via Turkish press)
Sept 7 2006
Who Do The Armenians Think They Are?
Published: 9/7/2006
BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- The European Parliament gave a young Dutch MEP, who wants to
make his career from Turkey, the task of preparing a report on
Turkey. I can’t remember another report so ridiculous. His intentions
are bad. It seems that cleverer politicians have misled this young
MEP. Moreover, he claims to be a friend of the Turks.
He says Turkey has to accept the so-called Armenian genocide. We were
surprised to see Armenia in Turkey’s EU progress report. Those who
are unable or more reluctant to make Armenia withdraw from
Azerbaijan’s soil are criticizing our policies. How many times do we
have to say it? ‘If the Armenians withdraw from Azerbaijan soil, then
we would develop every relation with Armenia.’ Armenia would become a
prosperous state in two years if we opened its doors to the world.
Even simpletons know that there are many Armenians working illicitly
in Istanbul.
But the Armenians think that this is the opportunity to form their
‘greater Armenia.’ The Kurds also think that they are close to
forming their ‘greater Kurdistan.’ The PKK has become more violent.
Barzani lowered the Iraqi flag. What’s happening? What do they
believe? I should say it: They believe Turkey won’t stay on the US
side in a war with Iran. They thing Washington will break off its
relations with Turkey in such a case, and think that the Kurds and
the Armenians would then have an opportunity. They are calculating
that Turkey wouldn’t be considered in the Middle East. They think
that such a Turkey would benefit both the Arabs and Iran. But Turkish
foreign policy would never be based on such a scenario. A few Turkish
mistakes shouldn’t inspire Armenian and Kurdish fantasies. We already
got sunk into our debate over sending troops to Lebanon. We shouldn’t
get stuck in a small part of the big game. We shouldn’t work for
something impossible like finding a solution to the Palestinian
problem. We shouldn’t make even one small mistake in the realities of
foreign policy.

U.N. to Appoint Mission for Clarifying Causes of Fires in Karabakh
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.09.2006 12:49 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The U.N. General Assembly has decided to organize a
mission for clarifying the causes of fires in Nagorno Karabakh and the
territories adjacent to it, and for rendering assistance essential for
the liquidation of consequences. According to Azeri Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov, the international mission will be sent to the
problem zone in compliance with the 191st resolution. ~SAzeri, Armenian
and international experts, including members of the U.N. ecology
program and OSCE representatives will serve on the mission,~T he said.
In the Minister~Rs words, after the assessment of the situation
an ecological measure for rehabilitation of the lands will be
conducted. Thereupon the OSCE Chairman-in-Office will submit a report
to the U.N General Assembly, reported Day.az.

SERGE SARGSYAN: I AM NOT USED TO RESPOND TO ANY STUPIDITY OF MISERABLE PEOPLE ADDRESSED TO ME OR TO PUNISH THEM
Yerevan, September 7. ArmInfo. “I am not used to respond to any
stupidity of miserable people addressed to me or to punish them,”
said Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan asked about his attitude to
the publications by some mass media saying that the editor of Iravunk
newspaper H. Galajyan was subjected to an attack because of his article
“Why the super minister is angry?.”
The article, particularly, says that President of Russia Vladimir
Putin allegedly informed President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan that
Serge Sargsyan cannot be his successor on the post of the president.
To recap, two unknown attacked H. Galajyan Wednesday when he came
out of the entrance of his building in Komitas street.

ARMENIANS ARE RECONSTRUCTING THE AZERI TOMBS
A1+
[02:20 pm] 05 September, 2006
more images Surik Truzyan, head of Nor Khachakap community has got
a videotape revealing the brutal acts of the Azeris while destroying
his ancestors’ tombs.
Surik Truzyan is from Koushi, Dashkistan region. He was forcibly
displaced with his compatriots 17 years ago and resettled in the
village of Nor Khachakap which was inhabited by Azeris and was called
Saral till 1988. It is noteworthy that contrary to their vandalism,
the Azeri tombs have been cleaned and restored in Armenia. (You may
see the reconstructed Azeri tomb in the picture)
“The Azeris treated our tombs very badly; they completely destroyed
them and broke the khachkars,” says 74-year-old Ashot Kyalabyan.
The Armenia and Azeri tombs are side by side in Nor Khachakap. The
Azeri tombs of the village have been restored this year on the
initiative of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens’
Assembly. Regardless of the fact that the Azeris destroyed their
ancestors’ tombs the residents of the village treat it normally.
Arthur Sakunts, head of the Vanadzor office, claims that the tomb
of his ancestors which is in the territory of Azerbaijan, in the
village of Vernishen, Shahoumyan Region, is far from being in a proper
state. But in his opinion the conflict has aroused so many problems and
caused so much trouble that new demolitions are irrelevant. “Humanity
is not simply a term; it also implies respect and good treatment to
the memory of your rival.”
Asked whether there is any probability that the Armenian tombs may
be reconstructed in Azerbaijan like the Azeri tombs in Armenia, Arzu
Abdulajev, head of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly in Azerbaijan,
answered that he had no notion of the state of the Armenian tombs in
Azerbaijan as they mainly worked in Baku and added, “It will cause
no more trouble as we take measures on this score.” By the way, an
Azeri journalist who was in Armenian in summer noted that Armenian
tombs may hardly be reconstructed in Azerbaijan.
Nine hundred USD was spent on the reconstruction of the Azeri tombs
which lasted five months.
By the way, the RA Government allocated 2 million 308 thousand AMD
to find the places of the Azeri tombs and cultural monuments in the
territories of Armenia and Karabakh and to take their photos.
And what work is being done by the above-mentioned sum allocated by the
government? The press service of the Ministry of Culture informed us
that they are implementing some work but they didn’t go into details.
According to the data of the Azeri media, the Azeris, formerly living
in the territory of Armenia, handed applications to the European Court
of Human Rights with the request to compensate their real estate of
20 milliard USD left in Armenia. By the way, the Azeri media notes
that Armenians have ruined all the Azeri tombs in Armenia.

OPEN LESSON ON SILVA KAPUTIKIAN’S CREATION TO BE HELD IN SOCHI WITHIN FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 04 2006
KRASNODAR, SEPTEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. An open
integrated lesson of Russian Language and Literature in the 11th form
for pupils of Armenian nationality on the subject “Role of Artistic
Translation in Interchange of Cultures” (on creation of Armenian and
Russian poetess’ Silva Kaputikian and Maria Petrovykh) will take
place within the framework of international scientific-practical
conference titled “Teaching and Functioning of Russian as State
Language of the Russian Federation in Conditions of a Multi-language
Environment.” According to the Yerkramas (Krai) newspaper of Armenians
of Russia, the conference will be held on September 5-8 in Sochi.

ANDRANIK ALEXANYAN: INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS IN VERY POOR STATE IN ARMENIA
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Sept 4 2006
Below is an exclusive interview given to the ARKA News Agency by
Director General of the Arminco Global Telecommunications Andranik
Alexanyan.
ARKA: What is the state of Internet communication in Armenia? Do You
see prospects of its development in conditions of ArmenTel’s monopoly
over the market?
A. Alexanyan: Internet communications are in a very poor state
in Armenia. Prices are very high, of the highest in the world,
whereas the quality is low. This is the result of ArmenTel’s not
giving proper attention to the creation of an Internet communication
infrastructure. ArmenTel is abusing its monopoly and is not giving
proper attention to the development of Internet in Armenia, which has
a great future both as business and as an infrastructure. But ArmenTel
is not interested in this direction, because cellular communication
is more important for them. ArmenTel’s monopoly slowed down Internet
development in the country. We could have gone further and have a
greater potential. ArmenTel has certain problems, which affects
Internet users in Armenia. ArmenTel’s monopoly has not given us
anything good, and the Government must demand that a company execute
its contractual commitments.
ARKA: What measures need to be taken to prevent failures in Internet
communication, which has lately been the case?
A. Alexanyan: Unstable Internet communication in Armenia may produce
a negative impact on international investments in the country. I
know that a number of international companies left Armenia because
of low-quality communication and high prices. The fiber-optic cable
could damage, which can happen to every country. A communication
company must not restrict itself to only one communication line,
because it is not the first time the entire country has been deprived
of Internet communication. In 2006 alone, communication has failed
about 200 times. A company must have alternative lines. ArmenTel can
lay an alternative cable through Iran. However, this has not been
done for lack of necessary funds, unwillingness or for some other
reasons. Armenia is the only country having Internet access by means
on only one cable.
ARKA: What alternative ways of Internet development are available
in Armenia?
A. Alexanyan: An alternative way is the installation of two-way
satellite Internet. As far as I know the Government permitted the
installation of two-way satellite Internet. At the end of the month all
Internet-providers that want can install it. Competition will reduce
Internet prices, and the problem will be resolved. The installation
of this type of communication is expensive, but it will allow Armenian
Internet-providers to know their potential and have alternatives.
ARKA: What is Your assessment of Armenia’s IT market?
A. Alexanyan: Armenia’s IT market is in a disgraceful state. The
reason is a low level of education and culture in Armenia’s IT
sector, high prices for computers and lack of high-quality Internet
communication. The development of this sphere first of all requires a
higher education level, knowledge of English and opening of computer
classrooms in schools.
Armenia’s IT market has a shortage of specialists, which raises the
value of professionals. Society has come to realize the importance
of this sphere, and the entry to the specialized departments is
rather large now. In five years we will have a necessary number of
specialists, and the problem will be resolved. The second problem is
a high price for computers, which is the result of high customs dues
on the import of computers. Customs dues should be reduced. If the
price of equipment and Internet is reduced and higher schools turn
out relevant specialists, information technologies will become part
of everyday life. Also, international investors will enter the market.
The development of the IT sphere requires the specification of policy
and elaboration of rules of the game on the market. No specific
measures are being taken. Perhaps, they will be in future. Relevant
legislation needs to be drafted. The world IT market is rapidly
developing, and we annot keep pace with it.
ARKA: How many customers does Arminco have? What is the company’s share
on Armenia’s Internet market? What is Your assessment of competition
between the country’s Internet providers?
A. Alexanyan: I would not like to cite any figures because it would not
be honest. But I can say that Arminco has more customers than other
Internet-providers, as the company is the first Internet provider in
Armenia and has made large-scale investments. The State Commission
for Protection of Economic Competition recently recognized Arminco a
dominating company among Internet providers. This is binding, and we
are seeking to do more. There is healthy competition on the market,
and the providers are learning much from one another.
ARKA: How many Internet users are there in Armenia? Tell the dynamics
over the recent years, please.
A. Alexanyan: I cannot cite the exact figure, but their number is
about 100,000. 30% of them are corporate, others individual users.
This calculation is based on the number of computers imported to the
country. The number of Internet users is rapidly increasing, because
IT is becoming an integral part of everyday life and a means of
business. However, its potential is not used to the full degree. For
example, very many gifted people in Armenia’s regions are deprived
of Internet access.

Louisville Courier-Journal, KY
Sept 2 2006

Book Review
The Great War and our world
Everything you need to know about WWI
By David Walton
Special to The Courier-Journal
Author G.J. Meyer, whose byline covers a long list of subjects and
publications, is more journalist than historian, and his A World
Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918 is a comprehensive
history aimed for the general reader. Its virtues are readability,
objectivity and command of narrative. It is one of probably an
unending series of books attempting to tell the whole story of World
War I in one book. But Meyer doesn’t try to have the last word. This
critic read his book recovering from shoulder cuff surgery, and while
one wouldn’t recommend the synergy of the experience for every
reader, it more than held a reader’s interest throughout. You finish
this book feeling you’ve learned everything anyone reasonably needs
to know about The Great War.
Every decade we learn anew the profound effects of that war’s
unfinished conflicts and problematic settlements — today in Iraq and
the Middle East. An understanding of the war, and especially of the
nationalistic and ethnic rivalries that fueled it, is essential to
understanding the modern world. Meyer organizes his book
chronologically, and accompanies each chapter with a short background
essay: on Europe’s ruling families and military commanders, on the
war’s principal weaponry, on corollary topics like the Turks’ murder
of their Armenian minority, on Lawrence of Arabia, on the war and
poetry.

The battle of Verdun is accompanied by a capsule history of the
military importance of the site. In theory, you could skip these
background sections, but you won’t. This is one of those books where
you read every page.
Meyer’s account has the very best qualities for this kind of
comprehensive approach: a gift for compression and an eye for the
telling detail. His theme is what this most terrible of wars,
stripped to its essentials, offers as its lessons: blunders and
endless bad luck and misjudgment on all sides, “blindness and loss
and perspective” and what Meyer calls “the strange dark poetry of The
Great War.”
Only a comprehensive account of “the killing machine” that claimed so
many million lives can convey the scale of tragedy the war became for
a whole society, in nation after nation.
Describing one fruitless action by British Gen. Douglas Haig in 1914,
one of the war’s few breakthroughs and one of its many missed
opportunities, Meyer writes:
“His gains included little beyond the ghost town of Neuve Chapelle.
He had lost 11,600 men, the Germans 8,600 — the numbers being mere
abstractions that, as always, veil thousands of stories of lives lost
and ruined.”
Why did the war go on so many months and years of stalemate, with no
gains, and millions dead and mutilated in its endless failed
offensives? The answer is succinct and requires only two sentences:
“None of the warring governments thought they could possibly accept a
settlement in which they did not win something that would justify all
the deaths. The war had become self-perpetuating and
self-justifying.”
David Walton is a writer and critic who lives in Pittsburgh.