Author: Torosian Aram

Armenpress

GOVERNMENT OF ITALY RELEASES $770,000 TO HELP ARMENIA
FIGHT BRUCELLOSIS

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS: The government of
Italy has released $770,000 to help Armenian
authorities ward off brucellosis, an infectious
disease caused by the bacteria of the genus.
Brucellosis is transmitted through consuming milk
or meat. It can also be transmitted if the spoiled
meat or the excrement of an infected animal touches an
open wound. The disease can be found in small cattle
(sheep and goats), large cattle, and pigs. The most
dangerous type, through small cattle, can be fatal.
The disease cannot be spread from human to human.
The Italian donation will be spent on the first
phase of a program designed as a support to Armenia
fight against brucellosis. It is assisted by the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The program
was presented today by Andranik Petrosian, head of
Armenian agriculture ministry’s department for foreign
relations and marketing.
Cases of brucellosis have been on rise in Armenia
since early 1990-s. The first phase of this program is
set to be over in 2009 with a focus on three provinces
which report the highest rate of the disease.
UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident
Coordinator in Armenia Consuelo Vidal awarded the
outgoing Italian ambassador Marco Clemente the UN FAO
medal in appreciation of his contribution to helping
Armenia overcome some of its problems.

Australian Associated Press Pty. Ltd.
AAP Newsfeed
February 16, 2007 Friday 5:16 PM AEST

Box: Darchinyan setting sights on Arce and Pacquiao

by Adrian Warren

SYDNEY Feb 16

Dual world flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan believes his dream
fight with Mexican Jorge Arce will happen this year as he targets a
rise through the divisions to set up a clash with Filipino superstar
Manny Pacquiao.

Sydney-based Darchinyan will defend his IBF and IBO world titles
against Mexican Victor Burgos in Los Angeles on March 3.
Having flagged it would be his final fight as a flyweight,
Darchinyan is set to jump between one and three divisions in pursuit
of more championship belts.
Arce, who Darchinyan has called out for the past year, will
challenge compatriot Cristian Mijares in San Antonio on April 14.
As recently as last month Darchinyan believed Arce would never
fight him, but has changed his mind after encouraging noises from the
influential American cable television networks HBO and Showtime.
"I think this fight is going to happen this year because Showtime
and HBO are pushing very much for this fight," Darchinyan said.
"This fight is going to happen because me and him are rated in the
top 10 most exciting fighters in the world and promoters, fans,
everyone in boxing is waiting for this fight."
Darchinyan said a fight with popular Arce would increase his
exposure but ultimately he wanted to jump five divisions and fight
Pacquiao, who is widely regarded as the world’s second best
pound-for-pound fighter behind Floyd Mayweather.
"I know he’s a strong guy and very powerful, when I fight him
people will know about me more and start following me more and
Australians are going to catch me," Darchinyan said.
More recognition from his adopted countrymen is a delicate subject
with Armenian-born Darchinyan.
His fight with Burgos is not scheduled to be shown live by any of
the regular Australian pay television providers.
"It’s very disappointing, I couldn’t believe it when they told me
about that," Darchinyan said.
Conversely the fight will be shown live back in Armenia, where
Darchinyan said the country usually stopped working to watch his
fights.
Darchinyan is sure to have plenty of support for his fight with
former IBF light flyweight world champion Burgos as he said around
one million people of Armenian background lived in California.
The bout will be the main support to the clash between WBC super
bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez, both of whom are also potential
targets for ambitious Darchinyan.
The hard hitting 31-year-old southpaw said if he couldn’t fight
Arce next, he wanted to climb three divisions and challenge the
winner of the Sanchez-Vasquez bout.
"I can see myself moving up three divisions at one time, if
someone wants to fight me for a title, it doesn’t matter," Darchinyan
said.
"I don’t want to just move up and fight for the number one
ranking, I have to fight for a title and if any champion wants to
fight me three divisions up, I’m going to jump up three."
Darchinyan, who has an imposing record of 27-0 (21 KOs) said he
was looking for a quick KO of 32-year-old Burgos, whose log stands at
39-14-3 (23 KOs).

Ekho Moskvy news agency, Moscow,
16 Feb 2007

CONTRADICTORY REPORTS COME IN ABOUT ETHNIC CLASHES IN RUSSIAN TOWN

Moscow, 16 February: An attempt was made on the life of chieftain of
the Nizhnekubanskoye [department of the] Terskoye Cossack force
Andrey Khanin in the town of Novoaleksandrovsk, Stavropol Territory,
late on the night of 14 February, State Duma deputy from the Liberal
Democratic party Sergey Ivanov has told Ekho Moskvy radio.

Mass clashes have occurred between Russian residents with members of
the local Armenian and Georgian communities, he added.

Speaking to Ekho Moskvy, Stavropol Territory government fist deputy
chairman (acting) Anatoliy Voropayev confirmed that the attempt on
Khanin’s life had occurred and said an investigation was taking
place, but denied the existence of any clashes based on ethnic
hatred. He said "there was a rally of Cossacks who expressed their
indignation at the attempt on Khanin’s life", but "there were no
casualties". "There is no Kondopoga in Stavropol," he added.

The local law-enforcement agencies denied reports about ethnic
disturbances in the area. Acting spokesman of the Stavropol Territory
Interior Directorate Viktor Ignatyev said: "No ethnic clashes have
taken place in Novoaleksandrovsk". "The only crime registered
connected with the attempts on chieftain Khanin’s life has been
practically disclosed," he said. "A suspect, a resident of
Novoaleksandrovskiy District, born in 1983, has been detained. The
investigation will find out the motivation behind the crime," he
added. "Personal relationship is the main theory behind the crime at
the moment," Ignatyev said.

International Herald Tribune, France
Feb 15 2007

Turkey aide foresees revisions to Article 301

By Dan Bilefsky Published: February 15, 2007

BRUSSELS: Turkey plans to revise a controversial law that makes
insulting Turkishness a crime by the end of this year, Ankara’s chief
European Union negotiator said Thursday.

The law – Article 301 of the Turkish penal code – has resulted in
prosecutions against leading Turkish intellectuals, including the
Nobel author Orhan Pamuk and Hrant Dink, an Armenian- Turkish
journalist killed last month in Istanbul.

Ali Babacan, a leading member of the governing Justice and
Development Party and a minister in the cabinet, said the law was
causing harm to Turkey.

Asked if Ankara would abandon the law, he said: "That is not going to
happen. Article 301 will stay." But he said the government was
looking at ways to change the way the law was being implemented and
said his hope was that it could be altered before elections in
November.

Turkish analysts said such a change would most likely entail
narrowing the legal definition of what constitutes an insult to
Turkishness and amending the law to make it compatible with the
European Court of Human Rights.

"As a government, we have indicated we are not happy with what is
going on in Turkey with regard to that law," Babacan said. "When
novelists, columnists and Nobel Prize winners go back and forth from
the courtroom, this is not good for Turkey."

The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, has been
particularly concerned by the law, which attracted global criticism
last year when Pamuk was put on trial for telling a Swiss newspaper
that more than a million Armenians were massacred by Ottoman Turks
during World War I. Critics of the law also say that it contributed
to a nationalistic political climate in Turkey that led to the murder
of Dink, an outspoken proponent of free speech who had criticized the
law.

"A strong signal is needed to change the way the law is being
implemented," Babacan said.

He said Turkey was going through a difficult period in its relations
with the EU following the decision late last year by Union leaders to
partially suspend entry negotiations over Ankara’s refusal to open
its ports to Cyprus, an EU member. Babacan said the intensifying
animosity toward Turkey in Europe was making headlines in Turkey and
risked spurring an anti-EU backlash.

"There has been severe damage to the credibility of the EU process in
Turkish eyes," he said. "Until now the question was when is Turkey
going to be ready for the EU. But after the events of 2006, what will
be more important is whether the EU will be ready for Turkey."

Babacan said that despite the EU’s decision to freeze Turkey’s EU
talks in eight areas, including some trade matters, Ankara was
progressing in other areas like economic and monetary policy. But he
said that there had been little if any progress on the Cyprus issue.
The northern part of the island is controlled by a government
recognized by Ankara but not the EU.

"We are trying everything we can do to find a way out," he said. "But
we have made so many gestures and we are seeing no reciprocity."

Babacan added that Ankara believed that Cyprus was intent on
prolonging the crisis because it had no interest in seeing Turkey
gain the economic and political privileges of EU membership.

IRRITATING ALLIES
By Doug Bandow

American Spectator –
Feb 14 2007

How very nice. Australia wants America to stick around in Iraq. So
do Turkey and Egypt. Many conservatives likely agree with them on
this particular issue, but there’s a larger point at stake.

U.S. allies should stop being generous with American lives.

Getting the most ink was Australian Prime Minister John Howard,
who took the unusual step of attacking Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) by
name. Obama is the only leading Democratic presidential candidate who
opposed the war all along and he advocates a withdrawal from Iraq by
next March.

Howard responded by attacking Obama’s position as "not in the security
interests of the USA or Australia." He claimed that Obama’s position
"will just encourage those who want to completely destabilize and
destroy Iraq, and create chaos and a victory for the terrorists to
hang on and hope for an Obama victory." Indeed, stated Howard: "If
I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March
2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory not only
for Obama but also for the Democrats."

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul recently visited the U.S. to
protest legislation pending before Congress condemning the genocide
of Armenians in World War I. As a sidelight, he noted that, "We
support President Bush’s new strategy and think it should be given
a chance." At about the same time, Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Ahmed
Aboul Gheit, brought "a similar message" to Washington, reported
Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland.

It’s very nice of these three allies to offer their opinions about
what America should do in Iraq. After all, they’ve done so much to
help the U.S.

Turkey has offered precisely zero soldiers. Indeed, in 2003 the
Turkish parliament refused to allow American forces to invade Iraq
from the north. Moreover, Ankara has threatened to intervene against
the Kurds in northern Iraq, which would spark a wider conflict.

Egypt also has done nothing to aid Washington. Though an ally, this
undemocratic state remains a serious problem for the U.S., stoking
anti-American sentiment throughout the Muslim world because of its
repressive policies.

To its credit, Australia has provided some troops in Iraq — but not
many. As Sen. Obama archly observed: "Mr. Howard has deployed 1400
[men], so if he is [ready] to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would
suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them
to Iraq."

Howard naturally defended Australia’s contribution. Adjusting for
population, however, it is about one-seventh the size of America’s
garrison. Moreover, Canberra has no other global and few other regional
military commitments.

Washington maintains hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Europe,
Japan, and South Korea; tens of thousands more are afloat in carrier
groups and other ships that traverse the globe. Many more are based
in America, awaiting deployment abroad in an emergency.

The U.S. devotes twice the share of GDP as does Australia to the
military. Roughly 2.5 million Americans serve in the active and reserve
forces, in contrast to 71,000 Australians; the U.S. rate of service
per population is about 2.5 times as great. In 2005 Americans spent
$1675 per person on the military. Australians spent half as much.

Moreover, Washington is seen by everyone everywhere as the military
guarantor of last resort. If the Iraq war is to be brought to a
satisfactory conclusion, it is up to America. If anyone can stop
Iran from building nuclear weapons, it will be the U.S. If diplomacy
ultimately fails with North Korea, Washington will be expected to take
the lead. If Russia resorts to force against one of its neighbors in
the Baltic, Caucasus, or elsewhere, America may find itself at war. If
China acts aggressively against Taiwan, Taipei’s emergency call will
go to Washington. If the Philippines ends up in a scrape with Beijing
over the Spratly Islands, Manila will look far away to the U.S.

If Australia finds itself facing military aggression from Indonesia
or China, Canberra will press Washington for aid. Only in this case
would Australia likely be involved, standing by America’s side.

Allies can be useful, but only if they are willing to back up shared
interests with manpower, money, and other resources. Advice is cheap,
especially when it is Americans who are doing the dying.

What should Washington do in Iraq? There is no good answer, since Iraq
already has been destabilized and is sliding towards chaos. Like Obama,
I favor an expeditious withdrawal, which in my view is inevitable,
so better sooner than later. Many good conservatives disagree, of
course. But the decision is up to Americans, who are doing the bulk
of the dying and paying.

Doug Bandow is Vice President for Policy of Citizen Outreach and a
former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan. He is the author
of Foreign Follies: America’s New Global Empire (Xulon Press).

ABN AMRO BANK’S PROGRAM STARTS AT UNIBANK

Noyan Tapan
Feb 13 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 13, NOYAN TAPAN. Representatives of the international
bank ABN AMRO were recently on a working visit to Armenia with the
aim of installing the program risk management processes improvement
program.

Unibank was reserved the right to implement the program as a result
of the tender held in 2006. The choice of participants was done in
two phases: summary of questionnaires and interviews with banks’
management. Program’s executive, chief advisor of the Risk Advisory
Service of the ABN AMRO Bank Lloyd Rolston said that the main purpose
of the program is introduction of international experience of risk
management in the Armenian bank, which will make the bank competitive
and reliable for local and foreign partners. This 14-month program
envisages implementation of a number of complex measures aimed at
introduction of new systems in the bank and improvement of the current
ones. Particularly, under the program Unibank envisages to create
a risk management department which will implement and control risk
management and their use in bank instruments. It is also planned
to develop and introduce a risk management concept in the bank,
as well as the long-term strategy of management, improvement of
the system of separation of the functions of the bank’s executive
body and their control, and internal structural changes. According
to L. Rolston, advanced approaches will also be used in conducting
the personnel policy. Particularly, Unibank’s management and experts
will participate in seminars on experience exchange organized by ABN
AMRO. Frequency of expert training courses and their certification
will be doubled. Speacial attention will be paid to introduction of
the "risk culture" system in the bank. ABN AMRO is one of the biggest
banks in the world, it has 4,500 branches in 53 countries. The bank
is in 8th place by its overall assets in Europe (999 bln euros as of
September 30, 2006) and in 13th place in the world.

BUSH TO WRITE LETTERS AGAINST ‘GENOCIDE RESOLUTION’

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Feb 12 2007

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul stated over the weekend
that U.S. President George W. Bush will write to members of
Democratic-controlled Congress to urge them to oppose the so called
Armenian genocide resolution.

The congressional resolution, which was introduced for consideration
last month, is opposed by Bush administration, but has been supported
by the Democratic leadership.

A resolution that would recognize the World War I era killings of
Armenians as genocide would poison ties between strategic allies
Turkey and the United States, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Gul warned
late Saturday.

"Local politics must not be allowed to poison strategic ties," Gul
said on his return from a weeklong visit to the United States, where he
met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other officials.

Gul said if passed; the resolution would cause permanent damage to
relations and it will cause a deadlock in our relations. Gul asked
the U.S. administration to take action."

"It won’t have a fleeting effect, its results will be deep and
lasting," Gul said. He did not further elaborate.

He added that "I called on the U.S. administration to take urgent
action. Secretary of State Rice will carry out an important work in
the coming days. She will visit the Congress."

The FM recalled that Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit and
some Turkish deputies will go to U.S. to lobby against the resolution.

Noting that Iraq was also discussed during the talks with the U.S.

officials, Gul stated that this issue is not only important for U.S
but also for Turkey.

"I shared my views about Iraq with the Washington administration and
the think-tanks. I had the opportunity to tell them what should be done
to preserve Iraq’s territory and prevent its partition," he stated.

Gul noted that he also warned U.S. authorities that no mistakes should
be done regarding Kirkuk’s future in order to preserve Iraq’s unity
and integrity.

Over the explosive terror issue, he stated that Turkey will never
accept a double standard in fight against the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK), adding that Turkish people are losing their
patience.

Recalling his meeting with new United Nation Secretary General Ban
Ki-Moon, the foreign minister said that they discussed the Cyprus
issue, Lebanon and the Middle East peace process.

In related news, Gen. Buyukanit went to Washington to hold key talks
with U.S. officials yesterday.

Buyukanit, who is the official guest of U.S. Gen. Peter Pace, chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will also meet with Vice President Dick
Cheney on Wednesday.

During his talks at the Pentagon, the top Turkish general will meet
with Gen. Pace, U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and former
U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman and Gen. Peter Schoomaker,
chief of staff of the U.S. Army. Buyukanit is scheduled to speak at
a think-tank organization on Friday. He will hold a press conference
at the end of his talks the same day.

IUSY RESOLUTION ON HRANT DINK’S MURDER

ABHaber, Belgium
EU-TURKEY News Network
Feb 10 2007

The World Council of the International Union of Socialist Youth
condemns the cold-blooded murder of Hrant Dink, an Armenian journalist
and editor of "Agos" a bi-lingual Weekly in Istanbul on the 19th
January 2007.

This abhorrent crime brings new threats to the rights and existence
of the diminishing Armenian community in Turkey.

The Turkish State should ultimately be held responsible for the murder
of Hrant Dink, a citizen of Turkey due to its,

– Failure to provide Dink with protection, even though he had
explicitly asked for it after receiving death threats for allegedly
"insulting Turkishness" – Systematic denial of the Armenian Genocide.

– Prosecuting of intellectuals like Dink and Pamuk for openly
acknowledging the historic truth of the Armenian Genocide

The continuing policy of Genocide denial has encouraged racism,
fascism and discrimination in Turkish society.

Dink’s murder proves that there is no tolerance in Turkey for differing
views, freedom of speech and minority rights.

Therefore, and mindful of its 2004 World Council Resolution, the IUSY
calls on Turkey:

– To recognize the Armenian genocide and take full responsibility
for this crime against humanity

– To repeal paragraph 301 of the penal code which is frequently used
to prosecute anyone who "insults Turkishness"

– To respect the rights of minorities and freedom of speech.

CIVIL SERVICE COUNCIL ENTERS STAGE OF QUALITATIVE CHANGES AND
IMPROVEMENT

YEREVAN, FERUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. It is 5 years since the Civil Service
Council (CSC) started functioning in Armenia but the system is still
being formed.

CSC Chairman Manvel Badalian said at the February 7 meeting with
reporters at the Urbat Club that over twenty legal acts were adopted
at the first stage of the system’s formation, while at the second
stage the process of filling vacancies for civil servants started. Now
the system has entered the stage of qualitative changes and improvement.

In M. Badalian’s words, the major obstacle to establishment of the
system is the psychological factor as the idea of civil service is a
new one in our society. He noted that even now many try to undergo
certification in an "easy way". But he assured that "no one has been
and will be certified thanks to his/her relatives". He added that even
the country’s president and prime minister cannot put pressure on
him. "I am protected by an agreement that the president and prime
minister will not interfere," he said.

M. Badalian said that since 2002, the CSC has held 4,200 contests for
civil servant vacancies, and there were no winners in 520
contests. The system has 7,231 positions for civil servants and will
also include 284 poistions of the Rescue Service in the near
future. According to M. Badalian, the employee turnover has declined
in the system. This year the basic salary of civil servants was
increased but this is not enough to reduce the number of those who
leave the state sector to work in the private one.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Armenian Genocide resolution adoption morally significant for Armenia
09.02.2007 14:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The U.S. Congress has launched attempts to pass a
resolution calling for recognition of the Armenian Genocide since
1960-ies, the times when Armenia being a soviet republic could not
intervene in the issue, RA Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian
told a news conference in Yerevan. In his words, the Armenian
Diaspora was dealing with the issue during that period. `Of course,
the passage of the resolution by the Congress doesn’t mean that Turkey
will acknowledge the Armenian Genocide but it will encourage the
Armenian people and contribute to the security of the republic. The RA
government cannot lobby the bill but welcomes the initiative of the
U.S. lawmakers,’ the RA Deputy FM said.

At that he remarked that presently Turkey targeted all efforts to
prevent adoption of the resolution. `We are hopeful that the
congressional democratic majority will follow the pledges to the
Armenian community. Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to meet with Turkish FM
Abdullah Gul is also significant. A group of Turkish parliamentarians
departed for Washington hoping for success with the assistance of the
Jewish lobby,’ Kirakossian said.

The RA Deputy FM also voiced regret over the long absence of
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. `This fact tells on the Armenian-American
relations. We have approved Richard Hoagland’s designation. As for the
proceedings in the Senate, it’s the inner business of the United
States and we neither intention nor the right to interfere,’ Arman
Kirakossian said.