Author: Tvankchian Parkev

18?type=technologyNews

Turkey blocking 3,700 websites, reform needed: OSCE

11:27am EST

VIENNA (Reuters) – Europe’s main security and human rights watchdog
said on Monday that Turkey was blocking some 3,700 Internet sites for
"arbitrary and political reasons" and urged reforms to show its
commitment to freedom of expression.

Milos Haraszti, media freedom monitor for the 56-nation Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said Turkey’s Internet
law was failing to preserve free expression in the country and should
be changed or abolished.

"In its current form, Law 5651, commonly known as the Internet Law of
Turkey, not only limits freedom of expression, but severely restricts
citizens’ right to access information," Haraszti said in a statement.

He said Turkey, a European Union candidate, was barring access to
3,700 Internet sites, including YouTube, GeoCities and some Google
pages, because Ankara’s Internet law was too broad and subject to
political interests.

"Even as some of the content that is deemed ‘bad’, such as child
pornography, must be sanctioned, the law is unfit to achieve
this. Instead, by blocking access to entire websites from Turkey, it
paralyzes access to numerous modern file-sharing or social networks,"
Haraszti said.

"Some of the official reasons to block the Internet are arbitrary and
political, and therefore incompatible with OSCE’s freedom of
expression commitments," he said. Asked about the OSCE remarks, a
Turkish transport and communications ministry official who asked not
to be named told Reuters: "Turkey provides unlimited and equal access
for all parts of society. It is above the EU average on this issue.

"The regulations over Internet have a dynamic structure and necessary
legal changes are made when problems are detected in implementation,"
the official added.
Haraszti said Turkish law was still failing to safeguard freedom of
expression, and numerous criminal code clauses were being used against
journalists, who risked being sent to jail as a result.

Fears for press freedom in Turkey have risen following state attempts
to collect a $3.3 billion fine from major media group Dogan in a tax
row, part of pressure on Dogan to obey a law limiting foreign
ownership of Turkish firms.

In October, the European Commission’s annual report on Turkey’s
progress toward EU membership urged Turkey to treat Dogan fairly and
said Ankara needed to do more to protect freedom of expression and the
press.

(Additional reporting by Hatice Aydogdu in Ankara; Writing by Mark
Heinrich; Editing by Noah Barkin)

© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

THERE IS AGREEMENT ON RESOLVING NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY: TURKSAM DIRECTOR SINAN OGAN

Trend
Jan 14 2010
Azerbaijan

Russia is a strong regional player, as Turkey. Achieving the agreement
between these countries on a certain issue promises concrete results,
even in a long-term prospect, Sinan Ogan, head of the Turkish Center
for International Relations and Strategic Analysis Turksam said.

"Now one can say that the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh problem has
been already agreed with Moscow and Ankara," Ogan told Trend News
over phone from Moscow.

During the talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on
Wednesday Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed the
desire for Russia to play a more active role in resolving the problem
of Nagorno-Karabakh, TRT said.

In his turn, Putin stated about readiness to provide all possible
support in this issue.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s statement that the
Armenian-Turkish problems and the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement are not
connected between each other, should be taken for granted, Ogan said.

He said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Yerevan
testifies that Moscow pays much attention to these issues.

However, despite the fact that Ankara and Moscow are united in their
desire to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russia is unlikely to
put pressure on Armenia, trying to get progress from it in this issue.

"Russia is historically linked with Armenia by closer ties than with
Turkey," he said.

TURKEY IS MOVING CLOSER TO NEIGHBOURS
By Simon Tisdall

Gulf News
Jan 14 2010
UAE

Davutoglu’s rapprochement policies are making a splash in the region,
though relations remain prickly with Israel

Ahmet Davutoglu has made quite a splash since his appointment last
year as Turkey’s foreign minister. Formerly chief foreign policy
adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the dapper professor
dubbed the ‘Turkish Kissinger’ has energetically pursued the ruling
AKP party’s trademark policy of ‘zero problems with neighbours’,
a policy he first articulated in a 2001 book, Strategic Depth.

Given the torrid history of Ottoman involvement in the Balkans,
southern Caucasus and the Arab lands, good-neighbourly relations are
not a given for modern Turkey. But in the past year, Davutoglu has led
a drive to strengthen ties to Iraq’s new government, mend fences with
Syria (with which Turkey nearly went to war 10 years ago), and forge
an as yet incomplete rapprochement with Armenia, another ancient foe.

Behind this drive lies the belief that Turkey, nearly a century
after the Ottoman empire imploded, is destined once again to become
a regional power with global influence.

For Davutoglu, this ambition entails a "comprehensive" approach
embracing enhanced economic, cultural and social ties as well as
political and security relations. Hence Turkey’s multiplying regional
trade and energy deals, not least with Russia, and its lifting of
visa requirements for citizens of Syria, Lebanon, Romania and several
other countries.

Not everyone wants to be friends.

In a recent interview in London ahead of a meeting with British
Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Davutoglu spoke of three complex
challenges where progress in 2010 remains problematic.

The first is Cyprus, where long-running, UN-brokered talks on
reunification are inching towards some sort of denouement. Analysts
suggest that if a deal is not done by April, when presidential
elections are due in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, all
bets are off.

"We have reached an historic moment in the negotiations. That’s one
reason for coming to London now," Davutoglu said, noting Britain’s
role as a guarantor of any settlement.

The Turkish Cypriot side has introduced a promising new package,
he said, including a so-called ‘cross voting’ scheme that would give
the two communities a quota in each other’s elections.

Although the initial Greek Cypriot reaction was to reject the package,
Davutoglu insisted that was not the end of the matter. "We know first
of all the Greek Cypriots always say ‘No!’ Then they say ‘No-o-o’.

Then they say ‘No-maybe’… I am optimistic. We need an intensified
international effort by the EU, by the UN, by both sides, and by
Greece and Turkey and Britain as guarantors, like we had in 2004."

Negotiations

Davutoglu had personally contacted US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to generate momentum
for a deal, he said. Meanwhile, the Turkish and Greek Cypriot
presidents embarked on six day-long negotiating sessions to try and
find a way through.

Turning to Iran, a particular British preoccupation, Davutoglu said
his advice to Miliband, if asked, would be to eschew more public
name-calling and pursue discreet negotiations on the nuclear issue
and other matters of concern. He said Turkey was at pains to maintain
a friendly relationship with Tehran.

"The situation in Iran is not good, is not compatible with our vision,"
Davutoglu said. "We don’t want nuclear proliferation in the region,
we don’t want nuclear weapons in Iran or Israel or anywhere.

Second, every country has the right to pursue nuclear power for
peaceful purposes. Third, we also don’t want more sanctions [on Iran].

Sanctions hurt ordinary people and neighbouring countries.

"We don’t forget the very bad experience in Iraq. We would advise
intensified negotiations through diplomacy. An absence of mutual
trust is the problem."

If asked, Turkey would be happy to facilitate a constructive dialogue
with Iran, he said.

Davutoglu reserved his sharpest words for Israel, with which Turkey,
unusually, has enjoyed cordial relations in the past, but with which
Erdogan fell out noisily after last year’s war on Gaza.

Verbal hostilities resumed this week after Erdogan called Israel a
threat to peace and accused it of acting disproportionately. Israel
hit back angrily, in effect telling the Turkish prime minister to
mind his own business.

"When Israel follows a policy of peace, we have good relations,"
Davutoglu said. Before Gaza, Turkey had mediated indirect talks
between Syria and Israel and made "remarkable" progress, he said.

But the Israeli incursion had scuppered the talks. "That attack changed
many things… It created a very unstable situation in the region"
that even US President Barack Obama had been unable to overcome. Since
then, there had been further "provocations" such as additional Jewish
colony building in occupied East Jerusalem.

"If Israel wants peace, they must learn that others have rights
that must be respected," he said. Davutoglu pauses and smiles. But
it’s clear that when it comes to Israel’s treatment of the
Palestinians, there are limits to even his highly developed sense
of good-neighbourliness.

NINTH CIRCUIT ALLOWS ARMENIAN ORGANIZER TO SEEK ASYLUM
By Steven M. Ellis

Metropolitan News-Enterprise
10/bagh011410.htm
Jan 14 2010

A man who fled Armenia after being threatened, harassed, fined,
detained and beaten for fighting a corrupt government official’s
extortion scheme may proceed with his claim for asylum, the Ninth U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday.

Reversing the Board of Immigration Appeals, the court held that Armen
Baghdasaryan might have a well-founded fear of persecution if returned
because his past mistreatment at the hands of government officials
was due to his political opinion, not "criminal misconduct."

Baghdasaryan said he suffered retaliation at the hands of militia,
state security, the tax authority and criminal investigators after
he blew the whistle on a politician’s scheme to force him and other
vendors in a market to pay kickbacks in addition to rent for use of
the space.

In the mid-1990s, Baghdasaryan openly criticized General H. Hakopian,
filed a complaint against him with a judge, organized fellow vendors
into an informal union, and held several rallies and strikes to
publicize Hakopian’s corruption. However, fearing harm to his family,
Baghdasaryan eventually began paying a monthly $100 bribe.

Baghdasaryan resumed his whistleblowing activities in 2001 after
sending his wife and children to the United States, but fled that year
after his mother said she received calls from associates of Hakopian
who knew the address of Baghdasaryan’s family in the United States.

He sought asylum after arriving in the United States, but an
immigration judge denied relief, finding Baghdasaryan was not credible
and failed to show persecution on account of one the grounds protected
under U.S. immigration law.

The Board of Immigration Appeals found Baghdasaryan credible, but
otherwise agreed, finding "very little indication" the Armenian
government was imputing any political opinion to Baghdasaryan, and
that he was merely the "victim [of] criminal misconduct."

On appeal, however, Judge Harry Pregerson wrote that the BIA’s
conclusion was "contrary to the record and our case law, which
establishes that opposition to government corruption is an expression
of political opinion."

Under U.S. immigration law, he explained, a refugee seeking asylum
must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution on account of a
protected ground such as race, religion, nationality, membership in
a particular social group or political opinion. Individuals seeking
to do so through past persecution must show actual persecution by
the government and a nexus between that mistreatment and a protected
ground.

Pregerson rejected the government’s argument that Baghdasaryan was
merely "on the wrong side of a personal dispute with the powerful
owner of the market who was also a government official," and said
Baghdasaryan showed such a nexus.

"[A] reasonable factfinder would be compelled to conclude that
Baghdasaryan’s whistleblowing activity against extortion and
corruption was an expression of his political opinion…[and] to
conclude Baghdasaryan was mistreated, as least in part, because of
his whistleblowing activity," he wrote.

Concluding that Baghdasaryan was the victim of government misconduct,
Pregerson said remand to the BIA was required to consider whether the
mistreatment rose to the level of "persecution." The judge also wrote
that Baghdasaryan was entitled to a determination on whether he was
eligible for withholding of removal in addition to a determination
on his asylum bid.

Judges Stephen Reinhardt and Kim McLane Wardlaw joined Pregerson in
his opinion.

The case is Baghdasaryan v. Holder, 05-72416.

GROWTH OF PASSENGER TRAFFIC AT SOUTH CAUCASUS RAILWAY IN 2009

ArmInfo
2010-01-15 14:08:00

ArmInfo. According to the operative data of the CJSC ‘South Caucasus
Railway’ growth of the passenger traffic was fixed in 2009 as
against 2008.

The total of 36,4 thsd passengers were transported in 2009 in the
inter-state communication against 27,5 thsd in 2008. As for the
local communication, 719,2 thsd passengers were transported in 2009
against 651,4 thsd in 2008. Thus, the passenger traffic volumes grew
by 32,4% in the inter-state communication in 2009 and in the local
communication by 10,4% as against 2008. In 2009 the passenger miles
in the inter-state communication amounted to 13918 thsd pass/km (42,4%
growth as against 2008), and in the local communication – 20368 thsd.

pass./km (30,1% growth as against 2008).

To recall, in the inter-state communication the South Caucasus Railway
has been implementing two routes – Yerevan-Tbilisi and Yerevan-Batumi,
which functions in summer season. As for the local communication, they
are: Vanadzor-Ayrum, Yerevan-Araks, Yerevan-Armavir, Yerevan-Yeraskh,
Yerevan-Ararat, Yerevan-Gyumri, Kanaker-Razdan and Gyumri-Pemzashen.

PRIME MINISTER VLADIMIR PUTIN AND TURKISH PRIME MINISTER RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN ADDRESS A NEWS CONFERENCE ON OUTCOME OF THEIR NEGOTIATIONS

States News Service
January 13, 2010 Wednesday

The following information was released by the government of the
Russian Federation:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen,

Our talks today have been very productive and meaningful. We have held
nine such similar meetings, all of which were, like our talks today,
conducted in an atmosphere of friendly confidence and understanding.

We discussed key bilateral issues in detail, focussing on closer
Russian-Turkish trade and economic partnership in all its aspects.

Our bilateral trade has grown steadily over the years, and in 2008
Russia became Turkey’s main economic partner.

The global financial and economic crisis undoubtedly caused a slight
decline in our bilateral trade. But that is why we have come together
today, to see how we can overcome these hardships together, how we
can increase investment and return to steady growth in trade and in
our economic partnership.

As Mr Erdogan said today, our trade can hit the $100 billion mark
within five years. I think this goal is attainable.

We are determined to continue using tried and tested forms of
cooperation, but also to explore new areas of partnership.

With regard to existing areas and traditional forms of partnership,
I would draw your attention first and foremost to our cooperation in
the field of energy.

Russia has been, and remains Turkey’s largest, and highly reliable,
energy supplier. We provide approximately 70% of Turkey’s demand
in natural gas. We believe we can take this further, moving beyond
simply trading, to asset exchanges and cross- capitalisation.

Today we discussed our ambitious joint projects-in particular, the
South Stream gas pipeline and the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline. The
fact that these two projects are crucial to Russia, Turkey and the
whose of Europe both in terms of finding a solution to environmental
problems, and in terms of ensuring reliable energy supplies to Europe
is, I think, indisputable.

We are ready to cooperate in the electric and nuclear power industry.

We signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the
civilian nuclear power industry last year. It provides a solid basis
for successful partnership in that field, too. We are determined to
build up the high tech part of our bilateral links. Investments will
be channelled to the high-tech sector.

Today, Turkish companies have $6 billion invested in Russia, and
Russian companies have $4 billion invested in Turkey. Lucrative
investment opportunities span a wide range of sectors: steel,
construction and light industry, telecommunications, transport and
many other fields. Russian companies are also ready to take part in
privatization programmes carried out by Turkish government.

We have talked about the prospects for expanding our cooperation on
agriculture, including supplying the Russian market with poultry and
other foods.

We have mentioned the tangible progress that has been made on difficult
issued we have discussed on many occasions before, for example:
customs regulations. Today we can state that they have been resolved.

Two Turkish banks have launched rouble transactions. We will extend
the use of national currencies in Russian-Turkish trade.

Last but not least, turning to cultural matters, we have agreed to
start work on an intergovernmental agreement on visa-free trips for
Russian citizens to Turkey and vice versa. I hope these preparations
will not take us long.

I thank Mr Erdogan for the constructive attitude he has displayed at
the negotiating table, and all our Turkish friends and partners for
their cooperation throughout 2009. I wish everyone success this year.

Thank you.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan (as translated): Thank you (in Russian).

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude and sending my
best wishes to the friendly Russian people. I am glad to have this
opportunity to visit Russia now.

Thank you for the hospitality you have shown me and my delegation
from the moment we landed in Russia.

My talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin have been really very useful, fruitful and constructive.

We discussed our bilateral relations in detail; we talked about how
we should improve them and guarantee their further development.

In 2008 Russian-Turkish trade reached truly historic levels. Though
it shrank significantly last year due to the global financial crisis,
we intend, within the next five years, to boost it to $100 billion
per year.

In June, we will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the establishment
of diplomatic relations between Soviet Russia and the new republican
Turkish government. The fact that our relations are so positive
now, developing dynamically in every sector, is a source of great
satisfaction.

We understand that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will visit
Turkey in May or June this year. During this visit, we will see real
progress on a series of essential areas in the development of our
bilateral relations.

Turkey is proud to have Russia as its leading foreign economic partner,
and that it ranks 7th among Russia’s foreign economic partners.

An essential part of Russian-Turkish trade and economic relations
is our cooperation in the energy sector. This partnership plays a
unique role due to the direct impact it has on bilateral trade and
economic relations, and because of its strategic influence. We are
especially satisfied to see that developing cooperation in natural
gas has now spread to other fields of energy: in particular to oil
and nuclear power.

Our countries’ relevant agencies and experts will work to step up
partnership in the fields I have mentioned so as to obtain practical
results as soon as possible.

We are working together, as before, to establish an oil processing
joint venture, which we regard as yet another important step forward
in our energy partnership.

I want to lay special emphasis on the following. As we know, our
bilateral trade suffers from the fluctuations of foreign currency
exchange rates on the market.

Turkey has finished reforming its regulatory basis to allow us to
start using national currencies. Two Turkish banks have already
started carrying out foreign transactions in Russian roubles, as Mr
Putin has mentioned here.

Mr Putin has informed me that Russia is doing the same. As soon
as this work is complete, we will be ready to switch entirely to
the rouble and the lira for bilateral transactions. Business in
both countries will benefit, liberated from their dependence on the
speculative fluctuations on the currency markets. So it will become
more competitive. This change will also symbolically express both
countries’ independence.

I would like to express my appreciation to President Dmitry Medvedev
and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and through them, to the entire
Russian nation. Russia presently ranks second after Germany in terms of
the number of tourists who visit Turkey. Despite the global economic
crisis, foreign tourism saw only a token shrinkage last year against
2008 due to our work.

We not only expect Russian tourists to come to Turkey but a growing
number of Russian entrepreneurs and investors as well. I am convinced
that our partnership will continue to grow ever closer in every field,
and particularly in agriculture.

Mr Putin was ahead of me to announce that we had determined to start
preparations for visa-free bilateral arrangements. I think we will
soon conclude this work, thus extending our partnership. I hope the
corresponding decisions will have been taken by the time Mr Medvedev
visits Turkey.

May the year 2010 bring peace, wellbeing and prosperity to our nations
and the whole world! Thank you.

* * *

Question: This question is for Mr Putin. Though I represent the
Sabah daily newspaper, I am asking my question on behalf of eight
Turkish media correspondents covering the visit. Mr Prime Minister,
you have indeed discussed many regional problems at the negotiating
table today. My question concerns one of them, the situation in the
South Caucasus.

As we all know, major positive changes began with the signing, on
October 10, 2009, of protocols on the normalisation of Turkish-Armenian
relations. Both countries have now submitted protocols to parliament
for ratification. Armenia is making swifter progress.

Turkey, however, has said more than once that if this process is to be
expedited, progress should be made on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh
situation, proceeding from relevant resolutions of the UN Security
Council and the principle of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Does Russia intend to do anything to expedite this process?

Vladimir Putin: First of all, I want to say that Russia, more than any
other country, is interested in the normalisation of relations between
all the countries it neighbours in the region. A vast array of ties
bind us with Azerbaijan and Armenia alike. There are millions, and
I stress that, millions, of Azeris and Armenians who live in Russia,
and who have friends and relations here.

Russia’s economic contact with those countries is developing. It is
known, for instance, that we have begun to import natural gas from
Azerbaijan. I repeat, we are interested in the prompt resolution of
all problems inherited from our Soviet past. The Karabakh problem
is no exception. We are certainly aware also of Turkey and Armenia’s
troubled past. In this sense, too, we want to see the normalisation
of Turkish-Armenian relations.

We have welcomed Turkish initiatives to normalise these relations, and
view them with great optimism. We hope that this negotiation process
will be devoid of any trace of extremism or fundamentalist positions
rooted in the problems of the past. The Armenian leadership is also
heading in the right direction, and we welcome this. I understand
that both the Karabakh and Turkish-Armenian problems are extremely
complicated in their own right, and I don’t think they should be
joined together in a package. Each problem is hard to resolve even
taken on its own, and if we lump them together, any hope of their
resolution automatically recedes into the distant future. So I don’t
think that either strategically or tactically there is any benefit
from drawing these problems together. We will do everything within
our power to help resolve each of these problems.

Doubtless, the solution depends on Armenia and Azerbaijan in the
former instance, and on Turkey and Armenia in the latter. We will
treat the stances of all our partners with the utmost respect, as we
have always done.

Russia’s mission is to support whatever positive initiatives are
needed to settle these two complex problems.

Question: Good afternoon. Mayak and Vesti FM Radio. I want to ask
Mr Erdogan about the construction of a nuclear plant in Turkey. The
situation is rather vague. As we know, Russia won the tender in
September 2002, and the proposals made by the Russian companies were
approved. However, recently, in November, the Supreme Administrative
Court found certain irregularities in how the tender was held,
and it was officially declared to be invalid. Will Russia build the
plant, after all, or not? And is Turkey able to remove those tender
violations?

My question to Mr Putin develops this topic. How are the related
negotiations with Turkey proceeding? What competitive advantages,
do you think, do Russian companies have against other participants
in the tender?

And if you allow me, I feel I must ask another question, about South
Stream, one of the largest joint ventures. Its construction will
begin quite soon. Are the partners ready to start work in Turkey
on schedule? Please, Mr Erdogan, does Turkey confirm its agreement,
made last August, for work on this to start as soon as November 2010?

Vladimir Putin: So your Turkish colleague asked only one question on
behalf of eight journalists, while you are asking a whole range of
questions on your own behalf.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan: As for the nuclear plant tender, a decision was
made following the court verdict that further work will be based on
direct inter-governmental agreements. The relevant ministries and
agencies in both countries are working on this, and negotiations
are underway. We hope they will soon conclude, and that we will have
made some real headway. I do not think it will take long. In fact,
they are in their final stages.

Vladimir Putin: And South Stream?

Recep Tayyip Erdogan: That question was addressed to you, Mr Putin.

Vladimir Putin: As for the nuclear plant, we are sure of our major
competitive advantages. And in terms of technology, it is at about
the same level throughout Europe. Where European companies have had
particular successes, we invite them to join in partnership. When
we implement our projects abroad, we give 15-20% of the work to our
European partners. Currently this is mainly Siemens. Unlike many of our
competitors, we can provide the full service. We grant credits, supply
equipment, and offer major construction works to local builders. This
accounts for 20-25 or even 30% of the whole contract.

We supply nuclear fuel and are willing to take and process nuclear
waste. This range of services allows us to charge reasonable rates,
well below what our competitors demand. We have agreed today to go
ahead with this and we are confident of its success.

As for the works on South Stream, they are going to schedule. I thank
Mr Erdogan and the Turkish government once again for authorising a
Russian company to carry out exploration work on the sea bed of the
Black Sea. Environmental assessments have been 100% completed and
85-90% of the geological and seismic studies have been carried out.

The data obtained will be compiled and submitted to the Turkish
government for their evaluation quite soon.

The Turkish government has pledged, in an agreement, to consider these
documents and authorise construction before November 10 this year. The
Prime Minister confirmed this during today’s talks. I am sure that
this will go according to plan. Incidentally, we have also agreed to
step up work on another joint project, Samsun-Ceyhan, and I have even
suggested a tripartite inter-governmental agreement between Turkey,
Russia and Italy because all three countries are involved in both
projects. Mr Erdogan has agreed, and we will now discuss this idea
with our Italian partners.

2010 — YEAR OF ARMENIAN WOMEN: ARAM I

news.am
Jan 12 2010
Armenia

After the January 10 service in Antelias St. Gregory the Illuminator
Church (Lebanon), Archbishop Komitas Ohanian read the Encyclical
Letter by His Holiness Aram I declaring 2010 year of Armenian Women,
press release by Communication and Information Department of Cilicia
Catholicosate says.

His Holiness calls Armenian men and women to reconsider the role
of women in families and society, referring to the Old Testament:
"God created men and women in His image, after His likeness (Genesis
1:26); thus, Aram I clarifies, women and men are equal in the eyes of
God and partners in caring for the created world," the letter reads. In
addition, the dignitary quotes New Testament: "the ‘New Eve’, Mary the
Mother of God, plays an important role in the history of salvation,"
the pastoral goes on.

Perorating, Aram I exhorts "all Armenians to reconsider the nature
of women-men partnership in the Armenian community, its organizations
and the family, in view of the moral values taught by the Church and
internationally endorsed documents," the release concludes.

The pastoral letter will be read in all Armenian churches worldwide
within the next weeks.

GIANT OF RUSSIAN JAZZ GEORGE GARANYAN PASSES AWAY

Russia-InfoCenter
Jan 12 2010

Luminary of the Russian jazz, the People’s Artist of Russia George
Garanian has died at the age of 75 in Krasnodar.

The famous saxophone player, conductor and composer suffered a heart
attack two days before the expected concert in Krasnodar. The concert
will not be canceled, however – on January 13 his colleagues and
friends will perform in his honour.

George Aramovich Garanian was born in 1934. His parents had nothing
to do with music, but encouraged their son’s craving for music. In
the 1950s he already played in the Orchestra of the Central House
of Artworkers.

A turning point in the music career of George Garanyan was an
invitation to Oleg Lundstrem’s orchestra that consisted of Shanghais
immigrants who returned to Russia in a body.

Even at quite a considerable age, when performing on stage, George
Garanian produced an impression of a very light musician, who easily
darts off into most audacious improvisations at first chance.

PAGEANT A LATE GIFT FOR AREA’S ARMENIANS

Boston Globe
ts/articles/2010/01/11/pageant_a_late_gift_for_are as_armenians/
Jan 11 2010
MA

Along Cambridge’s quiet Brattle Street yesterday morning, holiday
lights and seasonal decorations were mostly gone.

But inside the Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Greater Boston, "We
Three Kings of Orient Are" was sung out with joy as a regal trio
of young kings strode down the aisle bearing gifts for the church
pageant’s baby Jesus.

The Armenian church observes Christmas on Jan. 6, the Epiphany, which
commemorates the visit of the magi to the newborn Christ child. The
Rev. Vasken Kouzouian said many parishioners, often fourth- and
fifth-generation Armenian-Americans, also celebrate the holiday
on Dec. 25. The church honors the American tradition by observing
the "fun side of Christmas" with the children’s pageant, which was
originally scheduled for Dec. 20. But this year, weather caused it
to be rescheduled for yesterday, bringing it closer to Jan. 6.

Kouzouian said the postponement provided an opportunity for the parish
to "remind ourselves of the spiritual side" of the holiday. "It’s
the faith we’re celebrating, not the heritage," he said. Christmas in
the Armenian church marks the beginning of Christ’s ministry, he said.

Michelle Sahagian, 12, was one of the narrators of the pageant. Over
the years, she said, she has played many roles from a shepherd and
a sheep to an angel.

Her mother, Nancy, said she enjoys watching Michelle and her 9-year-old
sister, Julia, perform yearly in the pageants. "It’s funny to watch
them grow from year to year," she said. "They kind of grow up with it."

PRO-GOVERNMENTAL CANDIDATE FROM ELECTORAL DISTRICT 10 WINS ADDITIONAL ELECTIONS TO THE PARLIAMENT

ArmInfo
2010-01-11 11:27:00

ArmInfo. Pro-governmental candidate from the electoral district 10
(National Accord Party), Ara Simonyan, won the additional elections
to the parliament by 7622 votes. The opposition candidate, Nikol
Pahsinyan, the editor of Haykakan Zhamanak Daily, who is currently
under arrest, received 5023 votes. Pashinyan is charged with
organization of the mass disorders in Yerevan on March 1- 2 2008.

Turnout totaled 13380. The third candidate, the leader of the Marxist
Party of Armenia, David Hakobyan, received 299 votes.

The deputy mandate of the above election district proved vacant after
the former parliamentarian Khachatur Sukiasyan was deprived of his
mandate for complicity in the incidents of March 2008 in Yerevan.