Turkey Must Open Its Border With Armenia

TURKEY MUST OPEN ITS BORDER WITH ARMENIA

AZG Armenian Daily
26/08/2008

Armenia-Turkey

Experienced Turkish diplomat and political scientist Mehmed Bayar
stated that Turkey must open its border with Armenia. In an interview
to Miliet newspaper Bayar said that Turkey suffers most from the
closure of its Armenian border.

"As long as the border is close, the influence of Turkey in South
Caucasus will be limited, and Turkey will not be able to appear
to the world as a fair and mediating state. Ankara shall have the
initiative of this strategic decision. Opening the border without any
precondition Turkey shall weaken the Armenian allegations regarding
history. If Turkey is not to lose its position in South Caucasus,
it should do that," assured Bayar.

According to Milliet, Bayar was the first diplomat to represent Turkey
at the talks on Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, and the regional experience of
Bayar had decisive role in Erdogan’s initiative on the new Caucasian
union.

International Arbitration Court Made A Decision In Favor Of Ara Abra

INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION COURT MADE A DECISION IN FAVOR OF ARA ABRAHAMYAN

Panorama.am
17:15 25/08/2008

International Arbitration Court of Lausanne has qualified the
refereeing of semi-final Greco-Roman wrestling contest (84kg weight)
biased. The contest was held between Armenian sportsman representing
Sweden Ara Abrahamyan and Italian Andrea Mingucci.

According to international mass media, the court decision highlights
Abrahamyan’s right to express his dissatisfaction with the referees
from the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles,
the representatives of which weren’t present at the court trial.

Note that after defeat in semi-final contest Abrahamyan entered a
protest against judging but the International Association of Wrestling
dismissed the appeal. Abrahamyan won the contest for bronze, but
during the award ceremony threw his medal on the mat. As a result,
the IOC deprived Abrahamyan of bronze medal.

No Armenian Citizens On The Board Of The Crashed Airplane

NO ARMENIAN CITIZENS ON THE BOARD OF THE CRASHED AIRPLANE

Panorama.am
12:41 25/08/2008

No Armenian citizens were on the board of the airliner collided in
Kyrgyzstan, the press bureau of RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

The "Boeing" was making a Bishkek-Tehran flight at 10:30 local time
on Sunday. It had to make an emergency landing, but fell in the field
near "Manas" airport. The crashed "Boeing-737-200" (number-EX-009)
of "Itek-Air" corporation was rented by Iranian air company "Aceman".

According to the Ministry of Healthcare of Kyrgyzstan, 68 people
died and only 22 survived in the result of the air crash. There were
90 people on the board of the airplane; 83 of them were passengers
among them 24 citizens of Kyrgyzstan, 52 from Iran, 3 from Kazakhstan,
2 from Canada, one citizen from Turkey and one from China.

Note that all six members of the crew (citizens of Kyrgyzstan) and
Iranian manager of air company "Aceman" have survived.

Serzh Sargsyan Sends Telegram Of Condolence To French President

SERZH SARGSYAN SENDS TELEGRAM OF CONDOLENCE TO FRENCH PRESIDENT

Noyan Tapan

Au g 21, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
sent a telegram of condolence to French President Nicolas Sarkozy
in connection with the deaths of ten French soldiers serving in
Afghanistan. The text of the telegram was submitted to NT by the RA
president’s press service. It reads:

"Mr. President,

I was saddened to hear of the deaths of ten French soldiers serving
in Afghanistan. At this moment of mourning in France, on hehalf of
the Armenian people and myself, I express condolences to you, the
relatives of the killed soldiers and the friendly French people.

Please accept the assurance of my deep respect."

http://www.nt.am/news.php?shownews=116555

COAF Implements $7.5mln Projects In Armenia

COAF IMPLEMENTS $7.5MLN PROJECTS IN ARMENIA

ARKA
Aug 20, 2008

YEREVAN, August 20. /ARKA/. The during its 5-year activities the
Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) has implemented various projects in
Armenia’s villages worth a total of $7.5mln.

COAF President Karo Armen reported that COAF representatives started
visiting Armenia’s villages five years ago. "We understood how many
complicated problems exist in our villages. We have worked out over
100 programs since," Armen told a press conference on the occasion
of COAF’s anniversary.

The Fund has been focusing its activities on the Armavir region,
which is faced with the most serious social problems.

Specifically, the Fund sponsored the repair of 11 buildings in the
Armavir region, including four schools, two kindergartens, a palace
of culture and a sports complex, as well as 18 irrigation canals.

"We are also renovating outpatient two clinics and the central hospital
in Myasnikyan. We are also implementing social and health programs and
plan to expand our activities to many villages in the Armavir region,"
Armen said.

He pointed out that COAF will celebrate its anniversary by organizing
a number of arrangements, which will to start with a concert at the
Chamber Music Palace on August 23. On this occasion, donators and
COAF Board members will visit Armenia. They are expected to meet with
RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan. The RA Ministry of Educa tion and
Science will award a Gold Medal to COAF.

"We have people among us sincerely wishing to help our country. I
think that we must appreciate those people and support them on a
national scale," Armen said. COAF is a charitable institution aiming
at reducing poverty in Armenia by implementing rehabilitation programs
in Armenia’s rural communities.

Armenian Gdp Grows By 10.6% In January-July 2008 On Same Period Of 2

ARMENIAN GDP GROWS BY 10.6% IN JANUARY-JULY 2008 ON SAME PERIOD OF 2007

Noyan Tapan

Au g 20, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian GDP grew by 10.6% in
January-July 2008 on the same period of last year and made 1 trillion
736 billion 187.7 million drams. The GDP index-defaltor made 108%.

According to the RA National Statistical Service, industrial production
grew by 1.8% in Armenia in January-July 2008 on the same months of
2007 and made 428 bln 184.9 mln drams.

The gross agricultural output increased by 6.9% to 220 bln 610.4 mln
drams, construction – by 14% to 356 bln 107.2 mln drams, retail trade –
by 6.1% to 500 bln drams, while services grew by 15% to 389 bln 82.9
mln drams.

The foreign trade of Armenia grew by 29.5% in January-July 2008 on
the same period of 2007 and amounted to 2 bln 920.2 mln USD. Exports
declined by 0.2% and made 628.1 mln USD, imports grew by 40.9% to 2
bln 292.1 mln USD.

Consumer prices rose by 9.2%, industrial production prices – by 5.8%
in January-July 2008 on January-July 2007.

The number of officially registered unemployed declined by 8.3%
in late July 2008 as compared with late July 2007 and made 76,200.

The average monthly salary made 87,908 drams in the first seven months
of 2008 (20.4% growth on the same period of 2007), including the salary
of employees of the budgetary institutions – 62,253 drams (16.7%
growth) and the salary of employees of non-budgetary institutions –
108.679 drams (19.6% growth). The average exchange rate of a US dollar
made 306.84 drams in January-July 2008 (this index made 342.08 drams
in 2007).

http://www.nt.am/news.php?shownews=116528

Turkish Ambassador: "Turkey Will Not Open Borders With Armenia As Lo

TURKISH AMBASSADOR: "TURKEY WILL NOT OPEN BORDERS WITH ARMENIA AS LONG AS AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY IS NOT RESTORED"

APA
19 Aug 2008 17:16

Baku. Elbrus Seyfullayev-APA. Chairman of the State Committee with
Religious Associations Hidayat Orucov has met with the Turkey’s
Ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilic. The State Committee told APA
Orucov informed his guest about the religious situation in the country
and underlined the tolerance between the national and religious
minorities in Azerbaijan. "Every citizen’s freedom of faith and
other rights are protected. The religion is separate from the state
in Azerbaijan, but all religious confessions have been provided with
the conditions for free activity".

Ambassador Hulusi Kilic expressed his satisfaction with the development
of relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. "Turkey will develop its
cooperation with Azerbaijan in all spheres henceforth".

Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, the ambassador said
the Turkey’s position in this issue was clear. "Despite pressures from
Europe and all the West, Turkey will not open its borders with Armenia
as long as Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is not restored. We
are always together with Azerbaijan in this issue".

39 Armenian Trucks In Batumi Are To Import Oil

39 ARMENIAN TRUCKS IN BATUMI ARE TO IMPORT OIL

Panorama.am
19:57 19/08/2008

39 trucks left from Armenia to import oil from Georgia reached
Batumi and currently they are being loaded, said Susanna Tonoyan,
the press secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communication to
Panorama.am. According to her the trucks are accompanied by special
police, ambulance and technical support service cars.

According to Gagik Aghadjanyan, the director of "Apaven" company no
problems have been revealed on the roads.

BAKU: West Is Able To Wait, Or About Nervousness Among Dashnaks

WEST IS ABLE TO WAIT, OR ABOUT NERVOUSNESS AMONG DASHNAKS

Today.Az
cs/47024.html
Aug 18 2008
Azerbaijan

The Bureau of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation "Dashnaktsutun"
has recently made a statement, calling the government of their country
to raise the issue of signing a legal document on non-application of
military force against Nagorno Karabakh.

"Armenian side should protect its national and state interests in the
negotiation process more clearly and demand from the parties to sign
a document on non-application of force", says the statement.

The party noted that one of the main tasks for Armenia is the issue
of ratification of the right of "Nagorno Karabakh people to determine
their fate independently". The announcement also says that the recent
events around South Ossetia showed that "Azerbaijan’s attempt to
settle the issue by force does not only lack prospects but can lead
to unpredictable disasters in the region". At the same time, the
party bureau also considered the security of the Armenian-settled
Samtse-Javakheti region of Georgia, which it regards as the issue of
"ensuring rights of national minorities and autonomy".

First of all, it should be noted that Samtse-Javakheti is not an
autonomy and the desired should not set up for the reality in such hard
days for Georgia. Second, we hope that there will not be an autonomy in
that region, especially considered the frustrating historical lesson of
how Armenians abuse the autonomy, offered to them, and demand more in
the future. To those, who doubt, we recommend to visit the website of
Samtse-Javakheti Armenians and pay attention to the tone of articles,
published there.

Speaking on the "legally binding document" on the non-application
of force, it is unclear, with whom Azerbaijan should sign it. With
Nagorno Karabakh powers?

Well, but Nagorno Karabakh is not a subject of international law and
UN Secretary General Pan Gui Mun will be surprised if he receives
a document, signed by the "president" of a state, he does not have
an idea of. Moreover, Nizami Bahmanov has nothing to worry about –
Azerbaijan does not intend to attack his people.

Perhaps, with Armenia? It is even more interesting. How can one sign
a treaty on non-application of force with a state, which invaded
its territory and does not even think to leave it? Let Armenia first
withdraw its troops and then Azerbaijan will sign a treaty with it
on mutual respect of sovereignty and non-application of force.

Well, whom should we sign the document with?

It seems that following the diplomatic disgrace and international
isolation, which Russia deserved owing to its clumsy policy in such a
vulnerable region as the Caucasus, Moscow’s footmen started to search
a new place on the map of the world, in order to be too close to the
disgraced Russia, on the one hand, and not to lose their unpopular
idiot dreams of expanding their territories by means of their
neighbors and by violating the principle of territorial integrity,
on the other hand. The events of the past week showed that few have
not voiced the phrase "respect for territorial integrity" at least
once through those days.

In this connection, the nervousness among Dashnaks is quite
understandable. They try to conceal the unpopular thesis and
even the term of the national right for self-determination is
unexpectedly replaced with the abstract "right to determine one’s
fate independently". At the same time, Dashnaks does not even recall
(and do not dare to challenge) the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,
in order to escape the possible criticism by the world society.

This week the whole world confirmed the supremacy of the territorial
integrity! And any references to the whims of national minorities,
residing in any territories, their having passports of other states
and other arguments are not a legal ground for their separation
from the state with the territory they reside in. According to
famous analyst from German Marshall’s foundation Yorg Himmelreich,
"Russia’s attack was a rude violation of the territorial sovereignty
of Georgia and no Russian passports of Abkhaz and Ossetians can be a
legal ground for such actions". In his article in Spiegel newspaper,
another German analyst Christian Haif informs of the consequences,
threatening to the most capricious "rebelling" peoples, who do not
want to hear anything about the territorial integrity. In particular,
his vision of the resolution of the conflicts in Georgia lies in the
resettlement of the Ossetians from Tkhinvali region to Russia and
possible provision of an autonomy to Abkhazs within Georgia.

If the authors of the announcement of Dashnaktsutun’s bureau do not
want their Karabakh relatives to share the same fate, which was, by
the way, successfully probed in the Sudet oblast of Czechoslovakia,
Krain province of Croatia and other places, instead of releasing
such absurd statements, they should persuade their compatriots to
stop hindering the process and accept what the world will oblige
Moscow and its fifth columns in Georgia to accept (this also refers
to Transdniestria and Nagorno Karabakh). They will not be able to go
beyond an autonomy within Georgia (at the best).

When the world said clearly that the Kosovo model will not be applied
anywhere else, Armenians hoped that it was a joke. That is why, they
deprived themselves of an oil pipeline, a gas pipeline and a railroad
and many other things for they Moscow’s support. But at present Moscow
does not know what to do with itself from disgrace. World’s position
will never change, whatever Armenian diaspora does. The train has
gone, bye-bye.

And Russia’s stubbornness will not rescue Ossetian and Abkhazs from
returning back to Georgia. Whatever Russia does, West will have
to wait until the government in Russia is replaced (either through
another orange revolution or evolutionary), for the new pro-western
Russian government to surrender its "dear" citizens, like Western
Germany was once surrendered. West is able to wait.

And we will also wait for this moment to come.

http://www.today.az/news/politi

ANKARA: Turkey denies reports of not allowing Ukrainian plane to…

Anatolia news agency, Turkey
Aug 12 2008

Turkey denies reports of not allowing Ukrainian plane to reach Georgia

Ankara, 12 August: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied news
reports claiming that Turkey did not allow a Ukrainian plane carrying
humanitarian aid from Kiev to Georgia to use its air space.

Burak Ozugergin, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said
in a written response to a question, "Turkey has so far accepted all
flight requests regarding evacuation of people from the region and
humanitarian aid transfer to Georgia."

"It was understood that the mentioned flight failed due to problems in
Georgian air space. Now, such flights are diverted to Yerevan,
Armenia, because of the problems in Georgian air space. Also, the
flights between Armenia and Russia via Georgia begin following the
route over Turkey because of the same problems," Ozugergin added.