Author: Tvankchian Parkev

SECOND DRAFT PROGRAM ON DEVELOPMENT OF TAVUSH MARZ SUBMITTED TO
GOVERNMENT

4815

YEREVAN, JUNE 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The second draft program on development
of Tavush marz (province) was developed and submitted to the RA
government. The draft-related proposals of departments were sent to the
RA minister of territorial administration. After being amended, the
program will be submitted to the goverment for approval, the governor
of Tavush marz Armen Ghularian announced at the June 20 press
conference.

He linked successful implementation of the program to the fact that the
program of proportional territorial development of the RA has been
reflected in the pre-election program of the Armenian president and in
the 2008-2012 programs of the government. According to the regional
governor, the first program (2003-2007) cost 70 bln drams (about 229.5
mln USD) and the UK DFID allocated 1 million pounds for its
implementation. Among the program’s priorities were development of
communities, agriculture, social sectors (education, health care,
social security) and small and medium business. The second program will
also involve environmental protection sector (problems of forest
restoration, garbage disposal, sanitary cleaning, mine operation, water
resource management).

During the press conference, the British ambassador to Armenia Charles
Lonsdale said that they and the regional governor also discussed the
development programs which were worked out and are being implemented
with the assistance of the DFID-financed Armenian Regional Development
Project. Although the UK finishes these programs’ financing in 2008,
the programs will be funded from other sources, the ambassador said,
adding that the programs implemented in Tavush marz and Ijevan may
serve as an example for other Armenian marzes and cities.

According to the DFID Armenia Office director Artashes Darbinian, in
launching its cooperation with Armenia, the DFID selected Tavush and
Gegharkunik marzes because their authorities had a great desire to
assist with the programs, which was reflected in their successful
results. Among the programs completed in Tavush marz are the regional
development program and the Program on Public Sector Reforms. The
speaker attached importance to involvement of regional NGOs in the
indicated programs’ implementation, which contributes to their rapid
process.

C. Lonsdale who had paid his first visit to Tavush marz (Ijevan,
Haghartsian, Dilijan) said that the marz left a positive impression on
him. In his words, although there are no programs on regional tourism
development, they plan to expand cooperation with unions of
businessmen, which will also promote tourism. In his opinion, Armenia
has great potential for tourism development, but this potential is not
being used to the full. He pointed out the low level of
infrastructures’ development in Armenia: the absence of pedestrian
roads near the sights, lack of maps, the small number of high-quality,
affordable lodgings in rural areas. On the other hand, the ambassador
attached special importance to the Armenians’ ability of free,
immediate communication.

BUCHANAN: THE RETURN OF THE CENSORS
Patrick Buchanan

Sioux Falls Argus Leader
ticle?AID=/20080620/COLUMNISTS0202/806200306/1057/ COLUMNISTS
June 20 2008
SD

Freedom of the press is on trial in Canada.

The trial is before a court with the Orwellian title of the British
Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. The accused are Maclean’s magazine
and author Mark Steyn. The crime: In mocking and biting tones, they
wrote that Islam threatens Western values.

Had Steyn written that, given the Crusades, colonial atrocities in
Africa and the slave trade, Christianity had been on balance a curse,
he would not be in the dock. In the United States, these charges would
have been tossed out by any federal judge, who would have admonished
the plaintiffs that, here in America, we have a First Amendment.

The United States, however, is an isolated exception, as Western
nations seek to impose wider restrictions on what has come to be called
"hate speech."

Questioning the Holocaust is a crime in Canada and Europe, as British
historian David Irving discovered when he was sentenced to prison in
Austria. To say the Armenian massacres of 1915-1924 were an attempt
at genocide is a crime in Turkey.

In France, animal rights champion Brigitte Bardot has been fined
$23,000 for provoking discrimination and racial hatred by denouncing
Muslims who slaughtered a sheep in a religious ceremony. Bardot had
been punished five previous times for her statements.

Censorship is making a comeback. Outside the United States, it is
considered an acceptable price to pay for the new diversity Western
Man seems now to value more than the old liberty.

In 1990, writes Adam Liptak of The New York Times, Chief Justice
of the Canadian Supreme Court Brian Dickson wrote, in upholding the
conviction of one James Keegstra for anti-Semitic slurs:

"(T)he international commitment to eradicate hate propaganda and,
most importantly, the special role given equality and multiculturalism
in the Canadian Constitution necessitate a departure from the view
… that the suppression of hate propaganda is incompatible with the
guarantee of free expression."

There you have it. Canada’s commitment to multiculturalism and the
equality of all religions, races and cultures requires the silencing
of those who do not believe all races, creeds and cultures are equal.

The dogmas of the Diverse Society dictate that the cherished rights
of the Free Society be sacrificed on the altar of social tranquility.

What has caused this reversal of the advance of freedom?

Western Man has come to believe there are more important values than
freedom, if men use their freedom in ways our new Lords Temporal
find unacceptable.

Nor is this anything new. Censorship always has had powerful patrons
and not always benighted backers.

In the Middle Ages, pious men sought to silence heretics because they
believed that faith led to paradise while its loss led to hell for
all eternity. The Christian censorship we mock today was born of men’s
deepest convictions about the most important thing in life: salvation.

Devout Muslims believe heretics and apostates should be put to
death. Islam is the most important thing in their lives, and its
truths are valued more than any freedom to mock them.

And, indeed, most men accept some form of censorship.

Most of us believe that published or spoken lies that ruin good names
should be punished by libel and slander laws. Most of us believe there
are military secrets that must be protected. Not a few Americans
believe that the moral codes imposed on Hollywood by the Legion of
Decency helped protect society from the toxic pollution that poisons
our children. Most of us support FCC sanctions against filthy language
or racist slurs on the airwaves.

Nor is government censorship unknown to America.

President John Adams signed the Sedition Acts, which called for the
incarceration of journalists who wrote insultingly of him. Abraham
Lincoln suppressed newspapers that denounced his war. Woodrow Wilson
imprisoned the Socialist Eugene Debs for denouncing his war.

A new censorship is now arising. We read of speech codes on campuses,
sensitivity training for freshman and tribunals before which students
are made to grovel and recant for joking references that offended
some minority or other.

"The best test of truth," said Justice Holmes, "is the power of
thought to get itself accepted in the marketplace."

Nonsense. Editor Elijah Lovejoy was lynched in Alton, Ill., in 1837
for advocating abolition – against the view of the marketplace. Truth
is truth, whether the majority agrees or not.

Yet one’s money ought to be on the new censors, for men who believe
deeply in something, even when wrong, usually triumph over men who
believe in nothing.

Today, the true believers in Islam and the true believers in diversity
uber alles are making common cause against those who believe in
freedom of speech and the press. As the former have the convictions
and increasingly the power, they might prevail – and not only in
Canada and Europe.

A new orthodoxy is arising.

Freedom’s finest hour might be behind us.

To find out more about Patrick Buchanan, visit the Creators Syndicate
Web page at

RA FM FOR REGULAR NATURE OF HOLDING ARMENIA-NATO CONSULTATIONS IN 26+1 FORMAT

DeFacto Agency
June 20 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, 20.06.08. DE FACTO. The issues referring to cooperation
between Armenia and NATO were discussed in Brussels on June 18 in
the course of the RA FM Edvard Nalbandian’s meeting with Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer, NATO Secretary General.

According to the RA MFA Press Office, Edvard Nalbandian highly
estimated results of the Euro-Atlantic Council sitting held in 26+1
format (NATO-Armenia) on May 28. He stated that Armenia attached
importance to regular conduct of the consultations in this format.

During the meeting the participants discussed Armenia’s participation
in the NATO peacemaking activity.

RA FM noted Armenia appreciated assistance rendered by NATO and
Alliance member countries in the realization of Armenia-NATO Individual
Partnership Action Plan.

On the request of the NATO Secretary General Edvard Nalbandian
presented the results of Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents’ meeting
held in St. Petersburg.

To note, on the same day the RA FM held a meeting with Peter Semneby,
the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus.

IN WASHINGTON AND TURKEY, DENIAL OF GENOCIDE GOES ON

Fresno Bee (California)
June 19, 2008 Thursday

Nominee for ambassador to Armenia faces a Senate grilling today.

Marie Yovanovitch, the latest nominee for the post of American
ambassador to Armenia, won’t be speaking the words many Armenian
Americans want most to hear — "Armenian genocide" — at her Senate
confirmation hearing today. Yovanovitch’s boss at the State Department
made that clear on Wednesday.

"The United States and the president have never denied any of the
events [but] we do not use the term genocide to describe them,"
Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried told the House Foreign
Affairs Committee.

So the rhetorical denial continues in Washington and Turkey. The Turks
are hypersensitive to the use of the word "genocide" to describe the
murder of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children during and
following World War I. The crimes were carried out by the Ottoman
Turks, predecessors of modern Turkey’s government.

U.S. administrations from both parties have kowtowed to Turkish
pressure on the issue for decades, fearful of upsetting a nation
regarded as an important American ally.

The policy might have made some sense during the Cold War, when
Turkey offered a strategic location on the southern border of the
Soviet Union. It makes much less sense today.

And Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union are threatened by its
intransigence on the genocide issue. European nations are, for the most
part, much less accommodating than the U.S. when it comes to genocide.

The post is open because the last person to serve in the role had
the integrity to call the genocide what it was. In 2006, John Evans
told audiences in Fresno and elsewhere that the events of 1915-1923
were a case of genocide. He lost his job.

The Senate, stiffening its spine a little, refused to confirm the
first nominee to replace Evans, Richard Hoagland, when he hewed to
the official State Department policy of denial.

The issue is a serious one for Armenian Americans, many of whom
remember the stories of brutality and death told by their elders who
survived the starvation, forced marches and massacres. But it isn’t
only Armenian Americans who care. Their anger and determination are
shared by others who believe that history and diplomacy should reflect
an honest view of events.

As Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, wrote in a letter to Yovanovitch earlier
this year, "Denying a traumatic event such as genocide, one cannot
create, nor implement, honest and effective diplomacy." Costa is
still waiting for a reply. And we’re still waiting for an American
administration and an American Congress to do the right thing:
Recognize the genocide.

PACE TO HOLD URGENT DEBATE ON FUNCTIONING OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
20.06.2008 15:28

An urgent debate on Armenia at the plenary session of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is warranted, according to
the head of PACE’s Monitoring Committee.

Progress made so far by the Armenian authorities in meeting the
Assembly’s demands following the February 2008 post-election violence
has been judged insufficient by the committee’s co-rapporteurs Georges
Colombier (France, EPP/CD) and John Prescott (United Kingdom, SOC),
its chair Serhiy Holovaty said in a letter today to the Assembly’s
President.

The two parliamentarians made a two-day visit to the country (16-17
June) to assess progress, in line with an earlier decision taken by
the committee in Kyiv.

THIRD FORCE – THE ONLY SALVATION

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
June 19, 2008
Armenia

According to ROUBEN HAKOBYAN, "It is advantageous to the authorities
for L. Ter-Petrosyan to remain as the only representative of the
opposition.

Because they say, ‘all agree with us, and it’s only L. Ter-Petrosyan
that wants to split the nation, and he has remained inside the
opposition camp.’

It is advantageous to the authorities to discredit the movement. As
to L.

Ter-Petrosyan, it is advantageous to him to say, ‘I am the only
representative of the opposition; all the rest are activists of a
pseudo-opposition, imitators etc.’ There is no political campaign
in such conditions; there is a fight that has nothing in common
with politics."

In such situation, the only salvation is "the third force which,
even though a little bit terrified and frightened, will come and say
cautiously whatever it has to."

ONE SHOULD NOT TREAT EUROPEAN COURT’S DECISIONS FROM POINT OF VIEW OF VICTORY OR DEFEAT, RA DEPUTY JUSTICE MINISTER SAYS

Noyan Tapan

Ju ne 18, 2008

YEREVAN, JUNE 18, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the June 16 decision of the
European Court of Human Rights, depriving of air the A1+ independent
TV company contradicts Article 10 of the European Convention of Human
Rights, which regards the right of free expression. However, as Gevorg
Kostanian, the RA Deputy Justice Minister, the representative of the
RA government in the European Court of Human Rights, said at the
June 18 press conference, one should not treat the European Court
decision from point of view of victory or defeat. According to him,
the goal of any judgement and decision is to bring the RA legislation
and its use in line with the European Court standards.

According to G. Kostanian, the opinion that A1+ was not given a
licence of broadcasting by political motives was not confirmed during
the examination in the European Court. At the same time, according
to the Deputy Minister, European Court’s decision mentions that the
National Commission of Television and Radio did not clearly present
the reasons of rejecting the licence.

G. Kostanian said that the lawsuit introduced by A1+ to the European
Court demanded material compensation of 1m 350 thousand USD and
non-material compensation and compensation of judicial expenditures
of 50 thousand USD.

However, by European Court’s decision, the Armenian government is to
pay 20 thousand euros to A1+ as a compensation of moral damage and 10
thousand euros for judicial expenditures. At that, 10 thousand euros
is envisaged for giving it to the London juridical organization. It
was mentioned that the European Court decision, according to the
Convention, comes in force three months after the publication, and
within three months the RA government is obliged to make the payment.

RUSSIAN, ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTERS TO DISCUSS MILITARY-TECHNICAL COOPERATION

Interfax News Agency
June 17 2008
Russia

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov will meet his Armenian
counterpart Seiran Oganian, which is due to come to Moscow with
a three-day visit on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Russian Defense
Ministry’s PR and Information department has said.

The defense ministers will focus on military and technical cooperation
between Russia and Armenia. Oganian is also going to have a meeting
with the Russian Chief of General Staff, Army General Nikolai Makarov.

This is the first working visit to Russia for Armenian Defense Minister
Oganian, who succeeded Mikhael Arutyunian in position this April.

168 Zham, Armenia
May 22 2008

Armenian rights activist wounded in brawl

In broad daylight on Teryan Street

A dispute and a brawl occurred yesterday on Teryan Street [in Yerevan]
between Mikayel Danielyan, the chairman of the Helsinki Association,
and Tigran Urikhanyan, the former leader of the Progressive Party, as
a result of which Urikhanyan shot at Danielyan. Each of the sides
presents the reason for the incident in their own way, accusing the
opposite side. Urikhanyan states that Danielyan was drunk, with his
friends, and behaved indecently regarding the young women who were
passing by. Danielyan’s friends state that Urikhanyan approached their
cars, insulted them and then shot at Danielyan.

A brawl on Teryan street

Yesterday at about 1500 [1000 gmt] a dispute and a brawl occurred on
Teryan Street between Mikayel Danielyan, the chairman of the Helsinki
Association, and Tigran Urikhanyan, the former leader of the
Progressive Party.

Mikayel Danielyan received a firearm wound as a result of the
brawl. The wound was not serious and Danielyan and Urikhanyan were
taken to the Kentron police department. What was the reason for the
dispute between the two men – in front of numerous people, with one of
them even shooting at the other? Urikhanyan told us over the phone
that Mikaelyan and his friends sitting in a taxi "behaved indecently
with regard to young women passing by" and that he only beeped the
horn when he saw this. "He stopped my service car and approached,
being under the influence of alcohol and drugs, but let an expert
examination determine this. He started swearing at me in the presence
of numerous witnesses. I took out my legal arm and shot in the air
after he approached, and then I called the police," Urikhanyan told us
modestly.

The other side of the dispute, however, states the opposite. We did
not manage to talk to Danielyan in person. However, a member of the
Helsinki Assembly, Artsrun Babayan, talked to us; he was in the same
car with Danielyan. Contrary to Urikhanyan’s statement that Danielyan
was drunk, Babayan said that Danielyan was not drunk, but tipsy and
that those are different things.

[Passage omitted: description of Urikhanyan’s swearing]

Babayan said that afterwards he [Urikhanyan] shot in Danielyan’s
chest. Although Urikhanyan told us that he shot in the air only and
then called the police, Babayan said that he shot twice – first, in
Danielyan’s chest, wounding him, and only then in the air.

[Passage omitted: Babayan describing Urikhanyan’s actions]

In response to Urikhanyan’s statement that Danielyan and his friends
had behaved indecently with regard to "young women who were passing
by", Babayan said that nothing of the kind had taken place.

[Passage omitted: Babayan saying they did not insult the young women]

Babayan said Danielyan’s health condition was good. He said that they
would of course proceed with the case. "Of course, we will proceed
with the case, they shoot at a person in the street in daylight, why
should we not proceed with the case?" he said.

An employee of the political and economic department of the US
embassy, Marko Velikonja, came to the Kentron police department in
connection with the incident. He said that he had come to clarify what
happened with the human rights activist as he had been alerted to the
incident. Mr Velikonja refused to answer questions saying he was not
informed of what happened. He explained his presence not by the
personality of Mikayel Danielyan but by the fact that a human rights
activist had been attacked. The Helsinki Assembly has alerted all
embassies in Armenia and the ombudsman to the incident.

[translated]

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
June 14 2008

Baku May Hold Talks with Armenian Community of Nagorno-Karabakh under
Certain Conditions
14.06.08 15:23

Azerbaijan, Baku, 14 June /corr. Trend News E.Babayev / In order to
involve Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh in the talks, Baku
requires to remove Armenia from the conflict settlement process.

`In this case, Armenia should be fully removed from this
process. Azerbaijan’s lands have been occupied by the armed forces of
Armenia. If Armenia is removed provided that it will not interfere in
internal affairs of Azerbaijan, we may go to talks with the Armenian
community in territory of Azerbaijan,’ Novruz Mammadov, Head of
Foreign Relations Department of Azerbaijan Presidential
Administration, said on 14 June.

On 6 June, familiarization meeting of Presidents of Azerbaijan, Ilham
Aliyev and Armenia, Serj Sarkisyan took place.

Eduard Nalbandyan, the Foreign Minister of Armenia, stated earlier
that that the population in the Nagorno-Karabakh must also participate
in the negotiations.

Mammadov considers impossible the meeting of communities in the
current situation. `Communities can meet if certain documents are
signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia. After this, negotiations can be
held regarding placement of the Armenian community in
Nagorno-Karabakh, returning of IPDs to their motherlands and other
issues,’ Mammadov said.

According to Mammadov, the format of the negotiations will be defined
after the visit of the co-chairs to the region. `Presidents
commissioned co-chairs and Foreign Ministers. There are new issues
which should be discussed. We can continue the process after formation
of positions,’ Mamamdov said.

The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in 1988
due to territorial claims by Armenia against Azerbaijan. Armenia has
occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani land including the Nagorno-Karabakh
region and its seven surrounding Districts. Since 1992, these
territories have been under the occupation of the Armenian Forces. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group ( Russia, France and USA) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.