Author: Vanyan Gary

AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY PROVIDED TO TAVUSH REGION’S SIX BORDER VILLAGES WITH FINANCING OF HAYASTAN ALL ARMENIAN FUND’S EAST COAST AFFILIATE

NOYAN TAPAN

JU LY 23

A combine harvester and two tractors have been provided to six border
communities in Tavush region within the framework of the Development
Program of Armenian and Artsakh border villages, with the financing
of the Fund’s East Coast Affiliate.

According to Fund’s report, the machinery will serve the needs of
the communities of Aknaghbyur, Azatamut, Ditavan, Lusahovit, Lusadzor
and Khashtarak and will be a welcome and much needed relief for the
local farmers who, with the lack of adequate machinery, were mostly
restricted to manual labor for the cultivation of their land. An
energy and time consuming process decreased the productivity of the
land, while also increasing the market price of the end product.

The agricultural machinery will be co-owned and jointly managed by
the community administrations of the six beneficiary communities. They
will together plan the cultivation and harvesting schedule, making sure
that the machinery adequately addresses the specific needs of all the
villages. When finished with the arable land in the six beneficiary
communities, the machinery will also be used to help farmers from
the neighboring communities.

RUBEN SAFRASTYAN: TURKEY SHOWS INTEREST IN HAMSHEN PROBLEM

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.07.2008 13:38 GMT+04:00

"Hamshen and Hamshen Armenians. History and Culture" international
conference started in Yerevan today. The goal of the conference is to
encourage further studies, to raise public awareness and to establish
ties with Hamshen Armenians.

"The problem of Hamshen and Hamshen Armenians attracts more and more
attention. I am hopeful that this conference will help us to better
understand the peculiarities of our nation and its manifestations
in various geographical and religious spheres," Ruben Safrastyan,
Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the RA Academy of
Sciences, said in his opening remarks. "The problem is also in focus
in Turkey. Certainly, we can’t agree with some Turkish historians
who rate Hamshen Armenians as Turkic tribes."

Experts from Armenia, Turkey and Russia studying the history and
culture of Hamshen Armenians attended the conference, organizers of
which hope for further collaboration.

EXTRAORDINARY ASSISTANCE TO BE DIRECT

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on July 23, 2008
Armenia

Touching upon the bellicose announcements made by Azerbaijan,
General Secretary of the Organization of the Collective Security
Treaty Nikolay Bordyuja underscored yesterday that the Collective
Security Treaty observes the aggression towards any member country
as an encroachment against all the countries. "Besides that we have
an agreement on giving extraordinary military assistance to all the
countries that have suffered from aggression.

And if similar thing happens the procedure of giving extraordinary
assistance will work immediately."

GLASS SCIENCE; REPORTS FROM R.M. HOVHANNISYAN ET AL HIGHLIGHT RECENT RESEARCH IN GLASS SCIENCE

Science Letter
July 22, 2008

According to recent research from Yerevan, Armenia, "An insufficient
level of investigations on barium titanium borate system both
in crystalline and in glassy states has stimulated the present
research. The phase diagram of the ternary BaO-TiO2-B2O3, system
have been constructed revealing six ternary eutectic and seven
peritectic compositions in the ternary system and two new binary
eutectic compositions in the BaO-B2O3 corrected system."

"The phase diagram in the pseudo-binary barium borate-barium titanate
system is revised. The new crystalline 2BaO.TiO2.B2O3 compound is
revealed at the same glass composition crystallisation. It melted
incongruently at 940 degrees C with the formation of melt and
barium titanate. The x-ray characteristics of 2BaO.TiO2B2O3 are
reported. It has orthorhombic or tetragonal crystal symmetry and
lattice constants (A): a-11.84, b-9.64, c-18.24, Z=21. The influence
of various methods of melt casting on the glass forming ability in
the ternary BaO-TiO2-B2O3 system is investigated. The expanded glass
formation area changes from stable glass forming barium tetraborate
up to binary dibarium borate and tip to barium dititanate," wrote
R.M. Hovhannisyan and colleagues (see also Glass Science).

The researchers concluded: "A clear correlation between glass forming
ability and eutectic areas is revealed in the investigated system."

Hovhannisyan and colleagues published their study in Physics
and Chemistry of Glasses – European Journal of Glass Science and
Technology Part B (Mutual influence of barium borates, titanates
and borontitanates on phase diagram and glass formation in the
BaO-TiO2-B2O3 system. Physics and Chemistry of Glasses – European
Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part B, 2008;49(2):63-67).

For additional information, contact R.M. Hovhannisyan, Institute
Materials Science Agh, 17 Charents St., Yerevan 375025, Armenia.

Publisher contact information for the Physics and Chemistry of Glasses
– European Journal of Glass Science and Technology Part B is: Society
Glass Technology, Unit 9, Twelve O Clock Court, 21 Attercliffe Rd.,
Sheffield S4 7WW, S Yorkshire, England.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
July 21 2008

Governor approves gendarmerie probe over Dink murder

Trabzon Governor Nuri Okutan has given permission to launch an
investigation into two gendarmerie officers to ascertain whether their
alleged dereliction of duty played a role in the murder of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

A probe into the Dink assassination revealed that a group of
ultranationalist youths were behind the murder. Strong evidence
suggested that some members of the group had ties to the police
department in northern Trabzon, the hometown of the conspirators. Some
gendarmerie officers later confirmed that they had been tipped off
about the plot to kill Dink before the murder was committed.
Suspicious of contradictory statements by former head of the Trabzon
Gendarmerie Command Col. Ali Ã-z and intelligence chief
Capt. Metin Yıldız, who previously refused to cooperate
with the investigation, inspectors from the Interior Ministry last
week asked Governor Okutan to grant them authorization to launch an
investigation into Ã-z and Yıldız, along with five
gendarmerie officers who allegedly had knowledge of the plot to murder
Dink months before the incident occurred. Okutan approved their
request yesterday.

21 July 2008, Monday

Reuters, UK
July 20 2008

Turkish security officials face Dink murder inquiry
Sun Jul 20, 2008 4:41pm EDT

ISTANBUL, July 20 (Reuters) – Two Turkish security officials are
facing investigation over last year’s murder of Turkish Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, state-run news agency Anatolian said on Sunday.

The pair, named only as Colonel A.O. and Captain M.Y., are suspected
of "hiding information and failing to act" on reports Dink was in
danger, Anatolian quoted Trabzon governor Nuri Okutan as saying.

The probe is one of the first into allegations that police failed to
act on a tip off about the threat to Dink, who was shot dead outside
his Istanbul office in January 2007.

According to the court indictment, one of the defendants in the Dink
case acted as a police informer and told police of plans to
assassinate the editor in the months before the murder.

Dink received numerous death threats due to articles urging Turkey to
accept responsibility for its part in the mass killings of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks and Kurds in 1915.

The investigation comes as the military is under increasing scrutiny
following a wave of detentions and arrests that have targeted several
serving and retired army officers for allegedly planning a coup to
topple to ruling AK Party. (Editing by Jon Boyle)

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA ADDRESSES HIS PEOPLE ON OCCASION OF 100TH DAY OF HIS OFFICE

ArmInfo
2008-07-18 18:01:00

Today President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan addressed his people on
occasion of 100th day of his office.

The press service of the President of Armenia quotes Sargsyan as
saying that the 100th day of his office is just a pretext to once
again outline the development priorities of Armenia. In the past 100
days of his office Sargsyan has tried to give an ear to all hopes,
expectations and demands of his citizens and to create a firm basis
for further reforms.

Among the major priorities of Armenia is further strengthening armed
Forces, ensuring national security, improving the work of the police
and the judiciary, enhancing the efficiency of the economic policy,
particularly, in tax and customs sectors. Certain progress has been
made during the period.

The other results will be summed up shortly. "I have begun to implement
the program that was approved by most of you and that contains
solutions to specific problems. The past 100 days have proved that
some of the problems can be solved even quicker than expected, while
the others will require more time and effort. I don’t mean that you
must be patient. I don’t like waiting either. I am also impatient to
see the results of the reforms, to know that our programs to prevent
injustice, indifference, corruption and poverty have come true,"
Sargsyan says in his address.

He has asked his citizens to ask their friends, relatives, neighbors
"what changes have taken place in the country during the period?"

FRANCE WELCOMES ARMENIA’S PROPOSALS TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.07.2008 16:25 GMT+04:00

The Armenian-Turkish relations are important for France. French leaders
discuss the issue with their Turkish counterparts, France’s Ambassador
to Armenia Serge Smessov said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"We do welcome the proposals of the Armenian side and the messages
Turkey has sent recently. We think that a country which wishes to
join the European Union can’t continuously neglect establishment of
relations and keep the borders closed," he said.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has invited Gul to visit Yerevan for
a soccer match on September 6, marking a shift in relations between
two states which have no diplomatic ties.

"Such a participation would depend on the developments ahead of the
match," Turkish Ali Babacan said when commenting on the invitation.

PRESS RELEASE
The British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group
9 Cliveden Place,
London SW1W 8LA
Tel: 020 7730 5579
Fax: 020 7730 6654
Email: [email protected]

The Members of the British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group,
having been briefed about the latest resolution of the Armenian
Government to invite the Turkish President to a football match in
Armenia and to set-up an International Scholars Organisation
commissioned to study and provide documents related to the Armenian
Genocide , expressed their appreciation for the peaceful settlement of
all Turkish-Armenian differences and welcomed any step that could bring
peace and stability to the countries of the Caucasus and asked some
questions :

. Will the current Armenian Diplomatic Protocol regarding visits by
Guests of Honour apply and will the Turkish President be invited to
visit the Matenadaran , the Armenian Genocide Memorial Museum and the
Holy See of Eshmiadzine ? ( Sites visited by every British
Parliamentarian invited to Armenia , since 1992)

. Will the Turkish President agree to visit a memorial erected to
commemorate an event which , according to the Turkish Government ,
never happened?

. In which country will the conference analysing the documents
referring to the Armenian Genocide be held?

. Will the historians and scholars participating to that conference
be subjected to prosecution , according to Turkish Penal Code 301?

. Although Article 301 refers to internal Turkish judicial issues but
is there an agreement between the two Presidents to abolish Penal Code
301 or will that Code be lifted and kept pending only for the duration
of the conference?

. Have the two steps taken by the Armenian President been
conditioned by a secret agreement between the two Leaders to open the
borders between the two countries?

. Is the Group to pursue its efforts and lobbying in the British
Parliament for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide or wait for that
conference and its Scholars Report?

. Is the previous Report issued by the 126 Scholars who had studied
the documentation of the Armenian Genocide and presented their findings
to be disgarded?

The British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group would welcome the
opening of borders and the establishment of friendly diplomatic and
commercial relations between Armenia and Turkey and would appreciate
some clarification regarding the issues aforementioned.

Odette Bazil
Co-Founder and Executive Secretary
The British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group

SUN MICROSYSTEMS I.T. LABORATORY TO APPEAR IN ARMENIA’S STATE ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY

ARKA
July 14

Sun Microsystems will open an IT laboratory at the State Engineering
University. A corresponding agreement was signed between Armenian
Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan and University Rector Vostanik
Marukhyan.

Minister Yeritsyan said special scholarships will be granted to
encourage efficient operation of the lab.

"We have already gained extensive experience in business-university
cooperation which is the result of the state policy," the minister
said.

Marukhyan said specialists from other educational establishments will
also be attracted to the laboratory’s activity to ensure European
standards of education.

This is a five-year project being implemented as part of Sun
Microsystems` program to create advanced educational and technological
centres in Armenia.

The mission of the research laboratory is to improve the quality of
IT education, establish up-to-date technical and technological means,
train and re-train both the students and their teachers. N.H.