Author: Vardapetian Ophelia

FREE OPHTHALMOLOGIC SERVICES TO BE RENDERED IN 2007 TO RESIDENTS OF
KOTAYK, LORI, SHIRAK AND TAVUSH REGIONS OF ARMENIA

Yerevan, February 2. ArmInfo. The Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) will
mark the beginning of its new operational season in February 2007 by
conducting free of charge eye screening for the vulnerable population
of the Kanaeker-Zeitun district in Yerevan in close collaboration with
the District Municipality.

In the scope of the USAID/AECP Primary and Opthalmologic Healthcare
Alliance, fifteen schools including four special schools, fifteen
kindergartens, three soup kitchens as well as the vulnerable
population of the district will participate in eye screenings
scheduled to commence on February 19th and last until mid March.

Earlier this year the AECP finalized its activities in Ararat region
of Armenia where following over two months of intensive work 13, 765
people were screened including 8, 084 children, 1, 080 patients were
referred to the Mobile Eye Hospital (MEH) for further examination and
treatment, 349 were operated on and 124 patients received laser
treatment. As an additional service provided in the scope of the
project, over 1, 700 eye glasses were prescribed and delivered to the
most vulnerable population of Ararat region.

According to the AECP Yerevan Office Country Director Ms. Nune
Yeghiazaryan, the major priorities for the organization this year
include eye screening missions to Kotayk, Lori, Shirak and Tavush
regions of Armenia that are scheduled to commence from March
2007. Additionally, an extensive Public Education and Communication
campaign is planned to improve public attitudes towards eye care and
prevention and to encourage the population in the regions to attend
free of charge eye screening offered by the AECP.

One of the key highlights of the year 2007 will be the Second Medical
International Congress to be held in Armenia in June. During the
conference the AECP will lead the Satellite Symposia on Ophthalmology
with the participation of world leading specialists and doctors from
Armenia. The Symposia will be followed by master classes conducted by
famous opthalmologists from around the world in the Wet Lab Center
recently established by the AECP with the generous donation from
Pfaiser International.

Summarizing the results of the year 2006, Ms. Yeghiazaryan stressed
that last year had been a year of considerable progress and growth
for the organization. "We managed to not only increase the number of
patients benefiting from the AECP services, but also to improve the
accessibility to eye care for the pouplation in some of the most
remote parts of Armenia," – Ms. Yeghiazaryan said.

The opening of the Education Center in Malayan Opthalmological Clinic
in April 2006 stressed the significance and value of the medical
education that the AECP constatnly promotes through various
initiatives. In the scope of the AECP’s medical training program, over
600 medical workers have improved their professional skills and
knowledge. Another important milestone for the AECP was the
inauguration of the Low Vision Clinic at the Kanaker-Zeitun Medical
Center. The Low Vision Clinic has been operational since October 2006
providing people with low vision with various services designed to
maximize patients’ existing vision and to help improve their quality
of life. In a constant effort to help eliminate preventable blindness
in Armenia since its inception in 1992 to date, the AECP has already
reached over 130,000 people across Armenia who benefited from high
quality eye care services offered in the scope of the project.

Founded in 1992, in the United States by an American-Armenian
ophthalmologist, Dr. Roger Ohanesian, the Armenian EyeCare Project
(AECP) is a California based nonprofit corporation dedicated to the
elimination of preventable blindness in Armenia. In 2002, the AECP
established an office in Yerevan and the following year launched its
Seven-Year Initiative, "Bringing Sight to Armenian Eyes." The
Initiative has five comprehensive, integrated components developed to
eliminate preventable blindness. They include direct patient care,
medical education and training, public education, research and
capacity building. The AECP has been a USAID partner since 2004.

ARMENIAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR’S OUTPUT AMOUNTS TO 100 MILLION
DOLLARS IN 2006

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, NOYAN TAPAN. Output of about 100 million USD was
produced in Armenia’s information technology sector in 2006. The RA
Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development Tigran Davtian said
this. According to him, in recent years the IT sector growth rates
made 15-20%, which exceed the index of the country’s GDP growth
rates. It was noted that more than 120 companies operate in the IT
sector, with the total number of their employees making 5,000.

T. Davtian noted that in 2006, investments of over 10 mln USD were
made in the sector. In his words, this year the investment flow into
educational and scientific infrastructures of the country’s IT sector
will continue – in the form of establishing scientific and edicational
complexes. Particularly, Syposys will open its center in the area of
Viasphere Technopark. Epygy Labs AM company is also going to open a
new center.

Fresno Bee , CA
Feb 1 2007

Zabelle Goorabian leaves Fresno with a legacy of giving

By Jim Steinberg / The Fresno Bee02/01/07 05:10:32

A family graveside service for longtime Fresno benefactor Zabelle
Karahadian Goorabian will be held Friday, followed at 11 a.m. by a
memorial service and luncheon at Pilgrim Armenian Congregational
Church.

Mrs. Goorabian gave her energies and financial support for decades to
Fresno religious, cultural and athletic projects. She died Friday, at
90, from effects of a stroke she suffered last year.

She and her late husband, Harry, supported the Fresno Philharmonic,
the Fresno Metropolitan Museum and Fresno Art Museum. They
established the Goorabian Family Life Center at Pilgrim Armenian
Congregational Church.

Harry "Har" Goorabian died in 1997. The couple founded Mid Valley
Distributors in Fresno, which became a dominant Central California
wholesaler of nuts, bolts and fasteners.

After her husband’s death, Mrs. Goorabian saw to it that the city of
Fresno, Riverpark Little League and young Fresnans in general could
enjoy Harry Goorabian Park in north Fresno.

Mrs. Goorabian was born in Fresno. She graduated from Roosevelt High
School and Fresno State College. She joined the business office of
the Karahadian family’s raisin packing company.

Mrs. Goorabian became an active supporter of the California Armenian
Home.

The Rev. Roger Minassian, former pastor of Pilgrim Armenian
Congregational Church, worked with Mrs. Goorabian, who had no
children, to establish the Goorabian Family Life Center there.

"She was a person of giving," Minassian said. "She had compassion for
the young."

Nephew Dr. Edward Karahadian III, a Fresno dentist, called his aunt
"a very dignified, modern woman for someone born to an ethnic family
in 1916. She and my uncle had an epic love affair, a wonderful life
together. She became my second mother and the matriarch of our clan."

Landscape architect Robert Boro worked with Mrs. Goorabian at the
California Armenian Home and the Goorabian ballpark.

"She was fun-loving," Boro said. "She enjoyed all those projects, and
took a personal interest."

Niece Allison Karahadian called her aunt a great listener who was
"easy to love." She taught by example at holiday and Sunday night
dinners, and around the kitchen sink afterward, that "this is
family," Karahadian said.

The family requests that any remembrance be sent to the California
Armenian Home, Children’s Hospital Central California or Hope Now for
Youth.

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
February 1, 2007 Thursday 4:14 PM MSK

Baku, Yerevan need to work to find solution to Karabakh problem –
Putin

Armenia and Azerbaijan should find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem themselves without shifting responsibility to Russia, Russian
President Vladimir Putin said.

"The burden of the problem should not be placed on us. You should
find an acceptable way to settle the situation yourself," the
president said at a news conference in the Kremlin on Thursday.

Moscow tries to assist Baku and Yerevan to find the solution to the
problem wherever possible, he said.

"However, you should make decisions yourselves. We cannot impose any
ways out from the current situation on anyone, because should we try
to do this, we will spoil relations with either the Armenians or the
Azeris for centuries," the president said.

Regnum, Russia
Jan 29 2007

OSCE MG co-chairs issue statement on results of their visit to region
(Armenia)

After four days of meetings, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs
(Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov – Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard
Fassier – France; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza –
United States) are encouraged by the constructive approach of the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they seek to finalize a set of
basic principles for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Russian Federation Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hosted Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mamedyarov for talks facilitated by the Co-chairs in Moscow on
Tuesday, January 23. The Co-chairs met with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Wednesday, January 24. On Thursday, January
25, they traveled to Nagorno-Karabakh to meet with NK leader Arkady
Ghukasian. They met with Armenian President Robert Kocharian in
Yerevan on Friday, January 26.

The co-chairs appreciate the efforts of all the interlocutors they
met during the week. It is the responsibility of the presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the assistance of the co-chairs, to find
a lasting, peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The
presidents are defending their national interests vigorously, and
they are doing so in a way that allows the peace process to continue
moving forward.

The co-chairs urge all parties to sustain this momentum in the
negotiations and to prepare their publics for the necessary
compromises. At the same time, the co-chairs urge continued pursuit
of confidence-building measures and maintenance of the ceasefire to
increase the level of trust and understanding between the sides.

America `Poised to Strike at Iran’s Nuclear Sites’ from Bases in Bulgaria
and Romania
Report suggest that `US defensive ring’ may be new front in war on terror.

Published on Sunday, January 28, 2007 by the _Sunday Herald_
() / Scotland
by Gabriel Ronay

President Bush is preparing to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities before
the end of April and the US Air Force’s new bases in Bulgaria and
Romania would be used as back-up in the onslaught, according to an
official report from Sofia.

"American forces could be using their two USAF bases in Bulgaria and
one at Romania’s Black Sea coast to launch an attack on Iran in
April," the Bulgarian news agency Novinite said.

The American build-up along the Black Sea, coupled with the recent
positioning of two US aircraft carrier battle groups off the Straits
of Hormuz, appears to indicate president Bush has run out of patience
with Tehran’s nuclear misrepresentation and non-compliance with the UN
Security Council’s resolution.

President Ahmeninejad of Iran has further ratcheted up tension in the
region by putting on show his newly purchased state of the art Russian
TOR-Ml anti-missile defence system.

Whether the Bulgarian news report is a tactical feint or a strategic
event is hard to gauge at this stage. But, in conjunction with the
beefing up of America’s Italian bases and the acquisition of
anti-missile defence bases in the Czech Republic and Poland, the
Balkan developments seem to indicate a new phase in Bush’s global war
on terror.

Sofia’s news of advanced war preparations along the Black Sea is
backed up by some chilling details. One is the setting up of new
refuelling places for US Stealth bombers, which would spearhead an
attack on Iran. "The USAF’s positioning of vital refuelling
facilities for its B-2 bombers in unusual places, including Bulgaria,
falls within the perspective of such an attack." Novinite named
Colonel Sam Gardiner, "a US secret service officer stationed in
Bulgaria", as the source of this revelation.

Curiously, the report noted that although Tony Blair, Bush’s main ally
in the global war on terror, would be leaving office, the president
had optedto press on with his attack on Iran in April.

Before the end of March, 3000 US military personnel are scheduled to
arrive "on a rotating basis" at America’s Bulgarian bases. Under the
US-Bulgarian military co-operation accord, signed in April,2006,an
airbase at Bezmer, a second airfield at Graf Ignitievo and a shooting
range at Novo Selo were leased to America. Significantly, last year’s
bases negotiations had at one pointrun into difficulties due to
Sofia’s demand "for advance warning if Washington intends to use
Bulgarian soil for attacks against other nations, particularly Iran".

Romania, the other Black Sea host to th US military, is enjoying a
dollar bonanza as its Mihail Kogalniceanu base at Constanta is being
transformed into an American "place d’arme". It is also vital to the
Iran scenario.

Last week, the Bucharest daily Evenimentual Zilei revealed the USAF is
to site several flights of F-l5, F-l6 and Al0 aircraft at the
Kogalniceanubase.

Admiral Gheorghe Marin, Romania’s chief of staff, confirmed "up to
2000 American military personnel will be temporarily stationed in
Romania".

In Central Europe, the Czech Republic and Poland have also found
themselves in the Pentagon’s strategic focus. Last week, Mirek
Topolanek, the Czech prime minister, and the country’s national
security council agreed to the siting of a US anti-missile radar
defence system at Nepolisy. Poland has also agreed to having a US
anti-missile missile base and interceptor aircraft stationed in the
country.

Russia, however, does not see the chain of new US bases on its
doorstep asa "defensive ring". Russia’s defence chief has branded the
planned US anti-missile missile sites on Czech and Polish soil as "an
open threat to Russia".

Sergey Ivanov, Russia’s defence minister,spoke more circumspectly
while emphasizing Moscow’s concern. He said: "Russia is no worried.
Its strategic nuclear forces can assure in any circumstance its
safety. Since neither Tehran, nor Pyongyang possess intercontinental
missiles capable of threatening theUSA, from whom is this new missile
shield supposed to protect the West? All it actually amounts to is
that Prague and Warsaw want to demonstrate their loyalty to
Washington."

Bush’s Iran attack plan has brought into sharp focus the possible
costs to Central and Eastern Europe of being "pillars of Pax
Americana".

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Jan 26 2007

Israeli Bank Invests in TBC Bank with Plans to Expand in Region

Civil.ge ()

26 January 2007 – Israel’s second largest bank, Leumi, will buy 20%
of the Georgian TBC Bank’s share capital, TBC Bank said on January
26.

A relevant term sheet on financing the capital increase of TBC Bank
by Leumi through the purchase of newly issued shares has already been
signed. The amount involved in the deal has not been disclosed.

`After the closing of the transaction, Leumi’s shareholding in the
company’s share capital will be 20%. The Georgian shareholders will
jointly retain the controlling interest in the bank,’ TBC Bank said
in a statement.

The Bank Leumi Group, with assets in excess of USD 63.62 billion, has
a presence in 21 countries.

Founded in 1992, TBC Bank is one of the leading banks in Georgia. It
reported a GEL 25,4 million net profit in 2006.

`Israel is one of the leading investor in Georgia which largely
determined our choice to establish partnership with Leumi Bank,’
Mamuka Khazaradze, founder and supervisory board chairman of TBC
Bank, told the Rustavi 2 TV’s business news program on January 26.

He said that TBC Bank will use additional investments to expand in
the South Caucasus region.

TBC Bank is currently considering buying into one of the banks in
Azerbaijan as part of the regional expansion policy, Khazaradze said.

He noted that investments in Armenia are also considered, but he
added `Armenian market is less interesting than that of Azerbaijan.’

He said the Leumi Bank is aiming at entering Eastern European markets
and investments into TBC Bank was part of this policy.

`And now TBC Bank will become a grip through which it will be
possible to expand in the region… We also eye Ukrainian market,’
Khazaradze said.

Mehmed Ali Birand: We had to prevent Dink assassination

ArmRadio.am
26.01.2007 17:54

Famous Turkish commentator Mehmed Ali Birand has expressed an
opinion today that Armenia’s suggestion to open the border without
preconditions should not be denied.

According to him, if Armenia’s suggestion is accepted and a dialogue is
launched, it will be possible to delay the discussion of the Armenian
Genocide bill in the US Congress. "It will possible to put aside the
French bill on penalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide. Everyone
will be waiting to see what the Armenian-Turkish dialogue will give,"
Birand wrote in the Turkish Daily News.

"The only problem on the way of launching dialogue with Armenia are
the relations with Azerbaijan. Azeri Government will be discontent
and will react harshly. It can even discuss the issue of suspending
provision of oil through Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. Turkey must be able to
convince Azerbaijan, to explain that Turkey having firm diplomatic
ties with Yerevan will have greater influence on Armenia’s policy,
which will benefit Azerbaijan," he said.

Turning to the moods in Turkey, the Turkish commentator wrote: "Why we
are so happy? The reason of this happiness was that Dink’s murderer
was caught 32 hours after the crime. Why are we so glad? Catching
Dink’s murderer was not a big thing. It was much more important not
to allow Dink’s assassination occur. We had to defend him."

The Australian, Australia
Jan 24 2007

Silent salute to editor killed for ‘insulting Turks’
Suna Erdem, Istanbul
January 25, 2007

TENS of thousands of mourners marched in silence yesterday through
Istanbul behind the coffin of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink, who was shot dead by a teenager with suspected nationalist links.

Carrying black banners bearing the slogans "We are all Armenian" and
"We are all Hrant Dink", the 100,000- strong crowd of Turks, ethnic
Armenians and foreigners walked nearly 8km expressing their anger,
not with chanting but with their quiet presence, asrequested by Dink’s
widow, Rakel.

Marchers took time off from work and school to join the procession,
and thousands leaned out of their office windows to applaud, weep
and throw flowers as the hearse carrying Dink’s body passed.

The 52-year-old journalist’s daughter, Sera, carrying a framed portrait
of her father, wept as she walked in front of the coffin.

In a speech outside the offices of Agos, the Turkish-Armenian newspaper
where Dink, its editor, was shot on Friday, Rakel Dink urged the
mourners to work for an end to the hostile nationalistic environment
that still has many Turks in its grip despite recent liberal reforms.

"Do not be satisfied with this much; do not be satisfied with today,"
she cried out to the crowd. "The killer was a baby once. We cannot
achieve anything if we do not question the darkness that creates a
murderer out of a baby."

Dink, along with several other writers, including the Nobel laureate
Orhan Pamuk, had been prosecuted under the controversial Article 301
of the Turkish penal code for his views on the killing of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks in 1915. Turkey denies that this amounted to a genocide
and treats any departure from the official line with suspicion.

Liberal Turks, including Pamuk, say Article 301, which punishes
"insults to Turkish identity", is used to set people up as targets.

Authorities say Ogun Samast, 17, has confessed to the murder of Dink
for "insulting Turks".

Another man, Yasin Hayal, jailed recently for bombing a McDonald’s
restaurant, has admitted inciting him. A university student is being
held under suspicion of organising a cell that included Hayal and
commissioned the murder.

The killing of Dink, who had sought reconciliation between Muslim
Turks and Christian Armenians, harked back to the end of the 20th
century when dissenting journalists and other activists were felled
by militants with suspected links in the state intelligence apparatus.

Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan were conspicuously absent at the service in an Armenian church
by the Golden Horn waterway, but the public and international response
was overwhelming.

Ambassadors, Turkish ministers and MPs, members of the European
parliament and Armenian clerics from across the world crowded into
the church.

Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II called for expanded freedoms of speech
and more dialogue between Turks and Armenians.

U.S WORKS OUT PACKAGE OF MEASURES FOR ASSISTING ELECTIONS TO BE HELD
IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, JANUARY 24, NOYAN TAPAN. In 2005 the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) worked out a package of measures for
the purpose of assisting the process of holding the parliamentary and
presidential elections of 2007-2008 fairly. As U.S. Charge d’Affaires
in Armenia Anthony Godfrey reported at the January 24 press conference,
some events envisaged by the program have already started and some
programs will be implemented after RA President’s signing a decree
on holding the parliamentary elections.

In his words, the program envisages to assist both NGOs and state
structures. They are already working with RA Police, Passport
Department, as well as Central Electoral Commission organizing training
of territorial and district commissions’ members.

A.Godfrey stated that another international organizations, including
Council of Europe, UNDP also assist Armenia in organization of free and
fair elections. "Our goal is Armenia’s success, as the more legitimate
the government is, the better partner is can be for us," he said.