Author: Vardapetian Ophelia

VERY COLD: WHAT DID PRESCOTT MEAN?
Lena Badeyan

"Radiolur
16.01.2009 17:55

"Very cold." This common expression acquired a diplomatic color in
Armenia yesterday due fto John Prescott, one of the co-rapporteurs
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. This was the
only comment of the Monitorin Committee rapporteurs after the meetings
in Armenia. It turns out that Armenian Deputies have comprehended the
meaning of the expression in different ways. In any case, Deputies
are confident that the agenda of the meetings was very heavy and did
not have enough time to spend in the streets of Yerevan. Deputy of the
"Heritage" faction Anahit Bakhshyan saw ambiguity in the expression.

"I’m sure they were not cold. I’m sure that Mr. Prescott and Mr.

Colombier resided in the best and warmest hotel, and the matter is
not about physical cold. This ambiguous expression refers to making
us freeze.

Unfortunately, I’m afraid that after returning from Armenia they
will add more freezing points in their freezing report or resolution,
because thy saw that the requirements of PACE resolutions have not been
implemented. And the whole nation will feel the consequences of this
cold. Our citizens may freeze more than the authorities can imagine.

Member of the Orinats Yerkir faction Hovhannes Margaryan found it
hard to comment on John Prescott’s words.

"I don’t know why he said it. I will simply say that they gave no
interview after the meetings. I think making comments is the task
of journalists, they should try to require them to explain what
they meant."

Since the European diplomats left Armenia without any comment,
both the journalists and the politicians were closely watching their
faces. At last, part of the society came to the conclusion that they
left Armenia disappointed and angry. Mpp Viktor Dallakyan confessed
he attaches no importance to the expression on the diplomats’ faces.

"I do believe that diplomats should be able to hide their feelings,
and if we manage to make conclusions from the expression of their
faces, then they are bad diplomats. Anyway, I think that Armenia faces
a certain danger of being deprived of the right to vote. My opinion
is that if Armenia is deprived of the right to vote, it will have
negative consequences for our country’s international image. Secondly,
Azerbaijan may use the opportunity to have a number of anti-Armenian
decisions passed. I have that concern."

ARMENIA NEEDS PROJECT MANAGERS, PRIME MINISTER

Trend News Agency
Jan 16 2009
Azerbaijan

Still at the end of the past year our senior officials were thinking
of how to resist the second phase of the world crisis. Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan declared during one of the recurrent government
sittings that in order to overcome the financial crisis it is necessary
to present business development programs. A special commission chaired
by the Prime Minister has been formed to coordinate the work, REPROTED
Public Radio.

"The private sector should also present business development programs,
especially considering that 2009 is going to be a hard year and will
demand serious work from all of us. All the Ministers will work,"
Tigran Sargsyan promised.

The Prime Minister informed that 70 applications have already been
submitted, some of which are in the stage of discussion. "The main
emphasis will be laid on import, therefore the Ministry of Agriculture
will have more to do," he said.

The issue of Armenia’s industrial policy is again on the
agenda. Discussions on issues of development of chemical, light and
food industry will start next week. According to the Prime Minister,
"this can create favorable conditions for attracting private
investments, on one hand, and clarifying the state policy in those
areas, on the other hand."

The Head of Government noted also that our country needs project
managers. The ministries will start retraining of the personnel to
fill the gap, and by the end of the year we will have 22 project
managers. The Ministries should actively work in this direction.

DICK AVAKIAN HELD COURT AT DOWNTOWN FRESNO STORE
By Jim Guy

Fresno Bee
Jan 16 2009
CA

You never knew who you might meet in Dick’s Menswear & Shoes in
Chinatown — congressmen, fire chiefs, farmers or perhaps William
Saroyan. But you could be sure that Dick Avakian would be there,
holding forth at the center of a lively conversation.

Mr. Avakian, 93, died Tuesday. He presided over the store bearing
his name at 1526 Kern St. for 58 years. It was the place former
Congressman Tony Coelho went to buy the clothes he wore on the floor
of the House of Representatives and where farmworkers picked out
straw hats to shield themselves from the Valley sun. It was also a
place where Mr. Avakian’s opinions on baseball, football, politics
and world affairs were as sought after as the dry goods.

"Everybody knew Dickie," said Gene Lamoure. "He was one-of-a-kind."

Lamoure and Mr. Avakian were friends for more than 50 years. They
first met because Lamoure’s family had a dry cleaning plant nearby
at G and Inyo streets.

"I grew up there [in Chinatown], and he did, too," Lamoure said. "We
became real good friends."

The store was always at the center of Mr. Avakian’s life, Lamoure
said. "Lots and lots of people came in. Dickie never left the store —
he might miss a sale on some shoes," Lamoure joked. However, Lamoure
could get Mr. Avakian away to hunt ducks or exercise: "I used to jog
with Dickie, but then we got too old."

Saroyan was one of the more well-known people to frequent the store. He
would stop by to chew the fat, Lamoure added.

Former Fresno Bee reporter Eli Setencich said the store "was kind of
like a salon."

Setencich said old police captains and fire chiefs would drop in to
shoot the breeze, and Mr. Avakian had the inside dope on goings-on
at City Hall and police headquarters.

Mr. Avakian was also well versed in the history of Chinatown. He knew
about tong wars and tunnels under the streets, Setencich said.

Mr. Avakian’s cousin, Loretta Satterfield, said he was also an avid
reader with a keen interest in the Armenian genocide.

Another of Mr. Avakian’s oldest friends was former California State
University, Fresno, professor Roger Tatarian. The two went to grade
school together, and both later attended Fresno State. Setencich said
Tatarian had a very liberal viewpoint and Mr. Avakian was conservative,
and the two enjoyed debating.

Mr. Avakian wasn’t shy about sharing his opinions with others. Coelho,
once one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington, recalled
Mr. Avakian’s gruff manner in a 2003 interview: "He was for Reagan
and I wasn’t, and I heard about that, of course."

Mr. Avakian became an entrepreneur in 1945 when he took over from
his father’s shoemaking business, which began in 1915. He quickly
expanded into the clothing and hat line, Satterfield said.

He sold out in 2003, saying in an interview, "My body is telling me
it’s time to quit. I’m wore out. …What do you want from me?"

Graveside services for Mr. Avakian will be 1 p.m. Wednesday at Ararat
Cemetery. Visitation will be Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Yost &
Webb Funeral Home.

CBA REDUCES REFINANCING RATE BY 0.25% TO 7%

Noyan Tapan

Jan 14, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. At the January 13 sitting, the
Board of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) reduced the refinancing
rate by 0.25% to 7%.

According to the CBA PR Service, 0.1% inflation was recorded in
December on November 2008, as a result of which the 12-month inflation
declined by 1.4% to 5.2%. The target index of inflation was ensured.

The CBA Board stated that the external inflation pressures continued
to weaken in December 2008 due to the tendencies to a decline in the
world economic growth rates. These developments continued to become
apparent in the domestic market of food and nonfood commodities,
resulting in a considerable decline of general inflation rates.

The CBA Board believes that despite the uncertainty in further external
and domestic developments, the fall in international prices as a result
of the decline of global demand and its impact on domestic prices will
continue in the forecast period, due to which the fall in inflation
rates will be of a continuous character. Under such conditions the
CBA Board considers it expedient to continue conducting a policy of
weakening the monetary and credit conditions, thus contributing to
the maintenance of economic growth rates in the long term.

IRAN, ARMENIA EXCHANGE VIEWS ON CONNECTING RAILROAD NETWORKS

IRNA
Jan 15, 2009
Tehran

Armenian Deputy Minister in Transportations and Connections in a
meeting with Iran’s Railroad Managing Director conferred and exchanged
views on how to connect two countries’ railroad networks.

In the meeting, Hassan Ziari told his Armenian counterpart that the
project is among the important ones for both government and nations .

He added that the total length of the project is around 540 kilometers
480 kilometers of which is in Armenian territory and the other
60 kilometers in Iran, so if the Armenia would coplete and put to
use its part, Iran, too, would implement its own part in shortest
possible time.

Ziari also announced Iran’s readiness to sell or lend train wagons
to Armenia.

The Armenian Deputy Minister Biglarian, for his part, said that the
technical and financial studies of the project have been completed
by Armenian side and the Iranian officials, too, have presented their
report on their own study of the matter.

He added that the final study on the project would be done by an
Austrian company which will end the next month.

On financial sources of the project, Biglarian said that the Armenian
Government would provide 50 percent of the expenses, adding, "We
expect Iran to provide 25 percent of the expenses in the framework
of an inter-governmental loan."

‘SEARCH OF GENERALS’ HOMES LASTED ONLY MINUTES’

Today’s Zaman
Jan 13 2009
Turkey

The searches inside the homes of two senior generals detained in last
week’s police operations into the Ergenekon terrorist organization
were completed in nearly 10 minutes, sources at the scene have said.

Last week, 33 individuals, including retired senior generals Tuncer
Kılınc and Erdal Å~^enel, were detained as part of the ongoing
investigation into Ergenekon, whose members are accused of various
bombings, killings and other sensational unrest, apparently staged in
the hopes of triggering a coup d’etat against the government. The two
generals’ houses at a residential complex belonging to the military
were also searched during last week’s operations.

The two generals’ homes were not searched by the police but by
a military prosecutor and a civilian prosecutor from a higher
criminal court. The police were not allowed inside the buildings,
and the prosecutors were let in two and a half hours after their
arrival. Similarly, sources said, the police were not allowed into
the house of Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez, who turned himself in to the
police yesterday evening. Meanwhile, police have established that the
lieutenant colonel, who stayed a fugitive until yesterday evening,
was at the Land Forces Command at the time of the search of his
house. During last week’s searches, a cache of arms was found in the
lieutenant colonel’s other house in Ankara’s Sincan district. Nothing
was found in his house in the military residential complex.

The police, who had been monitoring Dönmez’s phone conversations
for months, also established that Dönmez received a phone call from
an unidentified individual who said, "Where are you? The police
are looking for you." Dönmez then replied, "OK, I’m on my way,"
but then vanished only to reappear yesterday. Dönmez was sent to
Metris Prison immediately, over charges of being in possession of
firearms registered to the military.

Police not allowed in

Five prosecutors were assigned by the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s
Office in last week’s operations. The home of former Supreme Court
of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Sabih Kanadoglu was also searched, but
the search could not start for hours because of the inadequate number
of prosecutors.

In the retired general suspects’ homes, the police arrived at 7 a.m.,
but Central Command allowed the search warrant to be issued only
at 9:30 a.m. Officials from Central Command also allowed only one
authorized prosecutor in. Nothing was found inside the house during
the nearly 10-minute searches, the prosecutors reported. The average
search time in last week’s operations in the houses of non-military
suspects was six hours.

Central Command looking for mole

Meanwhile, news stories about an alleged special order from Central
Command’s Special Protection Battalion Command to all military
residential complexes not to let police officers inside have caused
Central Command to start an investigation into the source of the
leak. Military sources say every military officer serving at the
command was questioned during the investigation and that nobody was
allowed outside during the weekend, one day after the news piece
appeared in the national press.

Ä°brahim Å~^ahin knew about police monitoring

Recent evidence suggests that Ä°brahim Å~^ahin, a former senior police
official who was the deputy head of the National Police Department’s
Special Operations Unit, knew about the police investigation about
him and that he was aware that his phone conversations were being
monitored. In a transcript of a phone conversation between him and
a military officer who is currently on duty in the army, Å~^ahin
says, "These uncles are after me," using slang to refer to National
Intelligence Organization (MÄ°T) agents.

Å~^ahin is accused of plotting to kill Armenian and Alevi leaders
based on documents found in his home. The documents showed that the
suspects have done extensive intelligence research on the targets
they planned to assassinate.

–Boundary_(ID_BOtz2cP6D5s5Ti79bm1qn w)–

EU EXTERNAL RELATIONS AND ENP COMMISSIONER ARRIVING ON ARMENIA JAN. 19

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.01.2009 16:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As PanARMENIAN.Net came to know from informed
sources, the European Commissioner will meet with the republic’s
leadership to discuss the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the Eastern
Partnership.

Ms. Waldner is also expected to visit Baku and Yerevan.

"THE ONLY SUGGESTION"
by Shahan Kandaharian

Aztag Daily
Jan 10 2009
Lebanon

On January 5, the French daily "Liberation" printed an open-letter
by French-Armenian journalist Jean Keheyan titled "To My Turkish
Brothers". The focus of the letter was the campaign organized by
Turkish intellectuals to ask forgiveness from the Armenian people. It
becomes obvious from the title that the appreciation goes for the
Turkish intellectuals who have taken such an initiative. The writer
considers them to be an honor for Turkey.

After talking about the Genocide as an undeniable fact, Jean Keheyan
puts the responsibility of the Genocide on the Ottoman Turks and the
Kurds who assisted them. The issue is not the criminal responsibility
of the Kurds in this case. When the term "the perpetrators" is
used and the Kurds are mentioned beside the Turks, that is to be
considered as a clear neglect of the differentiation of the political
shades in the matter. Putting the Turks and the Kurds on the same
level of responsibility by a reporter would at least in this case
be interpreted as hastiness. Let’s move forward. In his letter
the Armenian commentator is also making simplified generalizations
concerning the approaches that prime minister Erdogan and president
Gul are manifesting towards Armenian issues. Prime minister Erdogan
has refused to hear the Turkish pleas for an apology whereas by his
visit to Armenia president Gul has inspired new hopes and opened new
horizons for Armenians.

The first statement cannot be argued of course. However, to be
restrained, the second one repeats the stances of the Turkish media
in the pages of "Liberation"… by an Armenian signature.

The rest of the letter can be introduced. There are certain ideas
that can be agreed upon without any reservation. Others need
clarifications. And until this point, you can argue, approach with
reservation, share, agree or question and discuss.

The unacceptable part is the following: "We, as French of Armenian
descent, support you. Our only suggestion is the recognition of the
historic fact. We don’t have a territorial or property demand".

Let’s not be hasty and give way to angry reactions. First of all,
who is the "we". If it is the French of Armenian descent, as Jean
Keheyan puts it, then around three hundred thousand French-Armenians
are behind that thought and these Armenians express their support,
through "Liberation", to the Turkish intellectuals who support a
pardon, announcing for the first time that they have no territorial
or compensation demand… The lines following that statement make the
thought of the "French of Armenian descent" clearer; they are saying:
just recognize the Genocide and we let go of territorial demands and
any kind of compensation.

The pardon demanding Turks have not talked about territorial
issues and haven’t demanded the Armenian side to let go of the
compensation issue. Your support for the pardon demand was enough,
Mr. Keheyan. Where did the necessity of making such a suggestion,
made public by an Armenian columnist, who has given himself the duty
of talking as a representative of French-Armenians, come from? Before
handing their columns to well known newspapers, people like Jean
Keheyan must pause and think for a second whose water-mill are they
feeding in with their "the only suggestions". Otherwise, we would
hope that such a suggestion would really be the "only" one made and
not be repeated.

TALAT PASHA COMMITTEE: APOLOGIZING CAMPAIGN OCCURRED DUE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM ABROAD

APA
Jan 12 2009
Azerbaijan

Istanbul. Mayis Alizadeh -APA. Talat Pasha Committee Executive Council
held large meeting in The Marmara Hotel, Istanbul on January 11.

Public announcement related to the initiative of "apologizing to
Armenians" was made at the meeting presided by the chairman of the
Talat Pasha Committee Consultation Council, founder-president of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Rauf Denktash, APA Turkish bureau
reports. "The "Eastern issue" used for dividing of Ottoman Empire in
the past turned now into the Great Middle East Project directed toward
drawing of the region’s map again. The "initiative of apology" has
no relation to the history, sense and conscience. Such "initiatives"
will damage on our country for a long time. We would like to call the
public attention to that such "initiatives" occur due recommendations
from abroad. The genocide is an international falsehood. We defended
our homeland".

"Armenia is keeping 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands under occupation
for 20 years. Russia, one of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,
signed $800 arm deal with Armenia last year. There are very strong
Armenian lobbies in the United States and France. Do you believe in
peaceful liberation of Azerbaijani lands in such situation?", APA
correspondent asked Rauf Denktash, who answered: "Everything depends
on Azerbaijan. You must make this problem the prior issue of your
agenda and unite the people. The young people will not forget Karabakh
and will always ready to struggle for liberation of homeland. We,
the Talat Pasha Committee, speak about Karabakh problem to the world
and Azerbaijan will tirelessly struggle".

The Talat Pasha Committee discussed its plan of measures at the
meeting held behind closed doors.

TURKISH TERRORIST ORGANIZATION SCHEDULED MURDER OF ARMENIAN PATRIARCH

ArmInfo
2009-01-13 11:18:00

ArmInfo. The Turkish terrorist organization ‘Ergenekon’, among others,
scheduled murder of the ecumenical Patriarch of Archbishop Mesrop
Mutafyan.

As the Turkish mass media report, ‘Ergenekon’ scheduled to carry
out a series of assassinations, thus, arouse a wave of chaos in the
country and carry out a coup. In particular, it was scheduled to
remove the Turkish power structure, including the Prime Minister of
Turkey Recep Erdogan.