Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

UNITED JAVAKHK TURNS TO RA LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE BODIES
AZG Armenian Daily
22/11/2006
United Javakhk (UJ) democratic alliance turns to RA legislative and
executive bodies with a demand to stop criminal procedures for Vahagn
Chakhalian, a member of the alliance. The criminal procedures were
initiated on V. Chakhalian’s case on ‘trespassing of Armenian state
border’, the UJ statement to stated. Political persecution of the
national-political activist of Javakhk does not speak in favor of
Armenia. It arouses disbelieve and disrespect of Javakhk Armenians
towards official Yerevan. On the other hand, it does not speak in
favor of foreign policy of Armenia which should guarantee security
and respect national rights of the Diaspora Armenians. UJ expresses
a unanimous will of Javakhk population and says that severing of the
customs policy should be revised. The organization members emphasize
that the customs officers are corrupted and rudely address people
and that this state of things should be dealt with. UJ demands from
the Armenian legislative authorities to urgently prepare and present
a draft law on amendments of customs regulations and rules of cross
passing Armenian state borders to RA National Assembly.

ARMENIA: WHEAT HARVEST DECREASED BY 47.2%
Agrimarket Consulting, Ukraine
Nov 22 2006
The volume of wheat production in Armenia will decrease by 47.2% –
as compared to 2005, and will make up 210.000 tonnes against 397.000
tonnes in 2005.
According to Garnik Petrosyan, Head of the Plant Department of Ministry
of Agriculture of Armenia, wheat harvest totaled 208.000 tonnes by 1
November, 2006. Also, Petrosyan informed that the reason of volume
decrease is draught. The annual demand for the product in Armenia
makes up 500.000 tonnes. Russia and USA are the main exporters of
wheat to Armenia.
Till 25, November Commodity Credit Corporation of USA (CCC) is
dispatching 28.3 th t of wheat for South Caucasian states. Georgia
will get 15 ths t (214.94 USD/1t), Azerbaijan – 10.8 ths t, Azerbaijan
(214.94/1t), Armenia – 2.5 th t (210.16 USD/1t). CCC has been set
up to support agriculture producers providing loans and financing
for purchase.

ŞENSOY URGES ALL-OUT EFFORTS AGAINST ‘GENOCIDE’ MOVE IN US
Turkish Daily News
Nov 22 2006
Turkish Ambassador to the United States Nabi Şensoy yesterday
sought support from the Turkish government, opposition parties, the
press and business circles as well as nongovernmental organizations
in a move to prevent an alleged Armenian genocide resolution from
being brought up in the U.S. Congress.
“There is a need for all-out efforts,” Şensoy was quoted as saying
by the Anatolia news agency. Şensoy stressed it was significant
to obtain support from Turkish authorities, the government, the
opposition and NGOs.
Şensoy also said no resolution on the alleged genocide was
expected to appear on the agenda of the U.S. Congress by the end of
this year but added that it might be likely after the new Congress
takes charge as of January. “The U.S. administration will assume a
stance on the issue by taking into consideration the integrity of
bilateral relations [with Turkey],” he added.
A group of Turkish lawmakers including Istanbul deputy Egemen
Bagiş, a close aide to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies Reha Denemec and
Mevlut Cavuşoglu, as well as main opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP) deputy Zeynep Damla Gurel traveled to the United States
to attend the annual meeting of the Working Group on Turkey in the
U.S. Congress.
The Turkish lawmakers’ visit came after the election victory handed
control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate to the
Democrats following the Nov. 7 congressional elections. U.S. Armenian
groups have welcomed the Democratic Party’s landslide win in the
elections and voiced an expectation that the new Congress would
formally recognize last century’s Armenian killings in the Ottoman
Empire as genocide.
In France, a conference on minorities will be held on Nov. 25 on the
occasion of Armenian year, news reports said yesterday.
France declared September 2006-July 2007 as the Armenian year.
Ankara has warned Paris not to let the activities be dominated by
the alleged genocide. France welcomed the comment but said it cannot
control local activities to that effect.

TENSE TIME FOR TURKEY: EU TO DECIDE ON ITS FUTURE, POPE MAKES CONTROVERSIAL VISIT
by Peter Goodspeed, National Post
National Post (Canada)
November 20, 2006 Monday
All but Toronto Edition
Turkey’s relations with Europe are at a crucial turning point. Not
since the Polish King Jan Sobieski sent Pope Innocent XI news of his
triumph over the Ottoman Turks at the gates of Vienna in 1683 have
the civilizations of Europe and Turkey clashed so completely.
Early next month, as European Union leaders gather for their annual
summit meeting in Brussels, the European Commission will decide
whether to continue negotiating with Turkey over its lengthy bid to
become accepted as part of the European Union.
The decision, which could totally transform the West’s relations
with the Muslim world, comes amid a flurry of cultural and political
clashes that are fuelling mutual suspicions and contributing to a
growing sense of crisis between Turkey and Europe.
An unresolved 32-year conflict with Greece over Cyprus, concerns over
Turkish censorship and complaints over official attempts to deny the
Armenian genocide have collided with passionate disputes over religion
and racism to disrupt relations.
Even Pope Benedict XVI’s Nov. 28 to Dec. 1 visit to Turkey — his
first as Pope to a Muslim country — is expected to increase tensions.
The Pope’s pilgrimage was rooted in his desire to meet the spiritual
leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew I. But it has been transformed into a major fence-mending
exercise after the Pope outraged Muslims two months ago in a speech
to his old university in Germany in which he quoted remarks critical
of the Prophet Muhammad by a 14th-century Byzantine emperor.
The controversy erupted almost a year after a wave of similar violent
demonstrations swept the Muslim world in response to cartoons of the
Prophet published by a Danish newspaper.
In Turkey, the Pope’s speech had an additional sting. It reminded
people that, before he became Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger staunchly
opposed Turkey’s admission to the EU.
“Turkey has always represented a different continent, always in
contrast with Europe,” he said in a 2004 interview with the French
newspaper Le Figaro. “Europe was founded not on geography, but on a
common faith.
“It would be an error to equate the two continents … Turkey is
founded upon Islam … Thus the entry of Turkey into the EU would be
anti-historical,” he added.
At other times, the Pope has criticized Europe’s reluctance to
acknowledge its Christian roots for fear of offending its growing
population of Muslim immigrants.
The Pope’s comments struck a chord with a rising opposition to
Turkey’s EU membership in countries like France, Austria, Denmark
and the Netherlands, where there is wariness at admitting a poor
overwhelmingly Muslim country of 70 million people.
Similar sentiments have led several EU members to suggest Turkey
should be granted “privileged partnership” rather than full membership.
The fact that only 3% of Turkey’s land mass actually lies in Europe
spurs continental skeptics who feel Europe is already struggling to
integrate 12 million Muslim immigrants.
Jose Manuel Barroso, the EU President, has suggested it may take more
than 20 years for Turkey to gain admission.
This month, the EU issued a report that was highly critical of
Turkey’s progress in accession talks. After a year, only one of the 33
“chapters” Turkey must negotiate on has been closed, it said.
“Further efforts are needed in particular on freedom of expression,”
the report says. “Further improvements are also needed on the rights
of non-Muslim religious communities, women’s rights, trade union
rights and on civilian control of the military.”
The EU had a long list of complaints: Senior members of Turkey’s armed
forces meddle in politics; Turkey lacks an independent judiciary;
corruption is widespread; allegations of torture and ill-treatment
outside detention centres are common.
Still, the most pressing problem remains Cyprus.
Turkey refuses to open its ports to Cypriot planes and ships until an
international embargo against the Turkish-occupied portion of Cyprus
is lifted.
Greece and Cyprus, both EU members with the power to veto Turkey’s
entry, are threatening to block future EU talks with Turkey until
the issue is resolved.
Finland has proposed a last-minute compromise, suggesting the EU
reduce some restrictions on Turkish-run northern Cyprus in return
for Turkey opening its ports to Greek Cypriots.
If Ankara fails to agree, the EU may decide as early as Dec. 14 to
suspend all talks with Turkey.
Philippe Douste-Blazy, the French Foreign Minister, has already told
parliament the process should be “rethought,” while Angela Merkel,
the German Chancellor, has warned Turkey’s refusal to act on Cyprus
will be “very, very serious.”
In the meantime, Turkey’s relations with individual EU members continue
to deteriorate.
This week, Ankara angrily suspended military ties with France, a major
partner in NATO, in retaliation for a new French law that would make
it illegal for anyone in France to deny the Armenian genocide of 1915.
In addition, Turks themselves are having second thoughts. The latest
public opinion poll by the Pew Research Center says their support
for the EU has plunged to 35%, half of what it was two years ago.
With national elections due next fall, that raises the possibility
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, could walk away
from the talks to avoid any further embarrassment. That could lead
to a permanent rupture with the West that will dramatically change
the Middle East.
“How much longer will this secular democratic Muslim country look
westward to a European future, instead of turning east?” asks Denis
MacShane, Britain’s former Europe minister.
A frustrated Turkey could easily align itself with Iran and Russia.
But even more ominous, its tradition of secularism and its democratic
ambitions may come under renewed attack from Islamist radicals.

RUSSIA’S BASIC ELEMENT BUYS SOCHI AIRPORT FOR $206.6 MLN
RIA Novosti
20/11/2006 14:56 MOSCOW
Private Russian investment fund Basic Element (BasEL) has bought 100%
in the state-owned Sochi International Airport on the Black Sea for
5.504 billion rubles ($206.6 million) through an auction Monday.
The starting price for the airport in the resort city, which is
short-listed as a host city for the 2014 winter Olympics, was 3.5
billion rubles ($131.14 million) at the auction held by the Federal
Property Fund.
Sochi has been bidding to host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, along
with Austria’s Salzburg and South Korea’s PyeongChang. The city bid
for the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, but was rejected largely due
to its poor-quality Soviet-era infrastructure.
Russian television reported earlier in the day that the new owner
will have to rebuild the airport, while the state has pledged to
reconstruct the runways using money from the deal.
BasEl, owned by Oleg Dripaska, one of Russia’s richest men who also
controls Russian Aluminum (RusAl), holds combined assets of over $13
billion in energy, machinery, natural resources, financial services
and construction.
A total of five companies took part in the auction, among them
Renova, the asset management group controlled by Russian billionaire
Viktor Vekselberg. Renova majority owns Sual [RTS: SUAL], Russia’s
second-largest aluminum producer, which recently merged with
Deripaska’s RusAl and Switzerland’s Glencore to form the world’s
largest aluminum company.
Sochi International Airport received unwelcome publicity in May as
the destination of an Armenian airliner that crashed into the Black
Sea in stormy weather, killing all 113 passengers and crew on board.
Following a government order passed on July 3, 2006, the airport
was included on a list of companies to be privatized in 2006. The
airport has since been converted into a joint stock company with 100%
state ownership.

BASKET OF GOODS BY ARF DASHNAKTSUTYUN
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 20 2006
Four ARF Dashanktsutyun members of parliament (Levon Mkrtichyan,
Hrair Karapetyan, Vahan Hovanisyan, Armen Rustamyan) drafted a bill
on the list and structure of the basket of goods in April but the
parliament has not discussed it yet. The discussion is postponed at
the request of the authors. Which is the lower standard of living as
defined by the ARF Dashnaktsutyun?
The ARF Dashnaktsutyun proposes 23 food products, 8 non-food products,
and 5-8 services. The ARF included bread, flour, noodles, cereal,
dairy products, vegetables, meat, etc. By the way, in the ARF model
of the basket of goods there is only an annual 36-39 kg of beef and
12-18 kg of fish. No pork, no chicken, no other kinds of meat.
The ARF Dashnaktsutyun prefers apples to all the other fruits. In the
basket of goods, there is no juice, lemonade or water. Drink water
from the faucet.
Of course, the ARF has included clothes and shoes in the basket.
Meanwhile, you cannot buy furniture or electric appliances. If yours is
the minimum basket of goods, you have to live on what you already have.
The authors of the project propose postponing the discussion of the
bill, on the one hand, and on the other hand, they propose starting
to apply the law on January 1, 2007.
This is only one side of the issue, however. According to different
estimations, the basket of goods costs an annual 30-35 thousand drams,
meanwhile, the minimum pension is three times less, 12 thousand
drams. The minimum salary is 15 thousand drams, and it is possible
that in 2007 it will become 20 thousand.

NKR’S ACHIEVEMENTS WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT DIASPORA’S ASSISTANCE, ARKADY GHOUKASSIAN EMPHASIZES
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 20 2006
SANTA ANA, NOVEMBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A reception in
honor of Nagorno Karabakh President Arkady Ghoukassian was organized
last week in the U.S. city of Santa Ana (state of California).
NKR President expressed gratitude to his American compatriots for their
assistance of many years to Artsakh in the issue of its socio-economic,
cultural and spiritual development. The President emphasized that
Nagorno Karabakh’s achievements would be impossible without this
assistance, be it during operations or at present, in the period of
NKR post-war restoration. The meeting participants expressed readiness
to continue providing assistance to the republic by implementation of
various development programs there. They also emphasized extension
of Spyurk’s active participation in the fund-raising to be held on
November 23 in U.S., which is aimed at further development of Nagorno
Karabakh, in particular, Hadrut region.
As Noyan Tapan was informed from the Press Service under NKR President,
well-known benefactors Kosti and Marian Shirvanians, Ralph and Savi
Tufenkians, Hakob and Mina Shirvanians, Vardges and Mary Najarians,
Vahe and Veronik Karapetians, Roger and Elen Hovhannisians, Hakob
Baghdasarian and others took part in the reception. Consul General
of Armenia to Los Angeles, Armen Liloyan also took part in the event.
Prospects of Nagorno Karabakh’s all-round development and
Armenian Diaspora’s role in this issue were discussed during
Arkady Ghoukassian’s meetings with such influential persons, as
Doctor Artur Mesropian, Albert Bojayian and Harry Turpanjian in Los
Angeles. In particular, the issue of introducing the practice of
early cardiologial diagnostics in NKR was discussed in the talk with
Mr Turpanjain. The NKR President also met with heads and activists
of the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) Los Angeles Office. Issues
relating to Nagorno Karabakh settlement, as well as Nagorno Karabakh
socio-economic development, republic’s further democratization were
discussed at the meeting.

PROGRAM OF TEACHING GEORGIAN IN KINDERGARTENS ARISES DISSATISFACTION AMONG ARMENIANS OF JAVAKHK
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 20 2006
AKHALKALAK, NOVEMBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The European
Center for Minorities Issues in Georgia started implementation of
the program on teaching the Georgian language to Armenian children in
Akhalkalak kindergartens No1,2,3. For that purpose the kindergartens
were provided with corresponding technics (TV sets. DVDs). The
Akhalkalak Mayor’s Office and “Akhalkalak” community union assists
the program implementation.
According to the A-Info agency, the program on teaching the Georgian
language to Armenian children in kindergartens was accepted in Javakhk
with dissatisfaction. Davit Rstakian, a deputy of the Akhalkalak
Regional Sakrebulo, for example, considers obligatory teaching of
Georgian to small children as serious violation of the human rights. In
his words, the issue of official usage of the Armenian language in
parallel to Georgian must first of all be solved in Javakhk, after
what one may think “about obliging children to study Georgian.” “And
the European Center for Minorities Issues, instead of solving the
minorities’ problems, helps the central authorities to implement the
political program.” D.Rstakian said.

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER DOWNPLAYS AZERI WAR RHETORIC
Armenpress
Nov 16 2006
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS: Armenian defense minister Serzh
Sarkisian downplayed today Azerbaijan’s war rhetoric saying he was
sure that military actions would not resume in the nearest future.
During a meeting with parents of servicemen in the northwestern
town of Gyumri the minister said Azeris realized well now they could
not launch a successful offensive. “We too know it very well,” the
minister said, attributing belligerent statements of officials in Baku
to their attempts to justify a drastic increase in military spending
for 2007 which Azeri president said would amount to $1 billion, a sharp
contrast to $280 million earmarked by Armenia’s 2007 draft budget.
The Armenian defense minister said the one who would begin the
war now would sustain heavy losses and damages because both sides
have significantly reinforced their positions on the front line to
protect their troops. Serzh Sarkisian said Azerbaijan would not go
into offensive also because of fearing strong international pressure.
“No one can gain from breaking ‘the neither peace nor war status’
as long as the talks over the ways to settle the Karabakh conflict
go on,” he said.

THERE ARE OTHER REASONS FOR URGENT SETTLEMENT
A1+
[01:42 pm] 16 November, 2006
“The OSCE Minsk group Co-Chairs will consistently work on the Karabakh
conflict peaceful settlement regardless of interior conflicts
in Armenia and Azerbaijan”, Mettew Bryza, American Co-Chair told
“Trend” agency.
“We have already pointed out the 2007 and 2008 elections in the
countries under question as one of the main reasons. And we have also
noted why we consider 2006 as and ideal “window” to reach peaceful
agreement between the two countries”, said Mr. Bryza and added,
“Of course, the urgent settlement of the conflict is also determined
by other reasons”.
The American Co-Chair underlined that the forthcoming elections in
the two countries might have negative impact on the prospects of the
conflict peaceful regulation.
“We voice hope that the influence will be only positive and the people
of the two countries will inform their leaders and representatives of
the authorities that they stand for peace, stability and prosperity”,
ended Mettew Bryza.