Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
October 27, 2006 Friday 5:34 PM EET
Russia’s Gazprom brd OKs increasing stake in ArmRosgazprom to 58%
Russia’s natural gas monopoly Gazprom’s board of directors has
approved increasing the company’s stake in Armenia’s ArmRosgazprom to
58% from 45%, Gazprom said in a statement Friday.
Gazprom plans to purchase additional shares of ArmRosgazprom, the gas
giant said.
ArmRosgazprom, created in 1997, has a monopoly on imports and
distribution of Russian natural gas in Armenia. It also specializes
in transportation, storage, processing, distribution and sales of
gas, as well as in reconstruction and expansion of underground
storage facilities and gas transportation systems in Armenia.
At the present time Armenia’s Energy Minister owns a 45% stake in
ArmRosgazprom, while Russian natural gas producer Itera holds 10%.

A1+
ANOTHER YEAR WITH THE SAME HYMN
[06:33 pm] 26 October, 2006
Today, the RA Government endorsed the draft law on the `RA Hymn’ with
slight changes.
It will be introduced in the RA National Assembly by due order.
The government didn’t support the decision of the Competition Board to
accept the music without the text.
Under the government’s decision, the current hymn will be in force one
more year by the time the new hymn (with its corresponding words and
music) is stipulated by law.

From: Sebouh Z Tashjian
Subject: October 27, 1999
A1+
OCTOBER 27, 1999 (video)
[02:44 pm] 27 October, 2006
At 17:13 armed terrorists broke into the NA session hall and started
to shoot at the officials sitting in the first rows.
They killed:
NA Speaker Karen Demirchyan;
RA Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan;
NA deputy Speakers Yuri Bakhshyan,
and Rouben Miroyan;
deputies Michael Kotanyan, Henrik Abrahamyan, Armenak Armenakyan,
Minister of Regional Government Leonard Petrosyan.
Deputies and Ministers were injured.
Those who were alive were kept hostages in the NA session hall.
The official sources did not report about the death of the first
officials of the country for five hours.
Only after 10:00 p.m. the President?s residence made a statement
about victims.
Late in the evening the dead bodies were taken out of the Parliament
building. The negotiations with the terrorists went on until
dawn. Even the President of the country met them.
Early in the morning the hostages were set free and the terrorists
yielded themselves prisoners getting guarantees of security.
The October 27 trial started In January 2001 and lasted about three
years. In the meantime Armenia became member of the CoE, ratified the
European convention on Human Rights and its 6th protocol, eliminating
capital punishment once and for all.
The terrorists who cruelly shot the first officials of the country
were sentenced to life imprisonment.

AZG Armenian Daily #205, 27/10/2006

Neighbors
AZERBAIJAN EXPRESSES DISSATISFACTION ABOUT PHOTOS OF
OBJECTS MADE FROM THE OUTER SPACE BY GOOGLE
Russia, Turkey, China and Australia expressed their
dissatisfaction to Google internet search engine for
its initiatives that concerned uploading the photos of
various countries made from the outer space. According
to the Azeri printed media, Tair Taghizade, the Press
Secretary of the Azeri Foreign Ministry, also
expressed dissatisfaction about the fact that some of
the Azeri territories were included in the Google
maps. In particular, the photos depict the clear view
of not only Baku’s streets and construction objects,
but also similar objects in Nagorno Karabakh and its
neighboring territories. Taghizade stated that such
photos may be dangerous from the viewpoint of national
security.

SERGE SARKISIAN: WE DID NOT TOUCH UPON THE SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO GARABAGH CONFLICT IN THE MEETING WITH AZERBAIJANI DEFENCE MINISTER
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 26 2006
“The violation of ceasefire is normal, because there are thousands of
armed personnel on both sides of the border. But it should not grow
to large-scale standoff,” Serge Sarkisian, Armenian Defence Minister
told journalists, APA reports quoting to Armenian press.
He said that Azerbaijani Defence Minister is for maintaining of
ceasefire regime in the region. Sarkisian also noted the meeting with
his Azerbaijani colleague was organized by co-chairs. The minister
said that they had talks on the maintaining of ceasefire only and
did not touch upon the settlement of Nagorno Garabagh conflict. In
response to the question “who will sign the peace agreement?”
Sarkisian said that it is in the president’s competence. Asked
whether he would make a president, the minister answered that he will
think about it if journalists help the people to hold free and fair
parliamentary elections.

AMBASSADOR’S GENOCIDE DENIAL CASE DELAYED
By Ali Ihsan Aydin, Paris
Zaman, Turkey
Oct 26 2006
A lawsuit opened against Turkish Ambassador to Paris Aydin Sezgin
has once again been delayed because of problems with the court’s
computer system.
Following a ‘computer breakdown,’ the Paris Court of Appeals delayed
its verdict in a lawsuit opened by Armenians against Sezgin for openly
denying the alleged Armenian genocide on the embassy’s website.
The court stated that it would announce its verdict on November 8.
Internet service provider (ISP) France Telecom is also being tried
along with Sezgin for their role in publishing the information.
The case, which Ambassador Sezgin is strongly favored to win because
of his diplomatic immunity, is notable in terms of the anticipated
verdict on France Telecom.
The Paris Civil Court of First Instance, the first authority to
discuss the case, ruled that Sezgin could not be tried because of
his diplomatic immunity and France Telecom was not punishable by law
because the 2001 Armenian genocide law does not carry any sanctions.
The delay reportedly came about because of another ongoing lawsuit
the same day, again opened by Armenians, against an encyclopedia
named Quid for its alleged “pro-Turkish” version of the 1915 events.
The court had previously confirmed that the Sezgin verdict would
be delivered yesterday. However, judicial circles in France, who
are very interested in the case, associated the delay with France’s
yet-unclear policy on the Armenian genocide and its indecision over
how to tackle the problem.
The government is reported to be in close contact with the court in
regard to the issue.
Armenian associations have been seeking to convict ‘deniers’ by
interpreting other laws in ways that suit their purpose.
At yesterday’s hearing, the prosecution asked the court to punish
Quid according to Article 1382 of the French Civil Code, which covers
civil liability for offences related to violations of privacy.
The first court that handled the case had found Quid guilty according
to this article.

PARIS COURT OF APPEALS ADJOURNS ITS VERDICT ON SEZGIN CASE
Turkish Press
Oct 25 2006
PARIS – Paris Court of Appeals on Thursday adjourned its verdict in
the lawsuit which was filed by Armenians in France against Turkey’s
Consul General Aydin Sezgin in Paris to October 25th.
The chief judge of the court said announcement of the verdict was
adjourned to October 25th because of the problems in the computer
system.
An association in France which defends so-called Armenian genocide,
applied to Paris Civil Court of First Instance and filed a lawsuit
against Consul General Sezgin after transmission of a text (that
opposes to so-called Armenian genocide allegations) on the Consulate
General’s formal web-page.
The French Chamber 17 last year refused the application on grounds
that Sezgin has diplomatic immunity.
In the case which was heard on September 6th after the Armenian
association applied to Appeals Court, the Chief Prosecutor expressed
his opinion that the case should be rejected.
In this lawsuit, Sezgin’s lawyers stated that Sezgin has diplomatic
immunity, there is freedom of speech and parliaments can not write
history. They stressed that a consul general could freely state the
formal views of his country in the country he was assigned, and asked
the court to reject the lawsuit.
On basis of the law acknowledging so-called Armenian genocide which
was adopted in the French parliament in 2001, lawyers of the Armenian
association defended that the Consul General could not express views
about several areas apart from defending the rights of his citizens
so he could not have diplomatic immunity.

Yahoo! News
California closing on Wis. cheese crown
By JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press Writer
Tue Oct 24, 2:35 PM ET
Fifteen years ago, Anto Baghassarian had a small shop in East Hollywood
where he processed blocks of mozzarella from other manufacturers into the
string cheese he learned to make at his family’s business in Lebanon.
Now his Karoun Dairies Inc. operates a plant in the state’s dairy heartland,
turning a couple silos of milk each day into about 16,000 pounds of feta,
queso fresco and other exotic cheeses adapted for American palates.
Aided by an abundant supply of milk, an increasing nationwide appetite for
cheese and some savvy marketing, manufacturers such as Karoun are
contributing to a production boom that could soon propel California past
Wisconsin to become the nation’s top cheese producer.
California is now the home of Hilmar Cheese Co. near Modesto, the world’s
largest single-site, cheesemaking operation. Every day, the plant churns out
more than a million pounds of cheddar, Monterey Jack and mozzarella cheeses
that are sold under a variety of brand names.
In addition, small California cheese makers have built a name for themselves
among consumers and connoisseurs while winning dozens of awards at national
and international competitions, casting a positive light on the producers of
so-called commodity cheese that dominate the state’s cheese industry.
“California cheeses are really looked upon as coming of age,” said Christine
Hyatt, a grocery store consultant in Portland, Ore., who serves as a judge
at the American Cheese Society’s annual competitions.
Last year, California turned out 2.14 billion pounds of cheese ‘ nearly a
quarter of the nation’s supply. The total marked a huge increase from 1985,
when the state had only about 7 percent of the national market.
The growth has put California within striking distance of the 2.4 billion
pounds produced every year in Wisconsin, the state that bills itself as
“America’s Dairyland.”
Wisconsin’s share of the growing national cheese market has fallen from more
than a third in 1985 to just over a quarter last year.
Nancy Fletcher, a spokeswoman for the California Milk Advisory Board, said
it’s hard to predict exactly when California will overtake Wisconsin, but
the production trends make it just a matter of time.
Wisconsin, which lost its title as top milk-producing state to California in
1993, is nowhere near surrendering, said Patrick Geoghegan, a spokesman for
the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
“This is not something that we got into over the last 20 years or so,”
Geoghegan said. “It’s been a big part of our past and will continue to be a
big part of our future.”
Geoghegan said Wisconsin’s 1,300 licensed producers make 600 varieties of
cheese, compared to the 250 offered by California’s 55 producers.
“Bearing the title ‘America’s Dairyland’ is about more than just producing
the greatest amount of commodity cheese,” he said. “It’s about cheese
quality, quality, quality.”
Cheese has been produced in California since the first European missionaries
arrived on the coast with dairy cows in tow. The recipe for its most famous
contribution, Monterey Jack, is said to have originated in the Spanish
missions.
The modern cheese boom began in the early 1980s, when the California Milk
Advisory Board ‘ the marketing agency of the state’s dairy business ‘
started promoting the cheese industry as a way to sop up a growing milk
surplus.
The group encouraged large cheese producers to set up shop in California,
then aggressively marketed the products with the “Real California Cheese”
logo featuring a sunrise over rolling pastures and an advertising campaign
touting the state’s “happy cows.”
In the mid-1990s, the board began cultivating smaller, artisanal producers
and encouraging dairies to start their own onsite “farmstead” cheese-making
operations.
“It’s been a very concerted, consistent effort,” said Michelle Greenwald, a
professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business in New York,
who uses the board’s cheese campaign in class as a marketing success story.
“They’ve left no stone unturned.”
Hilmar’s factory made 20,000 pounds of cheese a day, five days a week, when
it began operating in 1984. It’s now a sprawling complex of soaring silos,
meandering pipes and milk-filled tanker trucks.
Small cheese-makers, meanwhile, have caught the attention of gastronomes
while producing about 10 percent of California’s output.
Marin French Cheese Co. in Petaluma took a gold medal for its Triple Creme
Brie at the 2005 World Cheese Awards in London, making it the first
non-European cheese producer to take top honors in the category.
Another gold medal at those awards went to Modesto’s Fiscalini Cheese Co.
for its San Joaquin Gold, which began as a failed attempt to make fontina.
Owner John Fiscalini was one of the state’s first dairymen to enroll in a
cheese-making class started in 1995 by the milk board at California
Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.
He now channels about 10 percent of the milk from his 1,500 cows into cheese
production and is seeking the county’s permission to expand his
cheese-making workshop so he can manufacture even more.
“I just got caught up in some of the ambiance and the romance,” Fiscalini
said.
_____
On the Web:
California Milk Advisory Board:
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board:

FRENCH, AZERI MINISTERS DISCUSS KARABAKH, “GENOCIDE” BILL
Turan News Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 24 2006
Baku, 24 October: Talks between French Foreign Minister Philippe
Douste-Blazy and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov were
held in Paris yesterday [23 October]. A Turan correspondent learnt
from the head of the press and information policy department of the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Tahir Tagizada, that the talks had
lasted over one hour. The ministers discussed three subjects.
Mammadyarov spoke about the implementation of energy projects as well
as public and political reforms in the country. In turn, Douste-Blazy
said that Paris’s attitude to the reforms in Azerbaijan was positive.
The Karabakh settlement was the second subject of the talks.
Mammadyarov spoke about the negative role of the Armenian diaspora
in the settlement of the conflict and the situation in the region.
Douste-Blazy hoped for a speedy settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict.
The third subject, according to Tagizada, was raised by the French side
and had to do with the adoption by the French National Assembly of a
draft law criminalizing the denial of “the genocide of Armenians”. This
decision, according to Douste-Blazy, causes official Paris’s “regret
and bewilderment”. Douste-Blazy assured Mammadyarov that the French
government would do its best this draft not become a law.

GEORGIA WILL SOON IMPORT ELECTRICITY FROM IRAN THROUGH ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
24.10.2006 18:06 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgia will soon start importing electric power
from Iran through Armenia. A respective agreement between the
Ministries of Energy is already attained. As the Ministry of Energy
of Georgia reported, the Iranian energy will be imported via Armenia
as barter. Georgia will receive electric power from Iran in winter
and will return it in summer, reports Gruzia-Online.