Author: Zaminian Bedik

WOMEN’S UNION OF DEFENCE OF LIBERATED TERRITORIES TO APPLY TO RA
PRESIDENT WITH DEMAND TO RELEASE ZHIRAYR SEFILIAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, NOYAN TAPAN. The Women’s Union of Defence of
Liberated Territories demands not only releasing the Coordinator of
Defence of Liberated Territories initiative, Zhirayr Sefilian, but
also granting him RA citizenship. As Union member Julietta Yeremyants
declared at the March 2 press conference, the anniversary of
foundation of Armenian Army is an occasion to stop legal and political
persecution of Z. Sefilian, as well as his companion-in-arms,
participant of liberation struggle Vardan Malkhasian. In her words,
the 15th anniversary of formation of Armenian Army is marked solemnly
in these days, for which the Armenian people is indebted to heroes of
Artsakh liberation struggle who liberated Artsakh with their great
devotion. "Today power representatives go to Yerablur to pay the
tribute of their respect to the memory of perished freedom-fighters,
but they have forgotten the live heroes, as the presence of the
latters impedes them," J. Yeremian said. At the same time she said
that today they heroize Ramil Safarov in Azerbaijan who has killed the
Armenian officer with an axe, while in Armenia they imprison national
heroes with shady and ungrounded accusations. Publicist Tsvetana
Paskaleva said that they do not receive her in Karabakh in the recent
six years as she had the courage to meet with Samvel Babayan when the
later was in prison. In her words, the Karabakh authorities even
declared that "Paskaleva is their enemy." "All doors are closed in
front of me, even media, as I dared show in documentaries real heroes
having fought in Artsakh and not generals who even have not taken part
in the liberation fight. And the real heroes are Samvel Babayan,
Zhirayr Sefilian, Komandos and Arkady Karapetian, thanks to which
Shoushi was liberated," T. Paskaleva said. The Union members declared
that they are going to apply to RA President, Prime Minister and Head
of National Security Service Gorik Hakobian with the demand to release
Z. Sefilian and V. Malkhasian.

GIBRAHAYER
e-magazinehttp://gibrahayer.cyprusnewsl etter.com
The largest circulation Armenian e-magazine
Circulates every Wednesday
Established in 1999

CYPRUS GOVERNMENT ISSUES NEW PRESERVATION ORDER ON MELKONIAN PROPERTY
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRAISES MINISTER SYLIKIOTIS AND ARMENIAN
REPRESENTATIVE MAHDESSIAN FOR THEIR HELP

Nicosia (March 2, 2007) — The Melkonian Alumni Association of Cyprus
would like to announce that Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis has
issued a new preservation order on for the disputed estate of the
Melkonian school in Nicosia which could cause indefinite delays in the
administrators’ efforts to dispose of the land.

The order was published in the Republic of Cyprus Official Gazette
(Section III(i), No. 4178) on Friday, March 2nd, 2007, with immediate
effect, which means that no one can harm any part of the old buildings
erected in 1925 or even cut any of the trees of the forest on Limassol
Ave. planted by the first orphans who found shelter in Cyprus after
the Genocide of the Armenians by the Ottoman Turks.

A previous order, declaring most of the 125,000 sq.m. property a
heritage site with "historical, architectural and national importance"
had been overturned by the Supreme Court in Nicosia last December
following an appeal by the lawyers of the AGBU.

The Armenian community then wrote to the President of the Supreme
Court, the Attorney General, political party leaders and the Interior
Minister expressing its dismay at the decision and calling on all
parties involved to review the matter and reinstate the preservation
order.

Reports published in the Cyprus media and reported on CyBC public
television in February suggested that the Town Planning Dept. had
reviewed the case and was working on a new preservation order based on
stronger arguments justifying the decision in order to prevent the
case from being thrown out of court again.

"I am delighted with this news as it shows the determination of the
Republic of Cyprus and in particular the Minister of Interior to
protect this important site not only for the Armenians of Cyprus and
the whole Diaspora, but also for all the people of Cyprus for whom the
Melkonian has been and will always be a jewel with historic value,"
said the Armenian Representative in the House, Vartkes Mahdessian.

The Melkonian Alumni, who were at the forefront of the struggle to
save the Melkonian ever since the decision to close the school was
made three years ago, were praiseful of the efforts of a few dedicated
people at the Town Planning Authority.

"They seem to have appreciated more than some people in Cyprus and
abroad the true value and importance of this historic school and the
need for quality education," the Alumni said.

The Alumni also made references to the justification used to
reintroduce the new preservation order according to which it is deemed
imperative "to protect the larger part of the property with historic
traditional buildings as a unified whole, as the property with its
structured and natural environs is part of the larger historic and
traditional town planning network of Nicosia, which must be
protected."

The Alumni conclude that "with such decisions, as well as the general
support of the whole community, hopes to reopen the school one day are
revived. We thank the Representative, Mr. Mahdessian and the
Minister, Mr. Sylikiotis, for all their efforts in this direction."

The New Anatolian, Turkey
March 2 2007

Ankara blasts French, Greek Cypriot military pact

Friday , 02 March 2007

Turkey yesterday condemned a bilateral military agreement between
France and the Greek Cypriots, underlining that Greek Cyprus has no
right to sign such a pact.

The statement of the Turkish Foreign Ministry came after France and
the Greek Cypriots signed an agreement in Paris that envisages Greek
Cypriot cooperation with France on some military issues, in addition
to military and defense cooperation.

French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and Greek Cypriot
Foreign Minister George Lillikas on Wednesday signed the agreement,
which gives France the right to use Andreas Papandreou Airport in Baf
and the Zigi (Terazi) Naval Base, according the Greek Cypriot press.

"The agreement between France and the Greek Cypriots is ominous,"
said the statement. "The sensitive stability and balance on Cyprus
and the eastern Mediterranean Sea is made certain with the rights of
the guarantor states."

The statement underlined that after a similar agreement effort last
June, Turkey warned France that such agreements posing a threat to
the stability of the eastern Mediterranean would also harm efforts to
reach a permanent solution to the Cyprus problem under UN auspices.

Underlining that the agreement at issue violates the 1960 agreements
on Cyprus, the statement stressed, "France’s step to sign a military
agreement with the Greek Cypriots is an ominous event."

"The agreement does not have validity for Turkey or the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)," it said. "With its activities
and manner in recent days, the Greek Cypriot administration continues
to be a source of instability in the region, gradually enlarging the
Cyprus issue in the eastern Mediterranean." The statement warned the
agreement would seriously harm efforts to bring a comprehensive and
permanent solution to the Cyprus problem.

The French Defense Ministry confirmed that a military agreement with
Greek Cyprus was signed in Paris during a visit by the Greek Cypriot
foreign minister, but did not provide further details. The French
Foreign Ministry said the accord was "standard" between two EU
members and that it involved military training and information- and
knowledge-sharing.

Cyprus is divided between an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot
administration in the south and the TRNC in the north. The Greek
Cypriot administration joined the European Union in May 2004 with a
claim to represent the whole island, although the Greek Cypriots
overwhelmingly rejected the UN-sponsored Annan plan in April 2004,
which was the last major effort for the unification of the island.

Turkish Cypriots, in a separate referendum, voted in favor of the
plan but they remain under international isolation.

This has also been a period of heightened tension in Turkish-French
relations. France’s parliament voted last October to approve a bill
that would criminalize denying that the mass killings of Armenians by
Turks at the beginning of the 20th century was genocide, prompting
Turkish trade organizations to call for a boycott of French companies
and the Turkish military to say it would break off all contacts with
its French counterparts.

ARMENIAN OFFICIALS TO BE INVITED ON OPENING CEREMONY OF ST CROSS CHURCH IN AKDAMAR

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.03.2007 18:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Opening of the St Cross Church in Akdamar will be
a gesture to Armenians and the whole world, Yusuf Halacoglu, head
of the Turkish Historical Society stated. "We don’t have anything to
hide. I shall be present on the ceremony," he said.

Armenian officials, leaders and culture ministers from European
countries will be invited to the opening of the church, The New
Anatolian reports. The opening ceremony will be held not April 11,
as was scheduled before, but April 15.

The opening of the church located on Akdamar Island was delayed
until April 24 by the Culture Ministry, but under the pressure of
Turkish-Armenian community and Constantinople Patriarch Mesrob II
Mutafyan the ceremony was changed to an earlier date.

ARMENIAN STATE BUDGETARY EXPENDITURES INCREASE BY 8.4% IN JANUARY 2007 ON SAME MONTH OF LAST YEAR

Noyan Tapan
Mar 02 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, NOYAN TAPAN. In January 2007, expenditures of
18.6 bln drams (about 44 mln USD) were made at the expense of the RA
state budgetary resources. 79.6% of allocated resources was spent on
current expenditures, 12.7% – on capital expenditures, 7.7% – on net
crediting. According to the RA Ministry of Finance and Economy, the
RA budgetary expenditures grew by 8.4% or 1.8 bln drams on January
2006. This growth is mainly conditioned by an increase in capital
expenditures and transfers. Current expenditures made up the largest
share of budgetary expenditures – 14.8 bln drams was allocated for
their financing. Current expenditures grew by 1.1% or 161.1 mln
drams on the same month of last year. 7.4% of current expenditures
was spent on payment of salaries of state institution employees,
which amounted to 1.1 bln drams.

Expenditures on salary exceeded by 2% the respective allocations
in 2006. Subsidies of 399 mln drams (2.7% of current expenditures)
were provided from the state budget in January 2007. These subsidies
decreased by 37.2% or 236.1 mln drams compared with respective index
of 2006, which is mainly conditioned by the fact that payments of
sums envisaged for January were mostly made in February.

19th ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN POGROMS IN SOUMGAIT CELEBRATED IN NKR

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Feb 28 2007

February 28 the 19th anniversary of the Armenian pogroms in the Azeri
town of Soumgait was celebrated in the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic.

The NKR governmental delegation headed by PM Anoushavan Danielian, MPs,
the NKR Defense Army Supreme Commanding staff and the representatives
of the Republic public visited the Stepanakert Memorial Complex and
laid wreaths at the monument to the tragedy’s victims.

The priests of the Artsakh Eparchy of the Armenian Apostolic Church
officiated a mournful service for the perished, the NKR MFA Press
Center reports.

PROPAGANDA QUESTION FOR MINISTER GUL

Sabah, Turkey
Feb 26 2007

CHP(People’s Republic) Aydýn deputy Ozlem Cercioðlu to Minister of
Foreign Affairs Gul: "Do you have any diplomatic attempts to prevent
Lufthansa Airlines to distribute CDs and promotional booklets on the
so-called Armenian genocide?"

In a proposal she presented to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey,
Cercioðlu has stated that Armenian Diasporas have included airline
companies in their lobby activities by distributing CDs and promotional
booklets about the genocide in the planes.

WHAT WILL YOU DO AS THE MINISTRY OF FOREGIN AFFAIRS?

Cercioðlu addressed Minister Gul and said: "Armenian Diaspora is
distributing CDs and booklets in Lufthansa Airlines flights; an airline
which you had chosen to travel with last week. In Lufthansa’s flights
to the U.S, they are distributing CDs and booklets that promote the
so called Armenian genocide. Is it possible for you to stop this ugly
propaganda by contacting American authorities? Have you any attempts
to stop this as the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs? While you
were in that plane, you had intentionally asked the Turkish passengers
not to give any reactions to this CDs and booklets they found under
their seats. Why did you try to inculcate Turkish passengers? As the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, what are your future plans to prevent
this propaganda?

–Boundary_(ID_vOPBUj4RpVQTMDnVjK+iXA )–

AMENDMENTS ENVISAGED IN RA LAW ON SECURITIES MARKET REGULATION

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. At the Feruary 22 sitting, the
Armenian government approved the bill on making amendments and
additions to the RA Law on Regulation of the Securities Market. It was
decided to consider the bill as urgent. The bill envisages to allow
brockers, dealers and trust managers of the RA to conduct transcations
with securities of authoritative foreign companies by permitting these
transactions by simplified order. According to the RA Government
Information and PR Department, the decision will promote circulation
of the RA securities, increase interest of potential investors and
develop the securities market of Armenia.

AZERI JAILED FOR LIFE IN HUNGARY FOR KILLING ARMENIAN

Reuters AlertNet, UK
Feb 22 2007

BUDAPEST, Feb 22 (Reuters) – A Hungarian appeal court upheld a life
sentence on Thursday against an Azeri officer who killed an Armenian
with an axe at a Budapest military academy in 2004.

Azeri officer Ramil Safarov Sahib entered the Armenian’s dormitory room
and struck him repeatedly with an axe. Both were attending an English
language course run under the auspices of NATO’s Partnership for Peace.

A lower court sentenced Sahib to life imprisonment on charges of
premeditated murder with extreme cruelty.

"The first-degree court ruling has been upheld," said Gyorgy Felkai,
spokesman of the Budapest Court of Appeal.

The judge was quoted by the Hungarian news agency MTI as saying Sahib
killed the victim because he was Armenian.

Former Soviet republics Armenia and Azerbaijan are officially
in a state of war over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous territory
inhabited mostly by Armenians, but recognised internationally as part
of Azerbaijan.

Some 35,000 people died in the conflict which began in 1988 and was
frozen by a 1994 ceasefire.

A NUMBER OF ARMENIAN POLITICAL-PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS DEMAND RECONSIDERING TREATY OF KARS

Noyan Tapan
Feb 21 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Reconsidering the Treaty of Kars
and starting new negotiations around it should become one of pivotal
directions of Armenian foreign policy. The Azgayin Miabanutyan Ukht,
Armenian Progressive United Communist Party, United Communist Party
of Armenia, Armenian Aryan Union, representatives of Azat Hayk,
Huys and Apaven, Mitk NGOs made such a joint statement on February
21. These organizations are going to apply to RA and NKR Presidents,
National Assemblies and governments demanding touching upon this issue
and holding special hearings at RA NA dedicated to the Treaty of Kars.

Rafayel Hambartsumian, Chairman of Azgayin Miabanutyan Ukht Party, said
that by the Treaty of Kars signed on October 13, 1921 between three
Transcaucasian states – Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey with
participation of Soviet Russia, Nakhichevan passed under Azerbaijan’s
subordination. After the collapse of the USSR, in R. Hambartsumian’s
words, Azerbaijan refused to be considered the legal successor of
Soviet Azerbaijan. But up to present "it is trying to appropriate"
the territories under Soviet Azerbaijan’s subordination – Nakhichevan
and Karabakh.

In the words of Yuri Manukian, leader of United Communist Party, the
issue of Nakhichevan should become a pan-national issue: this is not
only the matter of RA government or Foreign Ministry. At the same time,
he said that unless their demands are satisfied, the coming generation
"will not condemn them for inactivity."