Author: Zargarian Hambik

NUMBER OF LEGAL ENTITIES GROWS BY 4.2%, THAT OF PRIVATE BUSINESSMEN DECLINES BY 20.65% IN ARMENIA IN ONE YEAR

Noyan Tapan
Nov 1, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. According to data of the State
Register of Legal Entities and Private Businessmen of the RA
Ministry of Justice, 2,785 commercial legal entities and 8,424
private businessmen were registered in January-September 2007,
with their total number making 55,706 and 46,881 as of October 1,
2007. According to data of the RA National Statistical Service,
there were 53,444 legal entities and 56,561 private businessmen as of
October 1, 2006. The number of legal entities grew by 4.2% in a year,
whereas the number of private businessmen declined by 20.65%.

903 legal entities and 1,315 private businessmen were liquiated in
January-September 2007.

Investments of 5 bln 663.19 mln drams (about 1 mln 616 thousand USD)
were made by the registered 2,785 legal entities in the indicated
period.

Investments of 1 bln 275.93 mln drams were made in 276 enterprises
set up with foreign capital, including investments of 524.36 mln
drams made in 177 enterprises set up by foreign legal entities and
citizens and investments of 751.57 mln drams in 99 joint ventures.

ASOKAMALA WINS ROUND ONE
by Wasantha Ramanayake

Ceylon Daily News, Sri Lanka
Nov 1 2007

The Supreme Court yesterday restrained the Director of Wildlife from
deporting ‘Asokamala’, a female elephant to a zoo in Armenia until
November 21.

The order was sequel to an application by wildlife activists who
complained to Court that notoriously poor conditions at the Yerevan
Zoo in Armenia where an elephant had earlier died of malnutrition
and cold would in no way be congenial for the tropical animal.

The Court noted that a further extension of the interim order would
be considered on November 20. The Bench comprised Justice Dr. (Mrs.)
Shirani Thilakawardane and Justice Nimal Dissanayake.

Petitioner Vijitha Fernando of Mt. Lavinia, the Treasurer of the
Organisation, Society for the Protection of Animal Rights complained
that elephants were culturally revered and protected by the Fauna
and Flora Protection Ordinance.

Counsel Harsha Amarasekera for the petitioner submitted that Armenia
has a prolonged cold weather period where the temperatures drop
below zero. The under-funded zoo lacked power needed to heat and
food during the longer wintry weather. It was also reported that
the indoor enclosure for the elephant which was around 300 sq ft was
grossly inadequate.

The Counsel submitted that India had revoked its decision to gift
an elephant "Veda" to Armenia following public outcry against the
decision. The Indian Government then passed legislation to stop the
export of animals as diplomatic gifts.

Deputy Solicitor General Bimba Thilakrathne Jayasinghe also made
submissions on behalf of the respondents.

The petitioner cited the Director, Wildlife Conservation, the
Environment Minister, the Secretary to the Ministry and several others
as respondents.

ews21.asp

ARMENIAN BOXER QUALIFIES FOR BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES

ARMENPRESS
Oct 31, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 31, ARMENPRESS: An Armenian boxer has qualified
for the Olympic Games in Beijing after upsetting a South Korean
rival reaching the quarter-final of the world boxing championship in
Chicago, USA.

The boxer is Eduard Hambardzumian, 64 kg.

Regardless of his further performance he has won the right to represent
his country in 2008 Games.

Eduard Hambardzumian has become the fifth Armenian athlete to qualify
for the Games. Others are Greco-Roman style wrestler Arman Adikian,
shooter Norayr Bakhtamyan and judoists Hovhaness Davtian and Armen
Nazarian.

President of the Armenian National Olympic Committee Gagik Tsarukian
has pledged a $700,000 reward for a gold medal of the Olympics.

"POLITICAL PERSECUTION IS ORDERED"

A1+
[06:22 pm] 30 October, 2007

more images Kentron and Nork Marash communities’ police investigation
group accused 5 participants of 23 October rally, who are under
suspicion until the present day. Among them are member of "Ajlyntrank"
NGO initiative, Editor-in-chief of "Haykakan Zhamanak" independent
newspaper in Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, members of initiative Petros
Makeyan and his two sons, Editor-in-chief of "Chorrord Ishkhanutiun"
newspaper Shogher Matevosyan.

"This is a political persecution. I knew I would be
accused. Why? Because it was a political persecution", said Shogher
Matevosyan, Editor-in-chief of "Chorrord Ishkhanutiun" newspaper to
"A1+". According to her, their persecution was ordered and had a
definite aim.

It was also aimed at distracting papers’ attention from the political
developments in the country.

"But my newspaper will not be engaged in Shogher Matevosyan’s defense,
since we are interested in the political developments and they cannot
distract us by trials", said Shogher Matevosyan.

She is ready to face any decision: "In war as in war", said
Editor-in-chief and added that the decision will depend on the
political situation in the country.

"Since it does not matter what they will do. For example my lawyer
considers that we should anticipate the lowest decision from them,
but I think that it depends on the situation".

Editor-in-chief of "Haykakan Zhamanak" independent newspaper in Armenia
Nikol Pashinyan was amazed: "It is amazing that you acknowledge about
your accusation from media. One day they will make the decision and
I will be ignorant of it. This is not an investigation, this is an
absurdity and from this moment on I will treat this investigation
with humor".

Pashinyan informed that he would treat this case seriously if Alexander
Afyan, deputy head of Yerevan police would also be under suspicion
and journalist Gohar Veziryan would be regarded as suffered. "We will
talk about the investigation when this happens, but now this is a
caricature". To the question whether a Pargev Ohanyan was needed to
make a just decision, Nikol Pashinyan responded: "Sashik Afyan needs
a Pargev Ohanyan to make a just decision".

By the way, Nikol Pashinyan also informed that a document of the
Municipality proving that 26 October gathering was on legal basis was
missing in the criminal case. "This means that the investigation group
chooses which materials should be attached to the case", concluded
Nikol Pashinyan.

TERRY DAVIS DUE IN ARMENIA NOVEMBER 5TH

armradio.am
30.10.2007 16:24

November 5th the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry
Davis will arrive in Armenia.

Mr. Davis will meet with the leadership of the country to discuss
issues of democracy, human rights, forthcoming presidential elections,
etc.

Terry Davis intends to visit Azerbaijan as well, but the date of the
visit is not certain.

ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S. RESPONDS TO WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE

HULIQ, NC
Oct 30 2007

6vote The Washington Post Wednesday published a letter by the Armenian
Ambassador to the United States, Tatoul Margarian in response to
an article entitled "Armenians Who Need Help Today," published on
October 15.

The Washington Post article, written by Fred Hiatt, urged the Armenian
Diaspora to work as hard for democracy in Armenia as for congressional
recognition of the genocide.

"Imagine what the Armenian Diaspora might have accomplished had it
worked as hard for democracy in Armenia as it did for congressional
recognition of the genocide Armenians suffered nearly a century ago,
said Hiatt in his article. "It’s even possible that modern Armenia
would be as democratic as modern Turkey."

The same day Armenian Ambassador to the United States, Tatoul
Margarian, responded by sending a letter to the Washington Post. The
letter said Fred Hiatt’s "Armenians Who Need Help Today" leads
the debate over recognition of the Armenian genocide in the wrong
direction.

The Ambassador mentioned that the difficulties that Armenia has
encountered during its successful democratic and economic transition
are not taboo subjects for genuine discussion and members of our
Diaspora have always provided economic assistance and been actively
involved in issues such as the environment, civil and political
liberties, and security. This activism, he added, has not come at
the expense of the quest for genocide recognition, a moral duty for
all Armenians and all of humanity.

"In addition, the Turkish state’s denial of the Armenian genocide
translates into its continuing refusal to normalize relations with
Armenia, leading us to believe that our only choice is to pursue both
historical and contemporary justice," Margarian said.

"The fact that Armenia’s democratic transition is not yet complete
should not prevent Armenia from condemning crimes against humanity,
especially a genocide that killed 1.5 million of our ancestors, took
their historical homeland and destroyed a millenniums-old culture,
The Ambassador’s letter said. "The suggestion that Armenia’s routine
transition problems and the genocide carried out by Ottoman Turkey
can be weighed on the same scale is ill-founded, to say the least,"
the Ambassador wrote.

US SHOULD NOT COMPROMISE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DEBATE
by Aladdin Elaasar

Bay Area Indymedia, CA
Oct 29 2007

Turks should not shy away from that, find excuses, resort to denial,
or get angry about the whole thing. We are not blaiming nowadays
Turks for what their Sultan ordered almost a hundred years ago. But
the problem is that the whole issue has been so politicised.

By Aladdin Elaasar – Turks should not be angry about the US’s Congress
condemning the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 as genocide. Well,
that was during Ottoman times. And the Ottoman times are long
bygone. But for the sake of history, we need to acknowledge that
yes, Armenian were ethnically cleansed and almost a million and
half perished. They were forcefully removed from their villages and
disposessed, and the trauma was carried with them through generations
to follow.

Turks should not shy away from that, find excuses, resort to denial,
or get angry about the whole thing. We are not blaiming nowadays Turks
for what their Sultan ordered almost a hundred years ago. But the
problem is that the whole issue has been so politicised. The military
generals in Ankra have exploited the whole issue and as usual turned
it into a matter of national pride and have been beating the drums of
war with Iraq. Is this what friends and allies do to their patron,
America, in time of war? This is all too familiar. The Generals in
Ankra have always wanted to go into Kurdish territories rich with
oil. Their timing could not be better, or worse for their ally, the US.

The generals have ruled Turkey with an iron fist since the days of
Ataturk, and claim to be the protectors of secularism in Turkey;
a Muslim nation that for centuries ruled many countries under the
banner of Islamic caliphate. As usual, in a military dicatorship,
they maintain a hyper-nationalistic fascist rehtoric to marshall
and control their masses. They do not even allow the millions of
Kurds in Turkey to use their language, have their ethnic schools and
newspapers. The result was the creation of rebel Kurdish movements
who are equally nationalistic about their Kurdish heritage. Every
action has a reaction. Saddam could not Arabicise the Kurds and they
fought him for decades.

But the facts are: Armenians suffered under Ottoman rule, so did the
Greeks, the Arabs, Christians and Muslims, alike. Other people also
did. Most immigrants to America from the Middle East were fleeing the
Ottoman yoke. They fled to America about a hundred and fifty years
ago. The Ottoman’s heavy hand, heavy taxes and compulsory conscription
into the Sultan’s army made them detest the idea of a caliphate and
fought with British against their own co-religionists to overthrow the
Ottomans. The generals in Ankra need to get over the Armenian issue,
accept and tolerate the Kurds as they are, and above all give the
Turkish people true democracy, in order for them to be accepted in
the European Union.

As for America, Congress did the right thing condemning the Armenian
genocide. Many Armenian-Americans were relieved that a part of their
ancestors’ history was not compromised or forgotten. Remember Elia
Kazan’s movie "America, America"? It depicts the plight of the many
under the Ottomans. America Should not Compromise its Values. The
whole world looks up to us as beacon of freedom and democracy. We
should hold a higher moral ground. We should practice and enforce
what we say and not be blackmailed by our so called allies in Ankra.

History should teach us that shaking hands with dictators is not
the right thing to do. Soon they will turn to be a liability than
an asset. Not more than a marriage of convenience. Remember Marcos
in the Philippines, Suharto of Indonesia, the Shah of Iran, Sadat
and Mubarak of Egypt, and Musharaf of Pakistan. These were once
considered strong allies of the US. But these countries are rife with
anti-Americanism! Why? Conspiracy theorists and bashers of America
would cry double standards and hypocrisy: we call for democracy while
we support oppressive militaristic regimes! If congress would retract
its decision, that would send a mixed dangerous message that America
can be blackmailed and does not practice what it preaches.

ALADDIN ELAASAR is an award winning Arab-American journalist and
author of several books including "Silent Victims: The plight of Arabs
and Muslims in Post 9/11 America." He can be reached at omaraladin
[at] aol.com

28/18456790.php

AMBASSADORS OF SEVERAL FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO AZERBAIJAN VISIT FRONTLINE

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 29 2007

Ambassadors of nine countries to Azerbaijan visited western region
of the republic. APA’s western bureau reports that the ambassadors of
China, Lithuania, France, Norway, India, Belarus, Israel and Moldova
to Azerbaijan and UN resident coordinator visited Tovuz, Gazakh and
Gandja towns. One of the main aims of the visit was to meet with the
people of the villages bordering on Armenia and concern themselves with
the situation. The visit organized by parliamentarian Ganira Pashayeva
and Foreign Ministry started from Tovuz region. After familiarizing
themselves with the center of the region the diplomats arrived in
Aghdam village of Tovuz bordering on Armenia. The ambassadors were
told that Armenian Armed Forces often violate ceasefire and fire on
the peaceful population. The ambassadors witnessed Armenian’s setting
fire in the territories and burning cemetery in the neutral territory
in Aghdam village. On the second day of the visit the diplomats on the
initiative of Ganira Pashayeva observed Gizil-Hajili village of Gazakh
region, which had been occupied and burnt by Armenians. After visiting
Gazakh the diplomats returned to Gandja and familiarized themselves
with cultural-historical monuments of the town. They visited Shah Abbas
Mosque, Javad Khan sepulcher and Khan Bagi. The diplomats also visited
Nizami Gandjavi mausoleum. The ambassador of China told journalists
that they were deeply impressed by what they had seen and added that
this can not go on like this. We support integrity of borders and
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. I believe that Both Armenian and
Azerbaijan will find solution way to this conflict, restore integrity
of Azerbaijani borders," he said. French ambassador Bernar de Shafo
stressed that they saw a lot during the visit. "We visited border
village, and saw how territories and cemetery was burnt when we were
in Aghdam village. I heard about it, but I saw everything with my own
eyes. This is war and it is sorrowful that people who want to visit
graves of their relatives can not do it," he said. Indian ambassador
Muthu Kumar was disappointed with what he saw in the border. "I hope
that this issue will be solved soon, the results of the war in this
beautiful country will be eliminated," he said. Lithuanian ambassador
Kyastitus Kudzmanas saying that visit impressed him deeply said that
situation changed in Aghdam village. "We saw burnt areas, cemetery
there. I can not perceive meaning of committing arsons in mountains,
cemetery," he said. Lithuanian diplomat stressed that he supports
finding solution to the conflict soon.

HOUSE RESOLUTE TO HURT INTERNATIONAL IMAGE
Mike Hassel

University of Evansville Crescent online
public/200710/26/04az_forum.html
Oct 26 2007

While the Constitution places Congress above the executive branch,
many presidents-from FDR to George W. Bush-have managed to wield their
authority to curtail congressional power. Many political analysts hoped
the changes in the U.S. political climate sparked by the 2006 midterm
elections would reverse this trend and return Congress to a position of
superiority. But the actions of the Democratic-led Congress have shown
that marginalization may not be such a bad thing. The House passed
a resolution in July against Japan that condemned its impressment of
sex slaves during World War II.

House leadership continued to push for the passage of this measure even
though, according to the Washington Post, a letter from the Japanese
government asserted the measure would damage the relationship between
the two allies. Japan has repeatedly apologized for its treatment of
women during the war. Surprisingly, the resolution condemning Japan
is the least damaging of the nonbinding measures Congress has passed
this year. The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution
this month that condemned the World War I killings of Armenians by the
Turkish Ottoman Empire-a state that no longer exists-as "genocide"
in spite of warnings from Turkish leaders. Now waiting for a vote
on the congressional floor, the proposed House Resolution 106 has
created international uproar.

According to foxnews.com, support for the resolution has diminished
since Turkey recalled its ambassador from Washington earlier this
month. Yet House leadership is still pressing the issue, apparently
blind to Turkey’s sensitivity. Turkey, a critical ally in the
Middle East, could punish America by preventing supplies from
reaching U.S. troops in Iraq. These resolutions are unnecessary and
irresponsible.

Like Turkey, Japan is one of America’s staunchest allies. It is one
of the few countries willing to share the economic burden of the
war in Iraq. Yet this also has escaped the minds of congressional
leadership. Surely, Congress would not use childish, passive-aggressive
tactics to change foreign policy because they were unable to alter it
through a vote on legitimate issues. These resolutions are examples of
how politics can become more important than a country’s foreign policy
and international image. The irresponsibility of recent Congressional
actions is stunning and embarrassing. House Democrats should focus on
improving the U.S., not condemning past evils of U.S. allies. These
actions place an exclamation point on the failing record of this
Congress.

US CONGRESS DELAYS ARMENIA VOTE
By Agencies

MWC News
Oct 26 2007
Canada

CULTURE

Turks had marched in protest against the bill [EPA] The authors
of a US congress bill to formally label the World War One massacre
of Armenians by Turks a genocide have agreed to delay the measure,
which had sparked fury in Turkey. The White House had called for the
scrapping the bill, which passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee
on October 10, fearing relations with Turkey would be damaged. The
sponsors of the bill wrote to Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of
Representatives, on Thursday asking her not to hold a debate. Turkey
had recalled its ambassador in protest at the committee passing the
bill and threatened a reduction in military co-operation if the house
passed it. Armenians say at least 1.5 million people were killed
from 1915 to 1917 in what they say was a campaign of deportation and
murder by the Ottoman Empire. Turkey bitterly disputes the number of
dead and the characterisation of the killings as a genocide. Judgment
questioned Despite signs that support for the controversial resolution
had waned in recent days, the bills Democrat authors – Adam Schiff,
Brad Sherman, Anna Eshoo and Frank Pallone – said it still had
significant backing in congress. "We believe that a large majority of
our colleagues want to support a resolution recognising the genocide
on the house floor, and they will do so, provided the timing is more
favourable," the letter said. Democrats argued that by refusing to
condemn the Armenian massacres as "genocide" the US will encourage
impunity for current and future crimes against humanity, for example
the killings of civilians in Darfur. John Boehner, the Republican
House minority leader, welcomed the move to pull the bill, but said
the whole episode reflected badly on the Democratic leadership and
"calls their judgment into question." "Let’s be clear: the suffering
the Armenian people endured was tragic, there is no doubt about that,"
he said in a statement. "But this 90-year-old issue should be settled
by historians, not by politicians."