TURKISH PRESIDENT VETOES EU-INSPIRED LAW ON NON-MUSLIM PROPERTIES

Agence France Presse — English
November 29, 2006 Wednesday 3:49 PM GMT

Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on Wednesday sent back
to parliament for reconsideration a bill aimed at improving the
property rights of Turkey’s tiny Christian and Jewish communities,
a key European Union demand.

Sezer’s veto coincided with a European Commission recommendation to
suspend membership talks with Turkey in several areas as a result of
a trade row over Cyprus.

Christian minority rights are expected to figure high on the agenda
of talks between Pope Benedict XVI, currently on a visit to Turkey,
and community representatives he will meet in Istanbul late Wednesday
and Thursday.

Sezer objected to nine provisions in the overhauled Foundations Law,
which, he said, give foundations broad economic rights that go beyond
the objective of charity work.

"It is not possible to define foundations… as economic actors
or models of political and social organization or non-governmental
organizations," he said.

The main aim of the bill passed by parliament in early November was
to pave the way for mainly Greek, Armenian and Jewish foundations to
recover properties seized by the state since 1974 under a controversial
court ruling.

Community representatives welcomed the bill, but said it fell short
of fully meeting their expectations.

The legislation also aimed to loosen tight state control over all
foundations in the country and broadening their rights on property
and administration.

LET THE ONE WHO SETTLES THE KARABAKH ISSUE CAST A STONE AT KOCHARYAN AND ALIYEV
Hakob Badalyan

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

The statisticians of the meetings of Kocharyan and Aliyev are in a
much better state than the historians of the same meetings, if there
are such. Every year enables the statisticians to add two more points
to the statistics of meetings, whereas the historians can tell nothing
to the generations about the contents of these meetings because as a
rule it is not revealed. In this respect, it was pointless to expect
that the meeting in Minsk on November 28 would be different. It is
possible that we may hear the echos of this meeting, or it is possible
that the echo of all these meetings will be the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict for which the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
meet. But since nothing is reported about these meetings, and the
conflict is simply moved from one year to another, we may conclude
that the presidents meet for another purpose than the settlement of
the Karabakh conflict.

Therefore, perhaps, it is pointless to accuse them. Let the one who
settles the Karabakh issue cast the first stone at Kocharyan and
Aliyev. The current process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict is
not realistic, therefore a new settlement should be considered. And
for a new settlement it is necessary to demolish the existing process
settlement. In other words, it is necessary to spark a new conflict
and get down to resolving it. There seems to be no other option. And
if the presidents meet to resolve the problem of Karabakh, currently
their goal – the presidents are ostensibly considering this variant –
is to turn the settlement into a conflict to reach its settlement
afterwards. The point is that any proposal on settlement does not
differ from the present "unsettled" state. The proposals that have
been offered are even more disputable, considering the status quo
and the history of its formation. The settlement should be acceptable
for the publics. The agreement of the presidents must take the test
of their publics too.

Besides the fact that the offered proposals on the settlement of
the conflict are actually as unacceptable as the current situation,
the publics have got used to the existing situation. In Armenia, in
Karabakh and in Azerbaijan people no longer wait for the settlement
of the Karabakh conflict in planning their future and work out their
programs and prospects considering the present situation. In other
words, in order to make the agreement of the presidents acceptable for
the societies, it should be better than the present reality, moreover,
so good that it does not contradict to the vision of the societies for
their future, based on the status quo. In this case, it is apparent
that in order to make their agreement on the proposals on settlement
acceptable for the societies the presidents and the mediators have
to make the current situation worse than the offered proposals. And
if the presidents meet with a sincere wish to reach a settlement,
it means they are discussing the way of reaching settlement at the
price of deteriorating the situation. In this sense, if the suggestion
that the settlement does not worry the presidents, and they meet for
quite another purpose is true, it is rather favorable. In this case,
these meetings should be encouraged, and everything should be done for
them to have a good time together and not remember about the confict
over Karabakh. It is possible that this is what the mediators are
busy doing.

THE ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPER IS RECOVERING, DOCTORS SAY

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

The health condition of the Armenian peacekeeper Georgy Nalbandyan,
who was seriously injured in Iraq on November 12, has considerably
improved, Mediamax agency reports.

During the past 10 days Lieutenant Georgy Nalbandyan underwent two
surgeries in the Landstuhl medical center near the American Ramstein
military base of Germany.

The peaqcekeeper’s doctor told Mediamax that the patient is rapidly
recovering.

The doctor informed that Georgy Nalbandyan will recover in 2-4 weeks.

He did not rule out that next week Nalbandyan will try to wear the
temporary artificial limb.

ARMENIA IS ASPIRING TO BRING THE RELATIONS WITH NATO TO A QUALITATIVELY HIGHER LEVEL

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

"We are aspiring to bring our relations with NATO to a qualitatively
higher level," declared RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan,
Mediamax reports.

"Armenia perceive the relations with NATO as an important component
of the European integration policy. The development of Armenia’s
cooperation with NATO immediately proceeds from the interests of
regional security, and Armenia will continue the joint accomplishment
of programs with the organization. We are aspiring to bring our
relations with the alliance to a qualitatively higher level," said
Andranik Margaryan.

Commenting on Georgia’s aspiration to join NATO, the Aremnain Prime
Minister said that "membership to this or that international structure
is the sovereign right of every country, and in this context we have
a comprehensive approach to Georgia’s wish to join NATO."

"It is important not to allow new divisions occur in our complex
region,, where there are a number of unresolved conflicts. Our position
proceeds from this principle," said Andranik Margaryan.

SPEAKING OF PASSING THE IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE TO ANY OPERATOR IS PREMATURE

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

"Russia has its bases to raise gas prices, which are conditioned
by a number of factors," RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan said
in an interview with Moscow based "Kommersant" newspaper, Mediamax
agency reports.

"At the same time out strategic partnership should be safe from the
current political and economic conjuncture and should be based on
the logic of long-term cooperation," Andranik Margaryan said.

In response to the question whether Iran-Armenia gas pipeline will
be given to "Gazprom" and when it can take place, the Prime Minister
said, "the construction of the pipeline has not been completed yet,
and speaking of giving it to any operator, including "Gazprom" is
premature. For a long time Armenia and Iran have been successfully
cooperating in the energy sphere, and the Iran-Armenia pipeline is one
of the pivotal bilateral energy programs," the Prime Minister stated.

ANDRANIK MARGARYAN: THE POTENTIAL OF NORMALIZING RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN RELATIONS NOT EXHAUSTED

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

"The potential of normalizing the relations between Moscow and
Tbilisi has not been exhausted," Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan said in an interview with "Kommersant" newspaper, Mediamax
agency reports.

"We are interested in the rapid resolution of the disputable issues
in Russian-Georgian relations., since the cooperation between Russia
and Georgia is one of the most important components of security in
the region, without which it is hard to imagine the accomplishment of
mutually beneficial economic programs in the region," said Andranik
Margaryan.

IRAN ISSUES FATWA ON AZERI WRITER

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

One of Iran’s most senior clergymen has issued a fatwa on an Azeri
writer said to have insulted the Prophet Muhammad.

The call on Muslims to murder Rafiq Tagi, who writes for Azerbaijan’s
Senet newspaper, echoes the Iranian fatwa against Indian writer Salman
Rushdie, BBC reports.

It was issued by the conservative Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Fazel
Lankarani.

The writings of Rafiq Tagi sparked recent demonstrations outside the
Azerbaijani Embassy in the Iranian capital, Teheran.

The Iranian media is reporting that Grand Ayatollah Lankarani’s
followers inside the Republic of Azerbaijan wrote to him asking for
advice about what they called "the apostate writer".

They accuse the Azeri writer of portraying Christianity as superior
to Islam and Europe as superior to the Middle East.

They allege that he has ridiculed all the sanctities of Islam and
done it knowingly, fully aware of the consequences of his action.

In response, Grand Ayatollah Lankarani is said to have issued a fatwa
calling for the death of the writer and also the person responsible
for publishing his articles.

Earlier, an Iranian cleric had offered his house as a reward to anyone
who killed the Azeri writer.

But this latest fatwa comes from one of the dozen or so Grand
Ayatollahs in Iran, who has a large following.

An Azerbaijani court sentenced the writer Rafiq and his publisher to
two months in jail for an article which was illustrated by the same
cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad originally published in Denmark that
caused outcry in the Muslim world.

MEETING OF CENTRAL COMMISSION FOR REFERENDUM
Laura Grigorian

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Nov 30 2006

On November 27 the Central Commission for Referendum on Constitution
held a meeting in Stepanakert. The divisional commissions 8 and
22 participated in the meeting. The chair of the commission Sergey
Nasibian said the focal issue today is to hold a referendum on December
10 on a high level, and gave the members of the divisional commissions
explanations on their duties on these days. In particular, he asked
them to check once again the voting registers.

It was informed that the ballots are ready, and soon the sample
and the right way of filing in the ballot will be shown on Artsakh
Channel. The chair of the Central Commission for Referendum called
the chairs of the divisional commissions not to go to extremes and
consider the ballots as invalid if the tick is not exactly within
the space for marking but it is clear what the voter wanted to say.

During the parliamentary election last year 5000 ballots were
considered invalid for similar reasons. According to Sergey Nasibian,
the polling boots will be placed on December 9. In order to avoid
crowding inside the polling station, Sergey Nasibian proposed hanging
the voting registers outside the polling stations because the polling
stations were crowded for this reason. The voting will start at 8
o’clock on December 10. There will be observers. The chair of the
Central Commission assured that the results of the voting will be
released every three hours.

YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY TO PURCHASE 20 TROLLEYBUSES

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

YEREVAN, November 30. /ARKA/. The Yerevan Municipality is to purchase
20 trolleybuses in 2007, Yerevan Vice-Mayor Slava Avanesyan told
reporters.

"This is a most positive fact for us because the Yerevan Municipality
has not imported trolleybuses since 1987," he said.

Avanesyan reported that the trolleybuses will be imported from Russia
and Belarus because their price in Europe is too high. One Russian
trolleybus costs $170-$180ths.

Avanesyan pointed out that the Yerevan Municipality is already
negotiating with the producers.

He said that the Yerevan Municipality intends to purchase 20-30
trolleybuses yearly until 2010.

HASMIK PAPIAN HAS CONTRACTS WITH FAMOUS OPERA THEATERS OF EUROPE AND OTHER COUNTRIES UNTIL 2009

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 30 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Hasmik Papian,
who has performed on stages of famous opera theaters of the world
and captured many spectators, is again in Armenia: she was invited
to take part in the jubilee concert dedicated to 50th anniversary of
Public Television and 80th anniversary of Public Radio. The singer
said this during the November 30 meeting with journalists at the Urbat
(Friday) club.

The world-famous soprano has contracts with famous opera theaters of
Europe and other continents of the world until 2009 inclusive. After
the short interval in Yerevan she will perform concerts in U.S. and
South Korea. Currently the Norma DVD disk with her performance is sold
in almost all countries of the world. And the laser disk of Komitas
songs’ performances released lately received the Pizzicato first prize.

Hasmik Papian said that to take part in the concert dedicated to
Year of Armenia in France is a credit to her. "I have prepared an
interesting program on this occasion, this is selection of Armenian
songs, from medieval Armenian church psalms, Komitas’ songs up to
Mansurian’s works. This program will give foreigners an opportunity
to form a complete idea about Armenian art of singing," the singer
emphasized.

H.Papian mentioned with modesty peculiar to her that she does not think
she has achieved everything in this sphere of art. "Each concert is
first for me. Though I have been on the stage for 20 years I go up
to the stage with great responsibility every time. I wish to stay
on the stage long and to perform one of Wagner’s operas, especially
Isolde’s aria from Tristan and Isolde I have always wished to perform,"
she said.

To recap, currently Hasmik Papian is the most famous performer of
Norma’s aria. She has performed this part for 172 times on stages of
the best opera theaters of the world.