TUSIAB EXCLUDES COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
Azeri TUSIAB international business company has refuted the reports
of a number of Turkish mass media on cooperation with Armenia. TUSIAB
President’s address to “Turan” agency says that there was information
in the Turkish Daily News that the Istanbul based Club of Turkish
Producers and Businessmen /TUSIAB/ established contacts with Armenia.
The document says that “TUSIAB categorically denounces any cooperation
with Armenia before the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity.”

NKR PRESIDENT ARKADY GHUKASYAN TO SPEAK AT LA WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
After completing his visit to the East Coast communities, rallying
support for the upcoming Armenia Fund’s 9th Annual International
Telethon, NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan will leave Detroit for Los
Angeles today.
President Arkady Ghukasyan is scheduled to speak at the Los Angeles
World Affairs Council’s dinner reception at the Westin Bonaventure
Hotel on Thursday, November 16, 2006 at 7:30pm. The Council hosts
heads of states and high-ranking government officials to speak to its
members. This past summer, the Council hosted Her Majesty’s Prime
Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and H.E. Sergei Lavrov,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
President Ghukasyan will use this opportunity to share his views on
the future of Karabakh, its relations with neighboring countries,
its place in the international community and the prospects for greater
US-NKR engagement.
The President is the Guest of Honor at Armenia Fund’s Annual Gala,
which will take place on November 19 at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at
the California Plaza. The event will highlight the 15th anniversary
of independent Republics of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh and as well
as celebrate Armenia Fund’s mission of rebuilding the homeland since
independence. Armenian jazz singer Datevik Hovanesian and her quartet
will perform live during the gala. The premier sold out event is set
to welcome Armenia Fund’s long time donors and supporters as well as
heads of major Armenian-American organizations and churches.
In Los Angeles President Ghukasyan is scheduled to meet with select
Armenia Fund donors and supporters, as well as with the leaders of
major Armenian-American organizations. The President is to appear
live during Armenia Fund’s 9th Annual International Telethon. The
live 12 hour television program will be held on Thanksgiving Day,
November 23, 8:00AM-8:00PM PST. Proceeds from the event will benefit
the Hadrut Regional Development project which, among other projects,
includes the reconstruction of a regional hospital and the purchase of
5 new ambulances, the construction of new local schools, agricultural
development programs, as well as the construction of drinking water
and irrigation networks.

U.S. EMBASSY EXPRESSES DEEPEST CONCERN FOR ARMENIAN SOLDIER INJURED IN IRAQ
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
The Embassy of the United States of America in Yerevan would like to
express its deepest concern for the Armenian soldier who was seriously
injured in Iraq, as well as its condolences for the Polish and Slovak
soldiers who were killed during the incident, says the statement of
U.S. Embassy in Armenia.
Earlier Armenian Defense Ministry Press Secretary, Colonel Seyran
Shahsouvaryan, told ArmInfo that Senior Lieutenant Georgy Nalbanyan
(born in 1981) was injured in a blast of a self-made mine. Polish
and Slovakian soldiers who were accompanying him were killed in the
blast. The leg of the Armenian officer was ablated. He will undergo
further treatment in Germany. It was the first incident wherein an
Armenian soldier was involved during the 2 years of the Armenian
contingent’s mission in Iraq.
U.S. Embassy told ArmInfo Armenia’s contingent in Iraq is carrying
out the extremely important but dangerous work of bringing peace and
democracy to the country. ” The injured Armenian solider is receiving
the best medical care available, and we would like to thank him and
his Armenian colleagues for their vital role in the international
coalition fighting the global war on terror,” says the statement of
the U.S. Embassy.

IRANIAN COMPANY ALVAN FOUNDS BUILDING PAINTS PRODUCING PLANT IN ARMENIA
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
A plant producing building paints of an Iranian company ALVAN, which
is engaged in production of paints and rubber, will be put into
exploitation in Armenia by the end of 2007, ALVAN Export Department
Director Siamak Ebadi told ArmInfo. He did not mention the volume of
investments in the production.
He said the idea of founding the plant in Armenia is connected, first
of all, with the high demand for building paints in the local market,
as well as with the 7-year-long experience of work in the Armenian
market. Thus, S. Ebadi said ALVAN exported paints worth $5 million to
Armenia during these 7 years. The sales volume of the Iranian paints
in the Armenian market grows by 30% annually. S. Ebadi forecasts that
the new plant will produce 100 tons of building paints daily. At the
same time, he said the local production will satisfy the internal
demand at the initial stage. In future it will export its production.
S. Ebadi said that ALVAN intends to found similar plants also in
Romania and UAE. At present, the company exports its production to
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Switzerland, Georgia, Ukraine
and Iraq.
ALVAN was founded in Iran in 1981. According to the National
Statistical Service of Armenia, in Jan-Sept 2006 as against the same
period of 2005, the paint-and- varnish production in Armenia grew
by 30.4%.

CHARITABLE RELIGIOUS SEMINARY OF CALCUTTA (INDIA) ANNOUNCES ADMISSION OF CHILDREN
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
The Charitable Religious Seminary of the Armenian Apostolic Church
in Calcutta (India) announces admission of children at the age of 7-11.
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Chancellery Department for
Inter-confessional Ties told ArmInfo, the seminary is a ten-year
educational establishment meeting the demands of an English secondary
education school. The graduated students of the seminary are to pass
examinations. The graduated students having excellent and satisfactory
marks will get an opportunity to continue their education in the
11-12th forms at schools in Calcutta or abroad, particularly, in
Australia, England and the USA. The Armenian Apostolic Church covers
the education expenses. Applications can be made to the Mother See
of Holy Etchmiadzin Chancellery Department for Inter-confessional
Ties. The deadline for applications is December 10.

HEALTH OF ARMENIAN PEACEMAKER INJURED IN IRAQ IN NORMAL STATE
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
The Armenian peacemaker who was injured in Iraq feels himself better,
Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan told journalists on his
departure to Iraq, Monday.
As it was reported earlier Senior Lieutenant Georgy Nalbanyan (1981)
was injured on November 11. His leg was ablated in an American
military hospital.
The minister said G. Nalbandyan has already been transported to
Germany for further treatment. His life is no longer in danger.
At the same time, the minister said that the Defense Ministry has
applied to the National Assembly for prolongation of the term of
Armenian peacemaking mission in Iraq. “Armenia cannot only ‘consume’
security. Armenia must make its contribution into the process of
world security,” the minister said.
ARMENIAN PEACEMAKERS IN IRAQ TO BE ROTATED ON NOVEMBER 14
The 6th group of Armenian peacemakers will leave for Kosovo on
November 14, Press Secretary of Armenian Defense Minister, Colonel
Syeran Shahsouvryan, told ArmInfo. The farewell ceremony will take
place at the regiment in Yerevan.

OSCE MG U.S. CO-CHAIRMAN SURE THAT GEORGE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WILL STRONGLY OPPOSE ANY DRAFT LAW ON RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
Matt Bryza, a top-level official from the U.S. State Department,
U.S. Co-chairman of OSCE Minsk Group for settlement of Karabakh
conflict, asserted that the George Bush Administration would strongly
oppose any draft law on the recognition of Armenian genocide.
However, he added that given the complexity of the new political
environment since the midterm elections, it was hard for them to
precisely foresee any outcome.
Zaman reports that Matt Bryza was speaking at the annual convention of
the Assembly of Turkish- American Associations (ATAA) and commented
on the possibility of an Armenian genocide bill introduced to the
House of Representatives, where the Democrats have recently gained
control. He described the new situation as a change in the political
reality and said that it was impossible for the administration to
predict how the new mechanism would operate with regards to the fate
of any proposal for recognition of the Armenian genocide.
Newly ensconced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, promised the
Armenian lobby to support any bill regarding the genocide.
Meanwhile, in his address at the meeting, Bryza, drew attention to
Russian attempts at being the sole energy supplier to the region and
underlined the importance of Turkish-American strategic cooperation.

ISTANBUL OFFICE OF TURKISH HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION APPEALED TO TURKISH INTERIOR MINISTRY TO EXAMINE MASS GRAVES UNCOVERED IN VILLAGE OF XIRABEBABA
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
The Istanbul office of the Turkish human rights organization appealed
to the Turkish Interior Ministry with an open letter to examine the
mass graves of the 20th century, which have been discovered in the
village of Xirabeba of Mardin region, and to find out whether the
killed were Armenians or Assyrians.
According to Turkish mass media, the letter says that no statements
about uncovering the burial place on October 17 have been made so
far. It was said that the peasants who had found remains in a stone
quarry informed the police about that. Then the military men blocked
the entrance of the quarry but said nothing of the remains. Yet,
they said that they would start investigation on this. According to
the source, Turkish soldiers didn’t allow the journalists to enter
the quarry, and forbade the natives to show the way to the quarry.
Therefore, the human rights advocates of Istanbul insist on
investigation of the graves by an independent group of historians and
experts in forensic medicine. The authors of the letter emphasize
that the society which fails to display courage to look directly
at the sad historical events of the past is unable to successfully
finish the process of democratization.
To remind, while unearthing the grave of one of their relatives,
the dwellers of Xirabebaba discovered mass burial in the stone quarry
full of bones and skulls. The peasants supposed that they found the
remains of over 300 Armenian inhabitants killed in 1915. Professor
David Gaunt, a Swedish historian, believes that the remains discovered
in the stone quarry belong to 270 Armenians and Assyrians killed by
the order of Young Turk commander Halil Edip.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LEADER OF ARMENIAN OPPOSITION GLAD TO KNOW THAT UNLIKE 2003 TODAY ROBERT KOCHARYAN SUPPORTS KARABAKH’S INVOLVEMENT IN KARABAKH PEACE TALKS
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 13 2006
“I am glad to know that unlike 2003 today Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan supports Karabakh’s involvement in the Karabakh peace talks,”
the leader of the People’s Party of Armenia Stepan Demirtchyan and
the key rival of Kocharyan during the presidential race 2003 said
during today’s press-conference in the Friday press club.
Asked by an ArmInfo correspondent to comment on the Karabakh peace
process in the context of the Nov 14 meeting of the Armenian and Azeri
FMs, Demirtchyan said that it is hard for him to comment on the process
as he is not aware of the details. In any case, Demirtchyan believes
that real progress in the process is possible only if Karabakh is
involved in it.

SOME DETAILS OF MILITARY SERVICE EVASION IN ARMENIA
Translated by Pavel Pushkin
Source: Novoe Vremya (Yerevan), October 31, 2006, p. EV
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
November 13, 2006 Monday
In the Soviet times evasion of the military service was an ordinary
matter in Armenia. As a rule, parents, especially top-ranking ones,
did their best to protect their sons. These were mostly residents
of cities. If they failed to protect their sons from the service
they tried to arrange for their sons to serve as close to home as
possible. The luckiest ones remained to serve in Armenia. Some of
the conscripts were exempted from service for bribes or for good
relations. At any rate, one thing did not stand in the way of the
other. All thinkable false documents about bad health, incomplete
status of families and other documents of this kind were obtained by
hook or by crook. Military commissars and doctors made very much money
on this. Practically the same is happening nowadays. Probably flight
of conscripts to Russia or to other CIS countries was added to the
well-tested methods. Very often conscripts flee without any documents,
sit and wait for the time when they turn 27. Alleged religious belief
has become a popular method to. Another less prestigious method is
post-graduate study. There are post-graduates in the country sufficient
for an entire division.
Deserting from the army acquired local specific traits to. Soldiers
desert seldom but they are often allowed to go home for a while for
bribes. This phenomenon has not acquired a mass nature yet but is at
least very popular.
Nothing will evidently change in the future and no supreme national
interests can serve as an obstacle.