ARMENIA’S KOCHARIAN SEEKING CONTINUED ROLE IN GOVERNMENT
By Emil Danielyan

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Dec 13 2006

With just over one year to go before the end of his second and final
term in office, Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian does not leave
the impression of a man preparing for retirement. The past week has
seen further indications that he wants to dominate Armenian politics
— or at least retain a key role in government — in the years to
come. Whether this sits well with his most likely successor, Defense
Minister Serge Sarkisian, is not yet clear.

Armenia’s constitution bars Kocharian from seeking a third five-year
term in the next presidential election, due in early 2008. This
restriction was unaffected by a package of constitutional amendments
that was controversially enacted by the Armenian authorities in
November 2005. There were opposition fears that Kocharian could
sidestep it by declaring that because the country has a new basic law,
the clock on his years in office should start in 2005. But his aides
and political allies have repeatedly dismissed such fears.

The 52-year-old Armenian leader, who has gone to great lengths to hold
off numerous challenges to his decade-long rule, seems to be trying to
secure his political future in a different way. His national security
adviser, Garnik Isagulian, admitted on December 4 that he intends to
retain a "big influence" on political processes in the country. "The
role to be played by President Kocharian [after 2008] will be quite
large," Isagulian told reporters in Yerevan. The official would not
specify whether Kocharian is aiming for another high-ranking government
post or plans to pull the strings from behind the scenes.

The remarks only stoked mounting speculation that Kocharian has set
his sights on the post of prime minister, which he held for almost
a year before being catapulted to the Armenian presidency in 1998.

According to Hmayak Hovannisian, a maverick parliamentarian reputedly
linked to the ruling regime, this is part of a scenario drawn up by
the country’s leadership. "After the parliamentary elections [slated
for next spring] Serge Sarkisian will become prime minister and
[current Prime Minister] Andranik Markarian [will become] speaker of
the National Assembly," Hovannisian claimed at a May news conference.

"What will Robert Kocharian do? Who else is to occupy the post of
prime minister when Serge Sarkisian becomes president of the republic?"

It is widely assumed that Kocharian’s preferred successor is Sarkisian,
Armenia’s second most powerful man. Both men are natives of Karabakh
who governed the disputed Armenian-populated territory during its
secessionist war with Azerbaijan before ending up in top positions
in Yerevan. They have jointly weathered many political storms and
share a vested interest in keeping their bitter political foes at
bay. Either man’s downfall would almost certainly mean the other’s
exit from the political arena.

Sarkisian increasingly acts like a president-in-waiting, tying
the state apparatus, wealthy businessmen, and the broader "power
class" to the governing Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), his main
support base. He is also organizing public relations stunts such as
high-profile visits to Armenian army units, meetings with soldiers’
parents, and academic debates on Armenia’s new national security
doctrine, which was drafted by Sarkisian. His early November visit to
Iraq, ostensibly aimed at inspecting a small contingent of Armenian
troops stationed there, was widely seen as an attempt to win U.S.

support for his presidential ambitions.

The question is whether Sarkisian is willing to share power with
Kocharian in the event of his victory in the 2008 election. Kocharian
may well be trying to make sure that the powerful defense chief
remains dependent on him after 2008 by covertly sponsoring a new
and extremely ambitious party led by one of Armenia’s wealthiest
"oligarchs," Gagik Tsarukian. The party, called Prosperous Armenia,
has been busy in recent months, distributing large-scale relief aid
to low-income farmers, providing free medical services, sponsoring
pop concerts, and engaging in other "charitable" activities.

Tsarukian already claims to have the largest following in the country
as a result of what his detractors, including some HHK leaders,
regard as massive vote buying.

In lawmaker Hovannisian’s view, shared by some local analysts,
Prosperous Armenia’s main mission is to form one of the largest
factions in the next Armenian parliament and thereby help Kocharian
become prime minister. Other commentators say Sarkisian does
not necessarily have a problem with that, insisting that the two
leaders continue to work in tandem and may have already agreed on the
outcome of the 2007 parliamentary elections. (Little suggests that
the polls will be democratic, despite constant government pledges
to end Armenia’s post-Soviet history of electoral fraud.) Hayots
Ashkhar, a daily newspaper close to Sarkisian, predicted on December
6 that the bulk of the parliamentary seats will be given to the
HHK, Prosperous Armenia, and another pro-establishment party,
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. For all their bickering,
each of these parties will be satisfied with its share of the pie,
the newspaper wrote.

Whatever the real story, Kocharian is clearly taking every opportunity
to remain in the limelight, showcasing what he considers to be
the major achievements of his rule and maintaining a busy travel
schedule. As if to demonstrate that he is no lame-duck president, he
held an extraordinary meeting with Prime Minister Markarian and several
other top officials on December 8 to lambaste the Armenian government
for its failure to tackle widespread tax evasion. Kocharian warned them
that he will be "more demanding" towards the work of the government’s
tax collection agencies during the final year of his presidency.

(Statement by the Armenian president’s press service, December 8;
Hayots Ashkhar, December 6; Haykakan Zhamanak, December 5; RFE/RL
Armenia Report, December 4, May 17)

ARMENIAN FARE FILLS THE AIR IN L.A.
By John Henderson
Denver Post Staff Writer

Denver Post, CO
Dec 13 2006

I found a suburb that has real charm, an identity. Credit the ethnic
makeup for Glendale becoming more than just another boring bedroom
community built on off-ramps and Macaroni Grills.

Glendale, Calif. – Suburbia is America’s culinary wasteland. It’s
where you must get in your car to buy a gallon of milk or pint of
beer, where your best dining options are Chili’s or Black-Eyed Pea
and where Olive Garden is considered just one step away from Italy.

Suburbia’s great contribution to urban planning is the cul-de-sac.

There is no there there.

But just northeast of Los Angeles, where suburban life is a world unto
its own, there is one ‘burb where you can tell what city line you’re
crossing without a freeway map, and where you can dine somewhere
besides a strip mall.

Credit the ethnic makeup of Glendale for it becoming more than just
another boring bedroom community built on off-ramps and Macaroni
Grills.

Glendale has 85,000 ethnic Armenians – about 40 percent of the city’s
population – making it the largest Armenian community west of the
Black Sea. Walk by shops in the tree-lined downtown, and you hear a
smattering of Armenian and Farsi, the national language of Iran from
which many Armenians emigrated after the overthrow of the shah in 1979.

You see Arabic-style lettering on ice cream shops and auto garages.

You see Armenian flags on houses.

But you sense something else. You sense the smell of roasted lamb
and charbroiled chicken and cumin and nutmeg. Glendale is blessed
with a plethora of Armenian restaurants. Step inside one, and you
won’t think you’re anywhere near a Tony Roma’s, although one is also
right downtown.

People come from all over metro L.A. to Glendale for the food, and
so did I. I spent two straight weekends watching Southern California
botch another attempt at a national football title, and on a sunny
Sunday afternoon visited the flagship of Glendale’s Armenian cuisine.

Raffi’s Place has a brick outdoor patio surrounding a huge tree with
lamp heaters. The place is packed with Armenians, handsome people
with big, dark eyes and an innate sense of style. I saw two giggling
teenage girls speaking Armenian or Farsi into their cellphones,
a man in his 20s wearing a baby blue UCLA sweatshirt.

I was the only one speaking English and looked only slightly out of
place wearing blue jeans and a souvenir golf shirt from the Tour de
France and reading the L.A. Times sports section. I didn’t look like
someone craving shirazi.

I did have one thing in common with everyone. I loved the food.

Denver has numerous Middle Eastern restaurants, and I want to visit
Beirut merely to see if I can find Lebanese food better than at the
Pita Jungle on University Boulevard near the University of Denver.

Armenian food is similar to Lebanese: It’s big on kabobs, marinated
chicken and hummus.

But it’s different in many ways. Armenians put shallots in their
yogurt. Eggplant is a big appetizer. Raffi’s menu offers pomegranate
juice. Armenia, a tiny landlocked country squeezed between Iran,
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, is surprisingly into fish.

I stepped away from the kabobs and tried the patient waiter’s
recommendation of a true Armenian dish: chicken soltani. It’s
marinated chicken barg (big chunks) and chicken koobideh (ground up)
with grilled tomato and green pepper over basmati rice.

The dish came in a Denny’s-sized portion but had four-star quality.

The barg was a foot-long string of chicken, tangy and succulent, and
it rested on a giant slab of ground chicken. I could eat only about
three-quarters and spent the rest of my time watching the Armenian
families socialize and the line grow into the parking lot.

Glendale has been fairly accommodating during the Armenian invasion,
which began in the 1920s but attracted another surge in the ’70s. The
Armenians turned ultra-WASP Glendale, home of John Wayne and Elvin
Bishop, into a cultural melting pot. The city even flies American flags
at half-staff on April 24, Armenian Genocide Day, commemorating the
slaughter of an estimated half-million Armenians during the Ottoman
Empire from 1915-23.

But Glendale did start a controversy when it tried applying its laws
against outdoor grilling to Armenian restaurants, which seems like
telling gardeners to cover up their rose bushes.

"It’s barbecue," said Raymond Bakijan, Raffi’s manager. "It’s got to
be outside."

I’d say Glendale raised a stink, but it smelled too good. Still does.

DENIS BRIBOSIA: "NAGORNO KARABAKH REFERENDUM IS NON-PROGRESSIVE STEP IN THE SETTLEMENT OF CONFLICT"

Today, Azerbaijan
Dec 13 2006

"The referendum held in Nagorno Karabakh is a non-progressive step
in the settlement of the conflict," EU Secretary General’s special
representative in Azerbaijan Denis Bribosia told.

He said that this referendum may hamper the process of the settlement
of the conflict, APA reports.

Touching upon the restoration of ANS’s broadcasting Denis Bribosia
called November 24 "the saddest day for the Azerbaijani press".

"I mean suspense of ANS’s broadcasting, the removal of the Azadliq
newspaper, Turan Information Agency and other newspapers from their
offices," he said.

Denis Bribosia said international organizations are satisfied with
the restoration of ANS broadcasting.

"This fact shows that better steps may be taken in the sphere
of freedom of press in Azerbaijan in future. The restoration of
ANS broadcasting is good news not only for me and international
organizations, but also for the Azerbaijani people. Now they can hear
pluralistic news," Mr. Bribosia said.

URL:

YES, I’M A VIRUS FOR ARMENIANS
Nursun Erel

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Dec 13 2006

>From reading the last few days of The New Anatolian, you may have
noticed that I was recently in Yerevan.

So what kind of impressions did I get from my 10-day visit to our
neighbor?

Let me honestly share a few with you.

An Armenian non-governmental group, the Caucasus Center, invited me
there; their aim for this project was discussing stereotypes in both
societies. The British Embassy in Yerevan was among the supporters
of the project.

So how did it go?

Well, it was perfect for proving the existence of certain stereotypes
in Armenia (also in Turkey I believe), so it really reached its goal.

One example came on the second day of my program in Yerevan. I was
supposed to meet with the journalism school students at Yerevan State
University. But the long-planned meeting was surprisingly cancelled
at the last moment by the university rector, Aram Simonyan. Sources
told me that the rector gave a strange reason for the cancellation:
"The Turkish journalist could spread some virus to the students."

But somehow the students of the Yerevan State University didn’t share
their rector’s view, so they came to my hotel. We had a lot to say to
each other, but while we were talking, all of a sudden they started
to get strange telephone calls, and one by one they had to leave,
apologizing and saying, "We have a problem at the university." Later
I was told that the strange calls came from their professors asking
them to leave the meeting and return to the university.

But if I could have talked to them more on that day, in fact I’d have
been critical of the Turkish press. I would have given some examples of
stereotypes trafficked in even by well-known columnists. How they make
errors, and how they apologized later. I’d tell them about my peculiar
experience investigating Ataturk’s old speeches in the archives of
the Turkish Parliament too.

I can hear you asking, "Why don’t you tell those stories here?"

No.

First, because I don’t want to infect your beautiful minds with my
infectious opinions, with a virus called "tactlessness."

Secondly, I’m sorry that right now I’m very preoccupied desperately
struggling to correct how my words were twisted by an Armenian weekly
called Pan Armenian.

And thirdly, isn’t it easier to have such prejudices towards each
other?

So we don’t have to remove any of our stereotypes.

Let’s keep them in our minds.

I promise that I also won’t say anything to my Turkish friends about
Orhan Pamuk’s image in Armenia, that none of his books has been
translated into Armenian. I won’t tell them that during my first
three days in Yerevan, no one so much as mentioned the name of Pamuk,
our recent Nobel winner. So let the Turks believe that he’s a hero in
Armenia because of his controversial remarks words about the Armenian
"genocide."

Yup, it’s very easy to live like a virus, with all our stereotypes,
don’t you agree?

US GRANTS ASSISTANCE TO ARMENIAN RURAL AREAS

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Dec 13 2006

YEREVAN, December 12 (Itar-Tass) — The U.S. government has transferred
the first tranche of financial aid to Armenian rural areas within the
framework of the Challenges of the Millennium programme. The tranche
amounted to 882,000 U.S. dollars

Late in May, Armenia will receive another 507,000 U.S. dollars,
representatives of the U.S. same-named governmental corporation said
on Tuesday.

Armenia is one of 19 countries, which the U.S. government has chosen
for the programme that envisages non-repayable assignment of 236
million U.S. dollars within five years for the implementation of
projects of the republican authorities.

The Armenian government chose to develop rural territories and to
reduce poverty. Some 750,000 villagers will receive the assistance.

The programme envisages that 146 million U.S. dollars will be assigned
for restoring irrigation facilities, and 67 million U.S.

dollars – for reconstructing 943 kilometers of rural roads, head of
the programme management council Ara Ovsepian said.

In his words, the programme will be implemented under the public
control.

The U.S Temporary Charge d’Affaires in Armenia Anthony Godfrey believes
that the programme is an extraordinary chance for Armenia.

It will help to reduce poverty and increase incomes of rural residents.

The government of Armenia must do its best to continue democratic
reforms and provide for fair management in order to continue receiving
the funding, the diplomat said.

With this in mind, he pointed out the importance of free and fair
elections of the Armenian parliament in 2007 and presidential elections
in 2008.

The Challenges of the Millennium Corporation is optimistic regarding
the forthcoming in 2007 and 2008 elections, which will show progress
in the electoral process, a corporation representative said.

TIGRAN TOROSYAN: REVOLUTIONARY CHANGES TAKE PLACE IN ARMENIA’S HUMAN RIGHTS SPHERE

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Dec 12 2006

YEREVAN, December 12. /ARKA/. Revolutionary changes have taken place
in Armenia’s human rights sphere over the last few years, Speaker of
the RA Parliament Tigran Torosyan stated at the seminar "Human rights
and Armenian reality".

He pointed out that Armenia’s citizens have the right to apply to the
European Court of Human Rights. "Constitutional amendments adopted
a year ago allowed citizens to apply to the Constitution Court to
defend their rights," he said.

Torosyan pointed that the RA Ombudsman has all powers to "carry out
this important and honorable mission."

In his turn, RA Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan stressed that human
rights are considered a fundamental value all over the world and
are the guidelines of the activities of any organizations and any
society. "From this point of view we can say that Armenia, which
is on the way of democratization, has no alternative but ensure and
protect the rights of all its citizens," he said.

The seminar was held under the motto "Poverty reduction". The seminar
was organized by the RA Ombudsman’s office in cooperation with the
UN and OSCE offices in Armenia, and the British Council.

ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK ANNOUNCES OPEN-HOUSE DAY IN ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Dec 12 2006

YEREVAN, December 12. /ARKA/. ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank announces an
open-house day in Armenia, the bank’s press office reports.

The bank will present its new services such as deposits, loans for
repair, mortgage loans, ACBA Shopping plastic cards, preferential
credit cards and Gift cards on this very day – December 8.

ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank was established in 1995 as part of EU TACIS
program and registered in 1996.

Credit Agricole, a French banking group, bought 28% of the bank’s
stakes in September 2006 and became the bank’s biggest shareholder.

ARMENIA BEGINS IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Dec 12 2006

YEREVAN, December 12. /ARKA/. Armenia has begun implementation of
signed international conventions, UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia
Consuelo Vidal reported at the seminar discussion on the topic "Human
Rights and the Armenian Reality" dedicated to the poverty reduction
issue in Armenia.

She pointed out that Armenia signed a number of important international
agreements, particularly the convention on political and civil rights,
UN social and cultural convention, the convention against tortures
and other cruel inhumane or humiliating manners of treatment,
the convention on eradication of discrimination against women,
the convention against racial discrimination and the convention on
children’s rights protection. "All these documents create a necessary
legislative fundament for implementing the activity within the
frameworks of human rights protection in the country," she said.

Vidal reported that different criteria by which the poverty reduction
activity is implemented in Armenia are rather positive. However,
it should be remembered that there are still many people living on
the verge of poverty despite all the achievements in the country.

"The rights of this vulnerable group are not observed, such as their
right for education and a high state of welfare," she said and added
that when man’s urgent needs are not satisfied and her or she lives
in poverty, they cannot protect their rights.

The UN coordinator believes that the government must ensure human
rights protection. The UNO first of all urges the country’s authorities
to continue its work and create such an environment that would promote
human rights protection and combat against poverty. "We are ready to
give necessary support and assistance with this process," she said.

The seminar discussion on the topic "Human Rights and the Armenian
Reality", dedicated to the international day of human rights, was
held in Armenia on December 9 under the motto "Poverty Reduction".

The activity was organized by the Armenian Ombudsman’s office in
association with the UNO Office in Armenia, OSCE and the British
Councils. The participants particularly were Armenian Ombudsman Armen
Harutunyan, Speaker of the Armenian parliament Tigran Sargsyan, OSCE
Chairman Vladimir Pryakhin, Chairman of the Armenian Constitutional
Court Gagik Harutunyan and representatives of a number of NGOs.

December 10 has been marked as Human Rights Day since 1950.

EBRD: FURTHER STRENGTHENING OF AMD THREATENS COMPETITIVENESS OF REPUBLIC’S ECONOMY

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Dec 12 2006

YEREVAN, December 12. /ARKA/. Today presenting the EBRD Transition
Report for 2006 an expert of the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development Alexander Cirmiciu said that further strengthening
of AMD threatened the competitiveness of the republic’s economy,
however it could happen in case of absence of growth of the commercial
production", Cirmiciu emphasized.

At the he added that EBRD hoped for inflow of private investments into
the republic, which would enable to secure growth of the production.

In 11 months of 2006, AMD strengthen by 21,99% against USD – from AMD
450,19 for $1 at the beginning of the year to AMD 369,05 for $1 by the
end of November. During first 12 days of December AMD strengthened
against USD by 0,94%. Today average nominal exchange rate makes AMD
365,62 for $1.

During the period between 2003 and 2005, in Armenia USD has devaluated
20,92%. In 2003, the average exchange rate of the USD was equal to
AMD 578,77, in 2004 – AMD 533,45, and in 2005 – AMD 457,69.

OSCE READY FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE TO ARMENIA’S DEMOCRATIZATION

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Dec 12 2006

YEREVAN, December 12. /ARKA/. The OSCE is ready to render further
assistance to the development of democracy and civil society in
Armenia as well as to the implantation of the OSCE’s principles and
values in the country, Head of the OSCE office in Armenia Vladimir
Pryakhin stated at the seminar "Human rights and Armenian reality"
He pointed out that in the 2006 the OSCE has rendered assistance to
the RA Ombudsman and has been involved in reforming the country’s
judicial system and dealing with gender problems in the country.

"Our office is closely cooperating with the Armenian Embassy and with
representatives of civil society," he said.

In this context, Pryakhin stressed that human rights protection is
not the responsibility of an individual government or public structure.

"This requires the entire public’s hard work, which will contribute to
the issue being in the center of the authorities’ constant attention,"
he said.