ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
September 28, 2006 Thursday
Russia’s reply to Georgian demarche must be well-considered-Gustov
by Lyudmila Yeremakova
Russia must take harsh, well considered measures in response to the
detention of Russian military in Georgia, the chairman of the
Federation Council’s CIS affairs committee, Vadim Gustov, said on
Thursday.
He described Georgia’s latest demarche as another link in the chain
of events that may eventually lead to Georgia’s admission to NATO.
Georgia hopes that its unceremonious policy would earn it more
authority with NATO, Gustov said, adding he would not rule out that
Georgia might be number one target of US policies of making CIS
members break off with Russia.
As for the peacekeepers, Gustov recalled that “there are
well-established procedures of their presence in the region, there is
the CIS mandate and recognition by the OSCE.”
Should Russian troops be pulled out, “a long and sanguinary war will
flare up in the Caucasus that may cause destruction not in Georgia’s
territory only.”
The FC’s CIS affairs committee chief would like the other CIS
countries, including Armenia, to take the correct position on the
issue.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish Daily News
September 28, 2006 Thursday
MEPS CALL FOR MORE REFORMS FOR PROGRESS IN EU TALKS
The European Parliament warned Turkey in a non-binding report
yesterday that it must speed up far-reaching reforms if it wanted to
become a member of the European Union.
European parliamentarians adopted the highly critical, nonbinding
report by 429 votes in favor to 71 against with 125 abstentions,
accusing Ankara of failing to live up to commitments it made to win
the green light from EU leaders to start talks on joining the bloc,
which began last October.
“The European Parliament … regrets the slowing down of the reform
process,” the report said, adding that Turkey had shown “insufficient
progress” in the areas of freedom of expression, religious and
minority rights, women’s rights and the rule of law since the start
of accession talks 11 months ago.
In a move likely to please Ankara, the European Parliament deleted a
controversial clause that would have sought to make recognition by
Turkey of an alleged genocide of Armenians at the hands of the late
Ottoman Empire a pre-condition for full membership.
But the report still called on Turkey to “acknowledge the Armenian
genocide” before it can join the EU, with European parliamentarians
saying it was “indispensable” for Turkey to come to terms with and
recognize its past. They also urged Turkey to establish diplomatic
relations with Armenia and open the land border with its eastern
neighbor
Another clause in the critical report referring to alleged genocides
of other communities in Anatolia, namely the Pontus Greeks and the
Assyrians, was added to the one on the alleged Armenian genocide.
On Cyprus, the report demanded that Turkey fulfill its obligation to
open its ports and airports to traffic from EU-member Greek Cyprus
under an extended customs agreement. Ankara has refused to do so
unless the EU fulfils a pledge to end the economic isolation of
Turkish Cypriot North Cyprus. Brussels rejects this approach.
The report’s author, Dutch parliamentarian Camiel Eurlings, told the
European Parliament that it was “fair but tough” and urged Ankara to
see it as a “motivation to speed up reforms.”
“I’m sorrowed that I had to draft such a damning report but the ball
is now firmly in Turkey’s court,” Eurlings was quoted as saying at a
news conference.
In earlier reactions, Economy Minister Ali Babacan, who is also
Turkey’s chief EU negotiator, played down the report’s significance.
“We assess this report as a foreign assessment, an alternative view
which must be taken into account but it shouldn’t have too much
importance attached to it,” he was quoted as saying.
Ankara is also awaiting a progress report from the EU’s executive
arm, the European Commission. The report on Turkey will be released
on Nov. 8.

Xinhua News Agency
September 28, 2006 Thursday 11:00 AM EST
Turkey expresses concerns over Netherlands’ approach on Armenian
genocide
A Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman on Thursday expressed concerns
over Netherlands’ approach on a “so-called Armenian genocide” in
early 20th century, Turkey’s semi-official Anatolia news agency
reported.
“We are deeply worried about the one-sided approach of our ally
Netherlands’ political parties on so-called Armenian genocide as this
puts a limit on the freedom of expression,” Namik Tan was quoted as
saying.
Tan’s comment came after three Turkish-origin candidates were removed
from their party lists in the Netherlands for the Nov. 22 early
parliamentary elections because they refused to acknowledge the
Armenian genocide.
Ruling out the possibility that his country would accept allegations
on Armenian genocide as historical reality, Tan stressed that Turkey
had opened all its archives, including military ones, so that the
incidents of 1915 can be studied from a scientific perspective.
Tan also recalled that the Turkish government had proposed the
Armenian side to establish a joint history commission over the issue.
Turkey, a country seeking European Union (EU) membership, has always
refused to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia on the basis
that Armenia claims up to 1.5 million Armenians died as a result of
systematic genocide during the Turkish Ottoman period between 1915
and 1923.
Some European Parliament (EP) members characterized the removal of
the three Turkish candidates as a violation of the freedom of
expression, Turkish Zaman daily newspaper reported.
On Wednesday, the EP approved a report on Turkey’s progress towards
accession to the EU, in which the lawmakers dropped their demand that
Turkey must acknowledge the Armenian genocide before it can join the
bloc and called on Turkey to speed up its reform process.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Eurasianet, NY
September 28, 2006
ARMENIA TO DIASPORA: IT TAKES A GLOBAL VILLAGE
by Haroutiun Khachatrian
In a bid to boost economic development, Armenia has unveiled an
ambitious plan to enlist the support of the country’s Diaspora
population to promote the revitalization of border villages.
Representatives of the Diaspora have reacted positively to the plan,
but conditioned their support on a government commitment to
democratic principles.
`The development gap between Yerevan and the marzes (provinces)
remains one of the key challenges of modern Armenia,’ President
Robert Kocharian said in opening a three-day conference of Diaspora
members in Yerevan on September 18. Though Armenia’s economy has
posted double-digit growth for the past five years, Yerevan, with
one-third of the country’s population of roughly 3 million, produces
more than half of its Gross Domestic Product. Poverty is higher
outside of the capital, and migration a severe problem, with some
remote regions facing depopulation.
To reverse that situation, the Armenian government is looking to the
Diaspora to take on responsibility for the rehabilitation of roads,
irrigation systems, schools, and leisure facilities in 50 villages
along the frontier with Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran and Georgia. `We
expect that, after restoring the rural infrastructures, [the
villages] will become more attractive for investors, and moreover,
hopefully, part of the population who left those villages may
return,’ Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told conference attendees.
The government sees the sponsorship of 50 border villages by Diaspora
communities, organizations or individuals to act as the first stage
of rehabilitation for all of Armenia’s 159 border villages, Oskanian
said. The average cost of meeting a village’s needs is estimated from
$500,000 to $700,000. According to the minister, the government has
already received sponsorship pledges for over 30 villages, and hopes
that all 50 villages will find sponsors by March 2007. The Union of
Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia has also announced plans to
sponsor one border village.
Armenia has long looked to its Diaspora, at least twice the size of
the country’s own population, to provide investments and various
forms of assistance. The Diaspora, in turn, has looked to Armenia for
inspiration in preserving a sense of national identity and heritage.
Two previous conferences, in 1999 and 2002, elaborated various ideas
for preserving Armenian national unity, but without advancing
concrete initiatives.
Much of the motivation for Diaspora members’ pledge of support at
this year’s conference comes from the border regions’ strategic
status as a potential frontline in what many conference participants
termed Armenia’s new, `economic war’ with neighboring, oil-rich
Azerbaijan. The proposal has received the support of all
Diaspora-connected political parties and all of the country’s
principal religious organizations.
`Initially I thought that they again are just asking the Diaspora to
give money,’ conference participant Samvel Shnothogian told Armenian
public television, referring to government officials. `But I saw that
they are sincerely interested in getting a real outcome.’ The
government has also indicated that all options are open for
implementation of the plan, including having Diaspora sponsors
directly manage the future rehabilitation of all 159 border villages.
Diaspora members, however, had their own demands for the government.
Most conference speakers stated that they expect the Armenian
government to take decisive efforts to meet democratic standards.
Failure to satisfy this expectation would prevent a deepening of
Diaspora involvement in development projects. Current Diaspora
investment in Armenia is estimated at between $200 million and $300
million. `Diaspora Armenians need a new inspiration and this
inspiration can be provided by Armenia only. But not by this
Armenia,’ Petros Terzian, a French Armenian, said at the conference’s
closing session. `We need a democratic, fair country, free of
corruption. If you [local Armenians] fail to create such an Armenia,
we [the Diaspora Armenians] cannot do it either.’
With the exception of Foreign Minister Oskanian, most Armenian
government officials at the conference avoided discussing this topic.
The minister, who is expected to run for president in 2008, cited
corruption and the ability `to hold free and democratic elections’ as
among the `internal challenges’ that face Armenia along with the
`external challenges’ created by the operation o the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and growing cooperation between
Azerbaijan and Turkey. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive].
While details about implementation of the Diaspora-sponsored village
program remain undefined, international organizations have recently
provided the government with fresh impetus for revitalization of
Armenia’s border regions.
Three large-scale programs totaling around $40 million and supported
by the World Bank, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe and the United Nations Development Program have been approved
to boost the development of rural areas, according to Agriculture
Minister David Lokian. Later in 2006, a $235 million rural
infrastructure program financed by the US Millennium Challenge
program, and a project financed by Armenian American billionaire Kirk
Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation will also start work in the regions. The
government maintains, however, that these programs alone are not
sufficient to cover the rehabilitation needs of rural Armenia.
In apparent recognition of that assistance, representatives of
foreign donors such as the United States Agency for International
Development, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, among others,
were invited to the conference for the first time.
NOTES: Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer specializing
in economic and political affairs.

Agence France Presse — English
September 28, 2006 Thursday 9:28 AM GMT
EU enlargement chief to visit Turkey ahead of key report
ANKARA, Sept 28 2006
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn is scheduled to visit Turkey
next week ahead of a crucial report on the country’s struggling
membership bid, officials said Thursday.
Ankara has faced increasing warnings that its bid may be derailed,
only a year after accession talks started, if it fails to ensure
freedom of speech and grant trade privileges to EU member Cyprus
under a customs union accord with the bloc.
Rehn, who will arrive here late Monday, is expected to have talks
with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul, Turkey’s chief EU negotiator, Economy Minister Ali Babacan, and
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek on Tuesday and Wednesday, a spokeswoman
for the EU Commission told AFP.
He is also expected to visit the Turkish parliament, address a
conference on union rights organized by one of Turkey’s biggest trade
unions, Turk-Is, and make a speech at Ankara’s Middle East Technical
University, she said.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will issue on
November 8 a report on Turkey’s progress towards membership, which is
widely expected to be critical.
“The momentum for reform has slowed down in Turkey in the past year,”
Rehn said Tuesday.
Last week, Brussels slammed Ankara for failing to ensure free speech
after best-selling novelist Elif Shafak went on trial for insulting
the Turkish nation in a book about the massacres of Armenians under
the Ottoman Empire.
Even though Shafak was swiftly acquitted, the European Commission
said “a significant threat to freedom of expression” remains in
Turkish law and urged amendments in penal code articles that have
landed a string of intellectuals in court.
In another major sticking point, Ankara insists that its sea and air
ports will remain closed to Greek Cypriot use unless Brussels
delivers on promises to ease trade restrictions imposed on the
breakaway Turkish Cypriots in the north of the divided island.
The dispute stems from Ankara’s refusal to endorse the Greek Cypriot
administration in the south, which is internationally recognized as
the government of the Republic of Cyprus.
Babacan said earlier this month that the EU was making “serious
efforts” to find a formula for a “provisional or partial” solution to
the row.

Business Wire
September 28, 2006 Thursday 3:25 PM GMT
Jane Fonda to Deliver Keynote Address at 2006 COAF ‘Save a
Generation’ Awards Dinner
NEW YORK
The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) is pleased to announce that Jane
Fonda, Oscar-winning actress and humanitarian, will deliver the
keynote address at the annual Save a Generation awards dinner, to be
held Friday, October 20, 2006, at Cipriani 42 Street in New York.
COAF will honor outstanding individual and corporate leaders, and
celebrate the success of COAFs unique formula for poverty alleviation
through village revitalization, education, health care and
development. Emmy award winner Andrea Martin will serve as Master of
Ceremonies and Ms. Fonda will appear along with honoree George
Pagoumian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Napco, LLP.
In addition, COAF will recognize Pierre Michel Fattouche of VivaCell
and Eduardo Eurnekian of Zvartnots International Airport and Tierras
de Armenia as two organizational leaders fighting poverty in Armenia
through long-term economic development. Actress and humanitarian Jane
Fonda has enjoyed tremendous success as a stage and screen actress in
such well known films as Coming Home with much of her work devoted to
the program she founded in 1995, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent
Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP). She chairs this statewide effort to
reduce the high rates of adolescent pregnancy in Georgia through
community, youth and family development, sustainable economic
development and legislative advocacy. In 1994, Ms. Fonda was named
Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund. She is
also a member of the Women & Foreign Policy Advisory Committee of the
Council on Foreign Relations, the Grady Health System Board of
Visitors, the Screen Actors Guild Advisory Board, the Advisory Board
of the Native American Rights Fund, and sits on the V-Counsel of
V-Day: Until the Violence Stops. In May 2005, Random House published
Ms. Fondas memoirs, The New York Times , her first film in 15 years,
also reached number one at the box office, making Ms. Fonda the first
person to simultaneously have a number one book and number one movie.
Founded in 2000, the Children of Armenia Fund is an independent,
nonprofit, nongovernmental organization (501(c)(3)). COAF seeks to
reverse the impoverished conditions affecting significant numbers of
Armenias villages and implementing projects that provide immediate
and sustainable benefits to children and youth. For further
information, please visit .
The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) is pleased to announce that Jane
Fonda, Oscar(R)-winning actress and humanitarian, will deliver the
keynote address at the annual “Save a Generation” awards dinner, to
be held Friday, October 20, 2006, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New
York. COAF will honor outstanding individual and corporate leaders,
and celebrate the success of COAF’s unique formula for poverty
alleviation through village revitalization, education, health care
and development.
Emmy(R) and Tony(R) award winner Andrea Martin will serve as Master
of Ceremonies and Ms. Fonda will appear along with honoree George
Pagoumian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Napco, LLP. In
addition, COAF will recognize Pierre Michel Fattouche of VivaCell and
Eduardo Eurnekian of Zvartnots International Airport and Tierras de
Armenia as two organizational leaders fighting poverty in Armenia
through long-term economic development.
Actress and humanitarian Jane Fonda has enjoyed tremendous success as
a stage and screen actress in such well known films as Klute and
Coming Home. Ms. Fonda now focuses her time on activism and social
change – with much of her work devoted to the program she founded in
1995, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention
(G-CAPP). She chairs this statewide effort to reduce the high rates
of adolescent pregnancy in Georgia through community, youth and
family development, sustainable economic development and legislative
advocacy.
In 1994, Ms. Fonda was named Goodwill Ambassador for the United
Nations Population Fund. She is also a member of the Women & Foreign
Policy Advisory Committee of the Council on Foreign Relations, the
Grady Health System Board of Visitors, the Screen Actors Guild
Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the Native American Rights
Fund, and sits on the V-Counsel of V-Day: Until the Violence Stops.
In May 2005, Random House published Ms. Fonda’s memoirs, My Life So
Far, which secured a first-place position on The New York Times
Bestseller list. That same spring Monster-in-Law, her first film in
15 years, also reached number one at the box office, making Ms. Fonda
the first person to simultaneously have a number one book and number
one movie.
About COAF
Founded in 2000, the Children of Armenia Fund is an independent,
nonprofit, nongovernmental organization (501(c)(3)). COAF seeks to
reverse the impoverished conditions affecting significant numbers of
Armenia’s children by revitalizing Armenia’s villages and
implementing projects that provide immediate and sustainable benefits
to children and youth. For further information, please visit

CONTACT: Sunny Uberoi, 212-994-8206Anna Sargsyan,
212-994-8234CONTACT: Sunny Uberoi, 212-994-8206
[email protected] or Anna Sargsyan, 212-994-8234
[email protected]

IRNA, Iran
Sept 28 2006
Iranian energy minister expected in Armenia today
Tehran, Sept 28, IRNA Iran-Armenia-Energy Energy Minister Parviz
Fattah is to begin a visit to Armenia today to participate in the
Iran-Armenia-Georgia trilateral meeting as well as follow up joint
border projects and a bilateral agreement for supply of electricity
to Armenia.
On the two countries’ energy cooperation, he said a third
230-kilovolt transmission line being set up by the Iranian Sanir
company in Armenia is one of their ongoing projects and is to become
operational by year-end.
Electricity networks of Iran, Armenia and Georgia will be linked in
the near future so that Iran can have greater access to international
networks through Geogria, the minister told IRNA.
Construction of a dam on their joint Aras river is another
Iran-Armenia ongoing joint project, he said, adding that talks are
underway for construction of another dam in Armenia.
The 235-km Aras river forms an international border between Iran,
Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia.

Thursday, September 28, 2006
****************************************
FROM MY NOTEBOOKS
**********************************
He who asks a rude question neither wants nor deserves an honest answer.
*
Two frequently used phrases in English that are never used in Armenian: “Speak truth to power,” and “The buck stops here.”
*
“The buck stops here,” and the blame-game are mutually exclusive concepts.
*
Sometimes the hardest word to pronounce is no.
*
Last night on CBC [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation] an interview with a Turkish novelist who was taken to court because in her latest book an Armenian character from San Francisco refers to Turks as “butchers.” The Turks, it seems, are so eager to achieve membership in the European Union that even a single word in a work of fiction bothers the hell out of them.
*
In the same way that we are brought up to believe we are a nation of heroes and martyrs, the Turks are brought up to believe they are a nation of empire builders and noble warriors, even if most of their so-called warriors were not Turks but brainwashed and castrated Christians.
*
People who give others ulcers, heart attacks, and cancer, die of natural causes.
*
I repeat myself because I consider it my duty to reassert the truth against ceaselessly repeated lies.
*
Bernard-Henri Levy (contemporary French philosopher): “Israeli writers are better politicians than Israeli politicians because imagination is a necessary ingredient of good politics. By using their imagination, writers are in a better position to understand what it means to be and feel like a Palestinian.”
#
Friday, September 29, 2006
**************************************
HOW NOT TO BE A WRITER
**********************************************
Misery likes company they say and they are right. If I encouraged anyone to adopt literature as a career, I have done so for purely selfish reasons.
*
Anyone who can write a sentence these days thinks he can also write a paragraph, a page, and a chapter. Result: an unlimited supply of trash most of which will never see the light of day. According to a recent statistic, only one in a thousand manuscripts is accepted for publication. That’s because for every honest man there are probably a thousand self-assessed geniuses, in the same way that for every authentic man of faith or servant of god there are a thousand mullahs, shamans, gurus, televangelists, fornicators, and child molesters; and for every statesman there are a thousand wheeler-dealers whose number one concern is number one.
*
It is said that writers are appreciated only after they die. What unmitigated nonsense! What unadulterated rubbish! I can name a hundred Armenian writers who are neither appreciated nor read even by the overwhelming majority of their fellow Armenians. As for courses in creative writing, how-to books, lectures, seminars, and symposia that have been mushrooming hiroshimally: the most practical advice you will get from them is of the kind that tells you to “stand still and wave a white handkerchief, this should confuse the elephant.”
*
Did anyone in Homer’s or Dostoevsky’s time even speak of such a thing as “creative writing”? My favorite advice, or rather anti-advice is: “Are you sure you are doing the wrong thing?” Because to do the right thing nowadays means to conform by saying “Yes, sir!” even when the right thing to do is to bellow “No!”
#
Saturday, September 30, 2006
**********************************************
THE MEANING OF MEANING
********************************************
James Joyce once bragged that some of his puns have as many as five meanings. It is said of Saadi (13th-century Persian poet) that each word of his has as many as seventy-two meanings. Can you guess the number of meanings in an autumn leaf, a raindrop, an atom, a massacre?
*
Julien Green (1900-1998): “The young and not so young today speak platitudes, write platitudes, think platitudes. From one end of the world to the other – music, painting, architecture – it’s the triumph of mediocrity.”
*
“Your negativity is killing us,” a reader complains. Translation: Critics, no! Brownnosers, yes!
*
The only reason I concentrate on our failings is that we are in a position to do something about them. As for the failings of the rest of the world: what’s the use of bitching?
#

ARMENIA CANNOT BE SERIOUS FACTOR FOR EU ACCEPTING OR NOT ACCEPTING TURKEY
PanARMENIAN.Net
27.09.2006 18:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia and Armenians themselves cannot be a serious
factor for EU accepting or not accepting Turkey, political science
doctor, historian Armen Ayvazyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In
his words, it is a problem of Europe, not the Armenians.
“The Armenians are lately raffled off as small change for the sake of
interests of European countries. Even the countries, whose parliaments
recognized the Armenian Genocide do not observe norms according to
the laws adopted. E.g. France, which recognized the Genocide in
a special law. No conclusions are made out of it to apply to the
current situation, the government, which committed the Genocide,
is not indicated. Even largest information agency as Agence France
Presse never utilizes the word “genocide”. They write “massacre and
slaughter,” the Armenian political scientist remarked.
“Turkey even today pursues a hostile policy regarding Armenia:
the blockade, full support to Azerbaijan in all fields.” Ayvazyan
is convinced that one should leave euphoria from recognition of the
Armenian Genocide by various countries. “I believe that one should
deal with this issue more seriously and in a more balanced manner. The
resources and actions of Armenia and the Armenians should be aimed,
first of all, at improvement of the geopolitical situation of Armenia,
rather than participation in the European games with Turkey at our
expense”, he said.

CHIRAC: I STRESSED NEED TO OPEN ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER MANY TIMES
PanARMENIAN.Net
28.09.2006 13:39 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “I believe that the prospect of EU accession
is an important element for keeping Turkey on a way, linking that
country with the West, which Turkey chose itself,” French President
Jacques Chirac stated in an interview to the Hayastani Hanrapetutyun
(Republic of Armenia) newspaper. In his words, the accession to EU
itself provides for necessary reforms.
“This is a long way. I am sure that seeing Turkey declined towards
European values, human rights, peace, democracy in interests of both
EU and Armenia,” the French President said. He emphasized that he
had urged Turkey to open the border with Armenia many times.
“However, evidently the issue is closely related with solution of the
Karabakh conflict and progress in the Karabakh settlement may have huge
importance for solving that issue. I believe it is possible today,”
Chirac said. As of the Armenian Genocide the French leader said that
European values provides for working for reconciliation, peace and
respect. “I believe in Turkey’s ability to pay historical tribute,
as the spirit of Europe lies in that,” Chirac underscored.