ARMENIA TO MARK 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF NEW YORK TERRORIST ACT SEPTEMBER 11
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.09.2006 18:37 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ September 11 Armenia will mark the 5th anniversary
of the terrorist act in New York that claimed lives of over 3 thousand
people, U.S. Embassy PR officer Taguhi Jahukian told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. “Commemoration events will be held in the town of Ararat. The
action participants will lay a wreath to the Memorial to the victims of
the tragedy and honor their memory with a minute of silence,” she said.

ARMENIAN SERVICEMEN WILL TAKE PART IN NATO EXERCISES IN KISHINEV
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.09.2006 13:25 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Three officers of the Armed Forces of Armenia under
the command of Hakob Melikyan will take part in the Cooperative Longbow
2006 exercises, to be organized within the NATO Partnership for Peace
Program in Kishinev September 10-21. According to the Armenian MOD
Press Service, another 11 Armenian servicemen under the command of
Karapet Salabashyan will take part in NATO Cooperative Lancer 2006
exercises, to be held in Kishinev September 18-29.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA 53RD IN ECONOMIC FREEDOM RATING
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.09.2006 14:33 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ According to the report, made public by the Cato
Institute, Hong Kong is the leader on economic freedom indicators in
the world. It is followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland and
the US. The UK and Ireland are the sixth. The top ten also includes
Canada, Island and Luxembourg.
Among the countries of the former USSR Estonia has the highest place –
it is the 12th. Latvia and Lithuania are 35th and 40th respectively,
while Georgia and Armenia both on the 53rd place, and Azerbaijan is
the 83rd. Russia is 102nd, thus it occupies a place lower than most
of the former USSR country. The situation with freedom is even worse
in Ukraine, which is the 111th. Zimbabwe and Burma are on the last
places of the rating of 130 countries.
Cato Institute has been annually publishing the rating of economic
freedom of the countries of the world since 1980, reports Lenta.ru.

CANADIAN MFA CONCERNED OVER BAKU MILITANT RHETORIC
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.09.2006 14:40 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A delegation representing the Armenian National
Committee of Canada (ANCC) met three senior officials of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Central, East and South Europe Division to discuss
issues of concern to the Canadian-Armenian Community.
As reported by the ANCC, during the meeting, which lasted over an
hour, the ANCC delegates and the ministry officials discussed the
Nagorno Karabakh issue, the illegal blockade of Armenia by Turkey,
the establishment of a Canadian Embassy in Armenia, Canada-Armenia
bilateral relations, and future Canadian economic investment in
Armenia. The ministry officials were forthcoming and frank in their
approach and analysis of the issues. They said they were concerned with
the recent Azerbaijani Government military buildup and Baku’s rhetoric
to use force to solve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. They hoped that
the mediation efforts by the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe (OSCE) will find a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

ISLAND TAKES TITLE OF MOST SCOTTISH PLACE IN SCOTLAND
Lianne Gutcher
Scotsman, United Kingdom
Sept 11 2006
CONSIDERED by many to be one of the most unspoilt islands in Britain,
the tiny Hebridean island of Barra now has another claim – it is the
most Scottish place in Scotland.
Research has revealed that Barra has a higher proportion of Scots
living there than any other part of the UK. About 85 per cent of its
residents have a name considered to be Scottish.
Experts used the Origins Info marking database to arrive at the
results. It categorises the population into 200 different ethnic
groups on the basis of their names.
Its developers attest to the tool’s reliability despite the tendency
of women to take their husbands’ names on marriage and immigrants to
assume a more “British name” to avoid discrimination.
The research was designed to show the characteristics of “melting pot”
Britain. The details were provided by the 42 million adults registered
to vote.
The database is used by charities, retailers and hospitals to tailor
their services to individual ethnic groups.
Jessie MacNeil, of Voluntary Action Barra, a body campaigning on
social and economic issues, said the island’s remoteness had played
a part in preserving its Scottishness.
She added: “The importance placed on the Gaelic language and culture
has contributed to its high-profile [Scottishness].”
The island holds an annual festival, Feis Bharraigh, to promote the
practice and study of the Gaelic language, literature, music, drama and
culture. Begun in 1981, it is the longest-running event of its type.
Coatbridge in Lanarkshire was identified as the least Scottish town,
with only 39 per cent of residents considered to have names that put
their origins in Scotland.
This was attributed to the influx of Irish immigrants – 28 per cent
of the townsfolk had names traceable to Ireland.
Port Glasgow and Clydebank also shared this Irish trend.
In the Borders, West Linton was the most English town in Scotland
while Berwick-on-Tweed was the most Scottish town in England.
Thanks to an influx of steelworkers in the 1930s, the Northamptonshire
town of Corby also has a high density of residents who are Scottish
or of Scottish descent.
Many there still speak with Scottish accents, celebrate Burns Night
and host an annual Highland games.
Throughout the rest of the country, Ripley in Derbyshire is the most
English place, with nearly 89 per cent of residents having English
ethnic roots.
South Tottenham in North London, home to 113 ethnic groups, is the
most diverse.
The survey showed that immigrants from Armenia and their descendents
are the most successful ethnic group along with those from Japan,
Cyprus and the Netherlands.
Those from Sierra Leone, Syria and Bangladeshi Muslims fare the
least well.
Richard Webber, a professor of spatial analysis at University College
London, who developed Origins Info, said: “The patterns that this
analysis uncovers are very striking. We are hoping it will provide
a valuable tool for government and business.”

FRENCH PRESIDENT TO VISIT ARMENIA SEPTEMBER 29 ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY DATA
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.09.2006 14:52 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ According to preliminary data, French President
Jacques Chirac will pay an official visit to Armenia on September 29,
French Embassy Spokesperson Meri Hakobyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. In her words, the final date of the visit of the French
President usually becomes clear 15 days in advance.
The French President will officially open the Year of Armenia in
France. On September 30 – the first day of the festivities – Charles
Aznavour and famous French singers will perform a concert at the
Republic Square in Yerevan.

ANTI-CRIMINAL MOVEMENT IN ARMENIA STEPPING INTO A NEW STAGE
Lragir.am
09 Sept 06
The Lragir has learned about a call addressed to political parties
and organizations, which are establishing the Anti-Criminal Movement.
We think some extracts of this statement may interest the reader.
… Before using the notion of the criminal, especially the criminal in
power, one should know what it denotes. In speaking about criminalized
politics, this notion should be made clear first. And there is nothing
to invent anew: for over a thousand years the community, which denies
the laws of the state, is called a criminal community. The community
of people who live under their own law and impose their own law on
the rest of the society through violence, coercion and bribe. The
notion of “own law” denotes the rules of behavior accepted within
the given community, the violation of which is punished severely.
The aim of the criminal is to usurp the system of government and take
away the rights of citizens, and guarantee their welfare at the expense
of others. The famous notions of the criminal world, the criminal
moral and punishment are merely a form of existence of the criminal.
Therefore, before making anti-criminal efforts it is worthwhile to
define this phenomenon in Armenia. And the situation is such that
the community of people who deny the law of the state of Armenia have
usurped government offices and the corresponding powers, turning the
system of government into a means of legal pressure on the citizens.
This practice guarantees the welfare of the members of this community
at the expense of others. Along with the government levers coercion,
corruption and violence are applied as well.
Consequently, the group of figures who have usurped the state machine
can be called a criminal community. All the provisions of the law,
which are directed against every representative of the criminal
community in the world, are applicable to them. Moreover, in the
current situation there is an additional accusation, which can be
defined as state crime (for every act of violation of the law by a
government official can be defined as state crime).
The following offenses committed by Armenian government officials
can be considered a state crime: creation and sustenance of the
machine of electoral fraud, misappropriation of the public property,
accruing slush funds, violence against citizens, bribing persons and
organizations (namely the media), etc.
All the abovementioned arguments are sufficient ground for accusing
Armenian high-ranking government officials of criminal activities.
Moreover, their activities corresponding to the definition of state
crime. This evaluation enables figuring out the state criminals,
the members of the criminal community, which has usurped the power.
Currently, the following persons are at the hub of this community
(we have learned some names from the list): Serge Sargsyan, Gagik
Beglaryan, Mher Sedrakyan, Ruben Hairapetyan, Sashik Sargsyan, Karineh
Kirakosyan, Galust Sahakyan, Hovik Abrahamyan, Aghvan Hovsepyan, Flora
Nakshkaryan. The list of the members of this community is being made
clear. The main political shelter of this community is considered to
be the organization called the Republican Party of Armenia.
… All the political forces of Armenia, as well as the active
members of the forming anti-criminal movement should understand the
abovementioned arguments what the criminal in power is. The incorrect
definitions and accusations enable state criminals to deny these
accusations hypocritically. The phrases “where is the criminal here?”,
“we have never been in prison, there are no facts”, etc, which are
very popular with Armenian officials and are upheld by the mass media,
are the result of incorrect definitions and accusations, which give
a chance to the criminal in power.
… The public does not need to offer facts. The duty of the society
is to take the criminal it detects to the court. The law enforcement
agencies must provide facts. The society can see all these crimes,
and knows the criminals in face. If the crime is not proved legally,
it does not mean that there is no crime. It may only mean that the
criminal is at large for the time being.

WAGING A CULTURAL REVOLUTIONARY WAR
By Irfan Yusuf
On Line opinion, Australia
Sept 11 2006
September 11, 2001 is seen as the beginning of a new (and very heated)
Cold War. Writing in The Australian on August 11, Dr Tanveer Ahmed
described politicised Islamic extremism as the new Marxism, an
apparently monolithic force at war with an allegedly monolithic West.
Ahmed’s description of politicised Islamic extremism has been broadened
by more jaundiced commentators. Addressing a dinner hosted by Quadrant
magazine, former “Joh-for-PM” campaigner John Stone referred to
“Australia’s Muslim problem” and “the Islamic cancer in our body
politic”.
Perhaps more subtly, Canadian theatre critic Mark Steyn warned
Sydney-siders in August of the dangers of “resurgent Islam”. He
even suggested that the best antidote to conversion was convincing
potential converts that it’s better to be Australian or American or
British “or even French” than to be Muslim. As if being Western and
Muslim were mutually exclusive categories.
More than September 11, it was last years July 7 London bombings that
brought home the real possibility of terrorist threats from home-grown
sources. Sadly, such security threats are still used as an excuse
to wage a cultural revolutionary war which seeks to replace decades
of liberal democratic multi-cultural consensus with an illiberal,
almost Soviet-style government-enforced mono-cultural experiment.
All this raises a number of questions. Does the existence of multiple
cultures affect national security? If so, to what extent? If
integration is an ideal, how should it be implemented? Should
governments implement culture? Will the complete integration of all
minority groups ensure security risks are minimised?
For the likes of Steyn and Stone, any multiculturalism involving
nominally Muslim migrants necessarily represents a security risk.
Their generally crude analysis seeks to identify common features
allegedly forming an essential part of a monolithic Muslim culture.
Such simplistic formulations are not supported by even anecdotal
evidence. In January I witnessed Indonesian Muslim artists perform
the Ramayana ballet to a largely Muslim audience in an ancient
Hindu temple complex located in the city of Yogyakarta, the cultural
heartland of Javanese Islam. Such a performance by Muslims would be
deemed sacrilegious in the Indian sub-Continent.
To speak of a single monolithic Muslim culture, whether in Australia
or elsewhere, is as absurd as to speak of a single Christian culture.
Brazilian Catholics have more in common with Brazilian Muslims than
with Lithuanian Catholics. Lebanese Muslims have more in common with
Lebanese Maronites than with South African Muslims.
If culture and terror were related, security officials should keep
close watch on a range of communities. Writing in the Canberra Times
on September 9, ANU Researcher Clive Williams provides a litany of
terrorist incidents going back to 1868 when a Victorian Irishman
belonging to a predecessor organisation to the IRA shot the visiting
Duke of Edinburgh.
Recent incidents include the 1980 assassination of the Turkish
Consul-General and his bodyguard by Armenian extremists believed to
be protected by local Armenians. The same group struck again about
six years later in Melbourne.
Other groups believed to be responsible for terrorist attacks include
the Ananda Marga sect and the Croatian Revolutionary Brotherhood.
Muslim involvement in terrorist incidents includes deportation of
Mohammad Hassanein in 1996 for attempting to attack local Jewish
community targets.
Terrorism is hardly a mono-cultural affair, either in Australia or
elsewhere. Hence, simplistic remarks by the Prime Minister about
some Muslims refusing to integrate display a profound ignorance of
the history, politics and motivations of terrorist groups.
Howard has rarely shown much sophistication in his understanding
of Australia’s non-Western cultures. One of his former staffers,
conservative columnist Gerard Henderson, commented on this in
the Melbourne Age on May 25, 2004. Henderson wrote of “the one
significant blot on [Howard’s] record in public life … a certain
lack of empathy in dealing with individuals with whom he does not
identify at a personal level: for example, Asian Australians in the
late 1980s and asylum seekers in the early 21st century”.
Howard has repeatedly claimed Muslim migrants to be a new wave of
migration, separate from Asian and European migration waves of the mid
to late 20th centuries. This is historical revisionism at its worst,
and most unbecoming of a leader so intent on our school children
being taught “accurate” history.
One needn’t be a professor of history or demography to know that
Muslims have been represented in all major waves of migration during
the 20th century. For instance, post-war European migration included
significant numbers of Yugoslav, Albanian, Turkish, Cypriot and Middle
Eastern Muslim migrants.
The first book on Islamic theology published in Australia was authored
by Imam Imamovic, a Brisbane-based writer from the former Yugoslavia
who wrote his book in the early part of the 20th century.
The first mosque built in Sydney, known as the Sydney Mosque, was
established by Turks in the Inner-Western suburb of Erskenville during
the 1950’s.
On ABC TV’s Four-Corners aired to coincide with the September 11
attacks, Howard repeats his claim that a small section of Muslim
communities refuses to integrate. He goes further, saying: “And I
would like the rest of the Islamic community to join the rest of the
Australian community in making sure that the views and attitudes of
that small minority do not have adverse consequences.”
Howard’s ambiguous reference to “adverse consequences” is most
unhelpful. His inability to identify precisely what these consequences
are means he cannot identify exactly how “the rest of the Australian
community” have been working.
Presuming adverse consequences means security threats, Howard’s
comments reflect a profound and fundamental ignorance of efforts
made by Muslim communities to combat extremism, including individual
Muslims reporting suspicious behaviour to authorities. Howard’s views
contrast with those expressed by law enforcement officials (including
Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty) that Muslim efforts have
been crucial in catching suspects and averting terrorist attacks.
Perhaps the real problem is that Howard insists putting ordinary
Muslims in a lose-lose situation. He has hand-picked a small number
of Muslims to advise him as part of a “Muslim Community Reference
Group”. His choice of Muslims is dominated by men of his own generation
who are generally as out-of-touch with mainstream Muslims as he is.
Howard’s choice of Muslim advisers is reflective of his choice of
Muslim “leaders” joining him for a summit in August 2005. Howard’s
leaders were dominated by first generation migrant males of Howard’s
age group, men who routinely exclude and alienate women and youth
from community management roles.
It seems Howard wants to have the right to select which Muslims he
talks to, and then reserves the right to criticise all Muslims should
his chosen Muslims say the wrong things. If Howard were genuine
about involving Muslim communities in decision-making on combating
extremism, he might appoint mainstream Muslims who have made their
mark on mainstream Australia, even if it means appointing people who
will effectively challenge his views on culture and security.
If Howard were serious about national security, he might also consider
following the lead of his Deputy. Peter Costello has shown a far more
sophisticated understanding of the relationship between culture and
national security. Costello understands it isn’t the wrong culture
that presents a security threat. Rather, it is the absence of genuinely
Islamic culture which is the problem.
In his February address to the Sydney Institute, Costello spoke of
young Muslims in “a twilight zone where the values of their parents’
old country have been lost but the values of the new country not
fully embraced”.
Further Costello has emphasised on the need for Muslim religious
leaders to provide a greater degree of pastoral care to converts,
saying leaders should “make it clear to would-be converts that when
you join this religion you do not join a radical political ideology”.
Costello’s remarks, though crude and inaccurate in some senses,
display a more sophisticated understanding of how the relative
ignorance and zeal of young people and converts can be trapped by
fringe extremists. Costello doesn’t see Islam itself as a problem,
nor does he make any claims about Muslim cultures. He is more concerned
with ensuring ordinary sincere Australian Muslims are not manipulated
by foreign extremists.
Of course, it is easy for Muslim leaders to blame politicians for
their woes. I believe Muslim leaders should be selective in how they
respond, particularly to Howard’s ill-considered remarks. Muslim
leaders should display more political sophistication, and appreciate
that Howard’s rhetoric is probably more determined by interest rates
and the unpopularity of his industrial relations laws than by any
concern for the nation’s cultural health or security.
Muslim leaders should seize upon Howard’s admission that at least 99
per cent of Muslim Australians are fully integrated. It is difficult
to fund similar endorsement of any other ethnic or faith community
in Australia. It certainly flies in the face of infantile commentary
often found in metropolitan tabloids.
Muslim leaders of Mr Howard’s generation should heed the lesson that
Mr Howard refuses to heed. They should step down when alternative
and effective leadership is available. Muslim organisations are in
desperate need of generational change. Younger Muslims, including
and especially women, must form part of this change.
Articulate Muslim women are far more capable of effecting positive
change for Muslim women than neurotic feminists and cultural
chauvinists that congregate on the op-ed pages of allegedly Australian
newspapers. Muslim women need to come forward and take their rightful
place as leaders of Muslim Australia. Their voices need to be heard,
and they need to take control of decision making on issues affecting
them and all women.
Further, Muslims need to ensure that a diversity of Muslim voices
are heard from across the cultural, sectarian, gender and political
divide. There is no reason why debates within the Muslim community
cannot be discussed in the public arena where followers of other
traditions can share their experiences.
In this respect, Muslim leaders must continue to strengthen their ties
with their Jewish brethren. Australian Jews share profound cultural
and religious similarities with Australian Muslims, who can learn
much from Jewish experience in terms of community structure and
infrastructure development.
Finally, Muslims need to invest a good amount of time and money
in decent PR. They need to ensure that Australians are made aware
of Muslim values to the extent that irrelevant middle-aged male
politicians are no longer able to claim that Muslims should ensure
their women are treated with as much disdain as Mr Howard’s faction
of the NSW Liberal Party treats female preselection candidates.
Ordinary Australians do have legitimate fears about security. They have
even greater fears about rising home loan interest rates, conservative
opposition to life-saving scientific research and workplace relations
policies that remove job security. One way we can address these real
issues is if Muslims allay Australian fears about Islam. In doing
so, we can ensure governments cannot shirk their responsibilities by
hiding behind the sound of dog whistles.

EUROPEAN HERITAGE DAYS SET OFF IN ARMENIA
Yerevan, September 9. ArmInfo. One can deeply feel the heart of
Armenia and Europe only through familiarizing oneself with cultural
heritage. That’s why it is very much important to preserve own culture
and history for the generations to come, Special Representative of
CE Secretary General Bojana Urumova said, while opening the European
Heritage Day in the territory of Zvartnots Cathedral museum-reserve
(VII).
Urumova pointed out that such inter-state cooperation plays a big role
not only for preserving cultural-historical monuments but also for
involving youths from around the world in this work. Last year alone
over 20 mln people from 49 European states took part in this action
symbolizing the unity and deversity of common cultural heritage,
Urumova said.
During the days, on Sept 9-10 people will enjoy free access to all
Armenian museums. Besides, the Armenian Culture and Youth Ministry
will organize tours all over Armenia.

NKR GOVERNMENT TO REIMBURSE THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY NATURAL DISASTERS
ArmRadio.am
09.09.2006 14:03
NKR Government has taken the decision to provide assistance to
those who suffered in the result of natural disasters, particularly
fires, ArmInfo reports. This year the heavy spring rains in Karabakh
were followed by summer drought and fires. According NKR Minister
of Agriculture Vahram Baghdasaryan, the amount o the damage was
concerning, and after detailed investigation the Government decided to
provide necessary assistance to farmers. In his words, it is envisaged
to provide 29 711 500 drams from the reserve fund of the Government.