DAY OF AZERBAIJAN TO BE ORGANIZED IN CZECH REPUBLIC
Today, Azerbaijan
Sept 10 2006
International music festival will be staged in Czech Republic on
September 23-24.
One day of the festival will be devoted to Azerbaijan, Nazim Ibrahimov,
head of Azerbaijani delegation, chairman of the State Committee for
Working with Azerbaijanis Residing Abroad, said.
That day, Czech people will be informed of Azerbaijan’s socio-economic
situation, governmental policy, Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh
conflict and, of course, traditional Azerbaijani music. Tunzale
Agayeva and her band will perform at the festival.
On the sidelines of the festival, Azerbaijani Diaspora representatives
are scheduled to meet with Czech officials.

PREGNANT AUTHOR FACES CHARGE OF ‘INSULTING TURKISHNESS’ IN NOVEL
Buffalo News, NY
Sept 10 2006
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) – Elif Shafak, one of Turkey’s leading authors,
is about to have a baby – and go on trial.
The reason for this strange conjunction of joy and foreboding
is her new novel, which has exposed her to a charge of “insulting
Turkishness” because it touches on one of the most disputed episodes
of her country’s history – the massacres of Armenians during the
final years of the Ottoman Empire.
A University of Arizona literature professor, the 35-year-old Shafak
divides her time between Tucson and Istanbul. She sought a postponement
of her trial, set for Sept. 21, until after her first child is born
but was refused. She could face three years in prison.
The case has broad ramifications, highlighting a rising wave of
Turkish nationalism and the whole question of whether Turkey, a
Western ally and NATO member, should be admitted to the liberal,
democratic European Union – something the Bush administration supports.

DEFENSE MINISTER SERGE SARGSAYAN TO PAY AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO BULGARIA
ArmRadio.am
09.09.2006 15:37
September 11-13 the delegation headed by RA Defense Minister Serge
Sargsayan will leave for the Republic of Bulgaria on an official
visit. In the framework of the visit meetings with Bulgarian President
Georgy Prvanov, Defense Minister Vesselin Bliznakov and Deputy Speaker
of the National Assembly Peter Beron are envisaged.

NEW NOVEL SPARKS TRIAL IN TURKEY
Edmonton Sun, Canada
Sept 10 2006
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Elif Shafak, one of Turkey’s leading authors,
is about to have a baby – and go on trial.
The reason for this strange conjunction of joy and foreboding
is her new novel, which has exposed her to a charge of “insulting
Turkishness” because it touches on one of the most disputed episodes
of her country’s history – the massacres of Armenians during the
final years of the Ottoman Empire.
A University of Arizona literature professor, the 35-year-old Shafak
divides her time between Tucson and Istanbul. She sought a postponement
of her trial, set for Sept. 21, until after her first child is born.
COULD GET THREE YEARS
She could get three years in prison, though similar trials of other
Turkish writers have usually folded on technicalities and no one has
gone to jail.
For now, she’s reflecting on the peculiarities of being tried for
the words she gave to an Armenian voice in the novel.
“I think my case is very bizarre because for the first time they are
trying fictional characters,” Shafak told The Associated Press.
The case has broad ramifications, highlighting a rising wave of
Turkish nationalism and the whole question of whether Turkey, a Western
ally and NATO member, should be admitted to the liberal, democratic
European Union – something the Bush administration supports. Turks
who long for EU membership worry that trials of writers are setting
back their cause.
But nationalists such as Kemal Kerincsiz, one of the lawyers suing
Shafak, say Turkey shouldn’t have to forsake bedrock convictions –
for instance, that there was never any Armenian genocide – just to
please Europe.
Shafak said the law on insulting Turkishness “has been used as a
weapon to silence many people. … My case is perhaps just another
step in this long chain.”
That chain includes Turkey’s best known novelist, Orhan Pamuk, and
dozens of other writers forced to defend themselves against charges of
“insulting Turkishness.”
NOVEL DEALS WITH TABOOS
The novel in question, The Bastard of Istanbul, deals with taboos –
domestic violence and incestuous rape – that are rarely discussed
in Turkey.
But it is what her Armenian-American characters say that has landed
Shafak in court. For instance, this from a man worried about his
niece being brought up by a Turkish stepfather:
“What will that innocent lamb tell her friends when she grows up? …
(That) I am the grandchild of genocide survivors who lost all their
relatives to the hands of Turkish butchers in 1915, but I myself have
been brainwashed to deny the genocide because I was raised by some
Turk named Mustapha!”
Turkey insists the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians during forced
evacuations in the First World War was not a planned genocide but
the result of the bloody breakup of the Ottoman Empire.

VLADIMIR PUTIN PRESENTS HIS CONDOLENCES TO FAMILY OF ARKADY VOLSKY
Regnum, Russia
Sept 10 2006
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has presented condolences to the
family of Arkady Volsky, the presidential press office informs.
President and founder of the Russian Union of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs, Arkady Volsky died at his 74. He will be buried at
Novodevichye Cemetery on September 12, Ekho Moskvy reports.
Volsky was laureate of the National Prize, awarded with the Order For
Services To Homeland of the second and third grades and many other
national awards.
Arkady Volsky was born on May 15, 1932 in the town of Dobrush
(Byelorussia). After graduating from Moscow Steel and Alloy Institute
he worked at Likhachyov Car Plant, starting from assistant foreman
and finishing as head of the foundry and secretary of the Communict
Party Committee. After that he was transferred to the engineering
industry department of the Communist Party Central Committee. In
1989-90, Volsky was chair of the committee for separate governing of
the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region.
In August-December 1991, Volsky was Deputy Chairman of the Committee
for Operative Management of the USSR Economy; he was in charge of
industry and military complex. In 1995, he was deputy head of the
mission for peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Chechen
Republic.
In 1990, the Scientific Industry Union of the USSR was established,
headed by Volsky. After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Union
of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs succeeded the Scientific Industry
Union.

CHINA SELLS 80-KM-RANGE MISSILES TO ARMENIA
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 9 2006
Armenia purchased DW short-range missiles from China via Russia,
Akbar Huseynli, an Azerbaijani living in Hong-Kong, told APA.
He said that local media spread info about the fact that the missiles
are capable of hitting 80 km.
“Maybe Armenia could buy the missiles as a result of the activities
of the Armenian Diaspora s Armenian has no business agreement with
China”.

MONEY AS THE END AND MEANS
Aram Abrahamian
Aravot.am
08 sept 06
Armenian politicized circles discuss two themes today” the growth
of violence and the coming parliamentary elections. It seems, nobody
denies the ties between those two themes. The parliament itself has no
authority in Armenia: it isn’t a legislative body and is nothing as a
state institution. In that case you’ll ask why the whole criminal world
directly or indirectly participate in the electoral processes. Just
for the above-mentioned reason: legislative activities and state
institutions are as far from them as Schubert’s symphonies. The only
sacred thing for the representatives of our criminal is the MONEY;
they make great efforts to have it more.
As money is the end in this ”pre-electoral fight”, so money and
power must be the means, and now money and power are accumulated
and assigned before ” decisive battles”. As it is known money is
used to give electoral bribes, as for power, it is necessary for
administrative levers and own interests. Is it possible for different
“power centers” not to have discrepancies, the part of which can be
solved by shoots and blasts? Is it possible for media, which detects
all those mechanisms not to be oppressed?
In time, when ”October 27” happened, there were people who were
saying that Karen Demirchian and Vazgen Sargsian wanted to fight
against corruption, but terrorism prevented that fight. I consider
such explanation as a ”black humor” . The services of those state
men towards the Homeland are enormous but why should we ascribe
their intentions, which they have never had to them. Now the official
explanation of Shahen Hovasapian’s murder is that he wanted to collect
taxes fairly but the taxpayers persisted by terrorism. Mr. Hovasapian
also had great merits but that version will lead the investigation
by a wrong direction.
–Boundary_(ID_Z/0sVCJ0vIMO90ToqXYlKA) —

GUESTS WIN WITH MINIMUM SCORE IN ARMENIA-BELGIUM MEETING HELD IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. By the group tournament schedule
of the selection stage of the 2008 Europe Championship of football,
the national team of Armenia received the Belgian team on September
6, in the republican sports ground after Vazgen Manukian. Daniel
van Buyten scored the only goal of the meeting on the 40th minute,
and the Belgians won with the score 1:0. The national team of Armenia
will compete in Yerevan with Finns on October 7, and in Serbia with
the local national team on October 11.

FOOTBALL YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM OF ARMENIA IS OUT OF FUTURE STRUGGLE
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. It became clear on September 6
that the football youth national team of Armenia would not continue
the struggle in the Euro 2007 Championship. In Norway the local youth
team finished the meeting with Bosnians with the score of 1:1, when
it was necessary for the Armenian team’s continuing the struugle that
Norwegians won with the score of 1:0.

SHAVARSH KOCHARIAN DOES NOT FOLLOW “IMMORAL EXAMPLES” AND DOES NOT LEAVE “ARDAROUTIUN” FACTION
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
ATTENTION, CORRECTED !!! YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Commenting
upon NA Deputies Victor Dallakian’s and Tatul Manaserian’s leaving the
“Ardaroutiun” (Justice) faction, Shavarsh Kocharian, the Chairman
of the National Democratic Party stated at the September 8 press
conference that his party will never take that step as he, in his
own words, “does not follow immoral examples.” At the same time,
in Kocharian’s words, the NDP dampened participation in works of the
“Ardaroutiun” faction, and it will last as long as “the faction will
not review the whole way it passed, will not give estimations and
be ready to act in other way and not in the same way.” As for the
inner-political processes in the country, the speaker mentioned
that there are a number of dangers in the political life. In
Shavarsh Kocharian’s words, the authorities’ striving in Armenia for
reproduction became a tradition “as the system is autoritarian.” In his
words, shady business, presence of criminal elements united with the
authorities, “stamping” in the Eurointegration issue and demographic
state of the country with low indexes of birthrate are classified among
dangers. Speaking about the draft to the new electoral code, Kocharian
considered necessary establishment of electronic control. According
to the program of those controls, a computer, video camera, scanner
and a monitor attached to ballot-box must be placed in every polling
station. They will fix number of papers entering the ballot-box
every moment. And the scanner must fix the number of passports, and
if any passport has already appeared anywhere, it will at once raise
alarm. The NDP expected that it was possible to get the financial
assistance of 4 mln dollars necessary for the program from money
allocated by the U.S. Depatment of State, but, in Kocharian’s words,
the OSCE Ambassador and U.S. Embassy representatives, seeing that
only the given party is interested in that affair, did not express
readiness to help.