ARTHUR BAGHDASARYAN DEPRIVED OF AIR
A1+
[12:53 pm] 06 October, 2006
TV Company “Mig” in Vanadzor has been ordered not to broadcast the
interview with Arthur Baghdasaryan, the press service of Orinats
Yerkir Party informed.
According to the statement made by the party, two days ago the TV
Company conducted an interview with Arthur Baghdasaryan informing that
it will be broadcast on Saturday. Nevertheless, yesterday the head
of the TV Company said that they have been prohibited to broadcast
the interview.
“Moreover, according to our information the interview has been watched
according to the rules of the 1937 censorship, and the TV Company has
factually been oppressed. Alongside with this, the governing parties
have flooded the television with political commercials. “Orinats
Yerkir” condemns the obstacles artificially created on their path
and the oppressions of freedom of speech”, the statement says.

A1+
STRASBOURG DIARY
[12:47 pm] 06 October, 2006
REJECTED LAW WILL BE ADOPTED
NA Speaker Tigran Torosyan who is also the head of the Armenian
delegation to the PACE met Per Sogren, the head of the Ago group. The
representatives of the Venice Commission also participated in the
meeting. Mr. Torosyan represented the course of honoring commitments
since the last visit of the reporters. The members of the Ago group
were especially interested in the ten laws they had passed on to
the Parliament.
Mr. Torosyan mentioned that six of them have been adopted, and one of
them has been discussed and rejected due to its numerous shortcomings,
but the Parliament will adopt it till the end of the year.
The amendments to the Electoral Code were also
represented. Mr. Torosyan briefed the members of the Ago group on
the main approaches of the draft. The representatives of the Venice
Commission were content with several solutions in the draft Electoral
Code.
Head of the Ago group Per Sogren voiced hope that the developments
will contribute to the organization of 2007 Parliamentary elections
in compliance with the internationally accepted standards.
THE VISIT WILL PROBABLY BE POSTPONED
During the meeting of Tigran Torosyan, President of the ad-hoc
committee on Karabakh affairs adjunct to the CE Lord Russell Johnston
and head of the Azeri delegation to the PACE Samad Seidov, Mr. Johnston
mentioned that the period of time meant for the visit of the members
of the committee to the region is not very favorable. He said it
would be better to postpone the visit till the next year.
Before that, during the January sitting, discussions will be held in
Strasbourg in which the members of the Armenian and Azeri delegations
will participate.

Armenian Genocide Issue Disturbs Dutch MPs
PanARMENIAN.Net
06.10.2006 14:57 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Labour Party (PvdA) of the Netherlands is not yet
free of the Armenian Genocide question. Various media again cast
doubts on the position of prominent MP Nebahat Albayrak yesterday.
Meanwhile, PvdA Senator Erik Jurgens has proposed dropping the ban on
Holocaust denial. The PvdA broke with candidate MP Erdinc Sacan last
week. He is not running in the 22 November general elections because
he refuses to recognize the Genocide perpetrated by Turkey on the
Armenians. Albayrak, the highest-placed candidate on the PvdA list
after front-runner Wouter Bos, is however still refusing to provide
clarification of her position. According to Elsevier magazine, Albayrak
has been unavailable for comment since last week, when she “reduced
the debate” to a question of definition in an interview with Trouw
newspaper. Albayrak said it is not possible to take a clear position
because the historical sources are “polluted.” According to Elsevier,
there are virtually no independent academics that doubt that the term
‘genocide’ is appropriate. “In the Netherlands, a report appeared as
early as 1918 by a committee of very eminent politicians which spoke
unequivocally of the ‘systematic slaughter’ of 800,000 Armenians
in Turkey.”
Professor Ton Zwaan of the University of Amsterdam, specialist in
genocide studies, said yesterday in Trouw that “Albayrak, unhampered
by any knowledge, has made a series of dubious statements which are
closely related to negationism and denial politics. The question is
how she and her party think they will get away with this,” Abovyan
Cultural Center reports from Brussels.

HUMAN-RIGHTS-96 CALLS ORINATS YERKIR’S INITIATIVE ON ELECTIONS “BALLOON”
Panorama.am
Human Rights 96 said in a statement that the imitative of Orinats
Yerkir (OY) which the party calls “For legal elections,” is a
balloon. The statement says that a month ago OY held its first and
last (as becomes clear) discussion-event. “Next balloon exploded
in the Armenian political field,” the statement says. Not only OY
did not initiate any other events, but also did not respond to any
suggestions or criticism, it continues. /Panorama.am/

SAHAKIAN SAYS HE OBLIGES HHK DECISION
Panorama.am
14:46 05/10/06
“I have always been disciplined in my actions and, naturally, because
of that discipline I oblige the decision of the Armenian Republican
Party (HHK),” Arman Sahakyan, HHK board member and former vice mayor,
explains his refusal to nominate himself for the community head
elections at Ajapniak.
In his words, he had taken a right decision. However, he said he would
propose his candidacy if the present community head Artsrun Khachatryan
also ran for election. “Running for community head has never been
an end in itself for me. I was trying to fight not against a person
but the situation created in Ajapniak community for years. He said
Ajapniak “is not a community of 21st century” whereas his dream is to
live in “a normal, civilized, clean, beautiful community.” Sahakyan
expressed his readiness to render further support to the community
of Ajapniak. /Panorama.am/

DEPUTY CURSES CORRUPT AUTHORITIES
Panorama.am
15:20 05/10/06
Convention on Corruption raised a clamor in the parliament giving
chance to the opposition to criticize corrupt authorities. The
convention is signed in New York on October 31, 2003. Independent
deputy Tatul Manaseryan has been trying since yesterday to clarify
why Armenia does not call World Bank (WB) to responsibility for its
report which says that corruption is growing in Armenia especially
in customs. “We must be persistent and punish the corrupt officials
or else we must call for responsibility those institutes that make
discrediting statements,” Manaseryan said. The deputy informed his
colleagues that WB has assigned its units to name officials who are
involved in bribery or give bribes. Manaseryan hoped that Armenian
officials will also be named.
The convention proposes publicity and transparency in the fight
against corruption. It also obliged those countries that ratify it
to set up expert groups that will fight against corruption.
United Working Party (UWP) will vote for the convention because the
party leaders say it is compatible with the party directives. UWP
leader, Gurgen Arsenyan, even cursed those officials who are engaged in
corruption wishing them not to enjoy the property they have collected
through bribery.
Justice block secretary, Grigor Harutunyan, believes that the
convention is under discussion at the parliament now only because of
elections. Vahan Hovhannisyan, vice speaker, tried to take the blame
from the executive saying it was the obligation of the parliament
to ratify it. “If we were not ready for that, let’s confess it,”
also saying many other countries have not ratified it yet. Justice
Minister David Harutunyan also said ratification is a long process.
If the parliament ratifies the convention and after 30 days it
comes into effect, several legislative amendments are expected. Time
will show how the government will launch the actual fight against
corruption. /Panorama.am/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MARXISTS SAY CANDIDATES SHOULD PASS AN EXAM
Panorama.am
17:36 05/10/06
Davit Hakobyan, chairman of Marxist Party, said “it is a national
tragedy” that we formulate our Election Code on the advice of Venice
Committee, quoting a national proverb which says that a person should
not be guided by what his neighbor says. The chairman suggested
to set the election deposit in the amount of 10% of income. The
Marxists also says that those who will not go to elections should
be called for responsibility. He believes that this step may
reduce election fraud. Hakobyan favors 40 majoritarian and 90
proportional rate. Moreover, he suggests that the candidates pass
special examination from world history, evolution of state and law,
world public science and rhetoric. He suggests to register only those
candidates who will get “pass.” /Panorama.am/

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 7 2006
France will Lose Turkey if Genocide Law Adopted
By Bahtiyar Kucuk, Ankara
Saturday, October 07, 2006
zaman.com
The Turkish Foreign Ministry warned Paris that bilateral relations
would suffer if the French parliament approves a law making it a
punishable offence to deny the Armenian genocide.
Namik Tan, a foreign ministry spokesman, told French officials that
France would, so to speak, lose Turkey.
“The Armenian issue has poisoned bilateral ties in the past, but the
bill will inflict irreparable damage on our relationship, The Turkish
public opinion would perceive the approval of the bill as a hostile
act. Adoption of the bill would mean the elimination of freedom of
expression in France,” said Tan.
There’s some considerable volume of business between Turkey and
France, Tan noted adding that French parliament’s recognition of the
draft bill would imperil the outcome of the work for many years to
improve the situation between the two countries.
There’re some initiatives on the part of Turkey to prevent a possible
parliamentary recognition of the draft bill, said Tan, and detailed
those initiatives as follows:
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer wrote to his French counterpart
Jacques Chirac on 4 Sept. 2006.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to have talks with
French businessmen in Turkey.
Erdogan will have a telephone conversation with French Prime Minister
Philippe Douste Blazy.
A commission of foreign affairs of the Turkish parliament was in
France to voice their concerns.
The Turkish embassy in Paris has held negotiations with French
officials.
While the bill will most likely pass parliamentary approval ahead of
France’s parliamentary elections, French businessmen with investment
plans in Turkey are at unease.
Debate on the bill, which was originally tabled in May, followed
stern warnings from Ankara on the repercussions for bilateral and
economic relations.

YOUTH TO PROVIDE FACTS ON ANTI-CRIMINAL
Panorama.am
17:52 05/10/06
Youth wings of several political parties discussed ways of combating
criminalism in Armenia. Narek Malyan, leader of youth wing of New Times
Party (Nor Jamanakner) said that education and military structures are
indirectly connected with criminalism and corruption. He suggested to
conduct a public opinion poll at the higher educational establishments
to decide the list of the most corrupt professors. Levon Lazarian,
minister of education and science, had said the ministry cannot ensure
the objectivity of the survey.
Naira Karapetyan, representative of People’s Party, suggested to take
actions. Another member of the same party suggested to establish a
youth analytical center that will unveil criminal cases and supply
information to Anti-criminal movement. /Panorama.am/

Detroit Free Press, MI
Oct 7 2006
BIO: Kirk Kerkorian
October 7, 2006
AGE: 89. TITLE: Self-made billionaire. Cochairman, president and CEO
of Tracinda Corp., a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based company named for
his daughters, Tracy and Linda. Tracinda is the majority owner of
casino and hotel operator MGM Mirage.
NET WORTH: $9 billion
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Born in Fresno, Calif., to Armenian immigrants. Flew
planes across Atlantic during World War II. First fortune: Sold Trans
International Airlines for $104-million profit in the 1960s, invested
proceeds in Las Vegas; acquired Flamingo Hotel in 1967. Has been in
the hotel and casino business ever since. His MGM Mirage owns more
than half the hotel rooms on the Las Vegas Strip.
EDUCATION: High school diploma.
HOMETOWN: Los Angeles.
PERSONAL: Two children, three divorces.
Source: Forbes.com, Hoovers Inc. and Free Press research