PAPER GIVES POLL RATINGS OF CANDIDATES FOR ARMENIAN PRESIDENT IN 2008
Aykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
9 Sep 06
Text of report by Armenian newspaper Aykakan Zhamanak on 9 September
headlined “Ratings”
Since 7 August the Election Systems Centre has initiated a new Internet
project entitled “The ratings of possible candidates for the post of
Armenian president in 2008”. Yesterday it published its first results
as of 8 September. A total of 23.7 per cent of those questioned said
they were ready to vote in favour of Vazgen Manukyan [the leader of the
National and Democratic Union], 10.3 per cent for Artur Bagdasaryan
[leader of the LGCP], 9.8 per cent for Andranik Markaryan [prime
minister], 8.8 per cent for Serzh Sarkisyan [defence minister], 8.2
per cent for Levon Ter-Petrosyan [first Armenian president], 6.3 per
cent for Vardan Oskanyan [foreign minister], 4.7 per cent for Gagik
Tsarukyan [leader of the Prospering Armenia party], 4.4 per cent for
Aram Sarkisyan [leader of Republic party], 3 per cent for David
Arutyunyan [justice minister], 2.9 per cent for Stepan Demirchyan
[leader of Justice bloc], 2.9 per cent for Artashes Gegamyan [leader
of National Unity party], 2.8 per cent for Gurgen Arsenyan [leader
of the United Labour Party] and 2.8 per cent for Tigran Torosyan
[parliamentary speaker]. The centre emphasized that incidents of
unfair voting had been observed from those who voted for Vazgen
Manukyan. As for Levon Ter-Petrosyan, his name was included in the
list two weeks later. Incidentally, there is no mention of how many
people had participated in the poll as of the 8th September. The poll
will continue up to the election.

THE LANGUAGE WAS UNIVERSAL
By Donna Gorman
Christian Science Monitor, MA
Sept 10 2006
Making friends and learning the language in Armenia took longer than
expected – until the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
The house we moved into was huge and beautiful. The neighborhood
was supposed to be one of the best in all of Yerevan, the capital of
Armenia, but it didn’t impress me.
Our elegant house was surrounded by an eight-foot wall topped with
gleaming metal spikes. The neighboring houses were large, and while
many were walled like ours, others were protected by flapping plastic
tarps or corrugated metal sheeting that rattled ominously in the
wind. Stray dogs roamed streets full of potholes. Soviet-era cars
careened down the hill, with no sidewalk separating pedestrians
from vehicles.
In the Monitor Monday, 09/11/06
Across the street was a small cinder-block building, a shop that had
been tacked onto the front of a house as an afterthought. The windows
of this squat little place were covered with bars. The walls were
crumbling, the paint peeling. Two scrawny cats groomed themselves at
the entrance.
Every day I walked past this little shop on my way down the hill to
work, and the laughter I heard from within seemed directed at me,
the foreigner. The metal shop door slammed closed behind customers
who exited with loaves of bread tucked under their arms, hurrying
past with surreptitious glances.
I couldn’t see past the bars and the dusty glass, so I avoided the
store, choosing instead to frequent a larger one near my office,
even though I had to lug bags of groceries home on a rickety bus.
Then one day, I ran out of bread. I gathered my courage and opened that
creaking metal door, squinting into the shadows. Makeshift shelves
stretched from floor to ceiling, piled high with candy, shampoo,
and flour, among other necessities. A glass case filled with cheese
and sausage separated the customers from the cash register.
Another glass case, which ran the length of the shop, was filled with
ice cream. I stood cautiously near the door, looking for the bread.
The woman behind the counter smiled at me. In Russian, she greeted me:
“So you’re the new neighbor. We’ve been expecting you. I’m Anna.
Come in, come in.”
She called into a back room, summoning the rest of her family from
the house for introductions: her white-haired husband, Gevorg;
daughter-in-law, Hasmik; three sons; and two small grandchildren,
who hid behind their mother.
They all lived together in the house behind the shop, and they ran
the store together. They peppered me with questions, all speaking at
once in Russian, which I understood, and in Armenian, which I didn’t.
It took 30 minutes to get the bread and cross the street again, and
in that time, I realized what a fool I’d been to travel across town
twice a week when everything I wanted was in that store.
A few days later, I ran out of eggs. I grabbed some change and dashed
across the street. This time, Anna introduced me to some of her other
customers. It took almost an hour to buy my eggs, as the neighbors
lined up to meet me, to ask me about America. These same neighbors
had seemed so unwelcoming, hostile even, just one week before.
On my third visit to the store, I confessed that I was studying
Armenian. So Anna switched from Russian to Armenian: “What do you
need today?” she asked me slowly.
The line behind me grew as I stumbled through my order, but Anna
wouldn’t let me switch back to Russian. The store grew crowded as
my neighbors gathered to cheer me on, laughing good-naturedly at my
mistakes, pleased to hear me try.
Soon I began stopping by the store each day to greet Anna and buy a
crusty loaf of bread. One day I asked why she almost never took money
from anyone, choosing instead to write their totals in a dog-eared
book she kept by the register.
Her smile faded. “The people here, they are so poor, so poor. If they
can’t pay now, I’ll give them what they need. Some day, if they have
the money, they’ll pay me back.”
She pulled out her book. “This one here, she’s a widow,” Anna said.
“How will she survive without me?” The widow owed $75, an impossible
sum in a country where most don’t earn that in a month. “This man lost
his job. But he has children to feed. They all have children to feed.”
She put the book away, patting it carefully. “Some day, they will
pay me. And if they can’t, well, I still can’t turn them away.”
When I had the time, I stood in the store practicing my Armenian with
anyone who stopped at the register. My Armenian improved slightly,
but it was still a struggle to speak and be understood.
I grew to love this place, so different from home. The people in
Anna’s store seldom had any money, it’s true, yet they weren’t poor
except in the financial sense of the word. The friends I made were
loud and passionate people who shared what little they had with their
extended families. Families were close-knit, with several generations
under one roof – all pitching in to move each day forward.
On Sept. 11, 2001, I sat in my Armenian house and watched as the
faraway events unfolded on my television. I sat all afternoon and
into the evening – shocked, unmoving – eyes glued to the TV screen.
Although I’d lived overseas for years, I’d never felt quite so far
away from home, quite so lost in the middle of nowhere. The life I’d
constructed for myself in this land suddenly seemed lonely, and I
desperately wanted to be back in America, to grieve with people who
understood what had just happened.
The next morning, feeling a bit numb, I ventured out to work, past
the flapping plastic tarps and rattling metal fences – all familiar,
yet still eerie somehow.
On my way past the store, Anna ran out and stopped me. “We saw your
light on last night and wanted to come over,” she said, “but we didn’t
want to disturb you. Oh, I am so, so sad and sorry.”
Behind her stood a small clutch of customers, my neighbors, all lined
up to offer me their condolences. Some cried when they spoke. They
spoke to me in Russian and in Armenian. And I understood.

AGENCY QUESTIONS ARMENIA’S EU ADMISSION CHANCES FOR YEARS TO COME
Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
9 Sep 06
Armenia, as well as other South Caucasus states, should forget
about speedy EU admission in the near future, the Armenian news
agency Mediamax has said. Although certain moves have been taken by
both sides towards each other, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia lag
behind their European neighbours in terms of holding ” free, fair
and transparent elections, the results of which would raise doubts
neither in the country itself nor outside”, it said. In addition,
Baku’s problems with the EU over ties with Northern Cyprus are
another obstacle for all three South Caucasus countries, Mediamax
added. The following is text of report in English by Armenian news
agency Mediamax headlined “Unclear European prospects for Armenia”;
subheadings inserted editorially:
This week, the Armenian authorities made just another step to
demonstrate seriousness of Yerevan’s intentions concerning the issue of
deepening the relations with the European Union. On 7 September, the
Armenian government made a decision on setting up a National Council
for Armenia’s cooperation with the EU, as well as a Commission for
coordination of the cooperation. We should remind that in July 2006 a
Commission for the coordination of the cooperation with the European
structures was set up in Armenia chaired by President Robert Kocharyan.
In early October, a delegation of the European Union Troika will
visit the South Caucasus. It is expected that during the visit the
Action Plans of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia under the European
Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) will finally be signed.
EU and Armenia differ on cooperation objectives
All the above mentioned, undoubtedly, proves that the sides make
serious steps towards each other. However, sometimes there is an
impression that the European Union and Armenia differently interpret
the goals and the objectives of their deepened cooperation, and this
often becomes a reason for discords and disappointment.
The Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) of Armenia with NATO,
put into force in December 2005, was the only document in which Armenia
officially voiced its desire to become a full EU member. “In line with
its objective to integrate into European structures and institutions,
Armenia intends to enhance its cooperation with the European Union
and to seek closer institutional compatibility with the ultimate goal
of full membership,” the document reads.
It is significant that several months after the approval of the IPAP,
in April 2006, the Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said the
following in the interview to “Golos Armenii” newspaper: “Today,
Armenia is preparing for a closer cooperation with the European
Union within the European Neighbourhood Policy, but we have not set
the task to join the EU.” This “mismatch” is an obvious evidence of
the absence in the Armenian government of systemic approach to its
relations with the EU.
On the other hand, the European Union makes it clear that it is not
ready to consider the issue of the membership of Armenia, Georgia and
Azerbaijan in the foreseeable future. The special representative of
the EU in the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, said in May 2006 that
“although the EU offers deepened relations to regional countries
within the ENP, this does not envisage a prospect for membership in the
EU”. Semneby admitted that the absence of such a prospect in a certain
context deprives the regional countries of motivation, necessary for
the continuation and the deepening of political and economic reforms.
South Caucasus states not ready to join EU
Hence, the states of the region and Armenia, in particular, in reality
cherish a dream to join the EU. The European Union, on the contrary,
openly declares that the discussion of the prospects for joining the
EU for the South Caucasus states is a utopia today. Most likely, the
main reason for the present state of affairs is that Brussels clearly
realizes that today’s striving of the South Caucasus states to join
the EU is reasoned to a greater extent by mercantile considerations
rather than by perception of one’s own European identity. The main
proof for that is in particular the incapacity of the countries of
the region to hold free, fair and transparent elections, the results
of which would raise doubts neither in the country itself, nor outside.
Baku’s problems with EU another obstacle
The Armenian diplomats, in their turn, declare that the EU strive for
indispensable preserving the “parity” in the development of relations
with the South Caucasus states hinders the real integration processes.
Let us remember that the Armenia-EU talks have been postponed twice
because of some problems in relations between Baku and Brussels. In
summer 2005, the talks with Armenia on the Action Plan have been
postponed for several months because Azerbaijan decided to open
a direct air communication with the Turkish Northern Cyprus. In
response, the authorities of [the Republic of] Cyprus vetoed the
consideration of the Action Plan with Azerbaijan. In 2006 Armenia-EU
talks stopped again. This time Baku insisted that EU included the
phrase “the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict can be resolved only within
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity” into Azerbaijan’s Action Plan.
The European Union, for its part, took a time-out.
The further relations of the South Caucasus states with the
EU will mostly depend on realization of Action Plans, in which
special attention is paid to the issues of democracy and human
rights protection. And while the Armenian authorities have yet to
determine as to how sincere they are in their strive for deepening
cooperation with the EU, the population of the country has already
made its decision. The data of the survey carried out this spring
by Baltic Surveys/The Gallup Organization proved that 80 per cent
of polled Armenian citizens think that Armenia should in the future
enter the EU. Only 3 per cent of the polled were against Armenia’s
accession to the EU.

BULGARIA: ARMENIAN DEFENCE MINISTER’S VISIT STARTS ON 11 SEPTEMBER
BTA news agency
8 Sep 06
Sofia, 8 September: Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sargsyan opens
a three-day official visit to Bulgaria [on] Monday [11 September]
at the invitation of his Bulgarian counterpart Veselin Bliznakov,
the Defence Ministry’ Press Centre said on Friday [8 September].
The two ministers will discuss cooperation in the defence sphere
and will sign a joint declaration on its development. They will also
discuss issues of regional and international security.
During the visit the guest will be received by Bulgaria’s President
and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian Army Georgi Purvanov,
National Assembly Deputy Chairman Petur Beron and the leaders of the
National Assembly Defence Committee.
Sargsyan is scheduled to visit the Vasil Levski National Military
University in Veliko Turnovo and the Graf Ignatiev aviation base.

PROMINENT RUSSIAN BUSINESS LEADER DIES, COLLEAGUE SAYS
AP Worldstream
Sep 09, 2006
Arkady Volsky, a prominent Russian business leader and public figure
died after an illness Saturday at age 74, his colleague said.
Volsky, who founded and for 15 years headed the Russian Union of
Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the country’s biggest business
lobby, passed away from a “severe and long-lasting disease,” the
union’s current head Alexander Shokhin said on Ekho Mosvky radio.
NTV television reported Volsky died from leukemia.
“Volsky’s death is a big loss not only for (the Union), but for the
entire business and political community of the country,” Shokhin said.
Born in 1932 in then-Soviet Belarus, he rose to senior posts in the
Communist government, notably serving as a senior aide to former
Soviet leader Yuri Andropov.
Following the 1991 Soviet collapse, he turned into the country’s
biggest business lobbyist and also actively participated in crisis
negotiations in bloody regional conflicts including Chechnya and the
Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Volsky also was also a rare critic of the politically charged jailing
of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who last year was sentenced to eight years
in a Siberian penal colony on charges of fraud and tax evasion,
and the ensuing partial renationalization of his Yukos oil company.
Last September Volsky was replaced with Shokhin, a more
Kremlin-friendly figure, in what many interpreted as punishment for
his protest.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Volsky’s
family and friends, a Kremlin spokeswoman told The Associated Press.

EUROPEAN LEGACY DAYS OPENED IN ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.09.2006 15:39 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Youth
Affairs of Armenia and the CE Information Office European Legacy Days
opened in the museum reserve of Zvartnots temple in Yerevan.
“The slogan of the event, devoted to medieval art, music and
architecture, is “Insight into Middle Ages.”
Within the campaign visits to museums will be free of charge,” noted
Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth Gagik Gyurjyan.
Special Representative of the CE Secretary General in Armenia Boyan
Urumova noted that the Days aim at stimulating participation of the
society, especially the youth, in realizing their own legacy. “The
initiative also stimulates cultural dialogue. 20 million people took
part in the European Legacy Days in 49 countries since past year. 33
monuments opened.
The spirit of Europe and Armenia, as a European country, is expressed
in their mental legacy and it should be preserved,” she underscored.
European Legacy Days will be held in Armenia September 10-11. Outlook
from the Middle Ages exhibition will open at the State Historical
Museum of Armenia, as well as exposition of medieval frescos at the
National Picture Gallery. Medieval manuscripts will be exhibited
at Matenadaran, Yerevan, while Vandalism and Old Jugha film about
destruction of ancient Armenian khachkars in Nakhichevan by Azerbaijan
will be screened at Moscow cinema, reports Novosti-Armenia.

OPPOSITION MUST WIN PEOPLE’S TRUST, CRU LEADER SAYS
Panorama.am
14:19 09/09/06
‘The major aim of the opposition must be the recovery of the lost trust
among the public,” Hrant Khachatryan, Constitutional Right Union head,
told a press conference today. Khachatryan does not think rallies and
demonstration may help in this sense. “The opposition must be very
careful in any negative deal with the authorities since there are some
suspicions around,” Khachatryan said. The party leader underlined two
reasons for the failure to establish a political field in Armenia. He
said there have been no favorable preconditions for that since 90s
and that socio-economic conditions have been poor.

A LEBANESE ARMENIAN PROTESTER …
Panorama.am
16:39 09/09/06
A Lebanese Armenian protester waves a Lebanese flag and holds an
anti-Turkey banner during a demonstration against the participation
of the Turkish troops in the peacekeeping force in Lebanon, in the
Beirut Armenian neighborhood of Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon, Friday, Sept.
8, 2006. Turkey”s parliament on Tuesday approved sending an unspecified
number of troops to take part in the U.N. mission to solidify the
fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanon”s Armenians,
who make up about 4 percent of the country”s population, have come out
against Turkish participation _ a reminder that some in the region
have not completely shed bitter memories of Ottoman rule. Armenians
accuse the Ottoman Turks of killing 1.5 million ethnic Armenians in
1915 in what they call a campaign of genocide.
(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

AZERBAIJAN AGAINST ARMENIA-TURKEY CULTURAL DIALOGUE
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.09.2006 14:50 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Initiated by the Armenian Turkish Union of
Entrepreneurs and the Kars Municipality, the Cultural Festival of
the Caucasus will be held in Kars September 13-15. The Festival is
held under the slogan of Dialogue Culture. Meanwhile, a forum of
national non-governmental organizations of Azerbaijan, unifying over
400 organizations, has addressed the municipality leaders of Kars,
Turkey and organizers of the Festival, urging them to refuse from
cooperation with Armenia, which “breaks peace and stability in the
Caucasus and has turned into a source of permanent threat for the
countries of the region.” Thereupon, the Forum adopted a statement,
urging to cancel the Festival, reported Trend.

SURVEY PINPOINTS ETHNIC WINNERS AND LOSERS IN ‘MELTING POT’ BRITAIN – ARMENIANS BEST
Robert Winnett and Holly Watt
The Times, UK
Sept 10 2006
Found: migrants with the mostest
ARMENIAN immigrants and their descendants are the most successful
ethnic group in the country, according to an analysis of “melting
pot” Britain.
They are followed by the Japanese, Dutch and Greek Cypriots among the
groups who are economically and socially most successful. Bangladeshi
Muslims and migrants from Sierra Leone and Syria have fared worst.
The new analysis places the 42.2m adults registered to vote in
mainland Britain in 200 ethnic groups – on the basis of a person’s
surname and first name.
The information is linked to a marketing database to rank the
socioeconomic status of each group. The system, Origins Info, is
used by hospitals, retailers and charities to tailor their services
to individual ethnic groups.
Its developers claim it is reliable even though most married women
adopt their husband’s name and some immigrants may have changed their
surname to avoid discrimination.
Richard Webber, a professor of spatial analysis at University College,
London who developed Origins Info, said: “The patterns that this
analysis have uncovered are striking. We are hoping it will prove a
valuable tool for government and business.”
The system can also be used to identify where different ethnic groups
live and the ethnic composition of the professions.
It reveals that Ripley in Derbyshire is the “most English” place in
England with 88.58% of residents having an English ethnic background.
The most diverse area is south Tottenham, in north London, which is
home to 113 ethnic groups from Bretons to Vietnamese.
Southall in west London has the least English gene pool – just 17.82%
of residents in the area nicknamed “little India” are of English
ethnic origin.
Ian Smith, 63, a carpenter, who has lived in Southall since 1978, said:
“Of the 90 or so houses in my street I would say there are fewer than
10 English families. Most are Sikhs but there are now more Somalis
and quite a few Poles.
“Sometimes I do feel slightly intimidated because it can feel like
a foreign country at times. But we get on well with our neighbours
who are both Sikhs.”
The analysis shows the persistence of ethnic clusters decades after
the group first arrived in Britain. Greek Cypriots are concentrated
in Broxbourne and Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire and Margate in Kent,
Italians can be found in Bedford and Waltham Cross and the Dutch in
Plockton in the Scottish Highlands and Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales.
Cardiff has a high concentration of Maltese residents because it was
the port where many disembarked after naval service during the 1940s
and 1950s. The Chinese are in Oxford, Harlow and Milton Keynes and
Hispanics in Eastbourne, Crawley and Ascot. In Wales, English border
areas have been colonised by those with a Welsh background.
Overall, there is a disproportionately high number of immigrants
in business, law and medicine. An analysis of doctors, using data
provided by the Medical Directory, found the proportion of medics
with northern Indian roots is more than 10 times higher than for the
population as a whole. Spaniards and Romanians are also significantly
“over-represented” as doctors.
Similarly, Russians, the Dutch and Nigerians are over-represented
among barristers.
A disproportionate number of company directors are from immigrant
stock. The Japanese, Russians and people from the Nordic countries
are heavily over-represented among the country’s 5.3m directors and
partners. The English are one of the least commercially minded races,
according to this measure.
One in four restaurants is run by a Muslim and one in four chemists
by an Indian or a Sri Lankan.
Danny Sriskandarajah, head of migration, equalities and citizenship
at the Institute for Public Policy Research, a Blairite think tank,
said immigrant groups often had enduring characteristics. “There’s
something unique and special about people prepared to break the ties
with home. Throughout history, only a tiny percentage of people moved
any sort of distance. A few entrepreneurial, adventurous types have
the wherewithal and motivation to move.”
Of the 2,651 people of Armenian descent in Britain, more than 1,600
run businesses and a high proportion live in expensive parts of
west London.
Among the most successful is Bob Manoukian, property developer and
former agent for Prince Jefri of Brunei. He has a family fortune of
£300m, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.
Other successful people with Armenian roots include David Dickinson,
presenter of the BBC’s Bargain Hunt, and Ara Palamoudian, chairman
of the Armenian community & church council of Great Britain.
He said: “Armenians have always tried to be self-sufficient and not to
be a burden on any country. It could be the history of the Armenian
people, the way their lives have been over centuries. They had to
find shelter around the world.”
Many Armenians fled to England after the first world war, during
which up to 1.5m died, amid allegations of genocide by the Turks.
Other waves arrived in the 1970s and 1980s.
,,20 87-2350633,00.html
–Boundary_(ID_nsJJHrDxo7iU+RI Lb6CXOQ)–