RA NA AND UNDP TO COOPERATE ON ALL ISSUES CONCERNING LEGISLATION
YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, NOYAN TAPAN. Issues of creating cooperation
mechanisms and increase of effeciency were discussed at the August 24
meeting of RA National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosian and Consuelo
Vidal, the UN Resident Coordinator, the UNDP Resident Representative to
Armenia. An agreement was reached to organize soon a joint discussion
with international organizations engaged in assisting working out
of drafts, to coordinate and check the necessity and reasonings of
working out drafts, to decide ways of assistance.
According to the information submitted to Noyan Tapan by the RA
NA Public Relations Department, possibilities of making, with
the UN assistance, analyses of the acting legislation to find out
contradictions of different laws and agreements were also discussed. An
agreement was also reached on holding discussions in the direction
of improving work of the NA web site.

EXHIBITION OF IRANIAN CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTION TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN ON NOVEMBER 3-11
YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, NOYAN TAPAN. A specialized exhibition of Iranian
construction production will be held at the Sport and Culture Center
after Karen Demirchian in Yerevan on November 3-11. According to the
newspaper “Alik” (Tehran), Director of the Iran-Armenia Chamber of
Commerce Levon Aharonian stated this during a press conference in
Tehran on August 23.
In his words, it is expected that at least 60 Iranian companies
producing building material, electric devices, furniture, etc, will
participate in the exhibition.
L. Aharonian said that information about large industrial centers
of Iran will also be presented at the exhibition. According to
him, Iran is Armenia’s fifth largest trade partner: trade turnover
between Iran and Armenia reached 200 mln USD a year, 160 mln USD of
which is exports from Iran into Armenia and 40 mln USD is imports
from Armenia. L. Aharonian expressed a hope that organizing such an
exhibition will allow the Armenian consumer to get to know Iranian
products, thanks to which exports from Iran into Armenia currently
making 17% will soon reach 30%.

GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS JAVAKHK
AKHALKALAK, AUGUST 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Georgian
Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli on August 24 arrived in Javakhk with
a short working visit.
According to the A-Info news agency, while in Ninotsminda and
Akhalkalak, the Georgian prime minister familiarized himself with the
construction work being done there with state budget resources. He
visited the youth sport centers of Akhalkalak and Ninotsminda currently
under construction, as well as school No. 2 (where the instruction
is in Russian) of Akhalkalak.
Z. Noghaideli became acquainted with the process of constructing
Aspindza-Akhalkalak Road and expressed a hope that this work will be
completed by October.
During the prime minister’s visit, deputy of the Georgian parliament
Hamlet Movsisian proposed providing assistance to Javakhk’s farmers
who suffered from this year’s drought. In his words, Z. Noghaideli
promised to be useful not only in this issue but also to assist the
most vulnerable families and the disabled with fuel this winter.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TEACHERS OF ARMENIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE UNDERGO TRAINING IN
JAVAKHK
AKHALKALAK, AUGUST 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. About 200
Armenian language and literature teachers of Javakhk are undergoing
training in Akhalkalak under OSCE sponsorship.
According to A-Info, the training cources are run by 22 teachers
from Javakhk who have undergone respective training in Kobuleti this
summer. The program head Leva Gnberidze said that the teachers –
participants of the training cources were divided into 7 groups in
Akhalkalak, into 4 in Ninotsminda, and 3 groups in Akhaltskha.

WILL THE PROBLEM OF SECURITY OF SEAGULLS BE SETTLED?
Lragir.am
25 Aug 06
Several days ago the Haykakan Zhamanak published information that
a Diasporan businessman met with President Robert Kocharyan and
showed him the record of his talk with a minister while the latter
was demanding bribe from this businessman.
The Lragir.am found out that the sphere of mining was concerned, and
the minister who demanded a bribe is the minister of environmental
protection Vardan Ayvazyan.
Our information is confirmed by the rumors that Robert Kocharyan
is likely to dismiss Vardan Ayvazyan. The president’s intention is
probably determined by the record the businessman had handed to him. At
least, the Procuracy is increasingly attentive to the activities of
the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The Procuracy had demanded
explanation from the ministry on a number of questions.

CHIRAC CHANGED THE PROGRAM
Lragir.am
25 Aug 06
We have learned that the French president Jacques Chirac, who is
likely to visit Armenia in mid-September, made a suprising and in
some sense also sensational decision connected with the protocol of
the visit. The French president is said to have cancelled his visit
to the National Assembly of Armenia. The decision is serious not only
because it was made by the French president but also because Chirac is
going to change the protocol of Armenia. It means there is an important
reason. By the way, this is going to be the first case when a president
does not visit the National Assembly during their visit to Armenia.

KOCHARYAN CHANGED HIS MIND, ATTORNEY GENERAL INQUIRED
Lragir.am
25 Aug 06
The Lragir has learned from the source standing close to the president
administration that Robert Kocharyan prefers 100 percent proportional
system of election in the reforms of the Election Code. This certainly
sparked protests in the Republican camp, most probably determined by
the real perception of their own popular rating. The Republican Party
relies on constituencies where they hope to have their candidates
elected by “good old” methods. However, the president administration
has planned steps in case the Republican manages to vote down the
provision on proportional system of election. In this case, in the
period of the parliamentary election campaign the procuracy will
publish the files about the Republican candidates running under the
majority system.

CERTAINLY GOD WILL NOT DO BECAUSE GOD SAW THEIR ACTS
Lragir.am
25 Aug 06
Most Israeli soldiers are dissatisfied with the government, accusing
it of insufficient conditions during the war. After the fighting
the Israeli soldiers got back home and demanded the resignation
of the prime minister and the defense minister. All through the
confrontation of Israel and Hezbollah the propaganda machine of
the Armenian television, which had joined the defense of Lebanon,
seized the moment and informed the society what an uncomfortable and
disgraceful situation had occurred in the Israeli army during the
military actions, and how the Jews are settling accounts with one
another after settling accounts with Hezbollah. What a disgraceful
example of a disorganized state!
It is quite different in organized countries. Therefore, Tigran
Torosyan, the speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, one of
such countries, said on one of the channels, “God forbid the Armenian
state was like Israel.” Surely God forbid. God forbid the soldiers
demand the resignation of the prime minister and the defense minister
because they will hardly manage to set them back with truncheons or
fire engines. In countries like Israel they listen to the soldiers and
admit there were drawbacks in the actions of the military command. And
of course, God forbid to be like a country where the government,
at least formally, admits its mistake before the rank and file. God
forbid to be a state like Israel where they are not used to returning
land to keep power. God forbid that Armenia is a state like Israel,
where Tigran Torosyan’s most fellow party members would be at the wheel
of tanks at the front line rather than Jeeps and Hummers. Certainly,
God forbid. Otherwise, what would the country do if God allowed?
Otherwise, who would sow wheat in the liberated areas, who would make
the soldiers harvest the wheat if Armenia were a state like Israel? I
do not want to say that Armenia should be like Israel, or Israel is
the best model of what a state should be like. Of course, not.
However, in Israel the soldiers complain of drawbacks in the period
of military actions, unlike Armenia where these drawbacks are there
even at peacetime. Our soldiers do not complain, however. Because
they are patriotic. And if suddenly it occurred to them to complain
of the conditions in the army, sanitation and hygiene, quality
of food, relations denying the army regulations, the treatment of
officers, legal leave in return for bribes, service as pageboys to
the commanders, they would be court-martialed for high treason.
Armenia is not Israel. There is rigid organization who should serve
in the army and who should serve on the paper. And God forbid that
suddenly this organization is distorted, and we become Israel. Some
people are unable to avoid serving the Homeland and obeying the law,
and do not want others who can to do. Yes, Armenians are full of
envy and want to become Israel out of envy. In the meantime, our
public officials have never been jealous of either Israel or their
own people. Instead, day by day, hour by hour, they have done hard
work to organize their own state and organize in a way that God forbid.
But God’s ways are always the best. Man organizes, God directs.
And certainly, God forbid Armenia becomes Israel, for in that case some
people get a chance to hide in the battlefield and become heroes as
they have done once, before God and in the name of God. The battlefield
is not their place and is not their field at all. One day, however,
they will walk in the field, in an organized way.
HAKOB BADALYAN

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Armenian National Committee – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PRESS RELEASE +++ PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Friday, August 25, 2006
Contact: Lerna Kayserian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
Armenian Genocide Banking Bill Passes State Legislature
-Senator Jackie Speier leads colleagues in securing vote
SACRAMENTO, CA — The Armenian National Committee of America –
Western Region (ANCA-WR) welcomed today’s news that the California
State Legislature passed the “Armenian Genocide Bank and Looted
Assets Recovery Act”, SB 1524, sending the bill back to Governor
Schwarzenegger to sign only days after the he indicated his
opposition to its the linkage with SB 1765. Demonstrating, once
again, her leadership and commitment to Armenian American issues and
statesmanship in the Capitol, Senator Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo)
speedily secured the consent of fellow Senators to sever SB 1524
from SB 1765. The severed bill was immediately resubmitted for
consideration by the Senate and Assembly.
The bill, originally passed out of the State legislature on August
7th, was attached to SB 1765, which entitles wrongfully repatriated
Mexican Americans during the 1930’s to file lawsuits against the State.
That bill, which had been vetoed in its previous forms on numerous
occasions, had been attached to SB1524 at the behest of Senator Escutia
(D-Montebello) and with the support of Senator Dunn (D-Garden Grove)
in May of this year. In doing so, the passage of one bill became
dependent on the passage of the other.
At the time, the ANCA-WR Chairman Steven Dadaian had testified in
support of SB 1524 and urged that the bills remain separate so that
they could be judged on their own merits. Dadaian testified during
the May 9th hearing that California has a public policy interest in
protecting the rights of its Armenian American community by granting
California courts jurisdiction over these entities.
In vetoing SB 1765 and returning SB 1524 to the State legislature,
Governor Schwarzenegger echoed the ANCA-WR’s sentiment. The bill is
slated to go to the Governor’s desk for consideration as early as
next week. The ANCA-WR is confident that the Governor will sign this
important legislation promptly.
Once signed, the new law will allow victims and heirs recovery –
through California Courts – of assets looted by banks and financial
institutions operating in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey during
the Armenian Genocide which have been wrongfully withheld since
the Genocide.
The ANCA is the largest and most influential Armenian American
grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a
network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United
States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively
advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a broad
range of issues.
###

Armenians Inured to Spiralling Crime
ArmRadio.am
25.08.2006 18:42
Armenians Inured to Spiralling Crime
By Tatul Hakobian in Yerevan (CRS No. 354, 25-August-06)
Sergey Safarian, 46, returned from Soviet military service many
years ago an invalid. But his troubles worsened this summer when
his wife Gulnara was killed, leaving him unable to look after their
two daughters.
“I heard shots, ran out to the road, there were two people lying
dead there, one of them my wife, the other – a man. My wife was
hit by four bullets – in her hand, shoulder, stomach and forehead,”
Safarian recalled in his home in the village of Agarak.
“All the villagers flocked to where the shots came from. I took my
daughters and hurried home, so they didn’t see their mother covered
in blood.”
The tragic incident occurred on August 8. Businessman Alexander
Givoyev, who also headed the public organisation The Protection of
Children’s Rights, was the assailants’ other victim.
The tragic death of Gulnara and that of another innocent woman in a
similar contract-style shooting has highlighted a disturbing tendency
– the media and the public’s seeming avoidance of any real discussion
about spiralling violent crime.
Officials say serious crime is lower than in other CIS countries,
but recently revealed that figures for the first half of 2006 show
a 100 per cent increase over same period last year – and that 60 per
cent of cases involved firearms.
According to preliminary findings, Givoev, who was heading with his
family for the northern town of Gyumri, had stopped his Grand Cherokee
jeep at a roadside fruit stall. A red unmarked vehicle pulled up beside
him. Those inside it opened fire, killing him in front of his wife and
children – as well as the unfortunate stallholder Gulnara Karapetian.
Now Gulnara’s mother Kalipse Karapetian is worried that there will be
no one to support her granddaughters with their mother dead and their
father an invalid. “Look, the grapes, pears in the garden are ripe
now,” she told IWPR. ” Their mother was going to pick them and sell in
the roadside stall, in order to buy clothes for her student daughter.”
Gulnara was her family’s only breadwinner. Sergei Safarian’s pension
is only 5,000 drams (11 US dollars) a month. His twenty-year-old
daughter Narine, a deaf-mute from birth, gets the same allowance
from the state. His other daughter Marine is a student at Yerevan’s
medical college.
Grigor Zatikian, their neighbour and friend, said he was upset that
the fate of the grief-struck family had appeared to move no one but
neighbours and a few visiting journalists.
“Relatives and villagers helped organise Gulnara’s funeral and
committed her body to the earth with honour,” he told IWPR. “Today two
invalids and a student live in this house. It is sure to collapse. Come
here next year and you’ ll see! Gulnara shouldered all the household
chores. She did the work a man is supposed to do – she pruned trees,
dug the earth.”
On June 22, in another brazen daylight shooting, the son of a former
parliamentary deputy, Vahan Zatikian Sedrak, 26, was shot dead in
broad daylight in a crowded street in the Malatia district of Yerevan.
Twenty-four spent cartridges were found at the murder scene. One of the
bullets killed passer-by Karine Sargsian, 37, hitting her in the heart.
Karine Sargsian, who had been shopping, had bags of bread and
cabbage in her hands, when she was shot. She left behind three young
daughters. Several days after the murder, her husband Garush Antonian
published an article in the Azg newspaper, in which he said that
Armenian society was living by the law of the jungle.
Nikol Pashinian, editor-in-chief of the Yerevan opposition newspaper
Haikakan Zhamanak, wrote, “What was Karine Sargsian’s and her family’s
fault? Can an average citizen in this country feel he is a person
with rights, or is he just waiting to fall victim to criminals score
settling?”
Sona Truzian, press secretary at the general prosecutor’s office,
said the two murders were being investigated and she could not add
any new information, “I cannot say that these were contract killings
until the preliminary enquiry is completed.”
Contract killings are common in Armenia, but they get surprisingly
little coverage on television and radio, which is mostly government
controlled.
Gegham Manukyan, an adviser at the popular Yerkir Media TV Company
and a parliamentary deputy, disagrees that serious crime is overlooked
but admits that producers face problems airing such stories: getting
timely information from the police and the reluctance of victims’
relatives to be interviewed.
Well-known Armenian actor Sos Sarkisian said it was time the public
woke up to threat of violent crime. ” The people must stand up to
protest. Our people have become inured to such murders,” he said.
Psychologist Karine Nalchajian said the public are concerned about
gangsterism, but feel there’s nothing they can do.
“A family, people in a certain circle, may talk among themselves,
express their outrage at what is going on, but our society at large
is not responsive, it does not believe that it can achieve things by
speaking out. The discussion of these matters generally does not go
beyond the family circle or a group of friends,” he said.
Tatul Hakobian is a commentator for the Radiolur news programme on
Armenia Public Radio.
This article first was published at IWPR