GOVERNMENT OF GEORGIA READY TO BUY HOUSES IN JAVAKHK FOR ITS CITIZENS SUFFERED FROM NATURAL CALAMITIES
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 15 2006
AKHALKALAK, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. According to Zaza
Imedashvili, the head of the Emigration, Resettlement and Refugees
Department of the Refugees and Resettlement Ministry of Georgia, this
year the Government of Georgia allocated 1 mln 227 thousand lari (about
700 thousand U.S. dollars) to citizens of Georgia suffered from natural
calamities for buying flats. The Government considers mainly Western
Georgia and Ajaria as regions suffered from natural calamities. As the
“A-Info” agency informs quoting official data, it is envisaged to buy
about 220 houses in the regions of Tsalka, Akhalkalak, Ninotsminda
during the current year. Z.Imedashvili explains resettlement of
Georgians in the regions of Javakhk populated by Armenians with the
issue that houses are cheap there. In the opinion of representatives
of the Armenian Public Organizations Council of Samtskhe-Javakhk,
the main goal of this program of the Georgian Parliament is to change
the demographic picture of Javakhk to the detriment of Armenians.

RA STATE BUDGET REVENUES IN JANUARY-MARCH 2006 EXCEED BY 6% INDEX OF SAME MONTHS OF LAST YEAR
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. In January-March 2006, the RA state
budget revenues and official transfers increased by 6% compared with
the same months of last year and made 82 bln 109.1 mln drams (about
182.4 mln USD). According to the RA National Statistical Service,
the state budget revenues grew by 9.6% to 81 bln 670.5 mln drams. In
the period under review, the current revenues of the state budget grew
by 6.8% to 79 bln 114.9 mln drams, while tax revenues – by 16.2% to
70 bln 888.1 mln drams. In the indicated period, the RA state budget
expenditures amounted to 79 bln 957.4 mln drams, the budget surplus –
to about 2.1 bln drams.

BRACKS REFUSES TO ACT ON MP’S ‘GENOCIDE’ SPEECH
The Age, Australia
May 16 2006
s-refuses-to-act-on-mps-genocide-speech/2006/05/16 /1147545305736.html
A Victorian MP’s parliamentary speech accusing Turkish people of
ignoring acts of genocide more than 80 years ago is a sign of free
speech at work, Victorian Premier Steve Bracks says.
Jenny Mikakos, the parliamentary secretary for justice, whose ethnic
background is Greek, has accused Turkey of ignoring the killing of
hundreds of thousands of ethnic Greeks between 1916 and 1923.
In a short speech to the Victorian upper house during the last session
of parliament, Ms Mikakos reportedly said: “On May 19, the Pontian
community in Victoria and around the world will commemorate the 87th
anniversary of the Pontian genocide that occurred in present-day
Turkey.
“Between 1916 and 1923, over 353,000 Pontic Greeks living in Asia
Minor and in Pontus, which is near the Black Sea, died as a result of
the 20th Century’s first but less-known genocide,” Fairfax reported
her as saying.
“Over a million Pontic Greeks were forced into exile. In the preceding
years, 1.5 million Armenians and 750,000 Assyrians in various parts
of Turkey also perished.”
Two Labor MPs of Turkish descent, Adem Somyurek and John Eren,
interjected but Ms Mikakos continued speaking.
“The Turkish government must begin the reconciliation process by
acknowledging these crimes against humanity. The suffering of the
victims of the Pontian genocide cannot and will not be forgotten,”
she said.
The comments, made under a system of 90-second free statements for
MPs established by the Bracks government, have outraged Turkish and
Jewish groups.
But Mr Bracks today said Ms Mikakos, one of two members for the safe
Jika Jika province in Melbourne’s north, was free to make the speech.
“Free speech is something that we uphold, and I understand that,
and the freedom to criticise someone who makes a statement is also
appropriate as well,” he told Southern Cross Broadcasting.
“As to the interpretation of those events, that is a matter which,
really, other people can judge, but this is something she obviously
felt passionate about.
“It’s up to her. She is a member of parliament who can submit those
things to the parliament.
“But equally, people have the right to vigorously disagree with her
point of view.”
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Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Contact: Maral Habeshian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
Bill Grants Legal Rights to Genocide Survivors and Heirs to Recover
Bank Deposits

California Senate Judiciary Committee Unanimously Passes SB 1524, but
Partners Bill with Controversial Legislation
SACRAMENTO, California – Legislation that would grant Armenian
Genocide victims and their heirs access to California courts to
recover bank deposits wrongfully withheld since the Armenian Genocide,
unanimously passed the California State Senate Judiciary Committee on
May 9.
The same committee, however, chaired by Senator Joe Dunn of Garden
Grove, also voted to accept a hostile amendment that attaches a highly
controversial and unrelated bill to the bi-partisan supported Armenian
Genocide Bill, which endangers its ability to be signed by the
Governor and become law.
The `Armenian Genocide Bank and Looted Assets Recovery Act” SB 1524,
authored by State Senators Jackie `Kanchelian’ Speier and Charles
`Chuck’ Poochigian, and sponsored by the Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA), was presented for consideration in the Senate
Judiciary Committee, on May 9. The bill would allow victims and heirs
recovery – through California Courts – of assets looted from
commercial entities operating in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey during
the Armenian Genocide–which have been wrongfully withheld since the
Genocide.
Speaking in support of the bill, Katia Kermoyan-Khodanian spoke of the
dire need for this legislation and recounted the harrowing experience
of her relative Markar Kermoyan who had lost his bank deposits and
worldly assets during the Armenian Genocide without any recourse.
Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA – WR)
Chairman Steven Dadaian, spoke in support of the Bill, informing the
committee that California has a public policy interest in protecting
the rights of its almost 1,000,000 strong Armenian American community
by granting California courts jurisdiction over banks operating in the
Ottoman Empire during the Armenian Genocide.
Dadaian also reminded the Committee that only five years ago the State
enacted the “Armenian Genocide Era Insurance Act” based on the same
public policy.
Lending the Greek community’s support was Steven Miles, Executive
Director of the American Hellenic Council, who spoke strongly of the
deep bond between Greeks and Armenians forged in the common
persecution and Genocide their communities faced in Turkey from
1915-1923.
Don Engstrom, from the Consumer Attorneys Association of California,
also expressed support for the legislation.
The hostile amendment, binds SB 1765 to SB 1524 that entitles lawsuits
to be filed for wrongfully repatriated Mexican Americans during the
1930s.
Speaking strongly in opposition to the binding of these two separate
and distinct Bills, the ANCA’s Steven Dadaian informed the Committee
that while his organization supports the correcting of all historic
wrongs, he nevertheless views the effort as an attempt to `hi-jack the
Armenian Bill with legislation that has trice been vetoed by
consecutive administrations. We encourage each bill to weighed on
their own merits separately. It is illogical and unfair to do
otherwise.’
Senator Senator Bill Morrow (Vice-Chair) voted against the hostile
amendment, while Senators Joseph Dunn (Chair), Dick Ackerman, Martha
Escutia, and Sheila Kuehl supported the move.

6.htm
Armenian Genocide Remembered
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Albuquerque Journal
Copyright 2006 Albuquerque Journal
By Toby Smith
Many Americans of a certain age grew up hearing their parents issue
this dinnertime command to eat up: “Think of all the starving
Armenians!”
The curious expression was actually based on fact. Ninety years ago in
Armenia, starvation was a way of life. So was torture and mass
extermination, according to a new documentary.
On Thursday at 10 p.m., KNME-TV presents “The Armenian Genocide,” a
powerful film that details long-ago horrors.
Starting in 1915, and continuing for eight years, more than 1 million
Armenians died at the hands of Ottoman Turks in what has been, the
documentary reveals, “one of the greatest untold stories of the 20th
century.”
Andrew Goldberg wrote, directed and produced the hourlong
film. Narration is provided by a range of American actors.
Convinced that Turkish-Armenians, most of whom were Christian, were
the cause of problems within the sprawling, Muslim-dominated Ottoman
Empire, the Turks set out on insidious revenge.
There are approximately 150 Armenians in New Mexico and none has been
untouched by the genocide.
“My mother and sisters told me things,” says Vahram “Bill” Knadjian,
who is seated at his desk in the rug shop he opened on Albuquerque’s
Central Avenue more than a half-century ago.
Knadjian (pronounced Ka-nay-jun) is 92 years old, white-haired and
stooped. But his memory is clear enough to cause his eyes to moisten
when he talks of his youth in a ravished land.
“The first 10 years of my life were hell,” he says.
Though he was barely 2 when the Turks began to systematically erase
from the Ottoman Empire all Turkish-Armenians, Knadjian still carries
the horrors around him.
First to go in 1915 was his father, Soghomon Knadjian. The older man
was pulled from the family home in Urfa, Turkey, lined up against a
wall and shot by the Turkish Army.
Next, says Bill Knadjian, the Turks tied his brother, Yervant, 14, by
the ankles and beat the bottoms of his feet until they bled and
cracked.
“Then they poured saltwater into his wounds,” Knadjian says, “and
threatened to hang him each morning. His feet swelled. His feet
finally healed, but his brain never did. I wished they had killed
him.”
In 1916, the Turks sent Bill Knadjian, his mother and his two older
sisters and two younger ones on one of the genocide’s notorious “death
marches.”
The idea was to starve to death women and children by forcing them to
walk long distances without food.
Along the way Knadjian’s two older sisters, then teenagers, were raped
and murdered, he says, by Turkish soldiers.
The march took a year. “We ate every dog and every cat we could find,”
he says. When the family reached the Euphrates River in 1917, it was
red with blood and polluted with bodies, according to Knadjian. Typhus
fever plagued his mother, but somehow she survived.
The hatred Turks had for Armenians had been born years before, says
Knadjian.
“Massacres,” he says. “Constant massacres.”
In 1855, his great-grandfather, he learned, was killed by Turks. In
1895, his grandfather, a minister, was shot in front of his six
children.
The Turkish people almost universally believe that the Armenian
genocide didn’t happen. Wartime tragedies, Turks say. A few atrocities
perhaps, but no more. The term “genocide” or references to it appear
in no history books in Turkey.
On some public broadcasting stations, a half-hour, forumlike debate on
the issue will follow the documentary.
The documentary was to be shown on nearly 350 PBS stations, but almost
a third declined to show the debate.
KNME-TV won’t air the debate, which Chad Davis, the station’s director
of content, called “flawed.”
Emriye Ormaci, vice consul at the Turkish Consulate General in
Houston, agreed the panel wasn’t very strong, “but the documentary
only shows the Armenian side of the issue.”
In 1923, Bill Knadjian left the region for the United States. After a
while he settled in Los Angeles where he learned the rug business. In
1939, he became a U.S. citizen. Fifteen years later, he arrived in
Albuquerque. He still works every day in the showroom he built just
west of the University of New Mexico.
When asked if he has been back to Turkey or Armenia, Knadjian seems
genuinely surprised.
“You want me to go back there? That will never happen. America is my
home. It always will be.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee
Eastern United States
P.O. Box 1066
New York, NY 10040
Contact: Doug Geogerian
Tel: 917 428 1918
Fax: 718 651 3637
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
New York Times Rebukes Turkey over Armenian Genocide Issue
The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of the Eastern United States commends
The New York Times for pointing out Turkey’s “self-destructive obsession
with denying the Armenian Genocide” in its editorial section today. Noting
Turkey’s inflammatory and intimidating response to governments and
individuals, who speak truthfully about the first genocide of the 20th
century, The Times pointed out three of many deepl troubling examples.
“The Turks pulled out of a NATO exercise this week because the Canadian
prime minister used the term ‘genocide’ in reference to the mass killings of
Armenians in Turkey during and after World War I. Before that, the Turkish
ambassador to France was temporarily recalled to protest a French bill that
would make it illegal to deny that the
Armenian genocide occurred. And before that, a leading Turkish novelist,
Orhan Pamuk, was charged with ‘insulting Turkish identity’ for referring to
the genocide,” stated The Times.
As Turkey attempts to join the European Union, it is coming under increasing
pressure to recognize the genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenians were
systematically exterminated. Turkey faces growing difficulty, and now
editorial reproach from the paper of record, for its ninety-one year
practice of persecuting journalists, government officials and ordinary
citizens who exercise what should be their right to free speech. Publisher
Ragip Zarakolu and journalist Hrant Dink, who recently addressed Armenian
communities in the US, are only two of many brave individuals who have been
prosecuted for informing the Turkish public about the genocide.
“The Armenian National Committee and the Armenian American community are
gratified to see that after changing its policy by allowing its reporters to
describe the events of 1915 as genocide, the New York Times has come to
rebuke Turkey for its sinister and anti-democratic campaign of genocide
denial. Decades of hard, thoughtful work to get the Times and the Boston
Globe to attune their coverage of the issue with historical scholarhsip have
borne valuable fruit,” said Dikran Kaligian, Chairman of the ANC in the
Eastern United States.
The Armenian National Committee (ANC) is dedicated to advancing the concerns
of Armenian-Americans, the foremost of which is achieving recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. In light of the Turkish government’s campaign to have
U.S. media organizations as well government officials deny the genocide, the
ANC strives to oppose
revisionist agendas, which either out of racists or other unscrupulous
motives, defame a people through attempting to negate the historicity of its
mass victimization.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: <; Oriental Orthodox Churches Joint Divine Liturgy On the morning of Thursday, May 11, 2006, a joint Divine Liturgy took place at the Western Diocese under the auspices of and with the participation of the Prelates of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, H.E. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, H.G. Bishop Serapion of the Coptic Church, and H.E. Archbishop Mor Eugene Kaplan of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Serving at the altar were Very Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian and Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian. Participating in the Liturgy were clergy members from each church. With the singing of `Hrashapar' the four Prelates approached the altar. It was touching to see the Prelate's greeting each other during the moment of the `kiss of peace'. Later on, during Holy Communion, clergy members formed four rows to receive Holy Communion from the Prelates. Following Mass, Archbishop Hovnan Derderian welcomed the Prelates and clergy members on this `historic day'. He then invited the Prelates individually to deliver their remarks. Prior to each Prelate's remarks, clergy members of that respective church sang a hymn. The Prelates expressed thanks and gratitude for the special day and express the necessity of such gatherings to become more familiarized with each other and be enriched from each other. They also recognized the four religious leaders of each church, H.H. Aram I, H.H. Karekin II, Pope Shnouda III, and Patriarch Zacha. Following the Prelate's remarks, Very Rev. Fr. Dajad Yardemian delivered the message of the day. After the remarks, a group picture was taken followed by lunch. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian then presented all those in attendance with copies of Garo Bedrossian's `Feasts and Traditions of the Armenian Church' and `Sundays of Great Lent' books. The Prelates also had closed meetings to discuss the possibility of similar events in the future. The gathering then concluded in the same warm atmosphere in which it began.

PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: <; Oriental Orthodox Sunday School Bible Competition You are all champions of faith, for you have chosen the path of Christ Declared the Prelate On the morning of Saturday, May 13, a Bible competition took place between Sunday School students of Oriental Orthodox Churches under the direction of H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, at the `Armenak Der Bedrossian' Hall of St. Mary's Church in Glendale. The event, which was organized by the directors of the Sunday Schools, was held under the auspices of the H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, H.E. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, H.G. Bishop Serapion, Prelate of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and H.E. Archbishop Mor Eugene Kaplan, Prelate of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The competition encompassed the first ten chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. Participating were 11 to 15 year old Sunday School students. Prior to the competition, the students, led by the Prelates and accompanied by their directors, gathered inside St. Mary's Church where each Church sang hymns and read prayers in its respective language. On behalf of the organizing committee Very Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian, co-director of the Prelacy Christian Education Department, delivered encouraging remarks to the students. At the start of the competition the students split into groups, with each group being comprised of students from the various churches. During the competition the preparedness of the students on the subject matter and their eagerness to win first place was apparent. Following the competition the host Prelate Archbishop Mardirossian welcomed the Prelates and clergy members and commended the organizing committee and all the directors and staff of the Sunday Schools. Turning to the students he said, `You all are champions of faith, for you have chosen the path of Christ. Your participation today is evidence of that faith. You are like the man who built his house on a rock and not on sand. That solid rock is Christ. Stand firm on that rock.' Later on the Prelate presented mementos to the guest Prelates, followed by greetings and blessings by the Prelates of the sister churches. At the end of the event, medals were given to all participants and trophies to the winners. There were also t-shirts handed out to all participants with the logos of the churches. Following the closing prayer and `Bahbanich' a group picture was taken in front of the church, after which the students enjoyed lunch. At 3:00 p.m. the students and directors departed with joy and triumph in their hearts.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
05/16/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) Turkey Must Recognize Genocide to Become Member of EU 2) Bill Grants Legal Rights to Genocide Survivors and Heirs to Recover Bank Deposits 3) Canadian Prime Minister Reaffirms Recognition of Armenian Genocide 4) Microsoft Opens Office in Armenia 5) Talabani Slams Interference in Iraq by Iran And Turkey 1) Turkey Must Recognize Genocide to Become Member of EU YEREVAN (Yerkir/Armenpress)--Secretary General of the International European Movement Henrik H. Kroner visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial (Dzidzernagapert) on Tuesday to honor the victims of the Armenian genocide. Kroner was accompanied by Victor Yengibarian, head of the organization's mission to Armenia, and Giro Manoyan, director of the ARF Bureau's Hai Tad and Political Affairs Office. While visiting the Genocide Museum, Kroner wrote in the visitor's book: "Let's hope no such genocide will take place again in Europe and world. And the European values are the guarantees of our unification." Speaking to journalists, Kroner said it is a shame that this crime against humanity has not been recognized thus far. He said until Turkey recognizes the Armenian genocide and opens border with Armenia it cannot become member of the European Union. "The European Union has been established to avoid such tragedies in the future. I think Turkey will never become an EU member unless it admits its past," Kroner said. "The process has just begun and will take long years. Ankara will have to admit it in the end." Earlier in the day, Kroner met with ARF Supreme Body of Armenia representative Armen Rustamian at the Simon Vratsian Center in Yerevan. The parties discussed the International European Movement's programs regarding Armenia's integration in Europe. 2) Bill Grants Legal Rights to Genocide Survivors and Heirs to Recover Bank Deposits --California Senate Judiciary Committee Unanimously Passes SB 1524, but Partners Bill with Controversial Legislation SACRAMENTO--Legislation that would grant Armenian genocide victims and their heirs access to California courts to recover bank deposits wrongfully withheld since the Armenian genocide, unanimously passed the California State Senate Judiciary Committee on May 9. The same committee, however, chaired by Senator Joe Dunn of Garden Grove, also voted to accept a hostile amendment that attaches a highly controversial and unrelated bill to the bi-partisan supported Armenian Genocide Bill, which endangers its ability to be signed by the Governor and become law. The "Armenian Genocide Bank and Looted Assets Recovery Act" SB 1524, authored by State Senators Jackie Kanchelian-Speier and Charles "Chuck" Poochigian, and sponsored by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), was presented for consideration in the Senate Judiciary Committee, on May 9. The bill would allow victims and heirs recoverythrough California Courtsof assets looted from commercial entities operating in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey during the Armenian genocide, which have been wrongfully withheld since the Genocide. Speaking in support of the bill, Katia Kermoyan-Khodanian spoke of the dire need for this legislation and recounted the harrowing experience of her relative Markar Kermoyan who had lost his bank deposits and assets during the Armenian genocide without any recourse. Armenian National Committee of America - Western Region (ANCA - WR) Chairman Steven Dadaian, spoke in support of the Bill, informing the committee that California has a public policy interest in protecting the rights of its almost 1,000,000 strong Armenian American community by granting California courts jurisdiction over banks operating in the Ottoman Empire during the Armenian genocide. Dadaian also reminded the Committee that only five years ago the State enacted the "Armenian Genocide Era Insurance Act" based on the same public policy. Lending the Greek community's support was Steven Miles, Executive Director of the American Hellenic Council, who spoke strongly of the deep bond between Greeks and Armenians forged in the common persecution and Genocide their communities faced in Turkey from 1915-1923. Don Engstrom, from the Consumer Attorneys Association of California, also expressed support for the legislation. The hostile amendment, binds SB 1765 to SB 1524 that entitles lawsuits to be filed for wrongfully repatriated Mexican Americans during the 1930s. Speaking strongly in opposition to the binding of these two separate and distinct Bills, the ANCA's Steven Dadaian informed the Committee that while his organization supports the correcting of all historic wrongs, he nevertheless views the effort as an attempt to "hijack the Armenian Bill with legislation that has thrice been vetoed by consecutive administrations. We encourage each bill to be weighed on their own merits separately. It is illogical and unfair to do otherwise." Senator Senator Bill Morrow (Vice-Chair) voted against the hostile amendment, while Senators Joseph Dunn (Chair), Dick Ackerman, Martha Escutia, and Sheila Kuehl supported the move. 3) Canadian Prime Minister Reaffirms Recognition of Armenian Genocide In a meeting with Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Canada representatives during a special reception, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reaffirmed his country's recognition of the Armenian genocide. ANC Ottawa member Aris Babikian expressed the Canadian Armenian community's gratitude for the Prime Minister's principled stance on the stance on the issue. He also committed to working closely with the Prime Minister's office on behalf of the ANC of Canada. During the meeting, Harper reaffirmed his government's and his party's policy regarding the Genocide. He said that this policy is based on principles and not political or economic considerations. 4) Microsoft Opens Office in Armenia The world's leading computer software manufacturer, Microsoft, opened an official representation to Armenia on Tuesday, demonstrating its interest in the country's growing information technology (IT) sector. Vahe Torossian, Microsoft's vice-president for Central and Eastern Europe, said the company is keen on capitalizing on the "amazing" level of education and skills of local computer specialists. "One thing which amazed me when I started my role here is the amazing quality of high technical, engineering, mathematics, physics, and other skills that we have in the region and especially in Armenia," Torossian told a news conference in Yerevan. "We are here to demonstrate and try to develop a very wealthy and healthy IT system," he said. Microsoft's decision to open an office in Yerevan was welcomed by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian who met Torossian and other top company executives earlier in the day. Markarian, according to his press service, proposed that the Armenian government and Microsoft form a "joint working group" that would deal with concrete ways in which the US giant could contribute to further growth of Armenia's IT industry. Speaking to reporters, the French executive of Armenian descent said Microsoft will boost the sector by commissioning computer programs from local software developers. He said it has already placed orders with five Armenian firms. "It's thoroughly clear that from every dollar that Microsoft will invest in Armenia, every single partner will generate around seven or eight dollars," Torossian said, adding that the company intends to create a "very strong" network of such partners. Armenia's IT industry employs thousands of well-paid specialists and is seen as the most advanced in the region, having expanded substantially over the past decade. The mainly American foreign companies involved in software development and other IT-related activities have been the main driving force behind the growth. IT experts warn, however, that the sector's further expansion could stall unless the Armenian government embarks on a sweeping overhaul of its system of higher education. They say the number and especially the professional level of young people graduating from the IT programs of local universities still leaves much to be desired. Armenian officials hope that Microsoft's plans to release Armenian-language versions of its world-famous products will spur greater computer use in the country. According to Torossian, the company will complete the ongoing translation of its Windows XP operating system into Armenian "before the end of the summer." The Armenian versions of other, more advanced systems will be available next year, he added. Torossian admitted that Microsoft sales in Armenia and virtually all other parts of the former Soviet Union are seriously hampered by poor protection of copyrights. He estimated that as much as 90 percent of software sold in Armenia is pirated. "We have very good laws," said Grigor Barseghian, the newly appointed head of Microsoft's Yerevan office. "They simply need to be enforced. That is the main obstacle to our activities at the moment." A government statement said the problem was also on the agenda of Markarian's meeting with the visiting Microsoft executives, but gave no details. 5) Talabani Slams Interference in Iraq by Iran And Turkey BEIRUT (UPI)--Iraqi President Jalal Talabani lashed out at neighbors Iran and Turkey for interfering in Iraq's domestic affairs, warning that Baghdad could reciprocate. Talabani was quoted as saying Tuesday in the Saudi daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat that "Iraq is not a weak country. [Our] neighbors can create problems for us and we also are capable of causing problems for them." He said, "If Iran allows itself to interfere in Karbala because it is a Shiite city and Turkey feels it can interfere in Kirkuk, that will open the way for very dangerous consequences." "In that case," he added, "Iraq will also have the right to interfere in Khozestan in Iran on the grounds that it has an Arab population and the same applies to Alexandrite in Turkey which has an Arab population." Talabani stressed, however, that Iraq and Iran have had historic relations which were both positive and negative "but there is always room for agreement and also between Iraq and Turkey agreement is possible." He acknowledged that the two countries have plausible reasons to interfere in Iraq since the Kurdistan Labor Party attacks Turkey from Iraq's Kurdish north; a Kurdish group in Iran has done the same, taking refuge in northern Iraq. "Nevertheless, we need to find a solution in order to eliminate all the pretexts used by Iran and Turkey to hit Iraqi territories," he added. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

from the May 17, 2006 edition
-woeu.html
Missteps hobble Turkey-EU waltz
A French proposal to ban any suggestion that Armenians did not suffer
genocide is just one of the sour notes.
By Peter Ford and Yigal Schleifer
PARIS AND ISTANBUL, TURKEY – Barely six months after the European
Union ended years of indecision by starting talks aimed at allowing
Turkey to join the club, doubts about the wisdom of that move are
coming to the fore on both sides of the table.
A series of well-publicized court cases, including one Tuesday,
against Turkish writers has made Europeans wonder anew whether Ankara
really shares their understanding of freedom of speech. Many Turks,
meanwhile, see a double standard over head scarf bans and a proposed
French law that would ban any suggestion that the Armenians did not
suffer genocide in 1915.
The dubious mood clouding the “talks about talks” that Turkish and EU
officials have been holding since the beginning of the year indicates
just how long and bumpy the process of turning Turkey into a
full-fledged European nation will be, say observers on both sides of
the Bosphorus.
“There is a sense that the political will in Ankara is not as strong
as it was, if there’s any left at all, to invest in this process with
Europe,” says one EU diplomat in the Turkish capital, who asked to
remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the issue. “The
commitment … that they are still professing is less convincing
because it is not being reflected by their actions on the ground.”
Especially worrying to the Europeans is the way prosecutors have used
a controversial article of Turkey’s revised penal code against writers
accused of insulting state institutions or Turkish identity. A number
of these cases, such as the one against author Orhan Pamuk, have been
dropped after sharp EU criticism. But Tuesday, the trial began of an
Armenian-Turkish newspaper editor who is charged with “attempting to
influence the judiciary” against the penal code. The editor, Hrant
Dink, was met with shouts of “traitor” as he entered the courtroom.
Rights activists also fear that a planned anti-terror bill, which
would allow the imprisonment of journalists found guilty of
“propagating terrorism,” might be used against anyone expressing
support for Kurdish separatists. A recent upsurge in violence in the
majority-Kurdish southeast of Turkey, meanwhile, could lead the
military to reassert itself in domestic affairs.
The EU last month urged the Turkish authorities “to make sure that the
security forces show the necessary restraint” in the wake of street
clashes that left 16 people dead and 36 children in jail, some facing
24 years in prison.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has brushed aside charges of
“reform fatigue,” insisting recently that “our reform efforts aimed at
raising standards and practices in all areas of life to the highest
contemporary standards will resolutely continue.”
But the approach of elections next year, coupled with a drop in public
support for EU membership to 50 percent from 80 percent two years ago,
means that leaders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
“don’t want to take risks,” says Mensur Akgun with the Turkish
Economic and Social Studies Foundation, a think tank in Istanbul.
The government “is focusing on elections and on the mood in the
country, and that mood is very inward-looking,” says the European
diplomat. “Instead of showing the way and leadership, the government
is listening much more to these ghosts that have been haunting Turkey
for decades.”
“There is a rising nationalism in the country,” adds Mr. Akgun, and
the AKP “has a constituency that is rather conservative in a
nationalist sense, and they have to reciprocate to their feelings.”
That nationalism has been fed by two rebuffs from the EU.
Ankara is galled that the Turkish-populated half of the divided
Mediterranean island of Cyprus remains under economic embargo even
though Turkish Cypriots accepted a UN plan to reunite the two sides.
Late last year, religious Turks were upset when a European Court of
Human Rights ruling upheld Turkey’s head scarf ban in public
universities.
Turks have also been angered by a vote next Thursday in the French
Parliament on a bill that would criminalize any statement casting
doubt on the Armenians’ claim that they suffered genocide at Turkish
hands in 1915. The bill would impose jail sentences and a fine on
historians, journalists, or others who challenge Armenians’ version of
events, in the same way French law punished revisionists who deny the
Holocaust.
The bill is unlikely to pass, but it reflects longstanding mistrust of
Turkey in Europe. That mistrust is fed by freedom-of-expression cases
being brought against writers, says Joost Lagendijk, who heads the
European Parliament delegation to the joint EU-Turkey parliamentary
committee.
“The mood in Europe is that nothing has happened in Turkey since
October except setbacks,” warns Mr. Lagendijk.
Quietly, Turkish and EU civil servants have been reviewing the 35
“chapters” of Turkish legislation that will have to be brought into
line with EU law, and have agreed on negotiating points for 19 of
them, officials say. Substantive negotiations on education and science
are due to begin next month.
Nobody expects Turkey to join the EU until 2015, even if things go
well. That, says Lagendijk, is a good thing, since EU citizens are
displaying doubts about the union’s future and purpose.
“We have some time ourselves to solve our own problems before we have
to deal with Turkey,” he says. “In the meantime, the negotiations will
continue behind the scenes.”
| Copyright © 2006 The Christian Science Monitor.
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