Author: Antonian Lara

ARIF YUNUSOV: "BY MOST PARAMETERS TODAY AZERBAIJAN IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR THE UNITED STATES, WESTERN EUROPE AND EVEN RUSSIA THAN ARMENIA AND ARMENIANS"

Today.Az
22 October 2008 [13:12]
Azerbaijan

"After the war with Georgia, present-day Russia considers that it
can change the international relations by way of force", said famous
conflict expert and political scientist Arif Yunusov.

According to him, in such a situation Azerbaijan’s policy should be
extremely cautious.

"On the one hand, we must not yield to provocations and act carelessly,
like the Georgian leadership recently did, we must attempt to settle
emerging problems in relations with Russia by political and diplomatic
means and attract the leading western countries to our side.

Commenting on the statement of famous Russian political scientist
Stanislav Belkovski who said that it is not urgent to speak of the
inviolability of borders after the collapse of several states and
appearance of many new ones, Yunusov said though states are permanently
collapsing and being created, it does not mean that international
laws have been annulled.

"The collapse of any country is profitable for someone, but this
is a different issue. In fact, the collapse and creation of new
states is still regulated by the international law. Of course,
these international laws are often violated, but nevertheless,
all, including Russia, try to justify their actions by referring
to international laws, which is understandable, for otherwise there
would be a chaos in the world", said the political scientist.

At the same time, he said after Kosovo and the recent recognition of
independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Russia, it is necessary
to review most things in the concept of international security and
the basic principles of the OSCE. "If it is not done, the process of
diffusion of international law may really start", said Yunusov.

As for Nagorno Karabakh he said the process of recognition of
independence of Nagorno Karabakh does not been apparent.

"It is admitted that the unilateral actions against Azerbaijan,
failure to take into consideration his interests may damage the
interests of most countries in the region.

We should not confuse two things: sympathies and antipathies. The
whole Christian world, beginning from western countries and to Russia,
are sympathizing Armenia and if everything was based on sympathies,
Nagorno Karabakh would have been recognized independent or annexed to
Armenia long before. But international relations are built on interests
both national and state, where Azerbaijan’s interests should be taken
into account.

By most parameters today Azerbaijan is more important for the United
States, Western Europe and even Russia than Armenia and Armenians,
though it does not mean that this will last forever. We must know
the real distribution of powers in the region and conduct a careful
external policy", said the political expert.

TURKISH INTELLECTUALS DISMAYED BY SWISS COURT’S GENOCIDE RULING

Today’s Zaman
23 October 2008, Thursday
Turkey

A Swiss court’s ruling against three Turks for their denial of
allegations of an Armenian genocide has drawn ire from liberal
intellectuals in Turkey, including Professor Baskın Oran.

The court, in Winterthur, ordered Workers Party (Ä°P) Europe
representative Ali Mercan to pay a fine of 4,500 Swiss francs
($3,900). Two others were ordered to pay 3,600 Swiss francs each for
violating anti-racism legislation.

During a demonstration in June of last year, Mercan had denied Armenian
claims of genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. The other two
Turks were co-organizers of the demonstration.

"Now, wait and see how this massive attack on the freedom of expression
will strengthen fascists in Turkey and elsewhere, and how non-Muslims,
Alevis, Kurds, leftists and liberals will suffer more under this
heavy blow. Maybe this is what is being aimed at by certain circles,"
Oran wrote for a discussion network on the Internet.

Oran himself was prosecuted two years ago under infamous Article 301
of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) on charges of "insulting Turkishness"
for a report on minorities and cultural reports he had prepared for the
Prime Ministry. The report maintained that Turkey’s understanding of
minority rights lagged behind universal norms and proposed far-reaching
amendments to the Constitution and related laws. He was acquitted of
the charges but continued to be threatened by radical groups.

"I cannot see any difference between our courts, which are punishing
people who are saying ‘genocide,’ and the Swiss court. Actually,
the Swiss court is even guiltier than ours because their tradition of
freedom of speech is stronger than ours," Oran said in an interview
with Today’s Zaman. He also pointed out that the Swiss court’s verdict
would have a negative effective on freedom of speech in Turkey, since
the circles that already oppose freedoms will use the verdict to show
that there are limitations to freedom of speech even in a European
country like Switzerland.

"In the present situation it is totally impossible to get rid of
Article 301," Oran added.

In the past there have been many court cases against intellectuals
under the article. As part of Turkey’s ongoing European Union accession
process, the government amended the law and introduced a requirement
under which prosecutors must seek authorization from the Ministry of
Justice before initiating a court case under the article.

Yusuf AlataÅ~_, a lawyer and a former chairman of the Human Rights
Association (Ä°HD), stressed that in Europe the borders of freedom
of thought are determined by racism but that the verdict of the Swiss
court was against freedom of speech.

"There is no conclusion from any international body regarding the
genocide. Until there is such a decision, it is normal that some people
will claim that it is genocide and others will argue the opposite,"
AlataÅ~_ said.

–Boundary_(ID_m7YUAFLSR97O9dWehsWXwQ)–

BOGOSIAN IS EAGER TO PLEASE;
By Steve Hummer

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
October 12, 2008 Sunday

Into the fray: The Thrashers defenseman has moved fast and hopes
to stick.

The Zach Bogosian timeline is stuck on fast-forward, the images
jumping from childhood to manhood in flickers and flashes.

It was only four years ago that a 14-year-old kid not much wider than
the stick he carried showed up at prep school to begin his formal
hockey education. That first year, Bogosian felt blessed if he got
more than one shift a game.

Two years ago, just 16, he already was facing older, more experienced
players in junior hockey, with the Peterborough (Ontario) Petes.

This May, he danced at his girlfriend’s prom, himself taking high
school classes online while preparing for the NHL draft. He’s still
one science credit shy of a high school diploma.

Friday night, just 1:23 into the opener against Washington, the
Thrashers’ prized first-round draftee hopped onto the ice for his
first authentic NHL game. Bogosian’s maiden shift will not be a story
to tell his grandchildren one day. Almost immediately he gave up the
puck at the Thrashers’ end and drew his first penalty — holding —
while trying to recover. All in a forgettable 29 seconds.

He would acquire a second penalty to begin the second period—
or at his tender age, do they call it being in time out?

In the game’s final 20 seconds, Bogosian was in the mix again,
embroiled in his first big-league hockey fight. Boxing way out of his
weight class, he squared up against Donald Brashear, the Capitals’
237-pound veteran, and, as a parting gift, got a nice red streak
across his left cheek.

There’s a reason 18-year-old defensemen are rarer in the NHL than
heat stroke. Youth is not well served at that position, and Bogosian
is nothing if not young.

"Kind of strange to think about it. Four years ago, I was sitting in
a classroom in ninth grade," Bogosian said.

"I knew what I wanted. I knew I’d probably have to grow up faster
than a lot of kids. Now I’m 18, and I still have to grow up a lot
faster than other people. But I don’t mind it."

A nine-game test

Uh, coach, do you realize one of your defensemen was at the prom five
months ago?

"Is that right?" the Thrashers John Anderson said, fashioning a
smirk. "Didja ask him what color dress he wore?"

Clearly, if Bogosian sticks with the Thrashers this year, he won’t
earn a letter jacket from the team. He’s a long way from high school,
in distance if not in time. The message is clear: Grow up, double-time.

Asked to learn more angles to the game, defensemen generally take
longer to ripen than forwards.

"It’s extremely difficult. You’re not really prepared to play defense
at the college and junior levels," Thrashers new defenseman Mathieu
Schneider said. He’s 39 now, and he broke into the NHL half a lifetime
ago, back when Bogosian was a zygote. "It takes a lot of patience,
a lot of thinking. It takes most defensemen three, four, five years
to really hit their stride in this league."

The Thrashers have nine games to decide whether Bogosian is better
served doing his apprenticeship in the NHL or playing more minutes
back in junior hockey. The clock on his three-year contract and free
agent eligibility doesn’t start until after that.

While Bogosian displayed a deft passing touch and a keen instinct
during the preseason, there are no guarantees.

The kid has prepared accordingly. Bogosian has spent the preseason in
Atlanta living out of a hotel near the team’s Duluth training facility
and bumming rides from teammates. He gave his old car to his brother
Aaron, a sophomore forward at St. Lawrence University in New York.

"I want to make sure everything falls into place before I start
treating myself," said Bogosian, displaying a defenseman’s conservative
nature.

He comes in to this job interview with some great recommendations. For
a young man who grew up in a fairly secluded fringe of New York —
you can throw a Loonie from Massena across the St. Lawrence into
Quebec — he has quickly gotten to know all the right people.

He wears No. 4, the same as the greatest defenseman, former Boston
Bruin Bobby Orr. Pure coincidence. When he was a kid picking out
numbers, he didn’t know Orr from Pee Wee Herman. And now, guess who
is Bogosian’s agent? Not Pee Wee.

"Zach just kept improving and improving," said Orr, who first caught
sight of Bogosian about three years ago. "Now he’s a very strong
skater who can pass it or shoot it well. He can really jump into the
play. And that’s what it’s all about today."

Another Bruins icon, defenseman Ray Bourque, coached Bogosian briefly
when his son played at the same prep school, the Cushing Academy in
Ashburnham, Mass. It was as if the role models were taking a number
to serve the kid.

All advice is welcomed, because the adjustments are plentiful. For one,
Atlanta has been a culture shock. This transient place has nothing
in common with where and how Bogosian grew up.

Long way from Massena

The Bogosians have been in Massena (population 13,000) since 1923,
when Zach’s great-grandfather made his way there from Armenia at the
age of 16, escaping a genocide campaign by the Turks.

Bogosian heritage is his cross to bear, literally — beneath the
Thrashers sweater is a tattoo of an ornate Armenian cross running a
shoulder blade’s length.

Zach’s parents still live and work on the same block that Stephen
Bogosian settled in two generations before. When Ike, a former safety
at Syracuse, goes to work, he walks one door down to his cleaning
business. Zach’s mother, Vicky, is a hairdresser who works out of
the home.

Meanwhile in Atlanta, the Thrashers require Bogosian to eventually
become the Armenian hammer on their vulnerable defense. Friday was
only one small, choppy stride in that direction. But the moment reeked
of personal significance.

The skinny 7-year-old who was playing up with the 11s and 12s was
playing up again. Making an NHL team was the theme of Bogosian’s every
childhood dream. And here it was in his grasp, realized so quickly.

What came before seemed only like flashes and flickers.

All those miles logged in the family car to get him to some youth
game. There always was another game to play.

All the emotions that erupted after dropping off a last-born son at
prep school for the first time. Bogosian said he never once felt a
twinge of homesickness when he had to leave home at 14 to chase a
hockey future. But it was never that easy on his parents. "It was a
six-hour drive home [from Cushing Prep to Massena], and I sobbed for
six hours," said Vicky, not exactly the hockey mom portrait of a pit
bull in lipstick.

And all the work and sacrificed fragments of youth that were given to
a game. Summers weren’t for vacations at the lake. For the past two,
Bogosian arose at 6 a.m. five times a week to drive 90 minutes to an
Ottawa gym for specialized workouts. He weighed 160 pounds when he
began the program. He goes 200 now.

Thinking back on everything, little wonder earlier this week Bogosian
said, "It’s kind of a surreal thing. It’s almost like you just can’t
believe that you’re here."

But that’s about all the reverie he’ll allow. There is a schedule
to keep.

"I want it to happen so badly; I’m going to do everything I can to
stick," he said. "If I play good, and keep working hard, things will
fall into place. It does make me work harder knowing I have nine games
to show that I belong, and I’m going to do everything in my power to
do that."

S. OHANYAN HOSTED LIEUTENANT GENERAL ROLAND KATHER

;p=0&id=644&y=2008&m=10&d=21
19.10 .08

On October 19, 2008 RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan received the
delegation headed by Lieutenant General Roland Kather, Commander of
NATO Allied Land Component Command Headquarters Heidelberg.

Greeting the members of the delegation Mr. Ohanyan mentioned that
Armenia is ready to develop cooperation in the sphere of defense and
security with any interested country.

During the meeting RA Defense Minister talked about importance of
military exercises held in Armenia, which must strengthen regional
cooperation.

The Minister thanked the delegation for contributing to the improvement
of the collaboration of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia,
which will enhance Armenia’s productive participation in peacekeeping
activity.

At the end of the meeting Lieutenant General Roland Kather expressed
his satisfaction to RA Defense Minister S. Ohanyan for the works done.

ACCORDING TO DEPUTIES, AMENDMENTS SHOULD BE MADE IN CURRENT
LEGISLATION ON BROADCAST SPHERE, WHEREAS IN OPINION OF GOVERNMENT, SOME
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS CONTRADICT CONSTITUTIONAL NORMS

YERVAN, OCTOBER 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The package of the following bills:
the bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on Television
and Radio, the bill on making amendments and additions to the RA Law on
the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, the bill on making
amendments and additions to the RA Law on the National Television and
Radio Commission, and the bill on making an addition to the RA Law on
State Duty was discussed at the October 15 sitting of the NA Standing
Committee of Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Issues. The
bills were prepared by National Assembly deputies Naira Zohrabian,
Heghine Bisharian, Lilit Galstian and Anahit Bakhshian.

In the words of N. Zohrabian, the amendments are aimed at ensuring the
independence of the National Television and Radio Commission – an
independent body regulating the public and private broadcast media, and
the Council of the Public Television and Radio Company. The purpose of
the amendments is also to establish the selection of the members of the
indicated bodies on a competitive basis. The amendments are mainly
related to the principles of formation of these bodies, the mechanisms
of their financial independence and the provisions on pluralism. N.
Zohrabian stated that in developing the amendments, the RA
Constitutional Court’s decisions, by which several articles of the RA
Law on Television and Radio were either suspended or recognized as
invalid, were taken as a basis, as well as the reforms proposed in the
PACE Resoluition 1609 were taken into account.

The RA minister of justice Gevorg Danielian took part in the sitting.
He presented a negative conclusion of the government, according to
which some principles stipulated in the bill contradict the norms of
the RA Constitition. After a dicsussion, it was decided to set up a
working group, in which representatives of the sphere will be included
as well, and to make the bills mutually acceptable.

According to the RA National Assembly PR Department, the chairman of
the standing committee Armen Ashotian said that all the proposals of
the government will be discussed. The package of bills with a positive
conclusion will be put on the draft agenda of the autumn session of the
National Assembly.

IN MOSTLY GEORGIAN PART OF ABKHAZIA, ETHNIC LINES SEEM INDELIBLE
By Tara Bahrampour

Washington Post
October 18, 2008
United States

GALI, Georgia — The old women in the horse-drawn cart tensed up as
they approached the border.

"You watch, they’re going to yell and curse at us," one of them
murmured as they reached the crossing from undisputed Georgian
territory into the only district of the breakaway region Abkhazia
that is still populated mostly by Georgians. "They’re going to ask
us for money," the woman said before she got down and was escorted
out of earshot

The sum that Georgians such as the cart’s passengers must pay guards
to enter Abkhazia, where they live, has gone up recently, the women
said, making it harder to travel to the Georgian-controlled side,
where they shop, go to the hospital and visit relatives.

For the 50,000 or so Georgians living in Gali district, the recent war
between Russia and Georgia has cast new uncertainty over an already
shaky existence. In August, ethnic Abkhaz celebrated when Russia
recognized their land, along with South Ossetia, as independent
countries. Tougher frontier controls are one sign of the sometimes
triumphant confidence the Abkhazian authorities now display.

"The checkpoint is on the border of an enemy state that wants to
destroy us," said Ruslan Kishmaria, the district’s governor. "In the
future, we will be looking at each person individually to see if we
will let them into the country." He denied that the cost of crossing
had gone up.

The argument over whether Georgia has a legitimate claim to Abkhazia
goes back to communist and even czarist times. When the Soviet Union
collapsed a decade and a half ago, tensions here erupted into a vicious
separatist war that sent ethnic Georgians fleeing and locked Abkhazia
into political limbo. In most of Abkhazia, displaced Georgians have
never returned, but in this southernmost district, many did.

The district’s capital, also called Gali, is not the prosperous town
of supermarkets, hotels and wide, smooth roads that residents describe
from the days when Soviet Black Sea tourism brought in money. Unlike
the fixed-up towns of northern Abkhazia, where few Georgians remain,
the roads here are rutted, abandoned buildings are draped in weeds,
and commerce and city services are skeletal. Many young people have
left, and people who stay maintain an uneasy relationship with the
local government and the Abkhaz and Russian troops.

In interviews, several Gali residents complained that Abkhaz soldiers
often demand cash, as well as a significant portion of their hazelnut
crops, as "taxes." As members of a minority, the Georgians said,
they have no one to appeal to and no choice but to pay.

While Georgian language is still taught in some schools, along with
Russian, Abkhaz and English, it is illegal to hang up a sign in the
Georgian script.

Asked why, Kishmaria said, "We hate the Georgians. Why would we want
to use their language?"

Georgian residents cited pressure from the Abkhaz government to
give up their Georgian citizenship and take Abkhazian passports. "It
doesn’t matter what kind of passport I have — I am Georgian," said
a middle-aged woman named Aza, who like many Gali residents said she
was afraid to give her full name.

Citing a population shortage, the government is trying to draw in as
many ethnic Abkhaz as it can. After a vicious war caused the exodus
of about 250,000 Georgians in the early 1990s, an estimated 70,000
to 90,000 ethnic Abkhaz remained, along with a significant number of
ethnic Russians and Armenians.

Officials offer incentives such as houses and dual citizenship to
ethnic Abkhaz returning from abroad — including descendants of people
forcibly moved to Turkey in the 19th century by the Russian czars.

About 90 percent of Abkhaz people here have taken dual Russian
citizenship. But for people who are not ethnic Abkhaz, dual citizenship
is not allowed, and Georgian citizenship is frowned on.

"To have a huge district populated with noncitizens, that’s a problem,"
said Deputy Foreign Minister Maxim Gunjia. "It is in our interest
that they become citizens" of Abkhazia.

If they do, many say, it won’t be from a sense of newfound patriotism.

"If somebody takes Abkhaz citizenship, it’s because they’re afraid,"
said Nargiza Kvaratskelia Pavlovna, 55, a Georgian who was displaced
in the early 1990s war and returned two years later to find her
house burned. "We have a dog’s life here. . . . We can’t even tell
the truth."

Many people here say that so far, remaining in their own houses here
has been better than living elsewhere as refugees.

But a 25-year-old woman who did not want to be named said that if
pressed to decide, she, like many young people, would probably move
to Georgian-controlled territory, perhaps ahead of her parents. "But
what to do with this house?" she said, gesturing around her family’s
spacious living room. "Leave it to the Abkhaz or Russians? I said to
my parents, ‘If you leave, just burn down the house. It’s better.’ "

The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia maintains a presence in
Gali, as well as in Sukhumi, Abkhazia’s capital. But Abkhaz officials
have said the group will need to change its name and mandate if it
wishes to continue.

During the August war, U.N. personnel left Abkhazia’s only other
Georgian-majority area, a wedge of mountain known as the Kodori
Gorge. Home to about 2,500 ethnic Georgians, it had been under
Georgian government control since 2006 and was the seat of the
Georgian-backed Abkhazian government-in-exile. It was a showcase,
with billboards extolling a "united" Georgia that included Abkhazia,
and with money poured into municipal buildings and a ski resort.

When the war started, Abkhaz forces retook the area and Georgian
forces retreated into undisputed Georgian territory, along with most
of the residents.

Georgian officials insist that the French-brokered cease-fire that
ended the war will not be fulfilled without the return of Kodori
to their control. With Russia having recognized Abkhazia and South
Ossetia, leaders of those places say they have no intention of
returning to pre-Aug. 7 lines. But Abkhaz officials say they are
encouraging the Georgian civilians who fled to return and take Abkhaz
citizenship.

In a refugee center in the Georgian city of Kutaisi, a group who fled
Kodori criticized the Georgian government for failing to protect them,
and pondered a return. "If the Georgian authorities are going to be
there, of course we’ll go, but if they’re not, why would I go?" said
Tristan Chketiani, 52, adding that he did not want to live like the
Georgians in Gali.

For now, Gali residents say they will harvest their crops and wait to
see what happens. On a warm October day, the district capital’s outdoor
market teemed with people buying peppers and melons and corn. Children
practiced traditional dances in a darkened and crumbling theater,
and teenagers strolled by the remains of a cafe where, in July,
a bomb killed several people.

However, Nino Mirtskhulava, 18, who recently returned from a year
abroad in Huber Heights, Ohio, as an exchange student, said Gali feels
like a dead end. "We don’t have movies to go watch, or a bowling
alley. We have no restaurants where we can sit," she said. In a
few days, she said, she and her mother would be moving to Tbilisi,
Georgia’s capital.

THE STORY – AN EMPTY BALLOON
Rubina Sargsyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
16 Oct 2008
Armenia

Interview with the Director of the Scientific-Practical Center of
Forensic Expert Examinations Shota Vardanyan

"Mr. Vardanyan when will you introduce the final conclusion regarding
the famous video film represented by the opposition?"

"The National Assembly has submitted an application to our center,
according to which "there is an episode in the video introduced by
the press belonging to the opposition, where most probably there is
a fragment of a human jaw on the ground. Another cadre shows how a
car drives into a citizen. We would like you to answer whether or not
the forensic expert examination has recorded any trauma that was the
consequence of similar accident. If yes please send us the conclusion
of the forensic expert examination."

The thing that we have subjected to examination (tongue, chin) is
over. We have handed it over to the investigative bodies still in
October 9.

As regards complex expert examinations it is the job of two different
institutions."

"And when are you planning to introduce the conclusion of the expert
examination?"

"In the coming days. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

"What did the final conclusion of the expert examination regarding
the parts of body record?"

"The announcement which I made in the National Assembly is based on
the conclusions and opinions of the government educational institutions
and certain services. Leading specialists of the republic, who didn’t
consider it a human chin and said that it is more like a pig’s chin,
signed under the announcement.

Especially because there are places where it is evident that the
chin is sawed. But they did it in a very bad way. They could hide
the thickness of the bones.

Besides that there is a certain form of teeth, which is characteristic
to animals. Based on all this the committee (of 7 members) draw a
conclusion that the represented picture was a pig’s chin. Once the
committee possesses more grounded materials it will give a clearer
conclusion. At the moment we have what we have.

As regards the tongue I can’t imagine how can a human being have such
a big tongue? No doubt it was animal’s tongue. It was most probably a
tongue of a ruminant. In my view both the operators and the authors
of the articles have eaten animal’s tongue and if they haven’t seen
their own tongue they can look at it in the mirror and compare.

The conclusions are ready and during the coming days we will send
them to the National Assembly. But because they have two requirements
we will wait until we have the conclusion regarding their second
requirement and only after it will we send the complex conclusion.

By the way we have received a note from the Ministry of Health where
the head of NA staff appeals to the head of the government staff,
to answer certain questions. Zaruhy Postanjyan is the author of
those questions.

One of the questions is about the video represented by the National
Assembly. Postanjyan is interested in whose chin and whose brain was
on the ground, who was that person and was he included in the list
of the victims?

Why didn’t they take to expert examination? These operators could
also take those brains and pieces of bones. And if those pieces exist,
where are the other ones?

And finally there are dead bodies and live people who must give the
place of that "damaged" person. A person with that chin couldn’t live.

But we don’t have similar cases of damage neither among dead bodies
nor among live people. Isn’t it strange?

"And isn’t it strange that only recently did they decide to show
those videos?"

"I would like to have the answer to that question. Why didn’t they show
the video 6-7 months back? After all if there is a missing individual,
where is he, where are his relatives. Don’t you think that all this
story is an empty balloon?"

BERLUSCONI FAVORS RUSSIA JOINING EU

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.10.2008 16:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said
Wednesday that he is in favor of Russia becoming a member of the
European Union, a "vision" he has held for several years.

"I consider Russia to be a Western country and my plan is for the
Russian Federation to be able to become a member of the European
Union in the coming years," Berlusconi told reporters in Brussels.

He said that first of all the European Union should resume talks with
Moscow on a partnership agreement that was suspended following a war
between Russia and Georgia in August.

"I want to go further. I have had this vision for years," Berlusconi
said as he arrived in Brussels for an EU summit, AFP reports.

The European Union earlier this week deferred a decision on when
to restart talks with Moscow, saying it wanted to see more evidence
Russia would stick to a ceasefire deal with Georgia.

THIS IS HOW THE ACTIVISTS WERE PREPARING FOR A COUP D’ETAT
Vrezh Aharonyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
14 Oct 2008
Armenia

With Alik asking for "cigarettes"

Recently, the press supporting the Armenian Pan-National Movement
also touched upon the intercepted phone conversations of ex-Foreign
Minister Alik Arzoumanyan, Head of L. Ter-Petrosyan’s campaign
headquarters, and stated with an utter degree of excitement that
the intercepted information was the conversation of an employee of
the US Embassy. No need to "look more catholic than the Pope". The
United States, a country considering itself the sower of democracy,
recently enshrined the right of intercepting the conversations of
its citizens in the legislation (with security considerations).

So, this message envisaged for foreign countries will not arouse any
surprise in the United States. It’s just a constituent part of their
everyday life. It is only in our reality that the measures aimed
at overthrowing the government by way of staging a coup d’état are
considered as previously planned steps towards shifting the government,
and after the failure of the attempts to achieve the desired result,
the preparatory activities change into spontaneous demonstrations
where one can see a lot of heaters, gas balloons and reduction gears
ordered previously by LTP’s campaign headquarters.

Below we present the details of the pho ne conversation between Alik
Arzoumanyan and some Volodya Hovhannisyan so as the reader will have
a clearer picture of the serious activities carried out by the Head
of LTP’s campaign headquarters.

Volodya Hovhannisyan: "It’s Volodya speaking; so say something,
old man."

Alik Arzoumanyan: "Oh, yes Volodya, my dear. You had 9
um… (stammering) cigarettes; I will need them."

V. H. "Alik, my dear, organizing the whole stuff will take much time,
so we’ll hardly manage to do that today."

A. A. "But I asked you to have everything prepared on the 20th,
didn’t I?"

V. H. "Yes, that’s true. But I was at the polling station. And the
all people were at polling stations. So, what’s the problem?"

A. A. "No problem at all, Volodya. All these are interrelated
questions."

V. H. "I got it. I’ll tell my guys to do something; I’ll try to find
some solution. If I manage, I’ll solve the problem. Is that OK?"

A. A. "You could have told me what was needed, and I’d have found
everything. But you try. Try to find it today!"

V. H. "You know, I have asked quite a lot of people to get those
things, but it’s difficult to find them in Armenia now."

A. A. "Never mind, I beg you to solve that question today."0D

V. H. "All right, I’ll see what I can do, Alik, my dear."

So, what’s the message of this conversation? Anyone will understand
that the word "cigarette" which serves as a kind of password is not
absolutely what Alik Arzoumanyan wanted. "Do you have 9 um…?"

Head of LTP’s campaign headquarters says to Volodya, first reluctant to
give any name to what he wants and then stammers the word "cigarette".

What was it that he needed? What was it that he didn’t want or feared
to give the name of? Naturally, it wasn’t with the purpose of warming
the demonstrators (who spent the nights on the Theatrical Square)
that Alik Arzoumanyan wanted 9 "cigarettes". It isn’t as though we
might think that the so-called "cigarette" must be some kind of arm
or ammunition.

Anyway, it’s obvious that we are dealing with an explosive; otherwise,
why should the two people have talked to each other, using the
morse code?

Furthermore, V. Hovhannisyan seemed to be raising the price of what
he was going to find and making it clear to Alik Arzoumanyan that
"It is now difficult to find them in Armenia". Probably, those things
were easy to find during the years of the war or in the period when
the Armenian Pan-National Movement was ruling the country.

During the next phone conversation, A. Arzoumanyan gav e other tasks
to V. Hovhannisyan and clearly said what he wanted, i.e.

called the things by their names, since the conversation was no longer
about arms, but rather – the items envisaged for the demonstrators.

V. H. "We need balloons weighing 10 kilograms, together with their
reduction gears.

But I have instructed that the guys start working now, so I’ll give
you information in an hour or an hour and a half."

A. A. "Both items are on sale, darling."

V. H. "Yeah, I know they are, but we have to find the place in order
to buy them. But it’s winter now."

A. A. "Just ask a couple of guys to do that."

V. H. "I have taken care of that, Alik my dear. Tigran is now getting
the affair done."

A. A. "All right."

Alik Arzoumanyan had his next phone conversation with Volodya
Hovhannisyan on February 20, at 21:41 p.m. This time, the phone
operator was Karapet Roubinyan, i.e. Mr. Arzoumanyan first contacted
him. Judging by all, Hovhannisyan had managed to get the so-called
"cigarette".

A. A. "Young man, will you tell me Volodya’s phone number?"

Karapet Roubinyan: "I am passing the phone to him."

A. A. "Hey guy, what’s new?"

V. H. "Everything’s all right. Everything’s ready, so we’ll move it
when you ask.E2

A. A. "You wanted nine, didn’t you?"

V. H. "Yeah."

A. A. "OK, then I’ll say everything tomorrow evening."

V. H. "All right."

This is how the pro-Levon activists were preparing for a coup, having
previously given instructions to special people and performing their
activities on a high level and in an utterly spontaneous manner.

To be continued

–Boundary_(ID_+zR5/StKApaXNtURY1r6Hw)- –

CAROLINE COX: "DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS CANNOT BE HELD IN AZERBAIJAN"

Panorama.am
14:09 14/10/2008

Commentary by Caroline Cox, Vice Speaker of UK House of Lords, on
the pre-election situation in Azerbaijan

"From the standpoint of regional developments and restoration of rights
of peoples, living in the region, I highly appreciate the progress of
the countries of the region towards the establishment of democratic
systems. I have repeatedly been to the NKR during the elections and I
can testify that the NKR has consistently received favourable reports
from independent international observers commending their achievement
of free and fair elections.

I am aware that on October 15 presidential elections are going to be
held in Azerbaijan. However, it is clearly apparent that democratic
elections cannot be held in Azerbaijan, as the Azerbaijani authorities
have suppressed the opposition. The opposition, anticipating the
predetermined outcomes of the elections, is now boycotting them.

Being a person who has taken a direct part in the realization of just
and fair demands of the Armenian people, I trust that the independent
observers representing the international community will report with
justice and integrity on the forthcoming elections for the people
of Azerbaijan".