Author: Chaltikian Arsine

OSCE MINSK GROUP COCHAIRMEN TO MEET IN PARIS

Armenpress
Oct 19 2006

BAKU, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS: The OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen from
Russia, France and USA are planning a meeting in Paris later this
month.

The Azerbaijani Trend news agency quoted the Russian cochairman,
Yuri Merzlyakov, as saying they are likely to meet on October 23,
a day before the planned meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers Vartan Oskanian and Elmar Mamedyarov.

Merzlyakov also said the cochairmen will meet after the minister’s
talks to review their outcome.

ARMENIAN SOLDIER DIES AFTER BEING WOUNDED BY AZERBAIJANI FIRE, OFFICIALS SAY

Associated Press Worldstream
October 18, 2006 Wednesday 7:22 PM GMT

An Armenian soldier has died after being wounded by Azerbaijani
fire near the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, officials said
Wednesday.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said the soldier died in a hospital
after he had been wounded in his chest by an Azerbaijani sniper near
the so-called line of control separating Azerbaijani and Armenian
forces. It didn’t say when the incident occurred.

There was no immediate comment from the Azerbaijani side.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous territory inside Azerbaijan, but
it has been controlled along with some surrounding areas by Karabakh
and Armenian forces since 1994. A shaky cease-fire in 1994 ended the
six-year conflict, in which 30,000 people were killed and about 1
million driven from their homes.

Attempts to resolve the conflict have failed.

WATCHDOG SAYS CORRUPTION IN ARMENIA ON RISE
By Hovannes Shoghikian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 17 2006

Corruption in Armenia remains widespread and has even increased
in recent years despite government claims to the contrary, local
representatives of an international anti-graft watchdog insisted
on Tuesday.

Amalia Kostanian, head of the Armenian branch of Transparency
International, said that an anti-corruption program adopted by the
Armenian government three years ago has failed to reduce the scale
of corrupt practices. She reiterated her view that the government
lacks the "political will" to tackle the problem in earnest.

"Despite what is being done in Armenia, the expert and public
perception is that not only has corruption not decreased but has even
increased, that corruption has taken new forms, that its has become
more politicized and large-scale," she told a seminar in Yerevan.

Government officials claim the opposite, however, saying that the
anti-corruption plan is being successfully implemented. They cite
a long list of laws and legal amendments adopted by the Armenian
parliament since its launch in November 2003. The process is being
overseen by a high-level commission headed by Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian.

But Kostanian insisted that the plan is inherently flawed because of
its emphasis on legislative measures. She cited a lack of popular
faith in the authorities’ stated anti-corruption campaign and the
fact that senior government officials are still rarely prosecuted
for bribery and other forms of graft.

Armenian law-enforcement authorities claim to have identified 371
corruption-related crimes last year and prosecuted 97 state officials
as a result. None of them are known to have ties with Armenia’s most
powerful individuals or their relatives.

Armenia ranked 88th out of 146 nations that were covered by
Transparency International’s 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

The Berlin-based group’s previous global survey, released in 2004,
put it in 82nd place.

A separate survey released by the World Bank in July concluded that
last year Armenian firms continued to pay bribes to government
officials at the same rate as in 2002. "Increases in bribery are
apparent in some areas, such as taxes, customs and the courts,
although the levels reported by firms in the previous survey in 2002
were extremely low," the bank said in a statement.

President Robert Kocharian’s former anti-corruption adviser, Bagrat
Yesayan, has repeatedly questioned the credibility of Transparency’s
rankings. "Corruption is a phenomenon which is impossible to measure,"
he declared last year.

Yesayan’s successor, Gevorg Mherian, was not available for comment
on Tuesday.

ARMENIA ACCOUNTS FOR 1% OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN CIS COUNTRIES

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 17 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the UN annual report on
foreign investments worldwide, the flow of foreign investments into
Armenia is quite small and made about 220 million dollars in 2005,
whereas the total amount of foreign investments in CIS countries
made 27 billion dollars last year. Thus Armenia accounts for only 1%
of these investments.

According to Radio Liberty, the UN report published on October 16
not only observes the latest developments in this sphere but also
indicates the countries which are most attractive for investors.

According to a research, last year foreign businessmen invested about
14 bln USD in Russia, 7 bln USD in Ukaraine and 1.7 bln in Azerbaijan.

"Along with Georgia and Belarus, Armenia is in one of the last
positions on this list," Carman Calutay, one of the research authors,
said.

According to him, foreign investors are attracted first of all by
natural resources, then – by consumer goods and the food sector
of CIS countries. Although Armenia lacks natural resources and a
big consumer market, according to the research authors, it has a
considerable potential for attracting foreign investors.

By another mechanism of calculation which shows how much interest
foreign investors have in the infrastructures, human potential and
educational level of the given country, Armenia is in 77-79 places
among 141 countries. It means that Armenia is in a middle position
in the world in terms of its potential.

The report authors also indicate that last year a considerable decline
was registered in the foreign invsetments in three CIS countries –
Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. In 2004, 3.6 billion dollars was
invested in Azerbaijan, while in 2005 this index almost halved.

"The fact is that foreign investments are mainly made in Azerbaijan’s
gas and oil sectors, and as in 2005 the investors made huge profits
in these sectors, there was no need to invest new sums there,"
Vitali Kramarenko, Director of the International Monetary Fund’s
(IMF) Azerbaijani branch, explaines. According to him, this tendency
will continue in the coming years. "These programs will mainly be
completed in 2007. They include the operation of a gas pipeline and
an oil pipeline and extraction of huge resources in this sector. So,
there will mostly be a decline in foreign investments in Azerbaijan
in the next 1-2 years," V. Kramarenko said.

ARMENIAN BILL CONTINUES TO SET WORLD AT ODDS

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Oct 16 2006

US Armenians welcome ‘genocide’ bill

People of Armenian origin living in the U.S. welcomed the French
Parliament’s passage last week of a bill making it illegal to deny
the Armenian genocide claims.

In a written statement over the weekend, an Armenian group expressed
its pleasure over passage of the bill but added that it still needs
the approval of the French Senate and President Jacques Chirac.

In related news, during a phone conversation over the weekend President
Chirac assured Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he won’t sign
the bill.

French President Chirac expressed his disappointment over the bill
and told Erdogan that he will do best to block it from becoming law.

Underlining that the Armenian bill is related to next year’s elections
in France, Chirac said that Armenian voters living in France had also
influenced its passage by Parliament, stressing that the development
shouldn’t hurt good relations between Turkey and France.

2 Lang invites scholars to debate Armenia genocide claims

Former French Culture Minister and Socialist Deputy Jack Lang over
the weekend called on Turkish and Armenian scholars to organize
seminars about their common history to shed light on the Armenian
genocide claims.

Stating that the bill is unconstitutional and would erode freedom of
_expression, Lang stated that France should assist the debate between
Armenians and Turkish intellectuals to institutionalize a dialogue
between societies instead of making laws.

3 Rasmussen: Freedom of _expression is limited

The Danish premier, who justified the publication of the controversial
Prophet Muhammed cartoons in a Danish newspaper this year, claiming
that they were an _expression of freedom of speech, over the weekend
criticized the French Parliament’s approval of the Armenian bill,
stressing that the move limits freedom of _expression.

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who at the time stated that
he didn’t have the authority to ban the publication of the Muhammed
cartoons since it was an issue of freedom of _expression amid protests
in the Muslim world, said, "Channeling people towards violence,
terrorism and provoking terrorism can be prohibited by law.

However, people should be left free to express what they think. I do
not find France’s act correct."

4 EP president: Secular Turkey is no threat to EU

The president of the European Parliament stated that a secular Turkey
isn’t a threat to the EU, referring to the French Parliament’s passage
of the Armenian bill, which he implied is an extension of the French
desire for the issue to become a precondition for Turkey’s membership.

EP President Joseph Borrell, speaking to Italian daily La Stampa
over the weekend, warned that the EU can’t survive by supporting a
single culture in today’s world, and said, "Europe should get used
to multiculturalism, because hundreds of thousands of immigrants move
to Europe each year bringing their cultures with them."

Speaking out against new conditions being brought before Turkey
during its EU accession process, Borrell said, "There are criteria for
incoming EU member states. Turkey will become a member by fulfilling
them during a long and difficult period. The EU, for its part, will
take in Turkey by making concessions on its geographical situation. And
Turkey’s membership will strengthen the EU politically and make the
Union a multicultural power."

5 The Observer: French past not spotless

British daily The Observer commented on Sunday that making denial
of an Armenian "genocide" a criminal offense is "wrong and bad,"
describing the French move as an "enemy of free speech."

The daily underlined that quite apart from limiting free speech, and
therefore legitimizing a desirable debate on historical questions,
the French are "surely obliged to remember more distinctly, and more
publicly, the collaboration of so many of their own people with the
Nazi transport of Jews before starting on the business of criminalizing
remoter cases of denial."

The Observer also stated that the Armenian bill was designed to
complicate Turkey’s application to join the EU.

"It is a bewildering reality that France sees Turkey’s refusal
to acknowledge what happened to the Armenians as an obstacle to
membership, while at the same time continuing to regard its own
wartime behavior as somehow irreproachable," it was added.

6 Armenian ‘genocide’ statue stolen from Paris suburb

A statue commemorating an Armenian "genocide" has been stolen from
a Paris suburb, local authorities said on Saturday.

The event took place three days after French lawmakers approved the
controversial bill that would make it a crime to question the Armenian
genocide claims.

The bronze monument, installed in front of the train station in the
Paris suburb of Chaville in 2002, went missing between Friday night
and Saturday morning, said the authorities of the Haut-de-Seine region.

The police have not ruled out the possibility that the statue, which
weighs several hundred kilograms, was stolen to be sold as scrap metal,
said Stephane Topalian, who serves on the board of the local chapter
of the Armenian church.

However, Topalian stressed the timing of the robbery, which came just
days after France’s lower house of Parliament on Thursday passed a
bill that would criminalize questioning the Armenian genocide claims.

PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE FRENCH BILL IN SPECIAL SESSION
By Cihan News Agency

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 17 2006

The Turkish parliament is set to convene on Tuesday afternoon with a
special agenda to discuss the French parliament’s decision to approve
a bill that criminalizes denying that the World War I-era deaths of
Armenians in Turkey were genocide.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will brief Turkish lawmakers
on the latest developments following the adoption of the bill in the
French parliament.

For further information please visit

CONSTRUCTION BOOM ‘ADDS TO ARMENIAN CURRENCY APPRECIATION’
By Ruzanna Khachatrian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 16 2006

An ongoing construction boom, the driving force behind Armenia’s
double-digit economic growth, has also contributed to the dramatic
strengthening of the national currency, the head of the Armenian
Central Bank said on Monday.

The Armenian dram has gained more than 40 percent in value against
the U.S. dollar since December 2003 and is continuing to appreciate,
hurting domestic manufacturers and many people dependent on cash
remittances from their relatives working abroad. The process has
sparked opposition allegations that the Armenian authorities have been
deliberately boosting the dram to siphon off a large part of those
remittances and to benefit wealthy government-connected importers.

The authorities, backed by the International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank, strongly deny any exchange rate manipulation. The Central
Bank has said all along that dram’s strengthening has primarily
resulted from recent years’ increase in hard currency wired home by
hundreds of thousands of Armenians living abroad. Their total amount
is expected to exceed $1 billion this year.

According to the bank’s chairman, Tigran Sarkisian, the rapidly
growing construction sector is also responsible for the exchange
rate fluctuations. Official figures show the sector expanding by
more than 40 percent during the first half of this year. The growth
is particularly visible in central Yerevan where dozens of expensive
apartment blocks are currently under construction.

"Today 45 buildings are being constructed in the center of Yerevan
alone," Sarkisian told hearings on the issue held at the Armenian
parliament. "Their dollar-based market value varies from $20 million
to $25 million."

The growth of Armenia’s construction sector is good for everyone,
including the low-income stratum of the population which is getting
jobs, high salaries," he added.

Trade and Economic Development Minister Karen Chshmaritian, who
also attended the hearings, acknowledged that Armenian manufacturers
increasingly have trouble competing with imported goods and selling
their production abroad. "Of course the stronger is inflicting damage
[on the manufacturing sector,]" he told RFE/RL.

But Chshmaritian insisted that Armenia’s industrial output, excluding
polished diamonds, has not shrunk as a result. He said local exporters
can offset negative effects of the dram’s strengthening by improving
their management and becoming more competitive.

But Suren Bekirski, director of the export-oriented textile company
Tosp, disagreed, warning that it risks facing bankruptcy. "As a local
manufacturer selling goods here, I gain something [from the stronger
dram]," he told RFE/RL. "But as an exporter, I lose twice as much …

If things go on like this, we will last for only a few more months."

According to official data released by the State Customs Committee
on Monday, Armenia’s net exports fell by more than 6 percent to 296
billion drams ($777 million) while imports rose by 16 percent to 573
billion drams ($1.5 billion) during the first nine months of the year.

The customs chief, Armen Avetisian, downplayed the increased trade
deficit, saying that the physical volume of Armenian goods sold abroad
was the same as during the same period last year. He claimed that the
monetary value of the exports has decreased mainly due to a drop in
international prices of some of Armenia’s key exports such as diamonds,
molybdenum and even gold.

SYRIAN ARMENIANS DISAPPROVE OF FRENCH BILL
By Bostan Cemiloglu, Cihan News Agency, Damascus

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 16 2006

Armenians living in Syria have expressed their disapproval of a French
bill that makes it a crime to deny that a genocide of Armenians was
perpetrated by Ottoman Turks during World War I.

Edward Halladciyan, the son of a family forced to emigrate from
Kahramanmaras to Syria, has been operating a tourism agency called
Al Boustan with his Turkish friend Yusuf Isa for fifteen years.

Halladciyan believes the decision of the French parliament was purely
political, expressing that the government used the Armenian issue as
a political trump card.

Halladciyan, who has the Armenian flag on his desk and a picture of
Sultanahmet Mosque on his wall, asserted that problems between Turks
and Armenians have been left in the past.

"In Syria, we are like brothers with the Turks. It has been years since
we forgot the allegations that Turkey committed genocide against the
Armenians. This is an issue which dates over a century.

We Armenians are used to living with Turks," Halladciyan said.

Thinking that France is using the Armenian issue as a way to block
Turkey’s EU bid, he added that if a real solution was being sought,
then both sides should come together and reach a compromise through
negotiations.

Ayna, Baku
12 Oct 06 pp 1, 2

WAR ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE PROTRACTED KARABAKH CONFLICT – AZERI DAILY

An Azerbaijani newspaper has said that the only possible way to
achieve a breakthrough in the peace talks to resolve the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia is to start military
operations in Karabakh. "Now it is considered more acceptable for
Azerbaijan to carry out a military operation in Karabakh. It is
possible to achieve progress only in this way," the paper said. The
following is the excerpt from Casur Sumarinli’s report by Azerbaijani
newspaper Ayna on 12 October headlined "An alarm on the front line"
and subheaded "It has been ordered to upgrade the military hardware
in the front line units of the Azerbaijani army". Subheadings are as
published.

A secret alarm was sent to most of the Azerbaijani military units
along the front line yesterday [11 October] and they were put on high
alert. Ayna obtained information saying that the alarm was mainly
intended for military units in Tartar and Agdam districts. It is not
known yet if the alarm was given by the Defence Ministry or the corps
command. We could not confirm the information since it was the end of
the day, but the source of the information insisted that the
country’s leadership had given the instruction to put the troops on
high alert to check the level of their preparedness.

Ayna has learnt that President Ilham Aliyev has given special
instructions to upgrade the weapons and military hardware in the
units on the front line. It is also reported that the process of
replacing military hardware has already started. Some reports say
that it is also on the agenda to increase the number of troops on the
front line.

Will there be war?

Independent experts are saying that the relations between Azerbaijan
and Armenia are tense. It is not ruled out either that these
relations may end up with war at any time. It is true that the peace
talks between the sides resumed at the level of foreign ministers
after several months’ break. But experts believe that these talks are
"contacts for the sake of contacts". The sides are clearly confident
that they will not make any serious progress in the talks. But the
existing situation cannot last long like this. Therefore, it is
necessary to take certain extraordinary steps.

Observations show that an extraordinary incident should necessarily
happen on the front line. Only after this incident the sides can
intensify their efforts and wish to resolve the conflict as soon as
possible.

Political analysts believe that it will be inevitable to write a new
scenario for the next round of talks if Azerbaijan fully proves its
rightness in the Karabakh peace talks, insists on the liberation of
the occupied territories and convinces the international community,
especially the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group of its efforts. The
talk is about "an extraordinary incident" that would enable the
liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

Observations show that the Armenians are far from making any
concessions at this point of time, taking advantage of their
victorious position. This challenges the success of the peace talks
on the settlement of the conflict. That is why such an incident
should happen that the Armenians have to sit at a negotiating table
and accept what Azerbaijan dictates. Experts think that the two
principles, that the parties are divided on, can also be resolved in
this case.

Based on the international experience experts say that "certain
incidents" are required to change the situation that has been
existing in a conflict zone for a long time. For example, Azerbaijan
may have started small-scale military operations in Karabakh under
the pretext of fires. Then, it would have been interesting for us to
find out what the international community thinks about it.

For all these reasons now it is considered more acceptable for
Azerbaijan to carry out a military operation in Karabakh. It is
possible to achieve progress only in this way.

Azeri community in Karabakh made official

The Azerbaijani community of Nagornyy Karabakh has become an entity
with official registration, as the Justice Ministry registered the
community as a public association called the Community of
Azerbaijanis of Nagornyy Karabakh.

Observers say that registering this community aims to add a new
"colour" to the peace talks on the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict because representatives of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
communities [of Nagornyy Karabakh] may be involved in the talks.

Deutsche Welle, Germany
Oct 13 2006

Pamuk Praised by European Leaders and Contemporaries

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Orhan Panuk’s Nobel
Prize for Literature win was widely praised

European officials and writers reacted with delight to the news on
Thursday that Orhan Pamuk had won the 2006 Nobel Literature prize,
becoming the first Turk to win the coveted award.

Praise was particularly effusive in Turkey itself, where the
political dissident has often clashed with the establishment.

"It is great happiness for us all that a Turkish writer has won such
a prestigious award," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül told reporters at
a joint press conference with his visiting Afghan counterpart Rangin
Dadfar Spanta.

In an apparent reference to the controversies Pamuk has stirred up,
Gul said: "Many day-to-day things are soon forgotten but the fact
that a Turkish writer has won the Nobel award will echo throughout
the world… It is great publicity for Turkey."

"This is a historic day," said Metin Celal, chairman of the Turkish
Publishers’ Union, forecasting that Pamuk’s success would put Turkish
literature firmly on the world map.

Author delighted with prize

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Pamuk was congratulated by the Turkish government
France, Germany and the European Commission also hailed the news,
while Pamuk himself said he was delighted.

"It’s such a great honor, such a great pleasure," Pamuk told
journalists at Columbia University in New York. "I think that this is
first of all an honor bestowed upon the Turkish language, Turkish
culture, Turkey and also recognition of my labors … my humble
devotion to that great art of the novel."

Turkey’s congratulations came despite bad blood between the
establishment and the 54-year-old author, who has challenged official
policies and rejected the accolade of "State Artist".

The timing of the award was ironic.

Just hours before the Swedish Academy announced the award, the French
parliament approved a bill making it an offense punishable by prison
to deny that the Ottoman Turks committed genocide against Armenians
during World War I.

Pamuk himself was put on trial earlier this year for challenging the
official line on the massacres, which Turkey denies were genocide.

Pamuk praised by those who once damned him

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Chirac was said to be delighted for Pamuk
French President Jacques Chirac said he was "delighted" that Pamuk
had won the Nobel Literature prize. Chirac said he was "particularly
delighted" saying Pamuk’s "reflection on society is… intelligent,
strong and liberal".

The case against Pamuk was dropped on a technicality but not before a
provincial official ordered the destruction of Pamuk’s books. Ankara
swiftly stopped the move, wary of undermining its democratic
credentials in European Union eyes.

In Brussels EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn called the award a
victory for "artistic freedom and for freedom of expression."

A prize for freedom of speech

"It is good news for all those who want to speak, search, learn the
truth, pursue dialogue, exchange thoughts and knowledge — not just
in Turkey but everywhere else," the Finnish commissioner said.
"Artists … need freedom of expression as desperately as life needs
water and air. Orhan knows more than others how precious and fragile
such freedom is."

Rehn recalled Pamuk telling him during his legal woes he just wanted
to "write books again and free my mind from all this harassment."

Pamuk’s novels, which include "Snow" and "My Name is Red," regularly
tackle Turkey’s decades-old internal struggle between Islam and
secularism.

"In his home country, Pamuk has a reputation as a social commentator
even though he sees himself principally as a fiction writer with no
political agenda," the Nobel jury commented.

"A builder of bridges"

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Steinmeier acknowledged Pamuk’s cultural influence
In Germany, whose 2.5-million-strong Turkish community is the biggest
outside Turkey itself, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
hailed Pamuk as a "builder of bridges.

"He is a symbol for the wish of large parts of Turkish society to
become a part of Europe," said Steinmeier, who supports Turkey’s bid
to join the EU.

Pamuk’s editor in France, Jean Mattern, said the Nobel panel had
rewarded "the quality of his writing and the force of his message.

"His work has always tackled political and historical issues head
on," he told reporters.

Pamuk’s Turkish publisher, Iletisim, was also delighted.

"We are very happy," said academic and Iletisim editor Ahmet Insel.
"Pamuk is an important representative of the modern novel in the
world," he told NTV.

Of the writer’s political views, Insel said: "If we take a look at
the long history of the Nobel Literature Prize, we see that the
authors who won the award have made important political statements on
the future of their countries and the world."