Author: Jabejian Elizabeth

TURKS WIDEN PROBE OF JOURNALIST’S DEATH

Ottawa Recorder, Canada
Staff and agencies
July 3 2007

ISTANBUL, Turkey – A Turkish court has decided to broaden the
investigation into the killing of an ethnic Armenian journalist to
consider allegations of official negligence in the slaying, a lawyer
said Tuesday.

The killing led to international condemnation and debate within
Turkey about free speech. Dink was hated by hardline nationalists for
describing the mass killings of Armenians early in the last century
as genocide.

Lawyer Bahri Belen, representing Dink’s family, told reporters that
the court agreed to broaden the investigation.

Tuncel, who is suspected of masterminding the killing, reportedly
told the court that he was paid by police for gathering intelligence,
according to a lawyer who attended Monday’s hearing.

Critics have accused authorities of failing to act on reports of a
plot to kill Dink, and it is unclear whether allegations that could
potentially be embarrassing for top officials will be explored in
the trial.

Turkey had vowed a thorough investigation, and the governor and police
chief of the Black Sea city of Trabzon, the hometown of Samast, were
removed from office because of negligence. Some security officials
who posed for photographs with the gunman as he held a Turkish flag
were also dismissed.

Many Turks are convinced that a so-called "deep state" – a network of
state agents or ex-officials, possibly with links to organized crime
– periodically targets reformists and other perceived enemies in the
name of nationalism.

GENOCIDE RESOLUTION STALLS
By Michael Doyle

Fresno Bee, CA
July 1 2007

House leaders can decide to put measure on Armenian deaths to vote.

WASHINGTON — The push for a congressional resolution that would
label the slaughter of Armenians between 1915 and 1923 a "genocide"
has cleared a key hurdle, winning the support of a majority of House
members.

Now the real fighting begins.

As of Friday, 218 House members support the controversial resolution.

The San Joaquin Valley’s Armenian-Americans and their congressional
champions next must discover what congressional leaders have in mind.

It will be up to House leaders to decide whether and when the measure
comes up for a vote.

"We’re making sure we have all of our ducks lined up," said Rep. Adam
Schiff, D-Pasadena.

Schiff and Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, are the chief
congressional sponsors of the resolution, introduced in its latest
form five months ago. Radanovich acknowledged recently that he is
"a little concerned" that the bill hasn’t yet been considered by the
House Foreign Relations Committee.

Different concerns motivate the White House and the Turkish government,
both vigorously resisting the resolution they say would endanger
diplomatic relations. A recent poll found that 83% of Turkish residents
view the United States negatively.

"This is a very sensitive time to be bringing up this resolution,"
cautioned Rep. Phil English, R-Pa. "Right now, we need to be reaching
out to Turkey."

English’s own change of heart illustrates the complicated politics
of genocide recognition. English is one of five House members who
initially endorsed the Armenian genocide resolution this year but
later withdrew support.

English said he dropped his sponsorship, six weeks after signing onto
the bill, following a meeting with members of the Turkish parliament.

English’s congressional district in far northwestern Pennsylvania
lacks a sizable Armenian-American population.

By contrast, more than 50,000 Armenian-Americans live in California’s
San Joaquin Valley, and the Armenian genocide issue is acutely
important for the region’s politicians.

Backers secured additional sponsors in recent days, following an
extended telephone campaign organized through the Armenian National
Committee of America.

The resolution is symbolic, articulating a viewpoint that lacks the
force of law. It urges President Bush to "accurately characterize
the systematic and deliberate annihilation" of Armenians as genocide.

"The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman
Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly
2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children
were killed [and] 500,000 survivors were expelled from their homes,"
the resolution says.

Genocide was defined as a crime under international law in 1948,
after the Ottoman Empire had ended. It means "an intent to destroy" a
population "in whole or in part." It includes killing and "deliberately
inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about
its physical destruction."

Many historians, including the International Association of Genocide
Scholars, have concluded the murders and forced deportations of
Armenians into the unforgiving Syrian desert amounted to genocide.

The Turkish government disputes the overall death count and says the
Armenians were in any event caught in a tumultuous time of war.

"Unlike the Holocaust, the numbers, dates, facts and the context
associated with this period are all contested, and objective scholars
remain deeply divided," Turkish Ambassador Nabi Sensoy declared in
a statement last year.

To help spread this viewpoint, the Turkish government is paying former
Republican congressman Robert Livingston $750,000 every six months.

In May, public records also show, the Turkish government also signed
a $100,000-a-month lobbying contract with the firm of former House
Minority Leader Richard Gephardt.

A Democrat, and one-time presidential candidate, Gephardt had supported
versions of the genocide resolution when he was in Congress.

"The Turkish government is lobbying heavily," Radanovich said.

"They’ve been working it."

The Bush administration, like the Clinton administration before it,
emphasizes the diplomatic costs of alienating Turkey. The last time
Radanovich came close to getting a House vote on a genocide resolution,
in 2000, then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert pulled the bill from the
floor at the last minute at President Clinton’s request.

The current House speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, backed previous
genocide resolutions when she was a rank-and-file House member.

Ultimately, Radanovich said, it will be Pelosi’s call on whether the
resolution gets a vote. Schiff said, "I think we have a good shot
at this."

VARDAN OSKANIAN: TURKEY’S POSITION IN RELATION TO ARMENIA HAS NOT
CHANGED

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian Foreign Minister, Vardan
Oskanian, at the June 29 press conference, said that Turkey, as before,
is putting forward preconditions in the issue of normalization of our
relations.

He mentioned that prospects of an establishment of Armenian-Turkish
relations, as well as the problem of a settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict were discussed during his meeting with his Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul held on June 25 in Istanbul within the
framework of the Summit of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
organization. "I again confirmed Armenia’s position to establish normal
relations with Turkey without preconditions," V. Oskanian stated.

However, the Minister said, Turkey’s position in relation to Armenia
has not changed, and we need not expect any changes in the nearest
future, as this country is on the threshold of elections. V. Oskanian
also reported that he presented Gul with the last developments in the
process of the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as well as
the Armenian side’s position in that issue.

SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF WATER STORED IN RESERVOIRS OF ARMENIA

YEREVAN, JUNE 30, NOYAN TAPAN. A sufficient amount of water has been
stored in Armenia’s reservoirs and there is no lack of irrigation
water. The chairman of the State Water Industry Committee of the RA
Ministry of Territotrial Governanace Andranik Andreasian said at the
June 29 press conference that negotiations on continuing the program of
internal irrigation networks’ repairs were conducted with the World
Bank that has agreed to allocate a credit of 5 million dollars.

According to him, 108 million dollars will be invested for repairs and
restoration of irrigation systems under the Millennium Callenge
Program. Eight reservoirs will also be constructed under this program.

A. Andreasian said that it is envisaged to take a 10 million-dollar
credit from the Abu Dhabi Development Fund (UAE) in order to remove
serious defects in some sections of the Arpa-Sevan tunnel. However, in
his words, a total of 25 million dollars is needed for this work.

LASER SHOT SHOOTING SIMULATORS INSTALLED AT TRAINING CENTER AND POLICE ACADEMY OF ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
Jun 29 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS: The U.S. Embassy in Armenia dedicated the
installation of four Laser Shot shooting simulators at the Training
Center and Police Academy of the Republic of Armenia. The dedication
ceremony took place at the Police Training Center in Kanaker. Present
at the ceremony was Artashes Andriasyan, Head of the Training Center,
Eduard Chibukhchyan, Head of the Training Department of the Police
Academy, William Douglass, Transnational Crime Affairs Officer at
the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, and representatives of Laser Shot, Inc.

The U.S. Government invested over $95,000 dollars to purchase the
simulators and provide training for technical personnel at the Academy
and the Induction Center through the U.S. Embassy’s International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Office.

The Laser Shot simulator systems donated by the U.S. Embassy will be
the first in Armenia. Police personnel will use live-action videos
to simulate life-threatening situations. The trainees will use laser
guns to simulate live fire exchanges. The systems will train Armenian
law enforcement personnel in tactics, marksmanship and combat skills
in a safe, controlled environment.

U.S. embassy’s press service told Armenpress that this project is
only one part of the U.S. Government’s comprehensive law enforcement
assistance program in the Republic of Armenia. The U.S. Embassy in
Yerevan was the largest contributor by far to the renovation of the
Kanaker Police Induction Center and is the biggest contributor to
the development of new curricula in that facility. The Embassy has
renovated a number of other buildings in Armenia’s law enforcement
community, such as the National Bureau of Expertise, the Border Guards
Training Facility in Yerevan and the Vanadzor Customs House training
center. The Embassy has donated equipment for training in many areas,
such as physical conditioning, and we have also donated equipment
for the computer infrastructure in all these facilities. The Embassy
is working with the Government of Armenia to establish a nationwide,
computerized border management information system and a nationwide
computer network for the police. The US Embassy’s International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Office provides about $3 million
a year in law enforcement assistance to Armenia.

PRESS CONFERENCE OF ARMENIA-VISITED INTELLECTUALS STARTS WITH INCIDENT

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 29 2007

The press conference of Azeri intellectuals Ambassador Polad
Bulbuloglu, Kamal Abdula, Farhad Badalnayli, Azerpasha Nematov and
Ilhami Fataliyev on the result of their recent visit to Armenia
started with incident, APA reports.

When Polad Bulbuloglu started speaking one of the members of Garabagh
Liberation Organization NGO (GLO) insulted the intellectuals. There was
a conflict between Kamal Abdulla and a GLO member. The police took the
GLO member away from the hall. The press conference continues.

FORMER OSCE MG CO-CHAIR APPOINTED U.S. CHARGE D’AFFAIRS IN ARMENIA

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 27 2007

Former co-chair OSCE Minsk group Rudolf Perina has been appointed
acting U.S. Charge d’Affairs in Armenia, APA reports quoting to
Panarmenian website. Retired Ambassador Rudolf V. Perina will assume
the post of acting U.S. Charge d’Affairs in Armenia on July 10.

"Richard Hoagland remains the Bush administration designate for the
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. We are waiting for confirmation from the
Senate," U.S. Embassy PR Officer Taguhi Jahukian said.

Rudolf Perina served as U.S. Special Negotiator for Nagorno Karabakh
and NIS Regional Conflicts in 2001-2004.

INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT
Reviewed by Paul Abelsky

Russia Profile, Russia
June 26 2007

Lighthouse (Mayak)
Directed by Maria Saakyan
Featuring Anna Kapaleva, Sofiko Chiaureli, Olga Yakovleva, Mikhail
Bagdasarov, Anastasiya Grebennikova, Sergei Danielyan
Russia, Holland (2007)

The eruption of conflicts across the Caucasus throughout the past
decade have gradually filtered onto the silver screen, but they
have not yet received the generous treatment accorded, for example,
the hostilities that accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia. The
imprecision, elusiveness and universal themes of Lighthouse, set
during a war in some unspecified part of the region, create an abstract
cinematic outline, a summation of the great calamity that befell the
Caucasus. For all the variations between the conflicts that ignited
in the area’s different corners, they largely represented a people’s
war, as geopolitical guesswork gave way to untold personal anguish.

The blazing fault lines that reopened between towns and families are
in the foreground of this movie. Directed by Maria Saakyan, a native
of Armenia who has lived in Russia since the early 1990s, the film
shows Lena (Anna Kapaleva) returning to her village in the Caucasus
in an effort to convince her grandparents to flee the fighting that
is enveloping the area. In the film’s rendition of the setting, the
director shows a poetic composite of various locations, visually and
emotionally reminiscent of Nagorno Karabakh and Abkhazia.

Straddling cinematic influences from Sergei Paradzhanov to Emir
Kusturica, the movie presents a rambling and intense personal
experience which seems tragically preordained. The heroine’s
meanderings are haunted by childhood memories and vain attempts to
catch a long-delayed train to Moscow. Becoming immersed and trapped
in the surroundings, Lena will find her resting place there. Her
rescue mission gradually loses all urgency amidst an understated,
relentless and almost fatalistic descent into despair. With the
masterly cinematography that props a fragmented and uneven screenplay,
the film’s economy of means works to a powerful effect, condensing
the experience in the way more epic war dramas often fail to do.

Book+Reviews&articleid=a1182859417

JOHANNESON SEEKS REVENGE ON KIRAKOSYAN

Boxing Scene, AR
June 27 2007

Carl Johanneson is looking for revenge on July 13 when he steps into
the ring with Leva Kirakosyan, who inflicted Johanneson’s only loss
in a British ring.

Johanneson first stepped up against the formidable Armenian in December
2004 and history shows Kirakosyan, 25-4 (16), gained one of his 16
stoppages by knocking Johanneson out in the first round.

Johanneson, 26-2 (18), knows he could have taken an easier route
but being the fighting man that he is, he has asked promoter Frank
Maloney for the opportunity to settle the score.

"I have never been so up for a fight before," Johanneson said of this
European super featherweight clash. "I had a few problems earlier
this year which have been sorted now and I feel great.

"This fight will not be for the weak hearted. One of us will be asleep
on the canvas before the fight is over."

This intriguing contest is supported by an anticipated thriller between
Tontcho Tontchev, 37-5 (21), and John Fewkes, 14-0 (2), of Sheffield.

Fewkes feels he has been overlooked by the top names but the undefeated
21 year old knows he will soon be fighting European rated boxers in
a bid to claim a title.

Frank Maloney Promotions presents "The Ultimate Quest for Revenge" at
the Barnsley Metrodome, Barnsley on July 13, 2007. Tickets are priced
at £70 and £35 and are available by logging onto
or by calling the Box Office at 0871 226 1508. The fight is also
televised live on Sky TV. For any further press information please
call 0208 6914165.

–Boundary_(ID_4hwGMWu+O1B6jaVjCXU7zA)–

ISSUES RELATED TO CONSTRUCTION OF MEGHRI HYDROPOWER PLANT TO BE SPECIFIED AT ARMENIAN-IRANIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION’S SITTING IN YEREVAN IN JULY

Noyan Tapan
Jun 27 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 27, NOYAN TAPAN. It is envisaged to hold a regular –
7th sitting of the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission in
Yerevan in July, during which some issues related to construction of
the Meghri hydropower plant will be specified, the RA Deputy Minister
of Energy Ara Simonian told reporters on June 27. According to him,
the intergovernmental agreement on the hydropower plant’s construction
was signed two months ago.

To recap, it is planned to build the Meghri hydropower plant with
the capacity of 130-140 megawatts on the Arax River.