Author: Jabejian Elizabeth

REPUBLICANS AND PROSPEROUS ARMENIA TO GET HIGHEST NUMBERS

A1+
[03:00 pm] 27 April, 2007

The results of a poll conducted by Sociometer in the center of Yerevan
suggest that over 51 per cent voters will participate in the upcoming
parliamentary elections. The Republican Party of Armenia will get
the highest number of votes – 13 per cent and the Prosperous Armenia
Party will get 11 percent. The Orinats Yerkir Party, the National
Solidarity, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun, the Heritage Party will either
win over one another’s votes or the voters who have not made up their
mind yet. The director of Sociometer Aaron Adibekyan released the
data in a news conference at the Friday Club on April 27.

The poll was conducted in Yerevan on April 21. Over 1466 respondents
participated in the poll.

Aaron Adibekyan also found out the career layers of the supporters of
the parties. Public officials will vote for the Republican Party, the
workers employed in the public sector will vote for the Republican
Party and the Prosperous Armenia Party, students, housewives and
pensioners will vote for the Orinats Yerkir Party.

42-45 percent think the election will be marred by electoral fraud,
20-29 percent think there will be separate cases like before, and
only 3-8 percent think that the election on May 12 will have an
unprecedented high level and quality.

Aaron Adibekyan assured that he had no influence on public opinion;
he only submitted the polling results.

CONNECTING ARMENIA TO EUROPE – HAYPOST JOINS EUROGIRO

ArmRadio.am
27.04.2007 17:37

Today HayPost signed the membership agreement for Eurogiro Network,
through which HayPost offices will be electronically connected to
more than 60,000 post offices across Europe; the 50 million Postbank
accountholders in Europe will be able to send money in a reliable, fast
manner and at low cost to any of the 900 communities in Armenia. The
Eurogiro membership also provides high quality gateways to the US
banking system, and e.g. postal banks in Brazil, Japan and China.

"The Eurogiro membership is a fundamental step towards the Postbank in
Armenia – it will fuel the competition in money transfers. Armenia’s
rural and remote communities will be able to receive their money
literally around the corner- without the need to travel a day to a bank
branch in the city," said Hans Boon, trust manager of HayPost. "Armenia
is the first country of the Commonwealth of Independent States that
joins Eurogiro – we are very happy with this expansion of Eurogiro’s
network and welcome HayPost !" commented Soren Rose, the Deputy
Managing Director of Eurogiro Network. The agreement was signed today
in Switzerland, Berne at the headquarters of the Swiss PostFinance,
one of the leading members of Eurogiro.

TSARUKIAN PROMISES ‘PROSPEROUS ARMENIA WITHOUT OPPOSITION’
By Emil Danielyan and Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 23 2007

Businessman Gagik Tsarukian pledged to turn Armenia into a prosperous
country free of opposition parties as he resumed his participation
in the intensifying election campaign over the weekend.

Thousands of people attended campaign rallies held by his Prosperous
Armenia Party (BHK) in Yerevan’s Davitashen and Arabkir districts,
underscoring its status as one of the main contenders of the May 12
parliamentary elections. Many waved flags and held up BHK banners to
the accompaniment of the party’s campaign songs, one of them performed
by a hip hop band.

Addressing supporters in Davitashen on Saturday, Tsarukian claimed that
its victory in the polls would lead to a quick improvement in their
living conditions. "In no time, our country will become prosperous,
there will be smile on everybody’s face, everyone will do their job,"
he said. "And there won’t be an opposition because if a man can support
his family, then everyone will go about their business. Rest assured
that we will deliver."

The tycoon close to President Robert Kocharian again declined to
specify how his party would strive for economic betterment once in
government. He repeated instead that he is not seeking a government
position or greater wealth.

"Gagik Tsarukian opened a party not to get a post or make money by
using a post," the BHK leader said of himself. "Gagik Tsarukian has
everything. But Gagik Tsarukian does not care about of himself. He
also cares about his people."

"I set up the party not to lose popular respect but to double and
triple it," he added.

The Davitashen rally, followed by a pop concert, marked Tsarukian’s
first public appearance in more than a week. Senior BHK members gave
contradictory reasons for his conspicuous absence from campaign events
organized by the party last week. Some of them said he is ill.

Tsarukian confirmed this as he briefly spoke with RFE/RL in
Davitashen. "Don’t I have the right to be ill?" he said after his
speech. "I’ve already recovered and will now conduct our campaign."

As he walked off a makeshift podium there, the former arm-wrestler
was again mobbed by dozens of people keen to hand him letters or
shake his hands. His beefy bodyguards had trouble holding them back.

Tsarukian’s image of a generous benefactor is integral to his
increasingly obvious populist appeal. He is believed to have spent
millions on dollars on handing out humanitarian aid and providing
free medical treatment to scores of impoverished Armenians last fall
as part of the BHK’s preparations for the elections.

Critics, among them some pro-Kocharian politicians, have denounced
that as a wholesale buying of votes. Some also accuse Tsarukian of
large-scale tax evasion, pointing to a huge disparity between modest
taxes paid by his businesses and his massive wealth.

But the criticism has not prevented the BHK from attracting a large
following. "This party will really build a prosperous country,"
said Norik Nazarian, a middle aged Davitashen resident. "We see what
he’s done."

"We watch TV and see his benevolence," said Lid Hunanian, a local
pensioner. "That is why we joined his party."

"He is helping the people a lot without being in government" reasoned
her husband Sergey, also a BHK member. "If he comes to power, he’ll
probably do even more."

Natella, a young woman who also attended the Davitashen rally,
likewise praised Tsarukian for his "good deeds." But she said she
has not yet decided who to vote for on May 12.

The crowd was boosted by employees of a Tsarukian-owned cement plant
in the southern town of Ararat who were bused to the rally. "We trust
Tsarukian and believe that the work of his team will be good for the
country," said Vrezh Abrahamian, a production manager at the Ararat
Tsement company. In his words, more than 90 percent of some 1,300
people employed by the company are affiliated with the BHK.

"He gave us jobs, and we appreciate his work, his benevolent activities
in the town," said Alvard Umrikian, another Ararat Tsement worker.

Despite being one of Armenia’s biggest industrial enterprises operating
at full capacity, Ararat Tsement is only 107th on the list of the
country’s leading corporate taxpayers published by the State Tax
Service in January. According to the STS, it paid only 412 million
drams ($1.14 million) in various taxes in 2006.

PUBLICATION OF "GOLOS ARMENII" ACCUSING ARTUR BAGHDASARIAN OF CONSPIRACY CAUSES NUMEROUS ISSUES, SMBAT AYVAZIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Apr 24 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the Golos Armenii
newspaper, former RA National Assembly Speaker, "Orinats Yerkir"
(Country of Law) party head makes efforts in the direction of rousing
interference of international organizations in the pre-electoral
processes. The newspaper recently published parts from the conversation
taken place at the Yerevan Marco Polo restarant in February of this
year betweem A. Baghdasarian and one of the high-ranking officials
of the Embassy of Great Britain to the RA, the recording of which
was given to the editorial office by unkown people. The publication
proves the two interlocutors’ interest in recognizing the parliamentary
elections to take place in Armenia not free and fair.

The mentioned publication, as Smbat Ayvazian, a member of the
"Hanrapetutiun" (Republic) party political council, NA deputy mentioned
at the April 23 press conference, causes numerous issues. Expressing
confidence, that the national security bodies secretly heard
A. Baghdasarian’s and the English diplomate’s conversation, he
attracted attention to a number of issues: particularly, are all
the politicians and diplomates in Armenia secretly heard or why is
the recording of a conversation taken place in February published
now? And if there are facts about the issue that A. Baghdasarian
invites forces from outside to interfere in inner affairs of Armenia,
in S. Ayvazian’s words, it is interesting to know what steps the ones
responsible for the country security took.

COURSES FOR JUDO COACHES ORGANIZED IN ARMENIA UNDER AEGIS OF IOC

Noyan Tapan
Apr 24 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, NOYAN TAPAN. Since April 21, coach courses are being
held in Yerevan under the aegis of the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) and on the initiative of Armenia’s National Olympic Committee
within the framework of the IOC’s program "Olympic Solidarity" for
judo wrestlers.

Technical and practical classes are conducted by Japanese expert, Prof.
Kazushi Kavauchiya.

30 judo coaches from Yerevan, Gyumri and Hrazdan are participating
in the courses and will receive certificates after their completion
on April 28.

GARNIK ISAGULYAN CONFIDENT THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS WILL CORRESPOND TO INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

ArmRadio.am
20.04.2007 17:17

Garnik Isagulyan, Adviser to RA President on National Security Issues,
Head of the Institute of Political Research, stated in Yerevan today
that the research of the pre-election campaign of various parties
showed that the political sphere of Armenia is distinctly formed.

Garnik Isagulyan told a press conference that the results of the
research, conducted in all the regions of Armenia by the employees
of the institute he heads, reveal that an active work with the
rural population is carried out by the "Prosperous Armenia" Party,
Dashnaktsutiun and the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). The Adviser
to RA President noted that the three parties secure balance of the
political field, as they have different political orientation.

Turning to the opportunities of the opposition forces, Garnik Isagulyan
stated that for a whole year the representatives of pro-authority
forces were advising them to get united; however, the ambitions of
the heads of opposition parties did not allow them to form a strong
alternative to the present authorities.

Mr.Isagulyan expressed confidence that the parliamentary elections
be held in compliance with international standards, and only those
political forces, which assess their chances too high, will be of
another opinion after May 12.

Garnik Isagulyan also informed that the "National Security" Party,
headed by him, "supports RPA for obvious reasons" and participates
in its pre-election campaign.

TURKEY DENOUNCES GRISLY MURDERS

Gulf Times, Qatar
April 20 2007

MALATYA, Turkey: Turkey condemned yesterday the gruesome murder
of three people at a Christian publishing house, as church leaders
warned of a "witch hunt" against their tiny minority in this largely
Muslim nation.

Police detained 10 people over Wednesday’s attack in this conservative
eastern city in which three people, among them a German, were tied
to chairs and had their throats slit.

"This is an attack against Turkey’s stability, peace and tradition
of tolerance," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in Ankara, as he
voiced concern for the country’s image abroad.

"There have been similar attacks in the past… we will certainly
take stricter measures," he added.

Turkey is under pressure to guarantee the protection and freedom of
non-Muslim minorities as part of its efforts to join the European
Union.

The Zivre (Summit) publishing house, which distributes bibles and
publishes Christian literature, had previously been the target of
protests by nationalists, media reports said.

In remarks to the Italian daily La Stampa, the papal envoy to Turkey
linked the killings to upcoming presidential elections, noting the
"presence of well-known fanatical, ultra-nationalist groups".

"Events like this have already happened during electoral campaigns,"
Monsignor Antonio Lucibello said.

Pope Benedict XVI made a landmark visit to Turkey in November – his
first to a Muslim country – during which he stressed that respect
for religious freedom must be a criterion for EU membership.

Ambassadors from the 27 EU member countries met in Istanbul yesterday,
after which the envoy from Germany, which currently holds the
rotating EU presidency urged Ankara to take measures to protect
religious freedoms.

"We see the murders as an attack not only against individuals,
but also against the principles of freedom and tolerance," German
Ambassador Eckhart Cuntz said.

Turkish newspapers said all those arrested at the scene were carrying
copies of a letter that read: "We did it for our country. They are
trying to take our country away, take our religion away."

Protestant leaders here spoke of a growing intolerance towards
Christians, which they said was being fuelled by politicians and
the media.

"Today in Turkey, there is a missionary hunt, just like the witch
hunts of medieval times," Ihsan Ozbek, a leader of the Alliance of
Protestant Churches in Turkey, said.

"Turkey is facing dangers and threats unprecedented in its history.

The fact is that Turkey has become a place of unprecedented intolerance
and rejection," he said.

The dead were identified as German Tilman Geske and Turkish nationals
Ugur Yuksel and Necati Aydin, the pastor of Malatya’s 30-strong
Protestant community.

Proselytising is not banned but generally viewed with suspicion
in Turkey, whose population is 99% Muslim; small Greek Othodox,
Catholic, Armenian and Jewish communities are concentrated mainly in
Istanbul.

TURKISH ORGANIZATIONS OF GERMANY TO HONOR VICTIMS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.04.2007 16:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On the initiative of "Union against Genocide"
an event will be organized in Frankfurt April 24, dedicated to the
Armenian Genocide.

Organizers demand to proclaim April 24 as a universal mourning day
for all nations of Turkey.

According to Turkish journalist Ali Ertem, head of the organization
established by Turks residing in Germany, other organizations
participate in the event too.

Particularly they are – Federation of Turkish workers of Germany,
Federation of Democratic Nations of Germany, Federation of Worker
Immigrants of Germany, "Union of Workers – Brotherhood of Nations"
organization and "Union for Struggle" newspaper.

The statement of "Union against Genocide" reads as follows, "Immigrants
from Turkey feel great sorrow concerning the fact, that today
genocides, which took place 92 years ago and were committed between
1915-23 towards Christian nations of the Ottoman Empire with the aim to
exterminate them, are being denied. The cutting of Christian population
down to 0.1 percent, which before 1915 approximately was 1/3 of the
Ottoman society, as well as bragging of Turkish nationalist-leaders as
if 99.9 percent of Turkey’s population was turned to Mohammedanism,
is nothing else than a peculiar recognition of committing genocide
towards our Christian neighbors.

Alongside with all this the Turkish government cannot overcome the
threat of dissociation. The main cause of it is in the fact that
the state has not been made answerable for the genocide committed
towards ancient nations who settled Anatolia – Armenians, Assirians
and Greeks. And the policy of using genocide as a tool for creating
a mono-ethnic society in the country has finally exhausted. Author
of the statement, Ali Ertem thinks, the assassination of Hrant Dink
showed that after 1915 nothing has changed in Turkish leaders’ way of
thinking. "Slogans "We all are Armenian" that for the first time were
pronounced in Turkey’s history, with the help of which the country
stood to protect the nation that became victim for genocide, was a
serious blow to chauvinism and denial of Genocide," Ertem underlines,
"Azg" reports.

Last year Ali Ertem gathered 11 000 signatures from Turks residing
in Germany who demand from Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

SITTING OF THE ARMENIAN-CHINESE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN

ArmRadio.am
19.04.2007 17:34

On April 20the 5th joint sitting of the Armenian-Chinese
Intergovernmental Commission will be held in Yerevan. Head of the
Chinese Ministry of Trade Department on Europe, Co-Chair of the
Armenian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission Sue Tunkay will arrive
in Armenia to participate in the sitting.

The Ambassador of China to Armenia will also participate in the
sitting.

>>From the Armenian side the sitting will be chaired by RAS Deputy
Foreign Minister, Co-Chair of the Armenian-Chinese Intergovernmental
Commission Armen Baybourtian.

US ASSAULT ON TURKEY
By Scott Sullivan

Assyrian International News Agency
April 19 2007

The US is on the brink of losing Turkey as a strategic partner. Three
highly controversial issues are in play. First, the Armenian genocide
resolution is now before Congress and is expected to pass. Second,
thanks to the passivity of US forces in Iraq, the PKK is secure in
guerrilla encampments in northern Iraq. The PKK is now carrying its
fight into Turkey from these camps, while the US ignores pleas from
Turkey to push the PKK out of northern Iraq. Third, with US approval,
the Kurds are pressuring Iraq’s government to advance a Kirkuk status
referendum, now scheduled for November 15, that would bring Kirkuk
and its vast oil wealth under Kurdish and PKK control.

Turkey’s loss on even one of these issues would have serious negative
consequences for Turkey’s military and civilian leadership. Turkey
could lose on all three. The anti-Turkey sentiment in Congress is
strong, Bill Clinton has just come out in support of the PKK, and Paul
Wolfowitz and the neo-cons have abandoned Turkey. In this regard, not
a single op-ed favorable to Turkey has been posted by the neo-cons,
who are now pro-Kurdish.

What about the Bush administration? Sadly, the most that the Bush
administration will for Turkey is attempt to convince the congressional
leadership to sideline the Armenian genocide resolution before it
comes to a vote in the House and the Senate. Even this might be
beyond the Bush administration’s reach given the Bush-Pelosi warfare
on foreign affairs.

In addition, the Bush Administration could approve one or two Turkish
raids on the PKK camps in northern Iraq. However, as a price for
this policy, the US may insist that Iraq’s proposal go forward for
the 15 November referendum that would transfer Kirkuk to the Kurdish
Regional Government.

Unfortunately for Turkey, under such a limited US policy, the PKK
will survive the Turkish raids and expand dramatically once the
Kirkuk referendum is approved. Turkey would be foolish to believe
that Kurdish leader Barzani would hold back the PKK once the Kirkuk
referendum is approved.

Moreover, the US is creating severe problems for Turkey in Iraq beyond
the Kirkuk referendum. The current US military policy is to stabilize
Baghdad first. This policy has the effect of projecting Iraq’s crisis
northward to Mosul, where Al-Qaeda and other Sunni extremists can
find softer targets.I

In short, the Bush administration is now demanding that Turkey face
enormous risks by accepting PKK camps in northern Iraq, accepting the
transfer of Kirkuk to Kurdish control, and accepting a US policy in
Iraq that is driving Sunni terrorism to Mosul and northern Iraq.

What is worse, the US has permitted Iran to align with the Kurds and
virtually dominate the Baghdad government. Iran is the big winner
from US intervention in Iraq, while Turkey will be the big loser.

Again, the US is on the brink of losing Turkey as a strategic
partner. In compensation, the US will pick up the fascist Kurdish
leader Barzani, the PKK, and Iran. Perhaps President Bush and Bill
Clinton can explain how US interests are advanced by this US assault
on Turkey.