Author: Jabejian Elizabeth

ADVISOR TO ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER, ACADEMICIAN FADEY SARGSYAN DIES

Noyan Tapan
Jan 12, 2010

YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The advisor to the Armenian prime
minister, former President of the RA National Academy of Sciences,
former deputy of the RA National Assembly, academician, Major General
Fadey Sargsyan died on January 10. He was 87.

F. Sargsyan received the degree of Doctor of Technical Science in
1975 and that of Academician of the RA National Academy of Sciences
in 1977. He conducted research in such fields as computer engineering,
automatic control systems and radar control systems.

F. Sargsyan worked as top official at the Main Department of Missiles
and Artillery of the Artillery Scientific and Technical Committee
of the USSR Defense Ministry (1946-1959), then as Director of the
Yerevan Research Institute of Mathematical Machines (1967-1977),
Academician-Secretary of the Physical and Technical Sciences and
Information Science Unit of the RA National Academy of Sciences
(1989-1993), and as President of the RA NAS (1993-2006).

Since 2006 he was an advisor to the Armenian prime minister.

A governmental commission has been set up for organizing F. Sargsyan’s
funeral.

ARMENIA SERIOUS ABOUT PROTOCOLS RATIFICATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.01.2010 13:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The process of ratification of protocols on
normalization of bilateral ties is similar both in Armenia and Turkey,
an Armenian expert said.

"The difference is that unlike Turkey, Armenia submitted the
documents to the Constitutional Court to check their compliance with
the republic’s Organic Law. It means that Armenia demonstrates a more
serious approach to the issue," Ruben Melkonyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter.

He refrain from forecasting the decision of the CC but said it won’t
be sensational.

"This decision will not have any impact on Turkey, which doesn’t
prioritize normalization of relations with Armenia," Melkonyan said.

The protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the common border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich
by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish
counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of
diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.

Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 8 2010

The new Israel lobby: A shifting balance in Turkey-Israel-US relations?

Friday, January 8, 2010
Kaitlin MacKenzie

Over the past year, we have witnessed a series of events, from Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an’s notorious outburst at Davos to
Turkey’s withdrawn invitation to Israel for a NATO air exercise, which
have led to claims that Turkish-Israeli relations are declining.

Often, this assertion is made in tandem with charges that Turkey is
turning its face to the East, away from the West. But, when one
considers the state of Turkish-Israeli relations, one undoubtedly will
encounter the United States, as it considers both countries to be
important allies and is home to a large Jewish Diaspora.

The U.S. is known for its powerful lobby system, particularly the
oft-discussed Jewish organizations that have been the subject of much
discussion in recent years. Political groups such as the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and the Anti-Defamation
League, or ADL, some of the most powerful of their ilk, have long
commanded the attention of U.S. politicians and policy makers.

These organizations, particularly AIPAC, tend to toe a right-wing line
in staunch support of Israel. This has been the status quo for many
years in Washington. However, a new Jewish organization, J Street, was
established in 2007 to counterbalance AIPAC and has quickly come to
the fore, finding itself holding a seat at the negotiating table along
with AIPAC and other established institutions. Although this might
seem old-hat, what makes J Street special is that it promotes a
balanced Middle East policy under its motto `pro-Israel, pro-peace.’

This is big news for many reasons and could affect Turkey in several
ways. First of all, such an organization is unprecedented. In
Washington, unconditional and unwavering support for Israel’s policies
has become almost guaranteed. Second, J Street is focused on a
comprehensive peace in the region and promotes a freeze on settlement
construction as well as a two-state solution.

These policies have been enough for the Israeli government and the
traditional Israel lobby to give J Street the cold shoulder. The
Israeli ambassador boycotted J Street’s inaugural conference in
October, although the Jordanian ambassador came and delivered an
address, while the keynote speaker was National Security Advisor James
Jones.

(HH) What is the effect of lobby groups on Turkish-Israeli relations?

Turkish-Israeli relations go back to the foundation of the Jewish
state in 1948, when Turkey was the first Muslim-majority nation to
recognize Israel. The two states have been partners in the region, and
some scholars argue that Turkey and Israel are the most similar to
each other in the Middle East, in terms of their relations with the
West.

Turkish-Israeli relations hit a highpoint after the 1997 Turkish
`post-modern coup,’ and the two countries signed billions of dollars
in military contracts. But with the rise of the Justice and
Development Party, or AKP, in 2002, the extreme right in Israel and
American neo-cons found themselves in a panic over fears that the AKP
was secretly Islamist, anti-U.S. and anti-Israel. The extreme right
wing of both countries teamed up and launched a smear campaign against
the AKP, branding them anti-Semitic. Despite this rocky start,
however, Turkish-Israeli relations continued to prosper, and the
annual volume of economic relations is over $10 billion.

The AKP has focused on promoting its plan for regional integration and
stability, or the `zero problems with neighbors’ policy, which of
course encompasses the Israeli-Palestinian issue, as well as problems
between Israel and its neighbors, especially Syria.

Turkey played the role of moderator between Syria and Israel and came
close to brokering a deal regarding the Golan Heights, but
unfortunately, the agreement was severely disrupted by last year’s
Gaza War. Turkey, which had hosted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
only two days before the start of the war, yet was not informed of
Israel’s plans, strongly condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza.

The war has had a lingering impact on Turkish-Israeli relations and
was cited as the instigating force behind both the Davos incident and
the withdrawal of the air exercise invitation this past fall.

Turkish-Israeli relations cannot improve with Israel’s current
policies, which is where the U.S. and its new J Street lobby enter the
picture. Many believe Israel might curb its actions if the U.S. were
to take a more assertive, less supportive stance. But this is
implausible at best, due to the powerful influence of the Jewish
lobbies.

One example of this is the United Nation’s Goldstone Report, which
condemned Israeli actions in Gaza. It was targeted by a House
Resolution against the report’s findings, and several pro-Israel
members of congress signed the resolution (which was of course
supported by AIPAC). J Street, however, came out strongly in support
of the report and pushed Congress to accept it.

Another area in which Turkey, Israel, and the U.S. lobbies collide is
the Armenian issue. In the past, Jewish organizations often lobbied on
Turkey’s behalf against the Armenian diaspora’s interest groups, since
Turkey was a staunch friend to Israel (especially militarily).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, J Street seems to avoid reference to the
Armenian issue, and instead limits its focus to issues that are
directly related to American policy toward Israel and the Middle East
that support peace in the region. According to its Web site, the `J
Street PAC does not interview candidates on ` and its endorsement
should not be read to imply support for their positions on ` any other
issue.’

In keeping with this policy, J Street gave financial support to
members of Congress both for and against the legislation that would
label the 1915 events as genocide: Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL/19th) and
Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA/10th), chairs of the Turkish and Armenian
caucuses, respectively, both received campaign contributions from J
Street for their dedication to the Middle East peace process.

Thus, as we can see, to better understand the future of the
Turkey-Israel-U.S. triangle, we should perhaps take a look at some of
the key rising players. J Street’s policies, while at times boding
well for Turkey, might also have an adverse effect.

Its like-minded policies regarding Middle East peace could very well
aid Turkey’s efforts to obtain regional integration and stability, yet
whether J Street will stand up for Turkey’s interests in Washington
remains to be seen.

* Kaitlin MacKenzie is a researcher at USAK, an Ankara-based think tank

>From the Archives: Saroyan Congratulates Weekly

Armenian Weekly
January 7, 2010

Editor’s note: It is an often-repeated fact that William Saroyan began
his writing career with the Hairenik Weekly (later renamed the
Armenian Weekly). Even back in 1936, the Weekly had acknowledged him
as `our most distinguished literary alumnus.’ Below is a Letter to the
Editor he wrote as the Hairenik Weekly began its third year of
publication. It appeared on the front page of the Feb. 28, 1936 issue
of the Weekly.

To the editor of the Hairenik:

William Saroyan

Of course I am enthusiastic about the progress of Hairenik Weekly. I
sincerely wish the paper a long life, and a good one.

I feel there is one important work to be done, and done soon, and that
is this: to translate, in an orderly way, and publish in English in
Hairenik Weekly the works of all Armenian writers. Especially prose;
poetry should be translated literally, without regard for the rhyme,
which is difficult to achieve in translation. The first works to be
translated should be short stories and short essays. It is time the
writers of Armenia were introduced to readers of English everywhere:
after translated stories have been published in Hairenik Weekly I feel
certain American publishers will be interested in bringing out an
anthology of Armenian writers. I understand there are plenty of
Armenian scholars in America who could do this work. I believe this is
the time to begin doing so.

Sincerely,
William Saroyan

Today, Azerbaijan
Jan 8 2010

UN Azerbaijan mission voices concern to Ban Ki-moon over Armenian issue

08 January 2010 [12:06] – Today.Az

Azerbaijan`s Permanent Representation to the United Nations has sent
a message to the organization`s Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon,
expressing concern over the fact `Armenia continues to refuse its
international commitments with respect to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict’.

`Armenia`s position represents a danger of misleading the
international community about the real nature of the problem,’ the
message says.

`The non-constructive position of the Armenian leaders poses a serious
threat to solving the dispute through political means,’ it adds.

The message highlights the history of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
saying `Armenians launched their attacks against Azerbaijanis as early
as 1987 in Khankendi, which caused the flow of Azerbaijani refugees
and IDPs’.

`During the Soviet era Armenia extended its territory from 10,000 to
29,000 square meters at the cost of Azerbaijan`s lands.’

`The Armenian government must realize that having cleaned its
territory from all non-Armenians it is now the only mono-ethnic
country across the world. Armenia`s political life is dominated by
race discrimination,’ the letter underlines.

It also calls on international organizations, in particular the United
Nations, to take `more serious measures’ against Armenia.

/AzerTac/

URL:

Judge’s order to seize COSMIC documents sends Turkey’s `Deep State’
into crisis
08.01.2010 14:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey’s `Deep State’ of military, intelligence, and
law enforcement officers, linked to the CIA and Israel’s Mossad
through the Ergenekon network of spies and `false flag’ operatives,
has been shaken over the decision of Ankara Judge Kadir Kayan to order
NATO COSMIC Top Secret rooms at the Turkish Special Forces Command’s
Tactical Mobilization Group in Ankara to be searched by civilian
prosecutors and police, Wayne Madsen Report (WMC) says.

According to WMC, `COSMIC’ is a NATO classification and the
investigation of the shadowy Ergenekon network has turned up evidence
that COSMIC documents may contain proof that Turkey’s Special
Operations forces were planning to assassinate top Turkish political
leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc.

Some of the seized NATO COSMIC Top Secret documents involve the
operations of Gendarmarie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism
Organization (JITEM), which was composed of Turkish special operations
forces and police who carried out assassinations of academics, Kurdish
politicians, and even fellow military personnel in terrorist attacks
that were blamed on the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), deemed a
`terrorist’ organization by Turkey and the United States.

The documents seized by prosecutors and police may also show that the
CIA’s `Gladio’ networks, so-called `stay behind networks’ established
in NATO and neutral countries during the Cold War to coordinate
sabotage in the event of a Soviet invasion and occupation, may have
continued in Turkey and serves as the core component of Ergenekon.

WMR has also learned that some of the COSMIC Top Secret documents
seized in Turkey point to an American `Deep State’ Pentagon
counterpart to the Turkish Ergenekon network. Former FBI Turkish
translator Sibel Edmonds spoke of this network being uncovered by
wiretaps of U.S. political leaders and Turkish lobbyists in the United
States.

Ergenekon is clandestine, Kemalist ultra-nationalist organization in
Turkey with ties to members of the country’s military and security
forces. The group is accused of terrorism in Turkey. It is named after
Ergenekon, a mythical place located in the inaccessible valleys of the
Altay Mountains. Some experts believe there are links between
Ergenekon and numerous militant organizations, such as the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK), the extreme-left Revolutionary People’s
Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), the Islamist organization Hizbullah,
the ultranationalist Turkish Revenge Brigades (TÄ°T), the Turkish
Workers’ and Peasants’ Liberation Army (TÄ°KKO), the Marxist-Leninist
Communist Party(MLKP) and the Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation), an
extreme group wishing to reinstate the Islamic Caliphate. Alleged
members have been indicted on charges of plotting to foment unrest by
assassinating intellectuals, politicians, judges, military staff, and
religious leaders, with the ultimate goal of toppling the pro-Western
incumbent government. They are also believed to have plotted the
assassination of Hrant Dink, Editor-in-Chief of Agos Turkish Armenian
newspaper.

Trend, Azerbaijan
Jan 7 2010

Missing resident of Tovuz region captured by Armenian side: State Commission
07.01.2010 14:42

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 7 / Trend News M. Aliyev /

Resident of the Tovuz region missing on the Armenian-Azerbaijani
contact line was captured by the Armenian side, the Azerbaijani State
Commission on Hostages, POWs and Missing People told Trend News.

"According to the information, resident of the Alibayli village in the
Tovuz region Tagiyev Eldar Heydar oglu was captured," the message
said.

The Azerbaijani State Commission on Hostages, POWs and Missing People
together with the international organizations take actions to release
and return him to Azerbaijan.

Tagiyev Eldar Heydar oglu (born in 1964) went missing Dec. 28., 2009.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are
currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. General Assembly’s
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.

Iran gives ultimatum for nuclear deal
03.01.2010 00:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told state TV
Saturday that the West must "make a decision" regarding the Iranian
counter proposal. The proposal suggests either selling Tehran the fuel
or swapping it for Iran’s enriched uranium.

Mottaki says this is an "ultimatum."
He says the international community "has one month left" to decide –
or Tehran will begin enriching uranium to higher levels needed for the
fuel.

Iran dismissed an end-of-2009 deadline on a U.N.-drafted deal to swap
enriched uranium for nuclear fuel. The deal would have reduced Iran’s
capabilities to make nuclear weapons, reported The Associated Press.

Former speaker gets pricey perks
JAKE SHERMAN & JOHN BRESNAHAN
12/21/09 3:53 AM EST

46.html

The federal government pays $6,300 per month to rent an office for
Hastert and his staff in Yorkville, Ill.

U.S. taxpayers are spending more than $40,000 per month on office
space, staff, cell phones and a leased SUV for former House Speaker
Dennis Hastert, even as he works as a lobbyist for private
corporations and foreign governments.

The payments are perfectly legal under a federal law that provides
five years of benefits for former speakers – but only if Hastert never
makes use of his government-funded perks in the course of his lobbying
work. Ethics experts say that sort of separation is hard to maintain.

Hastert `has to be meticulous in his schedule to make sure there is no
bleed from his publicly subsidized office into his private practice,’
said Kenneth Gross, a former Federal Election Commission general
counsel and congressional ethics authority. Steve Ellis, vice
president of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, called the
arrangement `really concerning.’

`It is specifically prohibited – federal dollars can’t be spent on
lobbying operations,’ Ellis said. `We are paying for his staff [and]
for a car, and we need to be very sure that he isn’t spending a dime
of that money on lobbying operations. `That all needs to be above
board, in the clear and transparent. And it’s not.’

Hastert declined to discuss the situation with POLITICO.

But his spokesman, Brad Hahn, said the former 11-term congressman is
in full compliance with rules covering how the federal funds are
spent. Hahn said Hastert’s lobbying work `is completely separate [from
the office of the former speaker], and he keeps them completely
separate.’

The federal government pays $6,300 per month to rent an office for
Hastert and his staff in Yorkville, Ill. Hahn conceded that Hastert
has no other office set aside for lobbying work in Illinois but said
that the former speaker travels to Washington frequently for work.

In addition to the office, the government pays the salaries of three
of Hastert’s assistants in his Illinois office – each more than
$100,000 in 2008. Bryan Hardin, Hastert’s administrative assistant
(the title often used by a chief of staff in a congressional office)
earned $138,000.

`The office of the former speaker has specific functions that are tied
to Denny being the former speaker, but he does not receive any
compensation and is not an employee,’ Hahn said. `There are three
staffers that carry out the functions – archiving, correspondence,
speaking engagements – and working with the Hastert Center’ at Wheaton
College.

House disbursement records show that the office is spending an
additional $2,000 per month in taxpayer money on a consulting firm,
Burnham Strategies, that is run by several of Hastert’s former
staffers, including Hahn. Altogether, the firm was paid $30,000
through Sept. 30 of this year, records show.

Taxpayers also make the lease payments on a 2008 GMC Yukon and pay for
a satellite TV subscription, cell phones, laptops and other expenses.

Since Hastert opened the Illinois office in early 2008, records show,
the government has paid for five computer monitors at a total cost of
$1,125, spent almost $1,300 for desks and shelled out an additional
$4,460 for Hewlett-Packard laptops. Other expenditures include $745
for a printer and about $620 to transport a clock.

Hastert, who served in the House for almost 21 years, signed on with
Dickstein Shapiro in 2008. He is now a registered foreign agent,
representing in Washington the interests of the governments of Turkey
and Luxembourg. He also lobbies on behalf of three U.S. corporations.

Democrats enacted new lobbying restrictions in 2007 in a bid to curb
the influence of registered lobbyists after Hastert’s Republican
colleagues were entangled in a slew of ethical and legal scandals.
These restrictions curbed gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers and
lawmaker travel paid for by federally registered lobbyists, and they
instituted a period during which former members could not lobby
Congress. But those measures do not prohibit what Hastert is doing
now.

Under a federal statute enacted in 1974, former House speakers are
entitled to an allowance to set up and run an office, a payment that
includes salaries for several aides. In 1995, then newly empowered
Republicans – who had seized control of the House for the first time
in four decades – put a five-year deadline on this allowance, a move
aimed at former Speaker Tom Foley (D-Wash.), who had lost his
reelection bid the previous November.

The formula for calculating the allowance given to former speakers is
based on that used by current lawmakers. Former speakers are
prohibited from taking the funds only if they take some other
`appointive or elected office or position’ in the federal or D.C.
government, according to a 2007 Congressional Research Service report.

Hahn said Hastert is authorized to spend as much as $840,000 annually
to run his office but has not used all the money made available to him
by Congress. `He’s worked on a nonpaid basis, but as a former speaker,
[Hastert] helped out with the Chicago Olympic bid, Advance Illinois
[an education program] and Illinois Works,’ a jobs program, Hahn
added. `These are nonlobbying and nonpaid. These are duties he was
asked to help [on as] official causes – because he was a former
speaker and to add his expertise.’

Hastert is not the first former speaker to become a lobbyist. Foley
worked as a lobbyist for Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld after serving
as U.S. ambassador to Japan, representing clients such as AT&T, Walt
Disney Co., CSX Corp. and the State University of New York. Jim
Wright, a Texas Democrat who was speaker from 1987 to 1989, was a
consultant for Arch Petroleum Co., although it is unclear if he was
ever a registered lobbyist, said the Office of the Historian of the
House. Other former speakers, including Georgia Republican Newt
Gingrich, never registered as lobbyists.

When he retired from Congress two years ago, Hastert told an Illinois
newspaper he would go back home and unwind from nearly three decades
in public office. Hastert predicted, `I don’t really see myself as a
lobbyist and would probably not do that at all.’

PURCHASE AND SALE TRANSACTIONS OF 19.2 MILLION DOLLARS CONDUCTED AT NASDAQ OMX ARMENIA OJSC ON DECEMBER 29

Noyan Tapan
Dec 29, 2009

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN. Purchase and sale transactions of
19.2 million dollars at the weighted average exchange rate of 377.3
drams per dollar were conducted at Nasdaq OMX Armenia OJSC on December
29. According to the press service of the Central Bank of Armenia,
the closing price made 377.25 drams.