Author: Nahapetian Lilit

A1+

MAN OF THE YEAR
[08:04 pm] 27 December, 2007

`No casual man has a moral right to put forward his
candidature’, said Gagik Tsarukyan, Chairman of the
`Prosperous Armenia’ party to `A1+’ explaining the
reason he was not running for presidency.

Today he was honored as `The man of the year and the
business man who stands closer to the nation’ by
`Hayeli’ club. Head of the club Anzhela Tovmasyan
informed that the participants of their survey gave
their votes to Gagik Tsarukyan, taking into account
his humanitarian activities – buildings repaired by
him, promotion of sport development in Armenia etc.

Gagik Tsarukyan mentioned that he prioritized
assessments of ordinary people and added: `The
nation’s appreciations impose high responsibilities
toward it. I have always served to my nation and will
continue my commitments’.

Mr Tsarukyan shared with the secrets of his success
with journalists: `My kindness and optimism help me.
Without aspiration one cannot achieve anything.
Tsarukyan has never been jealous. One should help his
relatives, friends and neighbors’.

Reflecting on the political field, he pointed out the
importance of his party which has become the second
power in the political field.

ARMENIAN SPOKESMAN DISMISSES EUROPEAN OFFICIAL’S CRITICISM

Mediamax News Agency
Dec 24 2007
Armenia

Yerevan, 24 December: Armenian president’s press secretary Viktor
Soghomonyan said today that he is bewildered with the statement by
Peter Semneby, the European Union’s special representative in the
South Caucasus, that "the responsibility of setting the right tone
for the mass media lies with the Armenian authorities, while avoiding
a direct interference."

Semneby had made the statement in an interview with Mediamax news
agency when commenting on his recent visit to Armenia.

Commenting on the statement, Viktor Soghomonyan told Mediamax:
"Mr. Semneby’s statement puzzled [me]. I don’t see that authorities
are responsible for the tone of the media in European countries. It is
unclear what tools can be used to implement those responsibilities. I
don’t know about Mr. Semneby’s motives, as well as the criteria and
the sources of the information, but it is obvious they are wide of
the mark. If Mr. Semneby bothered himself to study the initial cause
of the pre-election polemics tension in Armenia, he would certainly
see that the authorities are the most restrained participant in the
process. Incidentally, we follow elections in Europe, and the media
tone is not quite elegant there."

SPOKESMAN OF THE ARMENIAN PRESIDENT TAKEN ABACK BY THE STATEMENT OF THE EU SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

Mediamax
December 24, 2007

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Spokesman of the Armenian President Viktor
Soghomonian stated today that he was taken aback by the statement of
the EU Special Representative in the South Caucasus Peter Semneby,
according to which "the authorities of Armenia have a responsibility to
set the right tone for the media while avoiding direct interference".

Peter Semneby made this statement in an interview to Mediamax,
commenting on the results of his recent two-day visit to Armenia.

Commenting on this statement, Spokesman of the Armenian President
Viktor Soghomonian stated in an interview to Mediamax today:

"I was taken aback by the statement of Mr. Semneby. I do not see that
in European countries, the authorities are responsible for the tone
of media.

It is impossible to understand, using which instruments the given
responsibility can be realized after all. I do not know the motives
of Mr. Semneby’s statement, as well as the criteria and the source of
information, but it is obvious that they are far from the truth. If Mr.

Semneby was so kind as to study the prime cause of the tension of the
pre-election disputes in Armenia, he would undoubtedly see that the
authorities are the most reserved participant of the process. By the
way, we are observing the elections in Europe, and, to tell the truth,
the media tone does not stand out by particular refinement there".

‘PAINFUL EFFORT’
By Ayse Karabat

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 23 2007

Some people argue that "foreigners" are playing with our psychology.

According to them, "foreign powers" are trying to make us weak and
vulnerable because they don’t want to us to be a "regional power."

According to those that espouse this argument, foreign powers are using
the "Kurdish card" against us today as they used the "Armenian card" in
the past. Those that defend "psychological operations" tended to think
that some of the heinous assassinations or bloody terrorist attacks
this country has witnessed were organized by these foreign powers.

Turkey is a country whose geographic location and resources can be
very attractive to foreigners — not only decent investors, but also
to those with ulterior motives. At the end of the day, crime has no
nationality and knows no belief. However, labeling everything we
do not know or understand as having ulterior motives and as being
psychological operations by foreigners is illogical.

People that hold onto this argument give the impression that they
are like cavemen; anything they are unable to understand with their
limited logic and knowledge is the business of some external powers!

There are several points that need to be made at this point. First,
those who wish to make us scared of foreigners may be missing the fact
that there are some "internal powers" in this country that benefit
from our fears. Second, we should ask ourselves, if we are strong
enough, how is it possible to play with our psychology?

Lastly, perhaps the psychology we need to comprehend in order to make
ourselves stronger is something else entirely.

This week I interviewed several people, discussed various issues and
exchanged ideas with a number of terrorism experts, members of the
security forces, families of outlawed terrorist Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK) members and a former PKK member.

Regardless of how painful it may be, we have to accept the reality
that in some parts of southeastern and eastern Anatolia, having
a relative in the PKK confers a status on the family. This status,
unfortunately, is not something to be ashamed of, to hide or to worry
about. When a possible amnesty is discussed, families of PKK members
don’t rush to it or beg for it, rather they ask for conditions.

Yes, it is true that from the very beginning the PKK has been a tool
in the hands of foreign powers. Almost every country and criminal
organization with an interest in Turkey used the PKK in one way or
another. They are still using it. But just think of an ordinary PKK
member — I mean someone who is not part of the group’s leadership.

What compels them to stay in the mountains? What makes them attack?

What makes them kill and wish to die?

Utah University’s Emre Uslu says that a PKK member sees himself or
herself as a "self-sacrificing guerilla of the Kurdish cause." They
call their members that are killed "martyrs." He says this culture
is also reflected in the families. Because of this, he stresses,
any talk about amnesty must also target the families. Creative ways
should be utilized to convince the families because they are the only
communication channel with PKK members.

Even members of the security forces say that any new regulations that
are introduced with regard to amnesty should not include the term
"regret," because even just using this term is repulsive to members
of the terrorist organization.

The story of N, who joined the PKK when she was only 15 years old and
left at the age of 19, sheds a lot of light on the situation as well.

She says she was affected by the "romantic" side of being a "freedom
fighter." Her family was not poor, though most people believe that
PKK members are illiterate and poor. This is not true. Some of them
are highly educated, some have graduated from high school, and some,
as is the case with N, come from western Turkey.

It is very easy to portray all PKK members as traitors, as
bloodthirsty, as toys of foreign powers and so on. And although these
are true — nothing can justify violence — ending the story there
will not contribute to the solution. The psychology of these people,
their motives and the attitudes of their families should be studied
very carefully. Solutions need to then be a product of this effort.

Anything short of that will keep this country vulnerable to
"psychological operations" by others, because those others know the
answers we ourselves refuse to look for.

GEORGIA AGAINST PROPOSAL TO INVITE SEPARATIST LEADERS TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Interfax, Russia
Dec 19 2007

Tbilisi, 19 December: The Georgian delegation at the meeting of the
monitoring committee of the PACE [Parliamentary Assembly of Council
of Europe] has spoken out against Armenia’s proposal to invite the
leaders of the unrecognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
[separatist regions of Georgia] to the Council of Europe.

A member of the Georgian delegation to PACE, Elene Tevdoradze, told
journalists on Wednesday [19 December] that Armenian MPs are insisting
that the leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Sergey Bagapsh and
Eduard Kokoyty, should take part in the PACE winter session. The
issue of settling the conflicts in Georgia is to be considered at
this session.

"The Armenians made this proposal at the meeting of the PACE monitoring
committee in Paris yesterday, but we consider it inadmissible to
provide separatists with an international platform," Tevdoradze said.

She said that this Armenian proposal was not put to a vote in the
PACE monitoring committee. "We received particular support from the
Azerbaijani delegation," Tevdoradze said.

However, the Armenian delegation intends to have its proposal put to
a vote at the PACE winter session.

ARMEN RUSTAMYAN: THE REASON OF THE CRISIS IN ARMENIAN -TURKISH RELATIONS HIDDEN IN TURKEY’S PRECONDITIONS

armradio.am
20.12.2007 15:58

The key to the real reason of the current crisis in Armenian-Turkish
relations is hidden in the preconditions Turkey sets for establishing
relations with Armenia, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing
Committee on Foreign Relations Armen Rustamyan said during the
parliamentary hearings on "Armenian-Turkish relations: Issues and
perspectives."

According to Armen Rustamyan, Turkey sets four preconditions:
unilateral recognition of the territorial integrity of Turkey through
re-ratification of the Kars agreement, ensuring territorial link
between Nakhijevan and other regions of Azerbaijan, suspension of
the process of recognition of the Armenian Genocide and withdrawal
of troops from Karabakh and the adjacent regions.

Armen Rustamyan considers that the precondition connected with the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict is the most illogical one, saying in the
contemporary world it is not common to associate the relations between
two states with a third country. "With this position Turkey is an
unofficial party to the conflict rather than a neighboring country
that refuses to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia. And
this goes fully in line with the logic, according to which Turkey and
Azerbaijan are two states of the same people, therefore, the conflict
of the one is the conflict of the other," he noted.

As for Turkey’s accession to the European Union, according to Armen
Rustamyan, Turkey’s membership can really be beneficial for Armenia,
if Turkey pursues the fair purpose to become a European state in its
true meaning and not use it as simply a means to give new force to
its Pan-Turkic claims.

Armen Rustamyan directly links the perspectives of having a completely
secure system in the region with the normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations and sees exceptionally peaceful means for resolution
of issues.

"If all the parties interested build their diplomacy on there
principles, this way will finally lead to success, where there will
be no winners and losers, and everyone will benefit from the fruit
of victory," Armenian Rustamyan considers.

WALLOON AND FLANDERS COMPETE IN ACTIVATING TRADE RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

arminfo
2007-12-19 23:29:00

ArmInfo. A business-forum of business circles representatives of
Armenia and Belgium took place at the Armenian Development Agency
(ADA), Wednesday.

Directors of 14 Belgian companies familiarized themselves with
economic policy of Armenia, the macroeconomic situation, tax and
customs legislation, the possibilities for export and import in the
sphere. "Armenia and Belgium don’t have land boundaries, nevertheless,
the potential of the cooperation is not fully realized", Belgian
Ambassador Charles Ghislain (residence in Brussels) said at the
forum. He said that the majority of businessmen arrived in Armenia
have Armenian roots and, on the whole, the existence of Armenian
Diaspora in Belgium is an extra stimulus for successful development of
bilateral relations. Armenian President Robert Kocharian’s official
visit to Brussels in October 2007 became a tangible impetus for the
Armenian-Belgian relations, the diplomat said.

As ADA Director Tigran Davtyan emphasized in his talk with ArmInfo
correspondent, Heads of 14 Belgian companies represent different
branches of economy. "Earlier, export and import of diamond
processing industry made up 98% of commodity circulation between
Armenia and Belgium, which in its turn made up 130mln USD. Presently,
the branch experiences a crisis in view of the known processes in
the international markets and we try to diversify our cooperation, to
compensate the losses with new directions of partnership", T. Davtyan
said. According to him, woodworking industry, power economy, high
technologies, engineering, banking system will become new directions
in the trade relations. The hundreds of bilateral meetings between
Armenian and Belgian businessmen held over the last 2 months serve
as basis for optimism.

To note, Belgium is still represented by Walloon, but business
circles of Flanders receiving the information about active interest
of their compatriots, also expressed wish to organize a business
forum immediately.

At the beginning of 2008 Yerevan is to receive heads of Flanders’
enterprises.

1,689 TIR BOOKLETS GIVEN TO ARMENIAN CARGO CARRIERS IN SEVEN YEARS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 18 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, NOYAN TAPAN. Since 2001, 1,689 TIR booklets have
been given to Armenian cargo carriers. NT correspondent was informed
by the office of Armenia’s Association of International Carriers that
in 2001, only 42 TIR booklets were provided, in 2006 – 437 booklets,
while in 2007 – 369 TIR booklets.

Booklets are given for one trip, thanks to which vehicles pass by
simplified order the territories of about 80 countries – members of
the TIR Convention.

The vehicle of the cargo carrier with a TIR booklet undergoes customs
examination only in the arrival and departure countries. A TIR booklet
costs 55 thousand drams (about 180 USD).

Over 80 countries are members of the TIR Convention which was signed
in 1975. Armenia joined the TIR Convention in 1994.

CHEMICALS AND CULTURE
By Marina Kamenev

The Moscow Times, Russia
Dec 17 2007

David Sarkisyan, the director of the Shchusev Architecture Museum,
often lets it drop that he has lived four lives.

"I am exceptionally lucky as a person, because despite having four
professions I have never ‘worked,’ my wage was always small, but I
only did things that I liked, I am one of the happiest people in the
world," he said.

Born in Yerevan, Sarkisyan came to Moscow to study when he was a
teenager. He has dabbled in professions ranging from science to film.

This year he turned 60 and has been enjoying his fourth life as
director of the Shchusev Architecture Museum for five years.

Sarkisyan was always attracted to science.

"I have nothing against religion, but I am 100 percent — no, a 200
percent atheist," he said.

"I respect many religious people but I do not believe in a God, I do
believe in the reality of this life and I think the only way to find
out more about it is through science."

He studied physiology at Moscow State University.

"After I finished, I had the best three years of my life, I did
absolutely nothing but read … under a system known to us as a
postgraduate program," he laughed.

"You do an exam on philosophy, which was essentially Marxist at the
time, you do a test on another language, and I already knew English
fluently, and you get to do some kind of experimental investigation,
which no one supervises or reads, so it was a three-year rest."

After Sarkisyan finished his postgraduate degree, he went on to do
a doctorate in pharmaceuticals, but never completed it and started
working as a pharmacist. For 15 years he studied the nervous system
through many experiments. "In those 15 years, hundreds of white rats
died in my hands," he said with a tinge of regret.

Sarkisyan said he discovered a nerve stimulant that was thought
initially to be harmful to the body, and invented a medicine called
ipidacrine, which is used in Japan to help treat diseases such as
Alzheimer’s.

Perestroika signalled the end of many things in Sarkisyan’s life. He
stopped working in pharmaceuticals, divorced his wife and walked into
a completely different field almost by accident.

Sarkisyan had an acquaintance, Rustam Khamdamov, who was trying to get
out of Russia. Sarkisyan had many connections at that time and, as he
became friends with Khamdamov, found out that he was a filmmaker and
the reason he wanted to get out of Russia was to make more movies. "I
convinced him that he did not need to leave Russia to make films, and
that is how we started working on something together," Sarkisyan said.

Sarkisyan was the first assistant director of the movie "Anna
Karamazoff," written and directed by Khamdamov. Starring French
actor Jeanne Moreau, it went to Cannes, but was never released due
to problems with the French producer.

"At 44 … I walked on the red carpet next to Jeanne Moreau," Sarkisyan
said. "It was a glamorous end to my career in film," he said.

"While all my friends were becoming oligarchs and politicians, two
things I could have easily done myself, I chose to do television
documentaries. At this time it was free — I had access to all the
archives and I could make films about everything that I was interested
in," he said.

Sarkisyan admitted that most of his films were not professional, "but
they were all ideologically fresh, they always had something new,"
he said.

The film of Sarkisyan’s still shown today is "Comrade Kollontai
and her Lovers," a documentary about the revolutionary Alexandra
Kollontai. "I was always great with titles," Sarkisyan said.

In 2001, a friend told Sarkisyan about the Shchusev State Architecture
Museum, and about the possibility of running it.

"I was not interested so much in architecture but in the museum,"
he said.

"Most people are idiots, and they produce cultural porridge that
they have managed to transfer into the rest of civilization, idiotic
things like astrology. The museum is an island in this sea of rubbish
and is the only way to preserve real culture," he said.

Bolshoi Gorod magazine’s art critic, Yekaterina Degot, praised
Sarkisyan’s work at the museum.

"I think Sarkisyan has created an amazing space for contemporary
culture and exhibitions," she said. "I am always interested in what
is going on there, and it’s somewhere I frequent with my friends."

Sarkisyan is not modest when giving advice on being a museum
director. "Running a museum is like being a president, it’s not
something you can train for," he laughed. "If you need to ask how to
do it, you’re not right for the job."

ARMENIAN WAR WOUNDED WAIT FOR BETTER TIMES
By Ashot Beglarian in Stepanakert

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
Dec 13 2007

Invalids of war have to get by on limited resources in Karabakh.

"This is how we live," says Gennady, shyly inviting us into his small
apartment. He is a veteran of the Karabakh war, and a father of two.

"I don’t need anything – neither money nor fame, nothing," he said
apologetically, but with a certain note of despair. "In all my life
I’ve never just clung to life, as some do. I wasn’t afraid of death,
and it’s all right if I don’t get rich. I just want my kids to live
normal lives. I pray to the Lord for just one thing- that they don’t
live the way we did. We’ve seen too much blood…"

Gennady, a Karabakh Armenian, fought intensively in the 1991-94 war
with the Azerbaijanis for control of his native territory. He started
as a machine-gunner with a diversionary group operating behind enemy
lines. He was wounded and shell-shocked, and won several medals.

Now, with the status of a "category three invalid", he doesn’t have
a permanent job and lives in poverty, relying on his disability
benefit of 70 US dollars a month, which is far from enough to cover
the family budget.

His is not an isolated case. War veterans who were praised as heroes
for their actions on the battlefield often find themselves unprotected
on the home front, facing barriers of indifference and bureaucracy
in Karabakh.

There are several hundred war veterans in Nagorny Karabakh,
approximately 160 of whom were seriously disabled by their wounds
and are classed as "category one".

Wheelchair-bound David Hakopian from the village of Badara in the
Askerian region entered the war as a 14 year-old volunteer, and was
badly wounded.

When you talk to David today, you are infected by his cheerfulness,
as if his disability is an illusion and like a fairytale hero, he
will suddenly stand up and perform some gallant feat. Yet you also
get the impression that for people like him, much remains locked up
inside and the war has never really ended.

Several dozen people like David in Nagorny Karabakh suffered fractured
spines. Most of them belong to an organization called Vita which has
been active in the Karabakh capital Stepanakert since the ceasefire of
1994. Many get treatment at the Baroness Caroline Cox Rehabilitation
Centre.

In recent years, Karabakh war veterans, most of them "category one
invalids", have been given the chance to go to the Crimean resort of
Saki in Ukraine for treatment and recreation every year. People from
all over the Soviet Union go to the town, which has facilities for
treating spinal injuries. This year, a group of 22 disabled people
went there on a grant from the Karabakh government.

The injured veterans need continuous treatment, but there is a shortage
of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in Nagorny Karabakh.

By law, category one and two disabled have the right to free medical
supplies, while those in category three get a 50 per cent discount,
but the right medicines are not always available.

Bako Saakian, elected president of Nagorny Karabakh in August –
the republic is not recognised by the outside world – has said he
will make it a priority to improve the lot of disabled and other
veterans, as well as relatives of those who died in the war. An
11-storey apartment block was recently made available to the families
of Karabakh army officers and veterans.

An increase in benefit payments is expected next year. Legislative
changes last year improved the benefit system by allocating flat
monthly cash payments instead of compensation for specific services.

In addition, all disabled people in Karabakh were given the same level
of benefits as those living in Stepanakert, who had been getting more.

However, non-governmental organisations say that there is still much
to be done. The Union of Warrior Liberators, which has operated since
January 2000, has set itself the goal of improving conditions for
the wounded veterans and the families of dead or missing soldiers.

Another group, the Centre for Civic Initiatives, provides assistance
for veterans, former prisoners of war and their families. They
arrange computer courses, recreational and educational programmes,
and debates. The centre’s psychologist provides both group and
individual counselling.

Despite all this help, war veterans mostly have to rely on their
own resources.

Mikhail Sarkisian, served as commander of an artillery platoon and
thanks God that he survived.

The veteran says he doesn’t place any reliance in the Karabakh
government or in the non-governmental organisations. At the same time,
he says he has nothing to complain about, as he has a house and garden,
a large family and a good job. His children help him, too.

Two of his five sons have already served in Karabakh’s armed forces,
and the third is currently in the military.

"We should rely mainly on ourselves. We have rich countryside all
around us. All we have to do is work, not be lazy and not wait for
help from others or for charity. I regard anyone who didn’t abandon
their motherland in those difficult war years as veterans," he said.

"The hands of the government do not reach everyone in need.

Personally I don’t expect help from anybody. As they say, God helps
those who help themselves. My arms and legs are intact; I have a head
on my shoulders. What else do I need in order to provide for myself
and my family?"

Ashot Beglarian is a freelance journalist in Nagorny Karabakh. The
terminology used in this article is IWPR’s, not the author’s.