Author: Tamamian Anna

SANA – Syrian Arab News Agency, Syria
Jan 21 2007

Syria Signs Economic and Trade Agreements with Armenia

Sunday, January 21, 2007 – 12:15 PM

Yerevan, (SANA)- Syria and Armenia on Sunday signed three
agreements for the economic and trade cooperation within the
framework of boosting bilateral cooperation and solving problems and
obstacles that hinder its development.

Chainmen of Aleppo Chamber of Commerce Mohmmed Saleh al-Mallah signed
with Armenian Chairman of Industry and Trade Chamber Martin Sarkisean
a twinship agreement and another one to establish a joint business
council between both countries’ businessmen.

For his part, Head of the International Exhibitions Committee at
Aleppo Chamber of Commerce and Armenian Executive Director of
Industry and Trade Chamber signed a memo of understanding on
organizing fairs in both countries.

The three agreements were signed last week during a visit paid by a
delegation representing Aleppo Chamber of Commerce to Armenia.

The Independent, UK
Jan 20 2007

Robert Fisk: Award-winning writer shot by assassin in Istanbul street

Published: 20 January 2007

Hrant Dink became the 1,500,001st victim of the Armenian genocide
yesterday. An educated and generous journalist and academic – editor
of the weekly Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos – he tried to create a
dialogue between the two nations to reach a common narrative of the
20th century’s first holocaust. And he paid the price: two bullets
shot into his head and two into his body by an assassin in the
streets of Istanbul yesterday afternoon.

It was not only a frightful blow to Turkey’s surviving Armenian
community but a shattering reversal to Turkey’s hope of joining the
European Union, a visionary proposal already endangered by the
country’s broken relations with Cyprus and its refusal to acknowledge
the genocide for what it was: the deliberate mass killing of an
entire race of Christian people – 1,500,000 in all – by the country’s
Ottoman Turkish government in 1915. Winston Churchill was among the
first to call it a holocaust but to this day, the Turkish authorities
deny such a definition, ignoring documents which Turkey’s own
historians have unearthed to prove the government’s genocidal intent.

The 53-year-old journalist, who had two children, was murdered at the
door of his newspaper. Just over a year ago, he was convicted under
Turkey’s notorious law 301 of "anti-Turkishness", a charge he
strenuously denied even after he received a six-month suspended
sentence from an Istanbul court.

The EU has demanded that Turkey repeal the law under which the
country also tried to imprison Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan
Pamuk. At the time of his trial, Dink appeared on Turkish television
in tears. "I’m living together with Turks in this country," he said
then. "And I’m in complete solidarity with them. I don’t think I
could live with an identity of having insulted them in this country."

It is a stunning irony that Dink had accused his fellow Armenians in
an article of allowing their enmity towards the Turks for the
genocide to have a "poisoning effect on your blood" – and that the
court took the article out of context and claimed he was referring to
Turkish blood as poisonous.

Dink told news agency reporters in 2005 that his case had arisen from
a question on what he felt when, at primary school, he had to take a
traditional Turkish oath: "I am a Turk, I am honest, I am
hard-working." In his defence, Dink said: "I said that I was a
Turkish citizen but an Armenian and that even though I was honest and
hard-working, I was not a Turk, I was an Armenian." He did not like a
line in the Turkish national anthem that refers to "my heroic race".
He did not like singing that line, he said, "because I was against
using the word ‘race’, which leads to discrimination".

Pamuk had earlier faced a court for talking about the 1915 genocide
in a Swiss magazine. Leading Turkish publishers say that there is now
an incendiary atmosphere in Turkey towards all writers who want to
tell the truth about the genocide, when vast areas of Turkish Armenia
were dispossessed of their Christian populations. Tens of thousands
of men were massacred by Turkish gendarmerie – and by Kurds – while
many Armenian women and children were raped and butchered in the
northern Syrian deserts. The few survivors still alive have described
the burning of living Armenian children on bonfires.

In fact, a book published in Turkey and in the United States by
Turkish scholar Tamer Akcam gives documentary details of the orders
passed down from the Ottoman government in what was then
Constantinople for the deliberate and industrialised killing of the
Armenians. Thousands were also suffocated in underground caves in
what were the world’s first gas chambers. Adolf Hitler asked his
generals in 1939: "Who remembers the Armenians?" And he went on to
begin the Holocaust of the Jews of Poland. Whether the police
discover that Dink’s murderer is a Turkish nationalist – or even,
though it might seem inconceivable, an Armenian nationalist outraged
by his earlier remarks – will be an important proof of the country’s
willingness to confront its past.

Mediamax, Armenia
Jan 18 2007

`Euroset’ to open 30 shops by the end of the year in Armenia

Yerevan, January 18 /Mediamax/. `Euroset’ Company – one of the
largest retailers in Russia and the CIS states, today announced the
opening two shops in Yerevan.

As Mediamax was told in the press service of the `Euroset’, by the
end of the year there will be 30 shops of the net opened in Armenia.

`We are happy to announce the opening of the `Euroset’ shops in
Armenia – the eleventh country, where our company functions. Now a
good choice of mobile phones, digital equipment with traditionally
low prices for the company will be available for our customers in
Armenia. As in all the other countries, we will offer the customers
in Armenia high standards of quality service’, the President of
`Euroset’ Eldar Razroev stated.

`The `Euronet’ has more that 5100 shops, located in Russia, Ukraine,
Belarus, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,
Kirgizia.

The `Euronet’ turnover in 2006 made $4,62bln.

The editor of the Armenian newspaper of Istanbul ‘Agos’ Hrant Dink is killed

19.01.2007 18:34

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – A prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist was shot to
death Friday, according to CNN Turk.

He is Hrant Dink, editor of the Armenian-Turkish language weekly Agos
magazine. He was shot dead in front of the Istanbul newspaper as he
was leaving.

Described as a "well-known commentator on Armenian affairs," Dink in
2005 had been "convicted to a six-month suspended sentence on charges
of ‘insult to the Turkish state,’ " according to Pen American Center
— the writers’ group that promotes free expression.

"This is just one of a number of cases brought out against him in
recent months in an apparent campaign of harassment against him.

"Some of the trial hearings have been marred by violent scenes inside
and outside the courtrooms, instigated by nationalist activists
calling for Dink to be punished," a profile on Pen’s Web site said.

Dink was one of the most prominent voices of Turkey’s shrinking
Armenian community.

A 53-year-old Turkish citizen of Armenian descent, had gone on trial
numerous times here for speaking out about the mass killings of
Armenians by Turks at the beginning of the 20th century. He had
received threats from nationalists, who viewed him as a traitor.

Dink was a public figure in Turkey, and as the editor of the bilingual
Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, one of its most prominent Armenian
voices.

In an earlier interview with The Associated Press, Dink had cried as
he talked about some of his fellow countrymen’s hatred for him, saying
he could not stay in a country where he was unwanted.

Private NTV television said police were searching for the suspected
murderer, believed to be a teenager wearing a white hat and a denim
jacket, but the identity and motivation of the shooter were unknown,
AP reported.

Dink’s body could be seen covered with a white sheet in front of the
newspaper’s entrance. NTV said four empty shell casings were found on
the ground and that he was killed by two bullets to the head.

Fehmi Koru, a columnist at the Yeni Safak newspaper, said the murder
was aimed at destabilizing Turkey.

"His loss is the loss of Turkey," Koru said.

ISRAEL DOESN’T HAVE OFFICIAL OPINION ON KARABAKH CONFLICT?

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.01.2007 18:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ With the absence of Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel
it’s incorrect to speak on delicate topics such as the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, Knesset member Josef Shagal said in Baku. In his words,
Israel doesn’t have official stance on the conflict, as Azerbaijan
did not express its position on the Palestine-Israel conflict and
did not support the military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"Once nobody could believe that Israel will withdraw troops from
Sector Gaza Strip. However, it became a reality as a consequence of
certain processes. I am sure, the same will happen with the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. The day will come when positive tendencies will
lead to resolution of the problem. I wish the conflict be settled
peacefully," Shagal said, reports Zerkalo Baku-based newspaper.

ALTERNATIVE VERSION OF SETTLEMENT OF NKR CONFLICT SENT TO MINSK GROUP

A1+
[04:00 pm] 17 January, 2007

Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group Yuri Merzlyakov and Matthew Bryza
have received a letter representing an alternative version of the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict. If the Armenian side refuses to
give territories to Azerbaijan, the co-chairs will consider the offers
of the letter, the authors of the alternative version are convinced.

The alternative version has been processed within the framework
of the Dortmund conference which took place in Moscow on December
8-10, 2006. Members of the working group Aram Sargsyan, Vagharshak
Haroutyunyan and Hayk Baboukhanyan mentioned that all the three sides
(Armenia, Karabakh, and Azerbaijan) agree with the document. According
to the information of the members of the working group, the OSCE Minsk
group co-chairs will discuss the letter during their January meeting.

According to the alternative version, the approach "security in return
for territories" is rejected. The sides must refrain from preaching
hostility and must exchange all the documents concerning the refugees
so that they can get their pension and necessary compensations. The
version offers to create conditions for the citizens of both
countries to be able to cross the border and visit the graves of
their relatives. It also offers to create "independent villages"
in the territory near Karabakh where former and present residents of
Karabakh can meet and engage in commerce.

According to the participants of the Dortmund conference, the document
aims at raising public awareness and participation in the negotiation
process. "Peace is won by nations", said Aram Sargsyan. Vagharshak
Haroutyunyan reminded that one of the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs,
Kerry Cavano said that the Presidents of the two countries are ready
to settle the conflict, whereas the nations are yet not.

According to Haroutyunyan, this testifies to the fact that the
secretiveness of the negotiations will not have good results.

As for the announcement of the Azeri President that Karabakh will never
be independent, according to Aram Sargsyan, official Yerevan ought
to have given a stricter answer. "Armenia must refuse to participate
in the negotiations unless Azerbaijan revises its harsh approach. If
Karabakh is not given independence, that what are we discussing? ". The
participants of the Dortmund conference underline that compromise
must be mutual: if Armenia gives territories to Azerbaijan, we must
have the right to demand equal territories.

FATE OF ARMENIA TO BE DECIDED ON JANUARY 23

A1+
[03:25 pm] 18 January, 2007

The PACE winter sitting scheduled on January 22 – 26, 2007, will be
of great importance for Armenia. As they say it is time "to count the
chickens". On January 23, a report will be made on the commitments
of Armenia.

Tigran Torosyan, head of the Armenian delegation in the PACE,
has already made an announcement underlining the fact that the
resolution is unprecedented for Armenia and it has positive provisions;
"Great importance is attached to the constitutional amendments which,
according to the draft resolution, has allowed to have a constitution
in Armenia meeting all the European criteria".

There are other positive steps as well, among them the elimination
of administrative custody, the right of citizens to apply to the
Constitutional Court. At the same time, the 2007 elections are
highlighted.

Mr. Torosyan has noticed only the positive sides of the resolution
whereas Azeri agency APA assures that Armenian has not carried out
most of the commitments and the country will soon encounter serious
problems.

The reporters say, "The most disappointing is the fact that since
2001, when Armenia integrated into CoE, none of the election held in
the country have been free, fair and transparent". The PACE reporters
focused on the activities of the RA Police Forces, National Security
Service, Tax and Customs departments, as well as corruption, which
has become a deeply-rooted phenomenon in Armenia. In the end they
voiced hope that the 2007 elections will greatly differ from the
previous ones with the high level of freedom and justice.

NUMBER OF ILLEGAL MIGRANTS IN UKRAINE IN 2006 INCREASED BY 44%

ForUm, Ukraine
Jan 16 2007

Illegal migrants, established in Ukraine prevail in number in 2006
by 44% over ones, detained in 2005. According to data of the State
Frontier Service, as many as 26,000 illegal migrant were registered
in Ukraine in 2006.

It has been well publicized that migration to Western Europe has
increased significantly over the past 15 years, with Western Europe
receiving 42 percent of migrants from Central and Eastern Europe,
as well as growing numbers of migrants from the former Soviet Union.

What is less known is that on a global level, Germany and France are
the only Western European nations in the top-ten migrant-receiving
countries. Russia is number two after the USA, and Ukraine, Kazakhstan,
and Poland are also in the top ten.

Russia attracts migrants from the rest of the former Soviet Union,
Ukraine and Poland both serve as transit points for migrants on their
way to Western Europe.

2006 saw detention of 9,500 Moldavians, 2,600 Uzbeks, 2,300 Armenians,
2,100 Azeris, 1, 250 Tajikis, 1,230 Georgians and 1,100 Russians.

According to the World Bank report, Ukraine holds the fourth place
in top 10 migrants-receiving countries worldwide.

Ukrainian frontier guards detained as many as 741 Indians, 726 Chinese,
712 Turkish, 522 Pakistanis, 475 Kirgistanians, 365 Kazakhs, 262
citizens of Bangladesh, 195 citizens of Vietnam and 186 Palestinians.

NEW STATISTICS ON PLACES TO PRAY IN TURKEY

Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 11 2007

According to newly released statistics from the Turkish Police
Headquarters, Turkey is rich in places for prayer. While there are
currently 77,777 mosques throughout the country, there are 373 official
houses of worship for non-Muslims living in Turkey as of the end of
2006. This number was lower, at 273, in 2005. Though counted by the
government as "cultural centers" rather than houses of worships,
the "cemevis" used by the non-Sunni Alevi portion of the Turkish
population were counted at 900.

Most of the 321 churches in Turkey today are Greek Orthodox. Of the 90
active churches, 1 is on the island of Bozcaada, 8 are in Gokceada,
6 are in Hatay, and 75 are in Istanbul. With the Greek population
estimated at under 2,000 currently in Turkey, this means that there
is one church for every 20 Greek-Turks. For the Armenian-Turkish
population, there are fewer churches, despite the fact that there
are more of this group; an estimated 45,000 Armenians make their
permanent home in Turkey. With 55 working churches, the Armenians’
houses of worship are mostly in Istanbul too, though there are 7
Armenian churches in Hatay, and one each in Mardin, Diyarbakir, and
Kayseri. Other churches spread throughout Turkey include 60 Suryani
Orthodox churches, Bulgarian Orthodox churches, Georgian Catholic,
Arab Orthodox, and other Christian churches, including 52 Protestant
churches which have been at the center of controversy due to missionary
activity.

In terms of Judaism, there are 36 active synagogues in Turkey today,
found in Istanbul, Adana, Ankara, Izmir, Canakkale, Hatay, Bursa,
and Kirklareli. There are an additional 3 which are registerd but
not active.

"VTB-ARMENIA BANK" STARTED CLOSING THE UNPROFITABLE BRANCHES

Mediamax, Armenia
Jan 11 2007

Yerevan, January 11 /Mediamax/. According to the decision of the
Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia Tigran Sarkisian, cessation
of activities of the "VTB-Armenia Bank" branch is registered, which
was functioning in Yerevan, located in II Nork, Gai 23/24, Mediamax
was told in the CB press service.

"VTB-Armenia Bank" refused to tell Mediamax’s reporter the reason
for the decision to close the branch.

Mediamax recalls that in November 2006 the Vice President of the
Russian VTB Bank Vasili Titov stated that "the Armenian authorities
strictly oppose" to our striving for closing the unprofitable branches
of the "VTB-Armenia Bank"".

"In Armenia we bought a large bank with a net of 100 branches, some
of them are very unprofitable, and one must just liquidate them.

However, the local authorities very much oppose to that. In many of
Armenian villages out branches are almost the only ones, making the
banking services available for the population. Thus, we cannot push
our way through, we should take into account not only our interests,
but also the opinion of the authorities", the Vice President of VTB
said in an interview to the Ukrainian "Contracts" newspaper.

Mediamax reminds that the President of the "Mika Limited" Company
Mikhail Baghdasarov, who still owns the 30% share of "VTB-Armenia
Bank", stated on November 7 that the reason for his decision to sell
the shares was the discord with the policy of the "VTB-Armenia Bank"
leadership. In particular, Baghdasarov noted then, the leadership
of the bank intends to close 40 branches in the regions of Armenia,
which is unacceptable for him.