Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

THE PROBLEMS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC MONITORING, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTREPRENEURSHIP DISCUSSED

National Assembly of RA, Armenia
Sept 27 2005

On September 26, NA Speaker Artur Baghdasaryan received Consuelo Vidal,
UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia.

During the meeting the issues of deepening the cooperation of NA and
UN were discussed in the atmosphere of mutual understanding. Both
sides expressed readiness for the fulfillment of joint programs.

NA Speaker Artur Baghdasaryan highlighted the fulfillment of the
regional programs in Armenia with the emphasis of the development
of the marzes, the organization of the consultative assistance for
the development of the small and medium entrepreneurship and the
fulfillment of the aid projects to the poor families. During the
meeting an agreement was reached to continue the dialog on the public
monitoring and fulfillment of the corruption fighting projects. The
peoples’ awareness about their rights and the organization of the
consultative service, as well as the UN assistance to the electoral
processes: in training the electoral committee members, proxies and
local observers were highlighted.

During the meeting other issues were also discussed.

ARMENIAN CONFERENCE AT ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY IN MARCH 2006

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Sept 26 2005

ISTANBUL – An “Armenian Conference” will take place at the Istanbul
University in March 2006, said university sources today.

In a press release, the IU Rector’s office said that Istanbul
University will hold a conference on the Armenian problem by wide
international participation and on basis of international criteria.

“The participants, including lawyers, scholars and politicians, of
countries who have adopted resolutions accepting and remembering the
so-called Armenian genocide will be invited.

The Istanbul University will study the matter based on its historical
mission and with an objective look. The Armenian problem will not
only be handled from an historical perspective but also from a legal,
political and sociological perspectives.

“The participants will handle the topic from various angles possible
scientifically,” said the IU press release.

JUSTICE MINISTER ATTENDS ARMENIAN EMBASSY RECEPTION

WAM – Emirates News Agency, United Arab Emirates
Sept 25 2005

Abu Dhabi, 25 Sept. 05 (WAM) – Mohammed bin Nakhira Al Dhahiri,
Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Awqaf attended here today a
reception hosted by Arshak Poladian, Armenian Ambassador, to celebrate
his country’s national day anniversary.

The reception was also attended by Abdullah Al Masoud, Speaker of
the National Consultative Council, Obeid Salim Al Zaabi, Director of
Protocol at the Foreign Ministry and heads of the Arab and foreign
missions accredited in the UAE.

;pagename=WAM%2FWamLocEnews%2FW-T-LEN-FullNews&c=WamLocEnews&cid=1126589546736&p=1041248621847

STADIUM THREAT
by John Todd

Warsaw Business Journal, Poland
Sept 26 2005

>>From Warsaw Business Journal

Law and Justice (PiS) has Warsaw’s world-famous stadium bazaar in
its sights.

Will the Russian market be closed down?

The traders at the stadium market – described by organizers as the
biggest in Europe – are under threat from the conservative Law and
Justice (PiS) party set to form a coalition government after last
weekend’s election.

“The stadium is known for unsanitary conditions, crime, a lack of any
standards. If we want to be a modern capital city, it can’t go on,”
says Jan O³dakowski of Law and Justice.

Traders from around the world hawk everything from sofa sets to
pirated DVDs and icons to baby ferrets at the defunct football stadium
in Praga.

Warsaw’s mayor Lech Kaczyñski, a fellow PiS member and the party’s
candidate in next month’s presidential election, wants the central
government to shut down the illegal traders, move the legal ones to
a new site and rebuild the stadium.

It’s estimated that 4,500 merchants ply their trade, compared to the
estimated 4,000 at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. Music, film and software
groups say the stadium accounts for 25 to 30 percent of all pirated
material – excluding internet piracy – sold in the country.

Once known as the Russian Market, dominated by traders from the former
Soviet Union selling souvenirs such as nesting dolls and Lenin pins,
today the stadium is a global village.

A Polish woman, who gave her name as Ma³gorzata and who paid her
way through four years of university by selling pirated DVDs, said
the Armenians, Poles and Vietnamese who control the three main areas
don’t stray onto each other’s turf.

Dominic Kinoulty of market-research firm Kinoulty Research says people
who do their daily shopping in expensive malls still visit the stadium
for black-market bargains.

“The people buying clothes there are bazaar buyers because that’s
where you get the cheap stuff,” he said.

“The others are really saying ‘Why am I paying Microsoft … when
I can get 63 programs on a CD-ROM for five z³oty?’ It’s more an
anti-establishment thing than a lack of money.”

The traders aren’t the only foreigners at the stadium, listed in
guidebooks as a tourist attraction, says Janusz Grobicki of the Adam
Smith Center, an economic think-tank.

“I used to live nearby, and I would meet employees from Western
embassies and even the odd ambassador. I don’t think they were there
out of economic necessity.”

In a 2005 report on crime in Warsaw, the stadium was mentioned as a
reason for high crime rates in surrounding areas.

Bazaar operator Damis estimates the market’s annual turnover at
z³.1.5 billion.

After several previous attempts to shut the bazaar failed, Ma³gorzata
is skeptical about the new drive to close it down. “The stadium is an
embarrassment for Warsaw. But there’s just too much money involved –
they’ll never shut it down.”

–Boundary_(ID_xKZtmX7od3nRa+0yLZj3MA)–

ITV, Baku, in Azeri
23 Sep 05

AZERI ELECTION: PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES TRADE ACCUSATIONS OF
CORRUPTION

Aydin Quliyev, a parliamentary candidate from the opposition Azadliq
(Freedom) bloc, has accused the authorities of denying the opposition
access to TV channels.

In his election broadcast on Public TV on 23 September, Quliyev
blamed the Azerbaijani authorities for the lack of progress on the
Karabakh talks.

At the same time, Quliyev said Azerbaijan needs a “normal” parliament
to fight rampant corruption in the country. He urged people to
participate in the opposition rally scheduled for 25 September.

In turn, Sahlar Asgarov from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP)
said that Azerbaijan has become one of the world’s most powerful
states under President Ilham Aliyev. The Azerbaijani people should
say “no” to domestic and foreign enemies when they cast their votes
on 6 November, he said in his election broadcast on Public TV.

Asgarov stressed that Azerbaijan’s economy has grown significantly
under the NAP, pointing to projects worth billions of dollars like
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil export pipeline.

Meanwhile, Qaribbala Novruzov, a candidate from the opposition
Liberal Party of Azerbaijan, said in his election broadcast that
people are leaving the country’s southern districts to avoid poverty,
human rights violations, unemployment and the poor infrastructure.
The local authorities are indifferent to their problems, he said.

Touching on the problem of unemployment, Novruzov said that tourism
could help resolve it in the southern districts.

Yaqub Mammadov, former parliamentary speaker who is running for
parliament from the Yeni Siyasat (New Policy) election bloc, said
although Azerbaijan has seen some progress during its independence,
the country is still facing serious problems like poverty,
unemployment and corruption.

Mammadov said the most serious problem currently facing Azerbaijan is
that the Azerbaijani people is divided into several groups. The
country can cope with its manifold problems only when it is united,
he said.

In turn, non-partisan candidate Mikail Rahimov pointed to Nagornyy
Karabakh as Azerbaijan’s most serious problem. Azerbaijan should
develop a professional army to liberate its territories from Armenian
occupation, he said during his television appearance.

Another non-partisan candidate, Azar Amiraslanov, said he will push
for new and better laws required for Azerbaijan’s growing economy if
he is elected to the parliament.

At the same time, in his election broadcast, a candidate from the
ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Musa Musayev, accused opposition leaders
Isa Qambar and Ali Karimli of selling oil to Armenia in 1992-93. The
Azerbaijani people experienced hard times under their rule, he said.

New York Times
Sept 23 2005

Seminar on 1915 Massacre of Armenians to Go Ahead

ISTANBUL, Sept. 23 – After a Turkish court’s decision to cancel an
academic conference on the killing of hundreds of thousands of
Armenians during World War I, the conference’s organizers said Friday
that the event would go ahead at a new location on Saturday. The
organizers were encouraged by a wave of support from the European
Union and senior Turkish government officials.

A court on Thursday blocked Bogazici University in Istanbul from
holding the event, a debate and symposium on the killing of Armenians
by Ottoman forces in the eastern part of what is now Turkey. In its
ruling, the court called into question the credentials of the
scholars taking part.

It was the second time the courts blocked the conference at the
request of nationalist groups. The event was canceled in May as well,
and at that time Justice Minister Cemil Cicek condemned continued
attempts to hold the meeting as “treason” and a “stab in the back of
the Turkish nation.”

But the conference’s organizers said it would go ahead on Saturday,
after Bilgi University in Istanbul agreed to be the new host. One of
the leaders of the conference, Prof. Halil Berktay, said integrity of
scholars was “beyond the judiciary” to decide.

The conference is to be the first time in Turkey that the killings
have been publicly examined. More than 50 intellectuals, scholars and
writers are to analyze the massacres, which took place from 1915 to
1917 and have been recognized as genocide by several European
governments. Turkey has long maintained that the deaths were part of
a war in which an equal number of Turks died.

The court’s action on Thursday came as a blow to supporters of
Turkey’s application for membership in the European Union, who have
considered the conference as an opportunity to prove that the country
had the potential for greater democratization and freedom of speech.

Turkey’s chief negotiator with the European Union, Ali Babacan, said
the decision was part of an attempt by nationalists to sabotage
Turkey’s membership talks, which are to start on Oct. 3. The ruling
also was condemned by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

================================================
Friday 23 September 2005
ARMENIA: NEW WAVE OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESS SENTENCES BEGINS

Shaliko Sarkissian became the first Jehovah’s Witness who abandoned
alternative service because it remains under defence ministry control to
be punished. On 15 September a court in the capital Yerevan imprisoned him
for two and a half years for “desertion”. The trial of another, Garik
Bekjanyan, is imminent, while a further dozen await trial. An OSCE
official expressed alarm to Forum 18 at the “growing number” of Jehovah’s
Witness prisoners. The Council of Europe and the OSCE have condemned
Armenia’s failure to introduce a genuine civilian alternative to military
service. But Sedrak Sedrakyan of the Defence Ministry’s legal department
rejects all complaints, insisting that his ministry has “no control” over
the alternative service. He dismisses all concerns about the Jehovah’s
Witnesses. “We believe all this has been organised to make a show,” he
told Forum 18.

ARMENIA: NEW WAVE OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESS SENTENCES BEGINS

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service

All 22 Jehovah’s Witnesses who abandoned their alternative military
service because it remains under defence ministry control and does not
provide a genuine civilian alternative to military service now face severe
punishment. First to be punished was Shaliko Sarkissian, sentenced to two
and a half years’ imprisonment on 15 September by a court in the capital
Yerevan, Jehovah’s Witness sources told Forum 18 News Service on 20
September. Most of the others have already been arrested and are awaiting
trial. But Lieutenant Colonel Sedrak Sedrakyan, head of the Defence
Ministry’s legal department, dismissed concern about their fate. “We
believe all this has been organised to make a show,” he told Forum 18 from
Yerevan on 21 September. “We did all we could to allow them to serve their
alternative service quietly.” He denied categorically that the alternative
service is under military control, an assertion rejected by the Jehovah’s
Witnesses and the Yerevan office of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Sarkissian was one of two Jehovah’s Witnesses doing his alternative
service at Nork infectious diseases hospital and one of thirteen Jehovah’s
Witnesses to abandon their alternative service in August. He was found
guilty by Yerevan’s Nork-Marash District Court of violating Article 365(1)
of the Criminal Code, which punishes “desertion”.

“Shaliko Sarkissian was one of our people who had accepted alternative
service but left when he realised that alternative service came under the
control of the military,” Jehovah’s Witnesses told Forum 18. “These
conscientious objectors are prepared to perform genuine alternative
civilian service.”

An official of the OSCE in Yerevan expressed alarm at the “growing number”
of Jehovah’s Witness prisoners. “This is a worrying trend as their
imprisonment violates Armenia’s Council of Europe commitment,” the
official, who preferred not to be named, told Forum 18 from Yerevan on 20
September. “This certainly will not help Armenia’s international
reputation.”

On joining the Council of Europe in 2001, Armenia committed itself to
adopting a genuine civilian alternative to military service for those not
able to serve on grounds of conscience, but failed to meet this
commitment. “The recent steps taken by the Armenian government certainly
are alarming and show blatant disregard for their adopted obligations
before the Council of Europe,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses complain.

The alternative service law – which came into force on 1 July 2004, and
was amended by parliament on 22 November 2004 and again on 24 December
2004 – provides for “alternative military service” of 36 months and
“alternative labour service” of 42 months, both under the ultimate
oversight of the defence ministry, thus failing to meet its commitments.

The OSCE official expressed concern about the law. “We think the
alternative service law was not drafted and implemented in good faith. The
OSCE was involved in the drafting process but the Armenian authorities
disregarded our views.” The official said the law must ensure a genuine
civilian alternative to military service and must not be punitive in
length.

The Council of Europe agrees. “We believe there should be a clear civilian
alternative to military service in Armenia,” Krzysztof Zyman of its
directorate general for human rights told Forum 18 from Strasbourg on 20
September. He regretted that repeated requests to the Armenian government
and its representation at the Council of Europe for copies of the latest
amendments to the alternative service law have been ignored. “We are
urging the Armenian authorities to cooperate with the Council of Europe so
that the alternative service law meets European standards,” Zyman added.

Article 6 of the law states that issues related to alternative service are
dealt with by the military. Article 13 mentions that workers are assigned
by the Military Conscription Committee. Article 14 says that the
alternative service call-up is organised and supervised by the military.
Those doing alternative service are required to wear uniforms, are clothed
and fed by the armed forces, have identity cards reading “Armed Forces of
the Republic of Armenia”, are under military supervision and control and
subject to military punishment if they fail to meet their obligations.

However, Sedrakian of the defence ministry denies this. “Those doing
alternative service are under the control of the Social Care Ministry and
the Health Ministry,” he claimed to Forum 18. “The Defence Ministry has no
control over them and has nothing to do with them. Passports are routinely
taken off conscripts when they are called up and the same goes for those
doing alternative service. But their identity cards make no reference to
the armed forces. That is impossible.” He denied that those doing
alternative service are fed or clothed by the army, insisting that the
defence ministry receives no financial allocation for these purposes.

Sedrakian insisted that army officers have no right to give orders or
instructions of any sort to those doing alternative service. “In the first
few days as the system was being established there were contacts with the
Defence Ministry, but no control,” he maintained. “We simply checked where
they were housed to make sure everything was OK.”

He claimed that for the autumn call-up due shortly, each applicant for
alternative service will be considered by a commission. “Only one member
of this commission will be from the Ministry of Defence – the rest will be
officials of the government administration.”

The first Jehovah’s Witnesses to abandon the alternative service quit in
May (see F18News 17 May 2005
<;).

Of the other Jehovah’s Witnesses who abandoned their alternative service
in August, on 17 August the Republic Court of Appeal reversed the decision
of the Centre-Marash District Court to release Garik Bekjanyan and ruled to
arrest him. He faces charges under Article 361(1) of the Criminal Code and
his trial is expected imminently. On 17 August the Gegarkunik Region
Prosecutor’s Office charged Vagarshak Margaryan, Baris Melkumyan, Gagik
Davtyan and Artur Chilingarov under Article 361(5). They were arrested the
same day.

On 22 August, the Gegarkunik regional prosecutor’s office instituted
criminal cases against seven more, Tigran Abrahamyan, Garazat Azatyan,
Vahe Grigoryan, Hayk Khachatryan, Gegarin Melkonyan, Henrik Safaryan, and
Karlen Simonyan. All were charged under Article 361(4). Other regional
prosecutor’s offices have summoned other Jehovah’s Witnesses who had
refused to continue the alternative civilian service to which they were
assigned.

Meanwhile, other Jehovah’s Witnesses called up since the extent of
military control over the alternative service became clear continue to be
sentenced. In the town of Talin in western Armenia, Hakop Muradyan was
sentenced on 15 September to one and a half years’ imprisonment under
Article 327 of the Criminal Code, which punishes refusal to perform
military service. Muradyan, who was arrested on 2 August, does not intend
to appeal against the sentence.

Other such sentences earlier this year include two years’ imprisonment
handed down to Yenok Ivanyan on 1 July and a prison term of one and a half
years handed down to Hrachya Sarkissian on 16 August. Both were sentenced
under Article 327.

A printer-friendly map of Armenia is available at
<;Rootmap=armeni>
(END)

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News

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TURKISH COURT BLOCKS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CONFERENCE

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
September 22, 2005, Thursday
16:59:05 Central European Time

Ankara

A Turkish court has banned an academic conference on the massacres
of Armenians in 1915 by Ottoman Turks, planned for this week, CNN
Turk reported Thursday

The Istanbul 4th Administrative Court ordered the ban on Monday
after a group from the Lawyers Union Foundation applied to have the
conference cancelled. Bogazici University, where the conference was
due to start on Friday, received news of the order on Thursday.

The circumstances surrounding the 1915 massacres of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians continue to arouse controversy in Turkey today,
with the official line being that while many died the incidents cannot
be regarded as a genocide.

More than a dozen European countries have passed resolutions
specifically stating that the events of 1915 did constitute a genocide
and that Turkey should accept this and make appropriate apologies.

The conference was to include a number of Turkish historians who
are critical of the official stance. It was originally to have taken
place on May 25 but organizers decided to postpone it after Justice
Minister Cemil Cicek described the gathering as a “stab in the back”.

Cicek’s comments came despite assurances from Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey has completely opened its archives and is
prepared to allow historians discuss the issue.

Erdogan said Thursday he regretted the court’s decision saying it
did not comply with democratic rights.

The court decision comes two weeks after prosecutors filed charges
against Turkey’s internationally famous author Orhan Pamuk for
“denigrating the country” when he told a Swiss news magazine that
“a million Armenians were killed”. Pamuk faces up to three years
imprisonment if found guilty.

The latest court decision is sure to embarass the government as it
attempts to convince European countries to give the go ahead for E.U.

membership talks to begin on October 3. dpa cw sr

IranMania, Iran
Sept 21 2005

Andimeshk’s Armenian Church in limbo

Wednesday, September 21, 2005 – ©2005 IranMania.com

LONDON, September 21 (IranMania) – Despite the lapse of one year
since an Armenian church in Andimeshk, Khuzestan province, was handed
over to the Cultural Heritage Department for being transformed into a
museum, no construction work has yet taken place at the site,
according to Iran Daily.

The Persian daily ?Iran? reported that Iran?s Cultural Heritage and
Tourism Organization (ICHTO) had earlier announced plans to turn the
Armenian Church into a museum and correspondence was exchanged with
the Southern Armenian Archdiocese which had accepted the plan.

Deputy head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department in
Khuzestan, Shojaei said that the Armenian Archdiocese has urged the
ICHTO to repair the church, but, this was not possible due to a
shortage of funds.

He said that the cooperation of Armenian Archdiocese to cede the
church for use as a public museum is praiseworthy adding that it
would be useful for Khuzestan province.

The official pointed out that Khuzestan is ancient and every city in
the province deserves to have its own museum.

Khuzestan province is an archeology paradise, he said citing ancient
cities of Shoush, Abadan, Haft Tapeh and Behbahan which are renowned
for several hundred monuments and cultural sites.

He said that ICHTO has also drawn up plans to build museums in
Shoushtar, Dezful, Masjed Soleiman, Izeh and Abadan which will
materialize in the near future.

He said that a sum of seven bln rials has been earmarked for building
museums in different cities of Khuzestan province.

TEHRAN’S AMBASSADOR TO IRELAND ARRESTED IN IRAN

Reuters
09/21/05 11:53 ET

TEHRAN, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Tehran’s ambassador to Ireland has been
arrested in Iran on charges of financial mismanagement, Iranian
judicial and foreign ministry sources said on Wednesday.

Judiciary Minister Jamal Karimirad told reporters on Monday an Iranian
envoy had been arrested and was in jail after failing to meet bail.

Foreign Ministry sources on Wednesday named the man as Hamid Reza
Nikkar, ambassador to Ireland. There was no indication of how Nikkar
pleaded.

“One of our ambassadors has been arrested for financial mismanagement,”
Karimirad said on Monday. “Ten percent of a 16-million euro ($19.5
million) deal has been mismanaged,” he added.

It was unclear whether the charge, which one source said involved a
construction project, related to a crime committed in Iran or abroad.

Nikkar took up his posting in Dublin in June and foreign ministry
sources said the charges were likely to relate to an alleged offence
before his arrival in Ireland.

Press reports at the time of Nikkar’s appointment said he had served
as ambassador to Armenia and mayor of the central city of Isfahan
before taking up his Dublin post.

The Irish ambassador in Tehran declined to comment on the case.

(Additional reporting by Paul Hoskins in Dublin)