Author: Toneyan Mark

IN STEPAN ZAKARIAN’S WORDS, ARMENIA LOSES CONSIDERABLE PART OF ITS INDEPENDENCE AS A RESULT OF OCTOBER 27 TERRORISM

Noyan Tapan
Oct 30 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia lost the considerable
part of its independence as a result of the October 27, 1999,
terrorism. Stepan Zakarian, a member of the "Ardaroutiun" (Justice)
faction of the RA National Assembly made such a statement at the
October 27 briefing. In his words, politicians who became victims of
the terrorism classified dignity of the state very highly and were
independent people. In S.Zakarian’s opinion, the foreign policy
of Armenia would be much clearer if politicians implementing it
were also independent. And loss of that independence is seen even
relating to the Russian-Georgian cases, when, in the deputy’s words,
"patriotic Armenians are arrested as a result of back-stage agreements
and to play up to another state." He mentioned that during the Soviet
years Karen Demirchian managed to act in the way that Armenia was much
more prosperous than neighbouring republics were. "And today Armenia’s
property is given to strategic ally Russia without any compensation,"
S.Zakarian mentioned. In his words, K.Demirchian proved in 1988
that the people’s fate is more valuable for him than his post. In
S.Zakarian’s words, if he clung to the chair, the one that happened
in Czechoslovakia and Hungary, would take place in Armenia as well.

CONFERENCE ON HISTORY OF YEREVAN TO BE HELD IN ARMENIA’S CAPITAL

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 30 2006

YEREVAN, October 30. /ARKA/. A scientific conference on the history of
Yerevan is to be held in Armenia’s capital on October 31-November 2,
2006. The press service of Yerevan Municipality reports that reports
are to be made by the workers of the Museum of Yerevan’s History, of
the Institute of History, Institute of Archeology and Ethnography,
RA Academy of Sciences, lecturers of the Department of History,
Yerevan State University.

About 30 reports will deals with the ancient and modern history of
Yerevan, the capital’s historical places, manners and customs of the
city and latest developments.

The Museum of History of Yerevan will mark its 75th anniversary in
2006. The Museum is currently located at the Yerevan Municipality. A
collection of articles entitled "Yerevan" has been published this
year.

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Oct 26 2006

RA GENERAL PROSECUTOR AND U.S. FBI ATTACHE DISCUSS ISSUES OF
COOPERATION BETWEEN LAWFUL BODIES OF ARMENIA AND USA

YEREVAN, October 26. /ARKA/. General Prosecutor of Armenia Aghvan
Hovsepyan and the U.S. FBI Attache Mark Kirby discussed issues of
cooperation between the lawful bodies of Armenia and the USA.
On Thursday Press-Secretary of the RA General Prosecutor’s Office
Sona Truzyan informed ARKA News Agency that during the meeting Kirby
had expressed gratitude to Hovsepyan for the rendered assistance in
disclosing crimes.
Kirby handed in to Hovsepyan an official letter of the FBI Director
Robert Muller, in which FBI expresses gratefulness to the RA General
Prosecutor’s Office for its special assistance to the U.S. Embassy in
Armenia and FBI Legal Affairs Office.
The letter says that we have to follow the spirit of cooperation,
demonstrated in the course of the preliminary investigation of the
criminal case of Arthur Khanzadyan. It also says that the fact that
the national security service revealed the place where Khanzadyan
hided and arrested himà, as well as the investigation pursued by the
Armenian collaborators in a short period of time, shows that
criminals can evade the justice neither in USA nor in Armenia.
In that connection Kirby read gratifying diplomas of Muller for the
effective support rendered by the Armenian officers in investigation
of the criminal case of Arthur Khanzadyan. The diplomas are addressed
to the Heads of the International Legal Affairs Department of the RA
State General Prosecutor’s Office Nelli Harutyunyan, as well as to
other two representatives of the Office Bagrat Petrosyan and Gevorg
Yeremyan.
On August 25, 2006, a citizen of Armenia Arthur Khanzadyan was
sentenced by an Armenian court to 10-year imprisonment for murdering
his girlfriend – citizen of USA of Armenian origin, in USA in
September 2005.
In 2006, he was found in Armenia and arrested by officers of the
National Security Service. S.P. –0–

BÝA, Turkey
Oct 27 2006

World Independent Media in Istanbul
Academics, journalists and students aspiring for an independent media
are coming together in Istanbul on Nov. 4-5. Participants including
Ramonet, Castellanos, Tageszeitung’s Mika and TeleSUR’s Aharonian are
to discuss the possibilities of "another media"

BIA News Center
27/10/2006 Tolga KORKUT

BÝA (Istanbul) – Academics, activists and students producing
democratic and independent communication alternatives in the world
and in Turkey are coming together in Istanbul on November 4-5 saying
"another communication is possible".

The Istanbul International Independent Media Forum will bring
together the experiences of various media organizations and
individuals from around the world, some of them "an adventure on
their own" such as Acik Radio, World Association of Community
Broadcasters (AMARC), bianet, Birgun, Deepdish TV, El Cezire,
Evrensel, Il Manifesto, Inter Press Service, OurMedia, Tageszeitung,
TeleSur, Evrensel, Express, Ulkede Ozgur Gundem, Ozgur Radio ve KAOS
GL.

IPS Communication Foundation Secretary General and BIA2 Coordinator
Ertugrul Kurkcu sums up the Forum effort saying:

"Humanity is so lucky that it is not confined to only a single
alternative in communication. Bringing together small efforts and
means, opening windows and doors to people to exchange and make sense
out of their experiences, the independent media will show how another
communication is possible".

Approximately 200 participants that are working for another media
will come together at the Dolapdere campus of the Istanbul Bilgi
University where, following the two-day Forum, one or more manifests
are expected to be prepared and issued.

These text(s), that are expected to be a resource for future work of
similar nature, are then to be approved at the closing forum on
November 5.

The organizers committee proposes two manifests before the Forum:

* An appeal for action and monitoring for the Mass Media

* An appeal for action and monitoring for Another Media

The Forum is to be launched by speeches delivered by Le Monde
Diplomatique newspaper editor-in-chief Ignacio Ramonet’nin and IPS
General Director Mario Lubetkin’in .

The first day sees two panels taking place in the Forum: "New Global
Mainstream Media Environment Limits and Challenges" and "Independent
Media Environment and Prospects for non-Mainstream".

The panel on the second day, meanwhile, focuses on communication
education: "Education for Communication: Critical or Mainstream?".

The forum is organized under the framework of the "Establishing a
Countrywide Network for Monitoring and Covering for Media Freedom and
Independent Journalism-BÝA²" project jointly by the IPS Communication
Foundation and the Inter Press Service .

Meeting for an open, democratic, transparent and accessible media

The International Independent Media Forum which is open to everyone
has set the following goals:

· Bring together activists, specialists, workers and analysts from
across the globe, who strives for "another media".

· Share experiences in bringing out independent media and analyze
significant practices.

· Help develop more open, democratic, transparent and accessible
media environments.

· Provide and contribute in cooperation among global, regional and
local alternative media networks.

· Encourage individuals and institutions to support independent media
initiatives

· Increase the quality and quantity of independent media practices in
Turkey

Toplumsal Cinsiyet, Baris ve Bagimsiz Medya

Two important group discussions will take part on the second day of
the forum.

"Social Gender and Independent Media" moderated by journalist and
writer Ipek Calislar is to bring together women rights activist and
journalist Angella Castellanos from Colombia, bianet’s Nadire Mater,
Kaos GL’s Ugur Yuksel, Media Monitoring Group’s Dr. Hulya Ugur
Tanriover, Pazartesi magazine’s Beyhan Demir and Ucan Supurge’s Oya
Ozden Saner.

Later, the "Independent Media for Peace" discussion moderated by
Birgun newspaper editor-in-chief Murat Celikkkan is to bring together
Alexander Iskendaryan from the Armenian Caucasus Media Institute,
Acik Radio’s Avi Haligua, bianet’s Erol Onderoglu, Yucel Gokturk,
Merve Erol, Erdir Zat and Siren Idemen from Express, Cyprus Turkish
Union of Press Workers’ Huseyin Yalyali, Georgia Social Researches
Center’s Marina Muskhelishvili, Azerbaijan Zerkalo newspaper’s Murad
Huseynov, Agos’s Nuran Agan, Israel Peace Journalism Center’s Prof.
Dr. Dov Sinar, Rustem Batum, Sevgul Uludag and Cyprus East
Mediterranean University’s Tony Angastiniotis.

Kurkcu refers to the subjects of focus of these two discussions as
"two new fields of news reporting both for Turkey and the world". He
adds, "Debates on reporting for peace and social gender will give us
the opportunity to take into consideration the possibilities and
successes of a media that operates outside of the language, shape and
context that has the lasting marks of male domination, sexism,
racism, nationalism and homophobia".

Local, independent media and civic journalism in Turkey

One of the important events on November 5 is the "Civic, Local and
Alternative Media in Turkey" forum which will bring together
academics and local journalists.

Moderated by journalist Ragip Duran, the forum will start with Dr.
Sevda Alankus’s question "Do the local media and civic media give
opportunities for a pluralism and independence?"

While Dr. Incilay Cangoz discussed local and independent media in the
context of "civic journalism" Coskun Efendioglu from the Milas Onder
newspaper will raise questions on how the media could be local and
independent.

Manavgat Venus Radio’s Dogan Sonmez will look at the issue
approaching journalists as the "human capitals of independence" while
Diyarbakir Gun TV’s Cemal Dogan will share his experiences on news
reporting and broadcasting in a mother-tongue. Mehmet Can Toprak from
the Mersin Radio Ses and Izmir Demokrat Radio’s Nadiye Gurbuz will
explain "local radio broadcasting in metropolitan cities".

"For another communication: Welcome"
Kurkcu ve IPS Communication Foundation Chairwoman Nadire Mater, say
in their invitation to the forum:

"Yes, we had started to shape the dream of the Forum as one that
would bring ‘Another communication is possible’ to daylight. As
Beirut’s Umayma El-Halil and Hani Siblini to Istanbul’s Sema,
skipping from one language to another, give a us a world tour with
their songs, two groups will prepare reports of the forum.

We have two appeals: Appeal for Action and Monitoring of Mass Media /
Appeak for Action and Monitoring of Another Media.

So this is it: A truly enjoyable weekend of questions, answers,
debate, shared experiences. We are waiting; come, let us fume
together, let us rejoice in hope… Our energy and our stubbornness
always say the same thing to us: Another communication is possible.

In that case, on the days of November 4-5, we are meeting at the
Bilgi University Dolapdere campus for the International Independent
Media Forum.

Welcome!" (TK/II/YE)

PRESS RELEASE
American University of Armenia
300 lakeside Drive, 5th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Tel: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576
Web: <;
Contact: Gaiane Khatchatrian
Email: [email protected]

The American University of Armenia (AUA) is a privately endowed independent
American institution of higher education in the Republic of Armenia.
Located in the Capital, Yerevan, AUA currently offers graduate instruction
leading to the Master’s degree in eight fields of study: Business
Administration, Industrial Engineering and Systems Management, Computer and
Information Science, Political Science, Public Health, Law, Comparative
Legal Studies, and Teaching of English as a Foreign Language.

The College of Health Sciences was established in 1994 and has awarded over
100 MPH degrees. The Center for Health Services Research and Development is
actively engaged in an increasingly expansive portfolio of projects in
Armenia and the region. The College is an active member of the Association
of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER).

AUA is currently seeking qualified candidates for the position of Dean of
College of Health Sciences, who will be responsible to provide academic
leadership in all aspects of the College, including strategic planning,
curriculum, program growth and development, hiring and evaluation of
faculty, spurring regional and international recruitment of MPH students,
fiscal management, outcome assessment, and fund raising.

The successful candidate will possess an appropriate terminal degree and a
distinguished record of teaching; experience in generating and supporting
development of external funding from a variety of sources; familiarity with
current education policy issues and quality assurance practices; proven
competence in strategic planning, fund-raising, and resource management.

Previous experience in performing academic duties in an international
setting is preferred. Clinical training is an asset. Recently retired or
faculty in transition are encouraged to apply.

Nominations and Applications, including a Curriculum Vita, letter of
application and three references should be sent to:

American University of Armenia Corporation, 300 Lakeside Drive, 5th Floor,
Oakland, California, 94612. ATT: Gaiane Khachatrian, Recruitment
Coordinator; [email protected]; Fax: (510) 208-3576.

The position is available as of January 2007. Review of applicants begins
immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

AUA is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer.

Lragir, Armenia
Oct 27 2006

UN WORLD FOOD PROGRAM COULD NOT OBTAIN CLEARANCE FOR SUGAR

Monopolies in Armenia affect not only the country’s economy but also
the work of the international organizations in Armenia. The Lragir
has learned that the UN WFP, which implements a food-for-work project
in Armenia, imported sugar to Armenia. The customs office denied
customs clearance saying that they need the permission of the
government first. The UN WFP representatives turned to the prime
minister, who promised to solve this problem but only after the
consignment of sugar imported to Armenia for sale is sold. And sugar
is imported to Armenia by the businessman member of parliament Samvel
Alexanyan. The UN informed the prime minister that the government of
the country has to pay a fine for the food they import that remains
at the customs office. We have learned that the prime minister said
there is no problem, and the government will pay the fine, which
totals several hundreds of thousand dollars.

The Independent (London)
October 26, 2006 Thursday
First Edition

FERNANDO GASPARIAN; Publisher and industrialist

by Hugh O’Shaughnessy

The industrialist Fernando Gasparian was a defender of democracy and
the most distinguished publisher Brazil produced in the late 20th
century.

He was born in 1930 to parents of Armenian extraction and to the
considerable prosperity the family textile business ensured. After
studying engineering, he and his friends Rubens Paiva (who became a
federal deputy and was later assassinated by the military), Almino
Afonso and Marcos Pereira took over the periodical Jornal de Debates
in 1953. It pursued a Brazil-centred line opposing much foreign
investment and the privatisation of the state oil company Petrobras.

Early in 1964 Gasparian bought America Textil, a substantial Rio de
Janeiro textile company, which had got into difficulties and was
being supported by the Banco do Brasil. After the US-supported
military putsch against the civilian government of President João
Goulart later that year, he was a target for the new dictatorship as
a founder of the opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement, the MDB.
The military cut off bank funding for his company. After the
dictatorship lurched further to the right in 1969 Gasparian found it
politic to leave Brazil, for exile, eventually finding a teaching
post at St Antony’s College, Oxford.

He returned to Brazil in 1972 to found Opinião, a hard-hitting
magazine which upset the dictatorship, also acquiring
thepublishinghousePazeTerra.Overthe years this became a powerhouse of
political and social thought and liberation theology. Alceu Amoroso
Lima, Celso Furtado, Helio Jaguaribe, Fernando Henrique Cardoso,
Octavio Paz, Torcuato di Tella, Alain Touraine, Brian Van Arkadie,
Dudley Seers and Paulo Freire were among the imprint’s authors.

Gasparian returned to Oxford for a few months in 1973 before going
home tolaunchthemonthly CadernosdeOpinião. Its second number enraged
the military by carrying the text of a lecture by Hélder Cmara, the
irrepressible archbishop of Olinda and Recife. Gasparian was charged
with offences against "national security" by a regime which was
obsessed by that slippery concept. In the event he was acquitted.
Unabashed, the dictatorship had a bomb placed in his editorial
offices in 1976.

When dictatorship gave way to constitutional government Gasparian
devot-edmoretimetopolitics,in1985becomin g treasurer for the campaign
of his friend Fernando Henrique Cardoso forthemayoralty of São Paulo.
In 1986 he was elected to the constituent assembly framing a new
constitution, on which he served until 1988. There he pushed for a
limit of 12 per cent on bank lending rates, financial support for
agrarian reform, limitationson foreign investment in mining and a ban
on capital punishment.

>From 1993 to 1995 he was active in the Latin American Parliament. He
was increasingly at odds with Cardoso after the
latterwonthepresidencyandin1995publicly criticised what he saw as
Cardoso’s excessive reliance on foreign banks attracted to Brazil by
high interest rates.

Talking to Fernando Gasparian last month, I found him as eager for
new projects and ideas as when I first met him in 1970. With his
death, comments Bernardo Kucinski, "it can be said that a generation
of patriotic businessmen committed to a scheme of national
development has become extinct".

Fernando Gasparian, industrialist and publisher: born São Paulo,
Brazil 27 January 1930; married (three sons, one daughter); died São
Paulo 7 October 2006.

FIRST RIVAL OF BELOW 19 FOOTBALL TEAM OF ARMENIA IS AZERBAIJANI TEAM

Noyan Tapan
Oct 26 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The 7th group tournament of the
qualification stage of the regular Europe championship of below 19
years old foootball players will start in the city of Larnaca, Cyprus,
on October 27. Rivals of the team of Armenia are the representatives
of Hungary, Cyprus and Azerbaijan.

The coach of the Armenian team is Armen Gyuboudaghiants. The Hungarians
will compete on October 27 with the representatives of Cyprus, and
the Armenian football players will compete with the Azerbaijani
representatives. The next games are scheduled for October 29 and
November 1.

ARMENIAN ELECTIONS TO BE IN CENTER OF ATTENTION OF EUROPE, NEWLY APPOINTED AMBASSADOR OF SWEDEN TO RA SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 26 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia’s involvement in the
European Union New Neighbourhood program and the Actions Plan to be
signed in November to open new prospects of development for Armenia,
helping deepening of democracy, economic progress. Hans Gunnar Aden,
the newly appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Armenia
stated about it at the October 25 meeting with RA National Assembly
Speaker Tigran Torosian. Touching upon the coming state elections in
Armenia, the Ambassador mentioned that both elections themselves and
pre-electoral period will be in the center of attention of Europe, and
it is expected that Armenia will display political will to guarantee
elections corresponding to the democratic standards. Attaching
importance to success of the Eurointegration policy fostered by
Armenia, T.Torosian informed the Ambassador about the discussions of
the Electoral Code being held at the Parliament. He mentioned that
while editing the draft amendments to the Electoral Code, the National
Assembly closely cooperates with the CE and OSCE experts, and there
are all bases for adoption of the Electoral Code, for creating in this
way good legislative bases for holding elections. As Noyan Tapan was
informed by the RA NA Public Relations Department, the observers’
participation in the elections and objectivity and impartiality of
their estimations were bilaterally attached importance.

CO-CHAIRS ADOPTED COMMUNIQUE ON RESULTS OF AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEETING

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan –
Oct 25 2006

A communique was adopted on the results of Azerbaijani and Armenian
Foreign Ministers’ meeting held with the participation of Minsk Group
co-chairs and OSCE Secretary General’s Personal Representative Andrey
Kasprzyk in the France Foreign Ministry, APA European bureau reports.

The communique says: "It was a constructive and sincere meeting. It
will help the conflicting sides to continue the discussions of Main
Principles document. The ministers looked through the additional
elements of principles suggested by the coordinators on October 6. The
ministers agreed to meet on November 14 in Brussels."

The communique also says that the co-chairs will visit the region in
late October. The aim of the visit is to discuss the possibility of
organizing the third meeting of the presidents within 2006.