Author: Toneyan Mark

ARF LEBANON CENTRAL COMMITTEE PRESS OFFICE ISSUES THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT

Aztag Armenian Daily, Lebanon
Sept 11 2006

On September 5, 2006, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Lebanon
Central Committee Press Office issues the following statement to
Lebanese media agencies.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Lebanon Central Committee held
a special session, during which the main topics of discussion were
the latest developments in Lebanon, and particularly the stance the
Lebanese government has taken relative to the possible participation
of Turkish troops in the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

The A.R.F. Lebanon Central committee reiterated that thanks to the
united front the Armenian community presented against the deployment
of Turkish troops in the south, the cabinet discussed the matter,
after being urged to do so by the Lebanese president. However,
the Lebanese government did not respect the wishes of the Armenian
community. By doing so, the Lebanese government ignored the calls
of all the leaders and representatives of the community, including
Catholicos of all Armenians Aram I, the leaders of the three Armenian
Christian denominations in Lebanon, and the leaders of the three
active Armenian political parties in Lebanon.

a- We see the denial of the demands of the Armenian community as an
insult to one of Lebanon’s seven main secterian groups: this violates
the basic idea of co-habitation which Lebanon is built on, and harms
the efforts to establish secterian dialogue and unity. Unity among
ths sects in Lebanon is necessary for the implementation of any major
policies in the counrty, and contributes to the formation of a strong
Lebanese government.

b- None of the officials statements made by government officials
provide any justification for the unfair stance the Lebanese government
has taken in this situation. In fact, the government has decided to
ignore the objections of the Armenian community, objections based on
moral, political, and ethical arguments.

c- The deployment of Turkish troops to the region will not help the
peace process, it will in fact hurt it, given that Turkey cannot be
impartial, since it has signed a military pact with Israel. All over
the world, peacekeeping forces sent to any region are required to
be impartial.

It is important to mention that the government has decided to allow
the participation of Turkish troops in the UNIFIL mission despite the
objection of a number of minister, who have sided with the Armenian
community on this issue.

The A.R.F. Lebanon Central Committee, while highly praising these
particular minister, consider the cabinet as a whole responsible for
this unfair and insulting decision. The Central Committee also assures
that the Armenian community is determined to correct this mistake.

ARMENIAN UNION OF WRITERS TO HOLD A NUMBER OF EVENTS JOINTLY WITH IRANIAN CULTURAL CENTER BY END OF 2006

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 08 2006

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Armenian
Union of Writers will hold a number of events jointly with the Iranian
Cultural Center by the end of the year. Chairman of the Armenian
Union of Writers Levon Ananian reported this at the September 8 event
dedicated to the 40th anniversary of Persian poet and translator Ahmad
Nurizade’s literary activity. He said that, in particular, Iran-Armenia
friendship festivity will be organized in late October on Meghri bridge
and in the first half of November Armenian writers will visit Tehran
and Ispahan. "All planned events will make closer friendly relations
between the two countries," Levon Ananian is convinced.

Babacan vows to keep EU process on track

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Sept 7 2006

/ Brussels

Turkey’s chief European Union negotiator Ali Babacan on Tuesday
dismissed the European Parliament’s harshly critical new report on
Turkey, vowing to keep the country’s EU process on track.

Stressing that it’s wrong to say the Union doesn’t want Turkey by
only looking at this or that report, Babacan said, "Such reports may
include mistakes which might be corrected or not. But the important
thing for us is to keep up with the reform process, which is in
Turkey’s interests."

The EP’s toughly worded report, prepared by Dutch MEP Camiel Eurlings
and approved by the EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called on Ankara
to recognize the Armenian genocide claims before becoming an EU
member. It also included criticisms on the Cyprus issue, a slowdown
in the EU reform process, the situation in southeast, problems with
religious minorities, cultural rights and civilian-military relations.

Turkey’s chief EU negotiator also underlined that Ankara continues
to be committed to its EU accession process aimed at full membership.

"It will also take some key steps before the European Commission
announces Turkey’s progress report," he added.

Babacan made the remarks following talks with Dutch Economy Minister
Joop Wijn late Tuesday in the Netherlands, the first stop of Babacan’s
European tour which began as part of an effort to dispel EU criticisms
that he and the Turkish government have become indifferent to the
country’s membership process.

Babacan headed to Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday to meet key European
figures. He met with Belgian Foreign Ministry State Secretary for
European Affairs Didier Donfut and will have crucial talks with EU
Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn today in which Turkey’s EU
prospects and the pace of its reform process will be discussed.

Rehn is expected to urge Babacan to keep up with the reform process and
press Turkey to approve the Ankara protocol which extends the Customs
Union to the 10 new members of the Union, including the Greek Cypriot
administration. For his part, Babacan is expected to brief Rehn on the
latest reforms that have been made in Turkey and underline the future
contribution from and vital importance of Turkey’s membership in the
Union, above all for the creation of a dialogue among civilizations.

DEAD BODY OF FOOTBALL FAN FOUND

A1+
[06:38 pm] 08 September, 2006

A dead body has been found in the old boiler-house near the Republic
stadium after Vazgen Sargsyan.

According to preliminary data, it was the body of Vahe Ghazaryan
(b. 1988) who went to the stadium on September 6, at about 07:00
p.m. in order to watch the match Armenia-Belgium and never returned
home.

Yesterday his body was found by rescuers and taken to police.

According to the informational service of the Emergency Administration,
the rescuers arrived at the site after the alarm of the police. No
more details are known.

NOT A POLITICAL PROBLEM BUT THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN LIVES IS SOLVED

Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
05 Sept 2006

"The official document proclaiming Nagorno-Karabakh Republic announced to
the world that the Armenians of Artsakh have chosen the path of independence.
The establishment of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic as a nation state was the
imperative of the time," said Speaker Ashot Ghulian addressing the official
meeting devoted to the 15th anniversary of NKR. The meeting at the Home of Officers
on September 1 was also an account of achievements of the past 15 years,
homage to everyone who had sacrificed their lives for the sake of this day. The
delegation of Armenia headed by the Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian, the delegations of Abkhazia and South Osetia, as well as a number of
guests who were aware of the problem and most of them had been beside the
Armenians of Artsakh in those hard days had arrived to congratulate Artsakh. NKR
President Arkady Ghukassian made a speech of congratulation and gratitude. His
speech was a peculiar report on the word done in the past 15 years. And these
achievements are visible, especially to those who saw Artsakh in the years of
war and immediately after the cease-fire. Then the prime minister of Armenia
Andranik Margarian addressed the meeting. "We believe that despite hardships,
Artsakh is resolved to preserve and develop the achievements of the past
years, strengthen the independent state," said the Armenian prime minister and
added, "Every achievement of yours is our success, every delay or threat
worries us. We want peace, but we do not want to achieve it at any price. We do not
want to lose at the table of negotiations what we got by blood." In
addition, the prime minister of Armenia assures that not only the government but also
all the political forces of Armenia agree on this point, which is a rare
thing. And there is a strong belief that it is necessary to act not only for the
international recognition of NKR but also for the settlement of its internal
problems. Then the heads of the delegations of the Abkhazian and South
Osetian republics addressed the meeting. Then followed the speeches of people who
not only are well aware of the historical fact of proclamation of NKR but
also took part in the events that preceded and followed. In evaluating the past
15 years, Lieutenant-General Seyran Ohanian, minister of defense emphasized
the creation of the defense army, which formed during military actions and
successfully fulfilled the goal. Today it is an effective force with modern
armament, which has been defending the security of NKR for over a decade without
support from the outside and is ready to counteract to every encroachment.
The words of the Archbishop of the Diocese of Artsakh Pargev Martirossian were
also inspiring. "The most difficult period for a child is the age between
childhood and adulthood. We have already gone through this age of transition,"
said the spiritual leader. And it is important that Artsakh did it through the
internal force of the Armenian environment, Archbishop Pargev said. "Nobody
thought about death. I witnessed that, everyone thought about victory," he
said.

NORAIR HOVSEPIAN.
05-09-2006

Azerbaijan ready to participate in Odesa-Brody-Plotsk pipeline

5tv.com, Ukraine
Sept 7 2006

Azerbaijan is ready to participate in the Odesa-Brody-Plotsk oil
pipeline project. That message was delivered in Baku on Thursday
where President Viktor Yushchenko met with his Azerbaijani counterpart
Ilham Aliyev.

Yushchenko told Aliyev that Ukraine is interested in oil exploration,
extraction and oil refining projects in Azerbaijan. Yushchenko
also offered Kyiv’s assistance in regulating the conflict between
Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. On Thursday,
both presidents agreed to create a presidential cooperation council
between the two countries.

AZNAVOUR GOES ON TOUR TO U.S. WHERE HE FOR THE LAST TIME PERFORMED 60 YEARS AGO

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 07 2006

PRAGUE, SEPTEMBER 7, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. After parting of
60 years, French Armenian world famous chansonnier Charles Aznavour
returned American stage where he for the last time performed in
1948. "I can not live with the past and I always attempt to find those
themes which move the society at the moment," Aznavour confessed in
an interview given to one of the American newspapers. According to
Radio Liberty, world famous chansonnier is now preparing to record a
new disc. The new songs tell about refugees living in backyards of the
big city, abandoned villages getting older, racialism and, of course,
about love. "Young people are always and everywhere caught in my trap,
when they fall in love," 82-year old Aznavour jokes, who never stops
to confess: "I love the life."

SCHUMER CALLS ON HOAGLAND TO CLARIFY POSITION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 07 2006

WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 7, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On the
eve of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee consideration of
Richard E. Hoagland as America’s next Ambassador to Armenia, Senator
Charles Schumer (D-NY) sent a letter to Hoagland criticizing the
Administration’s policy on the Armenian Genocide and urging the
nominee to clarify his position on the matter. According to the
Armenian Assembly of America (AAA), in his letter, Schumer also
expressed concern that the current Ambassador, John M. Evans, is
being prematurely replaced for properly recognizing the Armenian
Genocide. "I am concerned that the Senate is reviewing your nomination
for this post as a result of Ambassador Evans’ departure, possibly
because of statements he made which, in my view, accurately describe
the Armenian Genocide as such," Schumer wrote. "We commend Senator
Schumer for his critical examination of Ambassador-designate Hoagland
and his strong support of reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide,"
said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "We have a fundamental
policy disagreement with the Administration. The U.S. should squarely
affirm the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide."

RUSSIA AND THE FROZEN WARS
Prepared by: Lionel Beehner

Council on Foreign Relations, New York
Sept 6 2006

Separation anxiety abounds in the former Soviet Union. The empire’s
dissolution led to turmoil in parts of the north and south Caucasus,
and the status of a number of important enclaves remains unsettled.

Some call for more autonomy from Moscow, while others want closer
ties. As on-and-off wars in Chechnya, Nagorno-Karabakh, and northern
Georgia illustrate, at times, these so-called "frozen conflicts"
have heated up; more often, though, they simmer beneath the surface,
leaving restless nationals in their wake. Experts agree on one thing:
The road to resolve these conflicts goes through Moscow.

Yet with ethnic Albanian Kosovars calling for independence from
Serbia, Russia finds itself in a bind, writes Chris Stephen of
the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. On one hand, Moscow
supports, both with money and manpower, the struggles of separatists
in Moldova’s Trans-Dniester and Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia
regions. Yet there is an obvious "wariness about encouraging separatism
elsewhere." Russians are worried that if Chechnya breaks away from
the federation, then Dagestan, Tatarstan, and other Russian republics
would follow in domino-like fashion. Not to mention Russia does not
want to anger its best friend in the Balkans, Serbia, which refuses
to accept statehood for Kosovo.

For its part, Georgia is keen to come to an understanding with Russia
on its separatist problems. The leaders who took office after the Rose
Revolution struck a quick deal with Russia to resolve problems with
the breakaway Ajaria region but Moscow-Tbilisi ties have deteriorated
with Georgia’s unification push. Moscow has jacked up the price of
its gas, as well as embargoed exports like Georgian wine and mineral
water. Relations are also tense over Tbilisi’s bid to join NATO. Yet
Georgia can ill afford to provoke Moscow because, as the Economist
reports, "it would in effect be war against Russia."

These frozen conflicts have far-reaching ramifications beyond
their immediate regions. Many of them (Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia)
are situated on important energy corridors. That partially explains
recent Western calls for an international police force to monitor
northern Georgia and the $295 million grant doled out by the U.S.

Millennium Challenge Corporation. Meanwhile, Trans-Dniester remains
a popular route for traffickers of drugs, arms, and sex workers (BBC).

Perhaps the most potentially hazardous of these conflicts is
Nagorno-Karabakh. Ethnic Armenians took control of the enclave and
a chunk of Azerbaijan in 1993 after a war that killed some 25,000
people and displaced hundreds of thousands. "This barely frozen
conflict threatens a hot war that would devastate the region," write
Ana Palacio and Daniel Twining in the Washington Post. They propose
a "mini-Marshall Plan" to remove Russian bases from the southern
Caucasus and end outstanding sanctions by some Western states against
Azerbaijan.

Vladimir Socor of the Jamestown Foundation says Moscow has a "major
incentive" to leave conflicts unresolved, knowing the West will not
be interested in strategic partnerships "with rumps of countries
that are open to Russian-orchestrated pressures" (Word doc). Hence,
Russia’s preferred strategy is to maintain the status quo, writes Nicu
Popescu of the Centre for European Policy Studies. "The conflicts are
not frozen at all," he says. "It is their settlement that is frozen."

DAYS OF YEREVAN TO BE CONDUCTED IN MOSCOW

Armenpress
Sept 06 2006

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: As part of the Year of Armenia in
Russia "Days of Yerevan" will be held in Moscow from September 9 to
11. A delegation headed by the Yerevan mayor Yervand Zakharian will
leave for Moscow to participate in the event.

David Gevorgian, the head of the foreign ties department at the Yerevan
municipality, told Armenpress that within the framework of the event a
monument to great Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian will be erected
in Moscow and the annual "Golden Pomegranate" festival will be held
within the framework of which in the Red Square a fare of Armenian
products will be organized. Besides, "Old Town through the Eyes of
Contemporaries" photo-exhibition will be held.

David Gevorgian said the Armenian "Navy Band" will give concert in
Moscow. On September 11 the official meeting of the Yerevan and Moscow
mayors Yervand Zakharian and Yuri Luzhkov is expected to take place.

For supporting the organization of the Days of Yerevan the Armenian
government has provided 125 million drams from its reserve fund.