Author: Topchian Jane

PanARMENIAN.Net

Turkey bombs northern Iraq again
12.01.2008 15:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish warplanes again bombed
suspected Kurdish rebel bases deep inside northern
Iraq.

Turkey blames the PPK rebels for penetrating in its
territory and attacking troops, RBK reports.

Turkish aircraft have struck northern Iraq three times
during the past 10 days in a campaign that began with
a larger bombing raid on December 16.

Tensions have escalated in recent months after Turkish
soldiers were killed by PKK fighters in a series of
attacks.

The Turkish military says it killed between 150 and
175 PKK members in its air attack on December 16.

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Jan 11 2008

HOPES LOW FOR CLARIFYING ANTI-`TURKISHNESS’ CONCEPT

By Burak Bekdil

Friday, January 11, 2008

The infamous Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which outlaws
`humiliating Turkishness,’ has been the focal point of criticism that
the country lacks decent legislation allowing free speech.

Knowing that, Turkey’s pro-EU government is working to amend that
article, but in a way that will probably not please anyone. The
current, very vague definition of what constitutes an offense is
about to be `softened,’ but the new version may not be any better.

Even worse, there is no consensus on the amendment, even within the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The government has now
delayed a vote on the proposed changes in parliament until next week
(Turkish Daily News, Today’s Zaman, January 9).

Under the current penal code, Article 301 makes denigrating
"Turkishness" or insulting the country’s institutions a crime that
can be punished by up to three years in prison.

The law has been used more than 60 times against writers and
intellectuals — including Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and slain
ethnic-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink — since it went into effect
June 2005 (Today’s Zaman, January 9).

Working together, Deputy Prime Minister (and former minister of
justice) Cemil Cicek and incumbent Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali
Sahin announced on January 7 that under the amended provision,
prosecutors must obtain permission from the Justice Ministry to be
able to press charges and that the ambiguous word "Turkishness" would
be replaced with `the Turkish nation’ (Today’s Zaman, January 9).

Cicek is known to have objected to the amendment, arguing that many
EU-member countries have similar articles in their penal codes. Cicek
also argued that the new practice would turn justice ministers, who
will have to make the decision whether to endorse prosecution, into
targets (Today’s Zaman, January 9).

Overall, the proposed amendment has not impressed intellectuals
inside Turkey, and it was not clear how effectively it would prevent
nationalist prosecutors from pressing charges against opinion-makers
for their speeches or writings.

`If the government hopes to leave behind its 301-related headaches
with some cosmetic changes to the law, what it has offered so far
won’t help at all,’ wrote columnist Yusuf Kanli (Turkish Daily News,
January 9). Kanli said the government was `unwilling to take any
meaningful steps in fear of a possible nationalistic backlash.’

`Let’s put it right straight away!’ Kanli wrote. `As it stands within
the current proposal for its amendment, the contentious Article 301
will remain a chain on free thought… What’s proposed is not reform.
What we are seeing is deception in action!’

Nobel laureate Pamuk was prosecuted for commenting on the mass
killings of Armenians by Turks in the early 20th century. Dink,
editor of the Armenian minority newspaper Agos, was killed in front
of his Istanbul office in January 2007. His assassination stirred the
debate about Article 301, with many observers saying he had become a
target of nationalist circles because of his prosecution.

The Turkish government took a year to respond to Dink’s murder, and
it only focused on the issue after a final warning from the EU in
November to repeal or amend the article.

`It is not acceptable that writers, journalists, academics, and other
intellectuals … are prosecuted for simply expressing a critical,
but completely nonviolent opinion,’ EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli
Rehn said when presenting the annual progress report on Turkey in
November. `The infamous Article 301 must be repealed or amended
without delay.’

While the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party favors the abolishment
of the entire article, Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist
Action Party, strongly opposes any changes.

`The amendments mean slandering the glorious history of Turkey and
despising the Turkish nation. It will reward those who seek an
opportunity to insult the national and spiritual values of Turkey,’
Bahceli said (Dogan News Agency, January 8).

Fatma Disli, a columnist for Today’s Zaman newspaper, wrote on
January 9 that the opposition to the amendment makes it difficult to
record progress. `The opposition within parliament to the amendment
of the article and the heightened nationalist feelings in the Turkish
public indicate that Turkey has a long way to go before it can
[re]move one of the most problematic barriers on its EU path,’ Disli
wrote.

Ismet Berkan of Radikal newspaper wrote that even if the article were
amended, it would not ease the EU’s concerns, since the proposed
amendment retains the nebulous phrase "Turkish identity." `Acting on
such an abstract concept, all the opinions harboring criticism about
state institutions or the Turkish identity may be regarded as an
insult to the things in question,’ Today’s Zaman quoted Berkan as
saying on January 9.

MANUK GASPARYAN DEAD

A1+
10 January, 2008

Manuk Gasparyan, chairman of the "Democratic Way" party, former NA
deputy, suddenly died at the age of 58 today early in the morning.

"The heart of the man, who fought against frauds, hypocrisy,
unfairness, evil and illegality, stopped beating. He hoped that
democracy will maintain in Armenia, people would live in happiness
and in dignity", said the press release of the "Democratic Way" party.

"A1+" expresses its condolences to Manuk Gasparyan’s family, friends
and relatives.

REGULAR STATEMENTS OF TURKISH HISTORIAN ABOUT MASSACRE OF TURKS BY ARMENIANS STATE ORDER: ARMENIAN HISTORIAN

arminfo
2008-01-10 16:04:00

ArmInfo. Head of the Turkish Historical Council Yusuf Halacoglu
is a partisan historian and his regular statements about massacre
of Turks by Armenians are a state order, Director of the Armenian
National Academy of Science History Institute Ashot Melkonyan told
ArmInfo. Professor Halacoglu stated at a conference on Turkish history
in the city of Kars last week: "Armenian gangs in the east of Turkey
massacred 500,000 Turks."

Halacoglu made similar statements also before. However, the number of
victims in his speeches grows on geometric proportion: 70,000, 200,000
and over 500,000. All this is an ordered lie for which Halacoglu is
paid big money. Turkish historians and scientists believe him among
lowest professionals and do not take his conclusions seriously.

SMALL CHANGE FROM CONGRESS

Charleston Post Courier, SC
Jan 9 2008

Presidential candidates from both parties promise to be agents of
change. But it doesn’t take a long memory to recall what happened
last time voters were promised a fresh start for government. A year
of Democratic control of Congress has produced a 10-year low in the
public approval rating for the national legislature, but not much else.

The new Democratic leadership’s key note was struck by House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi of California, who promised change in the form of
bipartisanship and civility, a willingness to work with President Bush
to "end the war in Iraq," and the most ethical Congress in history.

Something clearly happened to the first two promises along the way.

Democrats have been harsh critics of the president. House Republicans
complain of being shut out of the legislative process. But the biggest
departure from bipartisanship came in the repeated failed efforts of
congressional Democrats to tell President Bush how to run the war.

The administration asked Ms. Pelosi not to visit Syria in April. She
went anyway, and The Washington Post chided her for trying to act
like an alternative president. Ms. Pelosi later promoted a resolution
blaming Turkey for the genocide of Armenians in the early years of the
last century. She withdrew it after bipartisan appeals not to offend
an ally helping stabilize the Middle East. She also withdrew a bill
restricting wiretapping of terrorist suspects because she misjudged
support for the administration’s opposition to it.

Ms. Pelosi promised to break the link between lobbyists and legislation
and make the earmarking process more transparent. She made it harder
for lobbyists to entertain members of Congress, but the Post reported
significant loopholes in the new law. Earmarking transparency was
undermined in the omnibus appropriation passed last month by the
insertion of spending provisions not reviewed by House or Senate.

Ms. Pelosi had some victories. A year-end summary by The Associated
Press listed laws to raise the minimum wage, set new fuel efficiency
standards for motor vehicles, increase subsidies for farmers and
authorize new water projects. She was unable to enact bills to
raise taxes to offset changes in the alternative minimum income tax,
roll back energy tax breaks, nearly double the size of a children’s
health insurance program and open federal funding for embryonic stem
cell research.

Ms. Pelosi promised change, but her achievements were small relative
to her promises, and her way of doing business was intensely
partisan. Maybe there’s a lesson here for this year’s presidential
candidates.

OSCE/ODIHR OBSERVER MISSION WILL TRY TO ENSURE MAXIMAL TRANSPARENCY

Noyan Tapan
Jan 9, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian foreign minister Vartan
Oskanian on January 9 received the delegation headed by Ambassador Dr.

Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, head of the OSCE/ODIHR (Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights) observer mission which opened in
connection with the presidential elections to be held in Armenia on
February 19, 2008.

During the meeting V. Oskanian welcomed the ambassador, attaching
special importance to the implementation of their mission at the
elections of great importance to Armenia. He stated that it will
become a real assertion of the establishment of democracy in Armenia.

Ambassador Ahrens in his turn exprssed gratitude for the invitation
sent to the OSCE/ODIHR with the request to implement observer mission
and said that they will try to ensure maximal transparency, which
will give additional reliability and ojectivity to their activities
and opinions. According to him, the interest in Armenia is great:
28 long-term observers will come to Armenia, and 250 short-term
observers are expected to arrive from OSCE member states.

Vartan Oskanian wished the OSCE/ODIHR observer mission success and
restated the foreign ministry’s willingness to assist, within its
jurisdiction, the mission with its work.

According to a press release submitted to NT by the RA MFA Press and
Information Department, Ambassador Ahrens has considerable experience
of implementing OSCE/ODIHR observer missions: he headed such missions
during elections of various levels in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Georgia and Serbia.

PanARMENIAN.Net

OSCE MG latest package of proposals provides
opportunity for Karabakh resolution
26.12.2007 14:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Some progress was fixed in the Karabakh peaceful
process during the recent years, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian said.

`Armenia’s policy is neither defensive nor aggressive. It’s
remarkable that the right of Karabakhi people to self-determination is
fixed in the present package of proposals. It’s an item we could only
dream about some 10 years ago. The OSCE Minsk Group and other
international structures aware of the core of the problem put
difference between the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and other conflicts,’
the Minister said.

`The document on the table is the result of efforts applied by the
sides. There are still uncoordinated issues and that is why the
mediators resort to shuttle diplomacy. We have numerously stated that
OSCE MG latest package of proposals provides a good opportunity for
Karabakh resolution. It contains balanced principles that should be
carried to logical completion,’ he said.

The Minister noted that the visit of mediators in 2008 will determine
the trend of further talks. `In the framework of the negotiations we
established normal relations with Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov,
since normal relations are essential for efficient talks,’ Mr Oskanian
said in an interview with Shant TV Channel.

Panorama.am

16:56 27/12/2007

LECTURERS MOST CORRUPT LAYER IN EDUCATION SYSTEM,
SURVEY SAYS

The Armenian Marketing Association’s surveys unveil
that the ”system of corruption” exists in Yerevan
State University, 84 percent, in Armenian Architecture
University, 70 percent, French and Gladzor
Universities, 20 and 26 percents respectively. The
chairman of the public organization Aram Navasardyan
presented this data yesterday. Fifty percent of
respondents believe corruption is acceptable outside
the higher educational establishments. Thirty two
percent answered ”never” and 26 percent answered
”when the goal is unachievable via other means.”
Fifteen percent of respondents in Yerevan State
University and Armenian Architecture University have
an experience in bribe giving, in Glazor University –
1 percent and the students of French University have
no experience in bribe giving. According to survey
results, the students believe the most corrupt layers
are the lecturers, 34 percent. Twenty two percent
believe there is no such layer and 12 percent said
university administration.

Source: Panorama.am

ACCORDING TO TIGRAN TOROSIAN, PARLIAMENT WILL HAVE NEW AND INTERESTING
INITIATIVES IN 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. The parliament elected in May of
this year has worked efficiently since then: 111 laws, most of which
were submitted by the government, have been passed, and 197 bills,
almost half of which were presented on the initiative of deputies, have
been put into circulation, the speaker of the RA National Assembly
Tigran Torosian stated at the December 27 press conference.

In his opinion, among the laws passed, the most important ones are the
2008 state budget of Armeniat, the RA Administrative Procedure Code,
the new law on the securities market, as well as the large-scale
legislative amendments related to the judicial system. According to T.
Torosian, in a short period of time, the newly-elected parliament has
succeeded in nearly completing the process of bringing the Armenian
legislation into line with the 2005 constitutional amendments. He said
that this process will be fully compeleted by adoption of a law on
Yerevan, which is scheduled to be done at the spring session in 2008.

T. Torosian expressed confidence that the parliament has great
opportunities to make its activities more diverse and efficient.
Particularly, the legislative body should hold more extended
discussions on urgent problems of Armenia, work more actively in
international parliamentary organizations and promote bilateral
relations with partners. "I think the parliament will have new and
interesting initiatives in 2008," the speaker of the National Assembly
said.

Consequent to the sale of the Georgian subsidiary bank, Cascade Bank
targeted the surplus liquidity at the development of loan products and
establishment of the branch network.

2007-12-27 17:54:00

ArmInfo. Cascade Bank will use the surplus liquidity generated after
the sale of the Georgian subsidiary bank for the creation of branch
network and the development of loan products. That statement was made
by Jonathan Stark, the CEO of Cascade Capital Holdings, during the
interview with the correspondent of ArmInfo.

Mr. Stark told that the proceeds from the sale of Cascade Bank Georgia
increased the liquidity ratio of the Bank, which made more than thrice
the general normative ratio, and twice the current ratio.
"We made a decision to intensify our credit policy significantly
through the development of a new choice of loan products that are
correlated with the wide range of financial services offered not only
by the Bank, but also by all members of Cascade Capital Holdings," Mr.
Stark stated. According to him, the Bank makes every effort to train
highly qualified personnel, and on the other hand, already has the
capacity to offer quality services to both corporate and retail
clients. To provide the extensive development of retail banking, and as
well sound SME lending projects, the Bank though lacking any
branches currently, is planning to open a number of branches next year.
"We reconsidered the lending policies and procedures to make our loans
more accessible and attractive, and to construct the whole product line
so that the client needs are met to the utmost," Mr. Stark underscored.
The Bank is also planning to access the highly profitable market of
remittances, and is currently considering various proposals from the
perspective of expediency and efficiency of development of the
particular segment. According to Jonathan Stark, the Bank targets its
new micro- lending products at the specific groups of society, and as
well applies innovations and the latest achievements practiced in the
international banking community, such as on- line crediting, SMS
banking, etc.

Furthermore, while speaking about the financial indicators of Cascade
Bank, Jonathan Stark stated that during the year the assets of the Bank
grew from AMD 9 bln to 12 bln, the growth of the deposit base comprised
more than 90%, a similar growth was also recorded by the indicator of
credits to economy. The intense monthly dynamics demonstrated the
operational income of the Bank. During 11 months of the current year
the operational income of the Bank constituted AMD 210 mln. However,
Mr. Stark explained that the balance of the Bank for the reporting
third quarter regrettably disclosed "technical" loss related to the
sale of the Georgian subsidiary bank. According to the Armenian
Accounting Standards, which allows recording by equity method, the
revaluated initial investments in the Georgian subsidiary bank and the
investment income generated in Georgia turned out to be larger than the
sale value of the Bank, as a result whereof the "technical" loss of AMD
411 mln was recorded. However, that amount would be less than AMD 100
mln by year-end results. Nonetheless, the sale of the Georgian bank was
profitable since the initial investments had been made in US dollar and
the banking operations were executed in the local currency (given the
declining exchange rate of USD/GEL).