Author: Tumanian Talar

ISRAEL READY TO SHARE EXPERIENCE WITH ARMENIA ON MINIMIZATION OF GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

ArmInfo
2009-02-12 14:34:00

ArmInfo. Today, Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sarkisyan received the
newly appointed Ambassador of Israel to Armenia Shemi Tsur, the press
release, received by ArmInfo from the governmental press service says.

The Armenian PM has congratulated the ambassador on appointment and
expressed hope that Shemi Tsur will contribute to further development
and tightening of the Armenian- Israeli relations. T.

Sarkisyan and S. Tsur said during the meeting that bilateral relations
of Armenia and Israel enter a new development stage, new political
and economic relations are formed between the two countries backed by
all the required conditions. Touching on the prospect of tightening
of the trade relations between Armenia and Israel, the prime minister
emphasized importance of activating cooperation in diamond cutting,
agriculture, healthcare and other spheres, using of the Israeli
experience in these spheres, as well as importance of assistance
to the new initiatives. Shemi Tsur said that thanks to a number of
measures Israel succeeded to minimize the influence of the global
financial and economic crisis so far. He added that Israel is ready to
share this experience with Armenia. T. Sarkisyan has taken interest
in the internal political situation in the country, in particular,
the results of the Knesset election. The parties also mentioned the
discussions of the Resolution on recognition of the Armenian Genocide
submitted to Knesset in 2008 and possibilities of its adoption. At
request of the ambassador, the PM introduced the official viewpoint
of Armenia on interrelations with the regional countries, including
direct neighbours.

PUTTING CANADA IN ITS PLACE
Jeffrey Simpson

Globe and Mail
LAC.20090210.COSIMP10/TPStory/National
Feb 10 2009
Canada

Israelis likely do not care and Iranians probably do not know, but
theirs are two of the least popular countries in the world. Throw
Pakistan into the mix, and the annual BBC World Service poll gives
us three of the world’s least popular countries.

Israelis, having just fought another war, this one in Gaza, are
voting for a new government today. By all accounts, the war was very
popular among Israelis, but much less so elsewhere. The BBC poll was
taken before the Gaza war. Chances are, Israel’s popularity is even
lower now.

Israelis are accustomed to believing that most of the world is against
them, so the poll’s result will hardly surprise them. To be precise,
the poll asked respondents in 21 countries whether other countries
were playing a "positive" or "negative" role in the world. Only 21
per cent of respondents said Israel played a positive role; 71 per
cent said it played a negative one. In only one country – the United
States – did Israel receive a slightly positive rating.

The Harper government has lined up solidly behind Israel in public
statements and United Nations votes. Canadians, however, would seem
to be on another page. Only 28 per cent said Israel plays a positive
role in the world, compared with 52 per cent who said it doesn’t.

It would appear from this survey (others show the same results)
that the Harper government is offside Canadian public opinion in its
"ready aye ready" attitude toward Israel. That might explain why the
government, while totally supporting Israel, said little during the
Gaza war, certainly less than during Israel’s war against Hezbollah
in Lebanon.

Canadians, like most people in the surveyed countries, believe Iran
and Pakistan are negative forces in the world. How to deal with Iran
is among the new Obama administration’s major challenges; how to
prevent Pakistan from sliding further into the category of a failed
state is a major problem for the world.

Canada, a moral superpower in its own mind, turns out to be the
country with the second most positive rating in the BBC poll. We seem
to be popular more or less everywhere, except in Turkey, where our
popularity has plummeted.

This result is partly due to the Harper government’s foolish
recognition of the Armenian "genocide" during the First World War –
a matter best left to historians and of no direct relevance to Canada
but of great sensitivity in Turkey, Armenia and the vocal Armenian
diaspora. Canada’s slide might also be due to Turks being grumpy
about everybody.

Turks viewed only one "positive" country: Germany. In fact, the BBC
poll puts Germany atop the positive list, a testament to decades of
constructive international work and the nation’s absorption of the
terrible lessons of its history. Japan, which has been far less public
in its self-analysis of the Second World War, is fourth in the survey.

Imagine: Almost six decades after that war, and despite all the war
films and books that keep pouring out in countries once referred
to as the Allies, two Axis powers – Germany and Japan – are among
the countries now perceived as playing the most positive roles in
the world.

Canadians are keen on Japan’s role, followed closely by that of the
U.K., France and Germany. We’re favourable about India’s role but
negative on China’s. In this, it might be that the Harper government
has read Canadian public opinion, since its attitude toward China
has been distant.

Canadians are decidedly negative about Russia, which is not surprising
given the weakening of democracy there, the return of a modern version
of Russian chauvinism and the country’s assertiveness in the Arctic.

As for Americans, Canadian skepticism is alive. Fifty-five per cent
think the U.S. plays a negative role, compared with 38 per cent who
think it plays a positive one. The result, however, is much better
than what the BBC poll found when George Bush was president. Call it
the early Obama effect.

TURKEY WARNS THIRD COUNTRIES NOT TO INTERFERE ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

Panorama.am
11:56 10/02/2009

The meetings in the frames of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations
are continued and every meeting improves the relations between the
parties, announced the Foreign Minister of Turkey Ali Babacan.

According to "Jihan" agency, the Foreign Minister warned the third
countries not to interfere in that process. "One of the topic discussed
during our meetings are the events of 1915. I don’t think that the
interference of the third countries to this process would be effective
for it," he said.

At the same time the Foreign Minister of Turkey mentioned
that the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations should be
supported. According to him, he could feel in the 45th Munich Security
Conference the new U.S. Administration is willing to start a dialogue
with Turkey and confirm the cooperation.

PRESS RELEASE
February 9, 2009
Contact: : Zara Zeitountsian

tel: 818-613 9090
[email protected]

Panel on GENOCIDE DRAMA
at CUNY Graduate Center Arts Conference in NYC, Feb. 13-14

Taking place at the CUNY Graduate Center (365 fifth ave. NYC) on
Friday February 13 and Saturday February 14, this two-day conference
is the third incarnation of a live forum for the exchange of work and
dreams among the far-flung members of a virtual network between
theatres and the academy – a band of playwrights, directors, actors,
producers and musicians from across the United States called No
Passport.

The conference curators are Caridad Svich (founder), Randy Gener,
Patricia Ybarra (Brown University) and Frank Hentschker, with the
support of The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance, The Internationalists,
Theatre Without Borders and Frank Hentschker.

To RSVP, call 212.817.8215 or send an email to [email protected].

The conference will focus on a wide range of contemporary works for
theatre and performance, viewing historical memory, legacy and
r/evolutionary art from a variety of formal perspective. Topics that
will be addressed in panels and works-in-progress include: US Latino/a
and African-American theatre history and cross-generational paradigms
for artistic production, conflicts and mis-readings of aesthetic
diversity vis-a-vis identity politics and post-racial sensibilities,
migration and exile as they affect content and form; genocide drama
and the representation of sacrifice on stage; the ecologies of theatre
criticism in the US; queer dis-identifications in Latino/a theatre;
new media, dramaturgy and hybrid performances, and the unfixing of
international theatre. There will also be a book launch for four new
volumes from NoPassport Press.

The "Genocide Drama" panel which will be led by president of the
Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance, playwright Bianca Bagatourian, will
take place on Saturday, Feb.

14th from 2:30-3:30 pm in the Martin Segal Theater and is open to the
public. The panelists include Marcy Arlin, Artistic Director of
Immigrants’ Theatre Project in NYC; Stacie Chaiken, writer-performer
and instructor at the USC school of theater; Alexander Dinelaris,
playwright and author of the play Red Dog Howls; Catherine Filloux,
award-winning author of the play Lemkin’s House; J.T. Rogers, whose
last play The Overwhelming was seen at the NFT and the Roundabout
theater; and Kelly Stuart, playwright and faculty member at Columbia
University. Various angles on the topic of "Genocide" and how it is
portrayed in drama today will be discussed as well as the relevance of
theater as an art form that reflects the current dialogue of today.

NoPassport, founded by Caridad Svich as a Pan-American theatre
alliance & press devoted to action, advocacy, and change toward the
fostering of cross-cultural diversity and difference in the arts with
an emphasis on the embrace of the hemispheric spirit in US Latino/a
and Latin-American theatre-making.

The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance strives to fulfill its mission of
projecting the Armenian voice on a world stage through theater and
film by offering contests for new writing, play readings and various
educational programs. For more information, please see

$5 MILLION RAISED FOR ARF POLITICAL ACTIVITIES AT DUBAI GALA

ARF Press Service
Monday February 2, 2009

DUBAI (ARF Press Service)–An unprecedented $5 million dollars
was raised over the weekend at a gala benefit for the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation’s political activities throughout
the world. The benefit gala, held Saturday at the Festival City
Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai was attended by hundreds of benefactors
and presided over by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great
House of Cilicia.

The event’s contributions surpassed previous such gatherings held in
Geneva in 2001 and in Paris in 2005.

The global economic crisis did not deter benefactors from stepping
forward this year and recognizing the important work of the ARF’s
international political offices in the last four years. The money
raised will greatly elevate the work of Hai Tahd in meeting the
challenges facing Armenia’s foreign policy priorities.

Presided over by Catholicos Aram I, a large number of businesspeople
and ARF members and supporters from Europe, Russia, the Middle East
and Armenia came together to reaffirm their commitment to the political
activities of the ARF. More than 250 donors took part in the event.

Members from the ARF’s ministerial rank in Armenia, Arsen
Hamabrtsoumian, Aramayis Grigorian and Spartak Seyranian were joined
at the event by their counterpart in Lebanon Andre Tabourian. Members
from the ARF’s Armenian parliamentary bloc and th e ARF’s Lebanon
member of parliament, Hagop Pakradouni were also at the gala. Also
present were Armenia’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Vahagn
Melikyan, Armenian Relief Society Central Executive chairwoman Vicky
Marashlian, as well as the majority of the ARF Bureau and directors
of Hai Tahd offices in Europe, the Middle East and Moscow.

Shahe Barsoumian, a Master of Ceremonies and a member of the organizing
committee, welcomed the guest and those who were unable to attend
for their continued support and generosity. He discussed the various
the activities of the ARF’s political offices around the world,
underscoring the positive impact of their work on Armenia’s standing
in the world.

Representing the UAE and Dubai region, Hrair Soghomonian welcomed
those gathered and throughout the evening recognized the donors who
had generously contributed to the event.

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian’s message was read by Armenia’s
Education Minister Spartak Seyranian.

"New components are continually being added to the concept of %u218Hai
Tahd’," said Sarkisian in his message, adding that international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the just resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are being supplemented by new challenges. "We
need to assist in the strengthening of our homeland."

The second Master of Ceremonies, ARF Bureau member and chairman of
the ARF parliamentary bloc, Vahan Hovannesian, presen ted the gathered
guests with a list of donors.

With a message to "believe, work and triumph," ARF Bureau chairman
Hrant Markarian addressed the gathering, expressing gratitude to
the generous benefactors gathered at the event on behalf of the
organization.

Markarian said the network of Hai Tahd offices are "effectively second
embassies in Washington, Brussels, Moscow, Beirut and Tbilisi. They
coordinate and marshal the efforts of Armenians and our friends toward
elevating Armenia’s political stature internationally, securing
economic assistance to Armenia, defending rights of the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh, the realization of the international recognition
and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide and to counter Turkish and
Azeri anti-Armenian propaganda."

Markarian added that defense of the Armenian Cause was, for decades,
an undertaking and priority of the Diaspora. He welcomed that Armenia
and its population have now joined the fight for justice, making Hai
Tahd a truly pan-Armenian reality.

At the conclusion of the event, Catholicos Aram I addressed the
gathering highlighted the pan-Armenian nature of Hai Tahd, commending
the current Armenian leadership for elevating the Armenian Cause within
the country’s foreign policy priorities. He called the event not merely
a fundraiser but rather an opportunity to renew the commitment toward
the successful fruition of national aspirations.

Renowned and popular singer Roub en Hakhverdian entertained the guests
during the banquet.

A DVD chronicling the ARF’s political activities in Europe, Russia and
the CIS, the Middle, and within international bodies was distributed
to the guests and donors.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AND TURKISH PM HOLD LANDMARK MEETING
by Natalia Leshchenko

World Market Research Centre
Global Insight
February 2, 2009

On 29 January, the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met the Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the first official bilateral
meeting between an Armenian President and a Turkish Prime Minister
since 1993. The meeting was held on the fringes of the World Economic
Forum in Davos. The Armenian government described the meeting as
"positive", according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Erdogan and
Sargsyan have asked their foreign affairs ministers to improve
bilateral ties further.

Significance:Relations between the administrations of Armenia and
Turkey are rapidly improving. The current state is a far cry from
1993 when the Turkish government shut its borders with neighbouring
Armenia out of solidarity with Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. Armenia’s own axe to grind with Turkey is the mass killing of
Armenians between 1915 and 1917 which Armenia insists Turkey recognise
as genocide. Liberal Turks are making efforts to widen the scope for
discussions, and the Armenia is more prone to listen on the cue of
its ally Russia, which is hoping to stabilise the Caucasus through
alliance with Turkey. The Azeri government is wary of the recent
thaw in Turko-Armenian relations (seeTurkey – Armenia – Azerbaijan:
11 September 2008:). The current geo-political climate should further
enhance co-operation between Armenia and Turkey, yet one should not
bank on a swift official resolution of all outstanding issues any
time soon.

Latvia’s President to visit Armenia this year

armradio.am
31.01.2009 15:50

The President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting
with the President of the Republic of Latvia, Valdis Zatlers. This was
the second meeting of the two Presidents. The first one took place on
the margins of the UN General Assembly session in New York.

During the meeting the parties stressed the political will to deepen
the Armenian-Latvian relations on bilateral and multilateral levels.
Serzh Sargsyan and Valdis Zatlers discussed the latest developments and
initiatives in the South Caucasus region, the deepening of
trade-economic relations, as well as a number of issues related to the
cooperation within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy.

Valdis Zatlers noted that he is looking forward to paying an official
visit to Armenia this year. An agreement was reached on enlarging the
contractual-legal field during the forthcoming visit.

Indian Express, India
Jan 31 2009

Bad new vibrations

Posted: Jan 31, 2009 at 0127 hrs IST

Widespread outrage over Israel’s assault on Gaza has sharply soured
the tone of Turkey’s people and Government towards the Jewish
state. The prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, castigated it for
hammering the Palestinians. So far he has resisted a clamour in Turkey
to loosen or even sever his country’s close ties with Israel. But some
advocates of the strategic friendship between the two countries fear
it may be at risk.
Behind the scenes, Turkish policymakers, especially military ones,
still cherish their ties with Israel. Speaking this week in
Switzerland, Mr Erdogan seemed keen to draw a line under the row. He
explained that he was incensed by the war in Gaza particularly because
his tireless mediation had brought Israel and Syria close to a deal
over the Golan Heights. He said he had also been trying to fix a deal
with Hamas over a prisoner exchange, including freedom for a kidnapped
Israeli corporal.

Similar rows have occurred before. In 2004 he annoyed Israel by
calling it a terrorist state after it assassinated Hamas’s founder,
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, as he left a mosque in Gaza. Mr Erdogan then
invited Khaled Meshaal, Hamas’s present leader, to visit Turkey. But
Israeli-Turkish relations were mended after prodding by the United
States. Military co-operation went on. Israel has invariably chosen to
turn a deaf ear to Turkey’s occasionally fierce rhetoric for the sake
of that strategic liaison. In a bid to soothe the anger of Jews and
Israelis, Turkey’s foreign minister, Ali Babacan, urged Hamas to
decide "whether it wants to be an armed group or a political
movement".

But this time Mr Erdogan had been a lot angrier. Israel, he railed,
was "committing a crime against humanity¦The world must not turn a
blind eye to Israel’s savagery¦How can such a country, which
totally ignores and does not implement the UN Security Council’s
resolutions be let through the gates of the UN?" An education
ministry circular particularly annoyed Israel by telling Turkish
schoolchildren to observe a minute’s silence in solidarity with
Palestinian children. In the event, the Israelis persuaded the Turks
to cancel a proposed essay and drawing contest for schoolchildren to
air their feelings of hatred towards Israel. Israeli officials were
apparently poised to respond by proposing a programme in Israeli
schools for discussing the genocide of Armenians by Turks in the first
world war.

In any case, anti-Israeli anger on Turkey’s streets rose during the
assault on Gaza. In rallies across the country demonstrators chanted
"Killer Israel! Nazi Israel! Turkish armies, march on Jerusalem!"
Calls to boycott Israeli goods and scrap military co-operation grew
louder.

Not for the first time, anti-Semitism reared its head. In the western
city of Eskisehir, members of a nationalist group brandished placards
that read, "Only dogs can enter: no Armenians or Jews!" An outcry from
Turkey’s 25,000-strong Jewish community, plus pressure from the
foreign ministry, shamed a local prosecutor into launching a
probe. Turkey’s Jewish community issued a rare statement saying that
"we Turkish Jews, an inseparable part of the Turkish Republic, feel
deep sorrow for the comments appearing in recent days in certain media
outlets that belittle and insult our religion and present us as
targets."

An ancient alliance

Turks deny accusations of anti-Semitism, noting that the Ottoman
Sultans opened their doors over 500 years ago to Jews fleeing from
Christian persecution in Spain. In 1948, Turkey was among the first
countries to recognise Israel. Under a military co-operation deal in
1996, Israeli pilots have been training in Turkish skies. In 2007,
bilateral trade rose to $2.7 billion. Between 2006 and 2007, the
number of Israelis visiting Turkey went up from 362,000 to
511,400-more than 7% of Israel’s population. Turkey has also earned
praise from the Americans for its recent mediation between Syria and
Israel.

But anti-Semitism is often part of a general anti-Christian and
anti-Western feeling. "Jew" and "Armenian" are both often used as
slurs. Last year a Pew Global Attitudes Survey found that anti-Jewish
sentiment in Turkey had risen: 76% said they had negative views
towards Jews, whereas only 7% said they looked kindly on them.

Anti-Semitism was also blatant during a campaign against an Israeli
financier, Sammy Ofer, who had planned to invest with a Turkish
partner in rehabilitating Istanbul’s historic Galata district and its
port near the Golden Horn. The tender was cancelled amid widespread
claims that the deal was crooked and that "Jewish capital" was trying
to take over the country.

Radical Turkish Islamists have long tried to stir up
anti-Semitism. Their long-standing jibe against the secular Kemal
Ataturk, modern Turkey’s founder, was that he was "really a Jew". In
recent years assorted leftists and Kemalists have joined an
anti-Jewish chorus that frequently accompanies hostility to America,
which is often accused of plotting with Israel to set up an
independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq that will eventually take
large chunks out of south-eastern Turkey.

Behind-the-scenes lobbying by Turkish, American and European Union
diplomats may have persuaded Mr Erdogan to tone down his language. He
recently told Turkey’s parliament, "As a leader, I have said that
anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity." But if anti-Israeli
rhetoric in Turkey persists, the Israeli lobby in the United states
could hit back by backing a congressional resolution to call the mass
killings by Turks of some 1m Armenians "genocide". Hitherto, Israel’s
influential lobby in America has repeatedly helped block such a
resolution, though Barack Obama and his vice-president, Joe Biden,
have both referred to genocide in the past and have pledged to back
the bill.

Secret talks between Turkey and Armenia to open diplomatic ties and
reopen their borders are hotly opposed by some in the Armenian
diaspora’s lobby in America. American Jews have long felt queasy about
defending Turkey over the massacre of Armenians. Hitherto, pragmatism
has prevailed and they have sided with the Turks. But if Mr Erdogan
keeps on lambasting Israel, they may change their mind.

ibrations/417345/0

Owner Says Troika To Stay Independent

The Moscow Times
Issue 4074 // Business
29 January 2009

Ruben Vardanyan, main owner and chairman of Troika Dialog, said
Wednesday that the bank would "stay independent" and not merge with a
state lender, although a source close to management said the company had
held talks with Africa’s largest bank.

The comments followed a report in Vedomosti saying Troika was in talks
to sell a 30 percent stake to South Africa’s Standard Bank through a new
share issue. Vardanyan, speaking in Davos, Switzerland, declined to
comment on the report.

Standard Bank is conducting due diligence of the Russian company and has
valued the stake at $150 million to $200 million, an unidentified
investment banker told Vedomosti. Troika needs the money to refinance debt.

Gor Nakhapetyan, Troika’s managing director, declined to comment. A
source close to Troika’s top managers confirmed that talks had been held.

"This way of development looks reasonable, and we can’t rule out
anything," the source close to Troika, who asked not to be named, told
Reuters, adding that talks could produce an outcome no earlier than the
end of February.

The Vedomosti report did not say whether Troika would be sold entirely.
In addition to the investment banking business, Troika pioneered the
retail mutual fund market and has a large asset management business.

Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest bank by assets, declined to comment on
the report but reiterated its interest in Russia, where it already runs
a corporate and investment banking business.

"Russia is an important strategic market for us … and as with all key
markets, we continuously assess our position including considering
acquisition or growth opportunities," Erik Larsen, a Standard Bank
spokesman, said in an e-mailed response.

Standard Bank, 20 percent owned by China’s biggest lender, Industrial
and Commercial Bank of China, has been expanding in emerging markets
such as Argentina and Nigeria.

South African banks have escaped the worst of the global banking crisis
thanks in part to exchange controls, and some analysts say that now
could be a good time to put cash to work by buying relatively cheap
assets abroad.

Russian investment banks have been severely hit by a market collapse as
the global economic crisis freezes demand for investment banking
products such as IPOs and debt issues, which had been extremely
profitable during the economic boom.

Renaissance Capital, Troika’s biggest peer, sold a 50 percent stake in
itself to Mikhail Prokhorov in September for $500 million.

KIT Finance, which sparked a crisis of confidence among Russian brokers
by failing to meet obligations on a share repurchase deal, was
effectively bailed out by the state in a takeover by Russian Railways
and Alrosa.

At the time, Troika’s core owner, Ruben Vardanyan, denied that he was in
talks to sell his bank.

(Reuters, Bloomberg)

1009/42/374001.htm

THREATENING MONEY EXCHANGE WORKERS

A1+
[08:13 pm] 29 January, 2009

Police officers warned money exchange workers at the Gyumri central
market that what they are doing is illegal and that they can no
longer work in the market. There were also threats-"If you continue
to work here, we will take drastic measures". Being caught off guard,
they appealed to the Marz district.

Let us remind that last summer, police officers had invaded the market,
arrested a group of policemen and some money exchange workers and
confiscated all the money that they had. They went on for a couple
of months without any conflicts, but it really hit them in the winter.

A decision was made and later an order based on which they must make
everything legal since they are working illegally and aren’t paying
taxes to the government.

The exchange workers want to work by the law. They simply want to
get off easy and pay a reasonable amount of tax.

They had recently appealed to head of the Marz Lida Nanyan, who had
promised to do her best to help them. Today, the exchange workers
met with Deputy Marz Head Mikayel Vardanyan, but the issue remained
unsolved once again.

According to them, the rumor and scandal is in the interest of the
exchange rate spots and their budgets.