Largest Companies’ Profits Up In Armenia

LARGEST COMPANIES’ PROFITS UP IN ARMENIA

news.am
April 21 2010
Armenia

The RA State Revenue Committee has reported the information on 344
largest Armenian companies for this February.

The companies’ sale proceeds totaled 143.2bn AMD (U.S. $376.4m) –
a 19.9% increase as compared with last February. Thus the average
profit per company totaled 0.4bn AMD (or U.S. $1.1m).

About 200 of the 344 largest taxpayers ensured an increased in their
profits, and 120, including Ardshininvestbank, with its worst results
among the largest banks, registered a decrease in February proceeds.

The ten largest companies showed the best results: the Zangezur Copper
and Molybdenum Combine, Alex Grig, Electric Network of Armenia,
Rusal Armenia, ArmRusgazprom, Armenian Copper Program, City Petrol
Group, Dino Gold Mining, Agarak Copper and Molybdenum Combine, and
Pure Iron Plant. This February the ten leaders’ profit increased by
21.3bn AMD or ¾ of the total increase in the proceeds of all the
344 largest taxpayers.

The data suggest the following conclusions, which cast a shadow on the
joy. First, the natural monopolies and mining industry, importer and
oil traders remain and (will remain) the leaders in profit. Secondly,
high-level concentration will remain a feature of the Armenian economy.

Last year showed well what the lack of economic diversification, and
all the hopes placed on the largest taxpayers, can lead to. When the
global crisis reached Armenia, many of the "largest" faced serious
problems, which, in turn, immediately affected both the Armenian
economy (a 14.4% decline in GDP last year as compared with 2008)
and tax revenues (a 15.9% decrease).

Archbishop Choloyan Offers Opening Prayer For U.S. House Of Represen

ARCHBISHOP CHOLOYAN OFFERS OPENING PRAYER FOR U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 22, 2010 – 11:23 AMT 06:23 GMT

The U.S. House of Representatives opened on April 21 with a prayer
by His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Armenian
Apostolic Church of the Eastern United States, in which he invoked
the memory of the Armenian Genocide and prayed that such barbarity
never again be inflicted upon any of God’s creatures, reported the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Archbishop Choloyan service as the guest chaplain of the House of
Representatives came at the request of New York Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney (D-NY), a long-time friend and supporter of the Armenian
American community. Following the opening prayer, Representative
Maloney offered brief remarks of her own, praising the spiritual
leadership of Archbishop Choloyan and joining with him in marking
the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Erdogan: Karabagh Is Not A Precondition Of Turkey

ERDOGAN: KARABAGH IS NOT A PRECONDITION OF TURKEY

Aysor
April 20 2010
Armenia

"It’s not our condition. It’s the comdition of Azerbaijan. This
subject concerns us not directly, but indirectly we are connected to
this problem," the PM of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated answering
the questions of the reporter of the NTV channel whether the Karabakh
is a Turkish precondition.

In the interview Erdogan has also noticed with regret that Azerbaijan
didn’t have an active participation in the lobbing of Turkey in the US
Congress of Foreign Relations during the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide resolution.

ANKARA: FM Says Turkey, Azerbaijan Eye New Era For Peace

FM SAYS TURKEY, AZERBAIJAN EYE NEW ERA FOR PEACE

WorldBulletin.Net
April 20 2010
Turkey

Davutoglu said that Turkey and Azerbaijan were willing to begin a new
era in which both countries would normalize relations in the region,
secure mutual trust and open all borders.

Tuesday, 20 April 2010 08:50 Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
said Monday that Turkey and Azerbaijan had common goals and that they
were willing to begin a new era in which both countries would normalize
relations in the region, secure mutual trust and open all borders.

Following his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku,
Davutoglu met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Memmedyarov and
then the two ministers appeared at a joint news conference.

Davutoglu said U.S. and Russian co-chairs of the Minsk Group was due in
Azerbaijan on Tuesday, which he said was a very important development,
adding, "we hope efforts speed up with Minsk Group’s initiatives and
end up with its final goal."

The Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to encourage a peaceful, negotiated
resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Upper
Karabakh. The Minsk Group is headed by a co-chairmanship consisting
of France, Russia and the United States.

Turkey monitors Minsk Group’s activities very closely, Davutoglu said.

He said Turkish officials had meetings with French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev and gave their messages clearly.

"There is a great opportunity over Madrid Principles and everybody
should make use of it. Everybody must exert efforts for a solution
around these principles instead of killing the clock," he said.

Following the news conference Davutoglu departed from Azerbaijan
for Iran.

BAKU: Turkish FM: Liberating Azerbaijani Lands Is One Of Our Main Mi

TURKISH FM: LIBERATING AZERBAIJANI LANDS IS ONE OF OUR MAIN MISSIONS

Trend
April 19 2010
Azerbaijan

Solving the problem between Armenia and Azerbaijan and liberating
Azerbaijani lands is one of our key missions, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said to a press conference after his meeting with
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

"We had a bilateral meeting which covered the Armenian-Azerbaijani
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Discussions were held on steps to be taken
to achieve peace and stability in the South Caucasus. We discussed
recent processes with President Ilham Aliyev, and Mammadyarov. I
must say about the summit, which was held in Washington, that at all
our meetings, we demonstrated that our main goal is to continue the
process based on peace, security and stability," said Davutoglu

Davutoglu also added that Turkey’s goal is clear: establishing a new
period in the South Caucasus, which would be based on the normalization
of relations, opening of borders, trust and security.

"We hope that it will be achieved together with the efforts of the
OSCE Minsk Group," said Davutoglu.

35 Armenian art workers to discuss value system creation

35 Armenian art workers to discuss value system creation

April 17, 2010 – 15:12 AMT 10:12 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

A round table-discussion on Armenian school will bring together 35 art
workers in Yerevan on April 19.

The event is organized by Ayb education center, which is going to
establish Ayb Education Hub. To develop a concept, it has already
organized several discussions with participation of representatives of
different fields.

Ayb press service reported that the series of public discussions on
Armenian school will be concluded by a summarizing conference in June,
during which Armenian School of the 21st century concept will be
presented.

ANKARA: Turkish PM rejects Opp call to change constitution reforms

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
April 15 2010

Turkish PM rejects opposition’s call to change constitution reform package

Ankara: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected Wednesday
main opposition Republican People’s Party’s call to scrap part of a
government-backed constitutional bill.

CHP leader Deniz Baykal was referring to three articles of the
constitutional amendment bill over the make-up of the Constitutional
Court, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors, and a proposed
arrangement that would seek parliament’s approval to shut down a
political party. Baykal said his party would back only the rest of the
reforms.

"These (calls) are not serious. It is impossible for us to have a
positive approach to such proposals which water down a serious
matter," Erdogan told reporters at his arrival to Ankara from
Washington where he attended the Nuclear Security Summit.

"We do not have a counterproposal," Erdogan said.

A parliamentary committee passed government’s reform package on
Tuesday. The parliament is expected to start debating the
constitutional reforms next Monday.

The bill needs to get 367 votes in order to be adopted. If it receives
somewhere between 330 and 366 votes, the bill would be put to
referendum. If it receives less then 330 the bill will be rejected.
Erdogan’s ruling AK Party currently holds 336 seats in the parliament.
However, parliament speakers are not allowed to vote in the parliament
which reduces AK Party’s potential votes to 335.

If the bill is to be put to referendum, it will be voted as a whole.

The government made public the constitutional amendment bill on March
22. Opposition parties which are sceptical of the government bill,
have severely criticized the attempt, and said the move aimed at
taking over and politicizing the judiciary.

The Supreme Court, the Council of State and the Supreme Court of
Judges have also severely criticised the bill and accused the
government of attempting to infiltrate into the judiciary.

The government which denies accusations argues that the bill aims at
making Turkey more democratic in line with EU’s expectations.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said a border
crossing between Turkey and Armenia would remain closed unless a
settlement was reached in the conflict over the Karabakh region.

"Occupation of Azerbaijan’s territory is the reason why our border
(with Armenia) was closed down in 1993. Now we want that to be fixed
and we are ready to take the step as soon as that happens," Erdogan
told reporters upon his arrival in Turkey from the United States where
he participated in a nuclear security summit meeting.

Erdogan said Turkey stood behind commitments it had made in protocols
with Armenia signed in October 2009 in Switzerland.

"We respect the principle of ‘pacta sund servanda’ and we are loyal to
what we have signed in Zurich. But no one has the right to impose
one’s own memories on Turkey as Turkey has never tried do to such a
thing," Erdogan said.

Replying to a question about Iran’s nuclear programme, Erdogan said,
"a different version of the Nuclear Security Summit in the USA on
April 12-13 will be held in Iran on April 16-17. Officials from Turkey
will be in attendance at the meeting. On numerous occasions, we have
stressed that a democratic and diplomatic solution is the only way
since anti-democratic attempts have always led to human tragedies. On
the other hand, Turkey is the only country among member states of the
United Nations Security Council having border with Iran. There have
been friendly relations between Turkey and Iran since the Treaty of
Zohab in 1639. Our border is about 380 km. Our trade volume exceeded
10 billion USD. Iran is our second biggest supplier of natural gas
behind Russia. We cannot leave aside all those relations. Our friends
should also asses it."

When asked whether Kurmanbek Bakiev, ousted leader of Kyrgyzstan,
sought asylum from Turkey, Prime Minister Erdogan said, "such a demand
has not been made. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held a series of
telephone conversations with the US officials about the developments
Kyrgyzstan. We are ready to contribute all efforts to find a
solution."

Prime Minister Erdogan also expressed his profound sorrow over loss of
lives in the quake in China.

Turkish Foreign Minister To Visit Azerbaijan And Iran

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT AZERBAIJAN AND IRAN

armradio.am
16.04.2010 12:04

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu will visit
Azerbaijan on Monday.

He made such statement at a press conference in Washington after
meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday.

"We still intend to continue the process of normalizing relations
with Armenia. We brought our determination to the attention of the
Armenian and American parties," CNN Turk quoted Davutoglu as saying.

At the end of his visit to Azerbaijan next week Turkish Foreign
Minister will depart for Iran.

Toronto Star: Turkey’s 95 Years Of Denial

TURKEY’S 95 YEARS OF DENIAL

Toronto Star
April 17 2010
Canada

As other countries apologize for atrocities, the 1915 Armenian massacre
remains taboo

Some were thrown into the Black Sea and drowned, while thousands
of other men, women and children were forced to march through the
blistering Syrian desert without food or water, dying en route to
concentration camps.

The 1915 killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians by extremists in the
Ottoman Empire’s "Young Turk" movement during the turmoil of World War
I has been exhaustively documented by scholars, diplomats, journalists
and the testimonies of survivors. Henry Morgenthau, the U.S.

ambassador to the empire, cabled Washington about a "systematic plan
to crush the Armenian race."

After the war, a Turkish court held war crimes trials and concluded
that the leaders of the massacre were guilty of murder – though they
were never jailed.

Ninety-five years after the onset of what has been labelled the 20th
century’s first genocide, Turkey has not come to terms with the dark
event, whose ghosts still haunt relations with neighbouring Armenia.

The months-long massacre is marked on April 24, the date when hundreds
of Armenian intellectual leaders were deported and killed.

"Turkey has a different perspective on history," says Fadi Hakura,
a Turkish expert at Chatham House in London. "It believes no genocide
took place: many Armenians were expelled for security reasons or
killed by the ravages of war."

Turkey maintains that local Armenians supported the invading Russian
army during the war, and rose up treasonously against Ottoman
authorities. And many Christian Armenians were killed along with
Muslims in what amounted to a civil war. Deportations occurred,
but no organized attempt to destroy the Armenian population.

Hence, no genocide.

Nearly a century later, everyone linked with the massacres is dead,
along with the Ottoman Empire. Turkey is an ally of the West, a global
trading partner and a candidate for European Union membership.

But Ankara’s efforts to wall off the past run counter to those of other
countries with clouded histories. A German president has apologized
for the Holocaust to the Israeli parliament and a former South African
leader asked forgiveness for the pain and suffering of the viciously
racist apartheid system. Last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin acknowledged the Soviet role in the slaughter of 22,000 Poles
at Katyn during World War II.

But Turkey still considers the subject of Armenian genocide taboo. So
international moves to recognize it continue to outrage Ankara.

When the U.S. House of Representatives foreign affairs committee
recently voted to recommend Washington recognize the genocide, Turkey
recalled its envoy and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip said the bill
"accuses the Turkish nation of a crime it has not committed."

Canada is among 21 countries to have recognized the genocide, although
more than 150 others have been reluctant to anger Turkey by formally
acknowledging it.

After nearly a century, why is Ankara so intent on suppressing the
grim events?

"Turkey has a duality in the way it’s governed," says George Shirinian,
who heads the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies in Toronto.

"There is a democratically elected government that runs its day to
day affairs. But there is a power behind the scenes known as the `deep
state,’ which consists of self-appointed protectors of the old ways,
mostly military and senior civilian bureaucrats."

Turkey, he says, was founded on the ashes of the old Ottoman Empire
by the military, which plays a prominent role in economic as well as
security matters. It wants to avoid any aspersions on the historic
military figures of a past that is "not as glorious as it appears."

While the country has modernized in a "very visible way," says
Turkish expert Henri Barkey of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania,
"there has never been a democratic culture in Turkey."

But there has been progress in the past decade, he adds. The rights
of the Kurdish minority, whose existence was once denied, is now an
acceptable topic of conversation.

The Armenian killings have remained under wraps for longer, and public
discussion was repressed.

After the 2007 shooting of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink – who
called the killings genocide – protests broke out and the prosecution
of outspoken intellectuals waned, although they are still taken to
court by nationalists who lodge damaging civil suits. Writers and
publishers have been charged with "insulting Turkishness" and jailed,
or forced to pay sizeable fines.

But Turkey’s young population, with an average age of 27, is more
progressive than its parents. And although the establishment is slow
to liberalize its views, the new generation is catching up quickly.

The government, meanwhile, has signed an historic agreement with
neighbouring Armenia to launch diplomatic relations and open the
borders. But the shadow of the genocide still hangs over the two
countries. Turkey says only that it would agree that a committee of
historians could investigate the events of 1915.

That is unacceptable to many Armenians, who remember the missing
family members whose fates are still unknown: of two million Armenians
in the Ottoman Empire on the eve of World War I, fewer than 400,000
remained by 1922.