Azerbaijan Refuses To Withdraw Snipers From Front Line – Armenian Di

AZERBAIJAN REFUSES TO WITHDRAW SNIPERS FROM FRONT LINE – ARMENIAN DIPLOMAT

Interfax
May 19 2010
Russia

The authorities in Baku have rejected Armenia’s request to withdraw
Azeri snipers from the front line separating the armed forces of the
two countries, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan
said on Wednesday.

"Among recent examples, Azerbaijan has categorically rejected a
proposal to withdraw its snipers from the front line," Kocharyan said.

The Madrid principles presented by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen
offer a viable solution to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, the
Armenian diplomat said.

"We know for certain that only one document is now present on the
negotiating table. These are the Madrid principles of 2007, which
were adopted by both sides as the foundation for their talks," he said.

"After it, the co-chairmen [of the OSCE Minsk Group] forwarded other
proposals, most of which were rejected by Azerbaijan," he said.

The declassified part of the Madrid principles says that the conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh should be settled based on three international
norms – self-determination, territorial integrity and the non-use of
force, Kocharyan said.

"The essence of this process is the self-determination of the people
of Nagorno-Karabakh," he said.

"Is Azerbaijan ready to accept the will of the people of Nagorno-
Karabakh? Judging by its statements, it is not. Is Azerbaijan ready to
return the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh that it occupies? Obviously
not. Azerbaijan’s position will become constructive after fundamental
status-linked issues are resolved. There will be no progress as long
as Azerbaijan continues its maneuvers in this issue," he said.

Varuzhan Akobian Moves Into 6th Place At U.S. Chess Championship

VARUZHAN AKOBIAN MOVES INTO 6TH PLACE AT U.S. CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 20, 2010 – 15:12 AMT 10:12 GMT

6th tour of U.S. Chess Championship was held on May 19 in St. Louis.

The championship hosted 24 chess players, including Armenia’s Varuzhan
Akobian, Melikset Khachiyan and Levon Altounian.

In the 6th tour of U.S. Chess Championship Akobian and Khachiyan
shared points with Yermolensky and Gurevich, while Altounian lost to
Robert Hess.

After the 6th tour, Varuzhan Akobian moved into 6th place with 3,5
points: Khachiyan – 20th place (2 points); Altounian- 24th place
(1,5 points).

Hikaru Nakamura is leading the championship with 4,5 points to
his score.

Baku Didn’t Let Its Delegate To Armenia

BAKU DIDN’T LET ITS DELEGATE TO ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 21, 2010 – 14:34 AMT 09:34 GMT

Caucasus 2009 international conference organized by Caucasus Institute
kicked off in Yerevan on May 21.

"Representatives from Azerbaijan did not arrive to take in the event
for the first time during its 6-year history," Caucasus Institute
Director Alexander Iskandaryan said. "This is probably conditioned
by the domestic situation in the neighbor republic. 10 days ago the
Azerbaijani rapporteur said he can’t participate in the conference
for a variety of reasons."

As PanARMENIAN.Net came to know from an informed source, the
Azerbaijani delegate wasn’t allowed to depart for Yerevan.

‘From Ararat To Zion’ Awarded As ‘The Best European Documentary’

‘FROM ARARAT TO ZION’ AWARDED AS ‘THE BEST EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARY’

ARMENPRESS
MAY 20, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS: Edgar Baghdasaryan’s ‘From Ararat to Zion’
documentary won the award of ‘The Best European Documentary’ at Swansea
Bay Film Festival (SBFF 2010). Harutyun Khachatryan, director of the
‘Golden Apricot’ film festival, reported journalists today that the
list of SBFF 2010 winners was announced this morning.

‘From Ararat to Zion’ documentary highlights its first award. The
film appeared in the final of the SBFF 2010 along with some French,
German, Dutch, Spanish, UK, Danish, Norwegian, Polish, Israeli
films. ‘From Ararat to Zion’ documentary appeared in the finals of
7 other international film festivals as well.

BAKU; Azerbaijani Parliament Welcomes Resolution Adopted By European

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT WELCOMES RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

news.az
May 21 2010
Azerbaijan

The vice speaker of Azerbaijani parliament has commented on the
resolution of the European Parliament adopted on May 20.

"We welcome the resolution adopted by the European parliament
that contains an appeal to Armenia to withdraw its troops from the
occupied Azerbaijani lands. This is an important document of one
of the influential organizations as the European parliament. If
Armenia considers itself to be a member of the world community,
it must fulfill its demand and withdraw from the occupied lands",
vice speaker of Milli Medjlis Bahar Muradova said.

She said the number of international organizations urging Armenia
to observe international law is growing each time and this is a
serious warning that the world does not intend to close eyes on its
occupational policy on Azerbaijan.

"As is known, the UN, Council of Europe, OIC and now the European
parliament have adopted resolutions condemning Armenia for its
occupation of Azerbaijani lands. We expect the NATO Parliamentary
Assembly to take the same decision too. That is, the world has got
assured about the nature of Armenia. And I do not think that it will
avoid responsibility and continue protracting the Karabakh conflict",
she said.

As for the criticism of Armenian FM Edward Nalbandian regarding
the resolution adopted by the European parliament, Muradova noted
that "this is an old tactics of the Armenian leadership to express
resentment over the just resolutions of international organizations".

"However, this will not help the as time is pressing and the world
expects Armenia to show a constructive approach to the conflict
settlement, otherwise, it will face the rest of the world", Muradova
said.

Russian, Ukrainian President Sign Range Of Joint Statements

RUSSIAN, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT SIGN RANGE OF JOINT STATEMENTS

ARMENPRESS
MAY 18, 2010
KIEV

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Ukrainian President Viktor
Yanukovich signed a range of bilateral documents Monday at the end
of their talks in Kiev, Armenpress reports citing Itar-Tass.

In part, the two heads of state signed joint statements on European
security, on settling the conflict around Moldova’s much-troubled
Dniester region, and on security measures in the Black Sea littoral
area.

Medvedev and Yanukovich endorsed the final protocol of the third
session of the Russian-Ukrainian interstate commission.

In the presence of both presidents, Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov of
Russia and Konstantin Grishchenko signed an agreement on demarcation
of the Russian-Ukrainian state border.

The director of Russian Space Agency /Roskosmos/, Anatoly Perminov,
and the director general of the Ukrainian national space agency,
Yuri Alexeyev, signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation
in the use and development of Russia’s global navigation satellite
system GLONASS.

The Ministers of Education, Andrei Fursenko and Dmitry Tabachnik,
signed an agreement between the two ministries on priority measures
in cooperation in the field of education and science for the period
of 2010 through to 2012.

Russian Minister of Culture, Alexander Avdeyev, and the Ukrainian
Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mikhail Kulinyak, put their signatures
under a program of cooperation for the years 2010 through to 2014.

The Russian bank VTB and Ukreximbank signed an agreement on inter-bank
cooperation. The document carries the signatures of the two banks’
CEO’s, Andrei Kostin and Nikolai Udovichenko.

Armenia’s Survival Depands Upon Delicate Diplomacy

ARMENIA’S SURVIVAL DEPENDS UPON DELICATE DIPLOMACY

Gulf News
menia-s-survival-depends-upon-delicate-diplomacy-1 .628143
May 18 2010
UAE

In a region plagued with conflict, the tiny nation continues to reach
out in harmony

By Jumana Al Tamimi, Associate Editor Published: 00:00 May 18, 2010

Yerevan Armenia, which changed hands throughout its long and troubled
history, has learnt that maintaining a "balanced" relationship with
all nations is essential to its survival.

On the ground, the smallest country in the region is in the heart of
an area marked by conflict.

Its northern neighbours Russia and Georgia are in conflict, yet both
have good relations with Yerevan.

To the south Armenia has a "pragmatic" relationship with Iran, which
is listed as one of Armenia’s best trade partners.

Yet Iran is in dispute with international community over its nuclear
programme.

Both Armenia’s eastern and western boundaries are closed because of
border disputes with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

"We are a small [country], and we want to have good relations with
our neighbours," Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister, Arman Kirakossian
said in the UAE recently.

"Keeping balance is number one priority for Armenia’s foreign policy.

"Keeping that balance is not only from today but from ancient times…

That is why we survived as a small nation."

Today, Armenia, which was once under the rule of the Ottoman Empire,
is eagerly awaiting the day its borders with Turkey will be opened.

Only then would Armenia start to think "larger and without boundaries",
Armenian officials said.

However, political problems needed to be overcome before normal
relations with its powerful western neighbour could begin.

"Our desire to normalise relations [with Turkey] remains a candid
one," Armenian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Territorial
Administration Armen Gevorgyan said.

Late last month, Yerevan announced the "temporary suspension" of the
ratification of a peace accord with Turkey, in a move described by
many analysts as a political tactic designed to put more pressure on
Turkey to endorse the peace proposals.

Turkey responded by reinstating its commitment to the rapprochement
process.

The two countries agreed late last year to establish diplomatic
relations and to open their borders — closed since 1993 when Armenia
and Azerbaijan went to war over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Turkish-Armenian-signed protocols received the blessings of the
US, Europe and Russia.

But they are yet to be endorsed by their respective parliaments.

Many Armenians, mainly in the diaspora, have asked for Turkish
recognition of the killing of more than one million Armenians during
First World War, calling it "genocide".

But Turkey refuses to recognise the killings, saying the number has
been exaggerated and those who were killed died in warfare.

Until today, calling the killings genocide has appeared to be a
problem for other countries too, including the US.

Despite pressure from Armenian activists and lawmakers, US President
Barack Obama described the mass killings in his statement to mark
Armenian Remembrance Day on April 22, as "one of the worst atrocities
of the 20th century".

He stopped short of using the word "genocide".

Turkey, a key US ally, has warned that it would badly damage the two
countries’ relationship if the US government tried to "politicise
history".

Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Washington earlier this year after
the US House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a nonbinding resolution
calling the killings "genocide".

"I don’t think someone is using this to pressure Turkey," Kirakossian
said.

Courageous and fair

However, some Arab analysts believe that the Western powers are
using the Turkish-Armenia issue as a pressure tool against Ankara,
especially after Turkey’s positions vis-a-vis Arab-Israeli peace
process were praised by many Arabs as "courageous and fair".

But at the same time, Kirakossian expressed hope that the international
community, including the US and the EU, could play a role in pushing
the peace process between Turkey and Armenia forward, describing
their role as "important".

Asked whether Armenia had its eyes on financial compensation from
Turkey at a later stage, Armenian parliamentary speaker Hovig
Aprahamian said: "I believe this is not an issue to be discussed at
the moment".

Surely, better relation with Armenia increases the chances of Turkey
being admitted to the European Union.

But it would equally benefit Armenia, since being open with Turkey
would give the country access to Turkey’s ports and larger markets.

Today, there are only chartered flights between Yerevan and the
Turkish capital of Ankara.

Yerevan, which has not put any conditions on its ratification of
the peace process with Turkey, has been blaming Ankara for putting
obstacles in the way.

Turkey has denied this.

Armenia rejected the Turkish request to link the ratification
of last year’s protocols with finding a peaceful solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue, with Turkish ally Azerbaijan.

Aprahamian stressed that his country was seeking "peaceful solution
to all problems in the region," including with Turkey and Azerbaijan
on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia, he said, was "ready for compromise, which means concessions
on both sides," on the disputed enclave.

Until then, the open borders with Georgia to the North and Iran to
the South would be some compensation to the closure of Armenia’s
West-East border closures with Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The survival of the 19-year-old independent Republic of Armenia,
sandwiched between allies and rivals, hinges on adopting a delicately
balanced foreign policy.

To its north, Georgia and Russia, which were locked in a military
conflict in 2008, are important partners for Armenia.

Each accuses the other of starting the conflict, on August 7.

That day Georgia tried to retake control of South Ossetia following
a series of clashes.

Russian forces quickly repelled the assault and pushed into Georgia.

But after five days of war, a ceasefire was reached, and the Russian
troops pulled back, but maintain a military presence in both South
Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The conflict left thousands of people from both sides displaced.

It also put a stop to shipments of natural gas from Russia to Armenia
through Chechnya and then Georgia.

"More than 70 per cent of our transit goods go through Georgia’s
territories… It is a very important country [for Armenia], and we
are with peaceful settlement to their problem and we also try to play
the mediator because it is very important to open the routes between
Georgia and Russia," Kirakossian said.

While the former Soviet Union republic kept its strong bonds with
Moscow — a former foe of Washington — Armenia has been receiving
$1.8 billion in aid a year from the US since early 1993 according to
Freedom Support Act.

Russia today has a military base in Armenia, and its troops are
jointly patrolling the borders with both Iran and Turkey.

Washington’s diplomatic mission in Yerevan, according to some
Armenians, is significant — a sign that considerable attention is
being paid to the republic that had one of the first nuclear power
plants of the Soviet Union era.

Armenia also has good relations with Iran in various fields including
trade and tourism. But not in the nuclear field, Armenian officials
stressed.

"There is no cooperation with Tehran in the nuclear field," Armenian
Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan said.

Even Kirakossian stressed, "Absolutely, there is no nuclear cooperation
with Iran".

"We have traditionally and always good and friendly, positive
relations with Iran and I think no one could object to cooperation
that is beneficial to the peoples [of two countries]," Gevorgyan said.

Iran had the right to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes,
as Armenia was doing, officials said in Yerevan.

But developing nuclear weapons was "unacceptable", since the region
was "fragile" and marked by conflict, officials said.

Imposing new economic sanctions on Iran — as Western powers are
currently discussing due to uncertainty about Tehran’s possible
nuclear ambitions — would constitute the "worst case scenario",
Gevorgyan said.

"We have interest in the settlement of this issue without further
tension," he said.

Western powers have accused Iran of planning to develop nuclear weapons
and not cooperating with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Passive

Tehran has denied the accusations and insists its programme is
non-military.

Debate over Iran’s nuclear programme, among other reasons, has led
to a tension in the Arab-Iranian relations.

However Armenia’s tendency towards good relations has been demonstrated
in Arab countries in both the Gulf and the Middle East — even Israel.

"We have diplomatic relations but Israel doesn’t have an embassy in
Armenia, the relations are in a very passive state. We have some
cooperation in agriculture and health fields, but nothing else,"
Kirakossian said.

Armenia’s good relations across the region can be attributed to the
country’s diaspora.

"Arabs, first of all in Syria receive Armenians in Deir Al Zor who came
from Ottoman Empire ruling in Turkey," Kirakossian said in reference
to the Armenians who arrived to Arab countries during and after the
First World War.

Apart from Syria, Armenians lived in Lebanon, Jordan and Occupied
Jerusalem and many moved to France, Canada and the US.

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/ar

La Turquie A Tente De Presenter Ses Reves Comme Une Realite

LA TURQUIE A TENTE DE PRESENTER SES REVES COMME UNE REALITE
Stephane

armenews
19 mai 2010
ARMENIE

Hayots Achkhar, Azg et Hayastani Hanrapetoutioun rapportent en
bonne place les propos d’un ancien conseiller du Departement d’Etat
americain, David Phillips, selon lequel tout au long du processus
de normalisation des relations armeno-turques, la Turquie a tente de
presenter ses reves comme une realite. La Turquie croyait, selon lui,
que la signature des protocoles relancerait le travail du Groupe de
Minsk et entraverait le processus de la reconnaissance internationale
du genocide armenien. Les deux attentes etaient, d’après lui, des
souhaits denues de bases realistes. Le conflit du HK n’a aucun rapport
avec les protocoles armeno-turcs, a-t-il dit, precisant que la Turquie
a fait montre d’une attitude peu serieuse en posant le règlement du
conflit du HK comme prealable a la ratification des protocoles.

Serzh Sargsyan: Armenia-Czechia Economic Relations Have Serious Unta

SERZH SARGSYAN: ARMENIA-CZECHIA ECONOMIC RELATIONS HAVE SERIOUS UNTAPPED POTENTIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 17, 2010 – 20:34 AMT 15:34 GMT

Armenian President expressed hope for Czech Prime Minister’s visit
to trigger further development of bilateral collaboration.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with Czech Prime Minister Jan
Fischer on May 17.

Welcoming his guest, Armenian President expressed hope for Czech
Prime Minister’s visit to trigger further development of bilateral
collaboration.

Armenia-Czechia economic relations have serious untapped potential,
RA leader added.

Jan Fischer emphasized the importance of collaboration with South
Caucasus states, giving high assessment to cooperation prospects
with Armenia. The Prime Minister specifically noted the necessity
of strengthening economic ties, with Armenia-Czechia business forum
contributing to their further development.

The parties also touched upon Karabakh conflict settlement issue,
Jan Fischer emphasizing Czechia’s support for its peaceful settlement
within OSCE MG framework, presidential press service reported.

Akcam, J. M. Hagopian Featured In Jewish World Watch Event

AKCAM, J. M. HAGOPIAN FEATURED IN JEWISH WORLD WATCH EVENT

FDD7720-61A5-11DF-92720003FF3452C2
Monday May 17, 2010

Discuss Armenian Genocide and its denial

Taner Akcam, Hovnan Derderian, Rabbi Harold Schulweis and J Michael
Hagopian.

Rabbi Harold Schulweis Dr. J Michael Hagopian May 6 2010 .

Encino, Calif. – "I don’t want to be silenced. I want to tell the truth
while I live," Dr. Taner Akcam, a former political prisoner in his
native Turkey and one of the first Turkish academics to acknowledge
and openly discuss the Armenian Genocide, told a group of more than
300 mostly Jews and Armenians, who came together at Valley Beth Shalom
synagogue on May 6 for an evening of fascinating film and discussion
about the Armenian Genocide.

Akcam, a scholar and author of A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide
and the Question of Turkish Responsibility, traveled to Los Angeles
from Worcester, MA, to join with award-winning documentary filmmaker
Dr. J. Michael Hagopian, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, to tell
stories of survival, courage, conscience and compassion regarding the
Armenian Genocide of 1915 and its long and complicated history. The
two men, who have known each other for 20 years, are among the world’s
leading authorities on the history of genocide.

The evening was sponsored by Jewish World Watch, a five-year-old
anti-genocide organization, a coalition of 64 Los Angeles synagogues
working together to combat genocide and other egregious violations
of human rights worldwide. JWW Co-Founder and VBS Rabbi Harold M.

Schulweis led the evening, and was joined by His Eminence Archbishop
Hovnan Derderian, Primate, Western Diocese of the Armenian Church
of North America, and Armenian Consul General Grigor Hovhannisyan,
as well as clergy from the Armenian and Jewish communities.

Akcam focused much of his talk on the "founding legends" of the
Turkish state, explaining the "myths" now protected by laws of the
land. The fourth legend is: "The Armenian Genocide is a complete lie.

It never happened." Akcam said that until the year 2000 there was no
law in the Turkish penal code protecting this legend, because until
recently, "absolutely no one in Turkey questioned it." However, in the
year 2000 the Turkish government passed the "infamous Article 301,"
making it a crime to talk about the Armenian Genocide as ‘genocide’."

"The most important reason [for the continued denial of the Armenian
genocide] is that we [Turks] have a lack of historic conscience,"
Akcam explained to the captivated audience. "If a community has to
recognize that its founding fathers, instead of being heroes, have
been perpetrators, who violated the cultural premises of their own
identity, reference to the past is indeed traumatic. The community
can cope with the fundamental contradiction between identity claims
and recognition only by a collective schizophrenia, by denial, by
decoupling or withdrawal.

"As long as the act of perpetration is not consciously accounted for,
all peculiarities of this event will live on in the unconscious,"
he added.

Hagopian, co-founder of the Armenian Film Foundation and JWW’s first
"I Witness" Award recipient in 2007, screened "The River Ran Red," the
final cinematic chapter in his "Witnesses" trilogy, which chronicles
the death marches of the Armenians to the Euphrates through haunting
eyewitness testimony. The two other films in the trilogy: "Germany
and the Secret Genocide" and "Voices from the Lake," were screened
previously at Valley Beth Shalom.

"These were to become films that someday might be used in a world
court to prosecute the Armenian Genocide," Hagopian told the audience,
adding that if the crimes committed against Armenians were ever to
be prosecuted, there would be no survivor voices left, creating a
need for his films and archives for eyewitness testimony. Between
1968 and 2004, Hagopian filmed nearly 400 testimonies of Armenian
Genocide survivors and witnesses.

Schulweis told the group that although he had not seen Hagopian’s
documentary before Thursday night, "I know it. As a Jew, I know it. I
know its bones, I know its scars, I know its wounds, I know its people.

"We both know what it’s like to be locked in a chamber in which no
sound is allowed to escape," he continued. Addressing the question of
some Jews: "What does the Genocide have to do with our Holocaust,"
Schulweis answered: "We will not play the sorrowful game of
one-downsmanship. No one’s blood is redder than the rest.

"We must leave here not with a broken heart, but with a spine that
is stiffened. The important thing is that we understand, with all
our might, never again!," Schulweis said.

About Jewish world watch Jewish World Watch, a Los Angeles-based
human rights organization, is a coalition of 64 synagogues working
together to combat genocide and other egregious violations of human
rights worldwide. Since its founding five years ago, JWW has achieved
significant success within its three mission goals: education, advocacy
and humanitarian relief, having allocated almost $4 million in direct
assistance to the survivors of genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Efforts have
recently expanded to the Democratic Republic Congo, as the group is
working for policies that will help women and girls there who have
been victims of mass atrocities.

http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?objectid=C
www.jewishworldwatch.org.