Month: November 2006

TIGRAN TOROSYAN MET WITH CHAIRMAN OF THE RF FEDERAL COUNCIL
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
In the framework of the 27th plenary sitting of the CIS
Interparliamentary Assembly Armenian Parliament Speaker Tigran Torosyan
had a meeting with the Chairman of the Russian Federal Council Sergey
Mironov. During the meeting reference was made to the activities of
the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, the Caucasus Four meeting, as well
as NA Chairman’s upcoming official visit to the Russian Federation.
The meeting of the Caucasus Four, featuring Parliament Speakers of
Armenia, Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan was held the same day.

BILL ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WILL BE PRESENTED IN NEXT CONGRESS
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
In the next Congress together with our partners Adam Schiff and George
Radanovich we shall prepare and present a bill on recognition of the
Armenian Genocide,” Congressional Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone and
Joe Knollenberg said during the meeting with Chairman of the Armenian
Association of America Brian Adouny. The Congressmen expressed hope
that the adoption of this bill will once and forever reconfirm the
crime committed against Armenians of the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1923.
“Proper acknowledgment of this awful reality will become the first step
for preventing reoccurrence of such crimes in the future and to give
meaning to the “never again” expression,” they said, appreciating the
fact that 90 percent of the Caucus members have been reelected. “We
expect that our joint work will reinforce the ties between the US
and Armenia, will prevent the efforts of Turkey and Azerbaijan to
isolate Armenia and will finally confirm the historic fact of the
Armenian Genocide,” the Congressmen mentioned.
Frank Pallone and Joe Knollenberg informed also that in April they
intend to organize a special event in the Capitol dedicated to the
92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Assembly of
America reports.
The Assembly expressed gratitude to the Co-Chairs for their consistency
and resoluteness to present the bill on Armenian Genocide recognition
to the Congress.

NKR PARLIAMENT DONATES 350 000 DRAMS TO “REBIRTH OF ARTSAKH” PROGRAM
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
NKR Parliament will transfer 350 thousand drams to assist the Telethon
in Los Angeles for the accomplishment of “Rebirth of Artsakh” program,
NKR Parliament Speaker Ashot Gulyan declared during the plenary
session of the National Assembly, ArmInfo correspondent reports from
Stepanakert. The sum was donated by deputies and staff of the National
Assembly. The Speaker called on all the citizens and organizations
of the Republic to have active participation in this nationwide event.

ELMAR MAMMADYAROV: THERE ARE STILL DISAGREEMENTS IN THE KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
We discussed the suggestion presented by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs
in Moscow and came to the conclusion to continue the talks, said the
Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov, commenting on the
results of the meeting with Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian, Mediamax
agency reports.
Elmar Mammadyarov informed that after the November 20 the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-chairs will visit Yerevan and Baku. They suggested to arrange
the meeting of Presidents following their visit to the region. Azeri
Foreign Minister considers that the meeting of Presidents may be held
November 28 in Minsk in the framework of the summit of CIS leaders.
Commenting on the course of the talks with RA Foreign Minister,
Mammadyarov said here are still disagreements. He noted also that for
two years negotiations have been held in the framework of the Prague
process, and Armenia understands the position of Azerbaijan. “It is
still early to speak about any progress. It will be possible only
after the meeting of the Presidents,” said Elmar Mammadyarov. He
noted that the talks will be completed this year.

RA PRESIDENT TO SPEAK AT THE BERTELSMANN FUND
Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
November 15 in Berlin RA President Robert Kocharyan attended the
festive ceremony of opening of the new Armenian Embassy building in
Berlin, which is located in one of the most celebrated districts of
the city.
Today Robert Kocharyan will have meetings with the Mayor of Berlin
Klaus Voverayt and Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
Angela Merkel.
RA President will deliver a speech at Bertelsmann – the most
influential political fund of Germany.

WE DON’T NEED RUSSIAN SOLDIERS, WE NEED THEIR WEAPON
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
In Armenia we don’t need the Russian soldier, we need the Russian
weapon and equipment, stated Kiro Manoyan, ARF on November 16,
who is in charge of the Hay Dat and political issues. He expressed
this view when the reporters asked him how a Russian young man can
guarantee the security of the people of Armenia, if he is brought
up in an atmosphere of xenophobia in his homeland, and who kills the
citizens of Armenia in his homeland.
“In Armenia, we do not need Russian soldiers to come to Armenia, we
need their weapon and equipment to be here,” says Kiro Manoyan. He
also thinks that the killings of citizens of Armenia in Russia are
not an anti-Armenian policy. Kiro Manoyan says the chauvinism and
xenophobia in Russia is worrying but they do not kill only Armenians.
Kiro Manoyan says, however, that it does not mean we do not need
to worry about the killings of our compatriots. The murder of one
person is worrying and should be condemned, let alone that millions
of Armenians live in Russia, says Kiro Manoyan. The representative of
the ARF Dashnaktsutyun is worried by the reaction of the Russian law
enforcement agencies towards these incidents, which fail to expose
and punish the guilty.

CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS CALL FOR SAVING POLITICAL PROCESS
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
The leader of the Christian Democratic Party of Armenia Khosrov
Harutiunyan thinks that economy cannot be separated from politics, and
if we want to have a competitive economy, we must have a “political
system able to make effective political decisions in any sphere of
the public life. I am inviting all the political parties: let us
save the political process.” The leader of the Christian Democratic
Union presented his standpoint to the news reporters on November
16. Khosrov Harutiunyan thinks that the best way to reach this is
to step up political struggle instead of struggle for power, when
the political teams of the political parties struggle, when before
the election the political teams of the political parties present
the pattern of the future parliament to the public, they say who
the minister of science or culture is going to be. In this case,
according to Khosrov Harutiunyan, the finance and the number of
the members of the party will not be the only and deciding factor,
“Everyone who has something to say and does not have money will be
able to become involved in the political struggle.”
Of course, the leader of the Christian Democratic Party does not think
that the financial factor can be ignored completely, but he is for
the existence of “political teams which make effective political
decisions” and he thinks “the purpose of the political parties
should not be coming to power but having a positive influence on the
processes underway in the public life and politics.” Thus the factor
of the personality will diminish in the political processes. And
now the political forces are thinking about coming to power and “if
you want to be a minister, you have to do two things: guess who the
prime minister will be and do him a favor.” The Christian Democratic
Party thinks that today the Republican Party, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun
and maybe also Bargavach Hayastan have the potential to present a
political team. There is no such force in the opposition but it is
commendable that alliances with an ideological basis are outlining.
Khosrov Harutiunyan is for criticizing the governments, against
swearing, and he also thinks that the success of the present government
is the success of all the previous governments. “Newton says I could
see far because I was standing on the shoulders of the giants.”
The leader of the Christian Democratic Union says the media have
an important role in saving the political process. Today, however,
he says there are no serious analyses in the media, “I had expected
more from the media.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE UNITED STATES HELPS KARABAKH ONLY
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
Nagorno Karabakh should not be mixed with South Ossetia or the other
post-soviet conflicts, and we should not think that the policy of
the United States not to recognize the referendums held in these
territories will be applied to Karabakh. On November 16 Kiro Manoyan
in charge of the Hay Dat and political affairs of the ARF Bureau at
the National Press Club.
He said it does not mean that the White House cannot reject Karabakh
but it is a fact that Nagorno Karabakh is the only conflict area,
the only unrecognized country which gets annual assistance from the
United States.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DASHNAKTSUTYUN FAILED TO SOLVE CHAKHALYAN’S MYSTERY
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation was strangely silent about the
passions after the local elections in Javakheti, which culminated in
the arrest of Vahagn Chakhalyan in Armenia. It was strange because
this political party claims to be the advocate of the preservation of
the Armenian nation and the Hay Dat. Meanwhile, when Dashnaktsutyun
failed to react to the recent events, it made think that the silence
of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun is highly doubtful and even part of a plot.
On November 16 we asked Kiro Manoyan in charge of Hay Dat and political
issues of the ARF Bureau to answer why the ARF was silent.
He stated that the ARF did not react to Chakhalyan’s arrest and the
reason was that they considered this arrest as mysterious. “The person
who was awarded by the prime minister several months or one or two
years ago was arrested in Armenia, and returned to Javakheti as a
hero. The truth is not clear, therefore we did not want to express
a standpoint,” says Kiro Manoyan.
And were you willing to solve the mystery, we asked the representative
of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun. He assured that they had tried but it was
very difficult to find out anything, and they learned very little. “If
the accusation was real, the accusation that they crossed the border
is to be criticized, and they could stop and get the seal. But I
don’t think that he was a refugee, if the accusation is true because
I know that many people cross the border every day and this is the
first time they demand a seal. If there are other purposes, these
are not clear,” says Kiro Manoyan. His personal opinion on all this
is that Vahagn Chakhalyan returned to Javakheti as a hero.

DEMOCRATS WILL SET HARDER STIPULATIONS
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
The Hay Dat Committee of America backed 198 congressional candidates,
and the majority are Democrats. 93 percent of these candidates
were elected to the House and the Senate. The Hay Dat Committee of
America expects that the Democrats they backed will live up to the
expectations of the Armenian lobby connected with the international
recognition of the genocide.
It is not clear, however, why this time the Democrats should justify
the expectations of the Armenian lobby, if formerly they were majority
in the Congress and the White House but the hopes of the Armenians
of America did not come true. Why are the Armenians of the United
States and namely the Hay Dat Committee hopeful that this time the
Democrats will not disappoint them? On November 16 the news reporters
asked this question to Kiro Manoyan in charge of Hay Dat and political
issues ARF Bureau, hosted at the National Press Club.
He thinks the situation today is different.
“It is different because the elections are new, and all this time
the Democrats or an important part of the Democrats made promises,
and acted besides making promises. Second, a parliamentary election
will be held in two years, and both political parties will hardly want
a politically organized community like the Armenian community to work
against them because it is clear that the community has considerable
political possibilities and strength, and despite controversies
over certain issues they agree on the issue of the genocide,” says
Kiro Manoyan.
For the change or reconsideration of the Armenian and American
relations after the victory of the Democrats, Kiro Manoyan says the
main issue is the U.S. attitude towards Iran and the Russian-American
relation.
“There is already an opinion that there is attitude, which is not final
and formal, which will undergo certain changes, Iran may become engaged
in building peace, stability and security in Iran, which will mean
that Iran and the United States agree on this question, the stance
of Iran on the United States, not suddenly, but will become milder,”
says Kiro Manoyan. According to him, this change will affect our
region because tensions between these two are against the Armenian
interest. Kiro Manoyan says it is possible to expect changes in terms
of the Russian-Armenian relations.
“Although the Russian-Armenian relations may be tenser because the
Democrats may have a harder stance on Russia,” says Kiro Manoyan.
With regard to the U.S.-Armenian relation Kiro Manoyan says that the
Congress will keep the U.S. assistance to Armenia on the same level.
But Kiro Manoyan thinks that the Democrats will be harder in terms
of the stipulations for this assistance: civil rights, democracy. The
representative of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun thinks that in reality this
favors Armenia, because Armenia needs this for progress rather than
for meeting the demands of the great powers.