Month: April 2007

MAIN ATTENTION TO LEGAL ASPECT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 3 2007

YEREVAN, April 3. /ARKA/. Attention must be focused on the legal aspect
on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement during the settlement process, the
former foreign minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), NKR
Presidential Advisor Arman Melikyan stated at a meeting on the occasion
of the 10th anniversary of the committee "In defense of the NKR".

"The settlement of the conflict requires implementation of a number of
measures, with the main attention to be focused on the legal aspect:
presenting the legal positions of the settlement to the international
community and realizing them," he said.

Melikyan added that the international community’s reaction to the
settlement process is likely to be expected for along time and "the
resources available now" must be used.

"Of paramount importance are the issues of the liberated territories
and of Armenian refugees. The liberated territories must be transferred
to Armenian refugees as property. This will settle the issue of
territories, protection of the Armenians and security of Armenia and
Artsakh," Melikyan said.

He also added that the liberated territories must be developed with
economic benefit.

The committee "In defense of Nagorno-Karabakh" was formed in 1996 and
unites Armenian political and public figures, experts and political
scientists. The committee currently unites 25 political and public
organizations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY COMMENDED SENATORS

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 3 2007

The Armenian Assembly of America commended Senator Richard Durbin
(D-IL), along with Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT)
and John Cornyn (R-TX) as legislation, which they introduced, had
passed the U.S. Senate last week. The Genocide Accountability Act,
S. 888, closes a legal loophole that prevented the U.S. Justice
Department from punishing perpetrators of genocide who find safe
haven in the United States.

"There is no safe haven for the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese
facing genocide in Darfur and yet our country is providing a safe
haven for their killers," said Senator Durbin, who chairs the Senate
Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. "The current
loophole in our genocide laws has real-life consequences. While
genocide rages in Darfur, the United States must commit to holding
those guilty of genocide accountable."

"The extraterritorial jurisdiction contained within the Genocide
Accountability Act upholds the spirit of the United Nations Convention
on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide," said
Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian.

"We commend Senators Durbin, Coburn, Leahy and Cornyn for bringing
much needed attention to this important human rights issue,"
Hovnanian added.

The legislation allows foreign nationals, who enter America, to
be prosecuted for committing the crime of genocide outside of the
United States.

"In America we are blessed with the most effective and just legal
system in the world. It is contrary to our system of justice to allow
perpetrators of genocide to go free without fear of prosecution,"
said Senator Coburn, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Human
Rights and the Law. "Fundamentally, we must decide if genocide is a
bad enough crime, no matter where it happens, that it warrants the
same treatment as terrorism-related crimes."

This is the first piece of legislation to be produced by the
Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, which has jurisdiction
over all human rights laws and policies and follows a hearing held in
February entitled "Genocide and the Rule of Law", where the Armenian
Assembly submitted testimony. The Genocide Accountability Act has been
endorsed by the Save Darfur Coalition, Genocide Intervention Network,
American Jewish World Service, Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian
National Committee of America, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch,
Alliance for Justice, Refugees International, and ENOUGH.

CURRENT APRIL 23-24 ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA TO HOLD ANNUAL TRUSTEES MEETING & ADVOCACY CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 3 2007

The Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) will hold its Annual Trustees
Meeting and Advocacy Conference on April 23-24, 2007 at the Renaissance
Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, AAA reports.

The two-day event kicks off with the Annual Trustees Meeting,
where Assembly leaders will review the past year and discuss
the organization’s upcoming plans and initiatives. In addition,
participants will be briefed on pending legislation and sharpen their
skills with an advocacy training session. Activists will also embark
on a full day of meetings with Members of Congress and their staff
to advocate for critical legislation and strengthen the U.S.-Armenia
relationship.

"This is a great opportunity to come together in our nation’s capital
to press for key legislation affirming the Armenian Genocide," said
Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian. "We encourage all of
our members and activists to attend."

On the evening of April 24, Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone,
Jr. (D-NJ) and Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI) will spearhead a Capitol
Hill commemoration for the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

This pan-Armenian event will be held in conjunction with the Armenian
Embassy and will feature former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John
M. Evans as the keynote speaker.

FIGHTING FOR ARMENIA
Alexander Mkrtchian for RIA Novosti

RIA Novosti, Russia
April 3 2007
Moscow

In all civilized countries people see elections as an opportunity to
improve their lives, to build a stronger state and improve security.

Similar attitudes prevail in Armenia today because the outcome of the
forthcoming parliamentary elections will largely determine changes in
government and society, prospects for settling the Karabakh crisis,
and success of the efforts to overcome the consequences of the Armenian
genocide. These are major regional and international issues.

But ordinary Armenians have more faith in real power than promises.

It is no accident that the public preferences are with the parties of
power – the Republicans and the newly-established Prosperous Armenia
Party (PAP). The opposition parties are obviously weak.

The PAP was set up with the support of the current administration
and is headed by local oligarch Gagik Tsarukian. In the forthcoming
presidential elections, he is unlikely to put up a serious fight
against the only favorite Serzh Sarkisian. Even the name of Prosperous
Armenia sounds more like a declaration. In effect, its leader is a man
whose business has prospered largely due to the benevolent attitude
of the current authorities.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation deserves special mention. This
party has made a great contribution to the success of the Karabakh
movement; it is widely respected by the numerous Armenians who live
outside the CIS, and has been trying to restore its positions in
Russia and other former Soviet republics. It looks like this party
will receive about 10% of the votes and have a voice in parliament.

It will probably support the Republican presidential nominee Serzh
Sarkisian, and a Russia-oriented strategy.

The prospects of Russian-Armenian strategic partnership are rather
bleak since the modern geopolitical alignment of forces in the Caucasus
does not favor Armenia and Russia. The U.S., Europe and Turkey are
confidently paving the way for NATO into Central Asia through Georgia
and Azerbaijan. The West has been closely watching the Caspian
oil-and-gas projects and construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines, railways and highways bypassing
Armenia, and may decide to stage a major geopolitical experiment in
the region.

The United States and its allies want to stay in the region in the
long term not only because the Caspian is rich in energy and Central
Asia in strategic raw materials but also to gain control of the
most important territories and communications, exert pressure on the
oil-bearing Iran and eradicate Russia’s traditional influence there.

Regrettably, Orthodox Georgia is turning into a vehicle of
implementing Western strategy and geopolitics in the Caucasus and
Central Asia. Hence, fighting for Armenia will determine who controls
the South Caucasus, and can exert certain influence on Asia Minor.

For this reason, the West and Russia are equally interested in Robert
Kocharian’s successor.

For us the best choice will be Serzh Sarkisian, defense minister and
secretary of the Armenian Security Council. As a government official,
he has climbed the career ladder starting from the bottom, and held
key positions in security-related bodies of Nagorny Karabakh and
Armenia. He knows the domestic situation well and has built a good
working relationship with his Russian colleagues. All these factors
should contribute to the consolidation of strategic partnership.

There is no united opposition in Armenia, which does not mean that
the presidential elections will be uneventful. The Western favorite
is Vardan Oskanian, who has been Armenia’s foreign minister during
all these years.

In order to promote their strategic partnership Russia and Armenia
should look for new opportunities to expand trade and economic
relations, and military-technical and cultural cooperation. Armenia
requires additional security guarantees in the event of an armed
provocation in the Karabakh conflict area. In turn, Armenia should
have a clear-cut concept of national security. Russia, on the other
hand, must clearly see the framework of a common security system in
the region in general, and in Armenia, in particular.

The inter-government commission on economic cooperation between Russia
and Armenia should probably step up its activities. It could include
reputable representatives of civil institutions from both sides.

Russian companies have bought Armenian energy facilities, and are not
enthusiastic about investing in the local economy, especially in small
and medium-sized businesses. By comparison, in the period between
1992 and 2001,Turkey set up 1,327 businesses of different status on
the territory of its main South Caucasian partner, Azerbaijan.

Armenian society is hoping that the visit of Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov will contribute to the promotion of bilateral ties.

Yerevan understands that the present and future of Russian-Armenian
relations largely determine political stability in the South
Caucasus. Despite intensive activities of NATO and the European Union
in the region, Armenia continues to be Russia’s reliable partner.

Yerevan is maintaining relations of trust with Russia when it comes
to national security, and is trying to avoid problems that may
require force majeure solutions. This is my view of Armenian foreign
policy. Its positive development largely depends on Russia’s position,
and on its predictable and resolute action in the region.

Alexander Mkrtchian is a member of the Union of Armenians in Russia
board.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not
necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

RUSSIA’S FM: MEDIATORS ARE IN LOCKSTEP NOT ONLY ABOUT KARABAGH SETTLEMENT’S PRINCIPLES, BUT ALSO CONCRETE DETAILS

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 3 2007

"The Nagorno-Karabagh conflict claims the status of a unique one more
than any other, not because some different principles are applied to
the Nagorno-Karabagh and not the international law’s fundamentals,
but due to the fact that from the practical viewpoint it must be the
only conflict, where the interests of Russia, the U.S. and European
Union absolutely do not contradict one another and the conflicting
parties’ interests", Russian Federation’s FM Sergey Lavrov stated
at a joint press conference with Vardan Oskanian upon the bilateral
talks’ completion.

According to Sergey Lavrov, RA and AR leadership has a final say in
the matter. "We highly estimate the efforts of both Baku and Yerevan
on advancing the negotiation process, first of all at the Presidents’
level as well as at the level of Foreign Ministers. The Co-Chairs are
careful about their functions. We realize we should not decide for
the parties, we should only help. I hope the Co-Chairs’ unique unity
not only about principles, but also details will help our friends in
Yerevan and Baku to reach mutually acceptable agreements, while Russia
is ready to be the arrangements’ guarantor", Russia’s FM underscored.

VARDAN OSKANIAN: KARABAGH SETTLEMENT SHOULD NOT DEPEND ON DECISIONS RENDERED ON OTHER CONFLICTS’ SETTLEMENT

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 4 2007

Karabagh conflict settlement should not depend on the decisions
rendered on other conflicts’ settlement, RA Acting FM Vardan Oskanian
stated at a press conference held in Yerevan April 3, commenting on
the situation around Kosovo settlement.

According to Vardan Oskanian, any conflict should be considered from
the viewpoint of its specific features. "Sure, precedents are of some
importance in the international relations; however, I think we’ll
consider each conflict in its context. The Nagorno-Karabagh conflict
has its specific nature, the Kosovo conflict has its own specific
features", he noted. Vardan Oskanian underscored the Nagorno-Karabagh
was going along the road of self-determination.

CRPS CONSIDERED THE MUTUAL COMPLAINTS OF THE "ARMENTEL" AND VIVACELL MOBILE OPERATORS

Mediamax Agency, Armenia
April 4 2007

Yerevan, April 4 /Mediamax/. The Commission for Regulating Public
Services of Armenia (CRPS) considered today the mutual complaints of
the two mobile operators – "ArmenTel" and VivaCell.

Mediamax reports that, according to the decision, made by the
Commission, the VivaCell Company must in the course of one day place
information in its website on the tariffs, applied within the framework
of the "Optima +" tariff plan, as well as to inform the CRPS on any
changes in the tariff plans of the company in written form. At that,
the CRPS established that VivaCell should also notify its subscribers
about tariff changes in all the service centers.

The Commission made a decision to partly suspend the "Family and
Friends" service, which the "ArmenTel" Company has been providing
starting from March 1 of 2007 concerning the international calls,
and charged the company to present grounds to CRPS in the course of
10 days, according to which the 27 drams per minute tariff within
the framework of the "Family and Friend" service is not dumping.

The Commission decided that the VivaCell Company should in the course
of 10 days present to the CRPS grounds for their statement, according
to which the 27 drams per minute tariff, established by "ArmenTel"
within the framework of the "Family and Friends" service is dumping.

Mediamax reports that the General Director of the "ArmenTel" CJSC Oleg
Bliznyuk stated that the tariff, established within the framework of
the "Family and Friends" service is not unprofitable for the Company,
it continues to bring profit and, consequently, cannot be considered
dumping. The General Director of "ArmenTel" stressed that the new
owners of the Company have always been for the reduction of tariffs,
which will allow making the mobile service more available for the
citizens of Armenia.

"When we entered the market, we announced right away that we will not
be earning money by means of increasing the prices", Oleg Bliznyuk
stated.

"Our calculations evidence that the given tariff is over the prime
cost of the service. If we can provide this service by this price,
and the other operator cannot, it is not our problem", the General
Director of "ArmenTel" stated.

The General Director of VivaCell Company Ralph Yirikian refused to
comment on the statements of Oleg Bliznyuk, noting that he will be
following the decision of the CRPS. He also noted that in the nearest
future he plans to give a news conference and to tell about the plans
of VivaCell.

ONE OF RUSSIA’S PRIORITIES – RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA – LAVROV

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 4 2007

YEREVAN, April 4 (Itar-Tass) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
said on Wednesday relations with Armenia is one of Russia’s priorities.

"We believe that stability in the Caucasus depends in many respects on
Armenia’s situation," he told a meeting with students and professors
of the Yerevan State University.

"It is possible to ensure such stability not by means of creating a
certain bloc, but by means of joint efforts," he said.

"Within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization we
do not try to fence off ourselves from others or work against anyone,"
he said.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is "aimed at stability,
counteraction to terrorism and drugs trafficking and open cooperation
with the countries interested in resolving these tasks," Lavrov said.

He pointed out that Russia is interested in calm on its borders,
stable development of neighbouring countries and "mutually advantageous
and equal cooperation with them proceeding from the interests of our
economies and our countries."

NAGORNO-KARABAGH REPUBLIC PRESIDENT’S ELECTIONS TO BE HELD JULY 19, 2007

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 4 2007

Current elections of the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic President will be
held July 19, 2007.

The decision was rendered by the NKR National Assembly at a plenary
sitting today, DE FACTO own correspondent in Stepanakert reports.

Pursuant to the Republic Constitution nomination of candidates for
President will start 90 days before the elections.

To remind, NKR President Arkady Ghoukassian, who has been occupying
the post since 1997, stated despite the possibility to seek a third
term granted by the recently adopted Constitution he was not going
to run for President at the forthcoming elections.

Today the Parliament adopted modifications and amendments to the NKR
Electoral Code in the first reading and the Republic National Assembly
time-limit in the second, final reading.

CAPTURED AZERBAIJANI SOLDIER’S PARENTS APPEAL TO PRESIDENT FOR TAKING THEIR SON BACK

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 4 2007

The parents of Azerbaijani soldier Samir Mammadov, captured by Armenian
Armed Forces ask President Ilham Aliyev to help take their son back,
the soldier’s mother Tarana Mammadova told the APA.

"We ask the president to help us take back our son. Samir is not
only our son, he is an Azerbaijani. Though we can not meet with the
president, we ask him to help us to take our son back. I believe that
Samir will return and serve his motherland honorably," she said.

The soldier’s mother refuted the reports that her son was captured
voluntarily.

"I feel very bad when I hear these reports. I would not be so shocked
if Samir had died. My son will never betray his motherland. We do
not believe Armenian agitation. Samir is a patriot. His wish was to
be servicemen and serve his country," she said.

The soldier’s father Nazim Mammadov told the APA that they last got
a letter from Samir on March 12. The parents say that Samir is kept
in Keptron detention place in Yerevan.

The soldier’s parents and his uncle Vidadi Mammadov today met with
chief of Hesret Yolu Public Union Esmira Orujova. They intend to meet
with ombudsman and State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages
and Missing Persons.

Samir Mammadov was captured on December 24.