Month: May 2008

ARMENIA INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING COOPERATION WITH GREAT BRITAIN

armradio.am
16.05.2008 14:47

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan today received the newly appointed
Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
to Armenia Charles Lonsdale.

Congratulating the Ambassador on starting his diplomatic mission in our
country, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that his activity will
contribute to the progress in the Armenian-British relations. Tigran
Sargsyan attached importance to promoting the economic cooperation
parallel to the development of political relations between Armenia
and the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister noted that the Armenian
Government has rather ambitions programs, and it’s not accidental that
it prioritizes the solution of social and economic problems. Thanking
for the implementation of programs implemented by the UK Ministry of
International Development targeted at the development of rural regions
of Armenia and reformation of the public sector, Tigran Sargsyan said
Armenia is interested in continuing the cooperation with Great Britain.

Ambassador Lonsdale also assured that the British side is interested
in continuing the implementation of programs in Armenia in different
spheres.

Noting that the United Kingdom is not going to reduce the framework of
its involvement in Armenia, the diplomat noted that much depends on the
internal political developments in Armenia and economic achievements.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan assured that the Armenian Government
attaches importance to promoting the democratic processes in the
country and envisages serious steps and programs targeted at the
solution of existing problems.

Regional issues were also discussed during the meeting. In particular,
reference was made to the Armenian-Turkish relations. Confirming
the position of the Armenian side to establish diplomatic relations
with Turkey without any preconditions, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
expressed the opinion that the United Kingdom can play an important
role in the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

RF MFA: GEORGIA-SPONSORED RESOLUTION ON ABKHAZIA TO HAMPER CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2008 14:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia’s Foreign Ministry criticized as
counterproductive on Friday a move by the UN General Assembly to
adopt a Tbilisi-sponsored resolution on the return of refugees to
Georgia’s breakaway republic of Abkhazia.

The resolution recognizing the right of refugees and internally
displaced persons to return to Abkhazia and "underlines the urgent
need for a timetable to ensure" their prompt return was adopted 14-11,
with 105 abstentions, on Thursday.

"The vote results clearly demonstrate that the international
community has actually failed to support Georgia’s maneuvers on
the problem. Russia voted against the project and gave a statement
explaining its position," the Ministry said, describing the resolution
as a counterproductive move that could complicate further the conflict
between Georgia and Abkhazia, RIA Novosti reports.

VIIVACELL, UNICEF JOINT PROJECT IMPROVES EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

armradio.am
16.05.2008 16:10

UNICEF and VivaCell, a subsidiary of Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (NYSE:
MBT) announced today that thanks to their joint initiative, access
to quality education for more than 200 Armenian children with special
needs will become much easier.

Over 36 million drams donated by VivaCell to UNICEF in 2007 were spent
on establishing and furnishing resource rooms in eight inclusive
schools in Yerevan and Tavoush province as well as on the purchase
and outfitting of three specially equipped minibuses that will be
provided to three community centers offering transportation services
to children with special needs in Tavoush.

"The partnership between VivaCell and UNICEF vividly demonstrates how
public and private sectors can work hand in hand for the benefit of
children. I welcome this joint initiative that creates opportunities
for children with special needs to exercise their right to education,"
Bagrat Yesayan, Deputy Minister of Education and Science said during
the ceremony of handover of minibuses and resource rooms held today
at the inclusive school No.180 in Avan community of Yerevan.

"This joint initiative will help ensure that children with special
needs have full access to quality education in eight inclusive schools,
and will enable community centres to provide outreach services to
other children with special needs," UNICEF Representative in Armenia
Sheldon Yett said.

"Too many children with disabilities are unnecessarily prevented
from going to school, while others are consigned to environments that
discourage real learning – environments that are unhealthy, unsafe,
ineffective, and unfriendly," the UNICEF Representative added.

"We have often been considered as doing philanthropy. However, what
VivaCell is doing is a clear responsibility toward the country in which
our Company operates and toward the children of Armenia. By this act of
social responsibility, VivaCell will help children with special needs
to get quality education. With special vehicles and resource rooms
it will be much easier for them to achieve this. VivaCell recruits
individuals with disabilities and invites other enterprises operating
in Armenia to do the same," said Ralph Yirikian, the General Manager
of VivaCell.

Under the project each of the eight selected inclusive schools was
equipped with a resource room where children, with the support from
specially trained teachers, will engage in various developmental
activities. Resource rooms will also serve as a place of convergence
for parents of children with special needs where they will be able
to receive information and guidance from professionals.

Through the project, over 100 teachers from the eight schools were
also provided training to improve their knowledge and skills on
methodologies of working with children with special needs.

According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Issues, there
are approximately 8,500 children with disabilities living in the
Republic of Armenia. Although the country has 14 inclusive schools
and 5 UNICEF-supported community centres that cater for the needs
of 1,500 children with disabilities, many of these children remain
isolated from the society and deprived from basic education.

Inclusive education ensures the right to education for children with
special needs and provides them with opportunities to develop their
social skills and become productive and full-fledged members of their
community and the society now and in the future.

Since 2001 UNICEF has been supporting projects on inclusive education
which demonstrate that most children with special needs can, with
motivation and effort from teachers, school administrators and students
themselves, thrive in a mainstream environment.

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PASSES RESOLUTION ON RETURN OF REFUGEES TO ABKHAZIA

armradio.am
16.05.2008 17:00

During its plenary session of May 15 the UN General Assembly passed a
resolution, in which it recognizes the right of return of all refugees
and internally displaced persons and their descendants, regardless
of ethnicity, to Abkhazia, and underlines the urgent need for rapid
development of a timetable to ensure the prompt voluntary return of all
refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes in Abkhazia.

Representatives of 105 countries preferred to abstain. Another 62
delegations did not participate in the voting. Fourteen countries
voted for the resolution, another 11 voted against.

The Resolution was supported by Albania, Azerbaijan, Chzechia,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia,
Sweden, the US and Ukraine.

Russia voted against the Resolution, considering that it will result in
new tension in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. Russia’s position was
supported by Armenia, Belarus, Venezuela, India, Iran, the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Serbia, Syria and Sudan.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry criticized as counterproductive on Friday a
move by the UN General Assembly to adopt a Tbilisi-sponsored resolution
on the return of refugees to Georgia’s breakaway republic of Abkhazia.

"The vote results clearly demonstrate that the international
community has actually failed to support Georgia’s maneuvers on
the problem. Russia voted against the project and gave a statement
explaining its position," the ministry said, describing the resolution
as a counterproductive move that could complicate further the conflict
between Georgia and Abkhazia.

Russian representative at the United Nations Ilya Rogachev criticized
the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on refugees and
displaced persons in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict
calling it counterproductive, distorting the situation in the breakaway
province, and destabilizing UN efforts to promote a comprehensive
settlement of the conflict.

"The document imposes a distorted image of the Georgian-Abkhazian
conflict, conceals its history, and considers only certain
consequences, but forgets about the reasons of the existing
situation," he told the General Assembly on Thursday commenting on
the Georgia-drafted resolution.

"It is clear that the given initiative has been designed by the
authors to pressure the Abkhazian side in order to resolve political,
but not humanitarian tasks," Rogachev said.

Tbilisi hailed the resolution as a victory on the international arena,
said Giorgi Baramidze, Georgian minister for Euro-Atlantic integration.

"This is a significant victory on the international arena regarding
the protection of our interests," Baramidze said.

NKR AND ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES READY FOR MILITARY OPERATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2008 14:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Large-scale hostilities between the NKR and Azeri
armies are unlikely at present, the Armenian Defense Minister said.

"First, we do our utmost to resolve the problem peacefully. Second, the
balance of forces namely the efficiency of Karabakhi army, excludes any
possibility of military operations," he said. "Although the Azeri armed
forces are preparing for war, the military and political situation
speaks out for a peaceful resolution of the conflict," he said.

"The armed forces of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh are ready for
military activities, the more so because the Republic of Armenia is
the guarantor of NKR’s security," he resumed, RIA Novosti reports.

U.S. ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR FOR EUROPE AND EURASIA THOMAS ADAMS VISITS ARMENIA

armradio.am
16.05.2008 17:17

U.S. Assistance Coordinator for Europe and Eurasia Thomas Adams is
in Armenia May 14-17, in his final visit to our country in that
capacity. Adams was accompanied by his deputy, Daniel Rosenblum,
who has been designated to succeed him as Coordinator in the upcoming
months.

The delegation held fruitful discussions with the President, the Prime
Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance,
the Minister of Economy, the Minister of Agriculture, and the Minister
of Energy and Natural Resources.

Mr. Adams addressed a wide range of important issues in his
conversations with his hosts from the Armenian government. He learned
about the status of democracy and human rights issues in Armenia, in
light of the post-election political difficulties. He urged Armenian
authorities to take prompt action to heal the social divisions that
have arisen as a result of the political conflict. Adams also discussed
with Armenian officials a number of other important bilateral issues,
including ongoing cooperation programs in energy and agriculture,
Armenia’s economy, measures to improve Armenia’s attractiveness to
foreign investment, and Armenia’s important efforts to combat illegal
trafficking in persons.

During his visit, Mr. Adams met with the Board of the American Chamber
of Commerce in Armenia, as well as key leaders and stakeholders of
the Millennium Challenge program in Armenia. The delegation also
visited a number of project sites implementing U.S. assistance
programs, including the Armenian-American Wellness Center, Arcolate
Chocolate Company, Arzni Medical Ambulatory in Kotayk Marz, and a
school in Nork, which was refurbished with the financial support of
the U.S. Government.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RA PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW ASSISTANTS

armradio.am
16.05.2008 17:58

According to RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s order, Armen Abelyan
and Sevak Lalayan were appointed Assistants to the President of the
Republic of Armenia.

According to another presidential order, Aram Ananyan was appointed
RA President’s Aide, President’s Press Office reported.

INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE ‘GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND THREATS: COMBINED EFFORTS OF ARMENIA AND TURKEY, POSSIBLE OR NOT?’ TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN

arminfo
2008-05-16 16:43:00

ArmInfo. International Scientific Conference ‘Global Challenges and
Threats: Combined Efforts of Armenia and Turkey, Possible or Not?’ will
be held in Yerevan on May 20. Analytical Center for Globalization
and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC) told ArmInfo that global challenges
able to influence the Armenian-Turkish relations will be discussed and
results of sociological polls in Turkey and Armenia will be presented
during the event.

Experts, specialists in political studies, economists, representatives
of international and public organizations, embassies, analytical
centers and Mass Media from Armenia and Turkey will participate in
the conference.

Charge d’ Affairs ad interim of USA to Armenia Josef Pennington will
speak at the opening of the event. Moreover, ACGRC Chairman Stepan
Grigrosyan, a parliamentarian from the Republican Party of Armenia
Armen Ashotyan, Director of Caucasian Media Institute Alexander
Iskandaryan, Chairman of the Liberal-Democratic Party of Turkey Cema
Toker, analyst of Istanbul-based organization ‘European Stability
Initiative’ Diba Nigar Goksel will make reports. Conference is held
under the program ‘Establishment of Ties between Analysts of Armenia
and Turkey’ implemented with the support of Eurasia Cooperation Fund
and USAID.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJAN DISCOVERS NEW "BASIC PRINCIPLES"
Vardan Grigoryan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 16, 2008
Armenia

As we know the meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents
is previewed in the scope of the non-formal Summit and International
Energy Forum, to take place in St. Petersburg on July 6-8.

On the eve of the resumption of the high level negotiations between
the two Presidents OSCE Minsk Group co-Chairs state that during the
coming months the two sides will have another chance to come to an
agreement on the main principles of the settlement of the Conflict,
proposed in Madrid on November 29, 2007.

Armenian party though, is very alert towards similar positive
statements, taking into account the fact that, before the upcoming
presidential elections in Azerbaijan on October 15, 2008, the ruling
President has adopted a very harsh policy. Azerbaijan, in its turn,
on the one hand agrees to the resumption of the negotiations, but on
the other hand intends to dictate new conditions to OSCE Minsk Group
co-Chairs and Armenian party.

Official Baku is going to use both the upcoming meeting between the two
Presidents to take pace in St. Petersburg and the previewed meeting
between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, as a chance to
revise, rather than discuss the principles.

The evidence of the before mentioned are the brand new and unilateral
principles advanced by Azerbaijani deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov,
based on which Baku is trying to reach the settlement of the conflict.

>From the beginning it’s worth mentioning that the principles of 8
points published by A. Azimov on May 14 have nothing to do with the
main principles on the settlement of the Conflict submitted by the
Foreign Ministers of the two countries in Madrid.

Thus, the evidently invented "basic principles" runs as follows.

According to the first point: "The conflict must be settled in the
framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and there is no
alternative for this approach." Whereas it is well-known that the
"Madrid principles" of 2007, that is to say the main principles of
the settlement of the Conflict authored by the co-Chairs, are based
on, Azerbaijan’s recognition of the sovereignty of the people of
Nagorno Karabakh in case of the return of some part of the liberated
territories.

So, if from today, Baku refuses to fulfill its share of the
responsibilities proposed by the mediators, it is quite natural that
there can be no conversation about ceding any liberated land.

According to the second point: not only is the ceding of the "7
occupied regions" but also Nagorno Karabakh is the principle goal of
the settlement of Karabakh Conflict, which will ensure corresponding
status for Nagorno Karabakh. Whereas Araz Azimov observes the issue
of ceding Nagorno Karabakh, as the main principle of the settlement of
the Conflict, the fulfillment of which is more important than the issue
of the 7 regions. The third point observes the right to sovereignty of
the people of Nagorno Karabakh as an issue of "internal sovereignty",
saying that in such cases they need the agreement of the certain state,
to get their sovereignty. Which means, because Azerbaijan will never
give its agreement on Nagorno Karabakh’s sovereignty, the latter can
get autonomy only in the framework of its territorial integrity.

But it turned out that Nagorno Karabakh ‘s getting sovereignty is
questioned, even in case of being autonomous in the territory of
Azerbaijan, because according to the forth principle published by Araz
Azimov, the issue of the status can be solved only in case Azerbaijani
refugees return to Nagorno Karabakh and their security is provided.

Point five proposes to use Lachin road jointly, according to point
six they give a vague promise to respect the rights of the two
communities in Nagorno Karabakh, in case Armenia stops the "occupation"
of Azerbaijani territories.

And, what is most important, by point seven Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign
Minister dictates conditions even to the international community:
"The principles of the return of Azerbaijani refugees to Nagorno
Karabakh, the joint use of Lachin road by the two sides, and the
settlement of the conflict in the scope of the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan must be included in the draft of the main principles
of the settlement of the Conflict. Only in that case can we expect
productive discussions."

Thus Azerbaijan officially introduces an ultimatum, and not to Armenia
but to OSCE co-Chairs, because they have proposed the main principles
of the settlement of the Conflict in Madrid on November 29, 2007.

This means, by giving their agreement to the meeting between
S.Sargsyan and I.Aliev in the framework of the non-formal CIS Summit
in St. Petersburg, Azerbaijan observes this meeting as a process of
the revision of the main principles of the settlement of the Conflict.

Consequently it is evident that Armenian party can’t agree to this
formality. So, should the authors of the main principles of the
settlement of the Conflict, OSCE co-Chairs, not introduce their clear
stance, regarding the before mentioned, it will be quite clear what
the two Presidents are going to discuss in St Petersburg.

Before the high level meeting previewed in St Petersburg the mediator
countries must make these principles known to Azerbaijan and the
whole world.

Otherwise, Armenia will have to either publish the proposals made by
the co-Chairs in Madrid or refuse the negotiations, proposed by OSCE
Minsk Group co-Chairs based on the "latest discovery" of Azerbaijan.

If Armenia and OSCE Minsk Group co-Chairs overlook, the open step made
by official Baku on May14, Azerbaijan can observe it as a diplomatic
card-blanche to realize their open desire to revise the main principles
of the settlement of the Conflict."

THE CORE OF THE NEGOTIATIONS

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 16, 2008
Armenia

According to RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan: "The status of
Karabakh is the core of the negotiations, which must be solved by
a referendum. It will give a chance to the people of Karabakh to
express their free will regarding the future status of NKR.

There are certain proposals, made as a result of the long-lasting
work of Minsk Group co-Chairs, and the negotiations must continue on
that basis.

Armenian party has already expressed its readiness to continue the
negotiation process, on that basis."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress