Month: August 2008

TURKEY SUPPORTS NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT PEACE SETTLEMENT WITH MINSK GROUP’S MEDIATION: TURKEY’S FOREIGN MINISTER

arminfo
2008-08-05 13:47:00

ArmInfo. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babajan stated his country
supports the mediation of Minsk Group on settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We support peace settlement with the co-chairmanship of the United
States, Russia and France," Babajan said at a press conference in
Ankara on 4 August. Trend reports. Babajan did not answer whether
"ongoing occupation of Azerbaijani territory by Armenia" would affect
Turkey’s admission to the European Union. He mentioned there is another
format of settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia,
i.e. Minsk Group’s work.

Minister said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Serzh
Sargsyan negotiated in June. Babajan hoped for progress to result from
the negotiations. "Demographic structure of the region and the events
which has taken place in recent five- ten years must be taken into
account during settling of the conflict. We support peace settlement
of the Karabakh conflict with the mediation of the Minsk Group and
hope the countries will achieve an agreement," said Babajan.

U.S. NEW AMBASSADOR MARIE YOVANOVITCH TO ARRIVE IN ARMENIA IN SEPTEMBER

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.08.2008 12:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On August 1, 2008, Marie L. Yovanovitch was confirmed
by the U.S. Senate as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
to the Republic of Armenia. She is expected to arrive in Armenia
in September, U.S. Embassy spokesperson Taguhi Jahukian told
PanARMENIAN.Net.

Senate confirmation came after a delay by lawmakers who were displeased
with Ms. Yavonovitch’s refusal to use the term ‘genocide’ to describe
the mass slaughter of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Prior to her appointment to Armenia, Ms. Yovanovitch was Ambassador of
the United States of America to the Kyrgyz Republic from 2005 to 2008.

RA PRESIDENT TO ATTEND OPENING CEREMONY OF OLYMPIC GAMES IN BEIJING

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.08.2008 13:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan went on a 2-week
leave. As reported by his press office, President Sargsyan will spend
two days in Europe and then leave for Beijing to attend the opening
ceremony of Summer Olympic Games.

Afterwards, the President will return to Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SARGSYAN’S INVITATION MAY DRIVE TURKEY INTO A CORNER

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.08.2008 13:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ It is not by chance that Armenia’s Serzh Sargsyan
invited Turkish President Abdullah Gul to watch a World Cup qualifying
game between the Turkish and Armenian teams due in Yerevan on September
6 August by, Trend Azeri news agency reports.

"Actually, Armenia’s move may drive Turkey into a corner. Gul’s
rejection to visit Armenia may be evaluated as unavailability to launch
a dialogue with Armenia, while Armenians consider the possible visit
of Turkish President as the start of dialogue between the countries…

Serious popularization was carried out in Turkey before Gul was
invited to Yerevan. Dismissal of Pf. Yusuf Halacoglu, head of the
Turkish Historical Society, who attempted to prove the claims of
Armenian genocide as false, gave an impetus to further disseminate
the Armenian propaganda in Turkey…

Another evidence of development of relations between Turkey and
Armenia is opening of the Armenian language and literature faculty
in one of Nevsehir Universities.

Turkish Ministry of Education has established the faculty upon receipt
of official permission from the Foreign Ministry, Pf. Mehmet Metin
Hulagu was quoted as saying to Habertime news agency.

The faculty would play a role of bridge between the two countries
Taking into account that there are few specialists in Turkey, who
can speak Armenian, such specialists will be attracted from Armenia,
according to him.

It would be naive to interpret actuation of the Turkish-Armenian
relations as accidental. The European Union is also interested in
normalization of the Turkish-Armenian relations and opening of borders,
which is the EU’s main demand from Turkey.

All the aforesaid make us think that the deadlock between Turkey and
Armenia is broken. Armenia’s glory depends on Turkey, which is facing
another historical choice," the article says.

OSCE MG: NAGORNO KARABAKH RESIDENTS SHOULD PLAY KEY ROLE IN DETERMINING THEIR REGION’S STATUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.08.2008 14:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The August 1 meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian
Foreign Ministers in Moscow was positive, according to OSCE Minsk
Group U.S. Co-chair Matthew Bryza.

"Both Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian told a news conference
that their tete-a-tete discussion was held in a positive vein,"
Amb. Bryza said.

He said the Foreign Ministers agreed to continue negotiations under
the aegis of the Minsk Group to bring positions of their countries’
closer, as outlined in the Co-chairs’ November 2007 Madrid Document,
up to a final resolution.

When commenting on his Moscow statement, Bryza said the Co-chairs
proceed from a starting position of recognizing Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity. "To reach a political settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, Armenia and Azerbaijan will eventually have to reach
a compromise on NK’s status. We cannot predict what that compromise
will look like, or when it will emerge. But, the Co-chairs recommend
that the residents of Nagorno Karabakh play a key role in determining
their region’s status through some type of vote in the future,"
he said.

The U.S. mediator supposes that the nature of referendum must be
negotiated by the sides.

"Such a process can only be launched after the return of internally
displaced persons and refugees and can take quite some period of time,"
he said, the Azeri Press Agency reports.

DEVELOPED FIGURE IN TOURISM

Panorama.am
13:54 05/08/2008

According to the experts and their studies 207479 tourists arrived
in Armenia in the first quarter of this year, reported the National
Statistical Center of Armenia when preparing final concluding reports
for January-June of 2008. According to the source the same figures
fixed in the previous year were lower: 183110. Hence a development
in this aspect forms 13.3%.

During the same time period 211182 people left the country.

POPULATION OF ARMENIA MORE THAN 3.2 MILLION

Panorama.am
14:58 05/08/2008

In a reporting time period the population of Armenia formed 3231.9
thousands people, reported the National Statistical Center of Armenia
making the final reports of demography. The number of people living in
the urban communities is 2070.2 thousands and in the rural communities
– 1161.7 thousands.

Dating from the beginning of the year the rate of the population
increased by 1.8 thousands persons and compared with the previous year
– 8.2 thousands. According to the Statistical Center the development
of the population rate is due to the increased birthrate and migration.

AZERBAIJANI E-MEDIA 1NEWS VIOLATES MEDIA ETHICS AGAIN

arminfo
2008-08-05 15:04:00

ArmInfo. Azerbaijani e-media 1NEWS is still engaged in plagiarism
and ignores elementary norms of media ethics. irector of Oriental
Studies Institute, National Academy of Science of Armenia, Professor
Ruben Safrastyan refuted his ‘exclusive interview’ with 1NEWS entitled
‘Turkish party has been trying to soften its stance on Armenia since
the spring of 2007’. R. Sarfrastyan underlined that he gave such
interview to an Armenian newspaper and not the ‘secret correspondent of
1NEWS in Armenia’. Moreover, there is no such correspondent in Armenia.

Earlier, the given e-media 1NEWS published another interview with
Armenian Parliamentarian Hranush Hakopyan who told ArmInfo she gave
no interview not only to that news site but to any Azerbaijani mass
media in general, and called the ‘interview’ another disinformation
by Azerbaijan. This case is not the first in the practice of our
Azerbaijani colleagues, as spokeswoman of RA Prosecutor General Sona
Truzyan told ArmInfo earlier that the alleged exclusive interview
with the prosecutor general, published on July 18 in the Azerbaijani
site is in fact a reprinting of the interview given
to the Armenian ‘H2’ TV channel broadcasted on June 30.

ArmInfo has repeatedly commented on the activity of the given
Azerbaijani media. However, this media has found nothing but plagiarism
and misinformation to push through its website. We have nothing to do
but hope for the Azerbaijani pseudo- website to find more professional
way of communication with readers.

AZERI SIDE RETURNS BODY OF KILLED ARMENIAN SOLDIER

arminfo
2008-08-05 16:45:00

ArmInfo. Today the Azeri side returned the body of killed Armenian
soldier Gor Manasyan.

The body was returned on the Ijevan-Qazax contract line at 03:00 PM.

On July 19 Gor Manasyan left his unit without permission. According
to the available information, he got lost and was killed by the
Azeri side.

TURKEY OVERACTS TO THE UPCOMING OPENING OF AMERICAN MUSEUM OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN WASHINGTON AND TRYING TO PREVENT IT

arminfo
2008-08-05 16:42:00

ArmInfo. Turkey overacts to the upcoming opening of American Museum
of Armenian Genocide in Washington and trying to prevent this event
scheduled for 2010, Director of Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute
Hayk Demoyan told ArmInfo. ‘I think such attempts will continue. But
their number is growing which arouses concern. Official Ankara cannot
but feel concern about the second Genocide Museum that will occur
not far from the White House’, he said.

He outlined the great attention of Turkey to his recent visit to the
future building of the museum in Washington since it is already a real
step for development of the future exposition of the museum. H. Demoyan
mentioned that almost every year the Turkish Embassy in the USA
exerts pressure of the USA demanding removal of materials on Armenian
Genocide from the Holocaust Museum. However, the Museum honorably
sustains the Turkish pressure and do not yield to these demands.

The museum building was acquired on the funds of famous philanthropist
Gerard Cafesjian and Hovnanyan Family. Twenty countries have already
recognized Armenian Genocide particularly, Uruguay, Russia, France,
Lithuania, low chamber of Italian Parliament, over 40 of the United
States, the parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentine, Belgium, Wales,
National Council of Switzerland, Canada House of Commons and Polish
Seim, as well as a number of international organizations.