Month: October 2008

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SPEAKS ON DOMESTIC, FOREIGN POLICY IN STATE-OF-NATION ADDRESS

Public Television of Armenia
Oct 2 2008

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has called the country to develop
such culture in which corruption will not be acceptable. His first
ever state-of-the-nation address delivered at a special session of
parliament on 2 October was broadcast pre-recorded by the Armenian
Public TV later the same day.

He said it is critical to fight corruption in the country and called
upon Armenians to adhere to the letter of law. "Property rights as
well as legal relations should be observed sacredly, and independent
courts of independent Armenia should be on guard [of this principle],"
he maintained.

Calling for observance of national interests by bureaucrats, he
said no-one should feel untouchable and abuse their offices. "I am
stating this clearly, there is no explanation for this to me. No-one in
Armenia should feel immune and assume functions of the state," he said,
adding, however, that officials, opposition, journalists and public
figures should stop the practice of publicly offending each other.

Sargsyan urged parliament to not only pass laws but also be
an institute of political dialogue. To ensure better cooperation
between parliament and other branches of government, he is going to
appoint a special representative to parliament. "I do not understand
when lawmakers complain about laws being inactive. It is as if an
architect complained about the unreliability of a building he has
built," he said.

Touching upon the South Ossetian conflict, Sargsyan said it "sobered"
many. "Ask any resident of Armenian villages and towns ‘When did
the Karabakh war end?’ and the answer will be ‘It is not over yet’",
Sargsyan said, adding: "Yes, the war is not over yet. It will not be
over until there is an arms race, until we congratulate the presidents
of Azerbaijan and Nagornyy Karabakh on making a voluntary decision
on peaceful settlement of the conflict."

Moving on from politics to economy, Sargsyan shared plans to initiate
several projects, which he described as "ambitious", including the
construction of a new nuclear power plant, a railway line between
Iran and Armenia, as well as the opening of a pan-Armenian bank and
an investment fund. "Those three initiatives, three projects will
be under our attention. I would like foreign and local businessmen,
who are mulling future programmes, our citizens and diaspora to be
know about these projects," Sargsyan said.

ARMENTEL TO SECURE UNINTERRUPTED INTERNET ACCESS WITH TURKCELL ASSISTANCE

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.10.2008 15:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ArmenTel (Beeline brand) and TurkCell are negotiating
a possibility to diversify Internet channels to secure uninterrupted
communication for Armenia, ArmenTel’s spokesperson Anush Begloyan
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"Given the recent regional developments, Armenia often loses access
to Internet. We intend to establish cooperation with the Turkish
operator to resolve this problem and have an additional channel,"
she said, adding that the talks will apparently be finished by the
end of the year and an agreement will be signed.

ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN CRITICIZES AMENDMENTS TO MEDIA LAW AS "REGRESSIVE"

Public Television of Armenia
October 3, 2008 Friday

The ombudsman received 2,845 complaints in the past nine months:
79 of them were settled positively, rights of 178 individuals were
restored. Armen Harutyunyan described as regressive the latest
amendments to the law on TV and radio, according to which tenders
for broadcast licenses were suspended until 2010. He said the right
to property has surfaced again: residents of Balayants and Teryan
streets have sought his help because assessment companies quote their
property lower than market price.

ARMENIAN LEADER, RUSSIAN MINISTER DISCUSS REGIONAL STABILITY, COOPERATION

Public Television of Armenia
October 3, 2008 Friday

During a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today [3
October], President Serzh Sargsyan expressed his satisfaction with the
dynamically developing ties and strategic partnership between Armenia
and Russia. The parties discussed the fulfilment of agreements reached
at the meeting of the Armenian and Russian presidents in Sochi this
year. The parties also discussed the recent events in the Caucasus,
the efforts aimed at ensuring stability and security in the region
as well as the process of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict settlement.

CAROLINE COX HOPES INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS WILL GIVE FAIR ASSESSMENT TO AZERI ELECTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.10.2008 18:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Baroness Caroline Cox, Vice Speaker of the UK House
of Lords, issued a commentary on the election campaign in Azerbaijan.

"From the standpoint of regional developments and restoration of
rights of people, living in the region, I highly appreciate the
progress of the countries towards the establishment of democratic
institutes. I have repeatedly been to the NKR during the elections
and I can testify that the NKR has consistently received favorable
reports from independent international observers commending their
achievement of free and fair elections," she said.

"I am aware that Azerbaijan will hold presidential election on October
15. However, it is apparent that democratic election is impossible
there, for the Azerbaijani authorities have suppressed the opposition."

"Being a person who has taken a direct part in the realization
of just and fair demands of the Armenian people, I believe that
the independent observers representing the international community
will cover the election process with justice and integrity, what is
extremely important for the people of Azerbaijan," Baroness Cox said.

AZERBAIJAN’S OPPOSITION CANDIDATE CONFIDENT NO PROBLEMS WILL EMERGE IN VOTING

Trend News Agency
15.10.08 12:24
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 15 October/ TrendNews, corr E. Ergun/ Presidential
candidate Gudrat Hasanguluyev said he is confident that no problems
will emerge during the voting.

"Today’s voting is a big event in the life of the country. Our country
expects much from these elections. Everything runs normal. I believe
no problems will emerge during voting," Hasanguluyev said in his
interview with journalists after voting in the polling station 20 of
Yasamal Constituency Election Commission 16.

A total of seven candidates run for presidency. Hasanguluyev has
been nominated for presidency by the Unified Popular Front Party
of Azerbaijan.

He said Azerbaijani people expect presidential election to solve a
number of problems.

"Our people who take part in voting expect stability, economic
development, resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh problem and other issues,"
Hasanguluyev added.

A of total of seven candidates run for presidency including Ilham
Aliyev, chairman of Ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Igbal Agazade,
chairman opposition Umid (Hope) Party, Fazil Gazanfaroglu, chairman
of Great Establishment Party, Gudrat Hasanguliyev, chairman of Unified
Popular Front Party, Hafiz Hajiyev, chairman of Muasir Musavat Party,
Fuad Aliyev, chairman of Liberal Democrat Party and independent
candidate Gulamhuseyn Alibayli.

Azerbaijan holds presidential elections every five years

BELARUS AMBASSADOR PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO SERZH SARGSYAN

armradio.am
15.10.2008 16:08

The newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of the Republic of Belarus to Armenia Stepan Sukhorenko handed his
credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan.

Congratulating the diplomat on appointment, the President emphasized
the high level of political dialogue between the two countries,
productive activity within international organizations and the positive
dynamics of economic cooperation.

According to Serzh Sargsyan, when building their relations, Armenia
and Belarus take into consideration that fact that the two countries
belong to the same security system, both are members of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization, which assigns special importance to
their relations.

Ambassador Sukhorenko noted he has come to Armenia with positive
emotions and his utmost objective is the reinforcement of relations
between the two countries. He noted that he intends to pay special
attention to the full utilization of the potential in the field of
economy. "Belarus is a reliable and stable partner for Armenia,"
the diplomat underlined.

President Sargsyan assured that the Ambassador can rely upon the
Armenian side in all his undertakings.

ARMENIAN-AMERICAN WRITER’S SOUL BACK IN TURKEY

Turkish Daily News
October 4, 2008 Saturday
Turkey

The Turkish Culture Ministry has announced plans to open a museum in
honor of Pullitzer Prize-winning Armenian-American writer William
Saroyan. The museum will be located in the southeastern province
of Bitlis, where Saroyan’s family lived before migrating to the
United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Saroyan is being
commemorated on the 100th anniversary of his birth with various events
in different parts of the world, including a UNESCO declaration of
2008 as the year of Saroygan. "The search in Bitlis continues on where
exactly the house that belonged to Saroyan’s family is located. If we
could discover where it is located, we will convert it into a museum
in early 2009," said Ertugrul Gunay, the Turkish culture minister.

Speaking to the Turkish Daily News, Gunay said Turkey had not
been sensitive about its artists so far and had not shown enough
interest in the places where they lived. "We will eliminate such
perceptions. Changes will be introduced in the cultural realm in
Turkey in 2009," he said. Saroyan was born in Fresno, California. He
grew up listening to stories being told by family members about
Anatolia, the land where his ancestors settled. Saroyan attracted the
attention of world literary critics with his first work. In 1939,
he won the Pulitzer Prize, immediately after publishing his second
book, "The Trouble with Tigers." The Turkish Daily News conducted an
interview with Rober Koptas, editor-in-chief of Aras Publications,
which publishes the Saroyan collection, and Aziz Gokdemir, editor of
the collection.

For Gokdemir, a Saroyan museum in Bitlis is a dream that will not
come true. "We just could not bear it if we knew the total number of
valuable artifacts that Turkey has lost so far. The West has protected
what Turkey would have lost. We just could not grasp the value of
artists like Saroyan when they were alive. I do not believe in any
possibility of opening a museum in memory of Saroyan," he said. "In
Turkey, there exists a widely held prejudice against the Armenian
Diaspora. We aim to put an end to such a rigid prejudice with the
Saroyan collection we publish," said Koptas. "On the one hand, there
is a diaspora,’ the existence of which depends on its anti-Turkey
stance. On the other hand, there are those diaspora members, such as
Saroyan, who longed for Anatolia throughout their lives," he said.

Anatolia drops from Saroyan’s pen

"Saroyan’s writing is warm. He is not didactic, not a message-driven
writer. He is like one of the ordinary people of Anatolia," said
Gokdemir, adding that the United States was home to many Armenian
writers similar to Saroyan. "Armenians carried the spirit of Anatolia
to Fresno, California, Watertown and Glendal when they had to leave
it. Warm and friendly people live thousands of miles away from us,"
he said.

There are a considerable number of Saroyan experts of Armenian descent
in the world, but Aras Publications employs Gokdemir as translator and
editor of Saroyan’s books because of his highly successful Saroyan
analyses, which have appeared in most prominent literature journals
in Turkey.

Saroyan before Bitlis, Saroyan after Bitlis Saroyan was told numerous
stories about Anatolia when he was a child. He came to Turkey in the
early 1960s to pay his first visit to Bitlis, a southeastern province
where his family had settled before they migrated to America at the
beginning of the 20th century.

Gokdemir said the journey to Bitlis had a strong effect on Saroyan’s
writing. "If we want to study Saroyan, we should divide his life
into two eras: Saroyan before Bitlis, and Saroyan after Bitlis,"
he said, adding that the author’s works written after his visit to
Bitlis contain a deep feeling of melancholia.

Gokdemir said his favorite Saroyan story was "Summer Joy" (Yaz Nesesi).

"Whenever I read that story, I cry like a child," he said.

"I hope humans will not have to face such pain in life anymore. I hope
no one will ever have to leave the land where they live," he added.

Koptas, on the other hand, said the Saroyan series was one of the most
prominent collections of Aras Publications. Six books by Saroyan have
greeted Turkish readers so far.

Koptas’s favorite story by Saroyan is "Cowards are Brave" (Odlekler
Cesurdur). "I think this world needs not heroes but good-hearted
cowards," he said.

ARMENIA INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING RELATIONS WITH KAZAKHSTAN

armradio.am
15.10.2008 16:41

On September 15 Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan
received the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Aimdos Bozzhigitov.

Greeting the guest, Shavarsh Kocharyan noted that Armenia attaches
importance to the development and deepening of Armenian-Kazakh
relations. He expressed hope that the appointment of a new Ambassador
of Kazakhstan to Armenia will give a new drive to the development of
Armenian-Kazakh relations.

The interlocutors turned to the latest developments in the region.

Shavarsh Kocharyan and Aimdos Bozzhigitov discussed the opportunities
of implementing joint economic projects.

ARMENIA’S CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE CSTO DISCUSSED AT THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE

armradio.am
15.10.2008 16:49

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the Secretary General of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization Nikolay Bordyuzha.

The interlocutors discussed the primary directions of CSTO activity
during Armenia’s presidency of the organization and the arrangements
envisaged.

Reference was made to the activity of the statutory bodies of the
organization. President Sargsyan once again underlined Armenia’s
consistency in the further development and activation of the CSTO
activity.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress