"ARMENIA" INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS TO BE WARNED
Panorama.am
17:51 09/12/2008
Tomorrow the State Committee for Economic Competition will discuss the
question of air craft fuel prices provided by "Armenia" International
Airports. The company will be warned by the committee, reported the
press service of SCEC.
According to the source, the committee will also discuss the case of
"South Caucasus railroads" and "Geghard meat enterprises".
ARMENIAN SCIENTISTS TO SEND OPEN LETTER TO A. GUL
Panorama.am
17:51 09/12/2008
A group of Armenian scientists, actors, artists, representatives of
NGO-s and mass media have sent an open letter to the President of
Turkey Abdullah Gul.
It is particularly mentioned in the letter: "Honorable Mister
President, in the aftermaths of recent events, the current conditions
in South Caucasus, the attempt of the President of Armenia to invite
you to Armenia and your visit have proven that Armenia-Turkey improved
relations demand more brave and legal solutions. First of all, we
are looking forward to the solution of Armenian Genocide. We should
acknowledge that this problem has separated two nations since 1915. It
has become a source of unique dispute among Armenians and Turkish,
hence dictates our steps irrespective of modern policies. Mister
President, in this case we have to deal with the evil deed against
human kind which is untimely. Not only Armenians spread all over demand
that, but also international society is looking forward to that."
It is also mentioned that the Ottoman Empire is guilty towards
Armenians for the biggest crime against human beings – genocide
and that today’s Turkey is responsible for the activities of their
ancestors.
The letter is signed by writer Perch Zeytuntsyan, actor Sos Sargsyan,
President of Writers’ Union Levon Ananyan, President of artists’
union Karen Aghamyan, editor of "Aravot" daily Aram Abrahamyan, the
head of "Haylur" program of Public TV Harutyun Harutyunyan and others.
Georgian Business Week
Dec 9 2008
Georgia
GBC
Monday, December 08, 2008 – 06:13
Tbilisi (GBC) – Azerbaijan flatly ruled out Armenia’s participation
in the Nabucco project, Azerbaijan Prime Minister, Artur Rasizade,
said at a news conference December 4 held after the meeting of the
joint Economic Commission of Georgia and Azerbaijan.
"Armenia will not be able to take part in any of Azerbaijan’s projects,
including Nabucco, until the country gives back occupied Azerbaijani
territory," Rasizade said.
Rasizade made the above comment following Russian media reports that
the Russian party offered Azerbaijan the option to replace Georgia
as partner with Armenia.
The Nabucco pipeline is a planned natural gas pipeline that will
transport natural gas from Turkey to Austria. The project will cost
USD 12.4b. Construction is slated to start in 2010.
AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS AGREED TO "TO LEAVE ALL BAD HERITAGE BEHIND"
Trend News Agency
Dec 9 2008
Azerbaijan
Belgium, Brussels, 9 December/ Trend News corr. A.Ismayilova/
Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers agreed "to leave all bad
heritage behind", Azerbaijan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elmar
Mammadyarov said that after bilateral and multilateral talks between
EU and South Caucasus countries on Tuesday.
"We have agreed with my Armenian colleague in opinion that we should
leave all our bad heritage behind in history", – said Mammadyarov.
According to minister, at the meeting with Armenian side it was said
that the conflict stops development of cooperation with EU, and the
sides will increase their efforts according to Moscow Declaration,
which provides for activation of work for achievement of piece in
the region.
AZERI FM TO DISCUSS NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT WITH NATO SECRETARY GENERAL
Azeri Press Agency
Dec 9 2008
Azerbaijan
Brussels. Alexander Kean – APA. Azerbaijan’s FM Elmar Mammadyarov
intends to have discussions with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and
plans for further cooperation.
Azeri minister told the APA correspondent in Brussels that unsolved
conflicts are on the focus of attention at all meetings.
"The second issue we will discuss is Individual Partnership: the
current level of this partnership and what efforts we can make in
order to advance the process," he added.
He noted that Azerbaijan is on the second stage of cooperation with
NATO, and cooperation is developing successfully.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
ELMAR MAMMADYAROV: AZERBAIJAN’S POSITION IS NOW MORE CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD AND SUPPORTED IN EUROPE
Azeri Press Agency
Dec 9 2008
Azerbaijan
Brussels. Alexander Kean – APA. Europe has now come to better see
unsolved "frozen conflicts" as risk, Azerbaijan’s FM Elmar Mammadyarov
told the APA correspondent in Brussels.
According to him, after the events in Georgia, the capitals around
Europe, and in particular Brussels got more aware of what Azerbaijan
has for many years said that the conflicts are not "frozen" because
they can be active at any unexpected moment," said the minister.
"Also, they increasingly understand better that you need to make a
move so as to avoid undesirable events," he added.
Elmar Mammadyarov noted that Azerbaijan’s position on the withdrawal
of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh is increasingly better
understood and supported in Europe.
According to the minister, the withdrawal of Armenian troops would
open communications links, allow the return f internally displaced
persons, create opportunity for economic development and, in general,
will contribute to the predictability of events.
"I think this is quite a serious argument to override any other
arguments , he underlined.
EU PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR RESOLVING NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT
Xinhua
Dec 9 2008
China
BRUSSELS, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — The European Union (EU) on Tuesday
promised to provide support for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The EU welcomed the Moscow Declaration as a good basis for further
progress toward resolving the decades-long issue within the framework
of the negotiation process of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)’s Minsk Group.
The EU will do whatever it can to facilitate means to resolve
regional conflicts, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana
told reporters after the Cooperation Council meetings between the EU
and three Southern Caucus countries — Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Azeri counterpart
Elmar Mammadyarov promised that the two sides would work to find ways
to resolve the issue according to the Moscow document.
On Nov. 2, the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a
joint declaration on the peaceful settlement of the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The parties pledged to improve the situation in the South Caucasus and
affirm the importance of OSCE mediation, agreeing that "the peaceful
settlement should be accompanied by legally binding international
guarantees of all aspects and stages," the document said.
In a statement issued after a meeting between the EU-Armenian
Cooperation Council, the EU said the recent crisis in Georgia confirmed
that the EU plays a constructive role in the region and is stepping
up its cooperation with the Southern Caucasus.
"Alongside deepening bilateral relations, the EU’s Eastern Partnership
initiative and the Black Sea Synergy will further strengthen relations
with Southern Caucasus countries," said the statement.
During the meeting, the EU side presented the main points of the
Eastern Partnership initiative, adopted by the European Commission
on Dec. 3, which proposes the creation of a stronger policy framework
for EU’s future relations with eastern partners at both the bilateral
and multilateral levels.
The EU also welcomed Armenian and Turkish efforts aimed at improving
bilateral relations, including the recent meeting between the two
countries’ foreign ministers in Istanbul.
On Tuesday, the EU and Armenia signed an agreement on air services.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
DEAL ALLOWS ALL ALL EU AIRLINES TO TRAVEL TO ARMENIA
Monsters and Critics.com
Dec 9 2008
Brussels – The European Union has signed an aviation agreement with
Armenia allowing any European airline to fly to and from the Asian
republic, officials in Brussels said Tuesday.
The deal, which caps three years of negotiations, replaces a set of
bilateral arrangements agreed by Armenia with some of the EU’s 27
member states.
‘The agreement recognizes that airlines in the EU are not any longer
national airlines, and all of them will thus have non- discriminatory
access to the air transport market between the EU and Armenia,’
EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said.
EU External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said
facilitating transport links represents ‘a crucial and very visible
component in our policy to enhance people-to-people contacts and
improve business links between the EU and Armenia.’
The EU expects the deal to lead to further increase in passengers
numbers between the EU and Armenia. These increased from 166,000 in
2006 to 204,000 in 2007.
ARMENIA: DIM OUTLOOK FOR MEDIA FREEDOM, REPORTERS SAY
Marianna Grigoryan
EurasiaNet
Dec 9 2008
NY
Despite heavy government emphasis on the importance of freedom of
speech, the violence against Armenian journalists is continuing. Civil
society leaders and reporters contend that officials’ sluggish
response masks either rank incompetence or an intention to keep the
lid on government criticism. Government officials reject the charges
as groundless.
The most recent encroachment upon media rights came in mid-November
when Edik Baghdasarian, one of the country’s best-known investigative
journalists, was ambushed and badly beaten by two unknown men in
Yerevan. The attack was the seventh reported case of violence against
a journalist in Armenia this year.
"I am convinced that the attack was connected with my professional
activity," said Baghdasarian, who has conducted attention-grabbing
investigations into government corruption, the mining industry, and
human trafficking for the online newsmagazine Hetq.am, which he heads,
and other publications. "I am myself looking into this case now and
I hope the case will be solved."
"It is not so difficult to disclose these cases of violence and
find those responsible," continued Baghdasarian, who sustained
cranial-brain injuries in the November 17 attack. "But, of course,
willpower is needed for that."
The government has assured Armenian media that all steps are being
taken to solve the Baghdasarian case. "Every act of violence against a
journalist is condemnable," Samvel Farmanian, spokesman for President
Serzh Sargsyan, commented to EurasiaNet.
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian, who visited Baghdasarian
in the hospital, has taken a similar tact, telling reporters
that "a dialogue with media is necessary to specify the rules of
the game." Sarkisian did not specify other participants in such a
dialogue. "The environment should be such that there is a reciprocally
respectful attitude," public television reported him as saying.
Some Armenian reporters believe that Baghdasarian’s prominence
motivates much of the government’s display of interest in his
case. In September, the 46-year-old journalist was the runner-up
for the prestigious Global Shining Light Award, a prize given to the
world’s best investigative journalists.
The government’s assurances have so far done little to convince other
Armenian reporters.
One political reporter for the opposition Haykakan Zhamanak daily
contended that the authorities do nothing to investigate reported
attacks against journalists.
"The prime minister’s visit to Edik Baghdasarian in the hospital was a
mere publicity stunt," charged Lusine Barseghian, who is known for her
critical stories about the government and government-linked clans. "If
the authorities are interested in exposing anyone, they would have
done so. Meanwhile, in many cases they are the ones who order it."
Rafik Petrosian, a senior member of the governing Republican Party’s
parliamentary faction, countered that no one "praises" law-enforcement
agencies for their "perfect work".
"There are unsolved murders. We condemn violence against
journalists. However, the authorities are taking steps towards
resolving these cases. It looks like Edik Baghdasarian’s case is close
to completion," Petrosian, who heads parliament’s standing committee
for state and legal affairs, told EurasiaNet.
He did not elaborate about the status of the Baghdasarian
investigation. Police announced on November 26 that one man had
turned himself in and admitted that he took part in the attack on
Baghdasarian, yet allegedly declined to give further testimony.
But investigations into attacks on journalists do not necessarily come
flush with results, noted Haykakan Zhamanak reporter Barseghian. On
February 19, the day of the presidential vote, Barseghian herself was
beaten at one Yerevan polling station while highlighting suspected
fraud in favor of then Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, the government’s
favored candidate. A second attack came on August 11, when two unknown
men attacked Barseghian from behind outside her apartment building.
"I definitely link what happened to me with my professional activities
and there are concrete people and forces behind those who ordered the
violence. . . " Barseghian said. "Criminal cases were started in both
cases. However, no results have come so far. If our country were a
law-abiding state, the cases would have been solved a long time ago."
Republican Party parliamentarian Petrosian scoffed at the
allegation. "Is there any evidence that the authorities or any
government official were behind the attack? I can’t accept a journalist
making serious accusations without any evidence. Had there been any
verdict finding any government-linked person at fault, then they can
confidently make such statements," affirmed Petrosian.
One human rights activist argues that the lack of visible punishment
for such incidents only encourages additional attacks.
"If there has been practically no punishment, then two conclusions can
be made here: either the professionalism of law-enforcement bodies
in Armenia is below zero or, even if it wasn’t they who did it,
the state must prevent such cases," said Armenia Helsinki Committee
Chairman Avetik Ishkhanian said. " . . . The authorities bear the
responsibility, because they have failed to take preventive measures."
In a November 19 letter, the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe’s representative on press freedom matters Miklos Haraszti
echoed that stance. "The aim of such crimes is to intimidate media
workers in the country and obstruct investigative reporting," Haraszti
wrote. "The lack of progress in resolving these cases could provoke
further cases of violence against journalists."
Without such measures, commented Armenian Public Ombudsman Armen
Harutiunian in a statement, "it would be correct that senior police
discuss the issue of the competence of the organs conducting the
investigations."
The Paris-based watchdog Reporters Without Borders has marked the
decline in Armenia’s media environment. In 2008, the organization
ranked Armenia 102nd out of 173 countries in its 2008 Worldwide Press
Freedom Index – a sharp dip from the country’s 77th position ranking
a year before.
"The most significant development in the former Soviet periphery is
the deterioration in the Caucasus," the report states, referring to
"major problems" with free speech in Armenia and Georgia. [For details,
see the Eurasia Insight archive.]
Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the ArmeniaNow.com
weekly in Yerevan.
EASTBOURNE RECORDED MUSIC SOCIETY
Eastbourne Today
Dec 9 2008
UK
One of the most gifted and fortunate of Russian national composers
Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov was described by Clive Wilkes, president of
ERMS, as the Russian Mighty Handful.
Born into a wealthy family in Tsarist Russia Nikolai, although showing
a marked aptitude for music, always had an ambition to join the Navy
which duly happened. He continued to study music however and aged 18
took seriously the suggestion of his teacADVERTISEMENTher to write
a symphony. It took three years and was actually completed when his
ship was at anchor in Gravesend. Members were privileged to hear
the last movement of this early work the Allegro Assai followed by
Islamey with Shura Cherkassy playing the piano.
The true nature of his creativity was an ability to conjure up worlds
of fantasy with a unique command of orchestral colour which mainly
took the form of freely constructed suites with magical themes. Clive
Wilkes gave members an amazingly varied programme of quite stunning
music including the magnificent Russian Easter Festival Overture
performed by the USSR Symphony orchestra, The Tale of Tsar Sultan
‘The Three Wonders’ by the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra with Loris
Tjeknavorian, and extracts from Scheherazade.
No programme on Rimsky Korsakov could be complete without mention of
the group known as ‘The Russian Five’, mainly amateur composers whose
shared ideals finally created the truly national style of music we
now call Russian.
They were Mily Balakirev, a very capable conductor, Mussorgsky, a
government clerk, Cezar Cui, a military officer, Borodin, a research
chemist and illegitimate son of a prince, and, of course, Rimsky
Korsakov himself.
Without him we would probably never have heard Borodin’s Prince
Igor. Borodin left his score on the floor of his Dacha so Korsakov,
with help from Mussorgsky, worked on it to produce the opera we
know today.
The recorded music society meets fortnightly on Thursday evenings.
For information telephone 738995.