Month: November 2009

AMERIA CJSC IN ADDITION TO OTHER LEADERS OF CIS LAW MARKET INCLUDED IN CIS LCN NEW PROFESSIONAL NETWORK

Noyan Tapan
Nov 10, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Nine leading law firms from the
countries of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) economic
region, Ameria from Armenia, FINA LLP from Azerbaijan, Vlasova,
Mikheil & Partners from Belarus, Aequitas from Kazakhstan, Turcan &
Turcan from Moldova, Yegorov, Puginski, Afanasyev & Partners from
Russia, ACT from Turkmenistan and RULG Ukrainian Legal Group from
the Ukraine announce the launch of a new alliance The CIS Leading
Counsel Network, which aims to transcend the national boundaries and
offer clients a seamless advice across these fast developing markets.

According to Ameria CJSC, CIS LCN takes to a new level their
time-tested relationships and offers clients integrated teams in
these dynamic and challenging jurisdictions.

The network, chaired by a rotating chairperson from participating
firms, aims to combine the highest international professional standards
with a unique local insight in these regions, which are increasingly
attracting international investments.

The inaugural meeting of the LCN members, hosted by Egorov Puginsky
Afanasiev & Partners, the 2009 Law Firm of the Year in Russia and CIS
by The Lawyer European Awards, in Moscow on 28 September, elected Ms
Irina Paliashvili as first Chair of the Network. She is the president
of RULG Ukrainian Legal Group and founder and co-chair of the CIS
Local Counsel Forum, an informal annual conference of managing and
senior partners of the CIS and international law firms.

Representatives of a leading German law firm Hengeler Mueller, Mr Oleg
de Lousanoff, and a leading French law firm Bredin Prat, Mr Patrick
Dziewolski, have attended the inaugural meeting as guests of honor
and shared their experience of building up a Best Friends Network in
Europe as a model to be followed by the CIS Leading Counsel Network.

LCN members have a long history of successful collaboration. The
alliance takes to a new level their time-tested relationships and
offers clients integrated teams in these dynamic and challenging
jurisdictions.

LCN will offer members a platform to pull resources to get the latest
in law firm technology, training and knowledge management systems. The
network will also offer annual training programs for the associates
of the participating law firms and regular seminars for clients,
giving unique perspective on the local markets across the CIS.

Member law firms of the LCN are not exclusively bound and are free
to work with non-member firms.

Founded in 1998, Ameria is a leading advisory firm in Armenia. It acts
as a financial, legal and strategic development counsel and partner
to the public and private sectors, as well as to international
organizations in Armenia and the South Caucasus. Ameria advises
its clients through an effective structure of five advisory units
comprising Management Advisory Services, Legal Practice, Assurance
and Taxation, and Investment Banking.

ARF IN OPPOSITION IN LEBANON

Yerkir
10.11.2009 12:05

Yerevan (Yerkir) – The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) has
been included in the "March 8" opposition faction along with Hezbollah
Muslim party (with Shiite majority) and Reforms and Order party after
the Cabinet of Ministers has finally been set.

Saad al-Hariri (a son of the murdered Former PM Rafik Hariri) became
the Prime Minister of Lebanon.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RENDITION PROSECUTED ABROAD WHILE U.S. COURTS DO NOTHING
By Mary Shaw

Online Journal
Nov 10, 2009, 00:10

The George W. Bush administration was the target of much criticism
from human rights groups for, among other things, its policy of
extraordinary rendition, in which detainees have been transferred
for interrogation in other countries that are known for their use of
torture. And human rights groups and individuals have long been calling
for an end to rendition, and accountability for all those who have
enabled or participated in the use of torture in the "war on terror."

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like any kind of accountability will
be achieved here in the U.S. anytime soon. The latest evidence of
this came on November 2, when the Second Circuit Court of Appeals
dismissed the case of Maher Arar against U.S. officials who had sent
him to Syria, where he was interrogated under torture for a year.

Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was detained at JFK Airport in
September of 2002 while on his way home to Canada from a vacation.

After his rendition to Syria and all the torture and abuse, Arar was
eventually released, with the Syrian government stating that they
had found no connection to any criminal or terrorist organization
or activity.

Still, that Court of Appeals apparently believes that the U.S. should
not be held accountable for violating international law by putting
Arar through that abuse. The court cited the Bush administration’s
favorite excuse — state secrets. Case dismissed. God bless America.

Maria LaHood, senior staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional
Rights (CCR), who represented Arar, aptly summed up the implications
of the decision as follows: "With this decision, we have lost much
more than Maher Arar’s case against torture — we have lost the rule
of law, the moral high ground, our independent judiciary, and our
commitment to the Constitution of the United States."

Indeed.

The only voice of reason out of the Second Circuit Court was in a
dissent by Judge Guido Calabresi: "I believe that when the history
of this distinguished court is written, today’s majority decision
will be viewed with dismay."

If it’s not ultimately viewed with dismay, then this nation really
has sold its soul to the Torture Industrial Complex.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world is not going to wait around for us
to get our act together.

On November 4, an Italian judge convicted 23 Americans, most of them
CIA operatives, for the abduction and rendition of Muslim cleric
Abu Omar, who was captured in Milan in 2003. One of the defendants,
a CIA base chief, received an eight-year sentence, while the others
were sentenced to five years each.

The defendants were all tried in absentia and are considered fugitives.

And while it’s unlikely that any of those 23 Americans will ever see
the inside of an Italian prison cell, the Italian court’s decision
makes a statement to the U.S. and to the world: that laws were broken
and accountability is crucial in a world that respects the rule of law.

Tom Parker, Amnesty International’s policy director for
counterterrorism and human rights, had this to say: "The United
States shouldn’t need a foreign court to distinguish right from
wrong. The Obama administration must repudiate the unlawful practice
of extraordinary rendition — and hold accountable those responsible
for having put this system in place — or his administration will
end up as tarnished as his predecessor’s."

I agree. The world agrees. But the rendition program continues
under Obama.

Obama talks about human rights. But talk — even Obama’s fancy variety
— is cheap. Continuing the practice of rendition is not change I
can believe in. In fact, it is no change at all.

Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist, with a
focus on politics, human rights, and social justice. She is a former
Philadelphia Area Coordinator for the Nobel-Prize-winning human rights
group Amnesty International, and her views appear regularly in a
variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites. Note that the ideas
expressed here are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of Amnesty International or any other organization with
which she may be associated. E-mail: [email protected].

STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT SARGSYAN FOR THE PRESS DURING THE STATE VISIT TO HUNGARY

President.am
Nov 9 2009
Armenia

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I express my heartfelt gratitude to my colleague, President of the
Republic of Hungary Lazslo Solyom, for hosting me in Hungary on a
state visit.

Mr. President,

Your hospitality and state status of this visit underscored once
again your determination to move the centuries-long Armenian-Hungarian
friendship into the realm of interstate partnership.

Armenia attaches great importance to the further development of the
Armenian-Hungarian relations in political, economic, and cultural
areas. During the meetings, which were conducted in the atmosphere
of friendship and constructive approach, together with the President
of Hungary we discussed the current stage of our interstate relations
and their perspectives, exchanged views on international and regional
issues of mutual interest. We stressed the necessity to maintain
the continuity of our political dialogue, discussed promising
areas for economic cooperation, and underlined the important role
of rich cultural heritage of the Armenian and Hungarian peoples in
strengthening relations between our two countries.

Taking into consideration the fact that Hungary is an EU country, while
Armenia is involved in the initiatives which facilitate cooperation
with the EU structures, we reached the agreement to view possibilities
of cooperation within that framework, as well as in the framework of
the European Neighborhood and Eastern Partnership programs.

We are confident that the agreements, which have been signed a little
while ago, will enlarge the scope of bilateral relations and will
create new opportunities for the mutually beneficial cooperation.

Among them I would like to invite special attention to the agreement on
the avoidance of double taxation, which is one of the basic documents
for trade and economic cooperation. The agreements signed in the
areas of justice and agriculture will also bring their contribution
to the development of the multifaceted cooperation between Armenia and
Hungary. I hope, that the Armenian-Hungarian business forum that opens
today in Budapest, as well as contacts and agreements established in
the framework of the forum, will also become a serious impetus for
the strengthening of economic ties between our two countries.

Using this opportunity, I would like to express my gratitude to the
Hungarian justice system for its unequivocal and fair stance regarding
the murder case of the Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian. At the
time of the murder, I was the Defense Minister of Armenia and that
horrendous crime shocked me to the core, as I am sure it shocked
normal people all over the world. It is tragic that the unspeakable
crime such as this one can be praised by some individuals as a heroic
act. I am confident, that had not the Hungarian justice adopted such a
resolute position, that kind of atrocity might be occurring in other
countries as well.

With the President of Hungary we spoke also about a number of regional
issues, stressing the importance of stability and cooperation and the
resolution of the existing conflicts by peaceful means and through
negotiations, based on the principles and norms of international law.

We expressed confidence that the conflicts must be solved based on
just and durable solutions, which is possible only if they are based on
the human rights and peoples’ will rather than on political expediency.

I once again express my gratitude to President Solyom for accepting my
invitation to visit Armenia. I am confident that the reciprocal visit
of President Solyom will allow to continue this high-level dialogue,
sum up the implementation of the reached agreements, and identify
new prospects for the development and deepening of the multifaceted
Armenian-Hungarian relations.

Thank you.

AZERI MP: TURKEY DEMANDS GUARANTEES ON AZERBAIJAN’S OCCUPIED LANDS FROM THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA

news.az
Nov 10 2009
Azerbaijan

Fazil Mustafa "Today Turkey is in an awkward situation and it does
not know what to do with the protocols it signed with Armenia.

If the ruling party ratifies these protocols, it may face the prospect
of losing powers, as the nationalistic forces in Turkey will use
these protocols against Erdogan’s government. But if it does not
ratify them, it will face pressure of superpowers", parliamentarian
Fazil Mustafa said.

"Currently, the Turkish government must attain the liberation of at
least a part of the occupied lands of Azerbaijan.

It is obvious that Turkey attempts to get guarantees from Russia and
the United States regarding this issue. It is not ruled out that the
hasty organization of the meetings of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents by OSCE’s Minsk Group co-chairs in late November is also
related to these processes.

Let’s see the schedule of all these processes to judge. First comes
the meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia and then
on December 7 Erdogan will leave to Washington. The link between
these processes is evident. But it will depend on Armenia’s conduct
during the talks. I do not see any softening in Armenia’s position
yet. But let’s wait for the meeting of the presidents and we will see
what position Armenia and superpowers will take regarding all these
processes around the Karabakh conflict", he said.

AZERBAIJAN OPENS FIRST EMBASSY IN LATIN AMERICA

news.az
Nov 10 2009
Azerbaijan

Araz Azimov Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov has attended the
opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Mexico.

It is the first Azerbaijani embassy in Latin America.

Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister Maria de Lourdes Aranda, other Mexican
officials, diplomats, and representatives of the Azerbaijani, Turkish,
Ukrainian and Russian diaspora attended the ceremony, the embassy’s
press service reported.

As part of his working visit to Moscow, Araz Azimov had meetings
with Lourdes Aranda and Pablo Macedo, director general of the Foreign
Ministry’s United Nations department.

The sides discussed bilateral relations, regional security,
transnational crimes, combating the drugs trade and human trafficking,
exchange of information and cooperation on energy and the non-oil
sector and within the framework of the UN and other international
organizations. They noted that political relations are developing
successfully and referred to the importance of extending cooperation
in the economy, trade, information technology, science and education.

Azimov gave a detailed briefing on the history of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and
the negotiations on a conflict settlement. He said Armenia’s
non-constructive position contradicts the norms and principles of
international law and impedes the resolution of the conflict and the
establishment of a durable peace in the region.

He said that support for Azerbaijan’s position during discussions on
the issue at the next meeting of the UN General Assembly would be of
great importance for Azerbaijan.

Araz Azimov later gave a speech on "Azerbaijan and Regional Security"
in the Mexican Foreign Ministry’s conference hall.

ROBERT HOVHANNISYAN FILLED IN THE GRAND MASTER’S NORM

Aysor
Nov 10 2009
Armenia

We have already informed before that Levon Babujyan, an international
master from Yerevan has filled in the norm of Grand Master in the
Chigorin chess tournament taken place in St. Petersburg. And so
there is information that in the same tournament Robert Hovhannisyan,
international Master has succeeded too, informs the Armenian Chess
Federation.

In that tournament the victory was with the Armenian Grand Master
Hrant Melqumyan who had gained 7 points. Robert Hovhannisyan had
gained 6.5 points.

AZERBAIJAN SHOULD REGULARLY RAISE KARABAKH ISSUE IN UN: PARLIAMENTARIAN

Today
litics/57344.html
Nov 10 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan should make use of all available international platforms to
return its Armenia-occupied lands, member of Azerbaijani Milli Majlis
(parliament) Asim Mollazade said.

"Discussions on Azerbaijan’s occupied lands in the UN are of great
importance. During such discussions, Azerbaijan reminds everyone
of presence of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia-occupied territories,
as well as those UN resolutions that are not implemented by Armenia
though they have been adopted many years ago," the MP said.

"Such discussions in the UN are invaluable, because even the mandate of
the Minsk Group was issued by the organization. Therefore, Azerbaijan
should regularly raise the Karabakh issue in the UN," he said.

"Azerbaijani diplomats should be in regular contact with the permanent
and non-permanent members of UN Security Council. In this case,
I believe the Azerbaijani side will succeed in resolution of the
conflict. Azerbaijan must inform UN member states about the realities
of the Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan also needs to work deeply with
its strategic partners in the organization," the MP said.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS BERN

World Radio Switzerland
Nov 10 2009

The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eduard Nalbandian, is on
a diplomatic visit to Switzerland today.

Nalbandian will meet with Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey.

The two leaders plan to sign agreements on air traffic and on
diplomats’ visas.

Last month, Switzerland helped broker an historic accord between Turkey
and Armenia, aimed at reopening their border after decades of enmity,
as well as establishing diplomatic relations.

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF HUNGARY, ARMENIA MEET

Aysor
Nov 10 2009
Armenia

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan met with his Hungarian
counterpart Peter Balazs in Budapest. The parties agreed that visit of
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to Hungary creates a platform for
deepening and strengthening of bilateral friendly relations between
the two countries, press office of Foreign Ministry reports. Foreign
Ministers mentioned signed agreements and stressed that realization of
these agreements will bring into being new developments in relations.

During the meeting the parties also discussed current political
situation on Caucasus as well as EU activities.