Month: November 2009

BORDUZHA SAYS NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PROCESS INTENSIFIED

Panorama.am
18:16 24/11/2009

The intensification of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process
evidences that both the Armenian and the Azerbaijani authorities aim
at reaching a mutually acceptable resolution over a complicated issue,
CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Borduzha told a press conference today.

"The process over the settlement of Karabakh conflict has intensified.

Only this year the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents have had six
meetings," Borduzha said. The talks over Nagorno-Karabakh settlement
are under way, this is what comes of most significance.

CYPRUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN PRESENT TO THE IMPORTANT HISTORIC TIMES OF THE ARMENIAN PEOPLE

armradio.am
24.11.2009 16:32

President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias has underlined
that efforts to reunify Cyprus and its people will continue with
persistence and good will.

In an address at a mass at the Armenian Church in Nicosia, read out
by Deputy Minister to the President Titos Christofides, President
Christofias stressed "we remain committed to our goals for the creation
of a peaceful, united and prosperous homeland for all its citizens,
Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins."

He reiterated that "efforts to reunify Cyprus and its people will
continue with persistence and good will, asserting our rights based on
principles. We pursue a bizonal, bicommunal federation with a single
sovereignty, citizenship and international personality as well as
unified economic institutions".

Referring to the Armenian people living in Cyprus, he said that "tight
bonds of friendship and common struggles describe the historic paths
of Greek Cypriots and Armenians in our country".

"Cyprus and its people have always been present to the important
historic times of the Armenian people", he said.

The Cypriot President recalled that Cyprus was the first European
state, which adopted a resolution recognising the Armenian Genocide,
the Famagusta Gazette reports.

"NO BREAKING IS SUPPOSED DURING FORTHCOMING MONTHS"

Panorama.am
18:15 24/11/2009

No breaking advancement is foresight over the conflict of
Nagorno-Karabakh in the forthcoming months. "It’s quite understandable
from the chairmen’s statements, who declared they have much to do. If
they say a month or two, we should keep in mind at least a year," ARF
Armenian Cause Office director Giro Manoyan told. He said co-chairs’
statements separately were better made than their joint statement.

"They wanted to give soonest response to Aliev’s threats and said
serious advancement is made, though their official statement was more
careful," ARF representative said.

AZERI PRESIDENT SAYS MUNICH TALKS LAST CHANCE TO SETTLE KARABAKH PEACEFULLY

ANS TV
Nov 21 2009
Azerbaijan

If the next meeting with the Armenian president does not yield a
result, Azerbaijan may try to regain its Armenian-occupied territories
militarily, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said.

Aliyev said the meeting scheduled to take place in Munich on 22
November might be crucial in the settlement of the long-standing
conflict over the Nagornyy Karabakh region.

"This meeting has to play a crucial role in the negotiations," private
ANS TV showed Aliyev in the western district of Goranboy addressing
a group of displaced people from Nagornyy Karabakh on 20 November.

"Several meetings have been held this year, and none of them was
fruitful. If this meeting, too, does not yield any results, then
we will lose hope in the negotiations. And if we lose hope in the
negotiations, we will have no other choice, and we have to be ready
for that.

"The work done in the field of army building over the past years has a
definite goal, naturally. We are spending billions to strengthen our
army, purchase new weapons, equipment, to reinforce our positions on
the contact line. We are doing this because we have never ruled out
this option. We have the full right to liberate our lands militarily.

International legal norms also recognize this right.

"Simply, we want this issue to be settled peacefully, and we do not
want war. But if Armenia thinks that we will be holding talks for
ever, it is mistaken. If we see that Armenia is simply dragging time
and it wants to make it an eternal problem through talks, then an
end will be put to the negotiations," Aliyev said.

The president said that Armenia was no match for Azerbaijan in terms
of economic development and army building and ruled out any economic
cooperation with Armenia until the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is
resolved.

"How can there be any cooperation? One country has occupied another
country’s land, left people homeless and has carried out a policy
of ethnic cleansing, and then they say you should cooperate. This is
out of the question," he said.

Aliyev also said that some international organizations might think
that freezing the settlement of the conflict was better than war.

"Some international organizations may think that let the situation
continue as it is, what is important is that there is no war, some
even do not care about what conditions our people have been living
in, and that has been going on not for a year or a couple of years
but for almost 20 years. But how can one tolerate that. Some think
it had better stay in this frozen state than there is war. We cannot
be satisfied with this status quo," the Azerbaijani president said.

GREEK PUBLIC TV TELEVISE PROGRAM ON ARMENIAN-TURKISH TIES

Panorama.am
15:14 24/11/2009

Politics

Greek "Antapokrites" TV show, public TV station of Greece, will
televise a program devoted to Armenian-Turkish protocols, "Azat or"
paper reports. The signing of protocols, the situation following
the signing ceremony, the further development of Armenian-Turkish
ties will be the highlights of the TV show. It’s reported that the
journalist made interviews in Armenia, Artsakh and Turkey.

FIRST SWINE FLU DEATH SUSPECTED IN ARMENIA

Asbarez
Nov 24th, 2009

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Medical authorities in Yerevan reported on Tuesday
what they suspect was the first fatality caused by swine flu in
Armenia.

Ara Asoyan, the country’s chief epidemiologist, told RFE/RL that a
51-year-old Armenian man died on Friday shortly after being taken to
Yerevan’s Nork hospital with grave flu-like symptoms.

Asoyan, who runs the hospital specializing in infectious disease, said
the man suffered from a particular type of influenza that has yet to
be ascertained. A biopsy test will show whether it was the H1N1 virus,
he said, adding that the results will be known within three weeks.

"The diagnosis was complicated by the fact that he was brought to
our hospital on the eighth or ninth day of the disease," said Asoyan.

"What could have been caused by the flu was already gone."

According to the official, the dead man also had other serious
illnesses. "We had a consequential situation: quite a serious change
in the lungs and bronchi, problems with the heart muscle. In this
situation I find it difficult to tell what happened," he said.

The death occurred about two weeks after the authorities reported
the first case of swine flu in Armenia. A total of 25 H1N1 cases have
been registered since then. All but two of them have reportedly been
already discharged from hospital.

Health officials have been at pains to play down the outbreak, saying
that the Armenian medical services will manage to keep it under
control. Asoyan urged the population on November 14 to stop buying
up Tamiflu drugs and medical masks, dismissing widespread fears of
the potentially deadly virus as an unjustified "psychosis."

Asoyan acknowledged on Tuesday that the disease can be
life-threatening, while insisting that the risks involved are grossly
exaggerated by many people. "I can’t exclude death cases in our
country," he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA SUBMITS PROTOCOLS TO CONSTITUTIONAL COURT: WHAT’S NEXT?
By Harut Sassounian

Panorama.am
15:25 24/11/2009

Politics

Pres. Serzh Sargsyan quietly submitted the Armenia-Turkey Protocols to
the Constitutional Court on November 19, without a public announcement.

Under Armenian law, all international agreements have to be submitted
to the Constitutional Court, prior to their consideration by Parliament
for ratification. The Protocols were signed by the Armenian and Turkish
Foreign Ministers on October 10, after both sides publicly committed
on August 31 to "make their best efforts" to ratify the Protocols in a
"timely" manner.

Given the fact that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had already
introduced the Protocols to the Turkish Parliament on October 21,
the timing of Pres. Sargsyan’s submission to the Court may have been
prompted by his wish to avoid accusations of foot-dragging by Prime
Minister Recep Erdogan during his Washington visit on December 6.

Indeed, over the weekend, a Turkish official accused Armenia of not
taking any steps to ratify the Protocols.. Hurriyet newspaper quoted
a Senior Turkish Diplomat as stating: "I do not think that one could
press Turkey at this moment when Armenia has still not submitted them
to Parliament."

Forwarding the Protocols to the Constitutional Court, however, does not
necessarily mean that Armenian officials intend to ratify them quickly,
since they had announced that they are going to wait for Turkey to
ratify them first. Moreover, Turkish leaders have repeatedly linked
the ratification of the Protocols to the resolution of the Karabagh
(Artsakh) conflict, thus making it questionable if the Protocols
would be ratified at all.

The Armenian Constitutional Court’s website indicates that after
submission of a case to the Court, the first step is assigning one
of its judges to conduct a preliminary review within 15 days, which
could be extended by 10 days. In all, the Court has 90 days from date
of submission to announcing its decision. The Constitutional Court’s
mandate specifies that its decision will not be based on whether the
Protocols are in compliance with the Constitution, but on whether
the obligations deriving from such an international agreement are in
conformity with the Constitution.

Given the lack of public trust in Armenia’s courts in general, most
Armenians, especially those who oppose the Protocols, are highly
skeptical that the Constitutional Court would not rubber stamp the
government’s position on these Protocols. Some members of the press
questioned the appropriateness of Gagik Harutyunyan, the Constitutional
Court’s Chair, accompanying Pres. Sargsyan on his recent overseas
"consulting tour," trying to convince Diaspora Armenians that the
Protocols were in Armenia’s best interest.

Given the critical nature of the proposed Protocols and their
long-term impact on Armenia’s national interest, it is expected
that the Constitutional Court would approach this case with the
utmost seriousness and responsibility. While most Armenians would
prefer that the Court disapprove the Protocols, it is more likely
that it would approve them after adding several clarifications and
interpretations that would be part and parcel of the agreement prior
to submission to Parliament. Such clarifications would hopefully
minimize the detrimental effects of the Protocols and not allow
Turkey to misinterpret the agreement, particularly references to
international treaties that may preclude future Armenian claims,
and formation of a historical sub-commission that could question the
facts of the Armenian Genocide.

Another important issue that the Constitutional Court may consider is
adding a provision that would give the Armenian government the right
to unilaterally abrogate this agreement, should Turkey violate any
of its provisions after ratification.

During Pres. Sargsyan’s meeting with over 60?? Armenian community
leaders in Los Angeles on October 4, I suggested that the Armenian
government add a formal reservation to the Protocols, giving itself
the right to consider the agreement null and void, should Turkey,
after ratification, not open the border with Armenia within the
stipulated 60-day timeframe or if it closed the border after opening
it. Significantly, Pres. Sargsyan publicly agreed with my suggestion
and committed himself to adding such a provision.

Since it appears that the Armenian government is intent on going
through with these Protocols despite all objections, the Constitutional
Court and the Armenian Parliament should attempt to minimize the
damage they are sure to cause to the country’s national interests
by adding specific reservations and clarifications prior to their
eventual ratification.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CLERGYMEN TOOK PART IN PROTEST TOO

avaghq
24/11/09

Representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church and members of youth
organizations today held a march from the Republic Square to the
Georgian Embassy in Armenia with signs reading "No to white genocide",
"Javakhk is our homeland" "Aren’t you a Christian nation?"

More than thousand demonstrators were accompanied by tens of policemen,
but there were no incidents.

The protesters gathered in front of the Georgian Embassy were raising
their voices on the occasion of the collapse of the St. Gevorg of
Mughnetsi Church which was built in 1356 in Tbilisi. They stood
in front of the embassy for an hour, screaming "Give us back our
churches", "Shame" and more.

"Our demand is that the Georgian church and authorities grant the
Georgian Armenian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church a legal
status, return the Armenian churches, as well as respect and preserve
the cultural values of the Armenian people," as stated in the letter
to the Georgian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

"We are simply standing up for our rights. What is ours belongs to
the Armenian Church and we demand that the Georgian government accept
that and acknowledge our rights. There is lack of interest toward our
churches and the result of that was the destruction of our only church
in Georgia. This perhaps set an example for all Armenian Apostolic
Churches located in Georgia and there are worries that all churches
will have the same fate," Priest Yesaiah Artemyan told "A1+".

Some protesters were received by the Georgian Ambassador who promised
to transmit the letter to the highest Georgian authorities. He also
said that he was aware of the collapse of the church and that there
are agreements with the Ministry of Culture to restore the Armenian
Church early next year.

The youth left the Georgian Embassy with the promise to continue the
protests until their demands are met.

MANOYAN SAYS RESPONSE WAS NOT ADEQUATE

Panorama.am
17:24 24/11/2009

Armenia’s response to Azerbaijan’s Aliev’s military oriented statement
has been inadequate. "That was a sort of threat and President’s
speaker’s statement that if renewed war starts we’ll recognize the
independence of Nagorno-Karabakh was weak. We should declare that if
military activities are initiated we’ll encourage our people to get
united," Giro Manoyan, the director of ARF Cause Office Yerevan told
at news conference. It’s worth reminding that Azerbaijan’s President
threatened a renewed war to start if Munich presidential meeting
recorded no advancement. "Azerbaijan’s President’s military statements
just prove Azerbaijan’s deconstructive disposition. We should state
that Armenia has not recognized the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh
just leaving it to be resolved through peaceful negotiations. And if
peaceful negotiations are aborted nothing will keep Armenia from
recognizing NKR’s independence." ARF representative encourages
initiating strong activities to meet the challenge of the time.

SUPERSTAR CHARLES AZNAVOUR AND A NIGHT OF 100 ARMENIAN MUSIC STARS

Asbarez
Nov 24th, 2009

December 13 double-wow in the Nokia at LA LIVE

LOS ANGELES, CA-Legendary French-Armenian superstar Charles Aznavour
will be among the more than 100 Armenian music stars being honored
on Sunday, December 13, during the star-studded "M Club Music Video
Awards" and "Armenian Music Awards" show.

For the first time in Armenian entertainment history, the 7,100-seat
Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE will be ground zero for the joint Armenian
music and video awards show-a spectacular event that will raise the
bar for all future Armenian award and entertainment shows.

Resources from two US-based production companies and three
international, local, and Armenian television networks are being
synergized to present to attendees the most fascinating nominees
from various genres and categories including the most popular and
most critically-acclaimed Armenian singers, musicians, albums, and
music videos.

Producers Sevak Petrossian and Arthut Kokozian will be bringing the
3rd Annual "M Club Music Video Awards" and 10 Annual "Armenian Music
Awards" together this year to one stage on the same time.

This is a first combination of both these popular awards shows,
which have previously been held at such venues as the Kodak Theatre
in the heart of Hollywood and the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal
City. The successes from the flawless first and second M Club Music
Video Awards and the decade-long networking of the Armenian Music
Video awards is making it possible for Petrosyan and Kokozian to
create the most-professional and blockbuster show ever produced in
Armenian entertainment history.

In addition to Aznavour being given awards for a lifetime of
achievements, daughter Seta Aznavour is scheduled to perform along
with other popular acts like VISA, Element Band, and Reincarnation.

Global rock star Serj Tankian’s father will also perform, and he
is said to be bringing with him a special guest. The special guest,
perhaps Tankian himself, wants to keep his appearance a mystery until
the night of the show on December 13.

Armenian divas Nune Yesayan and Shushan Petrosyan, local favorites
Karnig Sarkissian and Harut Pamboukjian, and global sensations Arto
Tuncboyaciyan from the Armenian Navy Band will come together as well.

A huge and unexpected treat will be a special performance by Russian
superstar Irina Allegrova, who also has a surprise for the Nokia
audience. BBC Award recipient, newcomer from Armenia Silva Hakobian,
Canadian Mariam Matossian, and other top names from South America,
Europe, and the Homeland will also join the festivities.

Also appearing will be former EuroVision top ten contestants Andre and
Hayko, along with international sensation Armenchik, rappers Misho
and Apeh Jan, Jazz singer Arthur Ispirian, and pop star Hovhaness
Shahbazian.

International mainstream music sensations Armen Movsisyan, Victor
Espinola, and Alexander Zhiroff – who have collaborated with top
artists like Yanni, Ray Charles, and Tonny Bennett – will also
participate during the December 13th show. The trio were most recently
part of the sold out Yanni show last June at the Nokia.

"We are going share our music, because we are sharing it with our
people," says Movsisyan. "Armenian music is my culture. It is my
heritage. It’s my music, and we want to dedicate our art to my people."

Many surprises are also planned throughout the four-hour program
including special appearances by a few Hollywood legends like TV star
Mike Connors, top Armenian sportsman like Ultimate Fighting Champion
Vanes Martirosyan, and a few Armenian global superstars, reality show
stars, who want to keep their appearance a last-minute surprise.

"This show promises to be the biggest event of the year, because
coming together are the most popular, the most talented, and the
most legendary Armenian artists from around the world," says Sevag
Petrosyan of Meridian Studios, the producer of the annual M Club
Video Awards. "There is so much excitement in the community, and we
hope the event will sell-out at least a week before."

Tickets for the star-studded night of music and glamour range
from $50 to $200, and they are available through Ticketmaster
or ARTNticket.com. Phone orders are also available by calling
800-533-3386.

"What is even more unique for this big awards show is that three
Armenian television channels are joining forces so that every face
on stage and every performance is captured with the best clarity on
the big screens at the Nokia," says Armenian Music Awards producer
Arthur Kokozian. "Dozens of cameras will be covering the awards and
performances, so that everyone seated anywhere in the Nokia can see
every expression on the faces of the performers."

Among the dozen categories of nominations are best soloists, best
album, best electronic, jazz, newcomer, best video, as well as best
music video director. Hosts include the M Club’s Tatevik Ekizian
and ARNT-Shant TV’s Grisha Aghajanian. Those living across the US,
in Europe, the Middle East, and in Armenia will be able to watch the
broadcast via H1, the Armenian Public Television station, Armenian
Russian Television, Shant, and Horizon Armenian TV.