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NATURAL GAS SUPPLY OF ARMENIA TO BE SUSPENDED ON JUNE 16-21

Noyan Tapan
June 15, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The gas and transport company of
Georgia officially informed ArmRusgazprom CJSC that the natural gas
supply of Armenia will be suspended on June 16-21. During this period
the Georgian company intends to carry out work on pipe connection in
the newly-built Ghazakh-Saguramo section (1,000 mm in diameter amd
3.6 km long), which will increase the reliability of Armenia’s gas
supply. In the indicated period the gas supply of the country will be
ensured from the Abovian underground gas storage without restrictions.

Post-Soviet security bloc launches summit in Moscow

16:1714/06/2009

MOSCOW, June 14 (RIA Novosti) – A summit of the post-Soviet CSTO
security bloc leaders opened in Moscow on Sunday in the absence of the
Belarusian president, who pulled out of the meeting in protest against
Russia’s trade restrictions.

The summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization comprising
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan is expected to focus on the creation of joint rapid-reaction
forces and the prospects for their development.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier on Sunday that
foreign ministers of the CSTO member states had prepared at their
meeting, held before that summit, all necessary documents for creating
a joint rapid-reaction force.

"The main result of today’s session of the CSTO Council of Foreign
Ministers was the fulfillment of instructions from the February CSTO
summit on the creation of a rapid-reaction force. The package of
documents is ready. They include an agreement on the rapid-reaction
force, and documents regulating the deployment and the strength of the
collective forces," he said.

Russia already has joint military contingents with Belarus and Armenia
through the CSTO.

The new force will comprise large military units from five countries –
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Analysts say the creation of a powerful military contingent in Central
Asia reflects Moscow’s drive to make the CSTO a pro-Russian military
bloc, rivaling NATO forces in Europe.

Russia’s security strategy until 2020, recently approved by President
Dmitry Medvedev, envisions the CSTO as "a key mechanism to counter
regional military challenges and threats."

The rapid-reaction force will include an airborne division and an air
assault brigade from Russia, and an air assault brigade from
Kazakhstan. The other members will contribute a battalion-size force
each, although Uzbekistan would "delegate" its detachments to take part
in operations on an ad hoc basis.

Meanwhile, Belarus has said that no decisions passed at the CSTO summit
will be valid without its involvement.

Russia has infuriated Minsk by banning imports of the country’s dairy
products, citing violations of new Russian standards.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a note handed to the CSTO’S
secretariat that the country’s non-participation "means the lack of
approval from the Republic of Belarus of decisions being considered" at
the summit, along with the foreign and defense ministers’ meetings, and
"consequently a lack of consensus for the taking of these decisions."

Azarbaycan (ATV), Azerbaijan
June 12 2009

UK envoy urges more global efforts to resolve Armenian-Azeri conflict

The British ambassador to Azerbaijan has urged more international
efforts to resolve the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

Speaking to an ATV correspondent during her visit to the front-line
village of Tapqaraqoyunlu of Azerbaijan’s Goranboy District, Carolyn
Browne said in English with overlaid translation into Azerbaijani:
"Unresolved conflicts are always a source of a threat… Therefore,
major states and international organizations should expedite a speedy
solution to this conflict."

TV added that the ambassador had invited her colleagues in Azerbaijan
to meet people living on the front line and expressed her confidence
that they could impartially report about their impressions to their
countries following such meetings.

Video showed Browne, accompanied by Azerbaijani MP Gultakin Hacibayli,
meeting a group of villagers, who briefed the ambassador on their hard
living conditions as a result of cease-fire violations and arson
attacks by Armenian troops.

eTurboNews
June 13 2009

New visa policy facilitates visits to Armenia

By eTN Staff Writer | Jun 12, 2009

In unprecedented steps to boost tourist arrivals, Armenia has
introduced a new shorter-stay visa for guests.

Until recently, most visitors to the country could only obtain a
120-day visa at a cost of around US$40. The new legislation means that
21-day visas can also be obtained at the airport in Yerevan upon
arrival at a cost of AMD 3000 or just over US$8.

Although the majority of visitors to Armenia do require visas, they
are easy to obtain from Armenian embassies overseas, at the border
points, and online as e-visas.

For more information, contact the Armenian Tourism Development Agency
at [email protected].

About ATDA

The Armenian Tourism Development Agency (ATDA) was established as the
governmentâ??s tourism promotional arm in June 2001. In
partnership with private businesses, it aims to market Armenia in
local and international markets and create programs aiding the overall
development of Armeniaâ??s tourism industry.

-policy-facilitates-visits-armenia

Science Letter
June 9, 2009

ASTROPHYSICS;
New astrophysics study findings have been reported from V.G. Gurzadyan
et al

According to a study from Yerevan, Armenia, "The plane-mirror symmetry
previously noticed in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)
temperature anisotropy maps of Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe is
shown to possess certain anomalous properties."

"The degree of the randomness determined by the Kolmogorov
stochasticity parameter in both symmetry regions appears to have
identical values which, however, essentially differ from the
corresponding values for other sky regions. If the mirroring were of
cosmological origin, this would imply either additional randomizing
properties in those directions of the Universe or their different
line-of-sight depth," wrote V.G. Gurzadyan and colleagues (see also
Astrophysics).

The researchers concluded: "This analysis also provides a way to test
the hypothesis of a link between the nature of dark energy and
inhomogeneities."

Gurzadyan and colleagues published the results of their research in
Astronomy & Astrophysics (Plane-mirroring anomaly in the cosmic
microwave background maps. Astronomy & Astrophysics,
2009;498(1):L1-L3).

For additional information, contact V.G. Gurzadyan, Yerevan Physics
Institute, Yerevan 375036, Armenia.

The publisher of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics can be contacted
at: EDP Sciences S a, 17, Avenue du Hoggar, PA Courtaboeuf, BP 112,
F-91944 les Ulis Cedex a, France.

ArmRosGazprom received 50 million loan from KfW
13.06.2009 17:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On June 10, 2009, ArmRosGazprom CJSC and KfW
Development Bank (Germany) signed a long-term loan agreement. The
credit sum totals 50 million Euros; the allocations will be made in US
Dollars, the company’s press service reports.
According to the company’s release, the loan program aims at the
reconstruction and development of Armenia’s gas-transport and gas
distribution systems.
ArmRosGazprom CJSC plans to realize a number of projects aimed at
developing Armenia’s gas-transport system and increasing security and
gas supply. Such goals will be achieved through the construction,
reconstruction, repairs, restoration and modernization of Armenia’s
gas transport network (including the underground gas reserve in
Abovyan), as well as the installation of individual indicating devices
and emergency valves in the gas distribution system.

ASIM MOLLAZADEH HEADED THE AZERBAIJAN TURKEY HISTORICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Azerbaijan Business Center
June 11 2009

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Yesterday Azerbaijan-Turkey Business Association
(ATIB) hosted the meeting of Azerbaijan Turkey Historical Research
Foundation (ATAF) Board of Trustees.

ATIB informed that apart from discussing the issues concerning ATAF
improvement it was formed ATAF new board of directors.

"Asim Mollazadeh was appointed ATAF Chairman, Ahmet Erentok and Ceyhun
Mollazadeh – Deputy Chairmen, Adil Baghirov, Orkhan Samast, Korkhan
Yurtsever, and Ural Akuzum – members of the board," it was informed.

The meeting covered admission of new members to the Board of
Trustees. As a result, the number of board members has reached
80 persons.

For the year ATAF Board of Trustees has grown almost 2-fold.

The ATAF foundation decision was made on May 15, 2006 in the course
of a conference conducted in Baku on the theme "Armenian Question in
the History of Azerbaijan and Turkey" with involvement of Historical
Organization of Turkey, Historical Institute of National Academy of
Sciences of Azerbaijan, Baku Sate University and ATIB itself on the
basis of quadripartite protocol of co-operation.

ATAF will operate within Azerbaijan-Turkey single strategy for solution
of the Armenian matter.

Let’s note a year ago among the ATAF Board of Trustees were 46
specialists of both Turkey and Azerbaijan.

AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MS. SEBAHAT TUNCEL, KURDISH MP OF TURKEY’S PARLIAMENT AND ISTANBUL DEPUTY FOR THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY PARTY (DTP)

Kurdish Herald
cle02.php
June 11 2009

Interview conducted by Servet Tosun and Natsumi Ajiki for Kurdish
Herald at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara.

Ankara, Turkey – Kurdish Herald recently had the opportunity to speak
with Ms. Sebahat Tuncel, a Kurdish member of Turkey’s parliament
and Istanbul Deputy for the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party
(DTP), for an exclusive interview regarding topics that included the
Kurdish question and the electoral success of her party in the recent
nationwide local elections. Ms. Tuncel is the official foreign affairs
representative for the DTP. In 2006, she was imprisoned on charges
of a crime against the unity of the state. She was released in 2007
through parliamentarian immunity after winning a seat in Istanbul and
became the first person in Turkey’s history to be elected from prison.

Kurdish Herald: How would you characterize the reaction of the Turkish
government and military to the DTP’s recent successes in the March
2009 Turkish municipal elections?

Ms. Sebahat Tuncel, Kurdish MP in Turkey’s parliament

Sebahat Tuncel: The [Turkish] state employed all its branch and
organs with the expectation of defeating DTP in the Kurdish region
in the March 2009 elections. Different groups, such as soldiers,
governors, even some members of the other Turkish parties, worked
with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) aiming to meet this
expectation. All of these actors worked very hard against DTP. For
instance, they gave free food, donated laundry machines, and gave
money to people. It was important for the AKP to win the Kurdish
provinces. If they succeeded, the Turkish government could tell
everyone (inside Turkey and throughout the world) that AKP represents
the Kurds, and the Kurds do not have the problems and grievances that
DTP always brings to the table.

Of course, the reaction of the government and the military to the
results of the elections has been, indeed, negative. State Minister and
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek, stated that the results demonstrated
that the DTP has "pushed to the border of Armenia." Chief of General
Staff Ilker Basbug said that "the votes that DTP received should
be read correctly." The AKP, similarly, claimed that DTP got the
victory by using violence against people. So, generally, we witnessed
intolerance of the DTP’s success from the [Turkish] state.

Kurdish Herald: Is there any group in particular in the Turkish
government that you think is a dependable partner for dialogue in
seeking some solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey?

Sebahat Tuncel: More discussions took place after the March 29th
elections. President Abdullah Gul had some statements on this
issue. He stated that "there will be good things," and "there is an
immediate need for the solution for the Kurdish problem." However,
he has not explained what the solution would be like. This lack of
clarity persists.

On the other hand, DTP expressed that there was a chance for a
solution. The March 2009 elections actually created an opportunity
as the DTP doubled their seats in municipalities. However, the AKP
approached DTP with violence in the retaliation for their defeat in
the elections. The government has arrested hundreds of DTP members
and additionally, the Turkish military conducted operations against
the PKK. Thus, it is clear that Turkish government seeks a solution
without Kurds involved.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan continues his negative
attitudes against the Kurds. He still does not recognize the political
rights of 20 million Kurds. Neither the AKP nor the other parties have
an actual project for the solution to the Kurdish question. Both sides
continue to approach the Kurdish question in a traditional way, such as
defining the Kurdish question as a "terror" problem. The politicians
continue to obey the military. Therefore, I think that Turkey’s
political internal dynamics alone are unable to solve the Kurdish
question. We believe that Turkey inevitably needs more extensive
international support and advice to find a way to reach a solution.

Kurdish Herald: What is the status of recent court cases pending
against you and other DTP parliamentarians? Who is behind allegations
against you and your colleagues? And to what extent do these court
cases interfere with your work as a parliamentarian?

Sebahat Tuncel: Cases attempting to close the DTP continue. It is like
the Sword of Damocles on our neck – the Turkish state has continuously
been trying to suppress us by using these cases.

There are currently about 380 cases in Turkey calling for the revoking
of immunity of MPs. Of these cases, 286 are against DTP MPs. The cases
against the others are mostly based on charges for corruption, bribery,
or even murder, while for us the cases are based only on the expression
of our political ideas. These cases have deepened the Kurdish problem
and have revealed the double standard and unjust manipulation in the
interpretation of the Turkish law when it comes to Kurdish rights.

Kurdish Herald: What role is the DTP currently playing in the
organization of a pan-Kurdish conference in Erbil, and what would
its aims be?

Sebahat Tuncel: There has been a long discussion over this conference
in Turkey, with a plan to disqualify the Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) from the conference. Nevertheless, the March 2009 elections
dismissed such plans. We hoped that that this conference would
highlight the unity of the Kurds and call for a project for the
freedom and democratization of the countries where Kurds live.

At this moment, it seems that the conference has been delayed. However,
we think that this conference should take a place and many Kurds from
the four parts should attend it. It is exciting to have this first
Kurdish conference. With this conference we can send a message to
the world as a united Kurdish people.

Kurdish Herald: As the foreign affairs representative of the DTP,
how do you see Turkey’s relationships with Iraq’s central government
and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) developing?

Sebahat Tuncel: I think that the Turkey-KRG relationship is very
important both in terms of politics and commercial relations. On
the other hand, we would not accept any type of relationship that
would adversely affect reaching a solution for the Kurdish question
in Turkey. In this relationship, we expect that both sides take
consideration for the interests of the Kurds in Turkey as well.

Even though Turkey-KRG relations do not seem stable, there is still
a chance for a healthy and normal relationship only if the safety
of the Northern Kurds [Kurds in Turkey] is secured. We want to make
clear that our Kurdish brothers and sisters in Iraq will not have
freedom until the 20 million Kurds in Turkey do as well.

Kurdish Herald: What are your views on Turkey’s European Union
accession efforts? Do you believe that the current government is
focused on achieving EU membership?

Sebahat Tuncel: We, the DTP, are a determined supporter of the European
Union membership process of Turkey because social and political reforms
and changes in Turkey have not occurred easily and the implementation
of reforms for the membership of the EU may help bring about positive
change in Turkey. As it is known, Turkey is still administrated by
a military coup Constitution. For instance, there is a law, the Law
of Struggle Against Terror and it has been affecting the lives of
all the Kurds, young and old alike. With the membership of the EU,
this law can be reformed. Today, there are many Kurdish children are
standing trial, facing a possible 25 year prison sentence, because
they threw stones at Turkish police. There are almost 3,000 children
who are standing trial for such accusations.

However, the Turkish government doesn’t seem to focus on the
achievement of the [candidacy] membership of the EU. They only talk
but do not follow through with action.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT USES YEREVAN ELECTION TO CEMENT HOLD ON POWER
Emil Danielyan

Jamestown Foundation
June 11 2009

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan has tightened his grip on power
after municipal elections in Yerevan were controversially won by his
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). The country’s main opposition
groups have rejected the official results of the May 31 vote as
fraudulent. The largest of them, led by former President Levon
Ter-Petrosian, has pledged to intensify its efforts to topple the
Sarksyan administration. However, it is unlikely to make the type of
push for power that followed the disputed presidential election of
February 2008.

The polls were conducted in accordance with a 2005 constitutional
amendment, which enabled the residents of the Armenian capital to
choose their mayor through a municipal assembly elected by universal
suffrage. Yerevan mayors were previously presidentially appointed. The
65 seats in the new Council of Elders were contested on the party
list basis, with six political parties and one alliance in the
running. Under Armenian law, a party or bloc securing more than 40
percent of the vote will see the person leading its electoral list
automatically become mayor.

According to the government-controlled Central Election Commission
(CEC), the ruling HHK garnered 47.4 percent of the vote, and
thus reinstalled its main candidate -the incumbent Mayor Gagik
Beglarian. The Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), the HHK’s most
important partner within the governing coalition, finished in
distant second place with 22.7 percent, followed by Ter-Petrosian’s
Armenian National Congress (HAK) alliance (17.4 percent) (Armenian
Public Television, June 1). None of the other candidates cleared
the required 7 percent threshold for being represented in the city
council. For two of them, the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) party
and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, also known as the
Dashnak Party) that was a particularly bitter experience. Orinats
Yerkir holds four ministerial portfolios in the central government,
while the ARF quit the ruling coalition in late April in protest over
Sarksyan’s conciliatory policy on Turkey. Both parties are now facing
an uncertain future.

Sarksyan was quick to welcome the elections as a "really serious
step forward" in Armenia’s democratization and elimination of its
post-Soviet culture of electoral fraud (Statement by the Armenian
president, June 1). This claim was echoed by a 12-member election
observation mission deployed by the Council of Europe. In a statement
issued on June 1, the mission concluded that the Armenian authorities’
handling of the polls was largely "in compliance with European
standards." The monitors said "serious deficiencies" observed in some
polling stations did not call into question the overall legitimacy
of the official vote.

In what is becoming a pattern within the former Soviet republics,
the findings of the European observers sharply contrasted with
widespread vote rigging and other cases of fraud reported by opposition
representatives, the Armenian media and local election monitors. The
country’s largest vote-monitoring organization "It’s Your Choice,"
reported a plethora of irregularities, which had marred previous
Armenian elections. In its preliminary report, the group said "there
are insufficient grounds to believe that these elections passed the
threshold of being democratic, fair and transparent" (Aravot, June 3).

Not surprisingly, the main opposition HAK demanded a re-run of what
Ter-Petrosian called "the ugliest election in Armenia’s history." The
18-party alliance decided against taking up its 13 seats within the
municipal assembly. The normally cautious ARF also denounced the
elections as undemocratic (RFE/RL’s Armenian service, June 1). Even
the pro-government BHK has not officially recognized their disputed
outcome. The party, widely seen as the support base for Sarksyan’s
predecessor Robert Kocharian, is reportedly dragging its feet over
such recognition in the hope of gaining control over several Yerevan
districts.

The BHK has few other bargaining chips in its ongoing haggling with
the HHK and Sarksyan. Local commentators agreed that the Armenian
president has cemented his power, and is now less dependent on his
establishment allies. As the Yerevan daily Kapital characterized it
in a June 5 editorial, "The elections in the capital have made Serzh
Sarksyan’s authority more monolithic."

Accordingly, even assuming that the vote was rigged, the HHK landslide
was a setback for the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition. Armenians
have traditionally shown strong interest in national politics only
during presidential races and have proven far more indifferent to
parliamentary and local elections. Ter-Petrosian’s HAK clearly failed
to reverse this phenomenon, despite conducting a vigorous election
campaign. According to the CEC, only around 53 percent of Yerevan’s
770,000 eligible voters went to the polls on May 31. The real voter
turnout might well have been even lower.

Official figures suggest Ter-Petrosian won in absolute terms, more than
twice as many votes in Yerevan than during the 2008 presidential ballot
as the HAK gained in the local elections. On June 1 Aravot another
daily generally sympathetic to the opposition, claimed that this had
resulted from, "bad political management and a lack of elementary
organization." Leaders of the Heritage Party, another major opposition
force that chose not to contest the mayoral elections, criticized
the HAK in equally strong terms on June 5 (Hayots Ashkhar, June 6).

In an apparent effort to broaden its appeal, on June 3 the HAK urged
all "democratic" forces, notably the ARF, to support its efforts
to effect regime change in Armenia (, June 3). The call
was extraordinary given the long history of hostility between the
Ter-Petrosian camp and the ARF. The nationalist party, which was
controversially banned by Ter-Petrosian in 1994, has yet to respond
to the call.

As he again rallied thousands of supporters in downtown Yerevan on
June 1, the charismatic ex-president promised to formulate a plan of
further opposition activities at the next HAK rally scheduled for June
12. Jamestown witnessed him declaring: "Until we seriously analyze the
situation, and the trends relating to our chances and those of the
authorities, we will not lead the people into any adventure." This
was an additional indication that Ter-Petrosian will avoid staging
the type of non-stop anti-government protests that almost brought
him back to power in the aftermath of the 2008 election.

FOREIGN MINISTER OF ARMENIA EDWARD NALBANDIAN MEETS FOREIGN MINISTER OF ESTONIA URMAS PAET

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
June 12 2009
Armenia

On June 11, Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian had a meeting
with Foreign Minister of Estonia Urmas Paet who is in Yerevan on an
official visit.

Welcoming the Estonian Foreign Minister and his delegation Minister
Nalbandian expressed satisfaction with the dynamically developing
bilateral relations and stressed that Armenia is interested in the
deepening and strengthening of mutually beneficial relations with
Estonia.

Urmas Paet, in his turn, highly appreciated the friendly relationship
established between the two countries and mentioned that Estonia
is intended to take essential steps towards the development of
comprehensive partnership with Armenia in different areas.

In the course of the negotiations the Ministers attached importance
to the effective cooperation between the two Foreign Ministries, as
well as agreed to hold the next political consultations in Yerevan
this autumn. Minister Nalbandian thanked for the support of Estonia
in the process of creation of Armenian Diplomatic school.

Touching upon the steps undertaken towards the promotion of economic
relations Ministers Nalbandian and Paet stressed with satisfaction
that the Armenian-Estonian business forum to be opened today in
Yerevan will create new opportunities for partnership between the
Armenian and Estonian businessmen.

Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Estonia had a discussion on the
possibilities of mutual facilitation of visa regime, issues concerning
the improvement of legal field.

The two had detailed discussions on the process of cooperation of
Armenia with the European Union and the steps taken in that direction
as well as issues concerning the EU Eastern Partnership program.

During the meeting they also touched upon several international and
regional issues.

The meeting was followed by a joint press conference of Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Estonian Foreign Minister
Urmas Paet.