Author: admin

Interfax, Russia
Nov 26 2008

Armenian mining industry cuts output 2% in 10 mths

YEREVAN Nov 26

Armenia’s mining industry’s output has suffered from the effects of
the global economic crisis, Aik Mirzoian, head of regional development
at the Armenian Economics Ministry, told a press conference.

Mining sector output fell 2% year-on-year in value to 194.1 billion
dram in January-October, Mirzoian said. Sales fell 3.8% to 177.8
billion dram, and exports – 7% to 126.3 billion dram.

Some workers have been laid off, but mine owners have responded to the
government’s calls to safeguard jobs for three months while the
situation with world metal prices becomes clearer.

Mining industry output rose 6.5% to 228.2 billion dram in 2007.

A1+

COMMISSION VIOLATED THE RIGHT TO IMMUNITY
[08:01 pm] 28 November, 2008

Today the NA ad hoc Commission looking into the events of March 1-2
watched a film on the tragic occurrences. The film divulged the
deciphered telephone talks of several opposition representatives. The
main idea of the film was that the opposition directed the
demonstrators to the French Embassy instead of sending them home
although feeling the explicit threat hanging on them.

In other shot Suren Sirunyan informs the head of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
pre-election office, Alexandre Arzumanyan, that the demonstrators `had
already `taken’ several streets, among them Grigor Lusavorich,
Paronyan, and set fire to some police cars. Satisfied with the answer
Arzumanyan said, `Excellent, excellent.’

The Chairman of the Commission, Samvel Nikoyan, said the film proves
that the demonstrators robbed the neighbouring shops. The robbery was
not committed by the authorities as the opposition used to
claim. During his telephone talk with Alexandre Arzumanyan, Levon
Ter-Petrosyan asks, `Are you in high spirits?’ and adds, `This is what
I expected.’

The film didn’t give answer to a most vital question: when exactly
Levon Ter-Petrosyan had a telephone talk with Arzumanyan – before or
after March 2? In the main the film focused on human relations among
Armenian oppositionists and laid a special emphasis to Arzumanyan’s
disregard and offensive words towards his fellow colleagues. During
the sitting the Leader of the United Labour Party, Gurgen Arsenyan,
and member of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Naira Zohrabyan, announced
that the film might be submitted with the commission to divert their
attention and suggested not to hurry with conclusions. ARF
Dashnaktsutyun member Artsvik Minasyan reminded the presentees about
the commission’s mission and National Unity representative Sargis
Muradkhanyan thanked the authors of the film. The Leader of the
National Concord Aram Harutyunyan posed a rhetoric question to the
Commission: `And where did the film owners get the deciphered talk?’ A
voice said off screen, `If you were sure of your victory why didn’t
you appeal to court? If you didn’t instill confidence in our courts
why didn’t you appeal to the European Court of Human Rights?’

Note that the Constitutional Court hadn’t heard Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
suit on March 1.

Let’s remind the words of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, `The opposition’s telephone talks shouldn’t
be deciphered. Decoding of such talks by the National Security Service
is inadmissible for me in a country of law. It infringes the right to
immunity to private life.’

MASIS MAYILYAN: MOSCOW DECLARATION OFFERED TIME OUT TO BE USED FOR MOBILIZATION OF POTENTIAL TO PREVENT UNADVISABLE SCENARIO

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.11.2008 17:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The declaration signed by the Presidents of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Russia in Moscow offered a time out which should
be used for mobilization of our potential to prevent unadvisable
scenarios, former Deputy Foreign Minister of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic, independent expert Masis Mayilyan said in an interview
with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"It first of all refers to defense of territories and preservation
of national identity," he said.

"Further steps are conditioned by the declaration itself. These
are meetings between the Presidents and Foreign Ministers with close
cooperation with the Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and development
of trust-building measures."

OBSERVATION

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
26 Nov 08
Armenia

The OSCE mission conducted a crises-observation in Armenian
-Azerbaijani contact line, in the southeastern direction of Karabakh
defense army, where on November 16 the Azerbaijanis broke the regime
of the ceasefire.

During the observation initiated by Karabakh authorities the
representatives of the defense army showed to the OSCE mission the
place from where the Azerbaijani special detachment tried to split
through the rear of Karabakh detachments, and gave the details of
the incident.

The members of the observation group recorded all the data later to
include them in their report.

HACKERS RENAME THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL INTO TALAAT PASHA MEMORIAL ON GOOGLE EARTH

armradio.am
27.11.2008 16:28

A hacker posted the name of Talaat Pasha on the Armenian Memorial of
Tsitsernakabert in the Google Earth, independent correspondent Jean
Eckian informed.

This intolerable profanation is signed Haluk Dolmayan. It is, actually,
the adulterated name of historian and Director of the Institute-
Museum of the Armenian Genocide, Hayk Demoyan.

By clicking on the location titled Talaat Pasha, one can see the
Yerevan memorial to the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

At this point, the question is to know how it was possible and who
the author is. Could it be a member of the personnel of Google Earth
or its partner Panoramio?

ONLY IN CASE OF JOINT DISCUSSIONS

A1+
[07:01 pm] 27 November, 2008

NGOs ask for more transparency in the Karabakh Peace Process and
for more contact between governments and non state actors working on
this issue

The Consortium Initiative, a platform of non governmental organisations
working in support of the Nagorno-Karabakh Peace process, has written
to the three co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Process, – Assistant Deputy
Secretary of State Matt Bryza of the United States, Ambassador Yuri
Merzlyakov of Russia and Ambassador Bernard Fassier of France with
recommendations for the establishment of a mechanism for dialogue
and exchange of views between the Nagorno Karabakh Peace process
led by the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chair and non state actors working in
support of the peace process, and on increasing the transparency of
the peace process.

The Consortium Initiative is of the opinion that the Nagorno-Karabakh
Peace Process led by the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chair will benefit from
closer interaction with the processes and debates going on within
the countries and communities concerned. This interaction will help
address the lack of an overall proper contextual setting which the
Consortium has identified as one of the obstacles for moving the
peace process to the next step and will make an agreement within
reach of the parties. The Consortium Initiative has in the second
half of 2008 held a process of consultation that involved meetings
with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan,
senior officials from both countries, as well as the three OSCE Minsk
process co-Chair. The Consortium Initiative intensified dialogue in
this period with civil society in the conflict region. On the basis
of these discussions and consultations the Consortium has presented
to the co-Chair specific recommendations that it feels will help the
peace process to be better understood and supported amongst Armenians
and Azerbaijanis in the conflict region and beyond.

In its letter the Consortium Initiative also applauds the work done
by the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan and their governments,
over the years, in order to narrow the differences between them
and help find a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict. The
Consortium Initiative similarly appreciates the efforts exerted by
the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chair in facilitating these negotiations. The
Moscow Declaration on the Resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
signed on 2nd November 2008 by the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Russia has given a new impetus to the peace negotiations. The
Consortium members think that this declaration forms a good basis
on which future action for the resolution of the conflict can be
based. The Consortium thinks that now is the best time to move
the peace process forward and that success can only be achieved if
the governments concerned, their respective civil society and the
international community work together in harmony for this purpose.

The Consortium Initiative members (International Alert, Conciliation
Resources and LINKS) have since 2003 accompanied the peace process
by engaging with non state actors in both Armenia and Azerbaijan,
including with Armenians who currently live in Nagorno Karabakh and
Azerbaijanis who have fled due to the conflict, as well as with wider
IDP communities, refugees and other war affected groups. The activities
of the Consortium Initiative have targeted a spectrum of different
constituencies from grass roots organisations, to media, to political
organisations and Members of Parliament. The Consortium has in tandem
analysed the peace process and its various dynamics and compared it to
similar situations in other world theatres in order to learn lessons.

A spokesperson for the Consortium Initiative speaking in London said
that the Consortium partners declare their readiness to continue
accompanying the peace process and to remain engaged with all the
parties in order to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the
conflict.

Background Notes

Fighting between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the period immediately
before and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union left more than
30,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands as refugees. A fragile
cease-fire has been in place since 1994 but the process to find a
peaceful solution to the conflict has so far led to few results. After
the August war in Georgia there is now an increased sense of
urgency to try to move the peace process forward. International
Alert, Conciliation Resources and LINKS are three London based non-
governmental organisations with extensive experience of conflict
resolution work in the Caucasus Region.

ARMENIANS IN THAILAND ARE NOT UNDER THREAT

Panorama.am
19:36 27/11/2008

Currently the situation in Thailand is under control and Armenians
are nit threatened, reported the Consulate of Thailand. According to
the source emergency situation has not been announced, international
airport of Suvanaboom is closed. Remind that "Democratic Federation
for Democracy" party holds demonstrations in Bangkok, and international
airport of Suvanaboom is occupied by the demonstrators.

There are 30 Armenian schoolchildren studying in Paraya, Thailand,
said Hayk Harutyunyan, the representative of "Regents" school and the
project coordinator. According to him the city is a few kilometers
far from Bangkok and the recent events there are not dangerous for
the schoolchildren. Besides, the school is also well protected with
high walls.

GEORGIA PERPETRATES GENOCIDE OF ARMENIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE

De Facto
Nov 26, 2008

YEREVAN, 26.11.08. "What is happening to Armenian churches in Georgia
is nothing but genocide of our cultural heritage. Bare condemnation
of the acts of vandalism will produce no effect. A crime has been
committed and those guilty should be punished by the international
court", Samvel Karapetian, specialist on Armenian architecture, said at
a news conference adding that the Armenian National Council in France
had already taken measures to prevent violence. "They brought a suit
on demolition of Armenian monuments in Djulfa to the European Court of
Human Rights. Hearings will be launched soon," Samvel Karapetian said.

In his words, over 650 Armenian churches are situated in the territory
of Georgia, most of them being appropriated or destructed by the
Georgian side.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture should
take action to put an end to the Georgian policy. By punishing those
guilty of this crime we will make our vandal neighbors respect us and
our cultural heritage," the historian said, PanARMENIAN.Net reports.

RUSSIAN MFA DISCUSSES KARABAKH PROBLEM

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.11.2008 12:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin
and U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Beyrle have met to discuss the
situation in Transcaucasia and the ways to alleviate tensions in the
region, basing on the outcomes of Genevan talks.

The diplomats also referred to the conflicts in Nagorno Karabakh
and Transnistria.

"THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS A FACT, WHETHER TURKS WANT IT OR NOT"

AZG Armenian Daily
26/11/2008

Armenian Genocide

"The Armenian Genocide is a fact, whether Turks want it or not",
announced Vatican inter-Christian unity council chairman, Cardinal
Walter Kasper before the delegation led by the Catholicos of the
Great House of Cilicia Aram 1st visited the Pope Benedict 16th.

In an interview to Vatican radio Cardinal Kasper said, "The Armenian
Genocide is an accomplished fact. It is a wound in the hearts of the
Armenians. Vatican declared its position on the issue during Pope
John Paul’s visit to Armenia. The Pope visited the Yerevan memorial
to the Armenian Genocide victims and called the incidents of 1915 a
genocide. Armenian Genocide is not an allegation but a reality. It’s
not a matter of term. It is an historical fact. It should be recognized
and remembered. I don’t know what Vatican is able to do to improve
the Armenian-Turkish relations, but it is also important to the
reconciliation of the Near East".