Author: admin

FORGETTING ABOUT THE BLIND?

A1+
[12:46 pm] 18 November, 2008

Nearly 650 citizens are registered in the Union for Blinds of the
Shirak Marz. The union has production units where visually impaired
people prepare folders, electric switches and other accessories.

During the past year the state has added the number of requests for
folders, but the production unit can’t work with other clients. New
production units are needed in order to solve this problem, yet
that imposes many difficulties. Besides that, the building is
still in bad condition. A couple of years ago, the government had
promised to concede money to renovate the building and it had even
included the renovation in certain projects, but the promises remained
unfulfilled. As a result, more than 99% of the members are unemployed
and adapt to the conditions with difficulty.

The Culture Home is also in bad condition and has a problem with
heating. The municipality has promised to provide gas and the blinds
are ready to create a music group if the building is heated.

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS US DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE

armradio.am
17.11.2008 17:50

On November 17 Defense Minister of Armenia Seyeran Ohanyan received
the delegation headed by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State,
US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza. US Ambassador
Extrordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia, Mrs. Marie Yovanovitch
was present at the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting the Minister expressed gratitude
to Mathew Bryza for his and his Russian and French counterparts’
efforts targeted at finding a mutually acceptable solution to the
Karabakh issue.

Mr. Ohanyan informed the guests that in the process of defense reforms,
Armenia prioritizes the preservation and modernization of the existing
military capacity, the review of the defense strategy, military
education, organization of trainings for special civil servants,
cooperation with divisions of other countries when carrying out
peacekeeping activity.

AZERBAIJAN’S DESERTED SERVICEMAN KILLED BY ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES

TREND News Agency
Nov 17 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Barda, 17 November / Trend News corr. Sh.Jaliloglu/
A serviceman who deserted from the Azerbaijani Army Shamilov tried
to pass to the Armenian side but was killed by the soldiers of the
Armenian Armed Forces, a law-enforcement source said to Trend News
on 17 November.

According to another source, a soldier, who escaped from N military
unit in the Fuzuli region (360km south-west of Baku), either passed
to the Armenian side or was captured.

Orkhan Shamilov, who was conscripted to military service from the
Terter Region Conscription Office in April 2008, escaped on 15 November
with the gun entrusted to him.

Terter Police Office said to Trend News that they had suspended the
search operations which were held on 15-16 November.

Azerbaijani Defence Ministry did not provide extra reports on the
event.

On 8 October, serviceman Rafig Hasanov, 19, was captured by Armenians
at the troops contact line under unknown circumstances.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in
1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost the Nagorno-Karabakh, except of Shusha and Khojali, in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian Armed Forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and
Nagorno-Karabakh’s seven surrounding regions. In 1994, Azerbaijan
and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active
hostilities ended. The countries keep on peace negotiating.

OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by USA, Russia, France is engaged in
peace settling of the conflict.

CAPTAIN KIDD’S TREASURE: WOOD DISCOVERED, "LIVING MUSEUM" IN THE WORKS

Indiana University
/9265.html
Nov 17 2008
IN

Editors: At 2 p.m. EST broadcast news stations in Indianapolis can
receive around 20 minutes of expedition footage via the IU video
link. For additional assistance, contact Dave Rust at 812-855-7019 and
[email protected]. For a Spanish translation of this news release,
visit Press
inquiries related to "Shipwreck! Captain Kidd" press kits, DVDs or
photos, contact Dara Klatt at National Geographic Channel, 202-912-6720
and [email protected]. The documentary airs on Nov. 18.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The U.S. Agency for International Development
has awarded Indiana University $200,000 to turn the Captain Kidd
shipwreck site and three other underwater preserves in the Dominican
Republic into no-take, no-anchor "Living Museums," where cultural
discoveries will protect precious corals and other threatened biology
in the surrounding reef systems under the supervision and support
of the Dominican Republic’s Oficina Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural
Subacuatico (ONPCS).

Close up of Captain Kidd shipwreck teak keel with holes for hull
fasteners.

Print-Quality Photo The news comes just months after the unexpected
discovery of teak wood on the Captain Kidd site, a discovery that
IU archeologists say confirms that this is the Cara Merchant, the
ship Captain William Kidd commandeered and then abandoned in 1699
as he raced to New York in an ill-fated attempt to clear his name of
piracy charges.

"When we removed a cannon this summer for future identification, we
exposed the keel of the ship," said Charles Beeker, director of the
Office of Underwater Science in IU Bloomington’s School of Health,
Physical Education and Recreation. "I’m just shocked that the keel is
still there but the reason it’s probably there is because it was teak,
which is resistant to decomposition."

Beeker and archaeologist Geoffrey Conrad, director of the William
Hammond Mathers Museum at IU Bloomington, have been conducting
underwater and land-based archaeological research in the Dominican
Republic for 12 years, exploring the era when the Old World and New
World first met.

Much of their work is focused in the area of La Isabela Bay, the site
of the first permanent Spanish settlement established by Christopher
Columbus. The Taino were the first indigenous people to interact with
Europeans. An expert in the creation of underwater preserves, Beeker
already has helped create three preserves in the Dominican Republic to
allow divers to explore cultural artifacts, such as cannons recovered
from shipwrecks. While there last year on a research mission related
to Columbus’ ships, Beeker and his team were asked by the ONPCS to
examine a shipwreck site discovered by a prominent local resident.

Fritz Hanselmann preparing to recover one of the Captain Kidd
"great guns."

Print-Quality Photo To their surprise, they found an untouched
shipwreck — primarily piles of carefully stacked cannons — resting
in less than 10 feet of clear waters just 70 feet off the coast of
Catalina Island.

Once the discovery was assessed, however, the archaeological team
and ONPCS were faced with the urgency of protecting the site
from looters. The announcement last December of the discovery
brought worldwide attention to the shipwreck but also enacted some
protections. The ONPCS licensed Beeker, a recognized marine protection
authority, and his IU team to study the wreckage and to convert the
site into an underwater preserve, where it will be accessible to
the public.

"This ship is very important to Dominican maritime heritage and it
merits protection," said Francis Soto, ONPCS Technical Director.

The new USAID award, titled "Living Museums in the Sea: A Network
of Underwater Archaeological Preserves in Southeastern Dominican
Republic," will protect the cannons, ship keel and other items. Its
primary goal, however, is to provide protections for stands of
threatened elkhorn coral, rare pillar coral, and other biological
resources in the surrounding reef systems.

"People often ask if we found treasure. We’ve always considered the
ship the treasure," Beeker said. "The USAID award is unique because
it combines biodiversity with protection of cultural resources. The
preserves will provide a treasure of sorts for people to enjoy for
hundreds of years."

The award, which becomes effective this December, provides funding
for two years, with the expectation that the IU team will focus on
protecting the Captain Kidd site. The work will include archaeological
and biological inventories of the site, which Beeker expects to be
open to the public by December 2009 in time for the 310th anniversary
of the ship’s loss. Underwater interpretive slates will be translated
into five languages to reflect the anticipated international appeal
of the sites.

"Interpretation is very important to this project, as one of our main
goals is to educate the general public not only about the shipwreck,
but also as to the fragility of the surrounding marine life and
their ecosystem," said Fritz Hanselmann, research coordinator with
the Office of Underwater Science.

The Captain Kidd site, which will feature the stack of cannons
and anchor parts, is the only pirate ship ever discovered in the
Caribbean and one of only three discovered in the Americas. In
addition to recreational uses, the preserves also will be available
as a scientific field resource for students and professionals in such
fields as underwater archaeology, marine biology, ecology and geology.

Below are some developments since the discovery was announced last
December.

The USAID award funds efforts to turn the Captain Kidd site and
three existing underwater preserves into no-take, no-anchor "Living
Museums." The four sites will be called the proposed La Romana-Bayahibe
Regional Preserve Network.

National Geographic Channel will air a documentary on the discovery
and study of the ship, including the excavation of the teak
wood. "Shipwreck! Captain Kidd" premieres Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 9
p.m. EST as part of its "Expedition Week" programming.

Researchers discovered teak wood after chiseling under the cannon
that would be raised for the purpose of future identification. Samples
sent to two laboratories for analysis identified the wood in September
as teak. Teak was used by shipbuilders in West India, where the Cara
Merchant was built. Beeker said the wood analysis confirms that the
ship is Captain Kidd’s Cara Merchant. The ship, according to archival
records, was built in Surat, West India. The trade networks had not
expanded to be completely global, so few but the Spanish traded in
the Caribbean. "Indian Merchants were trading with England, but they
were not in the Western Hemisphere," Hanselmann said. "So it’s a rare
instance in the historical record of a ship built in India having
been in the Caribbean. If you couple the historical record with the
archaeological record and the results of the wood analysis being teak,
that allows us to fill in more pieces of the puzzle as to what this
ship is and where it came from."

Archival research identified the correct name of the ship, the
Armenian-owned Cara Merchant. Several variations of this name had
also been used.

IU researchers have met with tourism industry officials, business
owners and several research-oriented non-governmental organizations
to discuss the use and protection of the sites. The support of local
dive shops and hotels is critical to monitoring and protecting the
preserves.

Besides being made from teak, the ship construction could involve
rabbetted joints, similar to tongue-and-groove construction. Beeker
said he knows of no other 17th century ships like this that have been
found, adding to the historical significance of the find.

Beeker also serves on the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory
Committee for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He
can be reached at 812-855-5748 or [email protected]. Conrad can
be reached at 812-855-5340 and [email protected]. Hanselmann can be
reached at 812-855-5748 or [email protected]. To learn more about
the Underwater Science program visit

Francis Soto can be reached at 809-685-9072.

For additional assistance, contact Tracy James, University
Communications, at 812-855-0084 and [email protected].

Hürriyet, Turkey
Nov 15 2008

U.S. hopes Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to be resolved in 2009

The U.S. said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and
Armenia can be solved in 2009 as all parties aware it should be
settled.

"I think they (the prospects) have improved as all parties are aware
that the conflict should be settled and that this conflict requires
attention," Matt Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state for
European and Eurasian Affairs, told Today.Az in an interview.

Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20 percent of
Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven
surrounding districts, displacing 10 percent of the Azeri population
in the series of bloody clashes both between and within the two
neighboring countries.

"Yeah, I even hope that it will happen next year," Bryza said when
asked about the prospects of the settlement of the long-standing
conflict.

Bryza, who is the co-chair of OSCE’s Minsk Group established to
mediate between the parties, would travel Yerevan to hold talks with
the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

He told Today.Az that the Sargsyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart
could meet again early 2009.

WHEN POLITICS BECOMES PROFITABLE BUSINESS
Vrezh Aharonyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
14 Nov 08
Armenia

The fact that the Ter-Petrosyan-led movement and different forces
supporting it carry out their activity chiefly due to the financial
resources imported from abroad is, unfortunately, a political reality
and may have disastrous consequences for our country. Certain western
circles legalize their sums through different channels, investing
them in the political processes of Armenia.

In this respect, quite an interesting chain is being created by
"Heritage" Party (leader Raffi Hovhannisyan) and the "Armenian
Centre of Strategic and National Research" (ASCNR), a non-governmental
organization which is headed by the same person. The activity they have
been carrying out over the recent years leads one to the conclusion
that the American-funded "Heritage" concentrates its resources in the
foundation of the "Armenian Centre of Strategic and National Research"
which serves as a donor for the party.

Let’s try to show how the existing mechanism works, based on the
example of Raiffi Hovhannisyan’s successive visit to Los Angeles on
October 11-29.

As reported by our sources in America, R. Hovhannisyan and the people
accompanying him organized the regular fundraising for the ACSNR during
their visit to the United States at the end of October and disguised
everything behind the veil of some receptions allegedly held on the
occasion of the 15th anniversary of the organization. In particular,
within the frameworks of the gathering organized on October 26 in
Los Angeles, in the hall of "Krikor and Marylyn Bzdikyans" center,
R. Hovhannisyan’s closest people organized a fundraising-celebration,
inviting around 300 people.

Furthermore, each couple was to pay 1000 US Dollars.

However, the amount of money to be paid for participating in
the celebration aroused discontent among the invitees, forcing
R. Hovhannisyan and his partners to reduce the sum to 500 US Dollars.

For making the celebration more presentable and influential,
R. Hovhannisyan invited not only well-known businessmen and benefactors
but also Armen Liloyan, Chief Consul of the Republic of Armenia in
Los Angeles. And the latter participated in the event (as to what
made a person carrying out a diplomatic mission participate in an
event not envisaged by the state protocol is unknown).

During the event, R. Hovhannisyan and his partners managed to collect
50 thousand US Dollars, and the sum was immediately moved to Armenia
for meeting the expenses of the ASCNR and "Heritage". In fact,
the leader of one of the native parliamentary parties is engaged
in shady fundraising with the help of different people who comply
with the instructions and orders of suspicious foreign political and
economic circles and donate sums to R. Hovhannisyan’s party. It’s
quite possible that they send political messages to R. Hovhannisyan
who is forced to carry them out through his own party.

After all this, there’s no need to be surprised by the fact that many
political forces and figures have nothing to do with Armenia or the
interests of the Armenian people, and in many cases, they act against
those interests, making politics a profitable business.

SERZH SARGSYAN: CREATION OF NEW DIVIDING LINES IN CAUCASUS MAY BE HIGLY DANGEROUS

Noyan Tapan

Nov 14, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian president Serzh
Sargsyan gave an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
newspaper. Below are excerpts from the interview, the text of which
was submitted to Noyan Tapan by the RA presidential press service.

Question: Mr. President, last week in Moscow you reached an agreement
with the Azeri president on settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, a conflict which has kept the relations between the two
countries strained for a long time. How will it develop today?

Answer: We attach importance to the fact that a document has been
signed that rules out the resolution of the conflict in a military
way. Of course, it is just a declaration but we would be glad to turn
it into an agreement.

Anyhow, I do not want to underestimate the significance of this
document. I am also glad that Azerbaijan has signed a document that
accepts all the principles of international law and not only the
principle of territorial integrity for solution of the conflict. I also
regard as positive the fact that despite the recent sharp opinions
about efficiency of the OSCE Minsk Group, importance was attached to
the format of the Minsk Group and the role of the co-chairs – the U.S,
Russia and France as mediators.

Question: Are you prepared to withdraw your troops from the seven
regions adjacent to Karabakh – as required?

Answer: The pivotal problem of the conflict is the issue of status
of Nagorno Karabakh. Azerbaijan must recognize the exercise of the
Nagorno Karabakh population’s right of self-determination. The solution
of this main problem may be followed by the other issues. Control of
the territories is not an end in itself to us, but it aims to ensure
Karabakh’s security. Today we must negotiate on the principles of
settlement, which may be followed by the major peace agreement. We
still have a long way to pass.

Question: You are yourself from Karabakh. Can Karabakh remain as an
autonomous region of Azerbaijan?

Answer: The matter concerns creation of such conditions that will allow
ensuring further development of the population in safe conditions. The
history showed that this is impossible in case of Karabakh’s being
part of Azerbaijan. We have never thought that Karabakh in some status
or other may remain part of Azerbaijan.

Question: You were in Brussels recently. Can the EU prove useful in
the resolution of the conflict?

Answer: Europe should point out when one of the sides deviates
from the road and violates the nature of peaceful settlement of
the process. Besides, if an international organization indicates
the importance of one principle of the conflict’s settlement, it
encourages the actions of this country in that direction and displays a
non-constructive approach. The U.S. and a number of European countries
applied the principle of self-determination of nations with respect
to Kosovo. When Russia applied the same, it was rejected by the
U.S. and Europe.

Question: You are also a member of NATO’s partnership program. Is the
lesson to be drawn from the war is that the Alliance should keep away
from the Caucasus?

Answer: I do not agree with your choice of these words. In that
case the further development of our relations with NATO would be
impossible. We believe that our cooperation with the Alliance is a
component of our security system. On the other hand we do not strive
to become a NATO member.

The creation of new dividing lines in our region may be highly
dangerous.

This is the lesson drawn from the Georgian war.

FOREIGN MINISTER OF HUNGARY TO VISIT ARMENIA

armradio.am
15.11.2008 13:22

November 17-18 the Foreign Minister of Hungary, Mrs. Kinga Göncz
will pay an official visit to Armenia.

In the framework of the visit Mrs. Göncz is expected to have meetings
ith the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan, Foreign Minister Edwrad Nalabndian and Minister of Economy
Nerses Yeritsyan.

The Foreign Minister of Hungary will visit Tsitsernakaberd and will
lay a wreath at the memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims.

–Boundary_(ID_BkDw/ovsv6voBE3zpXUQkQ)–

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMEN ARRIVE IN STEPANAKERT

ArmInfo
2008-11-15 14:27:00

ArmInfo. Within the frames of a regional visit, OSCE Minsk Group
Co-chairmen Matthew Bryza (USA), Bernard Fassier (France) and Yuri
Merzlyakov (Russia) arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh, Saturday. As ArmInfo
own correspondent in Stepanakert reports, the mediators will meet
NKR President Bako Sahakyan and other officials of the republic.

PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
31 Moscovian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 53.69.13
Fax: (+374 – 10) 53.26.97
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:

11 November 2008

Heritage Executive Board’s Statement on the Meiendorf Declaration

Yerevan–The Heritage Party finds that the declaration signed on November 2,
2008 at the Meiendorf Castle outside Moscow by the Armenian president Serzh
Sargsyan, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, and Russian president Dmitry
Medvedev undermines the mission to maintain peace, bring Karabagh’s
decolonization process to fruition, and achieve international recognition
for its independence.

1. Heritage believes that the Meiendorf Declaration is only the latest
manifestation of the trend toward protecting the interests of the
superpowers at the cost of the national interests of Armenia and Mountainous
Karabagh. This trend previously was championed by the West, but now enjoys
the subscription also of Russia, which has since 2002 linked its national
security with Armenia’s within the context of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO). This trend became all the more official with the
declaration on "Friendship and Strategic Partnership between the Republic of
Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation," which the Azerbaijani and Russian
presidents signed in Baku on July 3. This document specifically noted that
"Russia and Azerbaijan deem necessary the Mountainous Karabagh conflict’s
quick resolution based on the universally recognized norms and precepts of
international law and, first and foremost, on the basis of securing and
respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, the
invariability of boundaries, and also based on the relevant UN Security
Council resolutions and OSCE decisions. The sides will assist in the speedy,
voluntary, and safe return of the refugees and people who were displaced as
a consequence of the conflict." It is disturbing that the formulations made
in the Baku accord have been transferred, with mere touch-ups, to the
Meiendorf Declaration.

2. In actual fact, the signing of the Meiendorf Declaration also extorted
official Yerevan’s positive outlook on the Madrid Principles, which formally
were presented to the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents on November 29,
2007. The bodies politic of Armenia and Mountainous Karabagh, by contrast,
are to date uninformed of their content. The Heritage Party is seriously
concerned that the precepts fixed in this document do not guarantee the just
resolution of the Karabagh conflict. How could they be, when Armenia’s
authorities have signed the agreement without asking for the support of the
people of Armenia and Mountainous Karabagh? The proposed succession–"firstly
the elimination of the consequences of the conflict and, only after that,
the determination of Karabagh’s status"–of the Madrid principles is the
best proof that the superpowers which compete in this region have no
interest in legitimizing the statehood of Karabagh. On the contrary, the
superpowers are primed to continue to wield their influence and play their
energy games. This unfortunate turn of events unfolds precisely at the time
when the recognition of Karabagh’s status is a priority issue for the
Armenian and Karabagh sides. The Madrid Principles, the contents of which we
were able to ascertain through non-official channels, are unacceptable to
the Heritage Party. No Armenian government should accept them as a
foundation for talks. Heritage believes that the unilateral return of
territories and refugees, as well as the delay in determining the status of
Mountainous Karabagh, are unacceptable. Heritage firmly condemns the
acceptance of those principles by the Armenian authorities, and warns of the
beginnings of irreversible processes which run counter to the interests of
Armenia and the Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR).

3. The current Karabagh talks in reality have no connection whatsoever with
securing a just settlement, achieving stabilitity and peace in the region,
and fostering the much-anticipated reconciliation of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani people. Moreover, Mountainous Karabagh’s absence from the talks
has become for all the superpowers a currency of "payment" and "repayment"
for receiving Azerbaijan’s support for new energy routes. Consequently, the
Heritage party can neither approve of the Meiendorf Declaration, nor trust
that it will bring about the "normalizing of the situation in South Caucasus
and establishing an environment of peace and security in the region" and
begetting "conditions for carrying out measures toward consolidating peace."
Heritage does not have faith in the real and immediate intentions of
official Moscow–which has become the architect of this declaration–and of
official Brussels, Washington, and Paris–which have approved this document.
NATO, the United States, and France know all too well that the fragile peace
maintained in the region since 1994 is the result of a trilateral agreement
which, likewise by Russian mediation, was signed among the official
representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Mountainous Karabagh, and that
the latter not only is the beneficiary of regional security but also the
protector of regional peace.

4. It is apparent from the Meiendorf Declaration, which enjoys the signature
of only one country from the OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chairs, that Russia, the
signator, seeks to create parallel platforms for high-level and lower-level
"direct talks" between Armenia and Azerbaijan, through which it will
gradually redener obsolete the format of the Minsk Group. From its
long-standing criticisms of the OSCE to its formal letter sent to the
organization last year, Azerbaijan openly shares this objective. And now
Turkey, too, has joined Russia and Azerbaijan, which have reached a silent
consensus on the basis of this interest. The official, societal, and
political circles of Armenia have stated numerous times that the OSCE is the
best format for resolving the problem and that the talks again must include
Mountainous Karabagh as a full and equal side to the settlement discussions.
Heritage deplores the fact that Armenia’s administration continually
contributes to the distortion of those formats, and affirms that this is a
result of myopic policy–which still is conducted with respect to the
Karabagh question–including the refusal to consider Heritage’s draft law
formally to recognize the independence of MKR.

5. The Heritage Party calls on the authorities of Armenia to acknowledge the
aforesaid perils and to transfer the discussion of and solution to the
problem back into the officially authorized format–that is, the Minsk Group
and the juridical platform–to secure the real conflicting sides’
participation to the talks, and to decipher the Madrid Principles and offer
them for broad public discussion.

Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the land. Its
central office is located at 31 Moscovian Street, Yerevan 0002, Armenia,
with telephone contact at (374-10) 536.913, fax at (374-10) 532.697, email
at [email protected] or [email protected], and website at