Author: Andres-Papazian

EU TO LAUNCH FREE TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH ARMENIA

Business Recorder

Feb 21 2012

The European Union plans to launch negotiations on a free trade area
(FTA) with Armenia soon in order to boost trade and investment with
the Caucasus country Talks will cover market access EU conditions,
as well as bringing rules in other countries closer to those in the
EU so their local manufacturers meet EU standards.

The moves are aimed at helping Armenia integrate more with the “The
EU is Armenia’s first trading partner,” EU Trade Commissioner Karel
De Gucht said in a statement.

“A deep and comprehensive free trade area will give Armenia a more
favourable access to the European Single Market thereby helping to
boost economic growth in the country.” It did not say when the talks
would start.

The EU has been negotiating a broader Association Agreement with
Armenia since July 2010, a type of agreement the EU uses to persuade
third countries to make commitments to political, economic, trade,
or human rights reform.

Armenia has made significant reforms recently in technical regulations,
sanitary measures and the protection of intellectual property, the
Commission said.

The EU was Armenia’s biggest trading partner in 2011, with bilateral
trade amounting to 960 million euros.

The country already benefits from low import duties to the EU.

From: A. Papazian

TURKISH OFFICIALS IGNORED DINK MURDER PLOT -REPORT
By Jonathon Burch

Reuters

Feb 21 2012

* Report on journalist death commissioned by president
* Says officials should be tried for negligence
* Rights groups had long criticised Turkey over murder (Adds quotes,
background)

ANKARA, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Turkish state officials failed to protect
prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, murdered in 2007,
despite knowing of the plot to kill him, a report commissioned by
the president has concluded.

President Abdullah Gul ordered Turkey's State Supervisory Council
(DDK) to investigate the case after accusations from Dink's
family, lawyers and rights groups that state officials had been
complicit in the murder.

The investigation into the murder of Dink, former editor of the
bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and Turkey's best known
Armenian voice abroad, was viewed as a test of democracy and human
rights in European Union candidate Turkey.

In a 650-page report, the conclusion of which was posted on the
president's website late on Monday, the DDK said security forces
failed to act on tip-offs about a plan to murder Dink and called for
the negligent officials to be investigated and tried.

Last month, an Istanbul court sentenced a man to life in prison for
involvement in Dink's murder but acquitted 17 other defendants,
sparking large protests and criticism from rights groups.

A juvenile court had already sentenced Dink's assassin, Ogun
Samast, to 22 years and 10 months in jail last July. He was 17 when
the killing took place.

Many Turks believe Dink was the target of arch nationalists because
of articles he wrote about Armenian identity and references he made
to a Turkish “genocide” of Christian Armenians in 1915 – an accusation
Turkey strenuously denies.

STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS

The report said the failure to prevent Dink's murder showed the
need for reforms to the security system.

“The first issue to be expressed regarding the failure to protect
Hrant Dink's right to life is that some structural problems exist
within the security sector … regarding the collection and evaluation
of intelligence and providing public and personal security,” the DDK
said in the report.

“It is essential first to look at the need for reform on the matter
and a number of problems in institutional structures and practices,”
it said.

Public confidence in the judicial system had been undermined by the
way the case had been handled, it added.

“On the one hand, a result to a case that does not satisfy the public
conscience has emerged and, on the other hand, the credibility of all
the public institutions has been brought into question,” the DDK said
in the report.

In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Turkish authorities
to pay 100,000 euros ($132,600) to Dink's family in compensation,
saying authorities had failed to protect Dink even though they knew
ultra-nationalists were plotting to kill him.

Seven security officials have already been convicted for failing to
relay information on the plot that could have prevented the murder.

In a statement ahead of last month's verdict, Amnesty
International said authorities had still not investigated the full
circumstances behind Dink's murder.

Dink had been repeatedly prosecuted for insulting “Turkishness” under
the infamous article 301 of the penal code, which was later amended to
placate EU criticism that Turkey was violating freedom of expression.

Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says 1.5 million
Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey during
World War One in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the
Ottoman government.

Ankara denies the killings constitute genocide and says many Muslim
Turks and Kurds were also put to death as Russian troops invaded
eastern Anatolia, often aided by Armenian militias. (Writing by
Jonathon Burch; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

From: A. Papazian

GEORGIA SUSPENDS TRANSIT OF RUSSIAN GAS TO ARMENIA

ITAR-TASS
February 20, 2012 Monday 05:58 PM GMT+4
Russia

Georgia has suspended transit of Russian gas to Armenia on Monday
because of a gas leak found in one of the sections of the North-South
trunk gas pipeline, Director General of the Oil and Gas of Georgia
Corporation Zurab Dzhandzhgava told journalists on Monday. Both
Dzhandzhgava and Georgian Energy and Natural Resources Minister Aleko
Khetaguri arrived at the Gardabansky district to inspect the damaged
section of the pipeline.

The Georgian gas transportation company has been making repairs in
the damaged section of the pipeline, Dzhandzhgava said. The work is
going on round the clock, he said, adding that on the following day
the transit of Russian gas to Armenia would be resumed.

In recent days at Armenia’s request the trunk pipeline had been working
to full capacity; one of the sections of the gas pipeline gave way
under high pressure, which resulted in gas leak, Khetaguri said.

The accident has not affected gas supply in Georgia which continues
in a usual regime, Khetaguri said.

A total of 90 percent of gas supplied to Georgia comes from
Azerbaijan. The Russian gas accounts for ten percent of the overall
gas imported by Georgia and it used to compensate for the transit of
Russian gas to Armenia in accordance with an earlier signed agreement.

The transit of Russia gas temporarily halted by Georgia has created
no problems in Armenia because Armenia has a gas depot capable to
ensure gas supply to the country for two months.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIANS DISAPPOINTED WITH WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES CUTS AID TO CENTRAL ASIAN AND SOUTH CAUCASUS FSU COUNTRIES
by Yuriy Roks

Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Feb 16 2012
Russia

[translated from Russian]

Washington has published figures for the levels of assistance that
it intends to provide to FSU countries in 2013. Because of its own
problems, the United States’ subsidies to Central Asian and South
Caucasus states have generally been cut in comparison with previous
years. The cutbacks have virtually not affected the military segment
– Washington has merely attempted to equalize the numerical figures
for the countries in both regions. An exception has been made for
Georgia – it will receive 14.4m dollars through this channel, which
is more than all the other countries put together.

Tbilisi is exultant. For the authorities, such an exception from the
common run is proof of the correctness of their foreign policy and
confirmation that the alliance services being provided to Washington in
military campaigns, to the extent that its resources and opportunities
allow, are not going unnoticed.

The effect was intensified by a statement that James Appathurai,
the NATO secretary general’s special representative for the South
Caucasus and Central Asia, made on Armenian Public Television Channel
1 recently during a regional tour. “Georgia’s NATO membership is a
done deal…. Georgia is seeking to join the North Atlantic Alliance,
and to this end important reforms are being implemented with a view
to meeting NATO standards,” he said.

The news of 1.5m dollars in US military aid was also received
positively in Tashkent. Uzbekistan was completely denied American
subsidies in connection with the well-known 2003 events in Andijon.

Washington has been compelled to overturn the decision, which had been
in place for 10 years, by Tashkent’s support for the counterterrorist
operation in Afghanistan. According to the publication EurasiaNet,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will receive the same amount from the
American treasury, while Kazakhstan will get a little more (1.8m
dollars) and Turkmenistan will get 685,000 dollars.

Given the explosive situation in the South Caucasus and, evidently,
its demonstration of a neutral attitude towards the Karabakh conflict,
the United States has decided to help Armenia and Azerbaijan on
a parity basis in 2013 – they will each get 2.7m dollars. For
Azerbaijan, whose military budget is close to the $2 billion mark,
Washington’s assistance can be regarded as symbolic. Which cannot be
said about Armenia. And although the Armenian side, while expressing
gratitude, commented that the condition of its military structures
has never been dependent on American financial injections, definite
disappointment can be seen. Especially since Washington, despite
cutting overall assistance to the former Soviet Union countries,
as has already been noted, has “remembered” another regional
“friend” of Armenia’s – Turkey, offering it to 3.6m dollars for
the implementation of an international military education programme
with the explanation: “Ankara continues to play a growing role as a
strengthening global partner.” For a state like Turkey this money is
not all that significant, and this gesture should probably be seen as
a US appeal to Ankara to forget about a number of factors that have
introduced elements of contradiction and mutual irritation into the
bilateral relationship.

But Washington’s explanation of the motives for its decisions on
the countries receiving assistance has been little consolation to
Armenian public organizations in the United States. A statement
that was issued by the office of Ai Dat (“The Armenian Issue” – a
worldwide organization that is concerned with the global problems
of the Armenian people and which coordinates the work of various
national organizations) and has been cited by a number of Armenian
media expresses disappointment with US President Barack Obama’s actions
and says that he actually called for a 19 per cent cut in overall aid
to Yerevan and the granting of 27.2m dollars in fiscal 2013. And this
even after the Congress had approved a sum of 40m dollars.

At a news conference Aram Hambaryan, head of the Washington office
of Ai Dat, expressed regret that Obama is in no hurry to keep
his promises that he gave to the US Armenian community during his
election campaign. Not only has he “forgotten” about the genocide
issue but he is also cutting financial aid. “We notice yet again with
no surprise that the president is again trying to cut economic aid
to Armenia despite the serious economic consequences of the blockade
being carried out by Turkey and Azerbaijan and despite Armenia’s
comprehensive support for US operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and
Kosovo,” Hambaryan noted.

Elizabeth Chouldjian, the office’s press secretary, made it clear
in an interview with Armenian journalists that the organization will
make every effort to ensure that the volume of annual aid to Armenia
gets increased in the course of the discussions in the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the House of Representatives of the US Congress
and the Senate and that a further 10m dollars for Nagorno-Karabakh
gets enshrined in a separate line item. She stressed that during the
election campaign, apart from recognizing the genocide, both Obama and
future Secretary of State and Vice President Hillary Clinton and Joe
Biden promised the liberalization and expansion of trade with Armenia,
a tough stance on the issue of Azerbaijan’s violation of the cease-fire
regime in Karabakh, and a deepening of the ties between Armenia and
the United States. But there is no progress in any of these areas;
even the reverse. Thus, Clinton stated recently that the genocide
of Armenians is a matter that needs to be discussed by historians
whereas 42 American states have officially recognized the genocide,
Chouldjian said.

[translated from Russian]

From: A. Papazian

UNION OF ARMENIAN BANKS: HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI MARKETS ARE OF INTEREST FOR ARMENIA

/ARKA/
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, February 21. /ARKA/. Armenia considers the opportunities of
cooperation with Hong Kong and Shanghai markets, said the Chairman
of the Union of Banks Ashot Osipyan.

Armenian banks seek opportunities of cooperation in such markets
as Hong Kong and Shanghai which are of interest for the country”,
he said Tuesday in the press-conference.

Speaking about the situation in global economy in the context of
crisis, Osipyan said that the world has already entered the second
wave of crisis. However, he refrained from making any predictions,
saying that international community is waiting to resolve the situation
with Greece and China.

“We see a delay in the economy of China which is mainly related to
the termination of construction. It has a large share in GDP in the
country”, he said.

If there occur any difficulties in European Union, European markets
will be closed for Armenia, but the Armenian banks are considering
opportunities to work also with Asian banks.

Today, the situation in the U.S. economy is better than in Europe,
and by the end of the year any shocks are not expected there.

The fate of euro, in his opinion, today is very difficult to predict.

“At present, the most discussed topic is the situation with euro. I
do not think that euro will remain as strong as it is today, but as
a unit of currency -will remain”, considers Osipyan.

From: A. Papazian

POLITICIAN: “IF THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT XOCALI IS FOUND OUT IT WILL BE A GREAT SLAP FOR AZERBAIJANIS”

Today at “Hayeli” (“Mirros”) press-club politicians Alexander Manasyan
and Ashot Bleyan met with journalists.

Speaking about public’s involvement in the Arstakh issue, A. Bleyan
noted: “The public involvement has been changed during the years. Till
1994 everyone in society knew its place. This was a unique solidarity
and it brought a success to us. Today the public seems to be isolated
from the issue as now it is the round of negotiations where the
society seems to have nothing to do. On those years Arstakh survival
was a national issue”.

The politician also informed that during some last years he has
fulfilled educational some projects with Arstakh. Due to those projects
many Armenian teenagers discovered Artsakh for them and made ties
with Artsakh people.

Referring to the public involvement in Artsakh issue another speaker
of press-conference, Alexander Manasyan said: “Azerbaijani society
is involved in the issue in one way and we are involved in another way.

Very often we have to prove in the international forums that on
1988 Azerbaijani masses were involved in massacres, were involved in
occupations. They had a massive involvement in massacres and this was
the type of their involvement. We had another way. We had volunteers,
kamikazes.”

Speaking about our days A. Manasyan noted: “We have a national
mentality, which often damages us. After the war we consider that
everything is over and we stop worrying”. The politician explains
that this character led us to have losses in the information war for
a long time. But now according to him the situation is changed.

Speaking about today’s reality, A. Bleyan especially rated the fact of
self-identified Artsakh. Accoridng to him Artsakh self-determination
is a fact and it brings new tasks with it. “Those noew tasks must
change me, my actions. Artsakh will also be changed due to this fact”,
the politician considers. According to him now it is very important
for us to urge Azerbaijan to recognize Arstakh self-determination.

Recently Azerbaijani propaganda measures have started to use so called
“Xoxali genocide”. Pakistan has recognized the “genocide” and Mexico
seems to be on the way of recognition. Referring to Xocali events, Al.

Manasyan said: “We write about Xocali, but we write for us. We think
that as the truth is for us it will also work for us. But it never
happens in such a way in the information war. Aezrbaijan works hard
towards the issue and spreads disinformation. As we are passive they
act actively”.

Manasyan considers that we must appeal to the court against Azerbaijan
for Xocali.

“In reality, Karabakh forces informed Baku that the military action
must take place and Xocali must be liberated. Azerbaijani authorities
might take the peace population far from the territory. But they
did not do it. They needed to get free of Mutalibov then and that is
why they used this occasion. Peae population was shot from Aghdam,
from the territory, which was under Azerbaijani supervision. So this
means that the massacre took place under Azerbaijani supervision. If
the truth about Xocali is discovered it will be a strong slap for
Azerbaijanis. They will see how people pay for the authorities. And
that is why Azerbaijani authorities are so aggressive about this
theme today”, Manasyan underlined.

From: A. Papazian

EXPERT: ARMENIA MUST SUE AZERBAIJAN FOR KHOJALU

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 22, 2012 – 13:20 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijan has created a good mechanism for spreading
the lie around the world, an Armenian political scientist said.

Alexander Manasyan believes that lie can be defeated easily if much
effort is made, so Armenia must bring the truth to the international
community.

“We must file an international suit against Azerbaijan for Khojalu
issue and obtain justice,” the expert told a press conference in
Yerevan.

“We must lead a propaganda war against Azerbaijan, fight them using
their own methods, and tell the world the truth. We must wage an
information war; if we miss the moment, it will be too late to prove
anything,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

RUBEN ISHKHANYAN WINNER OF SOUTH CAUCASUS CONTEST OF YOUNG WRITERS

Tert.am
22.02.12

The 1st contest of young Russian-language writers of the South Caucasus
was held in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The contest was organized by the Russian Club education union, which
was founded nine years ago, newsgeorgia.ru reports.

“In 2011, in cooperation with the Union of Writers we held the
first contest of young Russian-language writers in Georgia. Now,
upholding this tradition, Russian Club, with the sponsorship of the
CIS Humanitarian Cooperation Fund, has organized a contest of young
Russian-language writers in the South Caucasus – the first contest
in the region’s history,” the union reports.

The final stage of the contest took place in Tbilisi, Feb. 19 to 21.

Among the winners are Saida Subkhi (Azerbaijan), Ruben Ishkhanyan
(Armenia), Mindia Arabuli (Georgia). Georgy Harutyunov (Georgia)
was awarded a “Special View” diploma.

The main aim of the contest is reviving traditional literary
contacts between the South Caucasus states, promotion of talented
Riussian-speaking young people.

From: A. Papazian

TOP TEN ON ARF-D LIST KNOWN

Tert.am
22.02.12

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) claims
it has not yet discussed its list.

However, given the principle the ARF-D has followed in drafting its
lists, as well as media reports, the ARF-D list may look as follows:

1. Hrant Margaryan 2. Vahan Hovhannisyan 3. Armen Rostamuyan 4. Levon
Lazarian 5. Lilit Galstyan 6. David Lokyan 7. Artur Aghabekyan
8. Aghvan Minasyan 9. Artsvik Minasyan 10. Aramais Grigoryan

From: A. Papazian

ILLEGAL TREE-CUTTING IN ARMENIA REACHES RECORD HIGH IN 2011 – STATISTICS

news.am
February 22, 2012 | 10:56

YEREVAN. – In 2011, 1,690 trees were illegally cut down in Armenia,
the National Statistical Service informs. And this is the greatest
amount in recent years, as 1,200-1,300 trees were illegally cut down,
on an annual basis, in the past several years.

In addition, 472 hectares of forest were destroyed by fire in 2011,
and this likewise is a considerable amount yielding only to 2010,
when 810 hectares of forest were burnt down. To note, the 53 forest
fires in the year past also has no equal.

At the same time, 2011 was distinguished by the least tree planting,
with a mere 28.4 hectares. In 2010 and 2009, for example, this was
157 and 453 hectares respectively.

From: A. Papazian