Author: Andres-Papazian

TURKOLOGIST: RUSSIA WILL NOT PERMIT TURKEY’S ACTIVIZATION

Aysor.am
03.02.2011, 17:02

Establishment of PACE subcommittee on Karabakh can be called PACE
President Mevlut Cavusoglu’s victory, Turkologist Artak Shakaryan
told reporters.

“It will be very good if Armenian delegation’s boycott contributes
to dissolution of the subcommittee, but if the subcommittee continues
to work, we will have to take part in that game,” the expert said.

Asked whether Cavusoglu’s victory and reinforcement of the
Turkey-Azerbaijan tandem can contribute to movement of the Nagorno
Karabakh settlement from OSCE Minsk Group to another format, the
Turkologist said that it is impossible.

“OSCE co-chairing countries will do their best to hinder Turkey’s
involvement in MG as a co-chairing country.”

Relations between Moscow and Turkey are good-neighborly, nevertheless
Russia will not permit Turkey’s activization in this process,
Shakaryan said.

From: A. Papazian

ARCHAEOLOGY PROFESSOR WINS NATIONAL AWARD
By Courtney Robishaw

UConn Daily Campus

Feb 3 2011

Alexia Smith, an assistant professor in the old world archaeology
program in the anthropology department, won a National Science
Foundation CAREER award, an award designed to help advance the careers
of young faculty members at eligible institutions.

Smith will use the CAREER award, worth more than $400,000 for five
years, to study archaeobotany at six locations in the Middle East.

“I chose to focus on archaeobotany because it provides a wonderful way
to explore ancient agriculture and interactions with the environment,”
Smith said.

Smith will study what plants were grown and how at the six
archaeological locations. She will also be testing whether or not
changes in climate have influenced empires and shifts in power in
the Middle East.

“I will be exploring the role that food production played with emerging
social complexity and societal collapses,” Smith said.

At one of the sites, in Areni, Armenia, Smith will work with an
Armenian archaeobotanist, who will then come to Storrs as a research
scholar.

This award will affect the students at UConn, as it will provide
undergraduates the opportunity to gain more experience in labs. Smith
also hopes to have a “Sorting Club” established by next semester.

Smith’s CAREER award provides benefits to her department as well.

“The award will provide rare funding opportunities for graduate
students carrying out dissertation research, as well as exciting
international field opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate
students in locations such as Syria and Armenia,” said Natalie Munro,
director of undergraduate studies for the anthropology department.

Smith also plans to collaborate with Professor John Settlage from
the Neag School of Education to provide training for Kindergarten
through 12th grade archaeology and archaeobotany teachers.

Finally, Smith plans to organize workshops and lectures through the
Connecticut State Museum of Natural History.

Both Smith and the entire Department of Anthropology are very excited
about the award and the opportunities it will bring to Storrs.

“We are enormously proud of her,” said Anthropology Department Head
Sally McBrearty.

From: A. Papazian

FAMILIES IN GYUMRI FORCED TO LEAVE THEIR COTTAGES, SAYS NGO

Tert.am
03.02.11

Shirak Centre, a local NGO, has release a statement in which it says
that the Gyumri Municipality issued a written warning that those
residents who were provided with newly-built apartments in Gyumri’s
Mush-2 district in 2010 will from February 28 have to leave their
temporary cottages.

Otherwise, the Municipality warned, those temporary cottages will be
dismantled by the workers of the Municipality.

Hundreds of families are still living in temporary cottages in Shirak
region, following the 1988 devastating earthquake that claimed more
than 20,000 lives in the north-western part of Armenia.

“This statement has in the true meaning of the word kicked up a fuss
especially among those homeless families that have six or more members
but have received a one or two-room flat,” read the statement.

Further, it said that some of these families used to live in two
or three temporary cottages and are now going to hand over only one
of them.

The problem is, the NGO explained, that 23 years now after the
earthquake, most of those homeless families have grown which is
causing serious problems as long as housing is concerned.

Some of these families have from six to 12 members now and have to
live in flats that are very small for them.

The NGO also said that dozens of these multi-member families are asking
them to interfere with the Gyumri Municipality so that it will allow
them to keep at least some part of their temporary cottages.

“In that case, some part of the multi-member families will move to
the new flats, while the rest will continue living in the temporary
cottages,” the statement read.

From: A. Papazian

TURKS AND GERMANS: PARTNERS IN CRIME AND ALLIES IN COURT
By Harut Sassounian

Tert.am
02.02.11

Last month, when German life insurance companies requested a rehearing
from a Federal Court of Appeals, contesting its decision in favor of
Armenian claimants, the Republic of Turkey filed an “amicus curiae”
(friend of the court) petition in support of the German defendants.

This was an intriguing development. The heirs of now deceased Armenian
policyholders were suing German insurance companies; and Turkey — not
a party to the lawsuit — was shamelessly siding with the delinquent
firms. No one was demanding payment from the Turkish government! Why
would Turkey, a foreign country, interfere in a U.S. lawsuit against
German companies?

The Turkish petition is a 15-page-long propaganda piece that denies
the facts of the Armenian Genocide. It describes the United States
and Turkey as working “shoulder-to-shoulder,” adding that 120,000
Turks reside in the United States, and that 700,000 Americans visit
Turkey every year. The Turkish brief does not explain, however, how
any of these assertions have any relevance to the failure of German
insurance companies to compensate the heirs of Armenian policyholders.

The Turkish petition attacks the California law extending the statute
of limitations on Armenian claims against insurance companies by
heirs of genocide victims. It alleges that the California statute
“offends Turkey~Rs sovereignty by legislating Turkish history and
by declaring Turkey and its predecessor state guilty of the crime
of genocide.” The petition goes on to state: “Turkey resents having
any U.S. legislature or other official formulate its own definition
of genocide specifically to declare that Turkey or its predecessor
state is guilty of this crime.” Ironically, the Turkish government
never expressed any resentment or complaint when 42 U.S. states
and many American cities were recognizing the Armenian Genocide in
recent decades. Ankara justified its inaction by claiming that its
counterpart is the federal government, not individual states or cities.

The Turkish petition lamely claims that foreign states can not “monitor
and react to the individual actions of fifty state legislatures and
governors. Rather, Turkey~Rs interlocutor with the fifty United States
is the U.S. federal government.” It then quotes from Turkish Ambassador
Nabi Sensoy~Rs letter to the Court of Appeals on December 4, 2008,
stating that “Turkey has not as such protested state proclamations
on this historic controversy because it conducts it (sic) foreign
affairs directly with the U.S. Federal Government, primarily the
Executive Branch. We do not have similar relations with the states.”

The petition falsely refers to the Genocide as “mutual suffering of
Ottoman Armenians and Turks” and “wartime misery.” It flippantly
dismisses Pres. Reagan~Rs 1981 Proclamation acknowledging the
Armenian Genocide, and omits any reference to the two Congressional
resolutions of 1975 and 1984 recognizing the Genocide. Instead, the
Turkish government proudly proclaims that no new resolutions were
adopted on this subject during the Obama administration!

The Turkish government drops a bombshell by revealing in its petition
that Prime Minister Erdogan had written to Pres. Obama on December
19, 2010, complaining about the Federal Appeals Court~Rs decision
that “the position of the US administration is not against the
recognition of ~Qgenocide~R at the state or federal level.” This is
yet another blatant attempt by a foreign leader to intervene in US
court proceedings.

Interestingly, the petition discloses only a portion of Erdogan~Rs
letter to Obama, claiming that “the balance of this letter constitutes
a confidential diplomatic communication.”

The appeals court should either reject the Turkish petition as
unwarranted interference by a foreign power in American judicial
proceedings or demand the release of the full text of Erdogan~Rs letter
to verify the accuracy of the quoted portion and to confirm if it
includes any other reference to the lawsuit. The Turkish government
cannot hide behind “diplomatic confidentiality,” as it has waived
the claim of “privileged communication” by selectively disclosing
portions of the letter.

In their petition, Turkish officials make the misleading suggestion
that the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, signed over a year ago, “will
seek to overcome all hurdles in their present relations, and jointly
consider the historic controversy.” The authors of the disingenuous
Turkish petition cleverly conceal from federal judges the fact that
they have not ratified the Protocols and have no intention to do so.

Ankara is attempting to exploit the now defunct Protocols to quash
a legitimate lawsuit against German insurance companies.

The Turkish government has attached two letters to its petition, one
signed by its Ambassador to the U.S., and the other by the Chairman
of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. The Federal
Appeals Court should promptly disregard both letters, along with the
petition, as propaganda materials lacking any legal merit or standing.

From: A. Papazian

WIKILEAKS: NUCLEAR SECURITY

Lragir.am
02/02/2011

Wikileaks reveals that on December 13, 2007, the U.S. Embassy to
Yerevan sent to Washington the following message:

“In a December 10 session in Yerevan, the U.S. Nuclear Smuggling
Outreach delegation laid out its preliminary assessment of Armenia’s
abilities to combat nuclear smuggling and passed over its talking
points as a non-paper. The Armenian delegation provided an initial
response that generally agreed with U.S. views, contributing
considerable detail on their government’s ongoing efforts and needs.

The participants agreed to provide a more considered, written response
to the U.S. non-paper, with the goal of doing so by the end of
January. The sides agreed that, once the response has been provided,
they will schedule a follow-up meeting, targeted for March 2008,
at which time they will seek to reach agreement on a joint action
plan highlighting the priority steps needed to improve Armenia’s
anti-nuclear smuggling capabilities and on a list of priority
assistance projects to address certain needs.

The U.S. Embassy hosted the U.S. Nuclear Smuggling Outreach delegation
for a December 10 meeting in Yerevan with a broad-based Armenian
delegation to conduct initial discussions on nuclear smuggling. CDA
opened the session and also hosted lunch for the delegations in the
Embassy atrium. The Armenian delegation included 19 representatives
from 11 different agencies. Representatives from the European
Commission (EC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
also participated in these discussions.

6. The U.S. delegation presented its talking points laying out the
preliminary U.S. assessment of Armenia’s capabilities to prevent,
detect, and respond to efforts to smuggle nuclear and radioactive
materials.

The Armenian side generally agreed with the U.S. assessment and
provided additional detail about ongoing efforts and additional needs:

–Armenia’s nuclear regulatory agency believes there is not a
significant number of radioactive sources unaccounted for in Armenia,
but acknowledged that it was not certain of this. Other Armenian
agencies indicated they believed there may be a significant problem
with unidentified radioactive sources. The Armenian side agreed
to review this point and provide additional detail in the written
response. –The Armenia delegation passed to the U.S. delegation a
copy of a recent GOAM decree outlining roles and responsibilities for
GOAM agencies in responding to discoveries of orphaned sources. –The
Armenian delegation confirmed that all facilities with high-activity
radioactive sources that have been identified have either been upgraded
with U.S. assistance or are currently being upgraded.

–Armenian representatives indicated a desire for closer cooperation
with their Georgian counterparts responsible for border security and
nuclear smuggling investigations. –The delegation agreed on the need
to clarify procedures for responding to radiation alarms at borders and
indicated that the relevant procedures are in the process of revision.

–The delegation agreed on the importance of prosecuting all nuclear
smuggling cases, including scams involving attempted sales and
attempted purchases of nuclear or radioactive material.

Representatives also indicated that the GOAM had sufficient legal
authority to prosecute attempted purchases, and any case involving
misuse of nuclear or radioactive material, but it needed a revision of
its laws to prosecute a seller who claimed to have nuclear material,
but only had an empty container. The Armenian side also agreed
to provide additional detail on nuclear smuggling convictions in
its written response. –The EC representative concurred with the
U.S. view that physical security at the Armenia Nuclear Power Plant
(ANPP) is sufficient, but noted that the EC is planning assistance to
Armenia to improve accountancy at this facility. The IAEA is working
to upgrade physical security and accountancy at ANPP.

–The IAEA representative indicated that his organization is finalizing
its Integrated Nuclear Security Support Plan (INSSP) with Armenia. The
IAEA representative noted that INSSP is also organized by prevention,
detection, and response capabilities, and identified needs similar
to those specified in the NSOI assessment. –Both the IAEA and EC
representatives welcomed the opportunity to participate in these
anti-smuggling discussions and indicated the importance of all donors
coordinating their efforts in Armenia.

The U.S. delegation passed an Armenian language version of its talking
points as a non-paper. The Armenian delegation agreed to prepare
a written response, with the aim of providing it to the U.S. by
the end of January. The delegations agreed to schedule a follow-up
meeting in Yerevan as soon as the U.S. side had completed its review
of the Armenian response, probably in the March timeframe. At this
follow-up meeting, the delegations will seek to reach agreement on
(1) a joint action plan highlighting the priority steps needed to
improve Armenia’s anti-nuclear smuggling capabilities and (2) a list
of priority assistance projects to address steps that Armenia cannot
implement without outside assistance.

From: A. Papazian

OMBUDSMAN OF ARMENIA RESIGNED

/ARKA/
February 2, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Ombudsman of Armenia Armen Harutyunyan
resigned.

“Yesterday I submitted resignation letter to the Armenian National
Assembly according to Article 97 of parliament regulation”, said the
Ombudsman in the press-conference on Wednesday.

He agreed to act as regional representative of UN High Commissioner
on Human Rights in Central Asia.

He said that Ombudsman is appointed according to the law and if
the clauses of the law will be performed, Armenia will have a good
Ombudsman. “We have an established institute of human rights protection
and the next Ombudsman can seriously work on its basis”, he said.

He announces that the candidacy of the future Ombudsman is not
discussed yet.

The law “On human rights” was adopted on October 21, 2003. The first
Ombudsman of Armenia, Larisa Alaverdyan started her work in this post
from March 1, 2004.

Armen Harutyunyan was appointed in this post on February 17, 2006. His
candidacy was submitted by the ruling coalition of the country.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA AND GEORGIA TO FACILITATE THE PROCESS OF CROSSING THE BORDER

/ARKA/
February 2, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Currently the experts and representatives
of state agencies of Armenia and Georgia are discussing the process
of risk assessment and management of border and customs services of
both countries in the working seminar in Yerevan.

“Risk assessment and management is one of five modules of Global
Management of Borders of South-Caucasus (GMBSC), which is implemented
by UNDP with EU support”, said the head of the program GMBSC in
Georgia Nikoloz Samkharadze.

This program is envisaged for three countries of South-Caucasus –
Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“It also promotes strengthening of cooperation between government
agencies of Georgia and Armenia. We have also another module of
trainings where future inspectors of academies of finance and internal
affairs of Georgia participate”, he said.

One of the main modules of the program is modern equipment
of post control in Georgian-Armenian border, particularly
Sadakhlo-Bagratashen. “We learn the lessons of European experts and
want to apply them in South-Caucasus”, he said.

Today there are no big problems in Georgian-Armenian border. “We
are improving our border and customs structures and plan to
maximum facilitate crossing through Georgian-Armenian border”,
said Samkharadze.

In four-day seminar on risk assessment and management (border service,
customs service, sanitary and veterinary inspection) representatives
of National Security Council, Ministry of Health, Ministry of
Agriculture, Police, Ministry of Extraordinary Situations and State
revenue Committee from Armenia and delegations of Tax Service, Border
Police and Patrol Police from Georgia, as well s experts from Georgia,
Armenia and Latvia participate.

From: A. Papazian

RUBEN ZARGARYAN: SUDAN IS MORE RESPONSIBLE THAN AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
January 31, 2011 – 17:37 AMT 13:37 GMT

Advisor to the NKR Foreign Minister Ruben Zargaryan said that
the situation in Azerbaijan and Sudan differs by the fact that
the government of Sudan, in contrast to Baku’s administration,
has conceived the fatality of its aggressive policy, displayed
responsibility and has not hampered gaining of independence by
South Sudan.

Zargaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter that Sudanese President
Omar al-Bashir stated in 1998 that “the destiny of South Sudan will
be decided during a referendum,” stressing that “the government will
accept the referendum results even if they lead to South Sudan’s
secession.”

On January 9, 2005, an agreement was signed between Sudan and South
Sudan in Nairobi (Kenya), which envisaged holding a referendum on
independence in South Sudan in 2011.

“In contrast to Sudan, the Azerbaijani government’s main wish is to
conceal the truth about the genocide perpetrated against Armenians of
Nagorno Karabakh and falsify history. However, the facts of systematic
genocide are so evident that they would be enough even if there were
no legal grounds for declaration of NKR’s independence. Propagandists
of Baku say that South Sudan cannot serve as a precedent for NKR,
since in contrast to Sudan, Baku’s administration has not given
its consent for holding a referendum in NKR. It pretends to be
unaware of the international law norms, which do not require such
permission, but, to the contrary, imperatively demand recognition of
the self-determining state – Nagorno Karabakh,” concluded Zargaryan.

From: A. Papazian

COMMUNICATION AND IT SECTOR PROCEEDS GROSS 192,5 BLN IN 2010 IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
January 31, 2011 – 19:00 AMT 15:00 GMT

Communication and IT sector proceeds grossed 192,5 bln in 2010 in
Armenia, exceeding last year’s index by 103%.

According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, proceeds
from telecommunication and IT services totaled AMD 159 bln and 20
bln respectively.

Trade and production in the sector of technologies and
telecommunications yielded AMD 11 million and 1,9 billion respectively.

From: A. Papazian

CANDIDATE FOR AZERBAIJANI HERO’S ROLE IN “INTERRUPTED SONG” FILM MAY CHANGE APPEARANCE

PanARMENIAN.Net
January 31, 2011 – 21:13 AMT 17:13 GMT

Office of TV3V Sochi TV company hosted a meeting of TV company head
Valery Sargsyan with Arif Javadov, a candidate for Azerbaijani hero’s
role in “Interrupted Song” film.

The meeting was organized at the request of Ashot Poghosyan, the film
producer, who is currently in Nagorno Karabakh, Yerkramas newspaper
reported.

The artist’s contract and his safety guarantees were in the focus
of the meeting. Javadov, if he is selected to perform in the film,
is going to change his appearance and leave for a European country
for permanent residence when the film is finished, what is rather
understandable, taking into consideration the threats voiced from
Azerbaijan with respect to possible Azerbaijani participants in
the film.

We would like to recall that the film features a psychological drama
of two men, an Armenian and Azerbaijani, who find themselves in a pit.

Both hate each other, but several hours later they start a conversation
on the matters they are concerned about. Arik Manukyan is the film
director, while Ashot Poghosyan – producer.

Karen Martirosyan will play the role of the Armenian hero, while an
Azerbaijani actor will perform the other hero’s role.

However, recently an Azerbaijani actor strictly rejected his
participation in the film, explaining it by the fact that he is under
apprehension of his family’s life, which resides in Baku.

From: A. Papazian