Author: Andres-Papazian

GORAN LENNMARKER: RECONCILIATION OF TURKS AND ARMENIANS IS IMPORTANT FOR ARMENIA AND TURKEY AND EUROPE.

ArmInfo
2010-11-26 13:08:00

Arminfo. Reconciliation of Turks and Armenians is important for
Armenia and Turkey and Europe, Chairman of the Governing Board,
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Goran Lennmarker,
said at the forum ‘European Perspectives in the Context of Eastern
Partnership and the Process of Negotiation of Associated Agreement’
held in Yerevan today.

Pointing at the complicated geo-political situation of Armenia which
has two shut up borders in the east and the west, Lennmarker said
about the necessity of ‘overcoming the historical differences’.

In this context he said it is very much important to continue the
process on reconciliation with Turkey.

I was a witness of the again rebirth of relations between Armenia
and Turkey and I think it is unbelievable that two countries with a
tragic historical past have decided to overcome their problems, he said
and added he is sure that president of Turkey is for normalization
of relations with Armenia, which is important for Armenia, Turkey
and Europe.

From: A. Papazian

GORAN LENNMARKER: SOUTH CAUCASUS PART OF EUROPE

ArmInfo
2010-11-26 13:09:00

ArmInfo. I think that South Caucasus is part of Europe, said H. E.
Goran Lennmarker, Chairman of the Governing Board, Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the former Chairman
of OSCE PA and Rapporteur for Karabakh, at the conference “European
Perspectives in the Context of Eastern Partnership and the Process
of the Negotiation of Associated Agreement,” in Yerevan on Friday.

He said that the Eastern Partnership Project is a very important
instrument for rapprochement with the European Union.

Everything depends on Armenia’s aspiration to the EU, he told those
present. G. Lenmarker is sure that Armenia can become extremely
close to Europe depending on it own will and decision because it is
an independent state.

In this context, Lennmarker touched upon the mixed response by Russia
to the perspective Armenian-EU relations and called inexpedient the
opinion that one party is “stealing” Armenia from the other. Choosing
a partner does not mean “stealing” or rivalry, he said. This process
must meet the interests of Armenia and must be based on Armenia’s own
decision. The EU made a brilliant offer of cooperation to Armenia
and Armenia can cooperate with the EU without breaking its allied
relations with Russia. Lennmarker said.

From: A. Papazian

KARABAKH WAR HERO: CURRENT ARMENIAN ARMY IS FOR THE POOR ONLY

ArmInfo
2010-11-26 13:39:00

ArmInfo. To change the state of affairs in the Armenian army, one
should change the political elite in the country, Zhirayr Sefilyan,
Karabakh War hero, Commander of Shushi Battalion, told media on Friday
when commenting on the recent shootings in the army.

He said that such tragic incidents will happen also in future as long
as army is the place of the poor only and the army commanders are
becoming richer and neglecting their direct duties amid the prospering
corruption and bribery in the army. Sefilyan is sure that a shattered
army means an end to the statehood. In response to ArmInfo’s question
saying that impunity aggravates the situation, Sefilyan said: “even
those guilty in the incidents are the victims of the corrupt system.”

He is sure that in the current state of affairs punishment of the
guilty persons is an attempt to liquidate investigation. “It is
necessary to liquidate the reason of such incidents which is concealed
in the activity of the authorities. Even a change of the army command
and dismissal of several generals will not help in such situation,”
Sefilyan said. It is high time to understand that army cannot be a
close structure, he said, it must be controllable and open for public.

As regards the effect from criticism, Sefilyan said that one should
take into account who and why criticizes the army, considering the
upward trends of army evasion in the country.

Asked if he expects that his words will be heard by the authorities,
Sefilyan said: “We do not pin such hopes, we just try our best to
reduce the number of victims in the army.”

To recall, Zhirayr Sefilyan was arrested in 2006 and served a 1.5
year in prison for “illegal keeping of weapons.”

From: A. Papazian

EVEN PERFECT ELECTORAL CODE CANNOT CANCEL THE PRACTICE OF FRAUD, DAVID HARUTYUNYAN THINKS

ArmInfo
2010-11-26 15:17:00

ArmInfo. Even the perfect Electoral Code cannot remove the problems
connected with electoral process, as good legislation may just promote
its improvement, chairman of parliamentary commission on state and
legal issues David Harutyunyan said at today’s press-conference.

As for transferring to the proportional system, as Heritage and
ARFD insist on, Harutyunyan says it is not expedient in Armenia to
fully transfer to one of the systems, either first-past-the-post or
proportional representation. He also added that the present option
os the most convenient and balanced one, i.e., 90 proportional and
41 first-past-the-post seats.

From: A. Papazian

TIGRAN KHZMALYAN: THE SOCIETY NOT ONLY HAS RIGHT, BUT IT ALSO MUST EXACT AN ACCOUNT FROM AUTHORITIES ABOUT SITUATION IN ARMY

ArmInfo
2010-11-26 15:18:00

ArmInfo. The society not only has the right but also must exact an
account from the authorities about the situation in the army, film
director Tigran Khzmalyan, representative of Sardarapat initiative
group, said at today’s sitting dedicated to the recent incidents in
the army.

According to Khzmalyan, the excuses of officials of various ranks that
“the situation in the army reflects the society in general” stand no
criticism. On the contrary, Khzmalyan thinks that first and foremost
the situation in the society deserves criticism: “We criticize the
society created by the efforts of present authorities and their
predecessors, therefore, we exact an account from them”. The film
director recalled that like the power in general, the armed forces
exist due to the tax payers having the right know how their funds
are spent. He pointed out that the Armenian army is the biggest army
in the world from the viewpoint of its ratio against the country’s
total population. “I even do not take into account the internal
troops and the police. There are unprecedentedly many armed people
in our country”, he said. Moreover, Khzmalyan thinks that the events
of 1 March 2008 and application of army forces against the people
provided the army with the police functions, which actually makes
a destructive effect on the army itself. “Our society is divided
into classes, it has become extremely polarized and based on the
principles of injustice. And all this is called healthy competition,
the only correct way of development in XXI century.

All this makes an impact on the army and the shameful situation in it”,
said Khzmalyan and added that the present army consists of the children
of poor people and those who could not or did not want to save their
sons from military service for the reasons of national honor. “The
army has become a prison, a police department”, he stressed. He thinks
that the last target in the chain of destroyed values is a family. “An
awful television propaganda is being conducted, moreover, from this
viewpoint the entertaining TV channels are even more harmful than
the untalented programs of state television”, said Khzmalyan. In the
context of the specified problems, even not a revolution, but a radical
change of the whole system is needed. The system of values and manner
of thinking imposed by the authorities need to be changed, he said.

From: A. Papazian

EMOTIONS AROUND ‘GARDEN OF DRAGONS’ INTENSIFY

ArmInfo
2010-11-26 10:02:00

ArmInfo. Unless public hearings are held, no construction can be
carried out in Garden of Dragons. “We will hold public hearings only
with those people who live here; we will listen to you and you will
tell us what you want to construct and what kind of documents you
have. If you want to receive a positive expert opinion, construction
will be continued.

As Nature Protection Minister Aram Harutyunyan arrived in the site
development of the green garden in Nor Nork known as the Garden of
Dragons. It is several days since the construction of a block of flats
has started in the Garden of Dragons, while its model was stoutly
posted on the construction site, but after protest demonstration
participants appeared, this poster was immediately taken to the van
designed for workers. (See photos.)

The Minister arrived in the Garden of Dragons based on the request made
by the “Heritage” party, who raised the illegality of the construction
before the government in the course of parliamentary debates. The
party’s main arguments were that the construction is conducted in
public territory without any permitting documentation.

Particularly, “Air Construction” Company doesn’t have any positive
opinion from the State Environmental Impact Assessment Group. It
should be noted that one of the main components for expert assessment
is holding public hearings. Still on 19 November the construction must
have been stopped according to the Minister’s decree. Nevertheless,
despite the decree, workers have surrounded the area with aluminium
baffles and dug out deep holes. According to eye witnesses, heavy
machinery had been working all the night. “But we did arrange no works
will be conducted till the expert assessment, public hearings should be
conducted and a solution – found,” the Minister said. Deputy Head of
the State Environmental Inspection Karen Papoyan visited the garden
together with the Minister. “We drew up the act, tomorrow we will
provide a final conclusion, but the work was obviously continued,”
Papoyan said.

We’ve got the impression from the whole conversation that it’s
extremely undesirable for the Ministry to hurtle with the site
developers. In reply to Company Executive Director Volodya Arakelyan’s
promise to replant the trees in another place the Minister said, “Very
well, this must be corroborated with appropriate documentation.” By
the way, what about the trees. As if by magic, traces from felling
disappeared during one night. Stepan Safaryan (“Heritage” Party) and
activist Mariam Sukhudyan started searching for the stubs according
to the photos taken several days ago. Part of the stubs turned out
to be burnt down, while the other part was covered with soil taken
from dug out ditches. But the representatives of authorities didn’t
pay any attention to this. When Silva Adamyan proposed to stop all
the illegal construction in Yerevan carried out without the expert
assessment, the Minister said, “Don’t prevent us from working.”

The protest demonstration participants were decisive. “We won’t
give this territory to you, here our children have played and our
grandchildren will also play games,” said one of the residents. “Not
the company must be sued, but also those people who permit to act in
this manner,” the other resident said.

It should be noted while waiting for government representatives, the
people took hammers and spades and started covering dug out areas. The
police arrived reacting to these actions, but they didn’t exercise
any force.

From: A. Papazian

NATIONAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE FEATURES GENOCIDE BOOTH

Published: Friday November 26, 2010

GenEd Booth at NCSS 2010 in Denver, Colorado.

Pauline Getzoyan (left), GenEd RI Branch Representative and Sara Cohan,
GenEd Education Director.

Denver – Justin Voldman was happy to see The Genocide Education
Project’s resource booth at the annual conference of the National
Council for the Social Studies, an event that gathered thousands of
educators from across the U.S. in Denver, Colorado, November 12-14.

“I use your lesson plans in my classroom,” said Voldman, a high school
history teacher from Maine, who said she welcomed the useful teaching
materials provided by The Genocide Education Project, a nonprofit
organization that assists educators in teaching about human rights
and genocide, particularly the Armenian Genocide.

The Genocide Education Project’s Education Director, Sara Cohan,
led a workshop entitled, “Best Practices in Genocide Education.”

Participants were guided through lesson plans created by The Genocide
Education Project and heard about ways to broach the sensitive subject
of genocide in the classroom.

Educators asked how to handle the problem of genocide denial in
the classroom and commented that after the session they felt better
prepared to bring the Armenian Genocide into their curriculum.

Educators were exposed to various approaches for teaching about
genocide and analyzed how to combine the study of particular historic
events with discussions on genocide prevention today.

Also representing GenEd at the NCSS conference were Executive Director,
Raffi Momjian, as well as Pauline and Ara Getzoyan from Gen Ed’s
recently established Rhode Island branch.

“The number of American educators that flocked to our exhibit booth
asking for information about the Armenian Genocide was remarkable,”
said Pauline Getzoyan, co-chair of the Rhode Island branch. “To
witness the interest American educators have in teaching about the
Armenian Genocide was inspiring.”

The conference provides an important venue through which The Genocide
Education Project can communicate face-to-face with teachers,
professors and school district leaders to discuss the work of
the organization. Gen Ed provides lesson plans, resource lists and
reading materials about the Armenian Genocide free of charge to each
interested educator at the conference. “Our discussions with teachers
here confirm that they greatly value education about the Armenian
Genocide and genocide prevention. Our task is to ensure they have
the training and materials necessary to teach this vital subject,”
said Momjian.

The Genocide Education Project is already preparing for next year’s
conference in Washington, D.C. and looks forward to reaching more
educators.

The Genocide Education Project () is a
nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization that assists educators in
teaching about human rights and genocide, particularly the Armenian
Genocide, by developing and distributing instructional materials,
providing access to teaching resources and organizing educational
workshops.

From: A. Papazian

SAP ENTERS ARMENIAN MARKET

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 26, 2010 – 15:10 AMT 11:10 GMT

One of the leaders in business management software, SAP German company
is entering the Armenian market.

Best SAP solutions will be presented during a business forum in
Yerevan on December 2, with Economy Minister Nerses Yeritsyan and
SAP Managing Director CIS Vladimir Martynov participating.

Headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, SAP has more than 52,921 employees
at sales and development locations in more than 50 countries worldwide.

From: A. Papazian

PACE TO MAKE MORE ACTIVE EFFORTS IN KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

news.az
Nov 25 2010
Azerbaijan

PACE We were trying to resolve the problems inside the Council
of Europe.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will
be more active active in its efforts towards the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement, PACE President Mevlut Cavusoglu has said in an
interview with Turkish journal Aksiyon.

“We were trying to resolve the problems inside the Council of Europe.

That’s why I first visited countries like Albania and Bosnia~E As
to the Karabakh conflict, we are in the process of establishing a
sub-committee to deal with the issue. We’ll include the issue in the
agenda in January. Since assuming the post of OSCE president, I have
had 5 meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations. We’ll be
more active in our efforts,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

KOSOVO IMPORTANT PRECEDENT FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT
BY DAVID ARAKELYAN

ASBAREZ
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
NEWPORT BEACH

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh) President Bako Sahakian said
Friday the Kosovo precedent was important for the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict and rebuffed Azeri attempts to poison his appearance
at a gathering hosted by Orange County World Affairs Council at the
Pacific Club, where Sahakian was the keynote speaker.

Sahakian spoke to an audience of about 250 guests, mainly members of
the Armenian community and the WAC, but peppered with members of the
Azeri community, who asked biased questions during the Q & A session
at the end of president~Rs speech. Another group of 15 to 20 Azeris
was protesting outside of the venue.

In his opening remarks, President Sahakian talked about some of
the domestic and foreign policy objectives of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, and the progress that has been made in those areas over
the past few years.

In reference to the parallels between Karabakh and Kosovo, which was
brought up in one of the questions, the President said that ~SKosovo
is an important precedent of the implementation of international law,
where the principle of self-determination prevailed~T and stated that
the International Court of Justice confirmed Kosovo~Rs independence.

Just like in Kosovo, the people in Karabakh made their choice to
live independently, and that decision is ~Snot subject to speculation
and interpretation.~T

Sahakian said that Karabakh must return to negotiation table because
~Sno settlement of the conflict is going to be possible without
the agreement of Stepanakert.~T The President said the government
of Azerbaijan was unwilling to take any real steps to resolve the
conflict peacefully and pointed to the continued military rhetoric
and the constant ceasefire violations initiated by the Azeris.

He called upon the international community to condemn the ~Sdestructive
position~T of Azerbaijan, stating that ~Sthe international community
can have an influential role in curbing Baku~Rs militaristic rhetoric
and stopping the Azeri government from continuous increase in military
expenditures.~T

In response to a question about the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, Sahakian stressed that the ~Srecognition of Arstakh is
just a matter of time~T and expressed confidence that ~Smost Western
countries are interested in the establishment of a new, free, and
democratic state~T in the Caucasus.

On the domestic front, Sahakian reported that the gross domestic
product of the country has increased fivefold from 2003, when it was
only $427 per capita, to 2009, when it reached the $2,000 mark. Even in
2008, the year when the most recent economic crisis began, Artsakh~Rs
economy grew by more than 70 percent compared to 2007 levels. The
budget of the republic currently stands at 55 billion drams (or roughly
$150 million), and the main sectors of the economy are construction,
agriculture, industry, and energy.

The President expressed confidence that soon, Karabakh is poised to
become an energy-exporting country and reforms in the agricultural
sector will enhance the productivity of Karabakh farmers.

The protesters outside were holding anti-Armenian signs with references
to the ~S500,000 refugees from Karabakh,~T ~Sthe occupation of Azeri
territories,~T and the so-called ~SKhojaly massacre.~T A few Armenian
Youth Federation members challenged the protesters~R falsified claims
and gave historical evidence to point out to the inaccuracies contained
in the posters held by the Azeris, but that did not seem to change
the mind of the Azeri activists.

While addressing statements made about the ~SKhojaly Massacre~T in
his response to an Azeri member of the audience, Sahakian stated
that the ~SKhojaly issue was a tactical move [adopted by the Azeris]
to divert attention from the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.~T

He stated that the Armenian forces never engaged in any actions against
the civilian population of Azerbaijan, and only fought back in war
which was imposed upon the Armed Forces and the population of Artsakh.

From: A. Papazian