Author: Andres-Papazian

YEREVAN DENIES TELLING US TO DELAY ‘GENOCIDE’ RECOGNITION

Hurriyet
Oct 28 2010
Turkey

Vice President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House
in Washington on Wednesday. AP photo

A video apparently showing the U.S. vice president telling an
Armenian-American activist that the Armenian president asked the
United States to hold off recognizing the 1915 killings of Armenians as
“genocide” has stirred anger in Yerevan, reports have said.

An Armenian presidential spokesperson on Wednesday denied that such
a conversation took place between President Serge Sarkisian and U.S.

Vice President Joe Biden, urging the U.S. administration to release
the recording of the phone conversation, said the news website
Armenian Reporter.

In video footage posted on YouTube on Tuesday, Biden told an
Armenian-American activist that “the Armenian president called me and
said, ‘Look, do not force this issue [the recognition of ‘genocide’]
now, while we [Armenia and Turkey] are in negotiations.”

It appeared that Biden was unaware that his response was being
videotaped.

“We are not backing off. The Turks have to come to the realization
of what the reality is. And what we have to do is, you know, this,
the compromise that was going on and being worked at for a while,”
the U.S. vice president said in the video.

After being asked about his message to the Armenian community in the
United States, Biden said: “Tell [the Armenian community] that it was
the Armenian president that called me and said, ‘Look, do not force
this issue now while we are in negotiations.'”

While the U.S. State Department has not commented on the video, the
Armenian president’s spokesperson, Armen Arzumanian, said Sarkisian
had never phoned Biden.

“Two phone conversations took place on Biden’s initiative in 2009
and the president of Armenia neither directly nor indirectly made the
statement ascribed to him in the video. On the contrary, in all public
speeches and official meetings, President Sarkisian attached importance
to international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian genocide
and called on [international actors] not to justify delaying the
recognition with ongoing negotiations with Turkey,” Arzumanian said.

The press secretary for the ruling Republican Party, meanwhile, said
they did not take the video seriously, called it “pure nonsense.” The
Dashnaktsutyun Party, which fiercely opposed the Armenian-Turkish
normalization process, echoed the ruling party’s statement.

“Biden merely understood and interpreted what he wanted to hear,
and since the president in all his speeches, including his April 21
interview to the Wall Street Journal, was not clearly emphasizing
the genocide recognition issue, it might have given a handle for such
interpretation,” Giro Manoyan, Director of the party’s International
Secretariat Bureau in Yerevan, told ArmeniaNow.

From: A. Papazian

QATAR NEEDS ARMENIAN EMPLOYEES

news.am
Oct 28 2010
Armenia

Qatar started showing interest in Armenian experts. On October 28,
the Armenian government agreed to sign a deal on labor utilization
in the territory of Qatar.

Qatar~Rs economy has been rapidly developing due to rich energy
resources and policy of ~Sopen doors~T carried out by the local
government.

Country~Rs population is not large – 800,000, while Qatari total
only 30%. Economic and social projects are mainly implemented due to
foreign manpower.

Qatar~Rs authorities and businessmen are interested in inviting
Armenian experts, offering favorable terms. For instance, salary of
a nurse totals $850, while that of a doctor from $1,500 to 7,000.

Besides, employers compensate apartment and travel expanses.

From: A. Papazian

LARRRY GAGOSIAN OPENS ART GALLERY IN PARIS
By IBTimes Staff Reporter

International Business Times

Oct 28 2010

Larrry Gagosian, a top art dealer, has opened a new gallery in Paris
to help the fashion city regain its prime position as a premier
destination of the art world, besides adding to his chain of art
galleries.

The Armenian-American top dog in the art world, Gagosian, 65, who
has art galleres in New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Athens and London,
said it was a sign that Paris’s flagging art market was picking up,
AFP reported.

“Paris is reclaiming its position within the international art circuit
through its high quality museum exhibitions and a growing art market,”
said Gagosian, who is rated by Art Review magazine as among the 100
most powerful people in the art world, in a statement.

“We always wanted a gallery here,” said Serena Cattaneo, one of the
Paris venue’s directors. “There have been a lot of changes in Paris
in recent years which have shown it is possible to exhibit modern
art here,” she said.

The Paris gallery, designed by French architect Jean-Francois Bodin
and London studio Caruso St John, opened with a show of work by French
designer and architect Jean Prouve and four sculptures by Cy Twombly.

The art market may be witnessing a slowdown but it has not deterred
gallerists and collectors and dealers. It is believed that Gagosian
opened this gallery in Paris to tap this same market of collectors
like Francois Pinault, an industrialist.

For much of the 20th century, Paris had been heart and soul of the art
world. But the last decade has seen the city losing its prime position
to other cities of Europe like London, Antwerp and Rome. Currently,
it attracts maybe a fraction of the world market, said Georgina Adam,
a market specialist at London-based journal, The Art Newspaper.

The new Gagosian’s gallery in Paris is seen as an effort to turn the
clock back.

Close 1 2

(Photo: AFP) Gallery Owner Larry Gagosian, poses at the Gagosian
Gallery in Paris

(Photo: Reuters) A security guard walks past “Petite fille sautant
a la corde” by Pablo Picasso at the Gagosian gallery in London

From: A. Papazian

EUROPEAN MPS VISIT NAGORNO-KARABAKH

news.am
Oct 28 2010
Armenia

On October 28, a delegation of European Parliament MPs – Damien
Abad (European Peoples’ Party), Michele Riva (European Green Party)
accompanied by head of Hay Dat (Armenian Cause) European office Hilda
Choboyan arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The delegation is also accompanied by Vahan Hovhannisyan and Ara
Babloyan, MPs of the NKR National Assembly.

The MPs have already visited one of the Stepanakert schools and met
with the members of refugees union of Nagorno-Karabakh. Refugees
raised the issues concerning the lack of relevant status, while
parliamentarians promised to take certain steps to tackle the problem.

The MPs are expected to meet the Speaker of the NKR National Assembly
and NKR President Bako Sahakyan. Later, the delegation will return
to Yerevan.

From: A. Papazian

AZERBAIJANI FM INVESTIGATES EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MEMBERS’ VISIT TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH
S. Agayeva

Trend
Oct 28 2010
Azerbaijan

The Foreign Ministry is investigating the fact of visiting Azerbaijani
occupied territories by several members of the European parliament,
spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Elkhan Polukhov told Trend.

“The relevant embassies will be instructed to consider this fact. If
it is confirmed, these MPs will be included in the ‘black list’
of the ministry,” Polukhov said.

Armenia Today reported that members of the European Parliament
Damien Abad (European Peoples’ Party), Michel Revaz (European Green
Union), accompanied by expert of the European People’s Party Nicolas
Zilberglaid and head of the European Committee Hay Dat Hilda Choboyan
visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

A conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding negotiations to resolve the dispute.

Armenia has failed to implement UN Security Council resolutions
stipulating the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.

From: A. Papazian

ISRAEL SIGNIFIES REINFORCEMENT OF MULTI-FACETED COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA

Panorama
Oct 28 2010
Armenia

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received today
newly-appointed Israeli Ambassador to Armenia (residence in Jerusalem)
Shmuel Meyrom on the occasion of handing the copies of his credentials,
MFA reported.

Congratulating the Ambassador on his appointment, the Minister
expressed hope that he will have his important contribution in
fostering Armenian-Israeli relations and expressed readiness of the
Armenian Foreign Ministry to assist during his tenure.

Ambassador Meyrom thanked the Minister for good wishes and assured
that his country signifies reinforcement of multi-faceted cooperation
with Armenia, and he will do his best to develop relations between
the two countries.

The interlocutors exchanged views over the efforts exerted toward
solution of issues in the Middle East.

From: A. Papazian

ASTRAKHAN TRILATERAL MEETING: PROGRESS OR…?

Panorama
Oct 28 2010
Armenia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a statement following the
trilateral meeting of the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents
in Astrakhan October 27, saying: ~SI consider these meetings useful.

First, because the talks are always better than the active phase of the
conflict, second, this cannot be only termed as talks but advance.~T

>>From the first sight, Russian President~Rs statement comes to
hint Astrakhan meeting holds some progress. In fact, the sides
agreed to exchange war prisoners and bodies of those killed. Yet,
can it be called progress? Perhaps, though, it depends what we take
as a start-point.

If it is the situation created by the Azerbaijani side lately (regular
cease-fire violations, subversive activities, violent assassination
of lost people and captives) that we take as a start-point, we can
say the agreement to exchange captives and bodies is progress, indeed.

Moreover, it~Rs very significant advance as this agreement and its
implementation assumes that the lives of civilians and soldiers
near the line of contact are less endangered than they were before
Astrakhan agreement. On the other hand, one can only wonder why a
statement was needed, moreover, why the sides needed to negotiate
to agree on it when all the prescribed provisions derive from the
direct obligations of the states they have assumed in the frames of
the international humanitarian law. However, at least here the sides
were able to make a positive advance and this can only be hailed.

As regards the effect of the statement on the conflict in general,
here there is some progress reached as well. Eventually, it~Rs not
a secret that the increase of tension lately was mainly conditioned
by this very humanitarian factor. The analysis of the development
of the course of events allows to say the tension was a result of
practicing ~Sresponse steps~T. Hopefully, Astrakhan agreement will
break the closed cycle and will ease the current tension.

To take the issue from a wider point of view, we can say Astrakhan
meeting registered no substantial changes. Noting that the settlement
of the conflict has never been bypassed at any meeting and voicing a
hope that the basic principles of settlement of the conflict could be
coordinated within a month, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev added:
~SThere are still lots of issues, but there is also will from both
sides to reach agreement on yet non-agreed, textual controversies. I
think, results are possible to achieve. This seems somehow optimistic.

Yet, the essential part of the work is still to come.~T

This statement inspires no optimism. The term ~Stextual controversy~T
is a kind of euphemism and it would be confusing to think this is the
only reason the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides cannot reach agreement.

In fact, the discord is quite deep while it becomes textual only
around a negotiating table. Consequently, the sides will not manage
to overcome these within a month and the presidents well realize this.

To sum up, we can say that Astrakhan meeting, like the previous
trilateral meetings, recorded no progress in terms of the conflict
resolution. The meetings are more aimed at making the conflict more
managible, and controlled, while ~Qthe general settlement issue~R is
merely not bypassed.

From: A. Papazian

GLOBAL REACH: GIRLS FROM ARMENIA, MOLDOVA, SOUTH KOREA ATTEND DIRIGO
By Eileen M. Adams, Staff Writer

Lewiston Sun Journal

Oct 28 2010
ME

DIXFIELD – Three multilingual young women are bringing a new
perspective and educational experience to Dirigo High School this year.

DaJeong Gong, 17, of South Korea, Hripsime Zohrabyan, 15, of Armeniam
and Lia Plamadeala, 17, of Moldova, are foreign exchange students
and visiting the United States for the first time. All three come
from large cities.

“I love it here,” Zohrabyan said. “People are really friendly and
always willing to help. I feel like I’m family,” she said of her
hosts who have two very young children.

She speaks Russian, Ukrainian, English and her native Armenian. She’s
also pleased to be able to take French this year, she said, and hopes
to study economics in college.

For Gong, English isn’t coming very easily, but she is fluent in
Chinese and Korean, she said.

Plamadeala speaks English, Russian, Ukrainian and Romanian.

All three girls are about to take part in the high school’s required
volunteer program. Gong will volunteer at the Victorian Villa in
Canton, the town where her host family lives. Zohrabyan is volunteering
at Dirigo Elementary School in the kindergarten class, and Plamadeala
has volunteered at the local Seventh-day Adventist Church.

“I like helping people,” Gong said. Her future plans include becoming
a physician.

Plamadeala said she likes the openness and acceptance of the people
in the area and the school.

“It’s easier and much more fun that back home,” she said.

Among her favorite classes are two that she can’t get in Moldova:
forensic science and oceanography.

“I really like that stuff,” she said.

All three girls are involved in school activities, with soccer being
an important sport for Gong and debate for Plamadeala.

Zohrabyan said she was surprised to learn how much people at Dirigo
know about her country.

“I expected them not to know anything,” she said.

The three will attend Dirigo through the end of the school year.

Plamadeala and Zohrabyan will receive credit at their home schools
for the junior year. Gong won’t.

All three said their courses of study in their home countries were
more difficult than the ones they’re taking in the United States.

“Korean students have to study hard, to 10 p.m.,” Gong said.

She has a younger sister who is a foreign exchange student at a large
high school in Florida.

When Gong returns home, one of her fondest memories will be the local
landscape, she said.

“Everyone has yards and tall trees and you can see lots of stars,”
she said.

From: A. Papazian

Arab jihadists emerge in Caucasus war
Published: Oct. 26, 2010

AMMAN, Jordan, Oct. 26 (UPI) — As Islamic militants escalate their war
against the Russians in Dagestan, Ingushetia and other Caucasian
republics, there is evidence that Arab jihadists, particularly
Jordanians, are playing a leading role, as they did in the Chechen wars.

In recent months, Jordanian newspapers and Web sites have reported the
death of several Jordanians fighting in Chechnya.

But it is the growing links between the Islamist fighters in the
Caucasus and influential clerics in the Hashemite Kingdom and its
environs who preach global jihad that are probably more important.

The well-known Jordanian jihadist ideologue Sheik Abu Mohammed
al-Maqdisi has gathered a following among the Caucasian Islamists, even
corresponding with Arabic-speaking commanders who want to shift the
conflict from a nationalist struggle into part of the global jihad.

Maqdisi is a powerful influence in Arab jihadist circles and since 2009
“has become an active promoter and propagandist of the jihadist movement
in the North Caucasus,” says Murad Batal al-Shishani of the Jamestown
Foundation, a Washington think tank that tracks global terrorism.

Maqdisi achieved notoriety as the spiritual mentor of the ferocious
al-Qaida leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zaraqwi.

Zarqawi, a Jordanian Sunni who fought in Afghanistan, forged al-Qaida in
Iraq into the most bloodthirsty jihadist organization fighting the
Americans after the 2003 invasion. His forces slaughtered hundreds of
people, including rival Shiites, until he was killed in a U.S. airstrike
June 7, 2006.

His ruthless ferocity made him a hero among Jordanian Islamists and
inspired several major plots in the kingdom. These included a thwarted
2004 chemical attack on Jordan’s Intelligence Directorate in Amman.

These activists are “a new generation of Salafi-jihadists in the region
who can be described as neo-Zarqawists,” al-Shishani noted in a recent
analysis.

“These young militants consider themselves the inheritors of Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi’s legacy in the Levant.”

Many have gone to Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight, among them Humam
Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, the suicide bomber who set off his device
inside a CIA base in Afghanistan in December 2009, killing seven CIA
personnel.

Most of these activists are centered on the cities of Zarqa, Zarqawi’s
hometown east of Amman, and Irbid in northern Jordan.

Anas Khalil Khadir, a 24-year-old Jordanian reported to have been killed
in Chechnya in early June, was from Zarqa. He abandoned his medical
engineering studies at university there to go to Chechnya.

A few days after Khadir’s death was reported, newspapers announced the
death of another Jordanian in Chechnya. They said Yasser Ammara,
described as “a prominent Jordanian-born warlord,” was one of nine
militants killed fighting Russian forces in the forested mountains of
the Vedeno region. He had been in Chechnya since 2000.

In recent months, jihadist Web sites and Internet forums have
increasingly focused on the escalating conflict across the Caucasus,
several years after the Russians crushed insurgents in the Second
Chechen war.

The revival of jihadist interest in the region “comes in the context of
two strategies that al-Qaida and affiliates Salfist-jihadist groups are
implementing: seeking safe havens and creating a grassroots jihad that
will sustain them,” al-Shishani wrote in a recent analysis.

Arab jihadists, mostly veterans of the 1979-89 war against the Soviet
army in Afghanistan, have played a prominent role in the North Caucasus
since 1995 when the First Chechen War broke out.

They fought under the leadership of separatist leader Dzhokar Dudayev,
killed like Zarqawi in a missile strike in 1996.

The most prominent of these Arabs was a commander known as Emir Khattab,
an Afghan veteran whose real name was believed to be Omar Ibn
al-Khattab. He was reputed to have been born in Saudi Arabia to a
Jordanian father and a Circassian mother. At age 16, he went to
Afghanistan to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan, where he met Osama bin
Laden. He is also believed to have fought in Tajikistan and Bosnia.

In Chechnya, he came one of the jihadists’ most successful combat
commanders and was wounded several times leading his own private army of
Arabs, Turks and other foreign fighters.

He was killed by Russia’s Federal Security Service, the post-Cold War
successor of the KGB, on March 19, 2002, with a poisoned letter. Chechen
sources said it was coated with “a fast-acting nerve agent, possibly
sarin or a derivative.”

From: A. Papazian

ISRAELI AMBASSADOR PRESENTED CREDENTIALS TO ARMENIAN FM

news.am
Oct 28 2010
Armenia

On October 28, newly appointed Israeli Ambassador to Armenia Shmuel
Meirom (residence Jerusalem) presented his credentials to Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

Congratulating Meirom on his appointment, the Armenian FM expressed
hope that he will make important contribution to further strengthening
of the Armenian-Israeli relations, RA foreign office press service
informed NEWS.am.

Shmuel Meirom stressed that Israel attaches major significance to
expansion of bilateral cooperation and he will do his utmost to develop
collaboration between the states. The sides discussed efforts aimed
at finding solutions to problems in the Middle East. In this context,
Israeli Ambassador presented his country~Rs stance on resolution of
the Middle Eastern problem.

From: A. Papazian