Author: Andres-Papazian

AMNESTY: IN ARMENIA IMPUNITY FOR PERPETRATORS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS PERSISTED

The Armenian Observer
May 30, 2010 Sunday 4:17 PM EST

Impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations persisted.

Freedom of expression was restricted and journalists were attacked,
Amnesty Inertnational, a recognized international human rights watchdog
has stated in The State of The Worlds Human Rights report released
last week.

The report goes on to note, that Ŕthe ban on holding demonstrations
in the centre of the capital, Yerevan, which had been introduced in
March 2008 during the state of emergency, remained in place.

Amnesty report also touches on the protection of women against
violence, saying it fell short of international standards in Armenia.

ŔThe government failed to provide a genuine alternative to military
service, the watchdog states detailing on a case with Jehovahs
witnesses.

Below, is the section from Amnestys report related to Armenia for
your reeference.

Background

On 19 June, the National Assembly granted an amnesty for opposition
activists imprisoned in relation to the events in Yerevan, in March
2008. The amnesty covered those who had not been charged with violent
crimes and had been sentenced to prison terms of less than five years.

Those who did not fall under the amnesty had their sentences halved.

On 1 and 2 March 2008, violent demonstrations had taken place in
Yerevan to protest against the presidential election results of 19
February, in which opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian lost to
incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan.

Some progress was made in Azerbaijan-Armenian talks over the disputed
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly ethnic Armenian
enclave within Azerbaijan that broke away following the 1990 war. On
2 November, following talks in Moscow, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed
a joint agreement aimed at resolving the dispute on the basis of
international law.

Violence against women and girls

In its concluding observations published in February, the Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women expressed concern
about the lack of legislation referring to domestic violence and the
absence of a responsible state institution. The Committee called on
the authorities Ŕto enact, without delay, legislation specifically
addressing domestic violence against women, and to provide sufficient
shelters.

A draft law on domestic violence was under discussion by the
authorities, but had not been presented to parliament by the end of
the year.

During 2009, only one shelter for victims of domestic violence,
run by the Womens Rights Centre, was operational.

Impunity

In October, four police officers were charged with using force against
members of the public during the demonstrations on 1 March 2008. By
the end of the year, no independent inquiry had been conducted
into allegations of use of force by police during the March 2008
events. In June 2008, an ad hoc parliamentary commission had been
established to investigate the events, but did not function because
the opposition refused to participate. A separate factfinding group
made up of representatives from diverse political factions and the
Ombudsperson was disbanded by presidential decree in June 2009,
before it became operational.

The prosecution in the case of the shooting of Mikael Danielian, a
human rights activist, was discontinued in May on the grounds that
the perpetrator had allegedly acted in self-defence. In May 2008,
Mikael Danielian was shot at point-blank range with a pneumatic
gun by a former leader of the pro-government Armenian Progressive
Party. Human rights groups voiced concern that key witness statements
had not been considered by the prosecution. Mikael Danielian lodged an
appeal against this decision, but no decision was made on his appeal
by the end of the year.

Freedom of expression

On 30 April, Argishti Kiviryan, a lawyer and journalist, was severely
beaten by a group of unidentified men outside his home in Yerevan. The
attackers reportedly beat him with sticks and attempted to shoot him.

The OSCE Representative for Media Freedom called on the authorities
to investigate the attack and expressed concern about the lack of
investigations into violent attacks against journalists, contributing
to a climate of impunity. In July, two suspects were detained. The
investigation was ongoing at the end of the year.

Discrimination ” Jehovahs Witnesses

Alternative civilian service to conscription continued to be under
the control of the military. Conscientious objectors had to wear
military uniform, were disciplined by the Military Prosecutors office
and were forbidden to hold prayer meetings. As of 1 November, 71
Jehovahs Witnesses were serving prison sentences of 24 to 36 months
for refusing to perform military service on grounds of conscience.

In October, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that there
had not been a violation of the right to freedom of conscience
and religion when Vahan Bayatyan was sentenced to two and a half
years imprisonment for his refusal to perform military service on
religious grounds. The Court held that Ŕthe right of conscientious
objection was not guaranteed by any article of the Convention. In a
dissenting opinion, one of the Court judges stated that the judgement
failed to reflect the almost universal acceptance that the right
to conscientious objection is fundamental to the rights to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion. Vahan Bayatyan is currently
appealing to the Grand Chamber against this ruling.

From: A. Papazian

STUDY RESULTS FROM YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY BROADEN UNDERSTANDING OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RESEARCH

Journal of Technology & Science
May 30, 2010

According to recent research published in the Journal of
Synchrotron Radiation, “An X-ray one-dimensionally focusing
system, a refracting-diffracting lens (RDL), composed of Bragg
double-asymmetric-reflecting two-crystal plane parallel plates and a
double-concave cylindrical parabolic lens placed in the gap between
the plates is described. It is shown that the focal length of the
RDL is equal to the focal distance of the separate lens multiplied
by the square of the asymmetry factor.”

“One can obtain RDLs with different focal lengths for certain
applications. Using the point-source function of dynamic diffraction,
as well as the Green function in a vacuum with parabolic approximation,
an expression for the double-diffracted beam amplitude for an arbitrary
incident wave is presented. Focusing of the plane incident wave and
imaging of a point source are studied. The cases of non-absorptive
and absorptive lenses are discussed. The intensity distribution
in the focusing plane and on the focusing line, and its dependence
on wavelength, deviation from the Bragg angle and magnification is
studied. Geometrical optical considerations are also given. RDLs can be
applied to focus radiation from both laboratory and synchrotron X-ray
sources, for X-ray imaging of objects, and for obtaining high-intensity
beams,” wrote A.H. Grigoryan and colleagues, Yerevan State University.

The researchers concluded: “RDLs can also be applied in X-ray
astronomy.”

Grigoryan and colleagues published their study in the Journal of
Synchrotron Radiation (X-ray focusing by the system of refractive
lens(Es) placed inside asymmetric channel-cut crystals. Journal of
Synchrotron Radiation, 2010;17(Part 3):332-347).

For additional information, contact M.K. Balyan, Yerevan State
University, Solid State Physics Research Laboratory, Dept. of Solid
State Physics, Faculty Physics, Yerevan, Armenia.

The publisher’s contact information for the Journal of Synchrotron
Radiation is: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc., Commerce Place,
350 Main St., Malden 02148, MA, USA.

From: A. Papazian

SUPERFLUIDITY OF INFORMATION IN SOCIAL NETWORKS
Samvel Martirosyan

01 June 2010

The problems of the new information systems

The appearance of the new technologies of the information spreading
makes the possibility of the filtration more complicated not only for
the common reader but also for the editor of the periodical who uses
the alternative sources. And today the availability of the alternative
information sources – blogs, social networks, microblogs – is the
factor that the traditional mass media must take into consideration
in their everyday work. Alternative media becomes the most actual
information source both in the periods of serious cataclysms and in
case of getting information from the regions where the work of press
is hampered.

Today the traditional mass media more often face the situation when
only the cooperation with the alternative sources allows meeting
competition at the saturated media market. In fact, the modern
technologies demand from the editors the specialized approach to the
aggregation of the news in cases when the representatives of mass
media are obliged to use the information from bloggers and people
informing about the happenings on the Internet and with the help of
mobile technologies.

Superconductovity of the Internet and superfluidity of information It
often happens that the authorities or other groups of people in one
country or another have to reduce maximum the news flow. This often
happens in countries with the dictatorship, or in case of states of
emergency, wars and other such situations.

Several years ago the best way to “shut down” the information
(besides censorship) was to draw special attention to the Internet,
because through the networks information spreads much faster with
the help of letters, forums and etc. The solution of the issue of the
censorship on the Internet was the filtration – blocking of definite
sites through which information may leak or just the opposite –
one can penetrate into the internal information field. The issue of
the content blocking on the net is solved through the control of the
local providers which are assigned to block these or those web-sites,
this or that outgoing or incoming traffic.

ïÄÎÁËÏ, × ÐÏÓÌÅÄÎEÅ ÎÅÓËÏÌØËÏ ÌÅÔ ÓEÔÕÁÃEÑ Ó ÐÒÏÈÏÄEÍÏÓÔØÀ EÎÆÏÒÍÁÃEE
ÞÅÒÅÚ ÂÁÒØÅÒÙ ÒÅÚËÏ ×ÏÚÒÏÓÌÁ. ðÒEÞEÎ ÄÌÑ UÔÏCÏ ÎÅÓËÏÌØËÏ:

But over the recent several years the passability of traffic has
grown abruptly. There are several reasons for that:

Despite the growing efficiency of the Internet blocking systems,
the ways to avoid filtration also develop rather actively. There are
also many efficient ways to conceal the personality of the Internet
activist. Many organizations carry out global events to avoid Internet
censorship; various projects on providing the anonymity of the Internet
activity are financed. Thus, in 2009 the international organization
“Reporters without Borders” issued the second, renewed edition of
“Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents”1 which is directed to
prevent the blocking of information on the Internet.

Besides, China – the country with the most efficient system of the
Internet filtration – is not able to close all the gaps in its defence,
which is often called “Great Chinese Firewall”. In spite of all the
attempts to filtrate the, necessary information, with the due skill
of the user, leaks in two directions from the virtual Chinese border.

The number of the virtual social connections has grown abruptly. Today
the sphere of a separate average Internet user is so broad, diversified
and global that it allows disseminating information in very short time
on the broadest possible radius through the receive/transmit links.

÷ÏÚÍÏOÎÏÓÔE ÒÁÓÐÒÏÓÔÒÁÎÅÎEÑ EÎÆÏÒÍÁÃEE × ÓÅÔE ÓÔÁÎÏ×ÑÔÓÑ ×ÓÅ
ÂÏÌÅÅ ÄEÎÁÍEÞÎÙÍE E ËÒÏÓÓ-ÐÌÁÔÆÏÒÍÅÎÎÙÍE. ôÁË, ÎÁ ÓÅCÏÄÎÑÛÎEÊ
ÄÅÎØ ÐÏÌØÚÏ×ÁÔÅÌØ EÍÅÅÔ ×ÏÚÍÏOÎÏÓÔØ ÞÅÒÅÚ ÏÐÒÅÄÅÌÅÎÎÙÅ ÓÅÒ×EÓÙ
ÍÕÌØÔEÐÌEÃEÒÏ×ÁÔØ Ó×ÏÅ ÓÏÏÂÝÅÎEÅ – ÐÕÂÌEËÁÃEÑ × ÏÄÎÏÊ ÓÏÃEÁÌØÎÏÊ ÓÅÔE
EÌE ÂÌÏCÅ ÐÒE×ÏÄEÔ Ë Á×ÔÏÍÁÔEÞÅÓËÏÍÕ ×ÏÚÎEËÎÏ×ÅÎEÀ ÔÏÊ OÅ ÚÁÐEÓE ÎÁ
ÄÒÕCEÈ ÁËËÁÕÎÔÁÈ ÔÏCÏ OÅ ÐÏÌØÚÏ×ÁÔÅÌÑ, ÔÅÍ ÓÁÍÙÍ ÒÁÓÛEÒÑÑ ÐÒÏÎEËÎÏ×ÅÎEÅ
ÐÅÒ×EÞÎÏÊ EÎÆÏÒÍÁÃEE. The capabilities to disseminate information on
the net become even mote dynamic and cross-platform.

Thus today a user can multiply his message with the help of definite
services – the publication in one social network or blog bring to the
automatic appearance of the same blog entry in other accounts of the
same user thus broadening the penetration of the initial information.

The other factor is the spreading of mobile technologies. Now anyone
who has an average mobile phone is a potential social reporter who
can shoot and put on the Web photos or video about some event which
the traditional media can not cover or that information was under
the censorship. Thus, Facebook social network has about 100 million
users who use the mobile version of the site.

The contemporary ways of the publication on the Web not only have a
cross-platform structure and a possibility to multiply but they also
make the automatic transformation of information types from one into
another possible. Thus, today many platforms allow clients to publish
news by sending SMS or letter of a definite content from their mobile
phones. So even the simplest mobile phone which does not have optional
features allows spreading important information through the global
network within several seconds without Internet technologies.

Thus, contemporary Internet technologies, social networks permit the
average user who has either a computer with the Internet access or
a mobile phone even only with the possibility to send SMS to become
the source of information at places which are difficult of access
for traditional mass media.

At the same time the peculiarities of the modern Internet, which
passes through the stage of hyper-socialization, bring to the
snowballing dissemination of information of social significance
filling in information flows fast. The information became superfluid
and the Internet is close to the situation when it can be called
superconducting – the speed of the dissemination of the information
of critical significance through the informal social networks is
close to the instantaneous one.

Supersaturation of the social networks Traditional mass media have
to react somehow to the appearance of such alternative information
sources. Most frequently the competition brings to the merging of two
types of media – press more often uses the messages of the bloggers
who are involved in different networks.

Thus during the encounters between the authorities and opposition
in Iran after the presidential elections many Western mass media
used the messages of the Iranian users at Twitter where messages
from the streets came as a source of information. The immediacy of
such information cannot be compared with anything because it comes
directly from the witness of what is happening who covers the events
with the help of his mobile phone (especially under the restrictions
of the activity of foreign correspondents which were imposed by the
Iranian authorities at that moment).

On the other hand, the online active flows of information about the
events bring to the exaggerated interest of the users from all over the
world. The insistent interest to the events, i.e. the drawing in of the
huge audience to the definite flows, makes those flows vulnerable on
behalf of the groups pursuing their goals. Thus, in case of activation
of the events where the bloggers or social networks users who cover
the happenings online are present, the situation causes the abrupt
growth of the information flow in one direction (e.g. encounters in
Iran, revolution in Kirgizstan and etc.).

Correspondingly, a huge number of people appear who are interested
in obtaining information in a frantic rush. Besides, often the second
party to the conflict who aspires to conceal information also exists.

Taking into consideration all what was said about the difficulties
of blocking information, today new methods of censorship appear.

Today the snowballing increase of information flow causes not only the
simple linear growth of the sources grading works and finding out most
trustworthy once (let us mention that the increase of the flows is
directly connected not only with the rising opportunities of Internet.

The factor of increase in activity also works: e.g. the strengthening
of the censorship causes the increase of the number and the quality
of the social reporters – common people who want to bring the
trustworthy information to the world’s notice). Today for editors
of the traditional mass media (as well as for the users who want
to find information through the social networks) the most essential
problem is the huge increase of the quantity of information and the
difficulty in finding the reliable sources.

Besides the common large information flow, the verification is also
hampered by:

The huge number of users copies the news in order to help to spread
them. On the one hand, it is a positive factor. On the other hand,
among those republications the original source is lost. Often the
active “passer” may be considered as a source of origin.

The spammers also show great interest in this; they place on the Web
the information on an important topic while the link takes you to the
site which is not connected with the topic at all and which receives
additional traffic.

Through the active topics the hackers spread a large number of
viruses. Taking into consideration the interest to the topic the users
very often click in a hurry on the links supposedly connected with
the topical issue and go to the malicious sites. This is especially
topical for Twitter where the services which generate the short links
are used and because of this the user does not see where exactly he
goes when he clicks on the link.

The huge number of republications of the unverified information
appears. People often confuse the events; the shots appear on the
Web which are not connected with that particular event and etc.

The other essential peculiarity is the appearance of the new censorship
method (which, however, is based on the old elaborations put on a
new platform). Even during the events in Iran it became clear that
the information flows are essentially deformed. On the one hand,
several dozens of people with mobile phones worked at the streets.

Then their messages were republished in huge numbers. But it was
noticed that besides spam, viruses and just republications at some
moment the huge amount of disinformation was put into circulation on
the Internet. There were many suppositions that the disinformation
was spread on the Web by the special services of Iran.

It is possible neither to confirm nor to disclaim that information.

But the fact is that on the first days of encounters the special
services of Iran did not manage to block all the ways of information
leakage – the activists managed to send the information which was
later republished by the tens of thousands activists all over the
world. That is why the most efficient way to block information was
not the direct blocking of the sources but their discrediting by the
quantity and quality of the disinformation spread.

Thus, today several factors which are still difficult to control and
demand special preparation (for the editors of mass media who use
those sources or for experts and etc.) are considered to be the main
problem of spreading information through the alternative mass media:

The quantity of information in a time unit during the serious events
which cause global interest becomes critical, which, in its turn,
makes complicates the analysis and even makes it impossible.

The amount of spam, malicious programmes, information “noise” becomes
critically large.

The controlled spreading of disinformation by one of the parties to
the conflict covered makes the issue of the information verification
extremely difficult. Especially, taking into consideration the
anonymity of the Internet (which in such cases is often compelled
– e.g. the dissident cannot openly cover the events because he
jeopardizes his security).

1

Other issues of author INCREASING OF THE ROLE OF THE SOCIAL NETWORKS
ON THE MEDIA FIELD [19.04.2010] PROPAGANDA MACHINERY OF AZERBAIJAN:
NEW TENDENCIES [08.02.2010] INFORMATIONAL CONTEXT OF THE POSSIBLE
OPENING OF THE TURKSIH BORDER [21.12.2009] CONTEMPORARY INFOGENIOUS
CHALLENGES [18.05.2009] INFORMATION SUPPORT TO THE SOUTH OSSETIAN
WAR [13.09.2008] ISSUES OF ARMENIA’S CYBER SECURITY [10.07.2008] THE
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE AS ISRAEL INSTRUMENT OF PRESSURE [15.05.2008]

From: A. Papazian

MEDIA GROUPS DEMAND JOURNALIST’S RELEASE
Anush Martirosian

01.06.2010

Armenia — Ani Gevorgian, a journalist with “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily,
moments before her arrest, 31May 2010.

Armenia’s leading media associations demanded on Tuesday the immediate
release of a young reporter who was arrested while covering an
opposition protest in Yerevan.

The Armenian police alleged earlier in the day that Ani Gevorgian,
a 23-year-old correspondent for the pro-opposition daily “Haykakan
Zhamanak,” assaulted a police officer during a confrontation on
Sunday between security forces and opposition activists trying to
enter Yerevan’s Liberty Square.

Gevorgian was detained, along with more than a dozen oppositionists,
during a similar incident that occurred there on Monday. One of her
lawyers, Lusine Sahakian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that she is
accused of hitting a policeman in the face.

“Ani Gevorgian did not hit anyone,” said Sahakian. “We think that she
was deprived of her freedom because of her journalistic activities.”

“Just how a 23-year-old woman could have used force against police
officers remains unclear,” six Armenian media groups said in a joint
statement. They demanded that the Armenian police immediately release
her and punish “the policemen who exceeded their legal powers.”

Armenia — Haykakan Zhamanak daily’s director Anna Hakobian (R)
and editor Hayk Gevorgian hold a news conference, 1June 2010.The
statement, also signed by two other civic groups, further condemned
the brief detention of two other journalists during Monday’s use
of police force against several dozen supporters of the opposition
Armenian National Congress (HAK).

For its part, “Haykakan Zhamanak” denounced its reporter’s prosecution
as an act of “personal revenge” by the chief of the national police,
Alik Sargsian. The newspaper’s managing editor, Hayk Gevorgian,
linked it to a recent article in which she ridiculed a promotional
police video broadcast by Armenia’s leading television stations.

“Ani found that the clip was very ineptly duplicated from a similar
video produced by the Georgian police and that the whole purpose of
the clip was to advertise Alik Sargsian,” he told a news conference.

Armenia’s best-selling daily newspaper, “Haykakan Zhamanak”
has long been at loggerheads with the authorities. Its outspoken
editor-in-chief, Nikol Pashinian, is currently serving a highly
controversial three-and-a-half-year prison sentence which he received
in January for his alleged role in the 2008 post-election unrest
in Yerevan. The HAK and local human rights consider Pashinian a
political prisoner.

From: A. Papazian

DASHNAK LEADER SEES RISING INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE ON ARMENIA
Karine Kalantarian

01.06.2010

Armenia — Vahan Hovannisian, a leader of the opposition Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, at a news conference, 1June 2010.

Armenia is facing mounting international pressure over the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and relations with Turkey, a leader of
the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun)
said on Tuesday.

Vahan Hovannisian claimed that foreign powers are also pressing the
Armenian government to improve its human rights record “for less than
sincere motives.” “These pressures have significantly increased of
late,” he told a news conference.

Hovannisian, who leads the party’s parliamentary faction, pointed to
the European Union’s May 20 resolution demanding “the withdrawal of
Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan.”

He said the alleged pressure results from the Armenian authorities’
tendency to make and enforce controversial decisions on various
issues in disregard of public opinion and opposition protests. The
international community now feels that they can “impose any solution”
on Armenians, he said.

“Our authorities have failed to realize that they can have a strong
position in the international arena only if they have a strong
rear,” complained Hovannisian. “That is, a society trusting in the
authorities. We don’t have such a society today.”

“Our authorities must realize that they have to listen to the
voice of the opposition … that not listening to the opposition
leads to deadlock,” he said, adding that by “opposition” he means
Dashnaktsutyun.

Dashnaktsutyun left President Serzh Sarkisian’s governing coalition
in April 2009 in protest against his Western-backed policy of
rapprochement with Turkey. While condemning that policy, the
nationalist party has so far avoided seeking Sarkisian’s resignation,
a stance criticized by other, more radical opposition groups.

From: A. Papazian

ANC-PAC: NOVEMBER 2ND AN ARMENIAN AMERICAN REFERENDUM ON OBAMA

Asbarez
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
GLENDALE

The Armenian National Committee – Political Action Committee issued
an announcement late last week on the upcoming mid-term Congressional
elections, slated for November 2, describing it as an Armenian-American
referendum on President Barack Obama’s broken pledge to recognize the
Armenian Genocide. We present the complete text of the statement below.

May 27, 2010

As we approach what promises to be among the most competitive mid-term
Congressional elections in recent memory, it’s increasingly clear to
the Armenian National Committee PAC (ANC-PAC) and all Armenian American
leadership groups that voters of Armenian heritage see November 2nd,
first and foremost, as a referendum on President Obama’s broken pledge
to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

There is today, among Armenian Americans at the leadership and
grassroots levels, a growing sense of anger at having been lied to by
the President and, fairly or unfairly, an equally strong feeling of
frustration with a Democratic Congress whose leadership has failed to
deliver the results it has been promising to our community for decades.

As a result, Armenian Americans are eager – perhaps more so than any
other single ethnic constituency – to hold the President accountable,
not only for breaking his promises or for actively opposing foreign
policy issues of special concern to Armenian Americans, but also for
demonstrating an open disregard for the civic participation of the
very same Armenian American community that he courted so aggressively
as a candidate.

Even as we encourage Armenian Americans to vote based on the actual
track records of each individual candidate – Democratic or Republican –
we are today operating within a strongly anti-incumbent U.S.

political environment and a grassroots Armenian American constituency
that is powerfully motivated to send a very direct message to
Washington this November.

November 2nd will clearly be an Armenian American referendum on
President Obama. How that referendum turns out – and its impact on
the Congressional election – will depend on whether President Obama,
in the weeks leading up to Election Day, decides to revisit his broken
pledge and honor his commitments to Armenian American voters. The
choice is his. We, and the community we represent, will be watching.

The ANC-PAC is a non-partisan federally registered political action
committee established to support campaign committees for Members of
Congress who share the values of the Armenian American community. The
ANC-PAC is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the voice of the
Armenian American community is clearly heard in our nation’s capital.

The ANC-PAC continues a century old tradition of Armenian American
engagement on the public policy issues facing national political
leaders, both in the U.S. Congress and the White House. For more
information, you may logon to

From: A. Papazian

PALLONE, KIRK PRAISE NAGORNO KARABAKH PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

Asbarez
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
WASHINGTON

U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) and Mark Kirk (IL-10)
Co-Chairmen of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, sent
on May 28 a letter to Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Bako
Sahakian congratulating Karabakh for successfully conducting its
fifth parliamentary elections. We present the letter below.

May 28, 2010

H.E. Bako Sahakian President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic 3,
20 February Street Stepanakert, NKR

Dear President Sahakian:

As Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, we are
writing to extend our sincere congratulations to you and the people
of Artsakh on the Parliamentary elections held on May 23, 2010.

According to international observer reports, including the
American-Dutch monitoring delegation led by the Public International
Law and Policy Group (PILPG), the elections were conducted in a “free,
fair, and transparent manner.”

These elections demonstrate the strength of the democratic process in
your republic and reiterate the commitment of the people in Artsakh to
the republic’s sovereignty. We will continue supporting your efforts
to strengthen democracy, to ensure continued development of the region,
and to advocate self-determination for Artsakh.

We wish our colleagues in the democratically-elected National Assembly
of Artsakh productive service on behalf of the people of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic.

Sincerely,

Frank Pallone, Jr Mark Steven Kirk

From: A. Papazian

AZERBAIJANI OFFICIAL: INTENSIFICATION IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT PROCESS TO AFFECT ITS FAIR SOLUTION
U.Sadikhova

Trend
June 1 2010
Azerbaijan

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process has intensified
recently, and we hope that this will affect the fair solution to the
problem within international legal norms, Novruz Mammadov, head of
foreign relations department of the Presidential Administration of
Azerbaijan, said on June 1.

“I think that today the regional elite and the international community
understand and support Azerbaijan’s position, even more deeply and more
fairly understand the need to resolve this problem,” said Mammadov.

The 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 7 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 the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN DIASPORA, POLITICIANS PROTEST BRYZA’S DIPLOMATIC NOMINATION AS BAKU ENVOY
Marianna Grigoryan

EurasiaNet.org
June 1 2010
NY

US President Barack Obama’s nomination of onetime Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict mediator Matthew Bryza to be Washington’s envoy to Azerbaijan
is sparking opposition from Armenian diaspora organizations and from
within Armenia itself.

Obama’s May 25 nomination statement described Bryza and one other
ambassadorial nominee as “talented and dedicated individuals.” During a
22-year diplomatic career, Bryza has served in Moscow and Warsaw, and
has held advisory positions within the National Security Council and
White House. During those stints he worked closely on energy policy
planning for the Caspian Sea region. In his last post, as deputy
assistant secretary of state of European and Eurasian affairs, Bryza
served as the US chairperson of the Minsk Group, the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe’s vehicle for overseeing talks
between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh
region. [For background see EurasiaNet’s archive].

Some US-based Armenian diaspora organizations have expressed
doubt that Bryza can function as an unbiased and balanced envoy to
Azerbaijan. They are likely to lobby against the appointment during
confirmation hearings in the US Senate. Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has not yet commented on the nomination.

Diaspora objections target both the professional and the personal. The
friendly connections that Bryza built with Azerbaijani and Turkish
officials while working on energy projects sparks much of the concern
– the attendance of such officials at his 2007 wedding in Istanbul
is cited as a case in point. In addition, some diaspora members take
issue with Bryza’s marriage to an ethnic Turk, foreign policy analyst
Zeyno Baran, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Eurasian
Policy, based in Washington.

“The members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should
closely scrutinize Bryza’s nomination to ensure that, if confirmed,
he represents US interests in Baku, and not the other way around,
since both he and his wife, Zeyno Baran, have had extensive ties with
both Turkey and Azerbaijan,” commented Harut Sassounian , publisher
and editor of The California Courier newspaper and head of the United
Armenian Fund, in a May 25 commentary that was reprinted in many
Armenian newspapers.

At a 2007 press conference in Yerevan, Bryza was asked whether he
consulted with his wife on the Karabakh negotiations. He insisted
that he keeps private matters separate from policy concerns. “My
family life and work go separately. I put my heart and soul into my
professional activities, and so do I in my private life,” he said.

Some Armenian politicians say they are unsettled by Bryza’s ties to
members of the Azerbaijani and Turkish governments. Such connections
could work against Armenia’s interests, they argue.

“The number one objective for the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs is
their impartiality, and Matthew Bryza has several times demonstrated
bias against Armenians. So our concerns are not groundless,” Naira
Zohrabian, a senior member of the governing coalition’s Prosperous
Armenia Party, asserted in reference to statements allegedly made
by Bryza about an Armenian withdrawal from territory surrounding
Karabakh. “[W]e hope that the USA will be consistent in the southern
Caucasus, and will abstain from double standards when considering
his nomination as an ambassador.”

Manvel Sargsian, a senior political expert with Yerevan’s Armenian
Center for National and International Studies, expressed concern about
what he termed “his unscrupulous and tough statements” as a co-chair
of the Minsk Group. “I don’t think some official can cause serious
realignments [in US policy], but a candidate for this position must
be really unbiased and impartial,” Sargsian said. “In this regard,
the concerns are justified, and this is particularly vivid in the
Diaspora.”

One of the most influential US Armenian Diaspora organizations, the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), has already launched an
online campaign urging Armenian-Americans to email their senators and
ask that they closely scrutinize Bryza’s “track record and testimony”
on points ranging from the recognition of Ottoman Turkey’s 1915
massacre of ethnic Armenians as genocide to Azerbaijan’s blockade of
Armenia and the alleged destruction of Armenian religious monuments.

“[W]e continue to have an array of concerns about Mr. Bryza’s conduct
of US diplomacy – as an NSC [National Security Council] official,
a deputy assistant secretary of state, and as the US negotiator in
the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process – and, as such, look forward to
a vigorous process of advice and consent by the Senate,” said ANCA
Executive Director Aram Hamparian in a May 25 statement.

Not all Armenian politicians are ready to criticize Bryza’s
nomination. Stepan Safarian, head of the opposition Heritage Party’s
parliamentary faction, calls Bryza’s work as a Minsk Group co-chair
“rather active and dynamic.” Safarian added that Bryza’s knowledge of
“the peculiarities of Armenia and Azerbaijan” could prove “a big asset”
to him as ambassador to Baku.

Suren Surenyants, a member of the opposition Republic Party’s
political board, echoed that appraisal. “We all have a complex about
inventing non-existent problems,” Surenyants said. “There is nothing
extraordinary in appointing Bryza as an ambassador. He must not be
a friend or an enemy to anyone; he will continue working for the US
government just the way he used to work before.”

Editor’s note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based
in Yerevan.

From: A. Papazian

OBAMA’S POLICY TOWARD THE CAUCASUS AND U.S. CREDIBILITY

Global Politician

June 1 2010

The U.S. image in Azerbaijan has never been as bad as it is now and
anti-American rhetoric in this predominantly Muslim country bordering
Iran is unprecedented. President Obama’s “reset” policies towards
Russia can have certain far-reaching implications for the U.S.

interests and credibility in new democracies of the ex-Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan is one example where President Obama’s “reset” policies
with Russia can significantly damage U.S. interests in European Union
energy security, NATO ISAF supply routes and democracy.

The two conflicts are key and intrinsically linked with these issues:
Turkey-Armenia borders and Nagorno Karabakh (NK) conflict. Although
during the presidential campaign Obama mentioned self-determination
principles in NK conflict, he did not want to take an active part in
this conflict because Azerbaijan’s prospective solution might not
be in line with Russia’s interests and could damage the spirit of
“reset” policy. However, when Azerbaijan started actively objecting
to opening the borders, Turkish PM Erdogan had to visit Azerbaijan
in May 2009 to assure Baku that Turkey would not open the borders
until Armenia had withdrawn from the invaded lands.

The “reset” policy towards Russia was criticized because of its
conciliatory tone with regard democracy and human rights issues in
Russia. Obama administration’s view of the region as well as the NK
problem through the prism of reset policy with Russia, which includes
softened tone on democracy problems, can severely affect the U.S.

credibility in the former Soviet space. Democracy is an important
dimension that can be threatened if the U.S. views Azerbaijan solely
from reset policy (with Russia) standpoint. Unlike Russia, where
positivism in bilateral U.S.- Russian relations has long been absent
and where “reset” policy is meant to mend tensed relations, Azerbaijan
presents a different case. Cooperation on a number of important
political, economic and military affairs has long been present in the
U.S.-Azerbaijani relations. Such dual-track approach as, supporting
and cooperating with Azerbaijan on a number of strategic issues on
the one hand and monitoring its democratic credentials on the other
hand, used to provide excellent avenues for preserving U.S. regional
interests. The U.S. needs to have a positive image in Azerbaijan,
which it clearly lacks now, in order to support Azerbaijan’s democratic
transition and incentivize it through close cooperation.

Positive U.S. image would retain American legitimacy for helping
foster democratic culture for both government and grass roots
activities, which need to be inspired. Currently, Baku’s increasing
interdependence with Moscow and apparent inactivity of the U.S. in
NK conflict could automatically place Azerbaijan in the same box with
Russia for Washington’s foreign policy radars. Thus, there is a chance
that the elements of the U.S. policy of reset, such as tempered U.S.

tone with regard to democracy issues, can be applied to Azerbaijan
and affect its democracy at all levels.

Azerbaijan’s further tilt towards Russia not only endangers democracy
but also threatens strategically important energy projects such as
NABUCCO gas pipeline. Azerbaijan as a supplier of oil and gas had
bargaining power over Turkey and EU members. President Ilham Aliyev
showed his firm reaction by signing natural gas deals with Russia
and Iran to demonstrate Azerbaijan’s flexibility in terms of customer
selection. Azerbaijan is also an important military partner for the
U.S. It is the only potentially viable transit route for NATO ISAF
troops supply, except Russia and the unstable Khyber Pass in Pakistan.

As a sign of protest, Azerbaijan recently put-off joint military
exercise with the U.S. Washington’s inactivity in NK conflict and
related fierce criticism of the U.S. in Azerbaijan can put these
projects in danger.

NK problem is the key for preserving U.S. interests in European energy
security, ensuring NATO supply routes and supporting democratic
transformation in secular Azerbaijan. The U.S. should use its new
closer relations with Russia to reach a solution in NK conflict through
updated Madrid principles offered by Minsk group co-chairs and mostly
accepted by Azerbaijan. A solution in NK will solve Turkish-Armenian
border problem, too; whereas, insisting to open the borders will solve
none and furthermore threaten the U.S. interests in the region of the
South Caucasus; the South Caucasus that combines problematic Iran,
major power Russia, threat of religious radicalism, authoritarianism
and energy hydrocarbons destined for the EU markets.

Tamerlan Vahabov, research fellow, International Management Institute –
Kyiv, holds MA from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service
and MS from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Previously worked as
an analyst at the Interpol General Secretariat and as a U.S. desk
officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. Research
interests include energy, security and domestic politics in Ukraine,
Russia and the Caucasus. Dr. Fariz Huseynov, assistant professor,
North Dakota State University, holds PhD from Memphis University and
MBA from Ball State University.

From: A. Papazian