Author: Antonian Lara

USN19458481

Turkey, U.S. play down tensions over Armenia issue
Thu Mar 19, 2009 7:02pm EDT

Turkey: Issue won’t ‘hijack’ Obama visit

U.S. wants to work closely with Turkey and Armenia (Adds White House
comment, paragraphs 8-9)

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – Seeking to avert tensions during
President Barack Obama’s visit to Turkey, both sides are playing down
potential fallout from a renewed attempt by some U.S. lawmakers to
declare the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks genocide.

Ahmet Davutoglu, foreign policy adviser to Turkish Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan, told reporters on Thursday the issue, which caused
U.S.-Turkish relations to plummet in 2007, would not "hijack" Obama’s
visit to the NATO ally early next month.

"Nothing can shadow the success of this visit," Davutoglu told
reporters after meeting Obama’s national security adviser, Jim Jones,
at the White House.

During his 2008 campaign for the White House, Obama referred to the
killings of Armenians in World War One as genocide, which Turkey
strongly rejects. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton co-sponsored a
genocide resolution on Armenia when she was in the Senate.

The reintroduction on Tuesday by several lawmakers of a new resolution
in the House of Representatives could complicate Obama’s visit and
Davutoglu said the issue was discussed in his meeting with Jones.

Asked whether Obama’s views might have changed, Davutoglu was
noncommittal.

"I did not say yes or no," he said. "Of course, I cannot speak on
behalf of General Jones, but we went through all these issues in a
very friendly and cooperative manner."

White House National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer declined
to comment on what Jones and Davutoglu discussed regarding the
Armenian issue.

"Our focus is on how, moving forward, the U.S. can help Armenia and
Turkey work together to come to terms with the past," he said. "It is
important that countries have an open and honest dialogue about the
past. At the same time, we want to work closely with both Turkey and
Armenia on the key issues that confront the region."

Recognizing how sensitive the issue could become in U.S.-Turkish
relations, the State Department has avoided comment on the resolution
or what the Obama administration’s policy is on labeling what happened
as genocide.

"I don’t want to go any further on it until we have had a chance to
take a closer look at it and discuss it within the government, and
that’s where I’m going to leave it," State Department spokesman Robert
Wood told reporters on Wednesday.

NO CONGRESSIONAL VOTE ‘ANY TIME SOON’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when asked if it was a good time to bring
up the Armenian resolution, reiterated her view that genocide
occurred.

Whether Obama travels to the region or not "does not deny the fact
that there was an Armenian genocide, and there are those of us in
Congress who will continue to make that point," the California
lawmaker told Reuters.

Pelosi’s spokesman, Brendan Daly, said he did not know whether the
sponsors of the latest resolution had enough support for it to pass in
the House but "no one’s talking about a vote any time soon."

Similar resolutions have been introduced in Congress for years and
Pelosi has been a longtime supporter of having Congress declare the
killings a genocide.

But as speaker, she did not bring the legislation to the floor for a
vote in 2007 after pressure by the Bush administration, amid concerns
over the sensitivities of Turkey. (Additional reporting by Susan
Cornwell; Editing by John O’Callaghan and Peter Cooney)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

0000779fd2ac.html

Azeris pave way for president-for-life

By Isabel Gorst in Moscow

Published: March 19 2009 15:39

The opposition in oil-rich Azerbaijan on Thursday vowed to overturn a
referendum that paves the way for Ilham Aliyev to become
president-for-life .

The Azerbaijani central election commission said voters in the
ex-Soviet state had approved constitutional amendments lifting a
two-term limit on the presidency after a referendum on Wednesday.

The opposition said the referendum was illegal and had been unfairly
conducted.

Mazakhir Panakhov, chairman of the central election commission, said
92 per cent of voters had approved the abolition of current limits
preventing presidents from holding more than two consecutive terms in
office.

Other proposed constitutional changes, including a ban on presidential
and parliamentary elections in war time and rules governing benefits
for retired presidents, also won overwhelming voter support.

Mr Aliyev, the son of Heydar Aliyev, the former president who died in
2003, won a second term in office at an election last October that was
boycotted by leading opposition parties.

Mr Aliyev’s rule has coincided with a spectacular economic boom in
Azerbaijan where foreign companies are tapping huge oil and gas
reserves in the Caspian Sea. Political analysts said Azerbaijan had
rushed through the referendum in anticipation of a surge in social
discontent in the coming months as the economy contracts. Gross
Domestic Product growth in Azerbaijan reached a record 25 per cent in
2007 but sank to 11 per cent last year as world oil prices fell and is
expected to drop more sharply this year.

Opposition leaders have accused western governments of turning a blind
eye to Azerbaijan’s political shortcomings in the interests of energy
security. The country hosts pipelines carrying Caspian exports across
the Caucasus to Europe that provide the west with a crucial source of
non-Russian, non Opec oil.

Changes to the constitution proposed by Yeni Azerbaijan, the ruling
party, were approved by the constitutional court in December in a
ruling the opposition claimed was illegal.

Azerbaijan’s leading opposition parties said turnout at the referendum
had fallen below the 25 per cent threshold required to validate the
referendum.

Ali Keramli, the head of the Peoples Front party, said, `The
referendum did not reflect the will of the people because the people
did not vote.’

Isa Gambar, the president of the Musavat party, said the observers
deployed at polling stations had noted `colossal violations of
electoral laws’. `As always the authorities falsified the results of
the vote,’ he said.

Mr Gambar said the opposition planned legal action to contest the
referendum result, but has not yet decided whether to stage street
protests.

However, opposition leaders added that political apathy would prevent
unrest in Azerbaijan. Many Azerbaijanis are afraid to protest
remembering the violent police crackdown on demonstrations that
erupted after a disputed presidential election in 2003 brought Mr
Aliyev to power.

AZERBAIJAN VOTES ON SCRAPPING PRESIDENTIAL LIMITS

Agence France Presse
March 18 2009

BAKU (AFP) — Azerbaijan were voting Wednesday on a proposal to scrap
the two-term presidential limit, which if approved would pave the way
for President Ilham Aliyev to extend his family’s grip on power here.

Opposition groups in the oil-rich former Soviet republic called for a
boycott of the referendum, arguing that the vote was aimed at allowing
Aliyev to be president for life.

But analysts have said there is little doubt the proposed
constitutional amendments would be approved.

At polling stations in the capital Baku many voters said they
supported the move and credited Aliyev with steering the country
through a period of record economic growth.

The city has been transformed by a major building boom in recent years.

"I voted so that Ilham Aliyev may continue to be our president because
he has brought us stability," said Khatima Jabrailova, a 72-year-old
pensioner.

"I receive my pension and he has made our city beautiful."

But some opposed the move, saying the two-term limit should stand.

"I voted against this, there is no need to change our constitution,"
said Vugar Shabalov, a 21-year-old student.

"In a time when the whole world is in economic crisis, we should not
be spending money on this referendum."

Aliyev, 47, won a second five-year term by a landslide last October,
consolidating nearly four decades of his family’s rule over the
country.

Aliyev’s father, Heydar, was a Soviet-era leader of Azerbaijan and
president for 10 years after the country won independence in 1991.

The younger Aliyev was elected to replace his father shortly before
the 80-year-old’s death in 2003.

Supporters of the changes say they are aimed at making Azerbaijan
more democratic by allowing voters to choose whoever they wish to
be president.

But government critics, who have long accused Aliyev — and his father
before him — of having ruthlessly held on to power, say the vote is
aimed at allowing the president to extend his rule indefinitely.

Many of Azerbaijan’s main opposition groups have called for voters
to stay home Wednesday.

They have accused the authorities of preparing to fix the vote, of
harassing opposition campaigners and using government control of the
media to dominate the debate.

Despite the opposition’s objections however, the referendum has drawn
little criticism from the United States or European countries.

Azerbaijan’s opposition accuse Western governments of shying away
from criticising Aliyev to secure access to Azerbaijan’s vast Caspian
Sea oil and gas reserves. The West also wants influence over energy
transit routes to Europe bypassing Russia, says the opposition.

The proposed amendments would also postpone presidential and
parliamentary elections in the event of war.

Despite a ceasefire, Azerbaijan remains locked in a simmering conflict
with neighbouring Armenia over the breakaway Azerbaijani region of
Nagorny Karabakh, which Aliyev has vowed to retake.

Dozens of other constitutional changes are included in the referendum,
such as restrictions on photographing, videotaping or recording people
without their permission — and a prohibition on showing "disrespect"
to "state symbols" and increased state oversight of local governments.

Polling stations across the mainly Muslim country of 8.7 million people
opened at 8:00 am (0400 GMT) and were to close at 7:00 pm (1500 GMT).

The Central Election Commission is due to begin releasing results
shortly after polls close.

HERITAGE PARTY: TER-PETROSYAN SHOULD NOT HEAD OPPOSITION MAYOR CANDIDATES LIST

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.03.2009 15:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The Heritage, acknowledging the importance of
Mayoral elections applied to NCA with an offer for single Mayoral
candidate nomination. After 22 day’s silence we received the ANC
decision. I have to state that , unfortunately the decision hadn’t
been negotiated with the Heritage," the Heritage Press Secretary
Hovsep Khurshudyan stated.

According to Hovsep Khurshudyan, the Heritage suggested young candidate
Armen Martirosyan topped the list, whom experienced politicians,
Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Raffi Hovhannesyan had to lead to the victory.

The Party decided that Ter-Petrosyan was to come second in the list,
followed by Raffi Hovhannsesyan.

Hovsep Khurshudyan noted that some part of the electorate, though
pro-oppositional, is unwilling to vote for Levon Ter-Petrosyan. The
Heritage decision to nominate Armen Martirosyan as top candidate was
prompted by his being capable to draw pro-oppositional electorate
votes.

"We believe that what matters is not the votes accumulated or who’ll be
elected as Mayor, but that Mayoral elections have political connotation
and would serve as an important start for further changes in the
country. It’s the opposition victory that matters, and any decision of
Heritage Party will be serving to the cause of opposition’s victory."

Heritage final decision will be announced on Friday.

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA SUPPORT BARACK OBAMA’S DECISION TO VISIT TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.03.2009 21:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "As President Barack Obama plans his trip to Turkey
next month, we would like to express our support for this decision,"
said Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) Executive Director Bryan
Ardouny. "An irreversible trend has commenced in Turkey and President
Obama’s visit presents a unique opportunity for the President to
reinforce this message, as well as his own statements reaffirming
the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide."

The Assembly wholeheartedly agrees with President Obama, Vice President
Biden and Secretary of State Clinton that the Armenian Genocide is an
historical fact that must be affirmed. As then Senator Obama stated
"America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian
Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides."

The Assembly looks forward to change in Washington, including the
repudiation and reversal of the Bush Administration’s doctrine
that disallowed State Department officials to publicly acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide, and what our own U.S. Ambassador to the
Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, described as a campaign of race
extermination.

The Assembly is encouraged by the recent signs of rapprochement between
Turkey and Armenia, and commends Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan
for his bold actions. Normalization of relations and Turkey’s lifting
of its 15-year long blockade of Armenia should not be held hostage
to U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC COMPETITION KEEPS MONITORING

Panorama.am
13:59 19/03/2009

State Committee for Economic Competition continues conducting
monitoring in the state markets to find out the changes in
prices, Armine Udumyan, the press secretary of the committee told
Panorama.am. According to her they will continue the monitoring
"because we don’t know how the market will react since 1 April. We
have several claims and I think that it will make them be watchful
and keep the prices stable," said the press secretary. A. Udumyan
said that the prices in different shops differ. "There are shops
where the same food product has higher and lower price. For example,
the price of New Zealand butter differs, in some shops it is expensive
in other it is cheap."

FRANCO FRATTINI: EASTERN PARTNERSHIP SHOULD NOT BE ANTI-RUSSIAN INITIATIVE

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.03.2009 11:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Italy has called on European Union member states
to invite Russia for the Eastern Partnership Summit due in Prague on
May 7.

"Eastern Partnership should not be an anti-Russian initiative,"
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said upon completion of EU
Foreign Minister’s meeting in Brussels.

At that, he said that Italy’s proposal did not stir up opposition,
RIA Novosti reports.

The European Commission puts forward concrete ideas for enhancing our
relationship with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and
Belarus (the latter depending on the development of its relations with
the EU). This would imply new association agreements including deep
and comprehensive free trade agreements with those countries willing
and able to enter into a deeper engagement, gradual integration in the
EU economy and allow for easier travel to the EU through gradual visa
liberalization, accompanied by measures to tackle illegal immigration.

SOUTH CAUCASUS COUNTRIES ARE LINKED TO GEANT

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.03.2009 23:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Commission on Tuesday linked researchers
in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to a pan-European ultra-speed
computer network, called GEANT, Xinhua News reports.

The commission switched on a 1.75-million-euro
(2.27-million-U.S. dollar) computer network — Black Sea
Interconnection — that links researchers in the three South Caucasus
countries and connects them to GEANT, which already serves 30 million
researchers both in the European Union (EU) and some other parts of
the world.

The EU provided 1.4 million euros, or 80 percent of the funding,
said the commission.

The high-speed connections (from 34 to 100 Megabits per second)
will enable a far greater level of collaboration between researchers
and scientists in the South Caucasus region. It also promises to
impact daily life in the region by improving access to and quality of
healthcare such as allowing doctors to remotely diagnose conditions
and prescribe treatment to poor and isolated rural communities,
said the commission, the executive body of the EU.

"By investing 1.4 million euros funding in this project, we will
bridge a major digital divide by connecting scientists from the Black
Sea region to the global research community, providing high-speed
internet connections to universities and research centres in the
South Caucasus. I expect better collaboration with GEANT’s 4,000
EU research institutions will lead to better research and better
results in Europe and beyond," said Viviane Reding, EU commissioner
for information society and media.

GEANT, which also links seven Mediterranean countries, five Balkan
countries, five Central Asian countries, 14 Asian countries,12 Latin
American countries, as well as the United States and Canada, allows
researchers to communicate at a speed of 10 Gigabits per second,
said European Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr.

GEANT is a 200-million-euro (260-million-dollar) project, which gets
almost half of the budget from the EU between 2004 and 2009.

FRANCOPHONIE DAYS DUE IN ARMENIA FROM MARCH 13 TO 31

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.03.2009 19:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Francophonie Days (Mar 19-31) will launch in Armenia
under the aegis of RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Francophonie
International Organization. The star of "Notre Dame de Paris", Garu
and famous jazzman Andre Manukyan will become highlights of the event.

Fairytale Festival, featuring French, Belgian, Armenian tales
and children performances will be held on Mar.19-22 in Khnko Aper
Library and Tumanyan Museum. The parents will have a chance to enjoy
St̩phanie Corinna Bille (1912 Р1979) soiree featuring the performance
of Swedish comic actress Valeria Bertolotto.

"Let’s go to France" language contest will launch on Mar 25 in a
number of Yerevan schools and Universities. A Conference entitled
"Philological Mirror of the Universe" is due on Mar. 30-31 in Bryusov
State Linguistic University. A French film week will be presented by
the Armenian Public Television and the "Ararat" TV Channel to screen
French movies and documentals, RA MFA news service reported.

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
PRESS RELEASE
American University of Armenia
300 Lakeside Drive, 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Contact: Gaiane Khachatrian
Email: [email protected]
Web:

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, 2009.

The World Bank Armenia Office and the American University of Armenia
Jointly Set up Knowledge for Development Center

– Today, the World Bank Yerevan Office and the American University of
Armenia (AUA) held the launching ceremony of a partner initiative –
the Knowledge for Development Center. The Memorandum of Agreement has
been signed by Mr. Aristomene Varoudakis, WB Country Manager in
Armenia, and Dr. Haroutune Armenian, President of AUA.

The Agreement outlines the basis for cooperation and joint activities
of the two institutions in knowledge dissemination, learning and
capacity building for the development arena. The WB and AUA jointly
set up the Center within the AUA Papazian Library to provide the
public with free access to information on development and to encourage
knowledge sharing and policy dialogue among the widest audiences
possible.

The World Bank has partnered with the American University of Armenia
Papazian Library to bring the public up-to-date and thorough
information on World Bank-sponsored development projects in Armenia,
as well as research and analytical works on the country and global
development issues through the Knowledge for Development Center. The
Center provides hard copies of recent World Bank publications,
reports, studies, project information, videos, and documentaries and
other materials, as well as on-line access to the World Bank archive
dating back to 1947, with the ability to download and print any
publicly available document in the database.

"We are very pleased with this cooperation with the American
University of Armenia, said Aristomene Varoudakis, the WB Country
manager for Armenia. – The Center also aims to play as a hub for
facilitating dialogue, consultations, and knowledge-sharing sessions
among academia, the media, the government, the Civil Society, and as
well as the private sector in the area."

For Haroutune Armenian, President of the AUA: "This is a great
addition to what will be available to the broader public of
Armenia. In the long term history of nations, wealth of intellectual
products is more consequential and significant than material wealth. A
knowledge society is what most nations are striving for and we as a
University have an important role to play in the development of such a
society. The World Bank has developed so many similar initiatives to
help move the nations of this world in such a direction."

For more information on the World Bank’s activities in Armenia, please
visit: <;

For more information about the American University of Armenia, please
visit: