Author: Antonian Lara

EU REPRESENTATIVE FOR SOUTH CAUCASUS MEETS WITH AZERBAIJANI FM

Trend
Dec 23 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 23 /Trend News/ Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov received today the European Union Special
Representative for the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby.

They held extensive discussions on the EU-Azerbaijan relations, new
East Partnership program, regional and international cooperation and
other issues of mutual interest.

As to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the
Minister noted impossibility of adopting status quo, and brought
to the attention of European guests the importance of restoring the
territorial integrity of the country as soon as possible on the basis
of international law.

MOSCOW, TBILISI HOLDING SECRET TALKS?

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.12.2008 14:33 GMT+04:00

Georgia has had secret talks through intermediaries with Russian
officials about restoring direct flights and diplomatic ties after
the August war, the Kommersant daily reported Tuesday.

The newspaper said that the key intermediary in the talks has been
Mikheil Khubutia, the head of the Union of Georgians in Russia, who
the paper said met Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on November
21 in Munich.

"I spoke recently to Saakashvili," Khubutia told the newspaper, without
confirming the date of his meeting with the president or that he had
met Russian officials.

"We discussed restoring flights between Georgia and Russia and
restoring diplomatic relations," he said. "He seems disappointed
that Georgia has not been given an action plan for NATO membership
and that he has not received the due support from Europe," he added.

However talks on a resumption of ties would be a major turnaround amid
the current war of words between Moscow and Tbilisi in the aftermath
of their August conflict over Georgian pro-Russian breakaway regions.

Kommersant also quoted sources close to the Russian presidency as
saying that there was no hope for a solution as long as the pro-Western
Saakashvili remained in power.

"He understands that himself. He needs to vacate his post rather than
trying to find a way out of this dead end."

E. NALBANDIAN PRESENTS THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS OF KARABAKH CONFLICT REGULATION IN STEPANAKERT

ARMENPRESS
Dec 22, 2008
YEREVAN

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian paid a one-day visit to
Stepanakert on December 19. Press service of Armenian Foreign Ministry
told Armenpress that in the evening December 19 President of Nagorno
Karabakh Bako Sahakian received Edward Nalbandian.

During the meeting the latest developments in the regulation of
Karabakh issue have been discussed. Minister E. Nalbandian presented
to the Karabakh president the results of the Helsinki meeting of OSCE
Foreign Ministers as well as the details of his Helsinki meeting
with OSCE Minsk group co-chairs and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammedyarov.

The sides highly assessed the statements of foreign ministers of OSCE
Minsk group co-chairing countries and the council of OSCE Foreign
Ministers over the Karabakh issue regulation.

In the morning December 20, Edward Nalbandian visited Artsakh
State University, where he first put flowers on the memory-stone
of university members who were killed during the war. Afterwards
the Armenian Foreign Minister delivered a speech in front of the
professors and students of the University presenting the prospects
of the negotiation process of Karabakh conflict regulation.

Edward Nalbandian also answered a number of questions of the
students. Referring to the issue of participation of Karabakh
authorities in the process of conflict regulation E. Nalbandian
stressed that no agreement can be reached without a full participation
of the Artsakh side in the negotiation process.

The Foreign Minister also had a briefing with the local journalists
in the Artsakh State University.

Edward Nalbandian also met with the Speaker of Karabakh parliament
Ashot Ghulian and Foreign Minister Georgi Petrosian. On the same day
he returned to Yerevan.

ARMENIAN SIDE EXPRESSES DISAGREEMENT

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
20 Dec 2008
Armenia

The Georgian authorities continue the talks and have promised to
provide a solution to the problem of the six Armenian churches which
are considered "disputable" and are not under the jurisdiction of
the Georgian-Armenian diocese.

According to Archbishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, primate of the
Georgian-Armenian diocese, the Armenian side has clearly expressed
its approach, saying that it is against the idea of forming a
commission which will deal with the problem of the six Armenian
churches (Norashen, Sourb Nshan, Shamkhoretsots St. Astvatsatsin,
St. Gevorg of Moughni and St. Minas churches in Tbilisi and St. Nshan
church of Akhalskhe)

Those are Armenian churches, and the evidence is the Armenian
records. So those churches cannot be subject to dispute. The Armenian
side can only discuss the issue of the more than 20 Armenian Churches
which have become Georgianized. Seven of them are situated in Tbilisi.

Interfax, Russia
Dec 20 2008

Two people convicted for March unrest in Yerevan appeal for pardon

YEREVAN Dec 20

Two people convicted for involvement in the March 1, 2008 unrest in
Yerevan have appealed to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan for pardon,
Armen Khachatrian, a coordinator of the Service of Legal Support for
Political Prisoners, said on Radio Liberty on Saturday.

"One of the convicts, Karen Tarkhanian, has been sentenced to four
years in prison for organizing mass unrest. He almost lost his vision
behind bars and has serious problems with his health. The other
convict, Avetik Grechian, is serving his sentence for illegal carrying
of weapons. The circumstances that have prompted him to appeal to the
president have yet to be clarified," Khachatrian said.

The Armenian president amnestied three convicts serving their terms
for involvement in the March events in Yerevan on December 8.

"They were sentenced to three to three and a half years for resisting
police and taking violent actions," presidential press secretary
Samvel Farmanian said.

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ARMENIA INSTALLS ADVANCED CONTROL SYSTEM IN CITY ON TURKISH BORDER

Armenian Public TV
Dec 16 2008

[Correspondent speaking over video of an airport building] An advanced
border control information system, which aims at strengthening
border control in our country, has been put into operation in Gyumri
[Armenia’s second largest city on the Turkish border]. The system is
aimed at combating drug, medicines and arms smuggling and trafficking,
and also fully controls migrants’ movements, ruling out the entrance to
Armenia of people with forged documents and those on wanted lists. The
US Department of State provided 476,000 dollars out of about 1m dollars
of the cost of this system at Armenia’s seven border checkpoints,
and the remaining 0.5m were provided by the Armenian government and
the Avia Infotel company, which founded the system. The US ambassador
to Armenia, Marie Yovanovitch, was present at the ceremony.

[Yovanovitch, speaking at the event in English with overlaid
Armenian translation] I would like to emphasize the fact that this
event takes place in Gyumri. I believe that everybody here believes
that Armenia and its neighbour Turkey will open borders and restore
relations. Gyumri can become the centre of all this in the issue
of trade and economic relations and simply direct contacts between
the people of Armenia and Turkey. The progress that we mark here is
another step towards further progress.

TURKISH GENERAL STAFF DISAPPROVES OF ARMENIA APOLOGY CAMPAIGN

Anadolu Agency
Dec 19 2008
Turkey

Ankara, 19 December: The General Staff has said that it disapproved
the online apology campaign for the events of 1915.

Gen Metin Gurak, chairman of the General Staff Communication
Department, said at a press briefing in Ankara on Friday, "We
definitely do not consider the campaign right. This apology is wrongful
and it may lead to harmful consequences."

A group of Turkish intellectuals and academicians issued an apology to
Armenians on the internet earlier in the week for the events of 1915,
boosting a nationwide discussion.

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday [17 December]
that he did not accept or support the campaign. "They might have
committed such a crime themselves as they are apologizing now. The
Republic of Turkey does not have such a concern. One can apologize if
there is a crime necessitating such an apology. Neither my country,
nor my nation has such concerns," Erdogan said.

Yesterday, the Presidential Press Centre said in a statement that
President Abdullah Gul considered recent discussions in the Turkish
public opinion and academic circles over the events in 1915 a
sign of existence of a democratic discussion atmosphere in Turkey
which was more civilized and freer than many other countries and
a sign of Turkish people’s reconciliation with their history and
their self-confidence. Armenia and Turkey do not have diplomatic
relations and their shared border has been closed since 1993 when
Turkey protested [against] Armenia’s occupation of the Upper Karabakh.

In September, President Gul visited Armenia to watch a World Cup
qualifying match as a good-will gesture.

TURKISH PARLIAMENTARIAN HINTS AT ARMENIA ROOTS OF ABDULLAH GUL

ArmInfo
2008-12-18 19:29:00

Armenian apology campaign launched by a group of scientists,
writers, artists, journalists and representatives of nongovernmental
organizations was discussed at the meeting of Foreign Relations
Commission of Turkish parliament on December 17.

APA reports quoting Turkish media that parliamentarians from opposition
parties Republican People’s Party (CHP) and National Movement Party
(MHP) offered to make a statement condemning the persons supporting
the campaign.

Pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) objected to it. Following
the discussions, decision was made on the parliamentarians’ condemning
the apology campaign by collecting signatures individually. Member
of MHP, parliamentarian Janan Aritman called the organizers of the
campaign betrayers.

"The false scientists signing it should apology to Turkey," he said.

Aritman also criticized President Abdullah Gul’s attitude towards
the campaign. Saying that Abdullah Gul was encouraged by his visit
to Armenia, Aritman dropped a hint that the president’s mother was
Armenian. "We see that the president supports this campaign. Abdullah
Gul should be the president of the whole Turkish nation, not of his
ethnic origin. Investigate the ethnic origin of the president’s mother,
and you will see," he said. Some claim in Turkey that Abdullah Gul’s
mother was born to an Armenian-origin family from Kayseri and father
was an Arab moved to Kayseri.

TODAY’S ZAMAN: TURKISH-ARMENIAN BORDER MAY OPEN IN 2009

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.12.2008 18:30 GMT+04:00

Positive steps followed the rapprochement process between Turkey
and Armenia initiated by President Abdullah Gul, who paid a visit
to Yerevan on Sept. 6 to watch a soccer game, Today’s Zaman observer
Hasan Kanbolat says in his ‘Turkish-Armenian border may open in 2009’
article.

The article says: "Secret meetings are being held between the parties
in Europe. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who arrived
in Istanbul on Nov. 24 as the term president of the Organization of
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), announced that Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan will pay a visit to Turkey in October
2009. Nalbandian added that they were supportive of the normalization
of relations without any preconditions and that they were asking for
the opening of the border on the same terms.

The total length of the Turkish-Armenian border is 325
kilometers. There are two closed gates along this line: the Alican land
border gate and the Akyaka Railway border gate. The first is located in
the village of Alican in Igdir province, while the latter is in Akyaka
in Kars. The former name of Akyaka is Kizilcakcak; for this reason,
the former name of the Akyaka Railway border gate is the Kizilcakcak
gate. This gate, 66 kilometers from Kars, is publicly known as Dogu
Kapi, whereas Armenians call it Ahuryan gate. In addition to a railway,
the gate also includes a byroad.

In the aftermath of the Azeri-Armenian war, which lasted until 1994,
40,000 people had to leave Nagorno-Karabakh and 700,000 left seven
other provinces of Azerbaijan because of the Armenian invasion. As a
result, 13 percent of Azerbaijani people had to survive as migrants
within their own country, 20 percent of which was occupied by Armenian
forces. Thus, Turkey closed its border with Armenia in April 1993
and its air space in 1994. However, it is not accurate to attribute
these moves to Armenian aggression alone. Armenia asserts that the
1920 Treaty of Alexandropol and 1921 Treaty of Kars, which set the
borderline between Armenia and Turkey, are no longer valid. Armenian
also defined Turkey’s eastern territories as western Armenia in its
declaration of independence proclaimed on Aug. 23, 1990. In addition,
the official coat of arms of the Armenian state, as thoroughly depicted
in the second paragraph of Article 13 of the Armenian constitution,
includes Mount Ararat, a part o f Turkey. Yerevan also avoids
recognition of Turkey’s territorial integrity.

Why were bold steps taken as late as September 2008 to normalize the
bilateral relations between the two countries despite these thorny
issues? Could the primary reason for this be the European attempt to
relieve Georgia, which has been alienated in the Southern Caucasus
in the aftermath of the war in August? Is it because the West wanted
to take Armenia on its side? The Euro-Atlantic world is resolute
in improving its relations with Armenia, a predominantly Christian
country, after Georgia. Armenian intellectuals also want their country
to be integrated into the West. They ask for a smooth transition
from the system inherited from the Soviet era to a Western-style
parliamentary democracy and institutionalization of a democratic
order where human rights and a free market economy are the dominant
factors. Armenian intellectuals are particularly uneasy about the
ownership of Armenian industries by Russian capital and the heavy
presence of Russian military in the country.

According to the Euro-Atlantic world and Armenian intellectuals,
Armenia’s integration with the West and the democratic world will
be possible if it establishes normal relations with Turkey, which
is ruled by democracy. In addition, according to unofficial figures,
the foreign trade volume between the two countries has increased from
$30 million in 1997 to $250 million in 2008. Considering the current
foreign trade volume of Turkey with Azerbaijan and Georgia and the
current state of Armenian economy, it is obvious that the existing
figures with respect to foreign trade volume between Armenia and Turkey
will not become any better even if the borders are opened. For these
reasons, opening the border gates is a political rather than economic
issue. It is a project that will enable Armenia’s democratization
and its integration with the West.

Armenia will maintain term presidency in BSEC for six months. If
Yerevan is able to take bold steps vis-a-vis Turkey during this period,
Turkey may proceed with opening the closed border gates in 2009. And
if Armenia offers a plausible plan of withdrawal from occupied
Azerbaijani territories and declares that it recognizes Turkey’s
territorial integrity, Turkey will be ready to take reciprocal
steps and moves. Initiation of border trade and establishment of
low-level diplomatic relations may follow the opening of the border
gates. However, if Moscow takes action and pursues new policies
vis-a-vis Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Euro-Atlantic world may be
disappointed. Moreover, considering the rapprochement between Turkey
and Armenia, the Baku administration may take action to mobilize
actors of Turkish domestic politics in an attempt to disrupt Turkey’s
improved relations with Armenia. In conclusion, it is not logical
or meaningful for the Turkish, Armenian and Azerbaijani peopl e,
who have been living together for thousands of years, to disrupt
their common future because of the relatively insignificant issues
that have emerged in recent decades. The Southern Caucasus needs
permanent stability; and peoples there need peace and welfare."

LIEUTENANT COLONEL COVERS SOLDIER WITH HIS OWN BODY WHEN LATTER DROPS GRENADE

Noyan Tapan

Dec 17, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian president Serzh
Sargsyan has signed a decree on awarding a Medal for Valour to the
deputy commander of military unit No 25836 of the RA defence ministry,
Lieutenant Colonel Samvel Martirosian for bravery and devotion in
performing his official duties.

During practical exercises on combat grenade throwing at the
shooting-range of the military unit on December 12, a sergeant dropped
a grenade which exploded. At that moment Lieutenant Colonel Martirosian
covered the sergeant with his own body, saving his life.

Serzh Sargsyan handed the high state award to Samvel Martirosian on
December 17. Thanking him for his service, the Supreme Commander of
the RA Armed Forces stated: "I am glad and proud that the number
of officers ready to display an example of valour and bravery if
necessary is growing in our army. The profession of a serviceman is
such that his life may be endangered even in the peaceful time".

S. Sargsyan considered it especially praiseworthy that a serviceman
endangers his own life in order to save a subordinate person –
a soldier.

"This is how a commander should behave," he underlined.