Author: Babajanian Karo

CATHERINE ASHTON: SUPPORTING OSCE MG, EU SEEKS MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

Panorama
Nov 16 2011
Armenia

“We are concerned about the lack of progress in the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We seek more active role in the settlement
of the conflict. Thereby we will provide full support to the OSCE
Minsk Group. European Union Special Representative Philippe Lefort
deals with this issue,” High Representative of the European Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Baroness Catherine Ashton told APA.

Baroness Ashton noted that the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict would create a huge potential for development and cooperation
in the region.

“EU prioritizes settlement of the conflict and establishment of peace.

We are convinced that these values would boost changes in the South
Caucasus,” said she.

Catherine Ashton said that not only the sides of the conflict but also
the European Union would benefit from the settlement of the conflict.

“The OSCE Minsk Group is empowered to act as a mediator between
the sides of the conflict. We should define the measures to support
the OSCE Minsk Group and to raise confidence between the sides of
the conflict.”

AZERBAIJAN GRANTS IMMUNITY TO FORMER PRESIDENTS

Agence France Presse
November 15, 2011 Tuesday 2:09 PM GMT

The Azerbaijan parliament passed a law on Tuesday which grants the
ex-Soviet country’s former presidents immunity from prosecution for
crimes committed before and during their time in office.

The immunity, which was sponsored by President Ilham Aliyev and
extends to all ex-leaders of the oil-rich Caucasus country and their
spouses, was hailed by both both pro-government and opposition members
of parliament.

“The law will defuse confrontation between the political forces which
have divergent views of the social and political situation in the
country,” ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party lawmaker Guler Ahmedova said
after the vote.

Opposition Party for Democratic Reforms lawmaker Asim Mollazadeh
said the law “will lay down the foundations of political tolerance
in Azerbaijan”.

Analysts said the measure would contribute to social and political
reconciliation in the country, which sank into political turmoil in
the 1990s during its war with Armenia over the disputed region of
Nagorny Karabakh.

“The adoption of the law is an important step towards finding common
ground where our recent history is concerned,” said Mubariz Ahmedoglu,
the director of the Centre for Political Innovation and Technologies.

He said Aliyev was “fulfilling his promise to be a president of all
citizens, regardless of their political views”.

Azerbaijan’s first president in the turbulent period following
independence from the Soviet Union, Ayaz Mutallibov, was forced to
resign in 1992 after a series of disastrous military defeats during
the Karabakh war.

His attempt to return to power soon after his resignation was thwarted
by an armed uprising. He fled to Russia and still faces criminal
charges dating from his time in office.

A year after Mutallibov’s resignation, another Azerbaijani president,
Abulfez Elchibey, was ousted amid further losses in the Karabakh
conflict and was replaced by Heydar Aliyev, the father of the current
leader.

AZERBAIJAN HAILS STATEMENTS BY NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT MEDIATORS

Interfax
Nov 15 2011
Russia

Azerbaijan has hailed the latest statements from the Minsk Group,
an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
body mediating the two-decade old Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but
reiterates that it will not contemplate the secession of the breakaway
Armenian-speaking enclave under any circumstances.

The Minsk Group has “issued quite serious statements to the effect
that the status quo is unacceptable,” Azeri President Ilham Aliyev
said. “These statements give us even more inspiration.”

“I’m sure that the earliest possible solution to this problem will
be in the interest of all countries,” Aliyev said. “We hope that
negotiations will yield results because this situation is untenable.

The decisions and resolutions of international organizations must be
complied with unconditionally.”

The president said Azerbaijan’s rights to Nagorno-Karabakh are
recognized internationally and that “the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan is not up for negotiations.”

AZERBAIJAN: NON-COMBAT DEATHS PUT MILITARY REFORMS IN SPOTLIGHT
By Shahin Abbasov

EurasiaNet

November 15, 2011

Azerbaijan may boast a billion-dollar-plus annual defense budget
and a professed commitment to military reforms, but the deaths of
soldiers in non-combat-related incidents are raising questions about
the government’s commitment to remaking the country’s armed forces.

The issue of non-combat deaths gained notoriety over the course
of recent, three-day span. On November 1, 19-year-old Private Azer
Abbaszade, died at a base in Barda, close to the Nagorno-Karabakh
frontline, with pneumonia listed as the official cause of death.

Abbaszade’s death was preceded by the deaths of 18-year-old Private
Ruslan Kerimov, also allegedly from pneumonia, and 19-year-old
Private Raul Agayev, “from a disease,” in Ganja on October 30 and 31,
respectively. Privately, observers don’t fully trust the official
explanations, and suspect other factors, specifically bullying,
may have been a factor in the tragedies.

The Ministry of Defense seems less than eager to discuss
non-combat-related deaths. Ministry spokesperson Eldar Sabiroglu
told EurasiaNet.org that an investigation is ongoing. The Office of
the Military Prosecutor announced on November 10 that four officers
working in Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry have been dismissed in
connection with the three deaths and four officers demoted; another
11 officers were given reprimands. Prosecutors did not release the
names of those punished.

Amid heightened tensions with Armenia over the ongoing struggle to
control Karabakh, any issue in Azerbaijan that touches the military
is sensitive. In April, Sabiroglu called on Azerbaijani media “to
be attentive with publications concerning the army,” adding that
“[i]t is wrong to make generalizations . . . based on some incidents.”

“Indeed, even one loss is hard for us,” Sabiroglu claimed. “We fully
understand the responsibility” for the soldiers’ deaths falls on the
Ministry of Defense, he continued.

A coalition of several Azerbaijani human rights groups has been
tracking non-combat deaths and notes a disturbing upward trend. Based
on Defense Ministry information not released to the public, the Group
of Monitoring Compliance with Human Rights in the Army (GMCHRA) has
recorded the deaths of 76 soldiers to date in non-combat incidents for
2011, and the injury of 91 others. That compares with 62 non-combat
deaths and 71 cases of injury in 2010. Possible reasons for the
increase were not identified.

“Civil society cannot stand aside from these problems,” commented Arzu
Abdullayeva, one of GMCHRA’s founders and the head of Azerbaijan’s
National Committee of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly.

In general, the Azerbaijani public has remained passive on this issue.

In 2009, several anonymously posted videos on social networking
websites depicted soldiers beating, as well as the humiliation of fresh
draftees – a practice known as dedovshchina during the Soviet era. The
videos prompted prosecutions and prison terms for the accused. But
this case has proven the exception, rather than the rule.

Politicians have proven similarly cautious about tackling the problem
head-on. MP Zahid Oruc, a member of the parliamentary Committee for
Defense and Security for the Motherland Party, expressed concern
about the deaths, but noted that “such things happen in all armies.”

Non-combat-related deaths constitute an even more contentious issue
in Armenia. A string of non-combat deaths there produced a public
outcry – particularly via social networks – against Armenia’s military
leadership, one of the country’s most respected institutions. Some
critics have gone so far as to call for the resignations of Defense
Minister Seyhran Ohanyan and President Serzh Sargsyan.

Officials in Baku have no desire to travel down a similar road;
hence, authorities have warned Azerbaijani media outlets about
“exaggerations.” President Ilham Aliyev’s administration prefers to
emphasize Azerbaijan’s slotted $1.76-billion (over 1.38 billion manats)
2012 military budget and its interest in reform.

For at least one military analyst, the spate of non-combat deaths
raises questions about reform progress. While Baku since 2007
has claimed that it has made the switchover to NATO standards,
the assertion “is not logical,” said Jasur Sumarinly, who heads a
non-governmental group called the Doktrina Military Correspondent
Investigative Center. “Harassment among servicemen was typical for
the Soviet military, but not NATO armies.”

Based on Defense Ministry information not released to the public,
Sumarinly notes that between 2007 and 2010, the frequency of army
deaths from harassment and suicide actually increased (68 deaths
from abuse, 35 suicides), compared with the preceding four years
(2003-2006: 33 deaths from abuse, 23 suicides). That suggests, he
argues, that no real attempt has been made to correct hazing-related
abuse in the ranks.

Yashar Jafarly, an army colonel-in-reserve and director of the Public
Union of Officers in Reserve, adds that, since the 1994 cease-fire with
Armenia covering Karabakh, only about 15 to 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s
3,500 army deaths have been related to combat causes.

Jafarly blames the lack of civil society oversight for such abuses.

“Civil society activists and human rights defenders do not have access
to the armed forces and it creates problems,” he said. Even troops
stationed on the front lines do not appear to be better disciplined,
he added.

Widespread problems with corruption complicate the matter further,
he continued. Officers routinely demand bribes from soldiers and their
parents for army leave, better accommodation or other amenities. Those
who do not pay may be subject to physical abuse or other forms of
harassment.

Recently discharged soldiers interviewed by EurasiaNet.org appear to
have varying recollections of their experiences at the frontline.

While one former serviceman, stationed in Barda, reported that
both soldiers and officers had renovated housing and adequate food,
supposedly in keeping with NATO standards, another ex-serviceman, who
served in Geranboy, reported a lack of drinking water and inadequate
housing and sanitation.

As with non-combat-related deaths, the government admits a problem
exists, but has been less than enthusiastic about making the
Azerbaijani public part of the discussion about any solution. Some
58 criminal cases related to corruption were launched in the army in
2011, according to the latest information available.

Shain Abbasov is a freelance reporter based in Baku. He is also a
board member of the Open Society Foundation – Azerbaijan.

ECONOMY OF ARMENIA CAN INTEREST ARAB INVESTORS – DIRECTOR OF “KOTLER IMPACT”

/ARKA/
November 16, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, November 16. /ARKA/. Economy of Armenia can interest Arab
investors as the country has a great potential for the development
of marketing, considers Director of the company “Kotler Impact”, Dr.
Fahim Cypria.

“Armenia which is located in the neighborhood of Arab States, has a
good opportunity for the attraction of Arab investments”, said Cypria
in the open conference on international marketing in the frames of
the program “Phillip Kotler in Armenia: 11.11.11”.

Cypria noted that the large potential and excellent opportunities of
Armenia became an incentive for the idea on opening the only center
in the region – “Center of Excellency of Kotler” in Armenia.

In the frames of the given program, the company “Kotler Impact”
plans to establish the “Center of Excellency of Philip Kotler” in
Armenia which will become the only center of marketing and management
on international level in the region. Local and foreign specialists
in the sphere of marketing from the countries of the region and CIS
countries will study and increase qualification in this Center.

He also noted that despite the small population of Armenia, the
country can attract large investments from multi-million Armenian
Diaspora living in different countries of the world.

The program “Phillip Kotler in Armenia: 11.11.11” initiated by
the Armenian Marketing Association is called to provide dynamic
development of Armenia and transfer from extensive management to
developed and prosperous management. It is also targeted at changing
the understanding of the role and meaning of marketing in Armenia,
introduction of new and modern rules of business conduction applying
new marketing instruments, including Kotler’s program “Marketing 3.0”.

For participation in the given program famous marketing specialist,
Prof. Phillip Kotler arrived in Yerevan on Sunday with five-day visit.

VIDEO: 5TH CENTURY ODZUN CHURCH THREATENS TO COLLAPSE, SAYS FOUNDATION

epress.am

11.16.2011

Though today the Surb Mariam Astvatsatsin (“Holy Mary Mother of God”)
Church in the northern Armenian village of Odzun offers regular mass,
conducts wedding, baptism and funeral ceremonies, the 1500-year-old
church threatens to collapse, according to a press statement issued by
the Hovhannes Imastaser Catholicos Oznetsi (Catholicos John of Odzun)
charitable foundation.

The Foundation notes that the church’s roof, walls, and foundation
are seriously damaged.

On Oct. 18, the Foundation signed a memorandum with Armenia’s Ministry
of Culture to repair and restore the holy site. Now, it’s just waiting
for the results of the tender to select a construction company to
conduct the work.

The Foundation, established in April of this year by Odzun-born
Russia-based businessman Movses Dzavaryan, is committed to financing
reconstruction work, which will take around 3 years and present a
film on the history of the monastery.

TWO OPERATORS FOUND FOR “NAIRIT”: NEGOTIATIONS ARE RUNNING

ARMENPRESS
NOVEMBER 16, 2011
YEREVAN

Nairit is quite a complicated technological chain, which we strive to
restore after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Minister of Energy and
Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan said in response to parliamentarian
Hrayr Karapetyan’s question, adding that the technological chain
contains a number of issues.

“Our today’s approach is that we manage to find such a company,
which has enough experience in the sphere of chemical industry,
and which will have an opportunity to solve the current issues,”
said the Minister. Accoridng to him, today works are being carried
out in the direction of finding such operators, which will manage to
solve the current issues. Armen Movsisyan said that two applications
have been submitted today – German “C-S-C” company and Russian “Itera”
company, which have notable experience in chemical industry, as well
as have considerable financial opportunities.

“At the moment negotiations are running with them for solving this
issue both in technical, financial and economic regards. In near
future we will see what kind of solutions these companies propose,”
he stressed.

NAASR CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE TO FEATURE TALK WITH PAUL IGNATIUS

Armenian Weekly
Wed, Nov 16 2011

BELMONT, Mass.-On Thurs., Dec. 8, former Secretary of the Navy Paul R.
Ignatius will speak in conjunction with the publication of his memoir
Now I Know in Partby NAASR’s Armenian Heritage Press, highlighting
NAASR’s 2011 Christmas Open House.

Paul Ignatius Ignatius served for eight years in the presidential
administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, first as an
assistant secretary of the army, then as under secretary of the Army
and assistant secretary of defense, and finally in 1967 as secretary
of the navy.

Following his government service, he was president of the Washington
Post for 2 years and president of the Air Transport Association for
15 years.

Ignatius is the recipient of the Army Distinguished Civilian Service
Award, the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, and the Department
of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award.

A descendant of Armenian parents from the Kharpert region of Historic
Armenia, Ignatius is a native of Glendale, Calif., and a graduate of
the University of Southern California. He earned an MBA from Harvard
University after serving as a naval officer in World War II. He is
also the author of On Board: My Life in the Navy, Government, and
Business (Naval Institute Press, 2006).

In Now I Know in Part, Ignatius looks back on his family history,
childhood in Glendale (long before it had a “Little Armenia”), colorful
characters (both famous and obscure), Hollywood brushes with greatness,
military service during World War II, and more.

The limited first edition of Now I Know in Part was published
privately in 2000. Chapters newly added for this second edition
include reminiscences of Ignatius’ former boss, Secretary of Defense
Robert S. McNamara, and two homecomings of a sort: one to Hoover
High School in Glendale and the other a visit to ancestral lands in
Historic Armenia.

The Open House will begin at 6 p.m. and conclude at 11 p.m., with
Ignatius’ talk set for 8 p.m. The evening’s events will take place
at the NAASR Center, 395 Concord Ave. in Belmont. Admission to the
event is free (donations appreciated).

Both before and after the lecture, NAASR’s bookstore will be open
and feature a one-night only 20 percent off sale, with additional
discounts of 40 percent or more on selected titles. Numerous recently
published titles will be available, along with refreshments, music,
and gift-wrapping. Now I Know in Part will be available for purchase
and signing by the author.

For more information, call (617) 489-1610 or e-mail [email protected].

ROA CORRUPTION SHOULD BE ELIMINATED.

The Armenian Observer
2 November2011

Prof. Osheen Keshishian

In his address in Beverly Hills, California, on September 25, 2011, on
the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the independence of Armenia,
President Serzh Sargsyan delivered a somewhat balanced speech to a
large crowd of Armenians and American officials.

After mentioning the difficult trek Armenia took to regain
independence, the President did not shy away by pointing out some of
the “bitterness” our Diaspora Armenians faced in Armenia. Quoting
him verbatim: “Many of our fellow Armenians have experienced the
enthusiasm of living and working in our Fatherland. Unfortunately,
some of them have experienced the bitterness of disappointment,
too….However, we must first of all openly and freely discuss the
reasons of bitterness.” Then he invited people for a dialogue on this
and other issues.

We have heard this before, and probably we will hear it again. The
President went on to point out, and I quote him. “Corruption, of
course, remains one of the greatest challenges, and we are continuing
to fight this phenomenon which was inherited from the Soviet era and
has gained shades in recent decades in virtually all walks if life,
from education to civil works, from social security to agriculture…I
do not even marginally doubt our ability to find the necessary
solutions. We have the will and the potential to do it. Thank you”.

But government statistics indicate that corruption has not diminished,
on the contrary, it has grown by leaps and bounds. (Read his remarks
one more time).

The major problem, I think, is more than that – in my view, it is
the lack of the application or enforcing the laws, starting from
officials to judges who are supposed to enforce the laws. This lack
of application of the rule of law by officials, including all phases
of justice, is rampant and no one (maybe a few) gets punished for
the injustices committed.

All this leads to corruption, monopoly, political pressure, poverty,
and particularly leads to emigration from the Fatherland. I have
written about it several times.

I don’t want to give names that have suffered great losses and have
lost their love for the Fatherland.

Just last week a Glendale, California resident, Oshin Peroomian, a
young and staunch nationalist and an educated man, moved to Armenia
with his family to live there. After going through the legal process to
defend his property and family, finally erupted and penned a lengthy
detailed article about the injustice committed against him, and
decided to go to the European Court to pursue justice. His article,
“Corruption in Armenia: Esti Hametsek” was published in several
newspapers and was placed on the internet, explaining in detail all
the horrors he went through. Just type his name and the article will
pop up. He is not the only one to burst in anger. Several months
ago, renowned philanthropist Vahakn Hovnanian complained about his
misfortunes and spoke out on television in Armenia about corruption
and particularly about the monopoly which raises prices on everything.

There are many more cases, business people losing hope and giving up.

There are people who will say “Well, there is corruption in other
countries too.” The President knows it well and said we should be
able to eliminate it.

Corruption breeds cronyism, specially monopoly, which leads people
to desperation because prices are controlled by a few, to say the
least, and automatically promotes high prices even for basic needs –
including food (e.g. a kilo of sugar doubled in price in two years,
bread and cheese similarly), without mentioning the basic needs of
a household, particularly heating, and the rates are exorbitant now
that winter is on the threshold, families are worried as to how they
will warm their homes.

Meanwhile the salaries remain the same, and if they are raised they
are raised so little that it would not make a difference. Unemployment
is getting higher and higher and thus poverty will be augmented. All
these lead people to thinking on leaving the country for greener
pastures – Russia seems to be the most enviable place because the
Russian government actually is promoting immigration into Russia
by providing jobs, homes, transportation and citizenship. Several
engineers from the Metsamor Nuclear Plant are working in other
countries for triple of their salaries.

The President, in his speech in Beverly Hills this year, spoke about
emigration and spoke very clearly and hoped that a remedy will be
found to stop or slow down the emigration.

Of course, these shortcomings in Armenia cannot be remedied overnight,
nor can they be eliminated entirely, but serious and planned efforts
should be undertaken by the government to alleviate a large percent
of these endemic problems. We need introspective thinking and powerful
medicine for the accurately diagnosed ills, otherwise rancor and anger
will be fostered. The President asked for open discussion and that’s
what we are doing. He suggested to work with the Diaspora on these
issues. All countries have similar problems (that’s not an excuse),
including the US, but the culprits are punished and changes are made.

Despite all these there are several positive improvements in Armenia.

Just to point out a few examples: external trade turnover during the
past nine months was $525.3 million, an increase of 26.7%; industrial
production was $740.8 million, an increase of 9.6%; agriculture growth
registered 18.6%; brandy production increased 17%; maternal mortality
is down; malaria is completely wiped out; Armenia is ahead of its
neighbors in the UN welfare ranking, and others too, but all these
do not justify the negative developments which are forcing people to
emi¬grate. These ills could be cured if we have the will and foresight
since we are living in a daunting period.

The President said, “I do not even marginally doubt our ability to
find the necessary solutions.”

We expect and hope that the new decade will show signs of improvements.

POLICE CHIEF APPOINTS VAHAGN HARUTYUNYAN

Head of the March 1 investigative group of the Special Investigative
Service Vahagn Harutyunyan has been moved to the RA Police.

By Chief of Police Vladimir Gasparyan’s decree, Harutyunyan has been
appointed Head of the Department for Investigation of Specially
Important Cases at the Chief Investigative Department of the RA
Police. We remind that Karen Karapetyan yesterday was dismissed from
this post and was sent to the human resources department, the RA
Police press service told “A1=”.

Another investigator will most probably head the investigative group
created after the events of March 1, 2008.