Author: Babajanian Karo

ARMENIAN EDITORS DEMAND REPEAL OF LIBEL LAW
Karlen Aslanian

Armenialiberty.org

Oct 19 2011

Armenia – Copies of newspapers whose editors called on October19,
2011 for a repeal of controversial legislation that led to a sharp
increase in libel suits.

The editors of eight leading Armenian newspapers added on Wednesday
their voice to calls for the Constitutional Court to repeal
controversial legislation that has led to a sharp increase in libel
suits filed against media outlets.

The state human rights ombudsman, Karen Andreasian, last week asked
the court to look into corresponding articles of Armenia’s Civil Code
and consider declaring them unconstitutional. He expressed serious
concern about their active enforcement by Armenian courts.

Amendments to those articles enacted last year decriminalized libel
but drastically toughened financial penalties for such offences. At
least 15 libel suits have since been filed by current and former
government officials, including former President Robert Kocharian,
and government-linked businessmen.

In a joint statement, the newspaper editors urged the Constitutional
Court to at least suspend those clauses pending consideration
of Andreasian’s petition. They said the Armenian authorities have
used the changes with the sole aim of strangling independent media
financially or introducing self-censorship among journalists.

Bagrat Yesayan, editor of the “Yerkir” daily and one of the
signatories, said press freedom in Armenia is under serious threat.

“There is a danger that in the very near future we will have a
situation where print media outlets, unable to comply with court
decisions and pay heavy libel damages, will have to shut down. In that
case the print media landscape will simply disappear in this country,”
he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

Ashot Melikian of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Speech welcomed
the appeals to the country’s highest judicial body. But he suggested
that the legal provisions, no matter how unfair, can hardly be deemed
unconstitutional.

“It’s just that there are unclear clauses there that can be interpreted
in a subjective way,” Melikian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT INFLICTS $21MLN DAMAGE TO AZERBAIJAN’S LIBRARY SYSTEM

Trend
Oct 18 2011
Azerbaijan

According to preliminary estimates, as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, the library and information system of Azerbaijan has incurred
material damage worth $20.815 million.

Nine centralized library systems, 927 libraries and 4.6 million books
stored in them have been plundered and destroyed in Armenian-occupied
Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, Azerbaijani Ministry of
Culture and Tourism told Trend.

In addition, six architectural and seven archaeological monuments, 13
monuments of world importance, 292 historical and cultural monuments
of national importance (119 architectural, 173 archaeological) and 330
monuments of local importance (270 architectural, 22 archaeological,
23 garden, park, monumental memorial, 15 samples of applied art)
have left in the occupied territories.

Some 22 museums, which contained over 40,000 exhibits, 808 clubs,
four theaters and two concert halls, eight amusement parks, four art
galleries and 85 music schools have left in the occupied territories.

The only Bread Museum in the former Soviet Union in Aghdam was razed
to the ground by the Armenians during the shelling of the city. Up
to 13,000 valuable and rare exhibits of the world-known Kalbajar
historical museum and more than 5,000 exhibits of Lachin historical
museum were taken to Armenia.

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 and the
surrounding regions.

MILITARY DOCTRINE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA – ANALYSE

Milaz.info

Oct 18 2011
Azerbaijan

South Caucasus and Caspian Sea region being a sensitive and
complicated area from the geo-political, geo-strategic, geo-economic
and geo-cultural point of view, open for foreign influences in a great
extent. Military doctrines of regional countries and their defense
and military policies implemented based on these doctrines also play
significant role in establishment and development of regional peace
and stability, as well as on the contrary in violation of stability,
in creation of tension and confrontations, crisis and conflicts in
the whole region.

Military doctrine being an officially announced system of views in
state’s military security field. determines political-military,
political-strategic and political-economic basis of its military
security, including the directions of combat preparation of state
and armed force, methods and forms of its implementation.

The provisions of military doctrine of every state may alter depending
on thorough change of military security environment, military-political
situation, as well as on internal political development and radical
changes regarding strategic choice. In this regard, revision and
update of military doctrine from time to time is expectable. In order
to evaluate influence of military doctrinal views on establishment
of peace and stability, development of freedom and democracy, people
welfare integration in South Caucasus, first of all military doctrines’
of the region countries (Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan), as well as
military doctrines of Russia, Iran and Turkey, which have traditional
interests in the region should be studies and evaluated in this regard.

The Center of Military Analyses and Research has prepared the document
“Military doctrines of regional countries – stability or the threat
of confrontation?” by support Open Society Institute – Assistance
Foundation. Today we publish the Military Doctrine of the Republic
of Armenia.

Military Doctrine of the Republic of Armenia

Military Doctrine (MD) of the Republic of Armenia approved in December
25, 2007, develops and specifies its provisions relating to defense
and military field of National Security Strategy (NSS) approved on
February 07, 2007.

AR MD represents the sum of official conceptual views defining
military-political, military-strategic, military-economic and
military-technical bases of military security guarantee. It is
indicated in the introduction part of MD that “Armenian Republic is
a warrantor of Dagliq Qarabag Republic, guarantees the security of
it and its chosen development way. It comes from the followings:

– from the realities of new national cleansing of Armenian people
suffered genocide in modern Azerbaijani territory (in Sumgayit,
1980-1990, Baku and other places);

– from the policy of Azerbaijani Republic on apply of military force
against the legal and peaceful self-determination of Dagliq Qarabag
people and their (Dagliq Qarabag people) involvement into the war
in 1988-1994;

– from the need of Dagliq Qarabag people’s guarantee of their security,
who are exposed to permanent physical threat, which is conditioned
by the direction of Azerbaijani Republic’s settlement of conflict by
the way of force;

– from the historical-territorial, moral-religious, ethnic and
cultural identity of Armenian Republic and Dagliq Qarabag Republic
and their population;

– from the indisputable political-legal bases of the fact of Dagliq
Qarabag people’s self-determination in their own historical land;

– from the invariability of realities of formation of Dagliq Qarabag
Republic as a democratic, social and legal state;

– from the mutual relationship of adoption of security guarantee
issues of Armenian Republic and Dagliq Qarabag Republic”.

Immediately after, defense character of MD and its direction to
military security guarantee of the country, reinforcement of peace
and stability in the region is noted.

As it is apparent from the text of the document, Armenia, which carries
out ethnic cleansing (1988-99) against Azerbaijani turks, as well
as against Muslim kurds in its territories, occupied 16% of neighbor
Azerbaijani territory (1992-93) and carries out ethic cleansing and
“burnt land” policy in this zone, openly supports armed separatism
movement of ethnic Armenians living in Dagliq Qarabag by comprehensive
assistance of Russia and being in territorial claim against other
neighbor Georgia and supports Armenian separatism movement in its
Chavakhetia region, places foreign military base within its territory
and thus, plays destructive role in the region together with Russia,
violates regional peace and stability and being of the main military
threat sources tries “to base”, to disguise its expansionist policy
and to give defensive character to its military security policy.

We should also note that Armenia, together with being RF’s
military-political ally and member of CSTO, at the same time plays
the role of transmitting of Russian destructive policy in the region.

MD’s provisions with “defensive” character are implemented by means
of defense strategy and military planning. In the document, among the
list of main foreign threats (I part, I chapter) directed to military
security of Armenia:

– existence of Dagliq Qarabag conflict, tendency of Azerbaijani
Republic to get military advantage over Armenian Republic and
settlement of Dagliq Qarabag conflict by the military way, preparation
of military operations against Armenian Republic and (or) Dagliq
Qarabag Republic for this purpose;

– establishment, reinforcement and enlargement of unions directed
against Armenian Republic, particularly, strategic union of Turkish
Republic and Azerbaijani Republic, its steps on blockade of Armenian
Republic (this is considered as application of force);

– economic, transport and communication isolation or isolation attempts
of Armenian Republic, isolation of transit ways passing by the same
bordering states” are also indicated.

Although Armenia does not write openly its trying to give formally
defensive character to its doctrine, as it is obvious from the text of
document, that it considers Azerbaijan openly, by Turkey as a potential
enemy and creates its military security policy on the grounds of this.

Aggressor Armenia’s defense and military policy in essence having
deceitful character found its reflection in the whole spirit of the
doctrine. Thus, it is noted in the 3-rd chapter of document relating
to the principles, that Armenian “Defense Strategy bases on the
principle of not attack and gives preference to diplomatic and other
non-military methods of military security guarantee, prevention of
threats and neutralization”.

One of the main principles of AR military security guarantee is
also apply to ally and partner states in order to get necessary
contribution from them within the frames of alliance and partnership
liabilities. One of the main goals and duties of AR MD is also
“military security guarantee of “Dagliq Qarabag Republic” (the chapter
4). This provision demonstrates Armenian openly taking side in the
conflict, supporting ethnic separatism, its violation regional peace
and stability, and its being a real source of threat for security.

Unlike Azerbaijan Armenia mainly gives special importance to:

– throughout guarantee of military security and reinforcement of its
military-political positions;

– the total power of armed forces, as well as international military
and military-technical cooperation, international guarantee of military
security in order to keep relative equality (in fact, the superiority)
of military and military-political unions in the region.

Armenia among its priority directions of international military and
military-technical cooperation gives the main places to its strategic
ally Russian Federation, which plays the most destructive role in
the region and to CSTO, the leader of which is Russia.

Along with this, among the priorities in this field in the doctrine,
development of bilateral military cooperation with U.S, cooperation
with NATO and partners among the member-states of alliance within
the framework of Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and “Partnership
for Peace” are stipulated in the doctrine as well.

The completion of reformation of military security system in 2015 is
also considered in the Military Doctrine of Armenian Republic. Besides
this, the document will be reconsidered from the viewpoint of its
principles and goals.

The Center of Military Analyses and Research

LEGENDARY AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY FILM MAKER CONDUCTS A MASTER CLASS FOR MEDIAMAX’S JOURNALISTS

Mediamax
Oct 18 2011
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Legendary American journalist and documentary film
maker Jon Alpert conducted a master class for Mediamax’s journalists
in Yerevan on October 17.

A winner of several Emmy Awards, Jon Alpert, who had visited numerous
hotspots on the globe and interviewed Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein
during his 40-year career path, spoke about his life demonstrating
fragments from his documentaries and answered the journalists’
questions.

“I don’t have a journalism degree. I started my career in New York,
worked as a taxi driver for 2 years and one of my first films was
one about a taxi”, the TV reporter recalls.

“Iraq was one of my greatest shocks as I saw soldiers having arm and
leg amputations several times in the U.S. hospital in Iraq over a
few days”, Jon Alpert said. As a result of his stay in Iraq, he shot
“Baghdad Emergency Room” which won 4 Emmy Awards.

Jon Alpert was an Oscar nominee for one of his recent films, China’s
Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province. The film features
the situation in the Chinese Sichuan province which was greatly damaged
after the destructive earthquake in 2008. The reporter managed to
show the protest actions and convey the grief of parents who had lost
their children as the majority of the schools in the province were
destroyed whereas other neighboring buildings were undamaged. As Jon
Alpert shows in his film, this resulted from low-quality materials
used for building the schools. Due to this film, the TV reporter was
declared a persona non grata in China.

“Yes, I had to break the law more than once to shoot my films. I
think if I didn’t do that I wouldn’t manage to shoot the majority of
my films, those about China in particular”, confessed the reporter.

Jon Alpert has long been the only American journalist to have had
the opportunity to visit Cuba and meet with Fidel Castro.

“Once I spent a whole week with Fidel. I would talk to him about
politics, fishing and cigars, many different things”, the reporter
recalls showing some frames with legendary Comandante while sipping
beer, smoking cigars, speaking at the UN and writing an explanatory
note to his daughter’s teacher for missing the lessons at school.

Is it difficult to work as an independent journalist, as Alpert,
in the U.S? “I was twice blacklisted, for my report on the Gulf
War including. But the situation has changed and now the military
servicemen like me”, jokes Jon Alpert.

Jon Alpert arrived in Armenia on the invitation of Alternative
Resources in Media project headed by Manana Aslamazyan who has
long been the head of Internews in Russia and made a significant
contribution to the development of regional TV in Russia.

ARMENIAN FM RECEIVES US ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ARMS CONTROL

Panorama
Oct 18 2011
Armenia

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received on Tuesday Rose
Gottemoeller, Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification,
and Compliance.

The press service of Armenian MFA says Minister Nalbandian has
expressed gratitude that US-Armenian bilateral relations include arms
control field.

US diplomat has thanked for the cordial reception and underlined
that US hails Armenia~Rs contribution in international and regional
security affairs and signifies cooperation in different aspects.

Armenian FM has particularly focused on the Treaty of Conventional
Forces in Europe, which is repeatedly violated by Azerbaijan.

TURKEY PUNISHES KARS POPULATION BY CLOSED ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER – NEWSPAPER

news.am
Oct 18 2011
Armenia

ANKARA. – According to Turkish government’s new decision, another 9
new custom offices will open on the borders with Georgia, Iran and
Iraq, Serhatın Sesi Kars city local newspaper reports.

The newspaper writes that Turkey opens new customs, while there
is no report on opening Akyaka custom office with Armenia, as
Turkey and Azerbaijan closed borders with Armenia in early 1990s
because of Karabakh conflict. However, according to the newspaper,
Turkish government punishes only the Kars population. The Turkish
newspaper states that the border is close only for the Kars people
as Armenians are able to trade with Turkey through Black Sea region
and air transportation. Kars people are even afraid to speak of
Armenian-Turkish border opening, writes the paper.

UN JEUNE ARMENIEN ARRETE A LA CITE, PLACE EN CENTRE DE RETENTION, ET MENACE D’EXPULSION

Midi Libre
,404155.php
18 oct 2011
France

Deboutee debut septembre par le tribunal administratif qui avait annule
l’obligation de quitter le territoire francais (OQTF) relative a une
sexagenaire rom et sa fille, le prefet de l’Aude Anne-Marie Charvet
a cette fois-ci les cartes en main.

A elle de decider de l’avenir d’Edgar Aivazian, arrive a Carcassonne
a l’ete 2009 pour demander l’asile. Jeudi, c’est en quittant la Cite,
qu’il visitait avec un ami, que cet Armenien a fait l’objet d’un
contrôle d’identite. Sans papiers, le jeune homme de 21 ans est alors
envoye dans les locaux de la police aux frontières a Port-la-Nouvelle.

Une etape, avant d’etre place dans le centre de retention
administrative de Cornebarrieu, a Toulouse, vendredi.

Depuis la fin de semaine dernière, la coordination pour le droit
d’asile de l’Aude est donc mobilisee pour eviter l’issue redoutee de
l’expulsion. Car depuis juin 2011, toutes les voies legales ont ete
explorees, alors que l’office francais de protection des refugies et
apatrides lui a refuse le statut de refugie. En vain : après avoir
ete deboute de sa demande d’asile en fevrier dernier, Edgar Avaizian
a recu une OQTF en mai 2011.

“Il n’y a plus rien a faire sur le plan legal”

Et pas plus la procedure menee devant le tribunal administratif,
rejetee en juillet, que le recours gracieux devant le prefet de l’Aude,
n’ont ete acceptes. “Sur le plan strictement legal, il n’y a plus
rien a faire, reconnaît ce membre d’Amnesty en charge du dossier.

Il s’agit maintenant de savoir si le prefet va prendre en compte le
contexte humain.”

Car Edgar n’est pas seul concerne par l’OQTF. C’est avec ses parents et
sa femme qu’il est arrive en France. Depuis, sa mère est decedee et a
ete inhumee a Carcassonne. Mais un enfant, desormais âge de 15 mois,
est ne dans le chef-lieu audois. Autant d’elements familiaux qui,
espère Amnesty, pèseront dans la balance. Avec, pour complement au
recours gracieux, deux promesses d’embauche pour Edgar et son père,
deposees en prefecture il y a 15 jours.

Presente aujourd’hui ou demain devant le juge des libertes, Edgar
pourrait etre renvoye très vite dans un pays qu’il a quitte a l’âge
de deux ans. A moins qu’Anne-Marie Charvet ne decide de lever l’OQTF
et ne delivre un titre de sejour a cette famille.

GREEK COMPANY TO BUILD UNDERGROUND PARKING IN YEREVAN
by Stella Tsolakidou

Greek Reporter

Oct 18 2011

Greek company Teotek is set to implement an automatic underground
parking construction project in the capital city of Armenia Yerevan,
as announced by the official site of Yerevan Municipality.

Representatives of the company met with Yerevan Mayor Karen Karapetyan
on Tuesday in order to discuss issues regarding the collaboration
between the city hall and the company.

General Director of the company ~STeotek~T Konstantin Aloupis
informed Karapetyan of the company~Rs main fields of expertise, such
as advanced technology, automated management of parking, health care,
hotel business, and others.

The two sides signed a memorandum at the end of the meeting. ~SVery
soon the working group will submit a report on the projects mentioned
in the memorandum, and the parties will start negotiations on
investment plans~T, said a representative of the Armenian municipality.

YEREVAN ‘COMMITTED’ TO KEY ARMS CONTROL TREATY
Emil Danielyan

Armenialiberty.org
Oct 18 2011

Armenia will continue to abide by a key international arms control
treaty despite its violation by Azerbaijan, President Serzh Sarkisian
told a visiting senior U.S. official on Tuesday.

Meeting with Rose Gottemoeller, a U.S. assistant secretary of state
dealing with arms control, Sarkisian described the Conventional Forces
in Europe (CFE) treaty as “one of the pillars of security and stability
in Europe.” He said Yerevan therefore remains committed to its “spirit
and aims” and will comply with limitations placed by the treaty.

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian gave similar assurances at a
separate meeting with Gottemoeller. According to a statement by the
Armenian Foreign Ministry, Nalbandian said at the same time that the
CFE needs to be “updated.” The statement gave no details.

Signed in 1990 and revised in 1999, the CFE puts specific limits on
the deployment of troops and heavy weapons from the Atlantic coast
to Russia’s Ural mountains. Armenia as well as neighboring Georgia
and Azerbaijan signed up to it after gaining independence.

Armenia – President Serzh Sarkisian meets with U.S. Assistant Secretary
of State Rose Gottemoeller, 18Oct2011.â~@~Kâ~@~KDespite setting
equal arms ceilings for the three South Caucasus states, the treaty
has has not prevented an intensifying arms race between Armenia and
Azerbaijan. The latter has spent billions of dollars in oil revenues
on a military build-up which Baku hopes will eventually enable it to
win back Nagorno-Karabakh and other Armenian-controlled territories.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have long been accusing each other of exceeding
their CFE quotas.

Sarkisian was quoted by his press office as saying that the alleged
Azerbaijani non-compliance “has already created a serious danger for
the entire region.” Nalbandian likewise complained to Gottemoeller
about Azerbaijan’s “overt violation” of CFE terms.

Azerbaijani officials deny such claims. They say that Armenia itself
keeps a large part of its military hardware in Karabakh in order to
imitate its compliance with the treaty.

A senior U.S. diplomat said privately earlier this year that both
warring nations are not honoring their CFE commitments.

The CFE allows signatory states to inspect each other’s compliance with
the arms ceilings through random visits to just about any military
facility. However, in line with a gentlemen’s agreement reached in
the 1990s the Armenian and Azerbaijani militaries have never sent
CFE inspectors to one another.

BAKU LOST
Igor Muradyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 23:11:51 – 18/10/2011

The Azerbaijani functionaries who have a diplomatic status and are
dealing with the propaganda of ideas and thoughts of their country’s
leadership and ideologists are too talkative and they often treat
foreign experts and analysts as their soul friends. The statements of
these functionaries demonstrate the effectiveness of the Azerbaijani
propaganda.

Certainly, it is not worthwhile to talk about it and thereby weaken
the enthusiasm of the Armenian experts. In fact, however, it is
time to sum up the results. The activity of the Armenian authors is
a separate issue for consideration. In fact, there is nothing to
consider because they have been unable to understand the problem,
let alone the ultimate goal.

As to Azerbaijan’s official propaganda (and its vast majority is
official), Baku lost in this field, and huge funds spent to this end
did not bring about any important results. It is interesting that the
international community has acknowledged that it is impossible to make
a decision on the Karabakh issue, taking account of Azerbaijan’s
ambitions. The Azerbaijani political government has called the
functionaries dealing with propaganda for an account.

In Russia, Europe and the United States, as well as in other regions,
Azerbaijan has recruited authors of different calibers. The third
wave of recruitment has passed and totally unknown authors have
been engaged in the anti-Armenian propaganda. Entire think tanks
and educational institutions have been recruited, including academic
and solid state universities in Moscow, leaders and participants of
large-scale programs in the U.K. and the U.S., reporters in different
countries. Generally, the Armenian interests are attacked widely,
considering their activities on the web. So why is the Azerbaijani
government complaining?

Of 20-25 experts recruited by Azerbaijan in the West and in Russia
only 2 or 3 are known as authors of publications. However, they have
already run out of their resource, and in the community of politicians
and experts they are viewed as deeply unprincipled and venal authors.

I have mentioned their names on another occasion. The authors of the
second and third echelon are not well-known, and hardly anyone is
interested in their publications. Authors of a smaller caliber have
appeared whose publications will hardly be found in a more or less
authoritative journal.

It should be noted that the western expert community is built so that
it is rather difficult to be always present in such journals with
such tendentious materials. Similar publications are hardly effective,
and their addressee is not clear.

It is known that thanks to the efforts of some Armenians who work on
their own initiatives those authors were practically erased from the
list of the pertinent. These authors are as cowardly as unprincipled.

It should be noted than in the era of information it is impossible to
lie endlessly. Such methods are impossible in an Islamic environment.

Basically, there are no Islamic authors in the Azerbaijani propaganda.

If any, they are funny and wretched scribbles. Meanwhile, the
professional experts of those countries have stated for a number of
times that the Azerbaijani propaganda does not interest anyone, and
the world is solely interested in economic information from Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani political scientist Alek Rasi-Zade (the brother of the
Azerbaijani prime minister) thinks that the Azerbaijani propaganda
is a convenient sphere for making money, and some functionaries
living in the United States and Russia have made a lot of money. It
also concerns a young man who has recently bought an apartment in
Washington having no legal source of income.

But this is a trifle, whereas the problem is that Azerbaijan got
no results from its propaganda. So, the Armenian experts may relax
relatively because someone else has done their job. Apparently, soon
Baku will review not only the methods of propaganda and approaches
but also re-evaluate the foreign policy. They have not understood
something, and they have not thought something well enough. They
relied on their money too heavily.