Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIA SET TO PUBLISH ‘GENOCIDE’ TESTIMONIALS

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 9 2011
Turkey

Armenians gather to mark the 94th anniversary of the mass killings
in this file photo. AP photo

The National Archives of Armenia will publish three volumes containing
eyewitness accounts of the 1915 incidents, the archival director
announced during a press conference Nov. 8, according to Los
Angeles-based Armenian daily Asbarez.

“The first volume is ready and is currently being translated
into Russian and English. The second volume is being prepared for
publication. The first volume is devoted to the province of Van, the
second to the province of Bitlis, the third to the province of Erzurum
(Garin),” said Amatuni Virabyan, adding that each volume would have
around 500 pages.

The publication is being funded by donations. Virabyan said
the initiative was a continuation of an effort begun in 1916 by
legendry author Hovaness Tumanian, who formed a commission to gather
testimonials of survivors from the 1915 incidents. These documents
have been archived in Armenia, he added.

Virabyan expressed hope that the effort would contribute to the
international recognition of the 1915 incidents as “genocide.”

The archives director also said Turkey was stepping up its efforts
to falsify history.

CONGRESSMAN ADAM SCHIFF CALLS FOR AT LEAST $10 MILLION ASSISTANCE TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH

news.am
Nov 10 2011
Armenia

Armenian Americans are joining with friends of Armenia from across
the United States in making a final push for U.S. House and Senate
conferees to include pro-Armenian provisions – including report
language mandating at least $10 million for Nagorno-Karabakh – in
the Fiscal Year 2012 foreign aid bill, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).

The ANCA website – – hosts an action alert, complete
with phone scripts, for community activists to use in calling on
their legislators to support Armenian American priorities in the FY12
foreign aid bill.

Last week, Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) sent a letter urging the
Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Appropriations
Subcommittees on State-Foreign Operations, to “direct USAID and the
Department of State to focus not less than $10 million for humanitarian
and development programs in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

In a statement accompanying his letter, the California legislator,
who serves on this foreign aid panel, stressed that:

“Given the continued drumbeat of bellicose rhetoric emanating
from Azerbaijan, it is more important than ever that the United
States support the right of self-determination of the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Directing these resources to Nagorno-Karabakh
will not only help the people of Karabakh cope with humanitarian
crises resulting from the twin blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan,
but it will also help to stabilize the region by demonstrating our
continued commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.”

ARMENIAN MUSLIM CLERIC IN RUSSIA MURDERED. CRIMINAL CASE LAUNCHED

ArmeniaDiaspora.com

Nov 10 2011

Epress.am — In the Russian city of Yaroslavl, the second imam of the
local mosque, Artur Manukyan, 29, was found dead with four gunshot
wounds to his chest in his home on Nov. 9. A criminal case has been
launched under charges of murder.

As reported by Interfax news agency, investigators don’t rule out the
possibility that the murder was committed on ethnic grounds and that
someone was hired to kill him.

Manukyan was appointed to the position of second imam in 2010. He
received his religious education at the Ulugh Beg Madrasa in Bukhara,
Uzbekistan. Manukyan’s father is Armenia, but his mother is Tatar.

Note, this is the third murder of a Muslim cleric in the last two
months in central Russia. On the night of Sept. 18, also murdered in
his home was Abakar Kadi Magomedov, a member of the Muslim community
of Yaroslavl’s central mosque. Then on Sept. 24, acting imam of the
Ivanovski mosque Fouad Rustamhodzhaev was shot just outside his home
as he was returning from the mosque.

ARMENIA: FLYING BLIND WITH $400 MILLION DEFENSE BUDGET

EurasiaNet.org

Nov 10 2011
NY

Where does the need for state secrecy end, and the public interest in
governmental transparency begin? That’s a question posed increasingly
by Armenian civil society activists in reaction to news that Yerevan’s
defense budget is increasing by 5.6 percent.

On November 1, parliament increased Armenia’s 2012 military budget
to 150 billion drams (about $400 million) — the country’s biggest
annual defense outlay ever. But how exactly – and how efficiently
— the ministry will spend those additional funds is proving to be
anybody’s guess. Defense spending has long been considered off limits
to public scrutiny.

Few Armenians question the need for a strong military; the country
has a wobbly cease-fire with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh. Energy-rich Azerbaijan’s military budget stands
at a massive $1.76 billion (over 1.38 billion manats) for 2012 – an
amount that makes many Armenians wonder how their government plans
to make the best use of Yerevan’s far more limited financial resources.

“In a state of frozen war with Azerbaijan, when the opponent’s budget
is six times bigger than Armenia’s military budget, a question
keeps coming up: ‘How are they [Armenian officials] spending that
small budget of ours?'” asked Emma Hunanian, a representative of a
non-governmental organization, Soldier and Right, that lobbies for
army soldiers’ interests. “Not always are we given the answer to
that question.”

Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian told parliament that the additional
funds would be spent on “increasing the number of professional soldiers
and the acquisition of new arms and armaments.”

Any other information is considered out of bounds for public debate.

The Chamber of Control, which monitors Armenia’s state budget,
periodically makes outraged statements about various government
offices’ financial wrongdoings, but it has never publicized any
information about the Defense Ministry’s spending habits. A 2010
audit of the ministry was deemed “strictly classified.”

One civil rights group’s attempt to get answers about the ministry’s
budgetary practices met with a broad roadblock. “We were asking for
data about the share of the military budget that’s spent on provisions,
stationery and household equipment, which cannot be a state secret,”
recounted Artur Sakunts, head of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki
Citizens’ Assembly. “However, even through the courts, we were unable
to acquire information. It’s a state secret, and there is no way
around it.”

Defense Ministry spokesperson David Karaperian responded that it is
only natural for the ministry to keep information about its budget
and spending practices classified. “We work openly to the extent that
it isn’t threatening to our national security,” Karaperian said.

But the ministry risks losing public trust by operating in such a
closed system, objected Varuzhan Hoktanian, executive director of
the Anti-Corruption Center, the Armenian affiliate of anti-corruption
watchdog Transparency International. “Questions keep coming up with
each passing day, and that lack of trustworthiness can be more damaging
than working openly,” Hoktanian said.

The deaths of 23 army conscripts this year in non-combat-related
incidents have raised a major wave of general public distrust toward
Armenia’s army, as well as calls for the resignations of President
Serzh Sargsyan and Defense Minister Ohanian.

While opposition political parties have joined in the cries of outrage
over the non-combat deaths on conscripts, they routinely sidestep
discussions about the military’s budget. Opposition Heritage Party MP
Armen Martirosian, a member of parliament’s Financial and Budgetary
Committee, commented that he is convinced that “the budget is spent
mostly appropriately.”

“Risks of violations of the law and corruption are somewhere else;
for example, commanders abusing their position demand bribes, start
businesses, but the budget expenses are mostly incurred as planned,
” Martirosian asserted.

Independent military expert Artsrun Hovhannissian, a former Defense
Ministry employee, meanwhile, asserted that officials are for the most
part responsible in their procurement practices. Research that he has
carried out over the past decade shows that “although there have been
certain cases of financial abuse and administrative shortcomings”
in military spending, such abuses have not been “to an extent which
could put the country’s military effectiveness at risk.”

He conceded, however, that “[t]here certainly is a need for creating
some control mechanisms, in order for the monies to be put to their
best use.”

Sakunts scoffed at the notion that Defense Ministry officials can
be trusted, and that no oversight mechanisms are necessary. “There
are no signs of trust-inspiring [behavior] that make us believe [the
ministry] has no corruption issues,” he said. He cited a report from
one unnamed expert who alleged that the ministry was reporting an
official purchase price for “a type of military equipment” that was
more than five times the amount actually paid.

Acting out of a spirit of “ostensible patriotism” and declining to
hold the Defense Ministry publicly accountable for its expenditures
“might have irrevocable consequences for the development of our
military force,” he added.

Countered military analyst Hovhannisian: “[W]e are in a state of war
and the demands of making everything transparent are not justified
in this case.”

Editor’s note: Gayane Abrahamyan is a reporter for ArmeniaNow.com
in Yerevan.

DIYARBEKIR CONFERENCE TO HOST ARMENIAN, TURKISH SCHOLARS

hetq
22:29, November 10, 2011

A scientific meeting on the topic of the “Social and Economic History
of Diyarbakir and the Region” will be held from November 11-13 at
Sumerpark Reception Hall, Yenisehir, Diyarbakir

The conference is being jointly sponsored by International Hrant Dink
Foundation, the Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality Directorate for
Cultural Affairs, the Diyarbakir Chamber of Commerce and Industry
and the Diyarbakir Institute for Political and Social Research.

Esteemed academics such as David Gaunt, Herve Georgelin, Raymond
Kevorkian, Hans Lukas Kieser, Janet Klein, Barbara J. Merguerian,
Vahe Tachjian and Jelle Verheij, along with academics from Turkey will
present papers at the meeting, organised to understand and analyze
the social and economic transformations in the Diyarbakir province
between 1838 and1938 and to enlighten the social and economic history
of the area.

The event will be broadcasted live on

LAMBERTO ZANNIER: MINSK GROUP PROCESS IS THE ONLY VIABLE FORMAT

ARMENPRESS
NOVEMBER 10, 2011
YEREVAN

Italian diplomat Lamberto Zannier became OSCE Secretary General June
30, 2011, taking the place of Mark Perre deBrishambo. OSCE Secretary
General Lamberto Zannier gave an exclusive interview to Armenpress on
OSCE challenges and goals, as well as on the process of NK conflict
settlement.

The OSCE was created to ensure cooperation and security from Vancouver
to Vladivostok. What do you think has the organization been successful
in achieving this basic goal?

The situation in the OSCE area has dramatically changed since 1975
and the Helsinki Final Act. The OSCE has contributed to many of the
positive developments in our region. For example, during the Cold War
the Organization (then called the CSCE) helped to reduce military
tensions and supported civil society in fighting for human rights;
we helped and continue to help states in transition. Through our
field presences in the former Yugoslavia we have aided post-conflict
rehabilitation and democratization efforts, bringing those countries
towards their stated goal of European integration.

Many countries in our region are celebrating 20 years of independence
this year. This includes our current chair, Lithuania, whose
citizens enjoy rights, freedoms and a level of security unthinkable a
generation ago. So we can point to many improvements in security and
co-operation, not just at the state level, but also for individuals
and communities. On the other hand, there are still old challenges as
well as new threats that we must face together, if we are to achieve
our goal, agreed on by all 56 OSCE States at the Astana Summit last
year, of a genuine Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security community.

What are the main challenges for the organization nowadays and what
new tools is the OSCE elaborating to fix them?

Security threats have changed in the 21st century. The OSCE is
increasingly focusing on transnational threats such as terrorism, human
trafficking and other forms of organized crime as well as tensions
that arise over issues such as energy security or environmental
challenges. These new threats can only be tackled by the joint
efforts of states, so co-operation is more important than ever –
through high-level political dialogue and by creating links between
different agencies and organizations at a working level.

We are also looking at ways to enhance our operational effectiveness.

This year under the Lithuanian Chairmanship of the OSCE, we have had
a series of discussions on how to better deal with conflicts and all
parts of the conflict cycle. We are looking at how to ensure that there
is action following an early warning and how we galvanize the necessary
political will to act quickly in conflict and pre-conflict situations.

The OSCE has long been working to ensure stability and peace in the
South Caucasus. In your assessment what have been the main achievements
in this region? What are the main challenges that still remain?

The OSCE has been working very hard over many years to ensure long
term stability. The South Caucasus is a region which still presents
security challenges. Confidence-building and reconciliation is a slow
and difficult process that can have setbacks. We would all want to see
quick progress, but patience, resolve and perseverance are needed to
build the trust needed to generate progress. The OSCE has put at the
disposal of all stakeholders in the region its tools and mechanisms
for conflict prevention and will continue to operate with the goal
of advancing security, stability and prosperity.

Now let’s turn to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, as the OSCE Minsk Group
is dealing with it for so long. Azerbaijan has tried to change the
format of the negotiations. How do you assess these steps and do you
think that the Minsk Group format is still an accurate one?

It is tempting to focus on formats, but I prefer to focus on the
substance of the negotiations. We have seen steps forward before within
the framework of the Minsk Group when there has been political will,
and I firmly believe that with commitment and good faith progress
is possible.

The international community always states that status-quo around
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should change. In your opinion what
mechanisms have to be undertaken in order to achieve this objective?

There have been far too many incidents along the Line of Contact
recently – more than 20 fatalities already this year. So no, we can’t
continue like this. The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign
Minister Audronius Ažubalis, has called on the sides to withdraw
snipers from the Line of Contact, and obviously I support that. I would
also emphasize the importance of implementing the confidence-building
measures agreed between the Presidents in Astrakhan and Sochi. The
OSCE, is ready to assist in the implementation of these measures.

The leadership of Azerbaijan is using militaristic rhetoric almost
every day. Don’t you think that in these conditions the peaceful
settlement of the conflict is becoming harder and what steps in your
opinion should be taken to avoid this kind of rhetoric?

Both sides have repeatedly agreed that a peaceful settlement is the
only long-term solution. Finding a settlement requires patience and
determination. It takes courage for leaders to speak out for peace
and to prepare their people for compromises, and I urge the leaders
of Armenia and Azerbaijan to make the public case for peace.

In 2012-2013 elections are expected not only in Armenia and Azerbaijan
but also in OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries. In your opinion
is it possible to at least achieve consensus on the Basic Principles
of the settlement before that?

There is a window of opportunity now and I urge both sides to make
every effort to seize it. The Minsk Group Co-Chairs, with the support
of the international community, are working hard to bring the sides
to agreement on the Basic Principles and I remain optimistic.

Additional Question

Recently in one of your interviews you said that Turkey can play a
positive role in the settlement of Nagorno-Kharabakh issue. In what
ways do you think it can be done taking into account the position of
Turkey in the issue showing unilateral support to one of the parties
of the conflict?

Turkey has a role as it is part of the Minsk Group, which through the
Co-chairs from France, Russia and USA leads the OSCE’s efforts to find
a political solution to this protracted conflict. The Minsk Group
process is the only viable format accepted by all: any negotiation
format has to be accepted by the parties that are in the negotiations,
and this is also the case for the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. In this,
as in any negotiation context, it is also necessary to take into
account all relevant factors, including the regional dynamics. And
if the conflict in itself has remained largely frozen, the overall
situation in the larger region has evolved. This factor needs to be
taken into account as well: in fact, overall improvements of relations
between all key actors in the region would create better conditions
for progress. If Turkey intends to play a more visible role, taking
into account its geo-strategic position, this can only happen if
it is agreed with all relevant stakeholders. This is a message I
also brought to Turkey, pointing to the fact that an improvement of
relations between Armenia and Turkey would promote reconciliation and
more open contacts between the peoples of the region, thus creating
better conditions for conflict resolution. And if this happened,
I would certainly welcome it.

IRAN IS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF BUSHEHR NPP NEW BLOCKS

ARMENPRESS
NOVEMBER 10, 2011
YEREVAN

Iran is interested in construction of new blocks of the Bushehr
nuclear power plant, and head of Rosatom Sergei Kiriyenko believes it
is possible, Armenpress reports, citing ITAR-TASS. “We are working
on it, as construction of new energy blocks does not cause doubts
from the international community and is not a sensitive issue,”
he told a presidium of Russia’s government on Thursday.

“This would require certain addendums to the intergovernmental
agreement, and we are working on this with the foreign ministry,”
he added.

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wanted to learn “if the Iranian
side has expressed suggestions regarding construction of new blocks.”

“Yes, it has,” Kiriyenko replied.

AZERBAIJANI DIASPORA IN POLAND COMPLAINS TO RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 10, 2011 – 20:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Azerbaijanis, living in Poland, sent a letter
of protest to the Russian ambassador to Poland Alexander Alekseev in
connection with journalist Vladimir Solovyov’s abusive accusations
against Azerbaijan’s multinational people on “Vesti FM” radio station,
State Committee on Diaspora said on Thursday.

“It is regrettable that insulting remarks and extremist appeals aimed
at inciting national hatred were voiced on the radio station, included
in the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company –
one of the largest media corporations in Russia,” the letter said.

The expressions, used by journalist Solovyov on air, are a provocation
aimed against neighborly relations existing between Russia and
Azerbaijan, a letter of the “Birlik” (Unity) association of the
Azerbaijanis living in Poland said.

They stressed that those who attempt to dispute the relations
between Russia and Azerbaijan will receive an adequate response. The
Azerbaijani diaspora of Poland appealed with a request to the
All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company and the
Russian corresponding state bodies to take the necessary measures in
respect of the journalist using abusive language against Azerbaijan
people, pda.trend.az reports.

STEVE WOZNIAK: WHATEVER I DO, I DO WITH INSPIRATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 10, 2011 – 18:04 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – At Nov. 9 meeting Apple co-founder Steve
Wozniak briefed representatives of Armenian IT sector on his past
accomplishments and story of founding Apple.

“I worked in HP Company, developed counters, later started studying
their chips. I believed in great achievements in IT world. I had a goal
to make computers accessible around the world. However, I lacked means
to implement my ideas. With the help of a pencil and paper I designed
chips. Every day I searched for recent inventions in IT world that
later inspired myself to create chips that were in great demand,”
Wozniak said.

Dwelling on Apple Production, he noted that it is very important for
everybody to make their own contribution to the business started.

“Steve Jobs was not a technologist, however, he knew how to turn
an engineering idea into money, I had special inspiration in doing
everything. Later Jobs made my works suitable for use. All technologies
are called to make our life easier and more interesting,” Wozniak said.

Wozniak later told about the first computers released by Apple,
Apple andApple 2.

Steve Wozniak, invited to Armenia by Presidential Award organizing
committee, will be receive IT Award by President Sargsyan for his
enormous asset to IT development.

AHI HAILS CONGRESSIONAL EFFORTS TO BLOCK SALE OF U.S. ARMS TO TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 10, 2011 – 10:25 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) welcomes the
effort of congressional lawmakers to block the sale of U.S. arms to
Turkey with the introduction of joint resolution that disapproves of
the issuance of an offer letter for the proposed $111 million sale
of the arms, AHI said in a press release.

“The American Hellenic Institute has long opposed military assistance
to Turkey in testimony submitted before Congress,” AHI President
Nick Larigakis said. “The flow of U.S. arms to Turkey only emboldens
Turkey’s intransigent stance when it comes to finding a diplomatic
settlement to the Cyprus issue and further encourages its bellicose
threats against U.S. allies Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Armenia. AHI
applauds the lawmakers’ effort to block this most recent proposed
sale of U.S. arms to Turkey.”

He continued, “Turkey’s aggressive behavior in the region is
well-documented, ranging from airspace violations of Greece, to its
invasion and occupation of Cyprus with 40,000-plus troops to its
sabre-rattling rhetoric as Cyprus and Israel explore for gas and oil.

The Obama Administration’s pushing of this arms sale during a time
when Turkey is acting belligerently in the eastern Mediterranean and
threatening U.S. allies is unacceptable and downright irresponsible
and disappointing.”

U.S. Reps. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Eliot Engel (D-NY), a senior
member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sponsored the
legislation, H.J.Res.83, which was introduced November 3, 2011. It
has the bipartisan support of initial co-sponsors: U.S. Reps. Gus
Bilirakis (R-FL) and Carolyn Maloney, co-chairs of the Hellenic Caucus;
Michael Grimm (R-NY), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and Ed Royce (R-CA),
a House Foreign Affairs Committee member. U.S. Reps. Steve Israel
(D-NY) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) have since co-sponsored the legislation.

In a joint statement issued by U.S. Reps. Berkley and Engel, “The
$111 million arms sale to Turkey proposed by the Obama Administration
late last month would include AH-1W Super Cobra Attack Helicopters,
engines, spare parts, training equipment, technical documentation
and support services.”

The American Hellenic Institute is a non-profit Greek American public
policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United
States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.