Author: Badalian Vardan

IMPOSSIBLE TO INSURE GOOD EDUCATION WITHOUT ASSISTANCE OF BUSINESS – ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT

news.am
Sept 15 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Strengthening Education and Business Cooperation in Armenia
two-day conference kicked off in Yerevan on Thursday.

Armenian Minister of Education Armen Ashotyan, Minister of Labor and
Social Issues Arthur Grigoryan, the Head of EU Delegation to Armenia
Raul de Luzenberger attended the meeting, Ministry of Education press
service informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“It is impossible to ensure high quality of education and carry out
reforms without the assistance of business sphere. This is especially
true for vocational education, where the employers should contribute to
formation of education standards relevant to the needs and priorities
of the field. After all, the final consumer of education and knowledge
is the economic system. It is obvious that the quality of education
will be directly proportional to the demand of experts in the economy,”
said Ashotyan. “We are ready for cooperation with business sphere on
all levels. We are open to discuss every proposition.”

YEREVAN TO HOST INTERNATIONAL IT SYMPOSIUM

news.am
Sept 15 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – The National Academy of Sciences of Armenia will become
the venue, between September 26 and 30, for the “Computer Science and
Information Technologies” (CSIT-2011) 8th International Symposium,
the Academy’s press service told Armenian News-NEWS.am. The event will
bring together scientists from France, Russia, Bulgaria, Hungary,
Canada, Belgium, Georgia, and elsewhere. Renowned Russian scientist
and Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics Zhores Alferov is also expected
to attend the symposium.

The event’s objective is to encourage the development of computer
science and the exchange of scientific and technological information
between IT specialists, and to create an opportunity for expanding
cooperation between the scientist of Armenia and international centers.

US ARMENIAN PROPERTY CASES AGAINST TURKEY
by ORHAN KEMAL CENGÄ°Z

Today’s Zaman
Sept 15 2011
Turkey

There are a couple of pending property cases against Turkey introduced
by American citizens of Armenian descent in California courts in
the US.

One of these cases concerns a large amount of land in Adana which
partly covers the Ä°ncirlik American air base (Alex Bakalian, et al v.
Central Bank the Rep of Turkey, et al). I have been trying to follow
the Bakalian case, in which a California district court decided
that the defendants had been lawfully served and has required the
defendants to respond to the Armenian complaints last month. So,
we have now a very concrete case against Turkey. American laws
(Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act) allow plaintiffs to sue sovereign
nations in US courts. In the latest edition of the Agos weekly, I
saw an interview with Bakalian’s lawyer, Mr. Vartkes Yeghiayan, and
I contacted Agos to get the lawyer’s original commentary in English.

Agos correspondent Ms. Beril Eski kindly agreed and sent me the
original of the interview. It is a little long, so here is a cut
version. Let’s read Mr. Yeghiayan’s comments about the Ä°ncirlik case.

“Beginning in 1915, the government of the Ottoman Turkish Empire began
ordering the collection of real and personal property and deportation
of Turkish Armenians. A series of discriminatory regulations,
directives, and decrees issued by the Ottoman Turkish Empire between
1915 and 1923, collectively known as the Emvali Metruke, sought to
provide legal cover for the unlawful expropriation of the property
and assets of Turkish Armenians, including that of our plaintiffs. …

“In response to the outrage expressed by the international community
over the large-scale deportations, murders and expropriation of
property from Turkish Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish government,
government telegrams posted in 1916 demonstrate that proceeds from
the sale of properties left behind by deportees were deposited with
Defendant T.C. Ziraat Bankası …upon information and belief held in
trust and for safekeeping on behalf of the rightful Armenian owners
in accordance with other Emvali Metruke. …

“In 1923, Turkey became the successor state to the Ottoman Turkish
Empire. …

“In 1928, new laws came into effect, transferring all ‘abandoned’ real
and personal property to the Turkish Treasury. Since its establishment
in 1856, the Imperial Ottoman Bank acted as the state Treasurer and was
responsible for collecting state revenues. Defendant Merkez Bankası
of the Republic of Turkey was established in its present format in
1931 as the successor to the Imperial Ottoman Bank. …

“Since the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the
plaintiffs’ real property and assets in Adana that were not sold have
been continuously, wrongfully owned and controlled by the Turkish
government and used for commercial activities by Turkey and the
Turkish Merkez Bankası in conjunction with numerous private commercial
enterprises operating both in the United States and elsewhere. Income
earned from those properties, including rental income being paid by
the United States government to lease the plaintiffs’ property, flows
continuously into the Merkez Bankası. Thus, Defendants Turkey and
the Merkez Bankası are profiting from and being unjustly enriched by
their possession of and/or use of proceeds from such stolen property
belonging to the plaintiffs. …

“Our relations with the Turkish Foreign Affairs and that of the ‘time
limitation’ also known as the ‘Statute of Limitation’ are interlinked
in a sense that the Republic of Turkey does fall under the Foreign
Sovereign Immunities Act, however, due to illicit expropriation and use
of property for the purpose of making gain — ‘Commercial Enterprise,’
the Armenian Genocide — ‘Violation of International Humanitarian Law’
and lastly the ‘Violation of the Lausanne Treaty’ of which Turkey is
a signatory. …

“When we win the case and should the Republic of Turkey or the banks
default on the judgment brought forth against them, we will move to
seize properties belonging to the aforementioned in equal value to
our claims.”

When I got the interview I hoped to find answers to some legal
questions that crossed my mind, the most important off which was,
of course, about the statute of limitations. The dispute about time
limitations must be the vital part of this case and, I guess, it
will be hard to explain to the court why the statute of limitations
cannot be applicable in this case, which was brought almost 100 years
after the actual seizure of said property. I can gather some core
arguments from Mr. Yeghiayan’s explanations on time limitations,
but they do not answer the many questions that may possibly be put
to any plaintiff who brings this kind of case under any legal system
in Europe, for example. Even if we accept that the plaintiffs had
the opportunity to start such a case for the first time when the
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act came into force in the US, why did
they wait 35 years to do so? There are many legal questions that
can be asked in connection with the statute of limitations. Anyway,
I will continue to follow this case and share my comments with you.

AZERBAIJANI FM: SO-CALLED “ELECTIONS” IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH CAMOUFLAGE ARMENIA’S ANNEXATION POLICY

Trend
Sept 15 2011
Azerbaijan

The so-called “elections” to the “local self-governing bodies”
scheduled for September 18, 2011 by the separatist regime of
Nagorno-Karabakh camouflage the annexation policy of Armenia, the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported.

“The unrecognized separatist regime in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan represents nothing but an illegal structure established by
the Republic of Armenia on the basis of ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijani
population,” the Foreign Ministry’s statement said. “The so-called
“elections” are conducted in order to camouflage the annexation
policy of Armenia and are aimed at consolidation of the results of
the continued occupation of the internationally recognized territories
of Azerbaijan.”

According to the reports circulated by the mass media outlets of the
Republic of Armenia so-called “elections” to the “local self-governing
bodies” are being arranged to take place in the Nagorno-Karabakh
region of the Republic of Azerbaijan on September 18, 2011.

The Republic of Azerbaijan calls upon the Armenian side to stop
its destructive illegal steps, which do not have any prospects, and
instead to demonstrate a good will and take a constructive position
in the negotiation process in order to find a soonest and durable
solution to the conflict on the basis of the norms and principles of
international law, the statement said.

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 seven 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 peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding
regions.

BAKU MAKES ANNOUNCEMENT ON PLANNED ‘ELECTIONS’ IN OCCUPIED LANDS

news.az
Sept 5 2011
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has made a statement in relation to
planned elections in the occupied lands.

The announcement says that according to reports in Armenian press,
there is a plan to hold ‘elections to municipal elections’ in occupied
lands of Azerbaijan on 18 September.

The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan repeats that the poppet regime
in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan is an illegal structure created
as a result of an ethnic policy against the Azerbaijani community of
the region.

The illegal ‘elections are aimed at hiding the occupational policy of
Armenia and strengthening the results of occupation of the Azerbaijani
lands recognized worldwide.

“Azerbaijan urges Armenia to stop its destructive and illegal actions
which have no prospects and take constructive step in the process of
negotiations for the settlement of the conflict on the basis of of
the norms and principles of the international law”, the statement says.

ARMENIANS SHOOT DOWN AZERBAIJANI SPY DRONE: SEPARATISTS

Agence France Presse
September 14, 2011 Wednesday 11:29 AM GMT

Armenian forces have for the first time shot down an unmanned
Azerbaijani drone that was flying over the disputed region of Nagorny
Karabakh, the separatist Karabakh defence ministry said on Wednesday.

Unmanned Azerbaijani planes had been making regular reconnaissance
flights along the Karabakh frontline in the days before the drone was
shot down on Tuesday, some of them flying over Armenian-held territory,
the ministry said.

“To prevent flights of this nature, the anti-aircraft forces of
Nagorny Karabakh took appropriate steps,” it said in a statement.

Azerbaijan unveiled its new drones at a showpiece military parade in
June amid continuing tensions over Karabakh, which Armenian separatists
backed by Yerevan seized from Baku in a war in the 1990s that left
around 30,000 dead.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly threatened to use force to win back the
disputed region if internationally-mediated peace negotiations do
not yield satisfactory results.

Yerevan has warned of large-scale retaliation if Baku launches any
military action.

ARMENIA CANNOT HAVE COMPULSORY MILITARY SERVICE FOR WOMEN – MP

news.am
Sept 16 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenia cannot have compulsory military service for women.

It is voluntary and takes place under certain conditions, head of the
commission on defense, national security and internal affairs at the
parliament Hrayr Karapetyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“I am not against the increase of number of women serving in the army.

I am against for the serving to be compulsory. We do not have the
Israeli compulsory system for women. But we cannot relate the negative
situation of the army to the absence of women,” he said.

In the discussion, where representatives of Armenian MOD, Military
Prosecutor’s Office, human rights defenders, and lawyers were present,
it was offered to increase the number of contract-based servicemen.

Karapetyan approved the initiative and added that different options
can be discussed. The commission will prepare proposals when the
discussions are over.

RUSSIAN AIRCREWS FLYING TRAINING MISSIONS IN ARMENIA

Interfax
Sept 14 2011
Russia

Air crews of the air unit attached to Russia’s 102nd military base
in Armenia have practiced combat flight techniques aboard MiG-29
multirole fighter jets, the Southern Military District’s press
secretary, Col. Igor Gorbul, told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday.

“The air crews are flying missions to practice air maneuvering in
groups in the entire range of altitudes and speeds. The crews’ flight
time in the past eight months is over 50 hours,” Gorbul said.

Russian pilots go on training flights and maintain their aircraft at
the Erebuni airfield near Yerevan, he said.

Under an intergovernmental agreement, the Erebuni airfield hosts the
Russian airbase. The airbase is attached to Russia’s 102nd military
base and it was switched to MiG-29 multirole fourth-generation fighter
jets in December 1998.

NORWEGIAN “NORSK ENERGY” WILL DEVELOP HYDROPOWER IN ARMENIA

news.am
Sept 15 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – By the support of Norwegian MFA, Norwegian “Norsk Energy”
company will implement the 3-year project of developing hydropower
in Armenia.

It was mentioned at the meeting of Armenia’s vice PM, Minister of
Territorial Administration Armen Gevorgyan with the delegation of
Norwegian “Norsk Energy” company.

The press service of Ministry of Territorial Administration informed
Armenian News-NEWS.am that the three year project considers
the development of the field on the viewpoint of environmental
sustainability and energetic security.

Within the framework of the project a working group will be created.
The project also includes an educational component: by the cooperation
of Armenian and Norwegian universities it is planned to implement
training program for professionals, as well as create a center,
where they can do the trainings.

The Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the initiative, emphasizing that
the issues of hydropower development and diversification of energy
resources are the priorities of the government.

He suggested including the interested departments in the working
group , as well as the representatives of NGO’s.

On behalf of Armenian government Gevorgyan expressed willingness to
support the implementation of the project.

ARMENIA, ARGENTINA LIFT VISA REGIME

news.am
Sept 15 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN.- Armenia and Argentina signed an agreement on Thursday to
lift visa regime.

The agreement will open up opportunities for development of cooperation
between the states, said Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
during the meeting with Argentina’s Deputy FM Alberto D’Alotto
who arrived in Armenia to participate in consultations between the
ministries.

Nalbandian pointed out high level visits between the sates, as well
as efficient cooperation in the international agencies.

In his turn Argentinean official said the country will continue
policy of deepening relations wit Armenia. The sides discussed wide
range of issues of common interest, foreign office’s press service
informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Armenian FM presented recent developments in the Karabakh peace
process, touched upon Armenia’s approach to regional issues.

The meeting was followed by a signing ceremony during which Edward
Nalbandian and Alberto D’Alotto signed an agreement on lifting visa
regime between Armenia and Argentina.