Author: Badalian Vardan

RICE URGES POLITICAL WILL TO SETTLE NAGORNO-KARABAKH DISPUTE
By David Gollust

Voice of America
April 15 2008

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday called on the Armenian
and Azerbaijani governments to summon up the political will to settle
the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Rice said the long-running territorial
dispute is holding back both countries. VOA’s David Gollust reports
from the State Department.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice In comments reflecting
U.S. frustration over the continued impasse, Rice says the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute is adversely affecting the interests of both
Armenia and Azerbaijan and could be resolved quickly, with a little
bit of political will by the two principals.

Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic-Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan,
declared independence in 1988, triggering a conflict between the two
countries that claimed some 35,000 lives.

The parties have generally observed a cease-fire agreement brokered
in 1994 by the Minsk Group, chaired by the United States, Russia
and France, but truce violations and cross-border sniping continue,
including an outbreak of fighting last month.

Asked about the conflict in an appearance before the American-Turkish
Council in Washington, Rice said Minsk Group diplomats have been
close to getting an agreement on several occasions, and that it is
time for the parties to make the hard choices needed to finally end
the conflict:

"It needs to be done. I have made the case to both the Armenian
government and the Azeri government that they are falling behind
the rest of the region because they will not resolve this conflict
between them. And frankly there is plenty of, if you wish to use the
word, blame to go around on both sides. This could be done if there
is political will, and it ought to. It ought to be done," he said.

In conjunction with the Rice remarks, the State Department issued
a fact sheet Tuesday reiterating that the United States does not
recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent country, supports the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and holds that the future status
of the region is to be settled through negotiations.

It reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the Minsk process and said
cooperation among the three co-chairs is excellent.

In her remarks to the Turkish-American group, Rice also said there
is new momentum building toward a resolution of the Cyprus dispute,
four years after the collapse of the settlement effort of former U.N.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Rice noted that Turkey had supported the Annan plan, which was voted
down by Greek-Cypriots in a referendum, and that the United States
had later taken steps to ease the isolation of Turkish Cypriots,
whose self-proclaimed state is recognized only by Turkey.

The Secretary called it a more hopeful time for the two Cypriot
communities, who have resumed talks for the first time in two years
and opened a new crossing in Nicosia.

But as in Nagorno-Karabakh, Rice said the Cyprus parties will have to
make difficult choices and overcome political resistance if they are
to take advantage of what she termed a different spirit on the island.

ISRAEL: DISCUSSING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem

Los Angeles Times
April 15 2008
CA

A week before Israelis and Jews will mark Holocaust Remembrance Day
early May, Armenians throughout the world will be commemorating their
own tragedy.

Armenians say 1.5 million people, one third of the ethnic nation, were
massacred by the Turks in 1915-1916. Turkey maintains that between
250,000 and 500,000 Armenians were killed during the minority’s
struggle for independence, and a similar number of Turks.

The Armenians are relentless in their push for recognition of the
killings as genocide, while an uncomfortable Turkey counters these
efforts with international pressure.

In this bitter dispute, Israel finds itself in both a moral and
diplomatic hard spot.

For the first time, the Israeli parliament is going to discuss the
matter. Knesset member Haim Oron raised the issue, reminding that in
recent years the U.S. Congress and French parliament have passed laws
recognizing the Armenian genocide. "It is impossible that the Jewish
nation will not speak up," he said.

Turkey and Israel are more than geographically close. The two
countries share various strategic interests and the thought of a
public discussion of the sensitive issue makes both sides nervous.

One possibility is that the issue be discussed in the Knesset’s foreign
affairs and defense committee, whose sessions are closed to the press.

"The Armenian issue is very sensitive for Turkey," Hasan Murat Mercan,
chairman of the Turkish Foreign Affairs and Defense committee, told
Jerusalem officials during a visit last week. "We would prefer if
this discussion didn’t take place at this time …

because it may harm relations between the two countries." A senior
aide to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert replied that Israel believes the
issue needs to be settled between the two sides with the involvement of
historians, and has no interest in undermining its important strategic
relations with Turkey.

Aside from "not denying the occurrence of the terrible events" and
expressing understanding of the deep sensitivity, Israel has long
avoided a clear public position. Attempts to include the topic in
the school syllabus nearly a decade ago failed, authorities being
reluctant to anger Turkey and concerned it would detract from the
importance of the Holocaust.

In 2003, an Israeli nurse of Armenian descent was chosen as one of
the traditional 12 torch-lighters in the yearly memorial ceremony
preceding Independence Day. The text she wrote for the government
brochure had described her as a "third generation to survivors of the
Armenian holocaust in 1915." But protest from the Turkish embassy
led the reprinting of 2000 new brochures, stating instead that she
was the daughter of the long-suffering Armenian people and that her
grandparents were "survivors of historic Armenia."

Reuven Rivlin, a veteran legislator who was Knesset speaker at that
time, wrote last week that Israel is obliged to recognize the Armenian
genocide: "We cannot, in the name of political or diplomatic wisdom,
suppress such fundamental human values, which touch on the roots of
our tragic existence."

EDVARD NALBANDIAN APPOINTED AS RA FM

DeFacto Agency
April 15 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, 15.04.08. DE FACTO. On April 14 the RA President Serge
Sargsian signed a decree, according to which Edvard Nalbandian has
been appointed the RA FM.

According to the RA President’s another decree Edvard Nalbandian has
been dismissed from the post of the RA Ambassador to France, Vatican,
Israel and Andorra, the RA President’s Press Office reports.

ARMENIAN CHESS PLAYERS PARTICIPATE IN EUROPE SINGLE CHAMPIONSHIP

Panorama.am
18:22 14/04/2008

>From April 20 to May 3 chess championship among male and female will
take place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

Armenian Gross Masters will also take part in the
championship. According to the official web site of the competition 9
Armenian male and 6 female will participate in the championship. The
chess aplyers are Vladimir Hakobyan, Karen Asryan, Gabriel Sargsyan,
Tigran Poghosyan, Artashes Minasyan, Tigran Kotandjyan, Ashot
Anastasyan, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan, and Dmitri Harutyunyan. And from the
female chess players Elina Danielyan, Lilit Lazarian, Nelli Aghinyan,
Lilit Galoyan, Siranush Andriasyan, and Anna Hayrapetyan will leave
for Plovdiv. Totally 332 male chess players and 165 female will take
part in the championship.

Note that the competition is consisted of 11 rounds and of extra 3
time breaks.

"PEACEFUL ARMENIA" CIVIL INITIATIVE TO MAKE PUBLIC MESSAGE COMPOSED OF 24 POINTS IN NEAR FUTURE

Noyan Tapan
April 11, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 11, NOYAN TAPAN. One of the objectives of the
"Peaceful Armenia" civil initiative founded recently by 10 Armenian
non-governmental organizations is to contribute to the establishment of
a dialogue between the authorities and the society in the country. This
statement was made by Karen Bekarian, a member of the initiating
group and the Chairman of the "European Integration" non-governmental
organization (NGO), mentioning that about 250 NGOs have currently
joined the initiative.

According to him, under the situation created in Armenia the whole
public-political system more than ever needs to unite the society, to
unite around the statehood and look directly at their own problems. As
regards the NGOs, in the words of Karen Bekarian, they should not be
only in the role of an assessor or observer.

Karen Bekarian stated that the final version of the message composed
of 24 points adopted by the forum of the "Peaceful Armenia", which
was held on April 7, will be made public in the near future. It
will include short-term and long-term job programs, as well as the
settlement ways of the existing problems. In particular, it will offer
to conduct a comprehensive investigation and a complete revelation of
the March 1 events, to reconsider the recent amendmends made to the RA
Law on "Conducting Meetings, Assemblies, Marches and Demonstrations",
as well as to review the principles of the activities of the Public
Television and its heading staff.

In the opinion of Boris Navasardian, the Chairman of the Yerevan Press
Club, the public dialogue has not been conducted in Armenia in the
recent years mainly through the fault of the authorities as, according
to him, many institutions of the civic society have made suggestions
on the reforms in Armenia for many times, however those suggestions
have been left without response. In the words of the Chairman of the
Yerevan Press Club, "if the authorities are today ready for a fair
constructive dialogue, they should take that initiative."

AZERBAIJAN PROTESTS AT SEPARATISTS’ INVITATION TO CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW

Azeri Press Agency
April 8 2008
Azerbaijan

Moscow, 8 April: The Azerbaijani embassy in Russia has sent a protest
note to this country’s Foreign Ministry.

A source at the embassy has told the Russian bureau of APA that
an international conference entitled "After Kosovo: The union
of unrecognized states on the path towards recognition" was held
at the Institute of CIS Countries on 28 March, led by the first
deputy chairman of Russia’s State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs
and Relations with Compatriots, Konstantin Zatulin. Representatives
of the self-proclaimed regime [in Nagornyy Karabakh] were invited
to the conference and it was attended by representatives of Russian
government bodies. The [Azerbaijani] embassy took appropriate measures
in connection with the case and sent a protest note to the Russian
Foreign Ministry on 7 April.

The document openly and firmly drew attention to the fact that a
representative of the Russian legislative body, and the first deputy
chairman of Russia’s State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs and Relations
with Compatriots, does not get rid of this kind of illegal activity and
noted that such an activity was unacceptable. It was openly stated that
the invitation of representatives from the Russian Foreign Ministry
and the Moscow government to the conference was not in the spirit of
strategic partnership relations between the two countries as reflected
in contracts and other political and legal documents signed between
Azerbaijan and Russia. A demand was made to the Russian Foreign
Ministry to give an explanation in connection with the conference
and the ministry was asked not to repeat this in the future.

POLICE STOPS UNAUTHORIZED PICKET OUTSIDE U.S. EMBASSY IN BAKU

Interfax News Agency
April 9 2008
Russia

A group of activists of the Modern Musavat party attempted to organize
an unauthorized picket outside of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Interfax
was told at the party office on Wednesday.

The action involving up to 20 people was held in protest against the
negative stance of the United States during the vote on the U.N.

document on the situation in occupied Azerbaijani territories. The
protesters unfolded posters denouncing the attitude of countries co-
chairing the OSCE Minsk group for the settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh
during the vote at the U.N. General Assembly.

The picketers urged the Azeri authorities to give up the mediation
of the Minsk group in the conflict.

After a petition of the protesters was handed to embassy officials
the police removed the picketers from the embassy building.

BAKU SEEKS PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH ISSUE, SAYS ENVOY

The Jakarta Post
April 9, 2008 Wednesday
Indonesia

THE JAKARTA POST — WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2008 — PAGE 10 Azerbaijan,
the oil-rich South Caucasus nation, wants tosettle the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue through peaceful negotiations, despite its growing military
and economic might,Azerbaijani Ambassador to Indonesia said

"We want to solve this problem through negotiations based on the norms
and principles of international law.Though we are much stronger than
Armenia militarily and economically, we will not resort to violent
means,"Ambassador Ibrahim A. Hajiyev told The Jakarta Post at a book
presentation Tuesday in Jakarta

Thanks to its oil boom, Azerbaijan was able to allocate some $1US.2
billion to its defense sector in its 2008 statebudget — an increase
of $100 million over 2007’s $1.1 billion. The military budget is
higher than Armenia’sentire budget, which stood at just below $1
billion in 2007

Azerbaijan’s GDP grew by 25 percent in 2007 due to mainly soaring
oil prices

Hajiyey was presenting a book, War Against Azerbaijan: Targeting
Cultural Heritage, to Indonesian Foreign Ministryofficials and
journalists at Le Meridien Hotel, Jakarta

The book, which was authored by an expert team from Azerbaijan’s
foreign affairs ministry and Heydar AliyevFoundation, is one of the
series about Nagorno-Karabakh published by the Azerbaijan government
recently

During the presentation, there was also the screening of a documentary
film about the historical heritage of Karabakhand the systematic
destruction of historical, cultural and architectural monuments in
Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia

The 280-page book, rich in documents, maps and photographs, includes
an illustration booklet, a multimedia disk and adocumentary film on DVD

The present conflict between the Muslim-majority Azerbaijan and its
neighbor Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh began in1988

Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijan territory, is presently occupied by
Armenian troops

In 1992, Armenia launched attacks on Azerbaijan and occupied some
20 percent of its territory, includingNagorno-Karabakh and seven
neighboring districts

"In 1994, we and Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement which ended
the war," Hajiyev said

Presently, the co-chairs of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group (comprisingrepresentatives
from Russia, France and the United States) are mediating between the
two warring countries

The OSCE Minsk Group was established in 1992 to work for a peaceful,
negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakhconflict between the
former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia

As part of its efforts to regain its territory from Armenia,
Azerbaijan tabled a draft resolution titled "TheSituation in the
Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan" at the UN General Assembly

The Resolution (No. A/62/L.42) was adopted on March 14, 2008, by
the 62nd UN General Assembly with 39 in favor toseven against, with
100 abstentions

Indonesia, a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference
like Azerbaijan, was one of the countries thatsupported the resolution

"We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Indonesia and
its people for the valuable support for thisresolution at the UN,"
Hajiyev said.

SCHIFF SAFE IN CONGRESS RACE
By Charles Cooper

Pasadena Independent
April 10 2008
CA

Democrat Adam Schiff, seeking his fourth term in the 29th Congressional
District, has this year at least reached the status of having a safe
district with little or no opposition.

The district has 43 percent Democratic registration, 29 percent
Republican, and 23 percent Independent.

Schiff, 47, launched into the House after one of the most expensive
and hotly contested races in recent years, defeating Republican Jim
Rogan in 2000.

Rogan, a young star of the Republican Party at the time, was targeted
as one of the House prosecutors in the impeachment trial of President
Bill Clinton. Despite massive financial support from conservative
activists across the country, he was outspent and defeated by Schiff,
whom he’d defeated in an earlier race for State Assembly.

Schiff, who served four years in the State Senate and is a former
federal prosecutor, almost immediately established his credentials as
a moderate by joining the Blue Dog Democrats in the House, a moderate
to conservative coalition which concentrated on budget issues.

He had no substantial opposition in later elections, though in 2006
he was targeted from the right and the left, particularly from peace
advocates who were unhappy with his position on Iraq.

This year, he has no Democratic opponent in the primary, and little
known challengers in Republican Charles Hahn and Libertarian Alan
Pyeatt. Hahn is a financial advisor from Burbank and Pyeatt an engineer
from Glendale.

Schiff, who has raised $570,000 for this year’s campaign, compared
to $18,000 for his opponents, has moved into a leadership role in
the newly Democratic Congress. He serves both on the Appropriations
and the Judiciary Committee, and has just been named to the Select
Intelligence Oversight Committee.

He has worked on national security issues, including nuclear
proliferation, has pushed for ratification of the 9-11 commission
recommendations, and is a leader on international copyright and
anti-piracy efforts. He has also become the leading Congressional
spokesman for U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Local issues of major concern for Schiff include extension of the
Gold Line, a project he helped rescue from the MTA scrap heap, and
a study of expanding the Santa Monica Mountains conservancy through
establishment of a Rim of the Valley corridor.

Schiff has been on the short list for some time to run for U.S.

Senate if either seat opens, and is a pledged super delegate for
Barack Obama.

ISRAEL ASSURES TURKEY THAT SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WILL NOT BE RECOGNIZED

Azeri Press Agency
April 8 2008
Azerbaijan

Ankara-APA. Murad Marjan, head of Turkish parliamentary delegation
expressed his confidence that so-called Armenian genocide would not be
recognized in Israeli Parliament, APA reports quoting "Anadolu" agency.

Murad Marjan, head of Foreign Relations Commission sated that Israeli
President Shimon Peres, state officials assured them that so-called
Armenian genocide would not be recognized. Marjan noted that Israel
expects more from Turkey.

"We should understand anxiety of Israel on security in the region",
he said.

Meretz Party has raised so-called Armenian genocide in Knesset.