Author: Badalian Vardan

Today, Azerbaijan
Jan 19 2008

Armenian President: "Nagorno Garabagh conflict can be settled on
basis of the Madrid agreements"

19 January 2008 [10:45] – Today.Az

Nagorno Garabagh conflict can be settled on basis of the Madrid
agreements of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The due statement was made by Armenian President Robert Kocharyan on
Friday.

"It is possible to find solution to the Garabagh conflict basing on
the logic of the Madrid document. However, today this document is not
final for the sides and the talks on the conflict settlement will be
continued by the next president of Armenia", R.Kocharyan noted.

He said Armenia, in the person of the Foreign Ministry, has already
expressed its attitude towards the Madrid document, noting that the
content of the said document is accepted by both sides. Yet, Armenia
does not agree on some of its points.

"The document is in the context of the negotiation process, yet there
are some points on which the talks will further continue", the
President announced.

It should be noted that the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group
presented basic principles of the peaceful settlement of the Garabagh
conflict for consideration to the Presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan at the session of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministries,
held in Madrid in November of 2007.

/Novosti-Armenia/

URL:

Agence France Presse — English
January 17, 2008 Thursday 9:19 AM GMT

Bulgarian lawmakers reject Armenian ‘genocide’ resolutions

SOFIA, Jan 17 2008

Bulgaria’s parliament announced it had rejected Thursday four
proposals by opposition lawmakers to officially recognise the Ottoman
massacre of Armenians during World War I as genocide.

Legislators voted against three draft resolutions and against issuing
a declaration "condemning the genocide against the Armenian people
within the Ottoman Empire," the parliamentary press office said.

The proposals, tabled separately by the ultra-nationalist Ataka party
and the right-wing parties Bulgarian People’s Union and Union of
Democratic Forces, were rejected by the Socialist-led ruling
coalition.

The coalition also includes a Turkish minority party, Movement for
Rights and Freedoms, and the centrist NMSP party of former king
Simeon Saxe Coburg.

Almost a third of the lawmakers present in the 240-seat legislature
abstained from the vote.

"I do not believe that there is a deputy in this hall who is not
aware what the physical destruction of over one million Armenians
means, but the historical truth is one thing, and politics completely
another," Socialist deputy Alexander Radoslavov said after the vote.

According to the Armenians, 1.5 million of their kinsmen were killed
from 1915 to 1917 under an Ottoman Empire campaign of deportation and
murder.

Rejecting the genocide label, Turkey argues that 250,000 to 500,000
Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia during
World War I.

A number of countries and official bodies, notably the European
Parliament, France, Canada and a US House of Representatives
committee, have labelled the killings genocide.

But Bulgaria has several times refused to pass a "genocide"
resolution for fear of sparking a diplomatic row with neighbouring
Turkey.

The Balkan state of 7.6 million people has an 800,000-strong Turkish
minority population and is also home to over 10,000 descendants of
Armenian refugees who fled the killings.

PACE PRESIDENT CALLS ON TURKEY FOR REFORMS ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH, MINORITY RIGHTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.01.2008 18:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe (PACE) Rene van der Linden yesterday urged
Turkey to press ahead with reforms and pay more attention to freedom
of expression and minority rights two areas that await further
improvement if the country is to proceed on its thorny road toward
the European Union.

I am one of the biggest supporters of Turkey’s EU membership as long as
Turkey sticks to its commitments, Rene van der Linden told reporters
following a meeting with Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan. He warned
Turkey to pay much more attention to the much-criticized article 301
of the Turkish penal code that makes it a crime to insult Turkish
identity.

The contentious article has landed a string of intellectuals in
court due to denigrating "Turkishness" and mostly for comments on
the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Linden also urged the Turkish government and Parliament to improve
minority rights. I am sure that you, the new Parliament and the new
government will pay attention to these issues and contribute to their
solution, he told Toptan, the Turkish Daily News reports.

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Jan 14 2008

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Expect for Oral Agreement Between
Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents before Presidential Elections in
both countries (video)
14.01.08 11:00

Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. Ê.Ramazanova / Matthew Bryza, the
United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the OSCE Minsk
Group expects signing of an oral agreement between the Presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia before the presidential elections in the both
countries. `There would not be a treaty before the elections.
However, we are waiting for an oral agreement between the Presidents
of the states,’ Bryza said in the Baku airport on 13 January
answering to journalists questions.

Bryza touched upon the Kosovo and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts, he said
that there was not any connection between the both conflicts.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in
1988, due to the Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
Since 1992, the Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of
Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven
neighbouring districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a
ceasefire agreement which ended the active hostilities. The Co-Chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently
holding the peaceful negotiations.

Armenian delegation to attend Saakashvili’s inauguration

armradio.am
15.01.2008 12:18

Armenia has received an invitation to participate in the inauguration
ceremony of the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, Press Secretary
of RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Karapetyan told Mediamax.

The Armenian delegation will be headed by RA Minister of Foreign
Affairs Vartan Oskanian.

MANVEL BADALIAN APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF CIVIL SERVICE COUNCIL

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. By RA President Robert Kocharian’s
January 14 decree, Seyran Petrosian was appointed a member of the RA
State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition for five years’
term.

According to the report provided to Noyan Tapan by the RA President’s
Press Office, by R. Kocharian’s January 15 decree, Manvel Badalian was
appointed Chairman of the Civil Service Council (the term of
commissions is six years).

OSCE/ODIHR PRESENTS BID FOR IMPLEMENTING OBSERVER MISSION TO CENTRAL
ELECTORAL COMMISSION

YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The OSCE/ODIHR (Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights) has presented a bid for implementing an
observer mission (with the participation of 40 long-term observers and
250 short-term ones) at the February 19 presidential elections in
Armenia to the RA Central Electoral Commission (CEC). As of January 11,
this is the only bid received from the international organizations
which were invited beforehand by the Armenian authorities, NT
correspondent was informed by the spokeswoman for CEC Tatev Ohanian.

The number of accredited local observers remains unchanged: 6,074
representatives of 5 NGOs have been accredited in the CEC. The deadline
for accrediting observers is February 9.

74-YEAR-OLD EXPERT ON FORMER YUGOSLAVIA TO HEAD THE MISSION OF LONG-TERM OBSERVERS OF OSCE ODIHR IN ARMENIA

Mediamax
January 10, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. 74-year-old German diplomat, Ambassador
Geert-Hinrich Ahrens will head the mission of long-term observers of
the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
in Armenia.

Mediamax reports that on January 9, Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens
met the Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and stated that
the mission will work with maximum transparancy.

28 long-term and 250 short-term observers from the OSCE will be
observing the presidential elections in Armenia, which will take
place on February 19 of 2008.

Mediamax notes that the German career diplomat Geert-Hinrich Ahrens
has great work experience in former Yugoslavia and in the Balkans.

In 2007, his book "Diplomacy on the Edge" was published, which presents
the activity of the Minorities Working Group of the Conferences on
Yugoslavia, which was headed by the German diplomat. The Working
Group was the principal UN and European Community diplomatic effort
to grapple with ethnic conflicts in the Croatian Krajina, Kosovo,
Macedonia, and southern Serbia.

In various periods of time, Geert-Hinrich occupied the positions of the
German Ambassador to Vietnam and to Colombia; was the Head of the OSCE
Office in Albania. In fall of 2004, Geert-Hinrich Ahrens headed the
observation mission of the OSCE during the elections in the Ukraine.

ARMENIA PREPARING FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

Russia & CIS Presidential Bulletin
January 9, 2008

The Armenian Central Elections Commission (CEC) has not received
applications from foreign observers to monitor the upcoming
presidential elections which are scheduled for February 19, 2008,
CEC press secretary Tatevik Oganian told Interfax.

All observer missions, both local and international, will be able to
register up to ten days before the voting day, she said.

So far, the Armenian CEC has registered observers from five local
organizations: Erebuni (three observers), the Open Society Institute
(1,405 observers), Your Choice (4,010 observers), Mutk (40 observers),
Justice and Law (616 observers).

Armenian parliamentary speaker Tigran Torosian sent an invitation to
monitor the presidential elections to international organizations in
late December 2007.

It is expected that the long-term OSCE observer mission consisting
of 24 people will arrive in Armenia in mid-January. Observers will
monitor the electoral campaign, the access of candidates to mass media,
the registration of candidates, as well as possible appeals.

It is expected that 250 short-term OSCE observers will monitor the
elections on the voting day.

Nine candidates are running for the Armenian Presidency: Parliamentary
Speaker and leader of the Orinats Yerkir (Law-Based State)

party Artur Bagdasarian, Prime Minister and leader of the Republican
Party Serzh Sarkisian, leader of the opposition National-Democratic
Union Vazgen Manukian, Parliamentary Deputy Speaker and member of the
Bureau of the Dashnaktsutyun Armenian Revolutionary Federation Vaan
Ovanisian, Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosian, leader of the
National Union party Artashes Gegamian, Chairman of the People’s Party
Tigran Karapetian, leader of the National Accord party Aram Arutyunian,
and Arman Melikian, an ex-aide to the Nagorno Karabakh president.

Meanwhile, Ter-Petrosian was the first candidate to present his
electoral program last Monday.

In the program obtained by Interfax he vows to establish a sound
democracy in the country, to guarantee freedom of speech, the
independence of judicial authorities, and the final implementation
of the multiparty system.

Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, Ter-Petrosian notes
the need to search for compromises with Azerbaijan, given the right
of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination.

The candidate is certain that if his program is fulfilled better
results could be expected as to the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, the
lifting of a blockade, and the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border.

Ter-Petrosian notes that the main challenges that the newly elected
Armenian authorities would face will be the development of the
industrial sector and a qualitative improvement of people’s welfare.

Equal conditions for economic agents, free competition, and guaranteed
inviolability of property could contribute to the achievement of
these goals, Ter-Petrosian said.

The former president vows in his program that annual salaries will
grow by 20% and pensions will increase from 30% to 40% and that
social housing construction will be large-scale in order to provide
poor and young families with free housing.

VARTAN OSKANIAN: "DO NOT DESTABILIZE THE COUNTRY"

A1+
[05:29 pm] 09 January, 2008

"Some forces attempt to destabilize the country to come to power. I
urge these forces to give up their intentions," Armenia’s Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian told a press conference today.

Vartan Oskanian stated that he considers "unacceptable" any efforts to
destabilize the situation to reach political goals. "The forces, which
strive to preserve power, or to come to power, should use exclusively
democratic tools and mechanisms," Vartan Oskanian stated. The Armenian
FM declined to divulge those forces. He only said that everything
should be done to conduct free, fair and transparent elections
in Armenia.

In reply to A1+’s question whether the opposition can rig the election
Vartan Oskanian said, "Surely, they can because if there is a wish
to take the track of fraud and destabilization, the mechanisms are
always found." He declined to speak of mechanisms and advised to turn
to the relevant bodies.

The Armenian FM is seriously concerned over the presidential election
since it is a major event for the country’s external policy. "I
don’t want Armenia to tarnish its reputation acquired after the 2007
parliamentary elections." He wants Armenia to conduct a better election
to raise the country’s international reputation.

Vartan Oskanian expressed confidence that if the presidential elections
are held at a higher level than the parliamentary elections of 2007
"the following 5 years will be years of upsurge for Armenia."

Vartan Oskanian also commented on Ter-Petrossian’s election programme
concerning Armenia’s foreign policy. The Minister is dissatisfied
with the programme. "I think the ex-president’s programme should
have included new political approaches and proposals since he used to
criticize our foreign policy. But we have found nothing new. There is
not a single new idea," the Minister says. If Levon Ter-Petrossian
did not criticize the government’s foreign policy, the expectations
for innovation would not be that great.

Speaking about the development of the peace process in 2007,
Mr. Oskanian noted that the parties managed to achieve certain
progress although a number of principles remain non-agreed. Vartan
Oskanian declared about the willingness of the Armenian side to
continue the negotiations based on the progress achieved, "in the
basis of which lies the right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh to
self-determination."

The Foreign Minister expressed the opinion that the settlement process
will be active in 2008.

The OSCE Minsk Group CO-Chairs will visit the region to get acquainted
with the conflicting sides’ stance on the new proposals. Vartan
Oskanian says Armenia has a lot to say in this connection, but he
declined to say whether Armenia’s stance is positive or negative.

Armenia will express its stance during the co-chairs’ regional visit
in January. Vartan Oskanian declined to mention the exact date of the
visit, noting that the preliminary date of the visit on January 14-15
is not convenient for Armenia and they will let the co-chairs know.

Armenia will mark the 20th anniversary of the Armenian massacres in
the Azerbaijani town of Sumgait. Vartan Oskanian noted that Sumgait
is highly important because it is closely connected with the Karabakh
conflict. The military component of the Karabakh conflict settlement
originated in Sumgait. The first attempt of ethnic cleansings took
place there, and led the people of Karabakh to the irreversibility
of the idea of self-determination. The Armenian FM urged NGOs to
contemplate over the issue more seriously.