Author: Badalian Vardan

A WINDOW OPENED FOR ARMENIA
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
02 Oct 2008
Armenia

Hurry Up Until It Closes

Yesterday ex Foreign Minister, founder of "Sivilitas" fund Vardan
Oskanyan convened a press conference devoted to the establishment
of the organization and he willingly introduced their mission and
future plans.

We Must Be Vigilant In Our Relations With Turkey

The journalists naturally asked about the attitude of the ex Foreign
Minister towards the recent Armenian-Turkish relations.

"For me there is one criterion for the normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations, which is – the opening of the border or at
least the operation of the railway. There is no other criterion. If
during the coming months none of them comes true I will say that
Turkey perfectly speculated its chance.

And if the border opens during the coming months or the railway
operates we can say that Gyul’s invitation to Yerevan was the right
decision," Vardan Oskanyan said.

Touching upon the trilateral meeting between the Foreign Ministers
of Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, which took place in New York,
and Turkey’s mediation affectations the ex Foreign Minister said:
"Of course Turkey wants to appear as a mediator. It will definitely
make Turkey’s reputation in the region higher. But as far as I
understood the agenda included regional issues and Turkey’s init
iative towards Caucasus.

Actually in my view at the moment Turkey doesn’t have any role in
those negotiations because the border is still closed and the railway
doesn’t operate and Turkey appears as a party in that conflict.

In such circumstances Turkey doesn’t have anything to do and Armenia’s
diplomacy must do its best to firstly prevent Turkey from similar
involvement and creating an opinion in the whole world that it is
in the role of a mediator, because Turkey doesn’t have the right for
similar role."

As regards the expediency to set up a joint committee of Armenian and
Turkish historians Vardan Oskanyan said: "Any step that can somehow
cast doubt on the fact of the Genocide is unacceptable. In this issue
we must really be very vigilant."

The ex Foreign Minister didn’t exclude that the direct participants
of the "football diplomacy" the President and the Foreign Minister
know more than the public does: "Maybe Turkey gave certain guarantees
regarding the opening of the border. Otherwise for me it is a bit
strange to hear the announcement made by the President saying that we
don’t have any land demands from Turkey and we are ready to discuss
any issue. So the thing that the Turks wanted from us we have already
given to them and the thing that we want from Turkey we haven’t yet
taken from them."

Gyul’s announcement saying that until Armenia returns the "occupied
territories" to Azerbaijan, Armenian-Turkish border won’t open,
indirectly displays that Turkey can’t change its harsh attitude
towards Armenia and will continue to speak with us in the language
of ultimatums.

Vardan Oskanyan also touched upon the tensed internal political
situation that has been established in Armenia after March 1. "Both
the ruling power and the opposition must do their best to mitigate
the created tension and in general to annihilate it. In my view the
authorities must take steps linked with the detained. I’m glad to
hear that the President is going to deliver a speech in the National
Assembly and that there is a possibility of amnesty."

"By solving this entangled string can Armenia essentially raise its
reputation in the region?"

"I must record that we shouldn’t lose this moment because actually
a window has been opened for Armenia to put its reputation on its
real place.

We have lost lots of things after March 1 developments and today we
have a very good chance. Actually we are already late but the window
is still open."

But this doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t give legal assessment to what
has happened. "March 1 is one of the black pages of our history. We
must be able to turn that page. But in order to turn it we must give
right assessment and move forward."0D

STRANGE INSTRUCTIONS FROM EUROPE
Kima Yeghiazaryan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
01 Oct 2008
Armenia

Some days after March 1-2 developments, when even the General
Prosecutor’s and the special investigative service didn’t imagine what
volumes will the case have, beginning from March 5 the Europeans were
very concerned about the destiny of the detained.

>From that day on, till now they continuously appear with announcements,
calling the authorities "to release those who didn’t commit serious
crime or those who are detained because of their political views,
as soon as possible."

Undoubtedly the before mentioned instructions coming from Europe
are quite understandable for us. The members of more than 60 parties
registered in our country have quite different "political views". Which
means all of them can organize a coup, to prove their loyalty to their
"political views." And no punishment.

And after all who said that the attempts of takeover, by means of
organizing massive disorder is not considered a serious crime

And of course those who are concerned about the problems of the
"political prisoners" have no time to listen to similar questions or
moreover to ground their appeals and demands.

The most important thing for them is to see the "fighters for
liberty" released. Whereas the process of the court procedure and
the already accomplished=2 0verdicts demonstrate that everything is
clear – 42 persons have been released immediately from the court,
they are on probation, and 39 persons have been sentenced to 3 –
3,5 years imprisonment.

But it turned out that PACE is not satisfied with these data. In its
conclusion published the day before Council of Europe Human Rights
Commissioner Tomas Hammarberg over again called the authorities
to release the revolutionaries, meanwhile he underscored that he
considers the continuation of the court procedures unacceptable. "The
continuation of the court procedures which are based on the person’s
political views or their detention for not violent actions, are
unacceptable."

This not very clear explanation brings to one conclusion, the law
enforcers must stop the questioning of the ex chief warder Mushegh
Saghatelyan, who, on March 1 fled the Theatrical Square and acted
violently towards the policeman who caught him.

They must also change all the verdicts taken by now and justify the
"freedom fighters". It is impossible to give another interpretation
to the ideas of the Human Rights Commissioner. By the way we must
underscore that Hammarberg has pointed out article 300 of the
Criminal Code, he has used certain judicial language, but he didn’t
say a word about why this criminal case has been instituted. In his
report you will not find the words "massive disorder followed by
m urders". Which means according to Hammarberg’s conclusion one can
think that the "incident" that took place on March 1-2 in the heart of
our capital city was a "significant event". The next idea expressed
by the commissioner is not less noteworthy: "The interlocutors of
the commissioner believe the competencies of the parties before the
court have been violated."

What does the commissioner mean, when the court procedures were very
rarely held in peaceful atmosphere. The Commissioner, who paid a two
days visit to Yerevan in July, naturally couldn’t participate in the
court procedures that reminded of a bullfight. But he could at least
go through the reports made by the press belonging to Armenian Pan
National Movement. When the furious activists used to capture the
halls of the court, attack the court managers, and drive the judge
presiding over the procedure, away from the hall.

So it turns out that if the halls of the court were small for
the demonstrations it means their rights have been violated. Very
ridiculous.

Another court procedure is in store, on October 7. Do the law enforcers
have the right to clarify, why Sasun Mikaelyan hid arms in his personal
small lake? Or why he supplied food to the demonstrators?

Or do they have the right to clarify why after descending from the
barricades Myasnik Malkhasyan ran away with an iron stick in his
=0 Apocket. What about Alik Arzumanyan’s telephone conversations,
where he announced that there is no other option except an armed coup.

After all it was Hakob Hakobyan’s personal desire to be detained
"to have everything clarified", which he announced in the parliament.

So if the law enforcers release these people, what will the process
of the investigation be like? Most probably it will be quashed because
of the absence of the corpus delicti.

TWO MPS CLAIM FOR SPEAKER POST

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.09.2008 14:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Heritage opposition party nominated Larisa Alaverdyan
for the post of Armenian National Assembly Speaker.

Earlier, the ruling Republican Party of Armenia nominated former head
of presidential administration Hovik Abrahamyan.

Tigran Torosyan sent in his resignation on September 19 and announced
that he stops his membership of the RPA. His resignation was accepted
on September 26, after a second confirmation.

Vice speaker Hrayr Karapetyan will act as chairman of the parliament
until the NA elects a new speaker during a four-day session that
started today.

THE REGULAR LIE REFUTED

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
27 Sep 2008
Armenia

During the recent times they speak too much about editing the
recordings about March 1-2 developments.

Particularly they speculate the episodes taken near the "Fish Store",
where allegedly pieces of chin, tongue, and cheekbones have been
"found", which allegedly prove that there have been 11 victims and
not 10. The identity of the 11th victims has not been identified.

Yesterday head of the Center of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry
of Health Shota Vardanyan officially informed that due to the
investigation of the Republic’s best specialists: "The detailed
study of those pieces have shown that the bones belong to animals –
pigs and sheep and far not human beings."

REMEMBERING ADANA 1909
A Hundred Year Perspective

Gibrahayer
24 September, 2008
Nicosia

To mark the centenary of the Adana Massacres of 1909 a one-day
symposium will be held at the London School of Economics on 28
March 2009.

The meeting will look back at Adana 1909 to evaluate the humanitarian
activity in the aftermath of the 1909 massacres and to explore the
response, imagery and meaning ascribed to those events.

Since 1909, Adana has continued to resonate as an evocative historic
community in the consciousness of the Armenian Diaspora, and it has
commanded artistic responses in literature, art and film.

Possible subjects might include, but are not limited to, the following:
* the response to Adana 1909 by observers, survivors, humanitarian
organizations and writers; * analysis of or new approaches to the
classic texts by authors such as Zabel Yesayian, Souren Bartevian,
Siamanto, Arshagouhi Teotig or Hagop Terzian; * analysis of texts by
foreign observers on Adana 1909; * Adana in oral narratives or song;
* the relationship between art, violence and mourning; * literary
texts or film or artwork exploring Adana as lost (or ancestral) home,
images of Adana, memory or Diasporan identity.

Those wishing to participate should send the titles of their proposed
papers with a 300 word summary to the organising committee. Entries
should include the names of presenters, their institutional
affiliations, as well as contact details. Once accepted the final
drafts of each paper should be sent to the organisers by February
1, 2009 for distribution amongst discussants prior to the seminar
meeting. The seminar will be in English.

For more details please email adana at gomidas dot org Organised by
the Gomidas Institute, 42 Blythe Rd., London, W14 0HA, England

SITTING OF DEFENCE AND SECURITY COMMISSION OF CSTO INTERPALIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN ON SEPTEMBER 24

Noyan Tapan

Se p 23, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. A sitting of the Commission
for Defence and Security Issues of the Interparliamentary Assembly
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will be held
at the RA National Assembly on September 24. NT correspondent was
informed by the organizers that the main issue on the agenda is the
military-political situation in the Caucasian region.

RA PRIME MINISTER ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIAN AND GERMAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS

Noyan Tapan

Se p 23, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. On September 23, RA Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsian met with Hans-Jurgen Papier, the Chairman
of the Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany, who
has arrived in Yerevan on a visit. The RA Prime Minister attached
importance to cooperation of Armenia’s Constitutional Court with
Germany’s Constitutional Court, which has experience and traditions
of nearly 60 years.

The Prime Minister briefly presented the significance of foundation of
the Constitutional Court and the role of that important institution in
Armenia’s life. "Creation of proper legislative grounds was important
in the first years of establishment of the independent state, while
preservation of adopted laws and constitutional norms has already
become important today," T. Sargsyan emphasized.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA government’s Information and
Public Relations Department, Hans-Jurgen Papier expressed readiness
to convey the experience of Germany’s Constitutional Court to the
Republic of Armenia.

CORRECTING AND REPLACING NEW YORK LIFE LAUNCHES VOLUNTARY PROGRAM TO REACH OUT TO HEIRS OF GREEK POLICIES FROM 1914
[email protected]

MarketWatc h
Sept. 22, 2008

NEW YORK, Sep 22, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Third graph, fourth
sentence of release dated September 4, 2008 should read: toll-free
1-888-922-2973 (sted toll-free 1-800-922-2973).

The corrected release reads: NEW YORK LIFE LAUNCHES VOLUNTARY
PROGRAM TO REACH OUT TO HEIRS OF GREEK POLICIES FROM 1914 New York
Life Insurance Company announced an outreach program to locate and
compensate heirs of approximately 1,000 life insurance policies
issued to Greeks in the Ottoman Empire prior to 1915. As part of
the Greek Life Insurance Policy Program, New York Life will publish
notices in national and international newspapers about the claims
review process so that heirs can submit claims relating to these
policies. The company said it will also contribute $1 million to the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, since descendants of many of
those displaced from their ancestral homelands are now members of
the Archdiocese. The total value of the voluntary program is $12-15
million, including administrative and other costs.

"In the course of research associated with another historical matter
regarding policies sold to Armenians who perished after 1914, the
company became aware that Greek policyowners were evidently victims
of the same violence in the Ottoman Empire. With the Armenian policy
matter now successfully completed, involving benefits paid to heirs
of 2,300 Armenian policyholders, New York Life conducted additional
archival research and verified that there are Greek policies that may
remain unpaid from 1915. We will offer heirs to the Greek policies
the same benefits as those provided to persons claiming under the
Armenian policies," said William Werfelman, a spokesman for New
York Life. "As with the Armenian policies, records confirm that the
company succeeded in paying benefits in nearly half of the Greek
policies. New York Life paid those benefits to heirs in the months
and years immediately following the violence of 1915. However, New
York Life received no claims and thus paid no benefits or cash value
on 1,000 other Greek policies. Our company’s value system is rooted
in humanity and integrity, and our willingness today to resolve these
policies from 1915 shows that we still adhere to these values today."

The voluntary program uses the same criteria used to resolve the
Armenian policy matter, including a multiplier of ten times the
original face amount for those who can demonstrate that they are the
rightful heirs to the policy proceeds. The public notices will commence
in September. Descendants of persons insured under any of the Greek
Policies may submit claims for benefits for a six month period ending
on February 28, 2009. Individuals who want to learn more can do so
by visiting the program’s website at or
by calling toll-free 1-888-922-2973. In Greece the toll-free number
is 00 800 33 311144.

In addition to providing benefits to heirs of its Greek insureds, New
York Life will contribute $1 million to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
of America. With these funds the Archdiocese plans to establish an
endowed chair for the study of Hellenism in Pontus and Asia Minor at
its Holy Cross Theological Seminary in Brookline, MA. New York Life
expressed gratitude to Archbishop Demetrios, the leader of the Greek
Orthodox Church in America, for his personal involvement in assisting
with various aspects of the voluntary program.

Archbishop Demetrios, said, "The events in the Ottoman Empire
and after led to the loss of countless lives and the expulsion of
1,500,000 Greeks from their ancestral homelands. New York Life is one
of those rarest of companies today, a company of responsible action
that believes in setting the record right, even if it means reaching
back to the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The Greek Orthodox
community gratefully applauds New York Life for establishing the Greek
Life Insurance Policy Program and its very generous contribution of
$1 million, which will be used to enlighten people about the long
and rich history and culture of Hellenism in Pontus and Asia Minor."

The company said it worked with attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan, one of the
attorneys involved in the Armenian insurance settlement, to develop
the voluntary program relating to Greek policies.

New York Life Insurance Company has been headquartered in New York City
since its founding in 1845. The company began selling policies in the
Ottoman Empire in 1882 and withdrew from the region during World War I.

WILL ARMENIA SIGN DOCUMENTS WITH TURKEY?

A1+
[01:01 pm] 19 September, 2008

As early as September 7 in Yerevan we arranged with the Turkish Foreign
Minister to meet in New York on the sidelines of the 63rd session
of the UN General Assembly. Mr. Babacan suggested organising another
meeting in a trilateral format," said Armenia’s FM Edward Nalbandian
when commenting on Turkey’s mediation in the disputed three-way meeting
between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

According to Turkish media, some document is going to be signed during
the upcoming meeting with Ali Babacan in New York. The Armenian FM
was asked to comment on the authenticity of the information.

"Upon the instruction of the Presidents of Armenia and Turkey,
as a result of the talks with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Babacan,
we declared about our resoluteness to fully normalise the bilateral
relations and we are trying to make steps in this direction. I hope
we will move along that way without creating artificial obstacles
fro each other," said Mr. Nalbandian.

Asked about the changes of the OSCE Minsk Group format, Mr. Nalbandian
said," The Minsk Group is the acting format of resolving the Karabakh
conflict. The Group enjoys the real support of the international
community. The negotiations continue on the basis of the proposals of
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. I think that today good preconditions
exist for the conflict resolution, which can open new opportunities
for regional cooperation for all countries.

According to the information disseminated by Azeri media, OSCE Minsk
Group US Co-Chair Matthew Bryza declared in Baku that Turkey can have
its contribution to the process of the Karabakh conflict settlement
and help Armenia demonstrate more flexible position. The Armenian
FM said in this view: "If we believe in the citations of Azerbaijani
media, then most probably Mr. Bryza incorrectly used the word Armenia
instead of Azerbaijan, since Turkey can use its influence for making
Azerbaijan’s position more flexible, deriving from the reality that
Azerbaijani leaders have many times described the relations between
Azerbaijan and Turkey as "one nation-two states. And I think that any
rumors about Turkey’s alleged influence on Armenia in this context
are apparent exaggeration."

THE ATMOSPHERE OF ANARCHISM MUST BE ANNIHILATED

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
19 Sep 2008
Armenia

Yesterday President Serge Sargsyan introduced the newly appointed
Chairman of the Cassation Court Arman Mkrtumyan.

The country’s leader particularly underscored in his speech: "It is
evident that the quality of justice is estimated exclusively by public
perception and if we consider the issue from this point of view,
then mildly speaking the implementation of justice is a failure in
our country.

Every year, every month we must see changes; if we don’t, then this
means we must draw certain conclusions. I would like the judges of
the Cassation Court to comprehend their responsibility and their
role, to help the Chairman of the Court review the already passed
way. And, of course, in some cases, to criticize the new things that
you wanted to do, because if the degree of confidence doesn’t grow,
the degree of complains doesn’t reduce, which means the reforms were
a failure. We shouldn’t be constrained by any decision, or any step,
otherwise we will never succeed.

It is very strange for me when I see contrary processes, when the
judges tend to the Court of General Competencies. Though as I know
from the systems of the accomplished countries, the contrary process
usually takes place.

What is the reason? We must analyze, we must draw a conclusion, and
we must have courage to take=2 0certain steps. Our goals and desires
have always been kind. But we have failed, if you are really impartial
you must accept it."

Concluding his speech Serge Sargsyan said: "We must show intolerance
towards corruption, irresponsibility, and the disability to criticize
your own activity. The atmosphere of anarchism must be annihilated."