Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

ROBERT BRADTKE: “THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP THE HUMANITARIAN RELATIONS BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA”

APA
March 6 2012
Azerbaijan

Baku. Anakhanim Hidayatova – APA. “I think that there are many
opportunities to develop the humanitarian relations between the
conflict parties”, OSCE Minsk Group’s US co-chair Robert Bradtke told
journalists, APA reports.

US diplomat noted the necessity of developing the humanitarian
relations: “Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents spoke about it. They
offer a hope that the humanitarian relations will develop more. We
begin to create the humanitarian relations. It is a beginning. The
cooperation offers a great hope to us”.

Bradtke reminded that the co-chairs visited Azerbaijan-Armenia border
in December last year and said: “We saw that people living in both
sides face the same problems – water and energy problems. We would
like to create any cooperation on it between the people with the
same problems”.

From: Baghdasarian

THE BELGIUM PARLIAMENT HOLDS HEARING ON THE KARABAKH CONFLICT

APA
March 6 2012
Azerbaijan

Brussels. Victoria Dementieva – APA. The Federal Parliament of Belgium
held hearing on “occupied territory, forgotten territory – humanitarian
and legal aspects of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict”, – APA reports.

At the meeting, organized by the head of a working group of
inter-parliamentary cooperation Azerbaijan-Belgium Elkhan Suleymanov,
was attended by Deputy head of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan,
Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov,
Deputy Minister for Economic Development Sevinc Hasanova, Doctor of
international law Fuad Suleymanov, doctor of historical sciences
Maharram Zulfugarli, Director of European Center for Security and
Strategic Studies Claude Moniquet, founder of the organization
“Borderless Lawyers” Pierre Legros.

The meeting was opened by the deputy of the Belgian parliament, the
head of a working group of inter-parliamentary co-Azerbaijan Belgium
Philippe Blanchard. Then there was a demonstration of reportage –
“Nagorno Karabakh: a visit to a refugee”, prepared by journalists
Euronews TV channel in 2011.

Addressing the meeting, Ali Hasanov noted that as a result of
occupation 20% of Azerbaijani territories by Armenians, one million
Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs. During the fighting, killing
dozens of people, including women, children and the elderly. The
Karabakh conflict caused damage to the economy of Azerbaijan in the
60 billion U.S. dollars.

Hasanov said that the beginning of the conflict began in the late
80s of last century, during the collapse of the Soviet Union. 20th
February 1988 Regional Council of Deputies of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Autonomous Region (Nagorny Karabakh) had called for the release of
Nagorny Karabakh from the Azerbaijan SSR and the occurrence of the
Armenian SSR.

Then, through violence and terror of the Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia
were expelled Azerbaijani population of all the night of February
25 to 26 the Armenian armed forces committed genocide against the
Azerbaijanis and the Meskhetian Turks who lived in the town of Khojaly
in Karabakh.

Ali Hasanov informed the participants with the detailed work carried
out on socio-economic resettlement of refugees and internally displaced
persons, providing them with housing, with the destructive position
of Armenia on the settlement of the conflict, the illegal settlement
of occupied territories by persons of Armenian origin from other
countries, drug production in the occupied lands, and so etc.

Deputy Prime Minister said that these actions constitute a threat to
Yerevan is not only the security of Azerbaijan and the entire region
and the world community.

Director of the Center for Strategic Studies and Security in Europe,
Claude Moniquet said that Europe must become more involved in resolving
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “We must make every effort to resolve
it”, – said Moniquet, noting that in connection with the possible
application of political sanctions against Armenia.

The founder and head of the organization “Bourderless lawyers”,
Pierre Legros said that to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must
first educate the international community on this issue and get their
attention. “And Europe could make contribution”, he said.

Pierre Legros said that optimism does not apply to negotiations,
conducted on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group,
as the work of the OSCE Minsk Group for all the years of its existence
has not brought success.

He noted that in order to educate the public about international
conflict will be useful to send a mission of the organization
“Borderless lawyers” in Azerbaijan, so they can gather all the facts,
and returned to tell about them in Europe.

MP Gudrat Gasankuliev expressed the view that the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is more dependent on Russia. Noted that “about this conflict
is often referred to as frozen, but it is not. Once a violation of
the fire at the contact line may result in a full-fledged war”.

He noted the importance of awareness in Europe about this conflict.

Following the discussions, the Belgian member of parliament David
Geerts pointed out the need to intensify efforts to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said the initiative to submit a resolution
on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the Belgian Parliament.

The discussions were attended by over 100 people, including experts,
members of the upper and lower houses of parliament of Belgium, the
delegation of the Azerbaijani-Belgian inter-parliamentary working
group, headed by Elkhan Suleymanov.

From: Baghdasarian

REVIEW OF CHAMLIAN PROJECT WAS NECESSARY

Glendale News Press
March 6 2012
CA

In one fell swoop, the unnamed editor of the March 3 editorial “A
shining example of harebrained bureaucracy” insulted the Planning
Commission, the Design Review Board, the residents who live near
the Chamlian Armenian School, and indirectly Councilman Dave Weaver,
whom the editor commented has previously been known to be “typically
unsympathetic.”

Perhaps even worse than characterizing these individuals as component
parts of a “harebrained bureaucracy” is calling into question “due
process” itself.

To assess and coalesce the needs and desires of all concerned parties
in a decision takes time. That there were many warranted concerns on
the part of the neighborhood, and a number of accumulated variances
to Glendale’s zoning codes that needed to be analyzed, justifies the
thoroughness of the process. It would have been harebrained to rush
this through without thorough vetting.

Although I have not always agreed with the planning department or
commission, Design Review Board and City Council decisions, I have
the utmost respect for their qualifications and the professionalism
with which they approach their duties.

I would expect that any newspaper, other than those of the throwaway or
yellow variety, would be a little more perspicacious in its judgments.

Nancy Comeau Glendale

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA, NATO REAFFIRM PLANS FOR ‘DEEPER PARTNERSHIP’
Armen Koloyan

Armenialiberty.org
March 6 2012

President Serzh Sarkisian reaffirmed his desire to continue deepening
Armenia’s ties with NATO as he met with NATO Secretary General Anders
Fogh Rasmussen and addressed the alliance’s top decision-making body
in Brussels on Tuesday.

The talks centered on Yerevan’s Individual Partnership Action Plan
(IPAP) with NATO and its participation in the NATO-led International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

“Armenia is actively cooperating with NATO in all areas of our
partnership,” Sarkisian said after the meeting with Rasmussen. He
pointed out that the IPAP was again modified last November, presumably
with the aim of stepping up bilateral cooperation.

“I would like to reaffirm Armenia’s readiness to continue the mutually
beneficial cooperation with NATO,” Sarkisian told journalists.

“Our alliance attaches great importance to our partnership with Armenia
and we are grateful for Armenia’s contribution to our ISAF mission in
Afghanistan,” Rasmussen said for his part. “NATO and Armenia share
many political priorities and security interests. We have built up
our cooperation and dialogue over many years.”

“I expect our discussions today to confirm our interest to take
forward and deepen our partnership,” Rasmussen said.

The two men spoke before attending a session of NATO’s governing
North Atlantic Council at the alliance headquarters in Brussels.

Rasmussen said the meeting will discuss, among other things,
preparations for NATO’s upcoming summit in Chicago that should decide
the future of the Western-led mission in Afghanistan. “As an ISAF
contributor, Armenia will participate closely in the decision-shaping
process,” he said.

Yerevan almost tripled the Armenian participation in the ISAF when it
sent an additional 81 soldiers to Afghanistan in June last year. In
a related development, the Armenian military plans to hold joint
military exercises with U.S. forces next month.

“We realize that modern [security] threats and challenges can
be overcome only with collective efforts,” Sarkisian said before
addressing the North Atlantic Council. “For that purpose we tripled
the size of the Armenian military contingent participating in the
ISAF last summer.”

A statement issued by Sarkisian’s press office later in the day said
the Armenian leader delivered an extensive speech at the council
meeting which touched upon Armenia-NATO relations, “challenges facing
Armenia” and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “President Sarkisian
answered questions from participants and expressed gratitude for
their words of appreciation and encouragement,” it said.

From: Baghdasarian

TURKEY: TOUGHER VISA REGULATIONS MEAN FEWER JOBS FOR LABOR MIGRANTS
by Dorian Jones

EurasiaNet.org

March 6 2012
NY

For decades, Turkey was known for being a source of guest workers,
especially those headed to Germany. Now, Ankara is grappling with a
migrant-labor issue of its own.

Ankara’s relatively relaxed attitude toward visas and illegal labor
had long made Turkey a popular destination for people seeking work
from formerly Soviet states. Last month, though, Turkey tightened
visa regulations in an apparent effort to bring its practices into
line with European Union standards. As a result, many migrant workers
find themselves in career limbo.

In a tale that represents the typical plight of an illegal worker,
57-year-old Moldovan villager Eleni is living in Turkey on a
three-month-tourist visa; the stamp has been her ticket to employment
as a live-in house cleaner for the past 12 years.

The biggest change for Eleni and tens of thousands like her is that
they can no longer automatically renew their visas by leaving the
country for a day, or paying a fine for overstaying. Since the new
regulations went into effect, migrant workers have to wait at least
90 days before re-entering the country on a new visa. Authorities
have warned that the new requirement will be stringently enforced.

“We are all afraid about what will happen. When my visa ends, I will
have to leave,” said Eleni who supports her husband, five children
and grandchildren on her monthly salary. “My whole family is depending
on me.”

Although Moldova’s official rate of unemployment is lower than Turkey’s
(7.6 percent versus 9 percent), over a quarter of its population of
roughly 3.7 million people are estimated to be battling poverty.

Like other Moldovans in Turkey, Eleni sends home not only money,
but food and living essentials. An elaborate mini-bus system that
operates each weekend out of a parking lot in downtown Istanbul
delivers the items.

“They are sending everything from food to clothes, and even washing
powder and baby diapers,” recounted 30-year-old Maria, who came to
Istanbul from Moldova two years ago, and is in charge of coordinating
the transport of money and goods from the parking lot. “Many people
depend on what is sent from here.”

A large percentage of illegal workers are women, who work as live-in
cleaners, nannies or domestic aides for the sick and infirm. Under
the new system, employers are now expected to pay social security
for them – a requirement that could discourage many from opting for
their services.

Marko, one of the mini-bus drivers to Moldova, says the new visa
regulations are already having an effect. “People who leave when their
visas end are going back [to Moldova]. Because of the three-month ban
to re-enter [Turkey], they lose their jobs. No one will wait for an
employee to come back,” he said.

There are few official figures on the number of illegal workers in
Turkey. In 2009, the Turkish daily Zaman quoted an unpublished report
by the Ministry of Labor that put the number at over 1 million.

Many illegal workers have some kind of connection with Turkey. The
Gagauz minority in Moldova, for example, have a cultural bond with
Turks. Meanwhile, Armenians share a complicated history with Turks,
and they can draw on the assistance of Istanbul’s substantial
Armenian-Turkish community. The Turkish Employment Agency in 2009
claimed that as many as 70,000 Armenians worked illegally in Turkey.

Many illegal workers are also believed to come from the Turkic states
of Central Asia and Azerbaijan.

A desire to prevent such illegal workers from encroaching on Turkey’s
job market might explain the visa crackdown, commented Soli Ozel,
a professor of international affairs at Istanbul’s Bilgi University
and a columnist for the newspaper HaberTurk. “The numbers of illegal
workers may be growing because of our booming economy and that may
be becoming a factor on unemployment numbers.”

The new regulations were implemented without warning and with little
explanation, other than the aim of bringing Turkey into line with
European Union standards. But it would seem Ankara is intent of
getting more Turks back in the workforce.

Turkey has escaped relatively unscathed from the worldwide economic
crisis, making “everything . . . fantastic in the Turkish economy . .

. relative to most of the G20 [states],” said Emre Yigit, an
economist at the international trading house Global Securities. “We
are outgrowing our European trade partners by a factor between five
and 10 times this year,” added Yigit. “However, we do have our own
unemployment problem.”

Official unemployment rates have fallen from 15 percent in 2009 to
a current 9 percent, but many believe the actual figure is higher.

Meanwhile, thanks to the country’s comparatively young population
(the median age in Turkey is 28), 5 million new workers are entering
the labor force each year.

With Turkey scrambling to find jobs for them all, visa regulations are
unlikely to be relaxed. In an interview with the semi-official Anatolia
News Agency last month, Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin promised
further reforms. “The ministry has prepared a bill on international
protection of foreigners, and it will be presented to Parliament soon,”
Sahin said. He did not elaborate.

For many migrant workers like Eleni, the thought of regulations
tightening further is not reassuring. Citing the lack of firewood
in her home village amid record cold temperatures during the winter,
she worries about the future. “So many people depend on me . . . What
will happen to us if I lose my job here? I just don’t know.”

Editor’s note: Dorian Jones is a freelance reporter based in Istanbul.

This story is part one of a two-part series.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TALK MARCH 5

Wicked Local
March 6 2012
MA

WATERTOWN – On Monday March 5, Michael Bobelian, Lawyer/ Journalist
from New York will be the speaker at the dinner meeting of the St.

James Armenian Church Men’s Club. The topic will be, “America and
the Armenian Genocide, from Wilson to Obama.”

The Social hour starts with Mezza at 6:15 p.m. followed by a complete
dinner at 7 p.m. for $12 per person. The dinner meeting will be at the
St. James Armenian Church Charles Mosesian Cultural & Youth Center –
Keljik Hall, 465 Mt. Auburn St. Watertown, Ma. Ladies are welcome.

From: Baghdasarian

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF THE STATE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH HAS NO ALTERNATIVE: EDUARD SHARMAZANOV

ARMENPRESS
MARCH 6, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS: Parliamentary delegation of Armenia,
headed by Deputy Speaker of National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov,
met in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, with Speaker of the Lithuanian
Seym Irena Degutiene.

As press service of National Assembly of Armenia told Armenpress,
the parties attached importance to bilateral cooperation between the
parliaments of the two countries.

In conversation with the Speaker of the Seym, Eduard Sharmazanov
congratulated the latter on renewal of the independent state of
Lithuania on March 11. The Lithuanian party attached importance to
correspondence of the electoral processes in Armenia with democratic
principles, and the Armenian delegation, for its part, said that
the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 6 will be conducted in
accordance with democratic standards.

The parties discussed issues related to Armenia’s integration to the
European Union. The Lithuanian party, as EU member state, expressed
its readiness to support Armenia in achieving more correspondence to
European standards.

The parliamentarians discussed the current round of the settlement
of Nagorno Karabakh. The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly
confirmed the commitment of reaching regulation of the conflict on
the basis of the well-known principles, and added the settlement of
Nagorno Karabakh must take place in the format of OSCE Minsk Group.

“International recognition of the state of Nagorno Karabakh has no
alternative,” Eduard Sharmazanov concluded.

From: Baghdasarian

NEW SOFTWARE INSTALLATION LAUNCHED IN HAYPOST

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 6, 2012 – 14:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Escher Group, listed in the AIM market of the London
Stock Exchange, informs that Escher has recently been awarded a US$50
million contract to introduce its Riposte suite of software to the one
of the world’s largest postal authorities, US Postal Service (USPS).

According to Escher Group, this contract with US “closely follows
other contract awards for Escher Group with Haypost, the Armenian
national postal operator, announced in December 2011 and with Saudi
Post announced in January”.

Representatives of Escher, a group of Armenian and Argentine
specialists currently implement installation of new software (Ripost
Essential) in the system of the National Postal Operator of the
Republic of Armenia Haypost.

A joint meeting was held between Escher Group project manager and
representatives of Haypost in late February on the occasion.

The implementation of this technology will utterly change the visions
on the efficiently of postal network stretching from Yerevan to
Armenia’s remotest villages.

Under the USD 1.5 million contract concluded between the National
Postal Operator of the Republic of Armenia Haypost and Escher Group,
Escher will introduce Riposte Essential software in entire postal
network of Haypost in 2012.

From: Baghdasarian

FOREST MONITORING PROGRAM TO BE LAUNCHED IN ARMENIA

Tert.am
06.03.12

Armenian Minister of Agriculture Sergo Karapetyan intends to submit
the a draft program of forest monitoring for 2012-2014 to Armenia’s
government, reports.

The program envisages monitoring of forest resources in an area
of 460,000 hectares, forest conservation and transparent forest
management.

From: Baghdasarian

RUSSIA, CHINA VOTE AGAINST NEW IRAN RESOLUTION ON IAEA AGENDA

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 6, 2012 – 18:09 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russia and China have voted against including a new
draft resolution on Iran into the agenda of the International Atomic
Energy Agency’s Board of Directors, which is currently meeting in
Vienna, The Voice of Russia reported citing ITAR-TASS news agency.

A source in the Russian delegation has told the ITAR-TASS that the
previous resolution passed by the IAEA Board at its November session
is a comprehensive document and even though its implementation
poses certain problems, it’s better than pushing the situation into
a deadlock.

The IAEA Board is planning to discuss further steps aimed at persuading
Iran to resume dialogue that would allay suspicions surrounding its
nuclear program.

From: Baghdasarian