Author: Basmajian Ani

ANC TO PURSUE RESTORATION OF NIKOL PASHINIAN’S RIGHTS

Noyan Tapan
Nov 10, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Ijevan Passport Department of RA
Police Passport and Visa Department refused to provide a certificate
to Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Armenian National
Congress (ANC) Central Office member Nikol Pashinian on permanently
residing in Armenia over the past five years.

Touching upon the mentioned fact ANC declared on November 9 that this
step of the Police is illegal and "it is obvious that in this case the
Police carried out a regular political order of the regime." According
to ANC, such a gross violation of the Constitution and the law is
bright evidence of regime’s weakness and fear, which it is in no way
able to overcome. It is mentioned that the Armenian National Congress
will pursue restoration of N. Pashinian’s rights and as the first
step the rejection of the Police Passport and Visa Department will
be appealed against at the Administrative Court.

In connection with the mentioned fact Nor Zhamanakner (New Times)
party Board’s November 10 statement mentioned that the ruling regime
made an instrument the RA Police Passport and Visa Department with
its subdivisions and periodically settles a political score with
political figures undesirable for the authorities by depriving them
of the possibility to be elected NA deputy or RA President. "This
illegal activity of this structure of the law enforcement system
in fact delivers a serious blow to our state security, especially
when documents provided by it can cause serious problems with other
countries," MZ statement read.

BAKU’S MILITARY RHETORIC PRODUCES NEGATIVE IMPACT ON AZERI SOLDIERS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.11.2009 17:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ACNIS Director Richard Giragosyan does not rule out
possibility of Azerbaijan’s resuming military operations in Karabakh
conflict zone. Baku doesn’t realize that it will be a loser in case
of starting war now, expert told today a seminar-discussion devoted to
"Armenian-Turkish Diplomacy: Deal or no deal". "Our army today is more
professional and better prepared than Azerbaijani army. Armenia’s
Defense Ministry is preparing for future challenges from now on,
and it is necessary to underline that our army is currently the most
powerful in the region," Giragosyan said.

Commenting upon Baku’s bellicose statement, expert stressed that
Azerbaijan’s military rhetoric produced negative impact not only on
the atmosphere in the region but also Azeri soldiers themselves.

Grigoryan believes that Armenia cannot control such statements but
is at least obliged to make relevant response.

ARMENIAN NEO-CONSERVATIVES URGE AUTHORITIES TO RESPECT THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.11.2009 20:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Central Committee of RA National Neo-Conservative
Movement has expressed its protest against authorities’ counteractions
and initiatives. Its members claim that Yerevan Municipality has twice
rejected their request of holding a protest rally which was expected
to bring together over 100 participants.

In their statement, activists complain that their office has been
under police inspection for 2 days running. According to Central
Committee representatives, such isolation of Armenian youth will lead
to their demoralization.

Neo-Conservatives have estimated authorities’ steps as violation
of their fundamental human rights. In that connection, National
Neo-Conservative Movement Expresses its protest, and appeals to
President and Prime Minister to ensure their constitutional right of
voicing their opinions and viewpoints.

US ARMENIANS HOPE FOR FAILURE OF ANKARA-YEREVAN DEAL

Hurriyet
php?n=us-armenians-hope-for-failure-of-ankara-yere van-deal-2009-11-03
Nov 3 2009
Turkey

American-Armenians and their congressional backers are keen on the
‘genocide’ recognition, not the creation of normalized ties between
Turkey and Armenia, diplomats and experts say. Armenians will try
to persuade the world that it’s the Turks that stopped the process,
an expert argue Armenian-Americans and their backers in Congress are
hoping for the collapse of a normalization deal between Turkey and
Armenia so they can continue to lobby for U.S. recognition of what
they term the "Armenian genocide," diplomats and analysts said.

The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed historic protocols on
Oct. 10 that called for the creation of normal diplomatic relations
between the two neighbors and the reopening of their shared land
border. Their parliaments must first ratify the deal before the
provisions go into effect.

Before reopening the land border, which has remained closed for 16
years, Turkey wants to see some progress toward the resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ankara’s
close ally.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a mainly Armenian-populated enclave inside
Azerbaijan’s borders, has been under Armenian occupation since a war
in the early 1990s.

Reopening border key matter

Yerevan, however, seeks to keep the normalization deal with Turkey and
the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as completely separate processes, urging
Turkey to reopen the border as soon as possible. Diaspora Armenians,
meanwhile, also staunchly oppose any concessions on Karabakh.

But without progress on the Karabakh matter, it will be extremely
difficult for Ankara to move to reopen the border. "If there’s no
progress on Karabakh, Turkey simply can’t reopen the border with
Armenia, which will effectively mean that the reconciliation process
will have failed," one Washington-based analyst said. "If this happens,
it will be important to see which side will be blamed for the derailed
process. The Armenians will try to persuade the world that it’s the
Turks that stopped the process."

In that case, U.S. Armenians and their backers in Congress will seek
to punish Turkey in Congress, the analyst said.

Armenian efforts in Congress

A resolution urging the United States to recognize the World War
I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide has
been pending in the House of Representatives, Congress’ lower chamber,
since February.

Democratic Senator Robert Menendez and Republican Senator John Ensign
introduced a similar resolution in the Senate, Congress’ upper chamber,
last month.

"Pro-Armenian lawmakers in both sides of Congress will step up
efforts for genocide recognition in the event of the collapse of the
Ankara-Yerevan deal," said the analyst.

"Any formal U.S. genocide recognition would kill the normalization
process," one Turkish diplomat said.

But U.S. Armenians and their congressional backers are keen on genocide
recognition, not the creation of normalized Ankara-Yerevan ties,"
said the analyst.

"So there’s a major trap jeopardizing the reconciliation process, and
that trap can be prevented only if there’s progress on the solution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute," the analyst said.

AZERI LEADERSHIP TELLS STORIES: HRAYR KARAPETYAN

news.am
Nov 2 2009
Armenia

A cutback in spending for RA defense under 2010 budget blueprint
will make no difference to the state army combat capability, Hrayr
Karapetyan, ARFD representative and head of NA Standing Committee on
Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs stated.

According to him, the draft provides for the same level of defense
budget as last years, that is 3.5% of GDP. Karapetyan considers that
all necessary expense items are there, with construction expenditures
cut only. "Therefore it will not affect the army anyhow. Moreover,
organizational works are conducted for the armed forces’ enhancement,"
he said. The politician also informed that Armenia put a point before
international organizations on closer monitoring of Azerbaijan in
terms of armament, that permanently violates provisions under Treaty
on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.

Karapetyan outlined that defensive ability is clearly demonstrated in
the contact line. MP emphasized Armenia’s defense potential is more
advanced and the recent incidents showed inability of Azerbaijani
army. "The stories by Azeri leadership are untrue," he concluded.

U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADERS CALLS ON CLINTON TO MEET WITH ARMENIAN AMERICAN LEADERS

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.11.2009 10:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has formally shared
the reservations of the Silver State’s Armenian community regarding
the dangers of the recently signed Turkey- Armenia Protocols with
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).

In an October 30, 2009 letter to ANCA-Nevada activist Razmig Libarian,
the Senate leader reported that he had recently written to Secretary
Clinton to pass along the concerns of his state’s citizens of Armenian
heritage, and to encourage her to meet directly with the national
leadership of the Armenian American community regarding the state of
Turkey-Armenia relations.

In his letter to Secretary Clinton, dated October 20, 2009, Senator
Reid wrote: "I am sure you are aware that this agreement has raised
concerns in the Armenian community inside the United States. I have
received many letters from Nevadans who do not support the creation
of an international commission to examine the historical record on
the genocide and who believe that the agreements are unfair to Armenia.

Given the serious nature of the community’s concerns, I felt it
was important to raise them directly with you. The commission is
particularly sensitive to the Armenian-American community since the
Armenian genocide has never been recognized by Turkey."

Despite the high profile of Armenia-Turkey ties in the Obama-Biden
Administration’s foreign policy agenda, neither President Obama
nor Secretary Clinton has met with the Armenian American community
leadership.

ARMENIAN IT COMPANIES WILL BE ABLE TO FIND DOMESTIC CLIENTS IF ARMENIAN BUSINESSMEN ASK THEM TO SUPPLY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR THEIR BUSINESS PROCESSES

ArmInfo
2009-10-31 10:14:00

ArmInfo. Armenian IT companies will be able to find domestic clients
if Armenian businessmen ask them to supply management systems for
their business processes, says Coordinator of IT Cluster of USAID/CAPS
program Armen Abrahamyan.

The demand for corporate management and information systems in Armenia
is bigger than the offer. Simply, IT companies and businessmen have not
yet established cooperation in this field. IT companies are able to
supply commercial companies with efficient process control solutions
but businessmen are reluctant to provide the former with necessary
information. If IT companies manage to show that their systems are
more efficient, the domestic demand for these products will grow.

TURKEY-ARMENIA PROTOCOLS MAY BE RATIFIED WITH PRECONDITIONS: U.S. POLITICAL OBSERVER

Today
57052.html
Oct 30 2009
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with political observer, U.S. Bureau Chief of
"Business People" business magazine in Washington Yuri Sigov.

Day.Az: What role does Washington play in a Turkey-Armenia dialogue?

Is there pressure on Ankara?

Yuri Sigov: The U.S. policy towards normalization of Turkey-Armenia
relations is quite clear – the more stable and more predictable will
be the situation in the Caucasus, the simpler the U.S. will carry out
its policies, especially in the energy sector, as well as against Iran.

Certainly, the United States supported Turkey in its efforts to
normalize relations with Armenia, but tried to do this without
jeopardizing its relations with Azerbaijan. In future, the United
States will continue to do everything possible so that Armenia and
Turkey fully normalize relations. However, I am not sure that this
somehow helps speedy resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Q: What can you say about possible opening of borders between Turkey
and Armenia? Do you believe the Turkish parliament will ratify the
protocols?

A: More likely, Turkey-Armenia protocols will be ratified with
preconditions, since there is a common vector for normalization of
relations with its neighbors in the Turkish political circles.

Definite preconditions may imply advancing proposals regarding return
of Azerbaijani lands. Quite possibly, Turkish parliamentarians
will listen the Armenian side’s explanations about fate of
Nagorno-Karabakh. In any case, this process is underway and, most
likely, the border will be opened in near future.

Q: To what extend Armenian diaspora impacts Armenia-Turkey ties? What
steps will the Diaspora take once the borders are opened?

A: I think the Armenian Diaspora is very influential and is able
to have a considerable influence on certain political processes in
many countries, including the United States. As to normalization of
relations between Turkey and Armenia, I still think "big politics"
and its ultimate pragmatism, rather than influence of some particular
groups, including the Diaspora, played the mayor role in this respect.

Q: What impact will Armenia-Turkey rapproachement have on Armenian
Diaspora’s efforts to push the issue of the so-called "Armenian
genocide" through the U.S. Congress?

A: One should not place a global significance on the discussions in
the U.S. Congress. Even if Armenian Diaspora pushes any discussion on
the issue of "genocide", the result may be a resolution or some sort
of definition, having neither legislature nor any other "commander’s"
significance as a rule. The mere fact of discussion on any issue in
the U.S. Congress is actually important, but one should not expect
any significant and far-reaching consequences.

Q: What impact will Armenia-Turkey dialogue have on resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict? Is Yerevan likely to make concession
on the Karabakh issue?

A: Turkey-Armenia normalization will definitely bring about no specific
momentums in the Karabakh issue.

The essence of the conflict at current stage is real, but not
declarative desire of the very members of the Minsk Group to break
the deadlock. While negotiations are held more for the sake of
negotiations, those who can directly make progress in the Karabakh
issue (the United States, Russia, and partly Europe) deal with far
more important matters than Karabakh.

I feel this status quo, when the conflict remains almost frozen,
can last for quite a long time, unless Azerbaijan makes sharp moves
and makes full use its opportunities in relations with Russia.

Since Russia has its allied relations with Armenia, I do not believe
that Moscow will take a sharp turn from one Transcaucasian country
to another. The United States has yet to be unobtrusive to continue
the negotiation process and expect all to normalize in the Caucasus
by itself. America seeks to make sure that there will be no further
military action in the region, oil and gas pipelines will be supplied
uninterruptedly, and that its political and economic positions will
strengthen there.

ASALA WILL EXIST UNLESS ARMENIAN HISTORICAL LANDS ARE RETURNED

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.10.2009 16:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Oukht Ararati bears no relation to ASALA, said Tigran
Pashabezyan, Oukht Ararati coordinator dealing with former prisoners,
members of ASALA.

"ASALA is and will be a secret organization. It will exist unless
Armenian historical lands are returned," he said.

According to Pashabezyan, Oukht Ararati’s goal is prevention of
ratification of Armenian-Turkish protocols and formation of common
Armenian defense.

For his part, founder and commander of Hoktemberyan division of the
Armenian Army of Independence Lyova Sahakyan commented on description
of the organization as terrorist, "I prefer to be named aggressor
rather than beggar."

K-TELECOM TOPS THE LIST OF 300 BIGGEST TAXPAYERS IN JANUARY-SEPTEMBER

ARKA
Oct 27, 2009

YEREVAN, October 27, /ARKA/. As reported earlier telecommunications
operators-K-Telecom (operating under VivaCell-MTS brand) and ArmenTel
(Beeline) topped the list of 300 biggest taxpayers in the first nine
months of the year.

According to the State Revenue Committee’s list VivaCell-MTS paid
12.71 billion Drams of taxes. Of that 10.761 billion Drams were
collected by tax bodies and 1.950 billion Drams by customs officials.

Some 6.284 billion were direct taxes (income and profit taxes), 6.093
Drams as indirect taxes (VAT and excise taxes) and 334.4 million as
other mandatory payments.

ArmenTel telecommunications company paid a total of 10.794 billion
Drams of taxes in January-September, 2009. Of that 10.5 billion
Drams were collected directly by tax bodies and 294 million Drams
by customs officers. Some 5.319 billion Drams were direct taxes, 5.2
billion indirect taxes and 66.2 million were other mandatory payments.

ArmenTel was followed by Alex-Grig (10.74 billion Drams), ArmRosGazprom
natural gas operator (10.71 billion Drams), Flash and Gor Petrol
Service oil traders which paid 8.4 billion and 5.8 billion Drams of
taxes respectively.

Overall 1000 biggest taxpayers paid a total of 270.5 billion Drams
of taxes in the first nine months of the year.

In 2008 ArmenTel was the third in the list of 300 biggest taxpayers
with 15.1 billion Drams of paid taxes, down from 20.8 billion in 2007.

Last year’s list was topped by K-Telecom that paid a total of 30.8
billion of taxes, up from 15.5 billion in 2007. ($1 – 385.08 Drams).