Author: Chakrian Hovsep

TURKEY CHANGES ITS POLICY TOWARDS AZERBAIJANI-KARABAKH CONFLICT

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.01.2010 17:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The recent Erdogan-Medvedev meeting in Moscow changes
Turkey’s foreign policy towards Karabakh conflict settlement, leader
of Democartic Party Aram Sargsyan finds.

"Before the meeting, Turkey claimed for final conflict settlement in
return for border opening. Currently, it speaks about certain progress,
which implies signing of a trilateral declaration between Armenian,
Azeri and Russian presidents," he told a news conference in Yerevan,
adding that such document will reiterate Mainedorf declaration.

"To achieve conflict settlement, it is first of all necessary for
Karabakh to become direct party to peace talks. Thereafter, the country
has to reject the Madrid Principles which are unacceptable to us,"
Democratic Party leader said.

The Democratic Party of Armenia is a political force established in
1991. Its founder and leader is Aram Sargsyan, formerly advisor to RA
President Robert Kocharyan (1998-99) and member of Armenia’s National
Assembly (203-2007).

The party’s ideology is based upon the doctrine of democratic
socialism. It acts in support of maintenance of democratic and national
values and establishment of social justice.

The protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

The Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict broke out in 1988 as result of the
ethnic cleansing launched by Azerbaijan in the final years of the
Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since
the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions
of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control
of Nagorno Karabakh defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan have since
been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.

The Madrid document contains the proposals put forward by the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs on the basic principles of a settlement. The
document was presented to the Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives
at the OSCE summit in the Spanish capital in November 2007.

TURKEY AND ARMENIA HIT FRESH OBSTACLES: THE FINANCIAL TIMES

news.am
Jan 20 2010
Armenia

"Turkish and Armenian efforts to overcome a century of hostility hit
fresh obstacles this week," Financial Times reports, commenting on
CC decision on Armenia-Turkey Protocols.

According to the daily, international pressure to ratify the Protocols
will increase "in the run-up to April 24th."

Speaking of last week’s decision by RA Constitutional Court and Turkish
Foreign Ministry’s protest, The Financial Times says "the judgment
does not appear to require any change to the protocols, because the
court has referred to an article of the Armenian constitution that
treats genocide, which Turkey denies, as a matter of historical fact."

The source mentions that Ankara might take a chance on recent
developments and blame Armenian side "for delays in ratification," as
Turkey clearly gave to understand that will not ratify the documents
unless Karabakh conflict is settled.

ALEXANDER ZAYTSEV: THE CRISIS AFFECTED THE COMMODITY TURNOVER BETWEEN ARMENIA AND RUSSIA
Nelly Danielyan

"Radiolur"
20.01.2010 18:12

The commodity turnover between Armenia and Russia fell by more than 20
percent in 2009 as a result of the global financial-economic crisis,
Russia’s trade representative in Armenia Alexander Zaytsev told a
press conference in Yerevan.

Zaytsev said that according to the official data of the Russian side,
in 2009 the volume of commodity turnover between the two countries
made about $710 million, while the same index exceeded $1 billion in
2008. Nevertheless, the expert expressed a hope that the pre-crisis
commodity turnout will recover by 2012.

According to Zaytsev, the global crisis also impacted the level of
Russian investments in Armenia’s economy, which made $300 million in
2009 – 35 percent less than in 2008.

According to Russia’s trade representative in Armenia, the positive
factor last year was the preservation of stability in the work of
enterprises with Russian capital and the Russian side’s allocating
credit means to Armenia to battle the effects of the crisis.

Zaytsev said the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border would lessen
the urgency of the issue of Upper Lars, since Russia would have a
corridor to Armenia through Turkish territory.

TURKEY FINDS FAULT WITH ARTICLES 4 AND 5 OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT’S DECISION

Tert.am
17:39 ~U 20.01.10

The Constitutional Court’s January 12 decision established that
the Armenian-Turkish Protocols conform to Armenia’s Constitution,
but, according to various Turkish media, Article 5 of its six-page
decision makes reference to Armenia’s Declaration of Independence in
a way that has provoked Turkey.

"The RA Constitutional Court also finds that the provisions of the
Protocol on Development of Relations between the Republic of Armenia
and the Republic of Turkey cannot be interpreted or applied in the
legislative process and application practice of the Republic of
Armenia as well as in the interstate relations in a way that would
contradict the provisions of the Preamble to the RA Constitution and
the requirements of Paragraph 11 of the Declaration of Independence
of Armenia," read the non-official English translation of the court’s
reasoning, reports Turkish Weekly.

Paragraph 11 of the Declaration of Independence is the section that
has ignited Ankara’s anger. It states, "The Republic of Armenia stands
in support of the task of achieving international recognition of the
1915 Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia."

Another source of uneasiness in Ankara, report Turkish media, is
Article 4 of the court decision, which stipulates that the mutual
obligations being undertaken by the protocols are under the principles
of international law, exclusive of a bilateral interstate nature and
cannot concern any third party. That provision is interpreted as a
neutralization of Turkey’s linking the opening of the border with
Armenia to a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

PRESS RELEASE
International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
(A Division of the Zoryan Institute)
CONTACT: Patil Halajian
DATE: January 19, 2010
Tel: 416-250-9807

Conference on the Treatment of the Armenian Genocide in National and
International Law

The Journal of Law and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas
and the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
(A Division of the Zoryan Institute) are jointly organizing and
sponsoring a conference on the `Treatment of the Armenian Genocide in
National & International Law.’ The conference will bring together
legal specialists with a variety of expertise in national (Turkey, US,
Britain) and international law and genocide. The event will take place
on February 5th, 2010 at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis
with the participation of the Cafesjian Family Foundation and the
Minneapolis Foundation.

Despite various tribunals to prosecute war crimes and crimes against
humanity since (WWII, Nuremberg, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Cambodia, and the
establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002, little
progress has been made on the punishment and prevention of the crime
of genocide. It has been argued that this relative ineffectiveness
has contributed over the years to the emboldening of those who would
consider perpetrating genocide. Darfur is one example that is still
ongoing and there are no guarantees that others will not follow.

This situation will only worsen with the tripling of the world’s
population since WWII. The shrinking of the resources to sustain life,
and the chasm between the few that have and the many that have not,
will increase the risk of intra-national and international conflict,
including genocide.

This conference will draw attention to how one case of genocide, the
Armenian case, has been treated in national and international law, and
how its manipulation strengthens the hands of deniers and undermines
the international legal regime intended to prevent genocide.

The conference hopes to raise awareness among policy makers to
strengthen the legal framework so that all cases of genocide are
treated with justice and that politics do not obstruct the application
of the law nationally and internationally.

The conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Schulze
Grand Atrium at the School of Law at the University of St. Thomas.

The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A
Division of the Zoryan Institute) is dedicated to the study and
dissemination of knowledge regarding the phenomenon of genocide in all
of its aspects to create an awareness of it as an ongoing scourge and
promote the necessity of preventing it.

LEVON ARONIAN AT AMBER CHESS TOURNAMENT 2010

Aysor
Jan 19 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s Grand Master Levon Aronian will participate in the Amber
Rapid Chess Tournament 2010 which is taking place on March 12-15 in
France’s Nice.

A spokesperson to Armenian Chess Federations reported, Levon Aronian
will play against Carlsen, Kramnik, Gelfand, Khashimov, Ivanchuk,
Svidler, Ponomariov, Morozevich, Karjakin, Dominguez, and Smith.

ARTSAKH’S PRESIDENT MEETS WITH KARABAKH TELECOM’S LEADERS

Aysor
Jan 19 2010
Armenia

President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakian has met with
Karabakh Telecom’s leaders Pierre Fatush and Ralph Yirikian. The
parties discussed some current and upcoming objectives related to
company’s activities in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh).

A spokesperson to Artsakh Presidential Administration told President
Sahakian had stressed the importance of Karabakh Telecom’s activities
in the context of social and economic development of the country.

The meeting was attended by Artsakh’s Prime Minister Ara Harutyunian,
Vice Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance.

FORMER PM: ARMENIA IN NEED OF NEW SUBSTANTIAL ECONOMIC REFORMS

ARKA
Jan 18, 2010

YEREVAN, January 18. /ARKA/. Armenia is in need of new substantial
economic reforms, Hrant Bgratyan, a representative of Armenian National
Congress and a former prime minister, said on Monday.

"Economic decline in Armenia will continue until the country’s
government embarks on large-scale reforms," he said.

He proposed to take some steps, such as introduction of progressive
taxation.

Bagratyan also thinks the government should refrain from promoting
elite housing, since construction companies just worsen things.

He finds it irrelevant for such a poor country to build 20,000 elite
apartments, since nobody will purchase them at least in the coming
five years.

The former premier also thinks that the government should prohibit
commercial banks from re-crediting constructors.

"It is senseless to send funds to the construction," he said.

Bagratyan doesn’t think that establishment of All-Armenian bank,
construction of North-South highway and a new nuclear power plant
are able to remedy the situation.

He predicted further, and even worse recession.

On November 20, 2008, the government gave its approval to the project
of establishment of the All-Armenian Bank with AMD 30-billion (about
$100 million) capital.

The bank’s founders will be the government with 20% participation,
world leading financial organizations and private investors.

For modernization of North-South transport corridor, Asian Development
Bank pledged $500 million to Armenia.

The highway is planned to be put into exploitation in 2016.

Armenia is also planning to build a new, 1,000-megawatt nuclear
power unit.

The energy ministry says the project may cost $5 billion.

The construction is scheduled to be launched in 2011. European
countries, Russia and the United States have expressed their interest
in the project.

National Statistical Service of Armenia says GDP reduced 16% in
Jan-Nov 2009, compared with the same period a year earlier.

According to the 2010 state budget, Armenia will enjoy 1.2% economic
growth this year.

AMERIABANK LOAN PORTFOLIO EXCEEDS AMD 52 BILLION

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.01.2010 14:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The loan portfolio of Ameriabank as of December 31,
2009, went beyond AMD 52 bln having experienced a 68% increase over
the level recorded at the beginning of the year, the bank said in a
press release.

The loan portfolio growth is not the only indicator of the efficient
lending spree. Committed to its client-focused policy to disclose
the clients’ needs and find tailored solutions, the Bank developed
regular activities targeted at the correct assessment of the potential
borrowers’ capacities and establishment of comprehensive cooperation
relationship with the existing borrowers. Thanks to these efforts the
Bank came up with a loan portfolio of high quality as of December 31,
2009 without any loss loans and NPL comprising 0.17 % only of the
total loan portfolio.

According to the results of the reporting year 89 % of the Bank’s
loan portfolio growth was sustained by the corporate lending. Loans
to corporates recorded 75 % increase during the year totalling AMD
44 bln or 84 % of the total loan portfolio.

Although it adopted a corporate and investment profile of its activity,
Ameriabank also focuses on the lending to individuals, namely, staff
of its corporate clients, offering a wide range of loan products
which triggered 35 % increase in loans to individuals during the year.

Ameriabank CJSC is am investment bank offering various package
services. Being a strategic partner of Moscow-based Troika Dialog
since August 2007, the bank has two branches in Yerevan, one in
Kajaran and one in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

THE PERSONAL BLOG OF THE ARMENIAN PM IS ALREADY ACTIVE

Aysor
Jan 18 2010
Armenia

Since today the personal blog of the Armenian PM Tigran
Sargsyan is available for everyone. The address of the PM is
informs Rima Yeganyan from the
information and public relations department of the RA Government.

T. Sargsyan has already made his first note there, which explains
the aim of his personal blog.

"In our conversation the press very often urges its own opinion
depriving us from direct contact. I think that it will be better
to have an opportunity to communicate with you directly", – the
message says.