Author: Chakrian Hovsep

SERZH SARGSYAN: WE ARE SINCERELY INTERESTED IN EXPANSION OF CHINA’S PRESENCE IN THE REGION

Noyan Tapan

Au g 8, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Prior to leaving for Beijing, the
Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan gave an interview with Xinhia news
agency (China).

NT was submitted this inteview by the RA presidential press
service. Below is its text with some abridgement.

Question: Mr. President, what kinds of sports are you fond of? What
would you like to wish the Olympic teams of China and Armenia? What
hopes do you link to the Armenian Olympic team?

Answer: Armenia is a country of sports. It is also thanks to the
triumphal pages of famous Armenian sportsmen and Armenian sports
that the world knows our small country. Although the population of
our country is small, Armenia has left quite an impressive trace
in the biography of world sports and Olympic movement. According to
historical sources, one of medieval Armenian kings, King Varazdat,
became an Olympic wrestling champion in the 4th century. Nowadays many
Armenian sportsmen have immortalized their names in the register of
winners and record-breakers of Olympic Games. So the Armenians have
Olympic blood.

I am a great fan of sports. I head the Armenian Chess Federation. Chess
is a kind of sport in which both Armenian and Chinese chess players
have achieved striking results, while our team is the current
Olympic champion. Today everybody’s attention in Armenia is turned to
Beijing. I am leaving for Beijing in good spirits, I will be alongside
our sportsmen and encourage them.

Question: The friendship of the Chinese and Armenian peoples has
a rich history. In the past few years the bilateral relations have
been developing more rapidly and dynamically. How do you assess the
development prospect of relations between the two countries? In which
sectors do you see prospects of closer cooperation?

Answer: China is a friendly country to us. The current high level
of relations has a strong legal basis that includes more than 40
interstate and intergovernmental agreements. Our relations in the
political sphere are characterized by the absence of problems and
the existence of either coinciding or close opinions concerning
major regional and international problems. We in Armenia follow with
respect the process of reforms implemented by the leaders of China
for the purpose of development, modernization and establishment of
a harmonious socialist society.

In the past few years the commodity turnover between our countries has
grown several fold, one of the greatest joint projects, Shansi-Nairit –
construction of a chloroprene rubber plant with an annual capacity of
30,000 tons near the city of Daton is being completed. Progress can
be seen in agriculture, high-tech and himanitarian sectors. Long-term
cooperation programs in culture and sports are being prepared. Despite
all this, I see great potential for cooperation of our countries and
work should continue in this direction.

Armenia accepted with enthusiasm the invitation to participate
in Expo-2010 to be held in Shanghai. We will try to display our
achievements and our potential for developing relations between
Armenia and China at this exhibition.

We are sincerely interested in the expansion of China’s presence in
the region, which will have a positive impact on the whole South
Caucasian region. We welcome China’s recent achievements in the
international field.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China plays a leading
role in international politics. China is a responsible member of the
international community, and we feel China’s unbiased and balanced
position in many issues of international and regional importance.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITIONIST: "ARMENIA’S WORKING POWERS DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL IMAGE OF THE COUNTRY AND PURSUE THEIR OWN INTERESTS"

Today.Az
/politics/46835.html
Aug 8 2008
Azerbaijan

"The only external task of Armenian powers today is to conceal their
crimes", said representative of opposition Public movement David
Shahnazaryan.

He noted that the appointment of Shavarsh Kocharyan as a new deputy
Foreign Minister is "another attempt to conceal their crimes by the
help of a person, who is well acquainted with the European structures".

He said if a couple of years ago the powers could conceal Armenia’s
isolation, now Europe has pointed to it in open. He also noted that
"the working powers do not care about the international image of
Armenia and pursue their own interests".

He warned that if Armenia is deprived of the right to vote in PACE, it
will undermine its influence in the international arena, which will,
in turn, enable Azerbaijan to act widely in all European instances
on Karabakh issue.

Speaking of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the oppositionist blamed the
working powers for continuing Robert Kocharyan’s policy, that is "for
turning the issue of national self-determination into a territorial
dispute".

VIVACELL HELPED VILLAGE OF ODZUN WITH RENOVATION OF ARTS SCHOOL

RIA Oreanda
Aug 8 2008
Russia

Yerevan . OREANDA-NEWS . August 07, 2008. Childrens Arts School of the
village of Odzun is completely renovated and refurbished thanks to AMD
18.4 million donation from VivaCell. The school now has a new local
heating and hot water supply system, and a completely new rooftop,
reported the press-centre of VivaCell.

The renovated Arts School was officially opened jointly by VivaCell
General Manager Ralph Yirikian and Deputy Marzpet of Lori Arsen
Darbinyan with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

VivaCell continues on implementing its large-scale CSR programs having
long-term positive impact on the rural communities of Armenia. This
time the Company chose to direct the focus of its CSR on one of the
oldest and largest villages of Armenia Odzun, famous for the richness
of its historical-cultural and religious sites, and the prominent
people born in the village.

Taking into account the number of Odzun inhabitants, as well as the
need to encourage the healthy esthetical education among children in
the villages of Armenia, VivaCell allocated funds for the complete
renovation of Childrens Arts School of the village of Odzun. In
addition to new rooftop and local heating system, new windows and doors
have been installed, and a local heating and water supply system have
been put in place in the school.

The Arts School was founded in 1970 and is the only arts school
serving 8 neighboring villages. The Arts School includes the following
sections: piano, as well as string, wind, folk instruments, and a
painting class.

Since for many years the system of Arts Schools in Armenia has been
in decline, VivaCell considers it as of prime importance to sponsor
the revival of the system.

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, VivaCell General Manager Ralph
Yirikian noted: We stand here today, in one of the Armenias ancient
settlements, proud to be sons and daughters of Armenia. VivaCell
commitment to support the renovation and refurbishment of the Arts
School is determined by our obligation to be worthy descendants of
our predecessors we had to create here in Odzun a modern Arts School
to encourage the younger generation of Odzun to become worthy of
its cultural past. And as a socially-responsible corporate citizen,
VivaCell is allocating part of its revenues to help create bridges
between the younger generation of Armenia and our national culture.

VivaCell social investment in Odzun is not limited to the renovation
of its Childrens Arts Center and its refurbishment. The company also
presented the administration of the village with a garbage-collecting
vehicle worth of AMD 9 million.

Armenian National Committee – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

August 7, 2008
Contact: Ani Garabedian

Spotlight: Genocide Education Project

Los Angeles, CA – An innovative program called The Genocide Education
Project (GEP) was founded in 2005 in order to instruct educators on
the attempted extermination of the Armenian people in the Ottoman
Empire in 1915. The mission of the GEP is to "help prevent genocide
by assisting educators, students, and educational organizations with
teaching and learning about genocide and other major human rights
violations, with specific focus on the Armenian Genocide", as stated
on the organization’s website.

This extraordinary non-profit organization seeks to establish a
national presence in order to bring adequate genocide education to
students and teachers all over the country. In order to achieve this
goal, the organization is working to expand the implementation of GEP
instructional material in school districts across the nation. Raffi
Momjian, co-founder and current Executive Director, explains "…proper
genocide education is lacking at the high school level. What the
Genocide Education Project does is create an opportunity for high
school level educators to teach about genocide effectively."

One of the challenges faced by the creators of GEP was to create
material that would enable educators who are unfamiliar with the
details of the genocide of the Armenians to teach the material to
their students. Momjian states, "We develop resources that can be used
at a high school level as well as a web based resource libraries for
teachers. "We not only educate teachers about the Genocide but also
provide the teaching tools they need and show them how they can be
used." These resources include eyewitness accounts, New York Times
articles, web-based activities for a more hands-on experience and
pre-made lesson plans ready for the teachers to utilize.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has partnered up with
the GEP in order to provide proper instruction and materials to nearly
300 history teachers. This has been a very vital and important step
for the GEP as the LAUSD is the second largest school district in the
nation. Workshops are being conducted several times a year to
familiarize teachers with the material and its importance.

The GEP has partnered with other organizations such as the Choices
Program, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Facing History
and Ourselves at the National Council for Social Studies Annual
Conference (NCSS) in the past in order to hold all-day clinics on the
Armenian Genocide. Momjian emphasizes the important impact these
clinics at the NCSS make as the teachers go back to their own school
district and are able to communicate their new found knowledge to
other educators.

In order to reach a greater number of educators, the GEP is also
creating an intensive week long retreat for teachers. During this
retreat, the teachers will be trained on the details of the Armenian
Genocide, as well as how to present this material to students, with
hopes that these teachers will in turn educate other teachers at their
individual schools. In addition to the retreat, other plans that are
in the works for the GEP also include virtual training. Teachers will
soon be able to access training tools online and take virtual classes
to aid them in teaching the subject matter.

Momjian says that the responsibility to educate future generations
about the Armenian Genocide belongs to us all. He says, "…just
reaching one teacher is great and important but community support is
just as essential, especially to Armenians, for a program such as this
one to thrive." The GEP is truly one of a kind as it provides every
resource and guidance that an educator may need to teach this material
at a high school level and does so effectively.

The Armenian National Committee – Western Region is the largest and
most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in
the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of
offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States
and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANC-WR advances
the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of
issues.

###

Photo Caption – Educators at the Genocide Education Project’s NCSS 2007 booth.

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON INQUIRY INTO EVENTS OF MARCH 1-2 FINDS IT EXPEDIENT TO BE PRESENT AT INVESTIGATION ACTIONS

Noyan Tapan

Au g 5, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, NOYAN TAPAN. On August 5 Samvel Nikoyan, chairman
of the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee on Inquiry into the Events of
March 1-2, secretary of Repulican Party of Armenia (RPA) faction,
met with the RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian. Announcing this
at the regular sitting of the Committee, S. Nikoyan noted that it
would be necessary, important and more efficient if the members of
the Committee were present at the investigation actions on the case
in order to form a comprehensive notion about the criminal case. The
chairman of the Committee mentioned that henceforth it should be
one of the directions of their work. S. Nikoyan also informed the
Prosecutor General about the Committee’s concern about NA deputy
Miasnik Malkhasian’s health condition and asked to undertake necessary
measures to settle the problem.

It was stated at the sitting of the Committee that two meetings
took place with two arrested people in penitentiaries: with
former RA Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Arzoumanian and Armen
Sirounian. Arzoumanian expressed no complaint connected with the
conditions and his health, and his main complaint concerned "quite
a long and passive process", so he wishes that the preliminary
investigation would be completed soon and the case would be sent
to court. The former Foreign Affairs Minister thinks that he is
wrongfully accused and he consequently finds that he does not need
an amnesty but only an acquittal. A. Arzoumanian insisted that he
and the Armenian National Movement board chairman Ararat Zourabian
did not take part in the actions of early March 1, and they were at
the French embassy in Yerevan at 10pm, while his speeches were very
careful and moderate ones which can in no way be used against him.

Armen Sirounian is charged by the first part of 38-308 of the
Criminal Code: acting as an accomplice to the abuse of official
position. According to the accusation, during the period of rallies,
there was an information leakage from the National Security Service
which was passed to the leaders of rallies. Sirounian expressed no
complaint concerning the investigation actions and the conditions
but he mentioned that his feet ached. A. Sirounian does not accept
the accusation, and inspector of the NSS investigation group Mikael
Hambardzoumian, together with the members of the Committee have
presented the evidence which, according to him, formed the basis of
an accusation against Sirounian and keeping him under arrest. The
investigation body finds that at the moment it is not expedient to
change Sirounian’s precautionary measure.

MATTHEW BRYZA: THE RESIDENTS OF NAGORNO KARABAKH SHOULD PLAY A KEY ROLE IN DETERMINING THEIR REGION’S STATUS

Azeri Press Agency
Aug 5 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Tamara Grigoryeva – APA. "Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign
Ministers’ meeting in Moscow on August 1 was positive.

As both Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian stated
at their press conference, their one-on-one discussion lasted over
an hour and was held in a positive mood," American Co-Chair of OSCE
Minsk Group Matthew Bryza told APA.

He said the Foreign Ministers agreed to continue negotiations under the
Minsk Group to reconcile their countries’ respective positions on the
remaining issues as outlined in the Co-Chairs’ November 2007 Madrid
Document, which sets out suggestions proposed by the Co-Chairs to
guide the negotiation of a framework agreement for a final resolution.

"The Co-Chairs’ suggestions form a balanced package. It is very
important to remember that no single element has been agreed. The only
way any element of the Madrid Document can be agreed is if all elements
are agreed at the same time in a broad package," the Co-Chair said.

Matthew Bryza said the Co-Chairs proceed from a starting position of
recognizing Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

"To reach a political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
Armenia and Azerbaijan will eventually have to reach a compromise on
NK’s status. We cannot predict what that compromise will look like, or
when it will emerge. But, the Co-Chairs recommend that the residents
of NK play a key role in determining their region’s status through
some type of voting process at some point in the future," he said.

American mediator considers that the specifics of such a voting
process must be negotiated.

"Such a voting process could only emerge after the return of internally
displaced persons and refugees, which could take quite some time,"
he said.

DENIAL OF GENOCIDE NEVER TO BE ENCOURAGED
Gevorg Harutyunyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on July 31, 2008
Armenia

Before his visit to Moscow aimed at the meeting with OSCE Minsk Group
co-Chairmen and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandyan convened a press conference yesterday.

"These meetings will be about Karabakh conflict and are organized by
the efforts of the three co-Chairmen. The proposals made in Madrid
will be discussed. Serge Sargsyan and Ilham Aliev confirmed that
the negotiations will continue on the bases of the before mentioned
proposals."

Estimating the 100 days of his tenure the Foreign Minister considered
it both noteworthy and normal, that he has made his first official
visit to Artsakh. "We give special importance to Karabakh issue. We
usually have different discussions with NKR authorities regarding this
issue. We have already had three meetings with Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister, before the meetings between Serge Sargsyan and Ilham Aliev
in Strasburg and St.

Petersburg. The fourth meeting will be on August 1 in Moscow. I will
also meet with OSCE Minsk Group co-Chairmen and we will do our best
to achieve the settlement of Karabakh conflict."

Touching upon Serge Sargsyan’s recent visit to Ukraine the leader of
the Foreign Administration considered it completely successful. "The
meeting between the two Presidents last more than two hours. The
discussions were rather meaningful, constructive and in the atmosphere
of mutual trust. The possibilities of bilateral cooperation in
different spheres, as well as different regional and international
issues were discussed.

We hope this meeting will open a new page in Armenian-Ukrainian
relations.

The Ukrainian President reconfirmed his invitation for Serge Sargsyan
to visit their country.

Serge Sargsyan’s and the Catholicos’ unprecedented participation
in the anointment ceremony of the Saint Cross church that has been
built 650 years back and hasn’t been reconstructed since then, was
really exciting.

Edward Nalbandyan refuted the rumors that have appeared in the
press, according to which he has agreed with the statement made by
Daniel Freed saying that the presidential elections in Armenia have
been "significantly breached" and that by his instruction Armenian
Ambassador to Austria met with OSCE Chairman Luis Maria de Puichi in
the airport in Vienna.

"Freed didn’t make similar statement during his visit in the USA. We
had a very constructive meeting with him and other US officials. But
we didn’t have any concrete meeting in Vienna. Simply according to
the regulation the Ambassadors of our country must meet and see off
those Armenian guests who travel by transit tours. Maybe de Puichi
gave you those details but I don’t have similar information."

0AAs for the speculations regarding the proposal made by Turkey
to set up a committee of historians: "If you are concerned that a
certain committee is going to discuss the issue of the Genocide, than
I must repeat a very simple truth, to make it clear once and forever:
Armenian authorities will never take a step that will encourage the
denial of the Genocide. Similar thing can’t happen.

What we really want is to have regular relations with our
neighbor. There are 2 or 3 closed borders in the whole world and we
are trying to open one of them. We must establish diplomatic relations
without any pre-conditions.

Our initiations had a very positive response in the world.

Hopefully Turkish President will accept the invitation to visit
Armenia on September 6. This will give an opportunity to discuss
all the issues of bilateral concern and regulate all the inter-state
relations. The conversation is not about concessions.

Edward Nalbandyan didn’t agree with the statement that Armenia pursues
"feeble" policy towards Georgia: "Whom do they want to bite with those
teeth? We attach great importance to establishing friendly relations
with Georgia. We are going to take all the possible measures to
consolidate relations with Georgia. We never ignore any issue regarding
Georgian-Armenians. We hope all the issues will be solved. I believe
there is no unsolvable issue between Armenia and Georgia because our
steps derive from the interests of the both countries."

RA PRESIDENT EXTENDED CONDOLENCES OVER LORD RUSSEL-JOHNSTON’S DEATH

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.07.2008 15:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan extended
condolences to Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis and
PACE President Llius Maris de Puig over Lord Russell-Johnston’s death,
the RA leader’s press office told PanARMENIAN.Net.

"With deep sadness I learned about the untimely death of Lord
Russell-Johnston, whose courtesy as a wise political figure and
human rights activist is universally known. Lord Russell-Johnston’s
contribution to reconciliation of countries alienated by conflicts
is tremendous. His devotion will inspire all political figures who
undertook such a high mission," the President’s message says.

Former President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
from 1999 to 2002, head of the subcommittee on Karabkah, Lord
Russell-Johnston of Minginish died on July 27 of bone marrow cancer
on the eve of his 76th birthday.

"It is a sad day for all defenders of justice, peace and humanity. He
leaves a great void in the hearts of all Europeans who had the
privilege of crossing his path. His passion for European politics
and his sense of friendship will always remain.

We need moralpolitik, not realpolitik, was the message that guided
him through his longstanding political career. Lord Russell-Johnston
always behaved in a European way, basing attitudes on values. He
worked relentlessly to extend the boundaries of human rights, because
he was convinced that no other approach can so well secure peace,
prosperity and freedom," PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig said.

NEW QUALITY TESTING LAB OPENS IN YEREVAN BRANDY COMPANY, ARMENIA

ARKA
July 25

A new quality testing laboratory opened in Yerevan Brandy Company
on Wednesday.

The company’s Executive Director Cedrik Retailleau said the lab is
furnished with the latest technical equipment necessary to conduct
international-level testing.

The company’s central lab moved to a new modernized building this June.

The technical resources of the new lab make it possible to test the
quality of the product at any phase of its making. N.H.

SECURITY FORCES AT FAULT OVER ETHNIC ARMENIAN’S MURDER: REPORT

Agence France Presse — English
July 23, 2008 Wednesday 1:48 PM GMT

A Turkish parliamentary commission Wednesday accused security forces
of "negligence" for failing to act on intelligence and prevent the
murder last year of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

The charge came in a non-binding report by a sub-committee of the
parliament Human Rights Commission after a nine-month investigation
into the 2007 murder.

The report, without giving names, says police and the paramilitary
gendarmerie, which polices rural parts of Turkey, failed to "properly
investigate and evaluate" a tip on a plot to kill Dink.

"Dink lost his life … because the authorities did not take the
requisite measures due to negligence by those in charge at all levels,"
it said.

Dink, 52, reviled by Turkish nationalists for describing the World
War I massacre of Armenians a genocide, was shot dead on January 19,
2007 outside the offices of his Agos newspaper in central Istanbul.

Self-confessed gunman Ogun Samast, 17 at the time of the murder,
and 18 accomplices went on trial in Istanbul last year.

The charge sheet says police received intelligence as early as 2006
of a plot to kill Dink, organised in the northern city of Trabzon,
Samast’s hometown.

Only four members of the securtity forces have so far been indicted
in connection with the murder.

Two of them — soldiers working at the Trabzon gendarmerie intelligence
department — testified in court in March that they had passed on
to their superiors information of a plot to kill Dink, but said no
action was taken.

They accused their superiors of fabricating documents after the murder
to create the impression they had no prior knowledge of the plot.

Two policemen are on trial in the northern city of Samsun for their
part in a scandal that erupted when it was revealed that security
forces posed for smiling "souvenir" pictures with the gunman after
he was captured there a day after the murder.

The investigation is seen as a test of Ankara’s resolve to eliminate
the "deep state" — a term used to describe security forces acting
outside the law to preserve what they consider Turkey’s best interests.