ALIYEV, SARKOZY TO DISCUSS KARABAKH ISSUE
PanARMENIAN.Net
29.10.2007 16:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ By invitation of French President Nicolas Sarkozy,
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will pay a formal visit to France
in mid-November.
The heads of state are expected to discuss energy issues, the Karabakh
peaceful process and EU-South Caucasus cooperation, Day.az reports.
It will be Aliyev’s first visit to France after Sarkozy was elected
President.
LEVON TER-PETROSYAN: REVEALING OCTOBER 27 CASE IS THE IMPORTANT DUTY OF FUTURE PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA
Lragir, Armenia
Oct 27 2007
The monolithic pyramid of the criminal corrupt regime of Armenia
would not be built without the murder of Karen Demirchyan and Vazgen
Sargsyan on October 27, stated the first president of Armenia Levon
Ter-Petrosyan during the rally on the eve of the eighth anniversary
of October 27. According to him, this "petrifying event" has not
been exposed fully. Levon Ter-Petrosyan told about October 27 and
the events that followed. According to him, high-ranking officials of
the army had phoned him on October 28 and invited to a consultation
of the army leadership and political forces. "I refused and told
my interlocutors the army should not interfere with politics and
the internal affairs of the country, your mission is different, the
security of the borders of Armenia and prevention of threats to the
country," Levon Ter-Petrosyan says. He says afterwards he appealed
to the society to come together around President Robert Kocharyan.
"After that Robert Kocharyan phoned me and thanked me. If was my
first and last talk with Kocharyan after the change of government. My
concern at that moment was not to support the president but to prevent
chaos and aggressive aims of Azerbaijan. It is not a secret that
the success of the Armenian side in the war was greatly thanks to
chaos and anarchism in the periods when power passed from Mutalibov
to Elchibay, and from Elchibay to Aliyev. So, Azerbaijan might have
considered using this situation in Armenia," Levon Ter-Petrosyan says.
Afterwards he presented the process that followed October 27. Levon
Ter-Petrosyan mentioned the beginning of the investigation, when
Robert Kocharyan interfered with the investigation and removed
prosecutor Gagik Jhangiryan, and did not allow him to report to the
National Assembly, dismissed Prosecutor General Boris Nazaryan and
Prime Minister Aram Sargsyan. "Everywhere, in case of such crimes, the
public opinion usually suspects the government. Hence, the president
should have been interested in removing suspicions from him. If he
had no other motivation, he should have given absolute freedom to the
judicial and investigation bodies and guarantee the transparency of
the trial. However, the opposite happened," Levon Ter-Petrosyan says.
According to him, October 27 will remain the disgrace of the Armenian
state which will be partly washed away in case of revelation of the
case. "Therefore, the resolution of this problem will become one of the
main duties of the future president of Armenia," Levon Ter-Petrosyan
says, adding that if Serge Sargsyan is elected president, "the case
will be dead".
ARMENIAN GROUPS SLAM UNIVERSITY FOR HONORING AHMADINEJAD
Ben Harris
JTA Wire Service
Baltimore Jewish Times, MD
Oct 29 2007
Armenian Americans slammed the decision by a university in the Armenian
capital of Yerevan to honor Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad during a state visit to Armenia last week was presented
with a gold medal and an honorary doctorate Monday from Yerevan
State University.
An editorial in the Armenian weekly, the house organ of the Armenian
National Committee of America, condemned the university, noting that
Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust denier who has disregarded historical
research.
"The university’s decision to bestow an honorary doctorate is simply
unacceptable," the editorial said. "We are surprised that as the
officials in charge of the alma mater of a nation that rose from
the ashes of another genocide, they did not take this fact into
consideration before deciding to award the honorary degree."
Ahmadinejad’s visit came as Armenian Americans and their supporters
continued to press for a resolution in Congress recognizing the World
War I-era killings of Armenians by Turkey as genocide.
Part of their campaign has focused on the Anti-Defamation League,
which initially refused to use the word genocide to describe the
killings but backtracked amid opposition from its leadership in the
Boston area — home to one of the highest concentrations of Armenians
in the country. The ADL called the massacre of Armenians "tantamount
to genocide."
Despite the shift the ADL, along with other major U.S. Jewish groups,
continue to oppose a congressional resolution out of concern for its
impact on Turkish ties with Israel and the United States.
Consequently, the Armenian activists’ campaign against the ADL has
not eased.
A Web site, No Place For Denial, continues to accuse the ADL of
genocide denial, alleging that its statements on the subject have
been ambiguous, a charge the ADL denies. The continuing momentum has
led several communities in the Boston area to end their partnerships
with a highly regarded anti-bigotry program sponsored by the ADL.
Dikran Kaligian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee of
America’s Eastern Region, rejected the suggestion to mount a similar
campaign against Yerevan State University, asserting that such a
comparison was "apples and oranges."
The proper analogue to the ADL, Kaligian said, is not Yerevan State
but ANCA, which is the largest Armenian grass-roots organization in
the United States. The organization is an affiliate of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, an international political party founded
in 1890.
Kaligian said ANCA has never taken an ambiguous position on the
Holocaust. The ADL, by contrast, has endorsed a proposal for Armenia
and Turkey to form a joint commission to arrive at a resolution of
the issue, a step Armenians adamantly reject.
"The ANCA has never called for further study of the Holocaust,"
Kaligian said. "That’s the analogy you have to make, and I think
we’ve been very clear on it."
Both Kaligian and Sevag Arzoumanian, who runs No Place for Denial,
agree that it was appropriate for Ahmadinejad to be invited to Armenia,
a landlocked country that depends on good relations with its neighbors
for trade and energy. But they said bestowing an academic honor was
one step too far.
In an e-mail to JTA, Arzoumanian wrote, "How can Yerevan State
University give an academic degree, however symbolic, to someone
who takes the intellectually dishonest position that there needs
to be further research and academic conferences to determine if the
Holocaust occurred? What were they thinking? I think the YSU made a
terrible error of judgment, both academically and morally."
16.stm
TODAY PRIME MINISTER TO MEET NIKOLA SARKOZI IN PARIS
Panorama.am
17:54 26/10/2007
Today Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan will meet with French President
Nikola Sarkozi. As government information and public relations
department informs, the prime minister started his second day of the
official visit to France with a meeting with Serzh Churuk, chairman
of the administrative board of "Alcatel" company.
The two discussed the company’s work in Armenia. The sides shared
the same opinion that the company can have larger place in different
spheres of the Armenian economy. Serzh Churuk has expressed readiness
to be more goal-oriented in investments in Armenia and to come up
with new initiatives and programs.
On the same day, mid day, on October 25, the prime minister met with
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon. The French prime minister
praised the Armenian-French friendly relations assessing them as
"bright" especially in political, cultural and local self-government
levels.
The prime ministers of both countries spoke also about Caucasian
regional stability, NKR conflict settlement within the framework of
OSCE Minsk Group. They also talked about the presidential elections
in Armenia and other issues of mutual interest. During the meeting,
the Armenian prime minister invited his French counterpart to visit
Armenia, which Francois Fillon accepted with delight.
TURKS’ ANTI-TERROR PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT IN BELGIUM
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 26 2007
100 detained Belgian police have detained more than 100 youths
after clashes between Turkish protesters and the authorities left 10
policemen injured. Fighting broke out in several neighborhoods of the
capital on Wednesday after police tried to contain a demonstration
protesting recent attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) in Turkey. "More than 100 people were detained and some of them
were arrested for serious infractions," police spokesman David Yansenne
told the RTBF network. "Ten policemen were injured," he said. It was
unclear how many protesters were hurt in the clashes. Police used water
cannons and batons to confront hundreds of youths. The violence was
linked to the situation in Turkey. Leaders there Wednesday discussed
a possible military operation into neighboring Iraq following attacks
by the PKK terrorists operating from Iraq. Community leaders also said
tensions rose after a US congressional committee passed a resolution
that backed Armenian allegations of genocide. "This has been fomenting
for a few days, and the situation in Turkey is linked to that,"
said Beatrice Meulemans, an alderwoman in the heavily immigrant
municipality of St. Josse.
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION SPONSORS ANNOUNCE REVISED TIMETABLE FOR HOUSE CONSIDERATION OF H.RES.106
armradio.am
26.10.2007 10:23
The four leading Democratic sponsors of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution (H.Res.106) have called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to
adopt a revised schedule for the consideration of this human rights
legislation by the House of Representatives, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA).
In a letter sent to Speaker Pelosi, lead author Adam Schiff (D-CA),
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and
Representatives Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) stressed
that, in asking for this delay, "we believe that a large majority of
our colleagues want to support a resolution recognizing the genocide
on the House floor and that they will do so, provided the timing is
more favorable."
The letter goes on to note that they will continue to work with Speaker
Pelosi’s staff and the House Foreign Affairs Committee staff to bring
up the resolution "sometime later this year or in 2008."
SERZH SARGSYAN: ARMENIA HAS A RELIABLE PARTNER IN THE NAME OF FRANCE
arminfo
2007-10-25 13:47:00
ArmInfo. The official visit of Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan
to Paris has got underway.
Armenian Government press-service told ArmInfo the prime minister made
a speech at a ceremonial reception on the day of his arrival in Paris.
Deputies of the both Chambers of the French Parliament, mayors of
French cities and representatives of influential public organization
attended the reception. In his speech Serzh Sargsyan particularly
stressed Armenia’s devotion to the Armenian-French friendship. ‘Never
a year goes by that the presidents of our countries do not meet
for several times, given alone the numerous meetings of the heads
of governments, parliamentarians, representatives of municipal
authorities,’ Serzh Sargsyan said. He stressed that Armenia has a
reliable partner in the name of France that helps Armenia integrating
into European structures. In this respect, France’s support under
European Neighborhood Policy is of special importance to Armenia,
Premier Sargsyan said.
He also added that France is sincerely interested in weakening the
tension and establishing stability in the South Caucasus region and
exerts constructive efforts for this purpose. ‘Everyone is aware how
useful is France’s involvement into the OSCE Minsk Group alongside
with Russia and the USA for the negotiations for peaceful settlement
of Karabakh conflict,’ Serzh Sargsyan said. As regards the economic
cooperation, he said there are 120 enterprises in the Armenia with
French capital. The Armenian-French cooperation in the spheres of
education, culture, science and others dynamically develops. There
are close municipal contacts with 25 French towns. Serzh Sargsyan
emphasized the invaluable role of the Armenian Diaspora of France in
the strengthening of bilateral cooperation.
The Armenian premier is expected to meet also his French colleague
Francois Fillon on October 25.
WHAT WAS AHMADINEJAD DOING IN ARMENIA?
Hakob Badalyan
Lragir
Oct 24 2007
Armenia
Why did Ahmadinejad leave Armenia early? Perhaps this issue will
not take the place of the question "who killed Kennedy?" in the world
history. And perhaps not because Ahmadinejad is a less important person
for the world history than Kennedy. Simply the Armenian and Iranian
relation means nothing to the world history now. It is another issue
that the relation of Armenia and Iran should be viewed in the context
of the Russian and Iranian relation. In fact, our partnership with
Iran takes place in the context of Russian’s okay.
What Moscow allows, takes place, what it does not allow we have to
postpone for a sunny day. For instance, Moscow okayed the construction
of the gas pipeline, but ruled out transit. Then it got the ownership
of the Armenian section of the gas pipeline which transports no gas
to Armenia yet, although Armenia says we do not need the Iranian gas
now, and it is not that Russia prohibits.
Hence, if Ahmadinejad had left Russia early, we could seek for
mystical, geopolitical, even galactic reasons and wait for the
consequences. Meanwhile, in this case the Iranian president has simply
left a country where he had arrived to discuss one or two economic
projects: water power plants, roads, cooperation between banks, wind
power. For Armenia, they are highly important, but for Iran they have
a current importance, and it is already a major achievement that the
Iranian president agreed to stay in Yerevan overnight. Meanwhile,
important geopolitical processes are underway in the region,
Turks threaten to attack the north of Iraq, Iraq endorses them,
the U.S. okays Turkey’s decision, the Caspian countries are signing
a new agreement on economic cooperation, which contains political
and military elements. In this context, the question occurs "what
was Ahmadinejad doing in Armenia?" rather than "why did Ahmadinejad
leave early?"
Nevertheless, it could be important, at least for us, why the Iranian
president did not visit the memorial and did not address the Armenian
parliament. The reasons might be different. For instance, it is highly
probable that in the night before the address to the parliament someone
briefly described the Armenian parliament to Ahmadinejad. Not the
building but the intellect, literacy, cognition, childhood, boyhood
and youth of the members of parliament. Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad is an
educated person. Perhaps he thought on the content of his address to
the Armenia parliament all night to sound clear to the majority of
the members of parliament. Apparently, the Iranian president could not
find the answer to this question and decided to leave Armenia for some
excuse. It is also possible, of course, especially that rumors came,
that the Iranian president simply avoided visiting the memorial to the
victims of the Genocide. It is also a logical explanation. The point
is that if Iran shows in some way to recognize the Armenian genocide
in Ottoman Turkey, it is not ruled out that in case of the triumphant
outcome of the process of international recognition the Armenians will
suddenly get down to the recognition of other massacres. Meanwhile,
in that case the issue of the battle of Avarair will be brought
up. For in reality there was no battle. In a battle a person fights
another person, while in Avarair elephants fought people. In other
words, it smells planned extermination, consequently, it is a matter
of international recognition. And considering that this is the only
option for Armenia to be found on the map of world politics, after the
triumphant outcome of the international recognition of the genocide
in Ottoman Turkey we need to find another issue for international
recognition, and Avarair provides excellent moral and legal bases.
Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who is a historian, did not have the right to
even have such a vision of developments, no matter how realistic it is.
US CHARGE D’AFFAIRES LEAVING
By Aghavni Harutyunian, translated by L.H.
AZG Armenian Daily #195
25/10/2007
US CHARGES D’AFFAIRES COME AND GO, WHILE THE US EMBASSY OF ARMENIA
REMAINS WITHOUT AMBASSADOR.
At the end of this week US Charge d’Affaires in Armenia Rudolph Perina
organized a farewell reception for narrow circles.
US Embassy Spokeswoman Taguhi Jahukian confirmed that Rudolph Perina
is really leaving Armenia.
According to Jahukian, Rudolph Perina is leaving, as his diplomatic
mission will be completed soon.
Vice Ambassador Joseph Pennington will act as US Charge d’Affaires
temporarily. The Embassy didn’t inform about the exact period of his
temporary duties.
What about the information that Mr. Perina is leaving Armenia in
order to come back as an Ambassador, Taguhi Jahukian mentioned that
they have no information related to it.
The formed situation about the US Embassy of Armenia is peculiar,
mainly taking into account that the USA hasn’t an Ambassador to Armenia
for a long time and it’s not clarified when it will have. While the
situation in Armenia is worth noticing, taking into account the coming
presidential elections.
The developments in South Caucasus and the countries of the region
could hardly be left aside of the limits of US interests.
Consequently, it is supposed that after the failure of Richard
Hoagland’s initiative to be nominated as the next Ambassador to
Armenia, the Government of US President Bush prefers to keep silence
connected with the candidacy of the Ambassador, until …
RA PRIME MINISTER LEAVING FOR FRANCE
armradio.am
24.10.2007 11:05
RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan will leave the United States for
the Republic of France today. In the framework of the official visit
Serge Sargsyan will have meetings with the President of France Nicolas
Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon.
Serge Sargsyan is also expected to make a speech at the dinner in the
honor of RA Prime Minister, featuring members of the French Senate and
National Assembly, heads of influential French-Armenian organizations.
During the stay in Paris RA Prime Minister will give an interview to
"Figaro" and "Politik Internasional" periodicals. Prime Minister
Serge Sargsyan will meet also with Armenian students in France.
October RA Prime Minister will return to Yerevan.