Author: Chatinian Lara

Regular storm of Armenian spy scare in Azerbaijan

2009-03-13 11:26:00

ArmInfo. Regular storm of Armenian spy scare has been registered in
Azerbaijan. In particular, as APA reported, 10 men engaged in
intelligence in Azerbaijan under order of Armenian intelligence bodies
were sentenced in 2008. A total of 9 servicemen and 1 civilian engaged
in intelligence in Azerbaijan under the order of Armenian intelligence
bodies faced charges of high treason as a result of the measures taken
by the National Security Ministry to combat activities of foreign
intelligence bodies against Azerbaijan Republic and Armed Forces in
2008.

The court sentenced those persons to imprisonment. It is noted that 10
servicemen, who were previously sentenced for cooperation with Armenian
intelligence bodies, were sentenced as a result of the operations.

Thus, quite an official document is disproving one of the main points
of Azerbaijani propaganda, i.e., high ‘combat patriotic spirit’ in the
Azerbaijani army. Dozens of Azerbaijani servicemen spy in favor
of Armenia. Some of them simply cross the border and ask for shelter.
No comment.

Nothing can question fact of Armenian genocide

12.03.2009 14:07

Yerevan (Yerkir) – Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan lectured
at the French Diplomacy Academy on March 10 with a speech entitled
"South Caucasus: The Reality and Future."
Politicians, diplomats, experts and journalists attended the lecture.

Speaking on the Artsakh conflict, Nalbandyan said that while the wounds
of the war launched by Azerbaijan have not healed yet Baku is provoking
a new war.
Nalbandyan spoke about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement and
paid attention to the belligerent and non-constructive policy of
Azerbaijan. The Armenian FM said Azerbaijan has been circulating
documents at the UN which not only negatively affect the negotiation
process but also aim to justify possible use of force.

Nalbandyan also talked about normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations in his speech. According to him the solution process of the
problems between Armenia and Turkey could not question the fact of the
Armenian Genocide. "If Armenia and Turkey have a political will and
sincere intentions to normalize the relations, no factor could prevent
it," he said.

Armenian FM said the "crucial" meeting of Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and
Abdullah Gul in Yerevan gave a new momentum to the negotiations and is
in the interests of the two states and peoples. According to the
minister, the negotiations are aimed not only at normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations but also assumed a serious contribution to
assure regional security and stability.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 13 2009

Police detain retired colonel linked to Malatya murders

A retired colonel being sought on an arrest warrant issued as part of
an investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine terrorist organization
charged with plotting to overthrow the government, was detained in
Ankara yesterday by squads from the Ankara Police Department.

Investigators believe the retired colonel, identified as Mehmet
Ã`lger, might solidify the suspected link between Ergenekon and the
murders of three Christians at a publishing house in Malatya in
2007. It has been reported that Ã`lger previously served as the
Malatya Provincial Gendarmerie Battalion commander. He was lined up to
testify in court as a witness in the murder of three Christians in
Malatya, sources said. Zekeriya Ã-z, the chief prosecutor in the
Ergenekon investigation, is planning to investigate suspected links
between the Malatya murders and Ergenekon. Reports said Ã`lger’s
name was mentioned in a letter written by an informant to the court
conducting the Malatya investigation.

Sources said the police had been monitoring the retired colonel’s
phone conversations as part of the Ergenekon investigation for some
time. Ã`lger was detained as a result of potentially incriminating
statements he made during phone conversations with several Ergenekon
suspects and because of information provided by Dicle University
instructor Abdurrahim DoÄ?ru, who was detained earlier in the
investigation on charges of financing Ergenekon. Ã`lger, who was
detained yesterday in the capital, was transferred to Ä°stanbul
for interrogation by police and will later testify to a court.

Meanwhile, a noncommissioned officer on active duty at the
Intelligence Department of the Diyarbakır Gendarmerie Battalion
Command was detained yesterday. The noncommissioned officer, a special
sergeant identified as Mehmet Ã?olak, was also transferred to
Ä°stanbul yesterday. Ã?olak frequently met with Ruhi Abat,
a theology professor who allegedly incited the Malatya murders.

The co-plaintiff lawyers in the Malatya case requested in January that
Ergün Poyraz, one of the suspects arrested in 2007 as part of
the investigation into Ergenekon, testify in court as a witness in the
Malatya murder case.

Ergenekon-Malatya link

Recent evidence collected in the Ergenekon investigation has
consistently suggested that the brutal Malatya killings might have
been organized by Ergenekon, which is suspected of a large number of
murders and bombings aimed at creating chaos in the country to serve
the organization’s ultimate purpose of overthrowing the
government. Lawyers representing the families of the victims have been
calling for a deeper investigation into Ergenekon ties since the start
of the investigation.

During a hearing of the Malatya case held in February at the Malatya
3rd High Criminal Court, the presiding judge announced that the
Ä°stanbul 13th High Criminal Court, which is trying the
Ergenekon case, had sent his court a copy of the Ergenekon indictment
in response to the Malatya court’s query into the possibility of
merging the two cases. The judge also said the Ergenekon indictment
had as of that day been merged with the Christian murders case.

Ergenekon is suspected not only in the Malatya murder case, but also
in various other attacks and assassinations, including the killing of
Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in early 2007.

On April 18, 2007, Necati Aydın (35), UÄ?ur Yüksel
and German national Tilmann Ekkehart Geske (46) were tied to their
chairs, tortured and stabbed at the Zirve publishing house in the
eastern Anatolian city of Malatya before their throats were slit. The
publishing house they worked for published Bibles and Christian
literature. Suspects S.G., C.Ã-., H.T. and A.Y., whose full names
were not disclosed because of their ages, were caught at the crime
scene and immediately taken into custody. The main suspect, Emre
Günaydın, jumped from a third-story window while
attempting to escape from police and was taken into custody after
being hospitalized.

13 March 2009, Friday
TODAY’S ZAMAN Ä°STANBUL

Interfax, Russia
March 12 2009

Armenian-Turkish talks could contribute to regional security –
Armenian Foreign Ministry

YEREVAN March 12

Armenian-Turkish talks are aimed not only at stabilizing bilateral
relations but could also make an important contribution to regional
security and stability, according to Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard
Nalbandian.

"The Armenian-Turkish talks are based on the interests of the two
countries and nations and are aimed not only at stabilizing the
relations but also at making an important contribution to regional
security and stability," Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian
was quoted as saying at the French International Diplomatic Academy on
Wednesday by the Armenian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

Meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan "have been
constructive and very promising," Nalbandian said.

There are still no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey.

The 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire remain the stumbling block in
the relations between the two countries. The Armenian genocide in
Ottoman Turkey in 1915, which, according to various sources, claimed
over 1.5 million lives has been recognized by a number of
countries. Armenia’s efforts to get the same recognition from Turkey
have so far failed.

For its part, Ankara demands that the Karabakh conflict be resolved to
reflect Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

In 2008, the Turkish president visited Yerevan at the Armenian
president’s invitation for the first time in history. The Armenian
president is due to pay a return visit to Turkey in October 2009.

Georgia’s Ambassador leaving Armenia with respect for the country and
love for the people

armradio.am
11.03.2009 13:48

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received the Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to Armenia Revaz Gachechiladze, who is
completing his mission in our country.

The Prime Minister thanked the Ambassador for his four-year activity
targeted at the reinforcement of friendly relations and the cooperation
in different spheres.

Reaz Gachechiladze noted that during his diplomatic mission in our
country he had an opportunity to follow the processes in Armenia over
the past years. `I’m leaving Armenia with respect for country and love
for the Armenian people,’ Revaz Gachechiladze said.

PM Tigran Sargsyan wished success to the Ambassador in his further
activity and private life.

Panorama.am
17:26 11/03/2009

COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONGRESS TO MONITOR ELDER’S ELECTIONS

The Vice Prime Minister of Armenia, the Minister of Territorial
Administration Armen Gevorgyan invited the Congress of the Council of
Europe to have a monitoring mission in the forthcoming elections of
council of elders of Yerevan on 31 May.

The Congress made decision in Congress Bureau session dated on 4 March
to send a monitoring group to Armenia, reported press and public
relations department of Association of Communities of Armenia.

Note that the Council of Europe Congress has conducted monitoring in
the previous local elections in Armenia. Find the English version of
the reports made in this regard in
;lang =am.

Source: Panorama.am

PanARMENIAN.Net

RA Ombudsman: there should be a strict separation between business and
power in Armenia
10.03.2009 16:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `It’s time to create a free society in
Armenia. There should be a strict separation between business and
power in Armenia, by forming separate business and political elites,’
RA Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan specified in his 2008 Report on Human
Rights Protection.

`Oligarchic network should be abolished. A one-person combination of
statesman, official and entrepreneur could liken the modern times
relations in Armenia to those of feudal times. To create free civil
society, the RA Government must resign control over economy resources
and stop imposing decisions in this sphere.’

According to Harutyunyan, oligarchic network of Armenia should
acknowledge the superiority of law and enter the field of
taxation. `We suggest a compromise which will enable establishment of
free economic relations in the country. Until then it’s pointless to
speak of human rights protection,’ the Ombudsman stated.

WAM – Emirates News Agency
March 8 2009

Armenian PM stresses economic ties with UAE

Mar 8, 2009 – 03:09 –

WAM Yerevan, March 08th, 2009 (WAM)–Armenian Prim Minister Serj
Sarkisian, has stressed that his country was keen to bolster bilateral
relations with UAE, particularly in the economic, trade and investment
areas.

Meanwhile, the delegation accompanying UAE Foreign Trade Minister HE
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, lauded fruitful results of the visits to
Armenia and Russia.

On her part, Sheikha Lubna said that it was possible to upgrade
cooperation between the two countries through exchange of ideas and
proposals to strengthen the trade, economic and investment ties.

The Armenian PM, who held banquet in honour of Sheikha Lubna, said his
country was looking forward to further boost the relations with the
UAE in all fields, particularly in the economic and trade areas,
adding that "both countries share interest to exchange visits of
businesspersons and investors given huge investment opportunities in
the two countries".

WAM/MN
vlet/Satellite?c=WamLocEnews&cid=1235660875627 &p=1135099400124&pagename=WAM%2FWamLocEnew s%2FW-T-LEN-FullNews

PanARMENIAN.Net

Armenia needs development of futures market and retaining of budget
expenditures
09.03.2009 16:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Development of futures market is very important to
CBA currency and financial policy,’ ARF Dashnaktsutyun representative
Artsvik Minasyan told a news conference on Monday. According to
Minasyan, the absence of futures market caused CBA to undertake
drastic steps. `The presence of liability market could promote
positive expectations in society. People would know when and what
currency they should purchase.’
Despite the financial crisis, Armenia’s situation is not that
difficult, so we don’t need state budget sequestration,(
i.e. expenditures decrease). RA Government should increase social
programs’ expenditures and apartment construction to strengthen the
country’s economy. `At present we mustn’t revise the budget, as the
rate of tax proceeds is not as bad as it was described to be’ Artsvik
Minasyan stated.

PanARMENIAN.Net

International Alert to organize the Third Armenian-Azerbaijani Pubic
Peace Forum
07.03.2009 11:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Third Armenian-Azerbaijani Pubic Peace Forum
underpinning the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
will take place in Vienna on 24-27 March. The topic of the forthcoming
Forum will be: Security: Challenges and Opportunities, and Mechanisms
for Building Confidence. The Forum was launched with an aim to create
a space in which experts and civil society leaders from across the
conflict divide can discuss issues relating to the peaceful resolution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

`The forthcoming meeting of the Forum is responding to the growing
sense of insecurity in the region and will try to develop shared ideas
for mechanisms and measures that could contribute to building
confidence between societies,’ the representative of International
Alert, Dessislava Roussanova told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

During the course of 4 days the delegations will work in working
groups as well as in plenary sessions with the aim to develop shared
ideas regarding approaches and initiatives that could contribute to
confidence building between societies across the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict divide. The ideas and the recommendations of the Forum will
be made public.