Author: Chavushian

Edward Nalbandian: There is no alternative to the peaceful and
negotiated solution to the Karabakh issue

armradio.am
06.05.2008 14:01

On May 5 in Paris RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had his first
official meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European
Cooperation of France Bernard Kouchner. During the meeting the
interlocutors discussed issues of bilateral, regional and international
importance. Congratulating Edward Nalbandian on appointment and
stressing the importance of his contribution to the development of
Armenian-French relations as Armenian Ambassador to France, Bernard
Kouchner expressed confidence that he will continue working in the
direction of deepening the ties between the two countries.

Attaching importance to the dialogue and mutual understanding launched
between the leaders of Armenia and France on the highest level, which
creates a solid basis for the development of interstate relations, the
Ministers expressed readiness to make every effort to ensure bilateral
cooperation both in bilateral format and on the European, regional and
international levels.

Edward Nalbandian presented to Bernard Kouchner the pivotal directions
of activity of the coalition government formed in Armenia as a result
of the presidential elections, as well as the views of the Armenian
leadership on ensuring regional security, settlement of the existing
conflicts and development of cooperation. In this regard special
attention was paid to the current state and perspectives of
negotiations on the Karabakh conflict settlement. Edward Nalbandian
expressed the willingness of the Armenian side to continue the
negotiations on the basis of the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs, highly appreciating the efforts of the mediators in the
direction of solving the conflict. The French Foreign Minister assured
that his country will sustain the efforts within the OSCE Minsk Group
to find ways of Karabakh conflict resolution.

In light of French presidency of the EU from the second half of the
current year, the Ministers turned to the issue of deepening of the
relations with Armenia within the framework of the European
Neighborhood Policy. Reference was made to a number of regional issues.

At the end of the meeting Edward Nalbandian invited Bernard Kouchner to
Yerevan, and the invitation was accepted with pleasure.

The meeting was followed by a joint press conference, during which the
Foreign Ministers responded to the journalists’ questions.

Reconfirming Armenia’s willingness to settle the Karabakh issue in a
peaceful manner and via negotiations, Edward Nalbandian declared:
`Today there is a need to establish mutual trust and a constructive
atmosphere for the negotiations. Today there is a necessity to
reconfirm that there is no alternative to the peaceful and negotiated
solution to the Karabakh issue. In Strasbourg I will meet my Azeri
counterpart and I hope that we shall continue the constructive dialogue
to find ways of peaceful solution with the help of the mediators.’

Turning to the normalization of relations with Turkey, RA Foreign
Minister declared that the current generations of the two peoples have
received a heavy inheritance from the past and the political leaders
should move forward to turn this black page. `For its part, Armenia is
ready. We propose to reestablish relations without any precondition,
which will benefit the whole region and our peoples.’

Issue of creation of Armenian National Congress being discussed, APNM
representative says

2008-05-06 20:33:00

ArmInfo. "Levon Ter-Petrosyan has recently made a proposal to create
Armenian National Congress, and this issue is currently being
discussed", Karen Karapetyan, a member of Board of the Armenian
Pan-National Movement (APNM), said to ArmInfo correspondent.

Speaking of the APNM’s present activity, Karapetyan said that by
arresting the leadership of the party, the authorities made an attempt
to paralyze its activity. "However, they failed as the APNM continued
the fight. The arrests by no means weakened the Armenian Pan-National
Movement, and the ruling regime once again demonstrated its inability
to gain its goals", he said.

Asked whether a certain recession is observed in the oppositional
movement after the known events, the oppositionist stressed that
despite the authorities’ efforts to restrict the rights and freedoms of
citizens at any price, even by means of legislative amendments, "no
tendency for weakening of the Nationwide movement is observed. On the
contrary, there is enthusiasm, aspiration and resoluteness to keep on
fighting up to the victorious end".

Interfax News Agency, Russia
May 5 2008

Armenian ex-foreign minister’s detention extended by two months

YEREVAN May 5

A court in Yerevan has extended the detention of ex-Foreign Minister
Alexander Arzumanian by another two months.

The judge of the general court in the Center and Nork-Marash districts
argued that "Arzumanian represents a flight risk if at large and could
commit a new crime," the defendant’s lawyer Ovik Arsenian told the
press on Monday.

Arzumanian was the campaign manager of ex-presidential candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosian. He was arrested on March 10 on charges of attempted
regime change, money laundering and instigation of mass unrest.

FREE SPEECH REFORM SAID APPROVED BY TURK PARLIAMENT

ChristianToday, UK
April 30 2008

Turkey’s parliament approved a long-awaited revision of a law
criticised by the European Union for limiting free speech in the
candidate country, but writers and activists say the reform does not
go far enough.

Turkey’s parliament approved a long-awaited revision of a law
criticised by the European Union for limiting free speech in the
candidate country, but writers and activists say the reform does not
go far enough.

State news agency Anatolian said the reform to article 301 of the
penal code was approved early on Wednesday with 250 votes for and 65
against amid fierce criticism from the nationalist opposition.

The article has been used to prosecute hundreds of writers, including
Nobel Literature Laureate Orhan Pamuk, for "insulting Turkishness".

After the reform, it will be a crime to insult the Turkish nation,
rather than Turkishness, and the justice minister’s permission will
be required to open a case. The maximum sentence will be cut to two
years from three.

But writers and publishers fear they will continue to face frequent
trials as they argue that the changes are minor while other laws
restricting freedom of expression remain intact.

Brussels had also given a lukewarm response to the reform. On a
recent trip to Turkey, European Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso said it was a step in the right direction.

The EU has said easing restrictions on free speech is a test of
Turkey’s commitment to political reform as Ankara looks to advance
slow-moving membership talks which began in 2005.

Defending the reform against criticism from the opposition, Justice
Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said there would still be restrictions on
insulting Turkey.

"With this change, it is not a question of letting people insult
Turkishness freely," he told parliament.

NATIONALIST OPPOSITION

The reform has been controversial in Turkey, where nationalism has
grown in recent years along with disillusionment with the EU. The
bill, passed after eight hours of mostly late-night debate, had been
delayed several times amid stiff opposition from nationalists.

Armenian-Turkish editor Hrant Dink, who was shot dead by an
ultra-nationalist youth last year, had been convicted under article
301.

Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) accused the
government of betraying the country’s identity, and instead pandering
to EU demands that it reform laws prohibiting Turks from insulting
their nation.

MHP leader Devlet Bahceli told a meeting of his party ahead of the
vote the reform would be a "historical mistake".

"Slandering Turkey’s honourable history, insulting the Turkish nation
and the values of Turkishness has become a habit with the AK Party’s
political thinking, which lacks a sense of identity," he said.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) also opposed the
reform. The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), whose members
often end up in court for expressing views on the Kurdish issue,
wanted to abolish the article.

Article 301 has notably been used against writers such as Pamuk
for comments on the massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in
1915-16. Turkey denies claims by Armenians and many Western historians
that the killings constituted genocide.

SMALL FARMS WILL CONTINUE BEING EXEMPT FROM VALUE ADDED TAX, MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE SAYS

Noyan Tapan
May 1, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 1, NOYAN TAPAN. In accordance with the requirements of
joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), starting from January 1,
2009, it is envisaged to collect value added tax (VAT) from farms in
Armenia. However, taking into account the low profitability of the
sector, productivity of lands in the country and other peculiarities,
the Armenian government has conducted negotiations with the WTO to
ease somewhat this obligation. The RA minister of agriculture Davit
Lokian said in the National Assembly on April 30 that an agreement
has been reached that small farms will continue being exempt from
VAN after the indicated date.

In his words, no VAT will be collected from Armenian farms and 3
thousand enterprises producing agricultural products. VAT will be
levied on 1,000 entities but the sums levied will be given back to
these farms in the form of subsidies and other services. D. Lokian
announced that this order will be in force within the next 5 years.

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

========================================== ======
Wednesday 30 April 2008
KAZAKHSTAN: ALARM AT STATE-BACKED PLANNED NEW RELIGION LAW

Kazakhstan is planning more restrictions on freedom of thought, conscience
and belief, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Human rights activists and
some religious communities have expressed alarm at a planned new Religion
Law penalising "unapproved" religious activities. The proposals include
banning missionary activity by people who do not both represent registered
religious communities and have state accreditation, and banning small
religious communities from maintaining public places of worship or
publishing religious literature. Prime Minister Karim Masimov has backed
the latest draft, writing that "perfecting" legislation at the
"contemporary phase of state-confessional relations" is "timely and
necessary." Fr Aleksandr Ivlev of the Russian Orthodox Church vigorously
defended the proposals, telling Forum 18 that "the current Law has allowed
sectarians to spread in the country." He complained that "the proposed
amendments do not at all restrict the rights and freedoms of religious
organisations – those that say otherwise are lying." Accompanying the draft
Law, the mass media is being used by officials and parliamentary deputies
to promote intolerance of religious communitioes they dislike.

KAZAKHSTAN: ALARM AT STATE-BACKED PLANNED NEW RELIGION LAW

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service <;, and

Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service <;

Kazakhstan’s government has backed moves by parliamentary deputies to
increase restrictions on religious communities and spell out further
penalties for "unapproved" religious activities. Human rights activists and
some religious communities are already gearing up for a new campaign for
religious freedom, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Many are unhappy not
only at the proposed new restrictions but at the restrictions on religious
activity that already exist.

The new initiative – prepared by four deputies of the lower house of
parliament, the Majilis, and two from the upper house, the Senate – was
approved for consideration on 2 April. The draft Law on Amendments and
Additions to Several Legislative Acts on Questions of Freedom of Conscience
and Religious Organisations – if adopted – would tighten numerous articles
of the current Religion Law, the controversial Article 375 (see F18News
< icle_id=608>) and one other article
of the Code of Administrative Offences, as well as several other laws.

Many of the restrictions envisaged in the new draft Law echo earlier
proposals (see F18News 21 February 2007
< e_id`6>).

Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister, Karim Masimov, formally backed the new draft
in a letter to the Majilis [parliament’s lower chamber], which Forum 18 has
seen. He declared that "perfecting" legislation at the "contemporary phase
of state-confessional relations" is "timely and necessary", though without
explaining why. His only demand was that the formulation of the proposed
new crimes in the Code of Administrative Offences be aligned with those
specified in the proposed revised Religion Law.

"The draft Law is now with a working group, which has not yet begun to
discuss it," parliamentary deputy and working group member Serik
Temirbulatov told Forum 18 from the capital Astana on 28 April. "It will
then be presented to parliament’s committees. Only when all their views are
taken into account will it be presented to the full lower house of
parliament. A parliamentary resolution earlier this month has given 1
December as the deadline by which this will be adopted."

Temirbulatov declined to discuss any specific provisions in the draft Law
or any of the concerns that human rights activists and religious
communities have already expressed.

Ninel Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Committee told Forum 18 on 15 April
that her and other local human rights groups have "many points of concern"
about the new draft Law. She worries in particular that it would make it
hard for smaller religious groups to develop or even survive.

Concerns among religious communities focus on the draft Law’s ban on
missionary activity by individuals who do not represent registered
religious communities and do not have state accreditation; the institution
of a national quota for missionaries; the ban on small religious
communities from maintaining public places of worship or publishing
religious literature; and the requirement that state officials must monitor
all financial contributions to religious organisations (see forthcoming
F18News article).

Roman Podoprigora, a law professor at the Adilet (Justice) Law School in
the commercial capital Almaty, who studies the legal position of religious
communities, says he does not understand the necessity for a new Religion
Law. "Senior officials have stated numerous times from different podiums
that there is perfect peace and accord between the State and religious
confessions and also between religious communities themselves in
Kazakhstan," he told Forum 18 from Almaty on 16 April. "What is the reason
for a new law then?"

Natalya Kotenko, the head of the Social and Economic Department who is
handling the issue of the new Law in the Prime Minister’s Office, refused
to explain to Forum 18 specifically why a new Religion Law is needed. "It’s
an old law and like any law needs to be perfected," she told Forum 18 from
the capital Astana on 29 April. However, she declined to explain Masimov’s
assertion that amending the Law is "necessary". "I won’t comment on the
Prime Minister’s statement."

Kotenko claimed that the proposed new Law is entirely an initiative of
individual deputies. "These deputies are working with state agencies, such
as the Religious Affairs Committee." She declined to say how closely they
are or are not working with the government.

Kayrat Tulesov, the deputy Chair of the Justice Ministry’s Religious
Affairs Committee, also stressed to Forum 18 on 15 April that the
initiative for the draft Law came from Parliament. Asked why the government
wants to amend the law, he said he sees nothing surprising as the law was
adopted more than a decade ago. "It probably needs some brushing up
technically and theoretically," he maintained.

Some religious communities have already declared their opposition to the
new restrictions in the draft Law. Some Protestants have told Forum 18 that
various Protestant churches have already discussed how to oppose the new
Law and have announced a joint fast across Kazakhstan from 8 to 11 May.
Franz Tissen, the head of the Baptist Union, criticised several provisions
of the draft Law in a 16 April statement and called on churches to hold a
one-day fast on 21 April.

Also highly critical of the draft Law was the Council of Churches, another
Baptist network which refuses on principle to register its congregations
with the authorities. In a detailed letter to President Nursultan
Nazarbayev, the Council of Churches complained that the draft Law unveiled
to parliament on 2 April contains "absurd demands of believers that did not
even exist in the years of Soviet rule". "How can this be termed a law on
freedom of conscience?" they ask. "This Law puts believers in Kazakhstan
outside the law."

The Baptists complained of more than a hundred court cases against their
members since the Religion Law was last amended in 2005. It said fines
since then have amounted to more than 3,000,000 Tenge (127,525 Norwegian
Kroner, 16,010 Euros or 24,905 US Dollars). "We didn’t have such
astronomical fines even in the Soviet period," they complained. They quoted
one judge as declaring at a court case that Kazakhstan is returning to
Soviet times.

Also highly concerned is the Hare Krishna community, which has long faced
opposition from officials, particularly to its commune near Almaty. "The
draft Law has so many restrictions that it will produce many problems for
us, as well as for Protestants, minority Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and
others," Maksim Varfolomeyev told Forum 18 from Almaty on 30 April. "All
will suffer. We’ll be closed down, but that will be just the start." He
said the turn for the worse began with the 2005 amendments to the Religion
Law and conditions have continued to worsen since then.

Varfolomeyev said the Hare Krishna community is already working with other
religious communities to try to get their views heard. However, he said he
remains pessimistic. "I don’t know if we will have any impact," he told
Forum 18. "I fear this draft will be adopted more or less as it is."

The Russian Orthodox Church is more measured in its response. Fr Aleksandr
Ivlev maintained that the current law needs revisions, but said the new
draft – which he has read – also needs some revisions. "Some provisions
could be better phrased," he told Forum 18 from Almaty on 30 April, but
added that the Church is waiting to discuss the draft with the initiators.
He declined to specify any provisions that the Church might want rephrased.

However, Fr Ivlev vigorously defended restrictions on what he called
"pseudo-Christian" and "anti-Christian" groups. "The current Law has
allowed sectarians to spread in the country," he complained. "Those that
criticise the current law are lying. The proposed amendments do not at all
restrict the rights and freedoms of religious organisations – those that
say otherwise are lying."

Asked about the state-favoured Muftiate’s [the Islamic Spiritual
Administration] attitude to the new draft Law, a representative told Forum
18 from Almaty on 30 April that this was "both a simple and a complicated
question". He declined to expand by phone but promised to give the
Muftiate’s views in writing.

Some Kazakh Muslims disagree with the Muftiate, an independent community
losing its mosque in the western city of Atyrau in summer 2007 (see F18
News 12 December 2007
< e_id=1060>). A group of 15
independent Muslims were given heavy prison sentences for belonging to a
terrorist organisation. 14 of the 15 Muslims were given prison sentences of
between 14 and 19 and a half years at a closed trial. The fifteenth
received a three-year corrective labour sentence. The terrorist allegations
by the authorities were not proven, according to independent legal experts
(see F18 News 8 April 2008
< e_id=1110>)

Kazakhstan’s Religion Law was first adopted in 1992 and imposed hardly any
restrictions on individuals’ or communities’ religious freedom. However,
the Law was amended in 1995, 1997, 2004 and 2005, with ever increasing
restrictions. In 2005 further restrictions on freedom of thought,
conscience and belief were imposed in "extremism" and "national security"
legal amendments (see F18News 8 December 2005
< =701>). Despite these
increasing restrictions, government officials at all levels and
pro-government parliamentary deputies have repeatedly spoken of the need to
make the Religion Law even tighter.

Further drafts since 2005 concentrated on trying to ban "missionary"
activity, restrict the right to publish religious literature, impose
controls on receipt of funds and restrict charitable activity (see F18News
21 February 2007 <` 6>).

Officials and parliamentary deputies who support the draft Law have been
vigorously promoting it. On 28 April, a group of deputies met local
residents in the southern city of Shymkent to present the text. Khabar
Television reported that local people praised the deputies for their
attempt to curtail the activities of some "non-traditional" religious
groups, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

One of the deputies who initiated the new draft Law, Berik Bekzhanov, told
the meeting that it also aims to curb the activities of missionaries in the
area, which he criticised as "undermining family traditions and social
principles". The deputies argued that the existing Religion Law is "too
flexible", and asserted that "some religious organisations have started
posing a threat to the principles of tolerance and inter-religious accord".

The media have been full of stories in recent months highlighting what
officials claim to be law-breaking by religious organisations. A 10 April
report by Kazakhstan Today quoted Saparbek Nurpeisov of the General
Prosecutor’s Office as claiming that representatives of 1,870
"occult-mystical religious teachings" have been conducting "active
destructive activity". Among the groups he named in this category – which
he said bring "harm" to the country and are "dangerous" to individuals –
was the New Life Protestant Church. The mass media is often used by the
state to promote intolerance against religious communities the authorities
dislike (see eg. F18News 22 February 2008
< e_id=1091>).

Nurpeisov added that 50 leaders of "non-traditional faiths" and
"occult-mystical" groups had been punished under the Criminal or
Administrative Codes in 2007-8, while 13 foreigners had been expelled for
"missionary" activity. As usual in such official statements, peaceful
religious communities are deliberately mentioned in the same breath as
Al-Qaida and other violent groups.

Speaking at a conference on terrorism on 25 April, Majilis deputy Erzhan
Isakulov said the Religion Law must be strengthened to help counter
terrorism and extremism. Kazakh authorities have in the past sought to link
terrorism and serious crime with peaceful religious activity through the
mass media (see F18News 28 February 2007
< e_id’1>). Isakulov too quoted
the figure of 1,870 religious communities out of the more than 4,000
officially registered religious communities which he claimed "represent a
danger to national security and stability".

He quoted unnamed experts as claiming (wrongly) that Kazakhstan’s Religion
Law "is the most liberal law in the area of religion" of all twelve CIS
states. He complained that it is currently possible to register a religious
community in Kazakhstan with just a few members. Isakulov appears to be
unaware that Georgia has no Religion Law, while Ukraine, Russia, Armenia
and Moldova do not ban unregistered religious activity or impose such tight
restrictions as in Kazakhstan.

Law professor Podoprigora told Forum 18 that he is perplexed by how little
Parliament seems to care about initiatives such as the new restrictive
draft Law, despite the international human rights commitments Kazakhstan
took on and the country’s forthcoming chairmanship in 2010 of the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Asked what he thought were the motives behind the new draft Law,
Podoprigora gave two possible reasons. "First it is the old problem of the
Soviet legal mindset, where the State must control every activity right
down to the very lowest level," he told Forum 18. "Second, this new law
might be an initiative from a few parliamentarians who want to make some
political gain." He maintained that there could be bona fide reasons to
fight terrorism but on a different level and with different methods.

Podoprigora commented that it seems that some officials are thinking about
democracy and freedoms while others are going against it. "It is like the
saying that the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing."
(END)

For a personal commentary on how attacking religious freedom damages
national security in Kazakhstan, see F18News
< icle_id=564>.

For more background, see Forum 18’s Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at
< id=701>.

More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Kazakhstan
can be found at
< mp;religion=all&country=29>.

A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at
< id=806> and a survey of
religious intolerance in Central Asia is at
< id=815>.

A printer-friendly map of Kazakhstan is available at
< s/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=kazakh& gt;.
(END)

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

IN DIFFERENCE TO FOREIGNERS, RA CITIZENS ADOPT ONLY HEALTHY CHILDREN

Noyan Tapan
April 30, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 30, NOYAN TAPAN. 225 children being RA citizens were
adopted by foreign citizens in the last three years. Gevorg Danielian,
the RA Minister of Justice, said in his interview to journalists
on April 29 that foreign citizens prefer adopting ill or gravely
ill children, in difference to Armenians, who adopt only healthy
children. G. Danielian said that most of ill children are cured and
recover abroad, thanks to their new parents.

Nearly 50% foreign couples adopting children are Armenians by
nationality, in case of nearly 20% either the wife or the husband is
Armenian, and 30% are people of other nationalities.

G. Danielian also said that the most important problem related to
child adoption by foreigners is clarification of conditions and
order regulating the process. According to the Minister, in 2000,
when a republican commission on issues of adoption was created, the
government decided that if necessary, the commission was empowered
to demand guarantees from foreign citizens adopting children, which
can be provided by the Armenian Apostolic Church or people Armenian
by nationality, who know the people adopting the child. And today
introducing a guarantee is a compulsory condition.

The second important problem, according to G. Danielian, is control
over the condition of children already adopted. "On April 21,
2005 the government adopted decision N 623, which instructed
all consular institutions and diplomatic representations once
a year to receive information from foreign citizens, who have
adopted a child," the Minister said. However, according to him,
that decision could not completely serve its purpose, as the issue
regarded international relations, and no country has a right with its
intra-state sublegislative act to oblige a citizen of another country,
especially its authorized bodies, to provide information about the
condition of adopted children. That issue, as G. Danielian mentioned,
still needs regulation.

GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA TO PAY 3,000 EUR UNDER ‘CASE OF GALSTYAN V. REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA’

arminfo
2008-04-28 16:57:00

ArmInfo. Government of Armenia will pay 3,000 EUR under the Case of
Galstyan v. Republic of Armenia.

Press Secretary of Armenian Justice Minister Lana Mshetsyan told
ArmInfo European Court for Human Rights satisfied Galstyan’s appeal
against Republic of Armenia in January 2008. ‘The government adopted a
decision to pay the given amount shortly. The verdict of the European
Court will be translated into Armenian approximately on May 15’,
L. Mshetsyan said.

To recall, the citizen of Armenia Galstyan lodged with the European
Court on April 7 2003. The case originated in an application
(no. 26986/03) against the Republic of Armenia lodged with the Court
under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms ("the Convention") by an Armenian national,
Mr Arsham Galstyan ("the applicant"), on 1 August 2003.

Recently Prime Minister of Armenia stressed the necessity of learning
lessons from ‘lost cases’,including from the given Case of Galstyan
v. Republic of Armenia.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 26 2008

Araz Azimov: `Meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers in Strasbourg will be an acquaintance’

[ 26 Apr 2008 15:03 ]

Baku. Tamara Grigorieva `APA. `It is early to speak about the
expectations from the meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers in Strasbourg. Azerbaijan is ready for the negotiations in
any case’, said Araz Azimov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan on
Saturday, APA reports.

He said Armenia should recognize the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan and be withdrawn from the occupied territories and all
population should take part in the self-determination of Nagorno
Karabakh within the borders of Azerbaijan. Only under these
circumstances Azerbaijan will be willing to restore normal relations
with Armenia. The Deputy Minister noted that Azerbaijan made steps
toward the security of its territorial integrity and didn’t claim the
territories of other countries. In his opinion the factor of force is
different from the use of force. `Azerbaijan is developing in all
fields and this development is a factor of force itself. Political,
economic and defense potential of the country is increased, which is
the factor of force having impact on the discussions. However there
are factors of use and non-use of force in the international
law. There are appropriate frameworks there. It is true that use of
force is not accepted positively.

The countries undertake obligations not to use the force and on the
other hand the UN Charter gives to every country a right of
self-defense’.

Araz Azimov called the burning of Turkish and Azerbaijani flags on the
day of so-called `Armenian genocide’ as an act of vandalism. `No one
can witness the burning of Armenian flag in Azerbaijan. Do you see
such actions here? It shows once more that Azerbaijan is a tolerant
country’.

OUR HOME EXHIBITION OPENS

ARMENPRESS
April 25, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, ARMENPRESS: Economy minister Nerses Yeritsian
attended today the opening of the 7-th exhibition, entitled Our Home
that features over 70 local, Russian and Iranian companies.

Speaking at the opening ceremony the minister said construction
remains the driving force of Armenian economic growth.

"Construction prompts introduction of new technologies and new
products. Given a right construction policy the country will have
powerful engineering infrastructures," he said. He said the government
is developing a strategy for aggressive local companies which want
to win also foreign markets.

The exhibition features also furniture, doors and windows, new
technologies for external and internal decoration of homes.

The organization of the exhibition was assisted by the economy
ministry, the Armenian Development Agency, the Yerevan municipality
and the Union of Armenian Builders. It will run through April 27.