Author: Elizabeth Jabejian

ARMENIAN CAUCUS VOICES CONCERNS OVER ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS

armradio.am
04.09.2009 10:37

The Co-Chairmen of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues,
Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) expressed
reservations regarding Turkey’s willingness to cooperate in the
implementation of its agreements under a set of recently signed
protocols on the normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations, reported
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In a public statement, the two legislators called into question several
points related to the protocols, including Turkey’s pattern of using
its ongoing dialogue with Armenia as a "stall tactic" to delay the
lifting of its illegal 16-year blockade of Armenia. The Co-Chairman
also noted their concern regarding Turkey’s efforts to impose
preconditions, stressing that: "Normalization of relations should
take place without preconditions." In a rebuke to the "historical
commission" long advanced by Turkey, they set forth their view that:
"Any attempt to include a review of historical fact, such as the
Armenian Genocide, or to include the ongoing Nagorno Karabakh peace
process into these negotiations stands in direct opposition to the
intent of these talks."

The leaders of the Armenian Caucus closed their statement by expressing
their hope that, "Turkey, by lifting its illegal blockade, will
open the door to normalized relations between Yerevan and Ankara,
and a new era of Armenia-Turkey relations based on truth, justice,
peace and cooperation."

Earlier this week, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead author of the
Armenian Genocide Resolution, expressed "serious concerns about some
provisions of the protocols," stating that: "In particular, I was
deeply disappointed to see that the protocols call for the creation of
an historical commission to review the events of 1915-23. This is a
thoroughly discredited idea; there is no dispute among scholars that
the Armenian people were the subject of genocide during the waning
days of the Ottoman Empire and an historical commission is another
effort to obfuscate the truth."

Rep. Schiff went on to state that: "True reconciliation between the
Armenian and Turkish peoples will occur when Turkey acknowledges the
genocide that was committed by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians
from 1915 – 1923."

MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS TO ARRIVE IN ARMENIA ON JUNE 8

armradio.am
06.07.2009 17:32

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Bernard Fassier
(France) and Matthew Bryza (USA) will arrive in Yerevan on July
8 within the framework of a regional visit, Press and Information
Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia reported.

The Co-Chairs are expected to meet Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

The visit of the mediators is aimed at preparing the next meeting
between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow later
this month.

Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev
last met in Saint Petersburg on June 4.

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN SYRIA OCCUPIES AN APPROPRIATE PLACE IN THE COUNTRY

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.06.2009 18:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian and Syrian people have passed a long
historical way together, preserving their culture and kind relations,
RA President Serzh Sargsyan told at a joint conference with Syrian
President Bashar Al-Asad. RA President reminded about the words
of deceased President Hafez Asad, who visited Armenia 30 years ago,
"Armenia is a second native land to Syria". "I’m assured that Armenian
Community in Syria occupies an appropriate place in the country,"
Sargsyan said.

RA President noted that after independence was announced in Armenia,
Armenian-Syrian relations rose to a new level. "Strengthening and
development of relations with Middle Eastern countries is one of the
main priorities in external policy of the state. We have a tangible
ground for trade and economic collaboration development. We agreed
on collaboration in transportation sphere, specifically, creation of
land roads between Armenia and Syria," said Sargsyan.

"Armenian – Syrian relations have stood the test of time. Armenian
Community in Syria takes active participation in social and political
life of the country. Syria can offer serious support in normalization
of Armenian-Turkish relations, as we’re in friendly relations both
with Armenia and Turkey," Al Asad said in his turn.

THE ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT UNDERTAKES STEPS TO PREVENT THE PENETRATION OF THE SWINE FLU TO ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
APRIL 30, 2009
YEREVAN

During today’s session of the Armenian government issues connected
with the prevention of the penetration of the swine flu into the
republic have been discussed. The Armenian Health Minister Harutyun
Kushkian noted that in this respect there is no epidemic situation
in the republic.

A consultation has been held in the republic on prevention of the
disease. At present quarantine is announced in the "Zvartnots" and
"Gyumri" airports, all those who arrive in Armenia are checked and
everything is done to prevent the penetration of the disease. According
to H. Kushkian the Armenian Health Ministry has all the necessary
medicaments stored against the disease. The Armenian Agriculture
Minister Aramayis Grigorian noted that yet there is no attempt of
prevention of the disease, but everything is done so that the announced
quarantine in the bordering checking stations has a great efficiency:
all the cargos imported to Armenia are disinfected. According to
the Minister form April 26 the import of pork into Armenia has been
restricted especially from countries where cases of disease have
already been registered. As from the swine meat the disease can
also transfer to the bird meat therefore it is also suggested to
restrict the import of bird meat. The Armenian Emergency Situations
Minister Mher Shahgeldian suggested conducting checking of disease in
airplanes as well. The Head of Government-affiliated State Revenue
Committee Gagik Khachatrian noted that the Committee must regularly
be informed from where and when it is necessary to suspend the import
of meat so that the importers are on time informed about it and not
conduct expenditures in vein. According to Armenian Prime minister
Tigran Sargsian if different states who have registered a disease
have suspended the import of meat, Armenia must also conduct serious
steps towards prevention of penetration of the disease to the republic.

STARTING FROM JANUARY 30, 2009, THE RA MINISTERS AND THE HEADS OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WILL BE SUBMITTING PERFORMANCE REPORTS FOR THE YEAR 2008

Thursda y, 29 January 2009

As directed by RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, the reports will
cover all the activities carried out in the period under review
together with the shortfalls and the reasons behind non-performance,
if any, inclusive of those measures stipulated in the addendums to
Government Decree N-1440 of November 29, 2007, and Government Decree
N-870 of July 24, 2008.

The reports will be posted on the respective websites of RA ministries
and government agencies.

ISRAEL AND TURKEY: BAD NEW VIBRATIONS

Economist
ld/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=130411 12
Jan 29 2009

The special relationship between the Turkish and Jewish states is
at risk

WIDESPREAD outrage over Israel’s assault on Gaza has sharply soured the
tone of Turkey’s people and government towards the Jewish state. The
prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, castigated it for hammering the
Palestinians. So far he has resisted a clamour in Turkey to loosen or
even sever his country’s close ties with Israel. But some advocates
of the strategic friendship between the two countries fear it may be
at risk.

Behind the scenes, Turkish policymakers, especially military
ones, still cherish their ties with Israel. Speaking this week in
Switzerland, Mr Erdogan seemed keen to draw a line under the row. He
explained that he was incensed by the war in Gaza particularly because
his tireless mediation had brought Israel and Syria close to a deal
over the Golan Heights. He said he had also been trying to fix a
deal with Hamas over a prisoner exchange, including freedom for a
kidnapped Israeli corporal.

Similar rows have occurred before. In 2004 he annoyed Israel by
calling it a terrorist state after it assassinated Hamas’s founder,
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, as he left a mosque in Gaza. Mr Erdogan then
invited Khaled Meshaal, Hamas’s present leader, to visit Turkey. But
Israeli-Turkish relations were mended after prodding by the United
States. Military co-operation went on. Israel has invariably chosen
to turn a deaf ear to Turkey’s occasionally fierce rhetoric for the
sake of that strategic liaison. In a bid to soothe the anger of Jews
and Israelis, Turkey’s foreign minister, Ali Babacan, urged Hamas to
decide "whether it wants to be an armed group or a political movement".

But this time Mr Erdogan had been a lot angrier. Israel, he railed,
was "committing a crime against humanity…The world must not turn a
blind eye to Israel’s savagery…How can such a country, which totally
ignores and does not implement the UN Security Council’s resolutions
be let through the gates of the UN?"

An education ministry circular particularly annoyed Israel by telling
Turkish schoolchildren to observe a minute’s silence in solidarity with
Palestinian children. In the event, the Israelis persuaded the Turks
to cancel a proposed essay and drawing contest for schoolchildren to
air their feelings of hatred towards Israel. Israeli officials were
apparently poised to respond by proposing a programme in Israeli
schools for discussing the genocide of Armenians by Turks in the
first world war.

In any case, anti-Israeli anger on Turkey’s streets rose during the
assault on Gaza. In rallies across the country demonstrators chanted
"Killer Israel! Nazi Israel! Turkish armies, march on Jerusalem!" Calls
to boycott Israeli goods and scrap military co-operation grew louder.

Not for the first time, anti-Semitism reared its head. In the western
city of Eskisehir, members of a nationalist group brandished placards
that read, "Only dogs can enter: no Armenians or Jews!" An outcry from
Turkey’s 25,000-strong Jewish community, plus pressure from the foreign
ministry, shamed a local prosecutor into launching a probe. Turkey’s
Jewish community issued a rare statement saying that "we Turkish Jews,
an inseparable part of the Turkish Republic, feel deep sorrow for
the comments appearing in recent days in certain media outlets that
belittle and insult our religion and present us as targets."

An ancient alliance Turks deny accusations of anti-Semitism, noting
that the Ottoman Sultans opened their doors over 500 years ago to
Jews fleeing from Christian persecution in Spain. In 1948, Turkey
was among the first countries to recognise Israel. Under a military
co-operation deal in 1996, Israeli pilots have been training in
Turkish skies. In 2007, bilateral trade rose to $2.7 billion. Between
2006 and 2007, the number of Israelis visiting Turkey went up from
362,000 to 511,400–more than 7% of Israel’s population. Turkey has
also earned praise from the Americans for its recent mediation between
Syria and Israel.

But anti-Semitism is often part of a general anti-Christian and
anti-Western feeling. "Jew" and "Armenian" are both often used as
slurs. Last year a Pew Global Attitudes Survey found that anti-Jewish
sentiment in Turkey had risen: 76% said they had negative views
towards Jews, whereas only 7% said they looked kindly on them.

Anti-Semitism was also blatant during a campaign against an Israeli
financier, Sammy Ofer, who had planned to invest with a Turkish
partner in rehabilitating Istanbul’s historic Galata district and its
port near the Golden Horn. The tender was cancelled amid widespread
claims that the deal was crooked and that "Jewish capital" was trying
to take over the country.

Radical Turkish Islamists have long tried to stir up
anti-Semitism. Their long-standing jibe against the secular Kemal
Ataturk, modern Turkey’s founder, was that he was "really a Jew". In
recent years assorted leftists and Kemalists have joined an anti-Jewish
chorus that frequently accompanies hostility to America, which is
often accused of plotting with Israel to set up an independent Kurdish
state in northern Iraq that will eventually take large chunks out of
south-eastern Turkey.

Behind-the-scenes lobbying by Turkish, American and European Union
diplomats may have persuaded Mr Erdogan to tone down his language. He
recently told Turkey’s parliament, "As a leader, I have said that
anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity." But if anti-Israeli
rhetoric in Turkey persists, the Israeli lobby in the United states
could hit back by backing a congressional resolution to call the
mass killings by Turks of some 1m Armenians "genocide". Hitherto,
Israel’s influential lobby in America has repeatedly helped block such
a resolution, though Barack Obama and his vice-president, Joe Biden,
have both referred to genocide in the past and have pledged to back
the bill.

Secret talks between Turkey and Armenia to open diplomatic ties
and reopen their borders are hotly opposed by some in the Armenian
diaspora’s lobby in America. American Jews have long felt queasy
about defending Turkey over the massacre of Armenians. Hitherto,
pragmatism has prevailed and they have sided with the Turks. But if
Mr Erdogan keeps on lambasting Israel, they may change their mind.

SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF HRANT DINK’S MURDER MARKED IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan

Jan 19, 2009

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. The second
anniversary of murder of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Agos
newspaper published in Turkey, was marked on January 19 in Yerevan. The
staff of the RA Ministry of Diaspora led by Minister Hranush Hakobian
visiting Yerevan Memorial of Armenian Genocide Victims paid a tribute
of respect to H. Dink’s memory.

"Today the mankind of the world, including the Armenians of the
Diaspora, mourn over Hrant Dink’s martyr. He lived his life as
a peculiar symbol, a symbol of independence, freedom, democracy,
tolerance. All this was not forgiven by extremists," the Minister
said in her interview to journalists.

At the same time she said that H. Dink’s martyr became a reason for the
Turkish and Armenian peoples’ revolt. "With his death he also helped to
expand the struggle for democracy and freedom," H. Hakobian emphasized.

The Armenian-Russian Cossack Union and One and a Half Million +1
NGOs organized a march on the occasion of the second anniversary
of H. Dink’s murder. According to the organizers, the march was
organized to exclude such infringements on the Armenians next time. The
Armenian-Russian Cossack Union is going to apply to the RA government
to erect a monument to H. Dink in Armenia with its assistance.

ARMENIA: GOVERNMENT GEARS UP FOR POSSIBLE DEAL WITH AZERBAIJAN ON KARABAKH
Emil Danielyan

EurasiaNet
Dec 23 2008
NY

With international efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
gaining fresh momentum, Armenia’s leadership appears to be preparing
ground for a possible breakthrough in its long-running negotiations
with Azerbaijan. It has pushed through parliament an amendment paving
the way for a nationwide referendum on the issue reportedly promised
by President Serzh Sargsyan.

The move came amid increasingly vocal domestic opposition to a
framework Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord proposed by international
mediators. The Sargsyan administration faces an uphill battle in
overcoming opposition from nationalist groups in and outside the
Armenian government as well, as the ethnic Armenian leadership of
Nagorno-Karabakh.

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Helsinki
on December 3 for more talks on the basic principles of a Karabakh
settlement proposed by a team of US, Russian and French mediators
co-chairing the OSCE’s so-called Minsk Group. In a joint statement
issued the next day, Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov of Russia and
Bernard Kouchner of France and US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel
Fried urged the conflicting parties to finalize those principles
"in coming months."

They also emphasized the "positive momentum" which they said was
established by Sargsyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev during
their most recent meeting — hosted by Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev outside
Moscow on November 2. Aliyev and Sargsyan issued a joint declaration
there pledging to "intensify further steps in the negotiating
process." The mediators hope that they will meet again soon to close
remaining gaps. Aides to the two presidents have said that the next
Armenian-Azerbaijani summit would likely take place early next year.

Bernard Fassier, France’s chief Nagorno-Karabakh negotiator, told RFERL
on December 9 that Lavrov, Kouchner and Fried presented to Baku and
Yerevan a "technical document" that puts a settlement within reach
by next summer. The chief stumbling blocks to date have centered on
details of a proposed referendum on self-determination in Karabakh,
and a timetable for the liberation of at least six of the seven
Azerbaijani districts around the disputed enclave that were fully or
partly occupied by Armenian forces during the 1991-1994 war.

Meeting with leaders of nearly 50 Armenian political parties behind
the closed doors on November 19, Sargsyan reportedly indicated that an
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord is still not imminent. According to
some participants of that meeting, he also promised to put a possible
peace deal to a popular vote.

Two weeks later, Armenia’s parliament passed a government-drafted
amendment to an Armenian law on referendums that enables the government
to hold non-binding plebiscites on any policy issue. Prior to passage
of the amendment, parliament and the president had responsibility
for calling referendums, and authorities were obliged to abide by
their results.

Opposition politicians and independent observers see a direct
link between the adopted amendment and the Karabakh peace
process. Government officials and pro-presidential MPs have not ruled
out of the conduct of a Karabakh-related referendum in Armenia in
the coming months.

A senior member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF,
also known as the Dashnak Party), a nationalist party represented
in Sargsyan’s coalition government, asserted at a December 9 news
conference that the signing of a framework agreement on Karabakh in
early 2009 is "not unlikely." Giro Manoyan also reaffirmed the ARF’s
opposition to the mediators’ existing peace proposals that seem to
allow for continued Armenian control over Karabakh. "What we wanted in
1988 (at the start of a popular movement for Karabakh’s unification
with Armenia) can not be a basis for today because a lot has changed
since then," he said. "Azerbaijan is chiefly responsible for that and
it must pay a price." Manoyan and many other nationalists generally
would no longer be satisfied with the formalization of Karabakh’s
separation from Azerbaijan. Now, they also want Armenia to keep much
of what is now occupied Azerbaijani territory.

Another ARF leader, deputy parliamentary speaker Hrayr Karapetian,
insisted that the Armenian side should be happy with the Karabakh
status quo and that Azerbaijan will not attempt to win back its lost
territories by force in the foreseeable future. "If this situation
continues for 10 or 20 years, we will still be in a winning position,"
Karapetian told the Yerevan newspaper Pakagits in an interview
published on December 18.

Hard-line opposition groups, though, are even more vocal in
opposing any territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Like the
ARF, they believe that the occupied Azerbaijani districts are so
vital for Armenia’s security that they must not be traded even for
international recognition of Karabakh’s secession from Azerbaijan. As
talk of a Karabakh breakthrough intensified in late October, a group
of opposition politicians and intellectuals launched a new movement
called Miatsum (Unification) to campaign against the return of what
they call "liberated territories."

"If we cede any of those lands, we will disrupt the security system
that has served us well for the past 15 years and will make another war
inevitable," Zaruhi Postanjian, a Miatsum leader and parliament deputy
from the opposition Heritage party, told EurasiaNet. "Even if the
international community recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence."

Significantly, government officials in Karabakh seem to share this
view, raising more questions about Yerevan’s ability and willingness to
implement the peace formula currently on the table. Armenian Foreign
Minister Eduard Nalbandian visited the Karabakh capital Stepanakert
on December 19 to meet with the self-proclaimed republic’s president,
Bako Sahakian. An Armenian Foreign Ministry statement said Nalbandian
briefed Sahakian on details of the Helsinki talks and discussed with
the Karabakh leader other "recent developments" in the negotiating
process. Sahakian’s office also gave few details of the talks, saying
only that the two men discussed "the current phase of the Karabakh
conflict resolution." Incidentally, President Sargsyan twice traveled
to Karabakh shortly before and after his last encounter with Aliyev.

The secretary of Sargsyan’s National Security Council, Artur
Baghdasarian, has been a rare conciliatory voice in the Armenian public
discourse on Karabakh dominated by outspoken nationalist figures. In a
December 19 interview with the newspaper Iravunk de facto, Baghdasarian
again made a case for mutual compromise with Azerbaijan, saying
that it would give Armenia "unique opportunities for political and
economic development." He said the Armenian leadership will not
accept any agreement that stops short of legitimizing Karabakh’s
independence or unification with Armenia and giving the Karabakh
Armenians "international security guarantees."

Baghdasarian, whose Country of Law Party is also a junior partner in
Armenia’s ruling coalition, further confirmed Sargsyan’s reported
referendum pledge. "God willing, we will arrive at a mutually
acceptable variant of settlement that the authorities will present
to the people’s judgment," he said.

Editor’s Note: Emil Danielyan is a Yerevan-based journalist and
political analyst.

President of Armenia attended the unofficial summit of Heads of State
in Kazakhstan

armradio.am
20.12.2008 12:33

At the invitation of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev,
the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan visited Kazakhstan to
participate in the unofficial summit of the Heads of State of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization.

The summit, attended by the Presidents of Armenia, the Russian
Federation, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, was held at the
Shuchini-Borovi winter resort near Kokchetau town.

Prior to the opening of the unofficial summit, President Serzh Sargsyan
had a short meeting with the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan
Nazarbaev. At the meeting the two sides hailed the current high level
of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction with the level of the
political dialogue. The Presidents of the two states underscored the
role of the Armenian-Kazakh Diaspora in strengthening the bilateral
relations.

Serzh Sargsyan and Nursultan Nazarbaev stressed the importance of
further developing the economic relations, noting that the envisaged
new railroads would promote and foster the growth of the trade
turnover.

The unofficial summit of the Heads of state started shortly after the
meeting.

The agenda of the summit comprised issues related to the cooperation in
the framework of the CSTO and the prospects of the organization, global
financial crisis, as well as issues related to the integration
processes in the CIS area.

The President of Armenia, Chairman of the CSTO Council of the Heads of
State, Serzh Sargsyan welcomed the idea to convene the unofficial
summit and noted that the agenda includes issues which were significant
for Armenia. The participants to the summit concurred that interaction
in this format provides a good opportunity to look at the agenda issues
from different points of view and to discuss a wide range of topics.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

INTERNATIONAL PRESS COVERAGE
ON HIS HOLINESS ARAM I’S VISIT TO THE VATICAN

His Holiness Aram I’s recent visit to the Vatican on November 23-27 received
a broad coverage both in the international and local press. Various news
agencies consistently reported on the issues His Holiness discussed in the
Vatican during his meeting with the Pope and other senior officials.

In addition to international media, the Turkish press also covered the
Pontiff’s visit, enticed clearly by his statements concerning the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

In further media coverage of the visit, the Catholicosate of Cilicia’s
Ecumenical and Communications officers, Bishop Nareg Alemezian and V. Rev.
Fr. Krikor Chiftjian appeared on the Roman "Telepace" TV on November 28
talking about the new potential for cooperation between the two churches and
particularly the Catholicosate of Cilicia and the Vatican that the Pontiff’s
official visit gave rise to. Despite the theological, ecclesiological, and
confessional differences, the need for unreserved cooperation between the
two churches was emphasized for the purpose of overcoming the challenges
faced by the present-day society.

Bishop Nareg and Father Chiftjian were also hosted by Radio Vatican’s news
service to make an assessment of His Holiness’s official visit.