Author: Felekian Ara

BORDER WILL NOT BE OPENED ANYTIME SOON

A1+
April 21, 2009

There will not be opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, at least
not this year, according to President of the Union of Politicians of
Armenia Hmayak Hovhannisyan.

"I firmly believe that the border will not be opened until the end of
the year. Serzh Sargsyan’s states that if the border is not opened
in the fall, it will be opened after the football match; if not,
by the end of the year it will definitely be opened. I don’t think
that this is realistic," told "A1+" Hmayak Hovhannisyan.

According to the politician, Turkey will not open the border until
the end of the Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku railway construction and
will not allow that project to lose meaning.

"It is a geopolitical project opening a pathway between East and
West. After the implementation of that project and the opening of
the Turkish-Armenian border, the Kars-Gyumri railway will no longer
be of strategic importance and can’t be competitive. The opening
of the border will only make us rely on the same roads and the
railway will lose its potential for communications," said Hmayak
Hovhannisyan. Besides that, Hovhannisyan views an issue with Russian
border-guards.

Hmayak Hovhannisyan also ties the Turkish-Armenian talks with Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s return to politics.

"As Ali Babacan stated recently, talks on the normalization of
Turkish-Armenian ties had begun in the fall of 2007. He also said
that the Armenian side insisted on keeping the talks confidential. I
don’t consider this by chance."

Hmayak Hovhannisyan recalled the speech made by Levon Ter-Petrosyan
on September 21, 2007 when he discussed his approaches on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other regional conflicts, courses for
overcoming the isolation of Armenia from regional projects and attached
importance to the need to open the Turkish-Armenian border. The secret
talks began right after that in Switzerland. Knowing that those issues
would be of importance after the return of Ter-Petrosyan, it was in
his interest to take the initiative of starting the talks and try to
deprive Ter-Petrosyan of playing a role in that geopolitical game.

THINK TANK’S REPORT ON ARMENIA: YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
Harut Sassounian

Noyan Tapan
April 21, 2009

Several pro-establishment Washington think tanks, such as the Center
for Strategic & International Studies, Jewish Institute for National
Security Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Brookings
Institution, Heritage Foundation, Council on Foreign Relations,
and American Enterprise Institute, have recently published special
reports that seek to influence U.S. policy-makers in favor of Turkey.

The latest such biased report, titled: "Turkey and Armenia: Opening
Minds, Opening Borders," was issued on April 14, by the International
Crisis Group. Serving on the ICG’s Board of Trustees are: Morton
Abramovitz, former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey; Richard Armitage,
former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and member of the Honorary
Council of Advisors of U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce; Zbigniew
Brzezinski, former U.S. National Security Advisor to the President
and member of the Honorary Council of Advisors of U.S.-Azerbaijan
Chamber of Commerce; Guler Sabanci, Chairperson of Sabanci Holding,
Turkey; and Stephen Solarz, former U.S. Congressman and lobbyist for
Turkey. Listed among the ICG’s senior advisors are: Ersin Arioglu, a
member of the Turkish Parliament, and Shimon Peres, the President of
Israel. Not surprisingly, the Foreign Ministry of Turkey is a major
donor to the ICG. Not a single Armenian serves on ICG’s board or on
any of its advisory bodies.

The group’s 40-page report makes outrageous suggestions that are
extremely detrimental to Armenia’s interests. Here is what the ICG
recommends that the Armenian government do:

— Establish bilateral commissions with Turkey, which would include
a historical commission on the Armenian Genocide.

— Prepare the public opinion for reconciliation with Turkey.

— "Avoid statements or international actions relating to genocide
recognition that could inflame Turkish public opinion against the
current [reconciliation] process."

— "Start withdrawals from Armenian-occupied territories in Azerbaijan;
and pursue peace with Azerbaijan in full consciousness that only in
this way can normalizations with Turkey be consolidated.

— "Make clear that Armenia has no territorial claim on Turkey by
explicitly recognizing its territorial integrity within the borders
laid out in the 1921 Treaty of Kars."

— "Encourage universities and institutes to pursue more research on
matters relating to the events of 1915, preferably with the engagement
of Turkish and third-party scholars; modernize history books and
remove all prejudice from them; and organize the cataloguing of known
Armenian archives pertaining to the events in and around 1915 wherever
they may be located."

The Executive Summary of the Report starts its first line by trying
to perpetuate the false impression that "Turkey and Armenia are close
to settling [their] dispute." Everyone, except the "experts" who
drafted this report, knows full well that the negotiations between
Armenia and Turkey have collapsed and that the problem between the
two countries is not a "dispute," but committing Genocide!

The Executive Summary makes the surprising statement that the views
of Armenians and Turks on the Genocide are "converging," supposedly
"showing that the deep traumas can be healed." Continuing to present
fantasy as reality, the undisclosed authors of the report state:
"The advance in bilateral relations demonstrates that a desire for
reconciliation can overcome old enmities and closed borders. Given
the heritage and culture shared by Armenians and Turks [!], there is
every reason to hope that normalization of relations between the two
countries can be achieved and sustained."

One of the most outrageous comments made in the report is the one
claiming that "hardline" Diaspora representatives "have softened" their
stance, dropping their "demands that Turkey surrender territory in its
north east, where Armenians were a substantial minority before 1915."

The report welcomes Pres. Obama’s "prudent middle course," despite the
fact that he "repeatedly promised on the campaign trail to formally
recognize" the Armenian Genocide. Leaving no stone unturned in favoring
Turkey, the ICG also suggests that the U.S. House of Representatives
abandon the pending resolution on the Armenian Genocide.

Finally, the ICP urges that the United States, Russia and the European
Union "avoid legislation, statements and actions that might inflame
public opinion on either side and so could upset the momentum towards
Turkey-Armenia normalization and reconciliation."

This report is full of faulty analysis and one-sided judgments. The
sinister role played by think tanks such as the ICG should be exposed
to the public at large and their reports discredited.

The document published by ICG reads more like the terms of
capitulation imposed by a conquering army over a demolished nation
than a professional report drafted by impartial wise men. Clearly,
those who paid for it, dictated its content!

WHAT RUSSIA MAKES SECONDARY HAKOB BADALYAN

LRAGIRT.AM
11:39:54 – 20/04/2009

Serge Sargsyan’s visit to Moscow, which was scheduled for April
23, proves the attempt of Russia’s reactivation, which takes place
after the try to "recharge" the U.S. relations with Russia. Some
kind of situation seems to be shaped when Russia, after recharging,
understood that it was just a step with which the U.S. took up the
control of the Russia- U.S. competition including the Armenian and
Turkish relations which is one of its fields or flats. Obama’s visit
to Turkey and the statements issued there revealed everything to
Russia and the Russians realized that the real aim of the recharge
was the "reburying", sure, in the sense of political role. Perhaps,
the "attempt of resurrection", which Russia seems to be engaged in,
is the surrounding itself by Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey.

In this situation, Russia has 2 ways of controlling the situation
and enhancing its role in this situation.

Either, the Russians, in spite of the U.S., do everything possible
to impede the Armenian and Turkish relations, unlike the post-August
period when Russia in fact took up the process of the normalization
of the Armenian and Turkish relations; or they get engaged in the
settlement of the major obstacle in the Armenian and Turkish relations
normalization-the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh. In other words, if
the Russians "own" the settlement of the obstacle, so they enhance
their role in the Armenian and Turkish relations.

With which version we deal in particular will be seen in the nearest
future. In other words, time will show whether Russia is trying to
impede the opening of the Armenian and Turkish border or, as the
U.S. gets exited about it, Russia attempts to keep the Armenian and
Turkish process under its control by "governing" the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue settlement. However, it seems to be obvious that in both
of the cases the Russian policy seems to contradict the Armenian
state interests just by the simple reason that in both of the case
Azerbaijan becomes the ally of Russia. Perhaps, it is not accidental
that the Russians first chose the president of Azerbaijan Aliyev to
invite to Moscow from Armenia-Turkey-Azerbaijan trio and only after
it the Armenian and Turkish representatives.

Moreover, the speech of the Russian president Medvedev on the question
that "there is some perspective of settlement and everything should be
based on the international norms and the UN and OSCE documents first
of all" proves that Russia perceives Azerbaijan as its ally. Moreover,
Medvedev states that that the process should not be influenced by
secondary "sometimes difficult factors". Very interesting to know what
difficult factors means in particular the Russian president considering
them secondary. The logic hints that the settlement supposes solutions
for difficult questions, because easy questions in fact do not need
any solution. Consequently, the most important is to settle the hard
questions, because the easy ones may be solved by everyone even by
Singapore. So, the hard questions which Medvedev notes, most likely
are not secondary at all, moreover, the most difficult is considered
to be the Nagorno-Karabakh issue settlement.

Consequently, Russia seems to be evident to try to make this question
a secondary one. Only the Armenian government is left show whether it
will manage to make a right "selection" between the "main" questions
on the Nagorno-Karabakh "secondary" issue or the loan of 500 million.

PRESS RELEASE
Date: April 18, 2009
Armenian National Committee of America
Eastern Region
122 W. 27th St. Floor 12, New York, NY 10001
Contact: Karine Birazian
Tel: 917-428-1918

CONGRESSMAN GARRETT DISCUSSES ARMENIAN AND DARFUR GENOCIDE ISSUES WITH
LOCAL CONSTITUENTS
–ANCA ER Director and Students from Ramsey High School Stress
Urgency

Glen Rock, NJ- Congressman Scott Garrett met with activists from
his district on April 16, 2009 in his local office to discuss
various issues including the current situation in Darfur and the
Armenian Genocide resolution.

During the meeting ANCA-ER Director and Genocide Intervention
Network (GI-Net) Carl Wilkens Fellow Karine Birazian, Lindsay
Mulford and Varun Bhasin discussed the urgency of budgeting
appropriate funds in the request of $50 million to support
peacekeepers and the new diplomatic team under the Special Envoy
for Sudan.

Birazian also thanked the Congressman for his support of H. Res.
252, the Armenian Genocide Resolution and urged him to encourage
his colleagues to support the measure.

"We commend Congressman Garrett for taking a vital role to stop the
genocide in Darfur as well as end Turkey’s ongoing denial of the
Armenian Genocide," commented Birazian. "Through our local efforts,
we can truly make a difference on a federal level for action to be
taken."

Bhasin and Mulford who are part of the Students Taking Action Now
Darfur (STAND) Chapter have worked to spearhead efforts at Ramsey
High School. "We feel that it is our moral obligation to get
involved, and we want to see people taking action," commented
Bhasin during the meeting. Under the guidance of STAND coordinator
and Social Studies Supervisor Stacie Poelstra, the committee has
been instrumental with engaging students in making their voices
heard. On April 30th, shortly after Obama’s 100 days in office
Ramsey students will organize opportunities for further engagements
such as signing letters to influential members that can take action.

"I am honored that the Congressman took the time to meet with us
and gain awareness of what he can do in Washington to help people
in Darfur," commented Mulford. As a person in a position to enact
change, we hope that Congressman Garrett will be compelled to
continue to take action on behalf of the citizens of Darfur. We
truly hope that Congressman Garrett will continue to stay on top of
the situation by reiterating the urgency of action."

Representative Garrett has been active with human rights issue
during his tenure in Congress. On multiple occasions he has spoken
on the House Floor about the importance of genocide recognition,
and has supported several measures for further assistance in Darfur.
Last April 24th, in his statements, he recognized Alice Shnorhokian,
an Armenian Genocide survivor in his district who had visited with
the Congressman in his DC office.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest
and most influential Armenian American grassroots political
organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated
organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the
concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of
issues.
#####
Photo Caption: Left to Right: ANCA ER Director Karine Birazian,
Congressman Scott Garrett, STAND students Lindsay Mulford and Varun
Bhasin.

—
Karine Birazian
Armenian National Committee of America
Eastern Region Executive Director
2009 Genocide Intervention Network Carl Wilkens Fellow

****************************************** *************************************
Armenian National Committee of America –
Eastern Region
122 W. 27th St. 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Telephone: (917) 428-1918
Facsimile: (201) 785-9132
Email: [email protected]
Internet:
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ANC GLENDALE TO HOST FOURTH ANNUAL BLOOD DRIVE

2_4/18/2009_1
Thursday, April 16, 2009

GLENDALE–The Armenian National Committee – Glendale Chapter in
collaboration with the City of Glendale’s Week of Remembrance
Committee, Armenian Relief Society-Sepan Chapter and the American
Red Cross will host its fourth annual blood drive in commemoration
of the Armenian Genocide.

The event will take place on Sunday, April 19, 2009 from 10:00AM –
4:00PM at St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church, Hall (500 S Central
Ave., Glendale, CA.)

"ANC Glendale’s annual blood drive has become a great tradition in
the City of Glendale. Last year, we set a new record for the most
first time donors received through any blood drive by the American
Red Cross," stated Elen Asatryan, Executive Director of the Armenian
National Committee Glendale Chapter (ANC-G). "We hope to build upon
last year’s accomplishments and set a good trend of blood donation
among the community to help offset the shortage of the much needed
blood in our local hospitals."

The blood drive will benefit patients treated at Glendale Memorial
and Glendale Adventist. Appointments are encouraged, walk-ins are
welcome. To be eligible to donate blood you must be at least 16
years of age and weigh a minimum of 110 pounds; valid identification
is required.

"We commend the Armenian National Committee for their support of our
life-saving mission and we appreciate their efforts in helping us
maintain a sage and adequate blood supply," stated Clifford Numark,
American Red Cross Blood Services Donor Recruitment Director. "Together
we can have a substantial impact on the availability of blood for
accident victims, cancer patients, premature babies, burn patients,
or our friends and neighbors who may need regular blood transfusions
in order to live."

ANC Glendale encourages residents to log on to and
enter sponsor code, ANCGlendale to make an appointment. For more
information call 818.243.3444 or email [email protected].

FIGHTING THE CRISIS WITH CREDIT

A1+
06:41 pm | April 17, 2009

Society

More and more consumers are buying with credit during the past 3-4
months and the number of these consumers is growing along with the
financial-economic crisis.

"My husband and son are in Russia, but they haven’t sent any money in
the past four months. I need to feed my children and we barely make
ends meet," told "A1+" Marusya Stepanyan, 57, who does her shopping
with credit at a store on Kasyan Street.

The Kasyan store clerk Elya Muradyan says that the store has seen a
sharp increase in the number of consumers buying with credit. Whereas
in 2008 the yearly amount of credit for products was 50,000, today
consumers owe a total of 83,000 drams.

"Prices are going up, but at the same time people are being laid off. I
used to work in a leather-producing factory, but I lost my job due to
the financial crisis. Now I am forced to buy food with credit until
things get better," says Tigran Vasilyan.

"The crisis is growing deeper and people are forced to live on
credit. You can’t blame them. They usually pay off the debts, yet
there are those who are not able to give money and continue to pay
the debts late," says store owner Vilen Gabrielyan, who added that
consumers usually buy bread, cigarettes and other necessary items.

Other store owners in Yerevan said that they do not give out food by
credit because there is no guarantee that the buyer will "pay off"
the debt.

AZERI DIPLOMAT SAYS ARMENIAN-TURKISH TIES HINGE ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

Mediamax
April 16 2009
Armenia

Official stance of Azerbaijan is that "normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations is possible only if the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict is settled".

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Mahmud Mammadquliyev
said this in Yerevan today [16 April], answering the question of
Mediamax on the attitude of official Baku towards efforts of Armenia
and Turkey to normalize relations.

Mahmud Mammadquliyev is in Yerevan to participate in the session
of Foreign Ministers’ Council of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
Organization (BSEC).

"We consider contacts between Armenia and Turkey to be internal affairs
of these countries. On the other hand, taking into account the factor
of the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict, we follow this dialogue with
interest and believe that relations between Armenia and Turkey cannot
be re-established without settlement of Karabakh conflict. We believe
that these issues should be related to each other. This is our stance,"
Mahmud Mammadquliyev stated, answering the question of Mediamax.

Let’s note that in November, 2008, answering the question in an
interview to Mediamax on Baku’s attitude towards efforts to establish
a political dialogue between Armenia and Turkey, Foreign Minister
of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov stated: "These are relations of two
sovereign states and we would like to hope that the fact will have a
positive influence on establishing peace and stability in the South
Caucasus."

ARMENIA’S TASK MINIMIZE IMPACT OF CRISIS

ARKA
Apr 15, 2009

YEREVAN, April 15. /ARKA/. Armenia’s task is to minimize the impact of
the global crisis for the nation to pass this way with minimal losses,
RA President Sezh Sargsyan stated at his meeting with members of the
Armenian community in Iran.

"Over the last year we have been faced with a difficulty named global
economic and financial crisis, which affected the entire world. It
is obvious that neither Armenia nor Iran is to blame, but the grave
consequences can, of course, be felt in Armenia as well," Sargsyan
said as quoted by the RA presidential press office.

He also stated that Armenia is taking measures to stand this trial
without serious shocks.

RA President Serzh Sargsyan was on a two-day official visit to Iran
on April 13-14.

During his visit the Armenian leader held meetings with his Iranian
counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Chairman of the Majlis Ali Larijani,
spiritual leader of Iran Seyed Ali Hamenei, and with Secretary of the
Supreme Council of National Security Said Jalili. Armenian-Iranian
negotiations were held as well.

TUI TRAVEL GAINS FOOTHOLD IN RUSSIAN MARKET
By Pan Kwan Yuk

FT
April 15 2009 20:15

Tui Travel, Europe’s largest tour operator, is to expand its presence
in the rapidly growing Russian market through a joint venture with
Alexey Mordashov, the Russian steel billionaire.

The company said it had finalised a deal with S-Group Capital, an
investment company acting for Mr Mordashov, to set up a partnership
to develop its business in Russia and 10 former Soviet republics
including Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine.

The joint venture, which will be 51 per cent owned by S-Group and
49 per cent owned by Tui Travel, is planning to invest up to $40m
on acquisitions this year and has already agreed to acquire majority
stakes in assets owned by two tour operators in Russia and Ukraine.

The deal is an important step for Tui Travel, which along with rival
Thomas Cook, has been looking to gain a foothold in Russia.

Russian tourists have become an increasingly familiar sight across the
world over the past decade as an economic boom enriched the population.

The number of overseas holidays taken by Russians rose by 21 per cent
last year to just over 11.3m, according to figures from the Russian
tourism board.

Although the deepening economic recession is expected to lower this
number by 20 to 25 per cent this year, Peter Long, Tui Travel’s chief
executive, said he remained bullish about the region ‘s prospects.

"This is a long-term investment in a market which has significant
growth potential," he said.

"Russians and Ukrainians have a high propensity to travel. While
the Russian and Ukrainian leisure markets will slow in the current
economic environment we believe that this is an appropriate time to
build a market leading position in these markets."

The joint venture is also expected to spark questions over Mr
Mordashov’s interest in Tui, Tui Travel’s German parent company.

Mr Mordashov controls Russian steelmaker Severstal and holds a 15
per cent stake in Tui.

He has been locked in a long-running battle with John Fredriksen,
the Norwegian shipping magnate, for influence over the German travel
and shipping conglomerate.

Mr Fredriksen, who also has a 15 per cent stake in Tui, has been
agitating for the removal of Tui’s chairman and chief executive.

Mr Fredriksen is concerned that the mixture of Mr Mordashov’s large
shareholding and his close business ties with Tui mean the group
does not always act in all shareholders’ best interests when working
with him.

Tui denies this.

AZERBAIJAN TO CHAIR BLACK SEA ECONOMIC CLUB

Eurasianet

April 14, 2009

Azerbaijan will take over the chair of the Organization of Black
Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) at an April 16 meeting of foreign
ministers in Yerevan.

Top-level diplomats from the 12 participating states from Black Sea
and the Balkans are expect to discuss energy development issues,
as well as the potential expansion of BSEC ties with the European
Union. Azerbaijan is set to chair the BSEC from May through October
of 2009. Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev is to lead the
Azerbaijani delegation to the meeting in Yerevan.

Azerbaijan of late has expressed support for a Russian-sponsored
initiative to create a Caspian Basin organization that is analogous
to the BSEC.