Author: Felekian Ara

ARMENIAN TURCOLOGIST: RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY THE USA IS INCONVERTIBLE

ArmInfo
2009-04-02 17:43:00

ArmInfo. The USA’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide 1915-1923
in the Ottoman Empire has become inconvertible, Armenian turcologist
Hakob Chakryan told journalists, Thursday.

Even if US President Barack Obama abstains from using the word
"Genocide" in his April speech, this being quite possible, it will
change nothing as Resolution 106 will shortly be submitted for
consideration of the US Congress, he said.

According to the expert, Obama may abstain from using the term
"Genocide" because of the complicated geopolitical situation of the
USA, as well as due to the complicacies and losses of the coalition
troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. In this context, the US base in
Turkish Incirlik becomes of special significance for the Pentagon.

"In any case, Turks may only delay the USA’s recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, but Ankara is unable to make the USA give up this
idea if one takes into account the significance of the States and the
fact that Obama gave about 500 promises to recognize the Genocide",-
Chakryan said.

The Genocide of Armenians has been recognized by Uruguay, Russia,
France, Lithuania, the Lower Chamber of Italian Parliament,
the majority of American States, the Greek, Cyprian, Argentinean,
Belgian Parliaments, the Parliament of Wales, the National Council of
Switzerland, the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament and Polish
Seim. Turkey denies the genocide of 1,5 million Armenians in 1915-1923.

CHAIRMAN OF FOOTBALL FEDERATION OF ESTONIA APOLOGIZES TO CHAIRMAN OF FOOTBALL FEDERATION OF ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2009-04-02 17:55:00

ArmInfo. Chairman of the Football Federation of Estonia Aivar
Pohlak apologized to Chairman of the Football Federation of Armenia
Ruben Hayrapetyan 10 minutes before the Apr 1 FIFA World Cup 2010
Estonia-Armenia qualification match, reports the press service of
the Football Federation of Armenia.

To remind, Mar 31 Pohlak made an indecent statement about the Armenian
delegation but the same day he said that he was ready to apologize.

Hayrapetyan said that he would accept the apology if Pohlak apologized
publicly. Pohlak did it. He also said that he would like to preserve
friendly terms with the Armenian Football Federation.

COLLAPSE IN CENTRAL YEREVAN

A1+
08:41 pm | March 31, 2009

Society

On March 31 at around 2 p.m. one of the balcony floors of the 4th
floor of the 6th apartment building on Mashtots Avenue collapsed. There
are no victims.

Residents say that the 2.1 square meter balcony was in poor condition
and that was why it collapsed. The Kentron district council responded
and reconstruction is underway. Council representatives say that the
balcony will be fully renovated in a week.

ARF BUREAU MEMBER MEETS WITH BIDEN

1_3/30/2009_1
Monday March 30, 2009

VINA DEL MAR, Chile (ARF Press Service)–Armenian Revolutionary
Federation Bureau member Mario Nalbandian Sunday met with
Vice-President Joe Biden during the sixth Conference of Progressive
Leaders, which was being held in South America for the first time.

Nalbandian, who is the ARF’s representative to the Socialist
International where he is a co-chair of the CIS, Caucasus and Black
Sea Committee, discussed pressing issues of concern to Armenia and
Armenians.

The Conference of Progressive Leaders was attended by British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg,
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Presidents
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Cristina Fernandez of Argentina
and Tabare Vazquez of Uruguay.

Chile’s socialist President Michelle Bachelet hosted the summit, which
opened Friday with a seminar on "a progressive response to the global
crisis," organized by the Policy Network, an international think tank,
and Chile’s Instituto Igualdad (Equality Institute).

Other participants in the gathering were Organization of American
States (OAS) secretary general Jose Miguel Insulza, and the executive
secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC),
Alicia Barcena.

The progressive leaders summits, the first of which took place in 1999
at the urging of then President Bill Clinton and then British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, bring together heads of state and government
and other high-ranking government and international officials with
ties to socialist, social democratic, labor and democratic parties
around the world.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Signing of Nabucco gas pipeline agreement expected in June this year
28.03.2009 19:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Nabucco gas pipeline consortium expects an
intergovernmental agreement, needed to start up the project, by the
end of June, the consortium’s head said on Friday.

The planned 7.9 billion euros ($10.59 billion) pipeline, designed to
ease Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, needs an agreement between
the governments whose countries it will cross, as well as an exemption
from European Union antitrust rules.

The intergovernmental agreement had been expected in the first quarter
of this year.

"We expect the signing of an intergovernmental agreement in June this
year at the latest," a spokeswoman quoted consortium Managing Director
Reinhard Mitschek as saying during a visit to Sofia.

Nabucco plans to pump gas from the Caspian region via Turkey,
Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria through 3,300 km (2,051
miles) of pipelines from 2014. Central Asia and

The project case has been strengthened by the gas price row between
Russia and transit country Ukraine in January, which left over a dozen
European countries without gas for two weeks.

However, funding, sourcing of natural gas and lack of agreement
between the Nabucco consortium members have plagued the project.

Nabucco’s shareholders are Austria’s OMV (OMVV.VI), Hungary’s MOL
MOLB.BU, Romania’s Transgaz TGNM.BX, Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz, Turkey’s
Botas and Germany’s RWE (RWEG.DE).

Mitschek said shareholders and the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development would provide 30 and 25 percent, respectively, of the
funding. `Middle East have 82 trillion cubic meters of gas, which
fills us with optimism for effective use of Nabucco pipeline,’ Reuters
cited Mitschek as saing.

Export credit agencies have also shown interest in providing funds for
the project, Mitschek added.

In February, the World Bank said it was willing to give financial
support to Nabucco if agreement over gas sourcing was reached between
consortium members and supplying countries.

Mitschek has said lower steel prices may cause the consortium to
revise the project’s price lower.

CONGRESSMEN CALL FOR STRENGTHENING RESTRICTIONS ON US AID TO AZERBAIJAN

Yerkir
26.03.2009 14:36

Yerevan (Yerkir) – With Congressional appropriators in the early stages
of crafting the Fiscal Year 2010 foreign aid bill, Congressional
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL)
earlier today urged their House colleagues to join with them in
backing the inclusion of a series of provisions aimed at strengthening
U.S. ties to Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh, and bolstering the prospects
for regional peace, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA.)

"We commend the leadership of Representatives Pallone and Kirk in
ensuring that the foreign aid bill reflects America’s support for
Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh and furthers our nation’s efforts to
ensure a fair and lasting peace in the Caucasus region," stated
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We look forward to working
toward the adoption of the vital foreign aid priorities outlined in
the letter sent today by the Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs."

In a March 24th "Dear Colleague" letter, Members of Congress were
encouraged to co-sign a letter to Foreign Operations Subcommittee
Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), a longstanding supporter of the U.S.-
Armenia relationship, and Ranking Republican Kay Granger (R-TX).

The letter cited six key foreign aid priorities, including:

— Enhancing restrictions on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan,
as outlined in Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, by further
limiting Presidential authority to waive the provision in light of
continued Azerbaijani government incitement of a military solution
of Nagorno Karabagh conflict.

— Increasing economic assistance to Armenia from the FY2009 level
of $48 million to $70 million.

— Increasing military assistance to Armenia from FY2009 level of
$3.3 million to $5 million.

— Increasing the amount and scope of U.S. assistance to
Nagorno-Karabakh from the FY2009 level of $8 million in humanitarian
aid to $10 million in both humanitarian and developmental assistance.

— Including language "urging Azerbaijan to support confidence-building
measures that facilitate interaction among the parties, in order
to address regional security, resource management, infrastructure,
development and people to people programs."

— Removing restrictions on travel, contacts, and the free exchange
of ideas between U.S. officials and the democratically elected leaders
of Nagorno Karabakh.

Members of Congress will have until March 31st to join with
Reps. Pallone and Kirk to support these U.S. foreign aid priorities
as the foreign aid panel begins drafting the FY2010 foreign aid bill.

ARMENIA TO RECEIVE $500MLN STABILIZATION LOAN FROM RUSSIA IN LATE MAY – EARLY JUNE 2009

ARKA
March 26, 2009

YEREVAN, March 26. /ARKA/. Armenia is to receive a $500mln worth
stabilization loan from Russia in late May – early June 2009, Press
Secretary of Armenian Ministry of Finance Irina Ayvazyan reported
Thursday.

On February 9 2009, Russia and Armenia signed a loan agreement on
provision of $500mln to Armenia for neutralization of the negative
impact of the global financial crisis on the country’s economy. Under
the preliminary agreement, the loan is to be provided for 15 years
with a 4-year grace period.

The final agreement is expected to be signed at the end of April after
the redistributed Russian state budget is approved by the State Duma
of Russia, Ayvazyan said adding that yet, no certain schedule or
dates exist.

The first loan funds are expected to arrive in the country at the end
of May – beginning of June after the required procedures are observed
in Armenia, he said.

Earlier, Armenian Premier Tigran Sargsyan said that the entire
stabilization loan will be spent on anti-crisis measures to ensure
economic growth in Armenia.

HERITAGE PARTY STAYS OUT OF YEREVAN CITY ELECTIONS
by Armen Hakobyan

Armenian Reporter
Thursday March 26, 2009

Yerevan – One alliance and six political parties have submitted their
lists of candidates for the 65 seats on the Yerevan City Council to the
Central Electoral Commission (CEC). The election is slated for May 31.

The biggest surprise by far was the announcement made by the Heritage
Party, founded by Raffi Hovannisian, the only opposition party in
parliament, that they have decided not to run in the election.

The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) is running 180 candidates for
the 65 seats. (If someone declines to take a seat in the council
or later resigns, the next person on the list takes the vacant
seat. Thus the large number of candidates.) The top slot – reserved
for the party’s choice for mayor – is occupied by Gagik Beglarian,
who is the current mayor. The Armenian National Congress is running
167 candidates, with former president Levon Ter-Petrossian in the lead
spot. The Prosperous Armenia Party has 122 candidates, led by Health
Minister Harutyun Kushkian. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF) is running 51 candidates, with member of parliament Artsvik
Minasian in the lead spot. The Country of Laws Party has nominated
member of parliament Heghine Bisharian to head up their list of 74
candidates. Tigran Karapetian of the People’s Party leads his party’s
list of 20 candidates. And the Armenian Labor-Socialist Party, with
Movses Shahverdian in the lead, proposes 29 candidates.

Overall 643 candidates have been nominated to fill the 65 available
seats of the city council. Since the Armenian National Congress is
participating as an alliance of parties, it has to get no less than
9 percent of the vote to be represented at City Hall. For the six
parties running individually, the threshold is 7 percent.

The election campaign will formally begin on May 2 and end on midnight
May 29. The elections will take place on May 31 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

On March 23, Heritage announced with regret, "that it was impossible to
reach an [agreement] with the Armenian National Congress" on a joint
list of candidates. The announcement sought to draw parallels between
the government and Mr. Ter-Petrossian’s opposition alliance. It first
condemned "the authorities’ limitations put on the freedom of speech
and the ongoing firm establishment of an environment of intolerance,
the ‘instructed’ and unsubstantiated accusations against Heritage
and its founder Raffi K. Hovannisian disseminated over the years by
the media that serve the ruling administration, the deluge of lies
and disinformation which periodically grows worse especially before
elections." It then noted "certain oppositional media’s attempts to
imitate the aforesaid defective mode of operation in the recent week
and doing this with the silent support by the [Armenian National
Congress]."

According to the Heritage announcement, if two opposition entities
run in the election, "the ensuing clash will be inevitable even in
the case of exerting the greatest of efforts to prevent it, and the
victims will be the whole opposition and the entire people."

Some supporters of the Armenian National Congress are calling on
the Heritage Party to cede its seats on the electoral commissions to
the Congress. Each party in parliament is entitled to a seat on the
Central Electoral Commission and regional and local commissions.

Meanwhile, Mr. Beglarian, the mayor, has decided to improve conditions
– especially landscaping and illumination – in the courtyards of
the city. For this purpose seeds have been specially brought in from
the Netherlands.

"ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS" DISCUSSION IN GLENDALE

AZG DAILY
27-03-2009

International

Glendale’s Arsen Gidur branch of the Social-Democratic Hnchak Party has
initiated a discussion under heading "Armenian-Turkish relations". The
discussion will be held on April 3 at Glendale Central Library.

Publisher of the California Courier, political theorist Harut
Sassounian, intellectual Zaven Khanjian, who wrote a book about his
visit to Turkey and the Western Armenia, and public figure, well-known
analyst Hambik Sarafian will participate in the discussion.

Political journalist Harutiun Saghrian will be the narrator of the
discussion, "Noyan Tapan" reports.

TURKISH BUSINESS LEADER ASKING OBAMA NOT TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.03.2009 01:02 GMT+04:00

The chairwoman of Turkey’s leading business association, Turkish
Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD), sent a letter
to U.S. President Barack Obama urging him to consider the possible
implications of recognizing Armenian Genocide, Hurriyet Daily News
reports.

Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag in the letter sent on March 24 is staits,
that "the US and Turkey are determined to move forward for a more
intensified cooperation on several key issues under the vision of the
new American leadership. In an era when a strong US-Turkey alliance
is needed more than ever to address the challenges of the world’s
most troubled regions such as the Middle East and the Caucasus,
straining bilateral relations through such initiatives will have
negative consequences beyond Turkey-US relations."

The leader of TUSAID hopes, that Barack Obama will find it useful
in promoting a more reasonable and less politicized way of debating
Armenian Genocide in the US.

Obama, both as a Senator and a presidential candidate, was an outspoken
advocate for proper U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide. He
repeatedly called on former president George W. Bush to recognize the
genocide and expressed reservations over the firing of U.S. Ambassador
to Armenia John Marshall Evans for his remarks recognizing that
crime. In January 2008, Obama issued a campaign statement, noting that
"America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian
Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be
that President."

Last week, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), George Radanovich
(R-Calif.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) were
joined by 70 of their House Colleagues in the introduction of
Armenian Genocide legislation (H.Res.252) calling on the president
to recognize the Armenian Genocide. That resolution is identical to
the one introduced in the previous Congress, which was adopted by
the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a vote of 27 to 21, and had
over 200 co-sponsors.