Author: Felekian Ara

OBAMA BACKTRACKS ON ‘GENOCIDE’ PLEDGE
Jonathan Rugman

Channel 4 News
/obama-backtracks-on-genocide-pledge/
March 18 2009

I had dinner at the home of a London art dealer last week and my eyes
were on stalks.

I counted two David Hockneys and a Magritte in his sitting room, a
fabulous Lucian Freud drawing up the stairs, and two Walter Sickerts
beside his bed.

You might ask what I was doing in his bedroom; but like several of the
art dealer’s guests, I had grabbed my glass of champagne and headed
round the house, in awe of not just his art collection but also of
his Bohemian collection of friends.

I found myself sitting next to an interesting couple. She is
Turkish. He is Armenian. Not a combination you might expect, given
that upwards of a million Armenians are thought to have perished in
Turkey as the Ottoman Empire collapsed during the First World War.

It was not that long ago that Armenian assassins went around killing
Turkish diplomats by way of revenge. But the Armenian sitting next
to me was from a family which had stayed in Istanbul throughout the
Anatolian massacres of 1915, and so as a Turkish citizen who had
grown up in Turkey, it is hardly surprising that he fell in love with
a Turkish girl. Montague meets his Capulet, regardless of history’s
hatred.

Both of them observed that meeting Armenians in Turkey is a bit like
stepping back in time – that they seem to live in a vanished world,
divorced from modern times.

When I lived in Istanbul, I used to look out for Armenian faces,
scuttling through the city’s back streets amid the dilapidated mansions
of the old "European" quarter; or turning vast keys in the rusty locks
of high-walled Armenian churches. Turkey’s Armenians, some of them,
are still there.

I only point this out because we are about to go through a familiar
ritual. As the US Congress, under pressure from the Armenian lobby,
lobbies the new US President on declaring the 1915 killings of
Armenians in Turkey as "genocide".

President Obama pledged that he would do this during his election
campaign. Now his officials appear to be backtracking as strategic
pragmatism sets in: Turkey is an important US ally, a Muslim democracy
next to Syria, Iraq and Iran, and so not the sort of friend you want
to annoy by using the word "genocide" against it. Especially when Mr
Obama is due to visit Turkey on 5 April.

President Bush argued for delaying a Congressional "genocide"
resolution in 2007. Now there’s talk of delay all over again,
disappointing those Armenian Americans who would like the "g" word
uttered by Congress and the White House in time for 24 April, the
annual remembrance day for the killings.

But balance the political benefit of uttering the "g" word with
Washington’s need to find new supply routes for US forces in
Afghanistan, possibly via Turkey. Balance it too with Turkey’s desire
to act as a mediator with Syria and Iran on America’s behalf.

And the Turks and Armenians don’t need another row to stop them from
becoming friends. Last September, Turkey’s president visited Armenia,
the first Turkish head of state to do so. There’s talk of opening
the border, of opening embassies.

Not long after the Soviet Union collapsed, I flew on a US army
transport plane from Turkey to Armenia, delivering aid to the broken
republic. It was one of the first direct flights ever and only took
about an hour.

But this is 2009, and more direct contact between the two is way
overdue. The Iron Curtain may have come down across Europe, but Turkey
and Armenia have yet to tear down theirs.

This is not to say that Turkey doesn’t have to reckon with its past –
or rather with the actions of Ottoman officials before the Republic
of Turkey came into being.

"But Obama uttering the word ‘genocide’? How is that going to help?" I
asked myself, as I watched the Turk and the Armenian head home from
dinner, back to their 18-month-old child.

Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of external websites.

THEY USED THEM BY A HOAX

A1+
05:28 pm | March 17, 2009 | Social

On March 16 at around 11 p.m. officials of the department of fight
against crime of the RA Police arrested citizens of Russia Volodya
M. (born in 1957) and Simak M. (born in 1980) at the "Zvartnots"
airport.

In April 2008, Volodya and Simak hoaxed a number of people, took them
to the Dzalesovo settlement of the Alta continent of the Russian
Federation and made them work on construction for six months for
free. The list of men includes Edik Gh. (born in 1958), Emil Gh. (born
in 1980), Vigen H. (born in 1986), Karen H. (born in 1983), Misha
A. (born in 1961), Norik A. (born in 1968), Hayk P. (born in 1967)
and Seryozha H.(born in 1950).

Volodya M. is under arrest and Simak M. was released after signing.

Police are taking measures to find Sevak M. (born in 1980) who also
took parting the crime committed by Volodya M. and Simak M.

The materials have been sent to the chief investigation department
of the RA Police.

ARTSAKH HYDRO POWER PLANT RELEASES IPO MEMORANDUM

ARKA
March 17, 2009

YEREVAN, March 17. /ARKA/. Artsakh Hydro Power Plant has released the
Investment Memorandum of the Initial Public Offering, the company’s
press office reported on Monday.

The memorandum intends to provide information and clarification to the
potential investors on the main terms and conditions of the offering.

On March 10, "Armenbrok" OJSC, the placement agent, announced the
first initial public offering worth 3.45 billion (over $9.5 million).

According to the report, 3,285,715 shares are to be placed with AMD
1,050 offer price per share.

Artsakh Hydro Power Plant says in the memorandum that it intends to
address the net proceeds from initial public offering to construction
of three HPPs on the largest rivers of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic –
Tartar and Trghi.

Proposed HPPs are small (with max capacity of 5 MWt) units, equipped
with modern turbines and generators. The estimated useful life of
each plant is 40 years.

The Memorandum also stresses that the company’s fixed prices and
volumes of sales, no local or global crisis effect on its activities,
5% profit tax rate, achievement of energetic independence, government
support, favorable dividend policy and high returns in the light of
low business risks make investors optimistic.

The Company was established on November 1, 2007, as a 100% state
owned closed joint stock company.

General activity20of the Company is production and sale of electro
energy, which is the only source of its profit. Company produces
electro energy via Sarsang Hydro Power Plant. Produced energy with
fixed price is sold to the only operator of NKR in electro energy
market – "Artsakhenergo" CJSC.

"In case of success with these offering, the Company intends to
implement one more offering in 2010 to fund the construction of two
additional HHPs – Trghi 2 and Trghi 3", the Memorandum says.

According to initial estimates, the construction of these two HPPs
will cost AMD 1.724 billion which will be the volume of the new
offering. Only the draft project currently exists, and the details
will be adjusted in the future.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HOLDS CONFERENCE ON "SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS AND SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE"

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.03.2009 13:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The United States Department of Justice held a
conference on "Support for Victims and Successful Prosecution of
Domestic Violence" in Yerevan, Armenia, on March 16, 2009. Three

American prosecutors and one social worker participated – Prosecutor
Steven Kessler (U.S. Embassy, Yerevan), Prosecutor Arlene Markarian
(Brooklyn, New York), Prosecutor Wanda Lucibello (Brooklyn, New York),
and Social Worker Cristin Mathiez (Brooklyn, New York). Joining the
Americans at the conference were Armenian judges, prosecutors, police,
and representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of
Health, the Ministry of Social and Labor Issues, the Civil Rights
Division of the National Assembly, and international organizations
such as UNICEF, OSCE and Open Society Institute Foundation in Armenia.

The American and Armenian officials discussed their countries’
respective approaches to fighting all manifestations of domestic
violence, as well as support for the victim, investigation of a
domestic violence case, and prosecution of such a case where the
victim refuses to cooperate.

U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch opened the conference. In her
remarks, the Ambassador noted that although the statistics on domestic
violence in the U.S. are sobering, much progress has been made in
the past twenty years. The Ambassador urged the Armenian authorities
in attendance to do all that can be done to reduce domestic violence
and care for its victims.

The domestic violence conference is just one of several sessions held
by the U.S. Department of Justice in Yerevan to support Armenian law
enforcement. In 2008, the USDOJ held conferences for Armenian judges,
prosecutors, police and defense attorneys on the European Convention on
Human Rights, corruption prosecution, financial crime investigations,
the rules of evidence in adversarial proceedings, and the development
of Armenian jurisprudence and case law.

Russia seeks to extend lease agreement for Azerbaijan radar

15:23 | 12/ 03/ 2009

BAKU, March 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s foreign minister told his
Azerbaijani counterpart on Thursday that Russia wants to continue using
the Gabala early-warning radar after the current lease expires in 2012.

"Russia is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in using the
Gabala radar station, and will seek appropriate agreements with our
Azerbaijani colleagues," Sergei Lavrov told reporters after a meeting
with Elmar Mamedyarov.

The Azerbaijani diplomat said his country has no plans to transfer the
facility to third countries after the lease expires.

"The transfer of the Gabala radar station is not on the agenda,"
Mamedyarov said.

He also said the sides had discussed "all aspects of relations between
Azerbaijan and Russia."

Russia strongly opposes the possible deployment by the U.S. of 10
interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic,
considering them a threat to its security and nuclear deterrence, and
has offered the United States the use of radar stations in Armavir in
southern Russia and Gabala in Azerbaijan as alternatives.

EurasiaNet, NY
March 10 2009

TURKEY: HILLARY CLINTON PRESSES ‘RESET’ BUTTON WITH KEY US ALLY
Yigal Schleifer 3/10/09

Combining statecraft with stagecraft, US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton appears to have turned around US-Turkish relations. For most
of the Bush administration’s tenure, Washington had a strained
relationship with Ankara, but Clinton’s first visit to Turkey as
President Barack Obama’s secretary of state has Turkish officials
feeling more optimistic about the future of bilateral relations.

"Her coming to Turkey is [like the] pressing of the reset button and
starting with a clean slate. Turkey is ready for that. The last eight
years have been troublesome," says Suat Kiniklioglu, a member of
parliament and Deputy Chairman of External Affairs for Turkey’s
governing Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The last few years have been dismal for Turkey-US relations and for
America’s image in Turkey. Turks were strongly opposed to the war in
Iraq, while many also felt that the United States was not doing enough
to deal with the presence of Kurdish guerillas that were using their
bases in northern Iraq to attack Turkey. Many policymakers in
Washington, meanwhile, never forgave Ankara for failing to pass a 2003
motion in parliament that would have allowed American troops to invade
Iraq through Turkey.

Clinton and Turkish officials had significant issues to discuss during
her one-day visit to the Turkish capital of Ankara on March 8,
including the possible use by American troops on Turkish soil — this
time for withdrawing from Iraq — and her announcement that Obama will
make his own trip to Turkey in early April.

"We share a commitment to democracy, a secular constitution, respect
for religious freedom, belief in a free market and a sense of global
responsibility," Clinton said during a press conference with her
Turkish counterpart, Ali Babacan. She added that Obama’s upcoming
visit is "a reflection of the value we place on our friendship with
Turkey."

But the secretary of state had another important mission during her
Turkish visit: to polish America’s battered image in Turkey, where,
according to a 2007 public opinion survey, only 9 percent of the
population held a favorable view of the U.S., down from 52 percent in
2002.

In a departure from traditional diplomacy, Clinton sat down for a
Saturday night interview on a popular Turkish television talk
show. She proceeded to open up on prime time about everything from how
she fell in love to her challenged sense of fashion. (Clinton did
something similar during her recent trip to Indonesia, visiting the
set of a youth-oriented television show).

"This is good for American public diplomacy. Whoever planned this did
it well," says Huseyin Bagci, a professor of international relations
at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University. "She is reducing the
damage to the American image here in Turkey. I think Turks are ready
to take a different look at America."

Public appearances in Turkey by American officials during the Bush
administration tended to be few and far between. Former president
George W. Bush’s lone visit to Istanbul, for a NATO summit, saw him
confined to a large security zone that turned a large part of downtown
Istanbul into a ghost town.

Hosted by four women, the program, called Haydi Gel Bizimle Ol (Come
and Join Us), is the Turkish version of the popular American talk show
"The View." For an hour, Clinton smiled pleasantly while the hosts and
members of the audience tossed her mostly softball questions. Asked by
one of the hosts how she deals with life’s difficulties, Clinton
answered: "You know, family, faith, friends are the core of my life
and I don’t know anybody whose life is smooth sailing."

At a low budget hotel in the heart of Istanbul, night clerk Ali Demir,
splitting his attention between Clinton’s television appearance and a
soccer game streaming live on his computer screen, said he liked the
secretary of state’s approach.

"This is a good change. It’s a different way," the clerk said about
Clinton’s television appearance. "She’s more colorful and seems closer
to the people, more likable."

Certainly, the Clinton name still has star power in Turkey. A 1999
trip by then president Bill Clinton and his wife, where he visited an
area that had been devastated by an earthquake, is still fondly
remembered by Turks. In Istanbul’s sprawling Grand Bazaar, it seems
like almost every shop has a picture of the owner shaking hands with a
beaming Bill Clinton.

"In Turkish-American relations, as much as the message matters, the
messenger also matters," says Kiniklioglu. "The name Clinton resonates
differently here."

Still, some observers caution that television appearances alone will
not be enough to sway Turkish public opinion. "Overall, Obama’s
policies towards the region, towards Muslims — these are the things
that will help improve America’s image in Turkey. Clinton’s appearance
is a good start, but without a change in the main policies, you can’t
expect things to improve," says Lale Sariibrahimoglu, an Ankara-based
analyst and a columnist for the English-language newspaper Today’s
Zaman.

"You can’t just appoint someone to be in charge of PR,"
Sariibrahimoglu added. "The product has to be good if you want it to
sell."

On the other hand, analysts hailed the planned Obama visit, scheduled
for April 6-7, as another important step in restoring the
Turkish-American relationship.

"The fact that the president of the United States is coming to Turkey
illustrates his willingness to put an end to the downward slide in
Turkish-American relations that began with the invasion of Iraq in
2003. An American president who opposed the Iraq war is now selecting
a democratic country that also opposed the war and refused to help the
United States for his first visit to the Islamic world. This symbolism
should not be lost," Omer Taspinar, Director of the Turkey Program at
the Brookings Institution in Washington, recently wrote in a column in
the Turkish daily Today’s Zaman.

"Probably for the first time in its relations with the superpower,
Turkey is getting the presidential attention it deserves. That this is
happening in a non-crisis environment is all the more remarkable."

Editor’s Note: Yigal Schleifer is a freelance journalist based in
Istanbul.

ARMENPRESS

`ZVARTNOTS’ AIRPORT IMPLEMENTS 1016 FLIGHT-LANDINGS DURING
JANUARY-FEBRUARY THIS YEAR

YEREVAN, MARCH 12, ARMENPRESS: `Zvartnots’ airport implements 1016
flight-landings during the first two months of this year instead of
1203 of the same period last year.
Press service of government-affiliated Chief department of civil
aviation told Armenpress that during the same period 74 575 people
arrived in the republic through the airport and 86 401 people left it.
During January-February of this year the overall passenger
transportations through the airport reached 160 976 instead of 170 468
of the same period of the last year. The volume of cargos exported
through the airport reached 185 tons and imported ` 635 tons.
During the mentioned period Gyumri `Shirak’ airport implemented 27
flight-landings instead of 23 of the same period last year. 1 131
people arrived in the country through the airport and 1 743 people
left it.

VI International Youth Seminar ‘South Caucasus Youth Forum: 60th
anniversary of NATO – new beginning’ in Yerevan

2009-03-13 11:29:00

ArmInfo. International two-day Youth Seminar South Caucasus Youth
Forum: 60th anniversary of NATO – new beginning’ has opened in Yerevan.

‘A total of 30 young people from Russia, Slovenia, Turkey and Latvia
are taking part in the seminar this year. The Armenian Atlantic
Association organizes such seminars for the seventh year in a row. The
seminars aim at enhancing awareness of the young people of Armenia
about NATO’s activity, in particular, about Armenia-NATO cooperation’,
Executive Director of the Armenian Atlantic Association Tevan Poghosyan
told journalists. To note, the cooperation between Armenia and NATO is
currently built in accordance with Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership
Action Plan (IPAP) signed in December, 2005.

The Messenger, Georgia
March 13 2009

Armenia angry over Saakashvili’s remarks

By Mzia Kupunia
Friday, March 13

President of Armenia Serzh Sarkisian has placed the responsibility for
`complicated relations’ with Armenia on Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili, the Georgian media says, based on reports from the
Armenian News Agency News Armenia. `Saakashvili cannot put up with
Armenia having close relations with Moscow,’ the Armenian agency
quoted Sarkisian as saying.

The Armenian President’s statement comes after Saakashvili’s remarks
on March 7 that `Armenia’s economy has been completely crushed,
because Armenia has been totally dependant on the Russian market. The
Russian market has collapsed and Armenia’s economy has collapsed too.’
Soon after the Georgian President’s speech the Armenian media released
a statement by Sarkisian’s Press Secretary Samvel Farmanian.

The Press Spokesperson of the Georgian President, Alana Gagloeva, has
responded by saying that Saakashvili’s words were `misunderstood.’
`Mikheil Saakashvili’s words were not meant to offend the Armenian
Government. His speech was focused on specific events in the
region. The devaluation of the Armenian national currency, in our
opinion, has affected the Armenian economy generally. Saakashvili also
said that the Georgian economy is more defended [from the effects of
the global economic crisis] because Georgia does not have as high a
volume trade and economic relations with Russia as Armenia. So the
words of the Georgian President were not said to offend the Armenian
Government,’ Gagloeva stated.

The Georgian opposition slammed Saakashvili for the statement. The
Chairperson of the Democratic Movement`United Georgia and former close
ally of Saakashvili, Nino Burjanadze, said the Georgian President
should not give himself the right to make `incorrect and radical’
statements about the economic problems of other countries. `I am sorry
that the President of Georgia made such an incorrect comment about
neighbouring Armenia. Unfortunately it should be said that
Saakashvili’s incorrectness is not news for us, however it is worse
when it concerns statements addressed to neighbouring states rather
than statements about internal politics,’ Burjanadze noted.

The former Parliament Speaker said the Georgian Government should pay
more attention to internal economic problems. `After the August war
the country has got into a very difficult economic and political
situation, and due to the incapacity of the Government the threat of
the situation worsening is growing,’ Burjanadze stated. She said the
Georgian and Armenian people will be wise enough not to take any
notice of such `unwise’ statements.

On Thursday, at a meeting with Georgia’s Ambassador to Armenia Revaz
Gachechiladze, who is concluding his diplomatic mission in the
country, the Armenian President thanked him for his successful
cooperation and said `political dialogue [between the countries] has
been activated, economic relations have been broadened and cultural
ties have become stronger.’

Armenia, Belarus carry on open dialogue
14.03.2009 15:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met Friday with
visiting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to discuss issues
of mutual interest, specifically the ways to intensify economic ties.

In discussing the global financial crisis, President Sarsgyan noted
that both Armenia and Belarus take action to alleviate its
consequences.

For his part, Mr. Lukashenko said that the Armenian community of
Belarus has completely integrated in public and political life of the
country.