Author: Hakobian Adrine

ROBERT KOCHARIAN: ARMENIA-EU RELATIONS WILL ENTER INTO A MUCH MORE SYSTEMATIZED STAGE

Noyan Tapan
Dec 18 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, NOYAN TAPAN. EU-Armenia relations were discussed
at the December 18 meeting between RA President Robert Kocharian and
EU Special Representative to South Caucasus, Peter Semneby who is in
Armenia within the framework of regional visit. As NT was informed
from RA President’s Press Office, the sides, in particular, touched
upon the Actions Plan signed within the framework of the European
Neighborhood Policy. R.Kocharian said that starting 2007, Armenia’s
relations with EU are entering into a much more systematized stage
and expressed the hope that the start will be successful. In his
words, currently an attempt to separate the main priorities of next
year from the general program of the Actions Plan and to clarify the
mechanisms of work with the European Commission are made. RA President
and EU Special Representative also touched upon the last developments
of negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh settlement, the constitutional
referendum held in Karabakh, as well as the forthcoming parliamentary
elections to be held in Armenia attaching importance to their holding
in correspondence with international standards.

PARLIAMENT SPEAKER MEETS ARMENIAN FM

Fars News Agency, Iran
Dec 18 2006

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad
Adel in a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian here
on Sunday stressed the need for the development of Tehran-Yerevan ties.

During the meeting, Haddad Adel voiced pleasure in the growing trend
of the two states’ friendly relations, and pointed out that execution
of economic and industrial projects in the energy sector, particularly
completion of the natural gas pipeline between Iran and Armenia as
well as the expansion of roads, plays a crucially important role in the
development of the two countries’ economic and industrial cooperation.

He further called for maximum use of the two sides’ potentials and
possibilities to consolidate the two nations’ friendly relations.

Elsewhere, the top legislative official noted the United States’
pressures on the Iranian nation and efforts by the western countries
aimed at imposing sanctions against Iran on the pretext of nuclear
activities, and stressed, "The high turnout in the recent elections
in Iran, which displayed the Iranians’ solidarity and unity, also had
this message for the United States and Europe that the Iranian nation
resists against pressures and stands on the deeply rooted ideals of
the Islamic Revolution."

He also said that the United States is exerting pressure on Iran on the
pretext of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities, and continued,
"If Iran had followed the US lead, Washington would not have objected
Iran even if the latter intended to produce nuclear arms."

"The United States is actually worried about Iran’s independence,"
Haddad Adel added.

The chief lawmaker further assured that Iran’s regional policies serve
reinvigoration of interaction and friendship among regional nations,
and pointing to Iran’s role in soothing regional crises, he stressed
that existence of a powerful and stable Iran serves the interests of
all the countries in the region.

For his part, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian stressed his
country’s willingness for further developing relations with Iran, and
reminded that the frequent meetings by the two countries’ officials
illustrates the firm determination of both sides to consolidate and
deepen their mutual relations.

He further briefed Haddad Adel about his talks with various Iranian
officials, and said that his satisfactory talks with the Iranian
officials had a positive effect on the promotion of the two states’
economic, industrial and scientific relations.

To conclude his words, the Armenian foreign minister voiced his
country’s strong support for Iran’s peaceful civilian nuclear
activities and programs.

KEVORKIAN PAROLED: ‘I’M NOT GOING TO DO IT AGAIN’
By Kathleen Gray

Detroit Free Press, MI
Dec 14 2006

He says he’ll follow the law and be an advocate

A compassionate doctor to some, a ghoulish murderer to others, Jack
Kevorkian will, in less than six months, become something he hasn’t
been for more than eight years — a free man.

Kevorkian, a frail 78-year-old, was granted parole Wednesday by two
members of the Michigan Parole Board after he promised not to conduct
any more assisted suicides. He will be eligible for release June 1.

Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said he would not appeal.

"He has served his minimum term, and I did not object to his release,"
Gorcyca said. "I’m certainly not particularly surprised, just due to
his alleged health concerns."

Known as the assisted-suicide doctor and Dr. Death, Kevorkian claimed
to have helped at least 130 terminally or chronically ill people die
during the 1990s, though he told parole board chairman John Rubitschun
that he turned down six or seven prospective patients for every one
he helped.

He told Rubitschun he would push for the legalization of assisted
suicide after his release, but promised to not participate in any
form of assisted suicide or euthanasia.

"You can put any conditions you want on me. I’m not going to do it
again," Kevorkian said in a Dec. 7 hearing, according to an account
based on notes from the meeting. "Anything that will bring me back
to prison, I will avoid. Prison is not a place a live."

Kevorkian was convicted in 1999 of second-degree murder in the Sept.

17, 1998, death of Thomas Youk, 52, of Waterford, a victim of the
debilitating Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The death was different from others in two ways. First, it was
videotaped and aired on the CBS show "60 Minutes." Second, Youk was
unable to press the button to deliver a fatal dose of drugs, and the
tape showed Kevorkian doing it for him, which provided prosecutors with
evidence that Kevorkian had stepped past the assisted-suicide line.

Kevorkian’s defiant approach brought physician-assisted suicide to the
national spotlight. In 1998, an Oregon law went into effect legalizing
the practice. But Michigan passed a law in 1999 banning it.

Kevorkian said he should have gone the legal route to advocate for
assisted suicide.

"If I had to do it again, I would have done it that way," he said.

Although Kevorkian won’t be eligible for release until June 1, his
attorney, Mayer Morganroth, said he’ll once again ask Gov. Jennifer
Granholm to release his client early from the Lakeland Correctional
Facility in Coldwater. The governor has denied requests to commute
the sentence four times.

"Certainly, it’s a relief; it’s a man’s life we’re talking about,"
Morganroth said. "The next thing we have to do is talk to the governor
so he doesn’t die in prison in the next six months."

There is little precedent for such an early release, said Corrections
Department spokesman Russ Marlan.

"Each time he’s done that, he’s said he has less than 12 months to
live," Marlan said. "I’ve personally witnessed that he appears to be
doing pretty well."

If his health hasn’t changed since the last evaluation this summer,
there would be no reason to release him early, Marlan said. Liz
Boyd, spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said Wednesday that
the governor would have no comment until a commutation request is
turned in.

According to Morganroth, Kevorkian suffers from hepatitis C and high
blood pressure. He takes insulin four times a day and has hardening
of the arteries. He recently fell, breaking two ribs and his wrist.

‘He was very grateful’

Terrence Youk, Thomas Youk’s brother, said Kevorkian never should
have been in prison.

"I was starting to believe that they would never let him out," Youk
said from his home in Montpelier, Vt. "Jack put himself on the line
many, many times. All he wanted to do was help people have a choice
at the end of their life when they don’t have any other choices."

Ruth and Sarah Holmes, a mother and daughter who have become friends
with and frequent visitors of Kevorkian, said he can’t wait to get
home for a turkey wrap, some pickled vegetables and some fresh fruit.

"He was very grateful that the process finally worked," said Ruth
Holmes of Bloomfield Hills, after talking to Kevorkian on Wednesday.

"He was not in great shape when he went in, and he’s had a rough
winter."

Sarah Holmes attended the parole hearing and told Rubitschun that few
people know the side of Kevorkian that she has seen — the musician,
the poet, the painter, the historian, the family man.

"I tried to add the human element of Jack Kevorkian," she said. "He
is the most honest man you would ever meet, when he gives his word,
he sticks with it."

But retired Waterford Police Chief John Dean, who helped investigate
the Youk case, said he would oppose Kevorkian’s parole.

"I’m convinced he’ll do it again to make a statement," he said.

Kevorkian’s first assisted suicide was in June 1990, when Janet Adkins,
a Portland, Ore., woman with Alzheimer’s disease, died in the back
of the pathologist’s rusty Volkswagen van. He helped dozens more
people die over the years in vans, hotel rooms, private homes and in
his Royal Oak apartment. Most of the people were women, and all the
deaths were in Michigan. Many of the patients were from other states.

The state revoked his medical license in 1991 after he had conducted
five assisted suicides. Without a license, he could no longer buy
some of the drugs he used, so he began using different techniques,
which included the use of carbon monoxide canisters.

He was acquitted of murder three times and got a mistrial declared
in a fourth case.

Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger defended Kevorkian in all of
the acquittals, at turns disparaging prosecutors and at other times
scolding his famous client for courtroom outbursts.

"He was, at the time he went to prison, perhaps one of the most famous
people in the world," Fieger said Wednesday. "Certainly, he moved
the issue of individuals’ rights not to suffer at the end of lives,
far greater than any person before him."

******************** The parole decision

Dr. Jack Kevorkian became eligible for parole on a 10- to 25-year
sentence of second-degree murder after serving more than eight years
in prison.

A three-person panel of the Michigan Parole Board considers each
eligible case. One member of the panel interviews the prisoner and
passes a recommendation to a second member. If they agree, a third
member of the panel isn’t consulted, and parole is granted.

In Kevorkian’s case, John Robitschun, chairman of the parole board,
interviewed Kevorkian on Dec. 7. He recommended that parole be
approved, and parole board member Miguel Berrios agreed. They announced
their decision Wednesday.

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office can appeal the ruling to
the Oakland County Circuit Court, but Prosecutor David Gorcyca said
he won’t.

************************** How lives were ended

With $45 worth of materials in the 1980s, Dr. Jack Kevorkian created
what he called a suicide machine — a simple, effective device for
assisting people who wanted to end their lives.

The contraption was made of three bottles: One contained saline
solution, one held a sedative, and the last had lethal potassium
chloride.

Kevorkian hooked people to the device and allowed them to press a
button, starting the intravenous flow from the bottles.

In 1991, after his medical license was revoked, he switched to a
canister filled with carbon monoxide because he was no longer able
to get potassium chloride.

Ruby Bailey *************************

Jack Kevorkian Age: 78

Claim to fame: Says he helped more than 130 people with various
illnesses end their lives.

Nickname: Dr. Death.

Personal: Son of Armenian immigrants, raised in Pontiac, never married,
no children.

Education: Graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School
in 1952. Trained as a pathologist.

Employment: Worked at Pontiac General, Detroit Receiving and several
California hospitals.

Hobbies: Music, painting, languages, poetry. Published a book,
"Glimericks," while in prison.

************************* Good for a laugh?

In the heyday of his assisted-suicide practice, Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s
name became part of the nation’s popular culture.

A popular paint pattern for fishing spoons used for salmon and trout
is called Kevorkian because it lures the fish to their deaths.

And Kevorkian was a favorite for David Letterman’s lists. Consider:

~U Nov. 18, 1996, ways O.J. Simpson is raising legal funds: Freelancing
for Dr. Kevorkian.

~U July 23, 1996, Dr. Kevorkian pickup lines: "My friends say I
look like Brad Pitt — but they probably just say that so I don’t
kill them."

~U Feb. 14, 1996, signs you’re dating a loser: "He has Dr. Kevorkian
on speed dial."

~U Dec. 1, 1995, other Ann Landers mistakes: Referred "Depressed in
Detroit" to Dr. Kevorkian.

******************************** Photo at
/20061214/NEWS06/612140349/1008/NEWS06

ARMENIANS ARE NOT DISCRIMINATED IN ABKHAZIA

Lragir, Armenia
Dec 14 2006

The information that Armenians are discriminated in Abkhazia is not
true, said Galust Trapizonyan, member of the Abkhazian parliament
December 14 at the Friday Club. He says this information is released
by the Georgian mass media to destabilize the situation in Abkhazia.

The member of the Abkhazian parliament says there were gangs during
the war who tried to harm the Armenians. The member of parliament
explains this by the nature of the war which produces inevitable
consequences. It was mainly in the areas near the Georgian border,
the member of parliament says. Afterwards the Armenian battalion
gained control of the areas populated by Armenians, and the problems
were settled, and now the government controls everything, Galust
Trapizonyan says.

According to him, there are casual disagreements and clashes, but
it would be wrong to state that there is discrimination against the
Armenians, says the Armenian member of parliament.

He also says that the Armenians of Abkhazia are for reaching the
international recognition of this state. Like Karabakh, Abkhazia is
also fighting for its right, says Galust Trapizonyan, who congratulated
the people of Karabakh on the adoption of the Constitution, describing
this as a significant step leading to independence. The represetnative
of the Armenian community of Abkhazia says Abkhazia wants to be
independent rather than become part of Russia. Of course, he says,
the government of Abkhazia has applied for associate membership to
Russia. Galust Trapizonyan says it is not the same as becoming part
of Russia, but it was an almost necessary step, considering that the
population of Abkhazia are citizens of Russia. He says economically
the relation with Russia is important because 1 million tourists from
Russia have visited Abkhazia this year.

PROBLEMS OF ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF ABKHAZIA HAVE ONLY SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL CHARACTER, COMMUNTIY CO-CHAIRMAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Dec 14 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The
representatives of the Armenian community of Abkhazia have no problems
on ethnic ground, but have many socio-economic and educational
problems. Galust Trapizonian, Co-chairman of the Armenian community
of Abkhazia, said this at the December 14 press conference. In his
words, several Armenian villages were completely exterminated after
the operations and the women bear the burden of working. And though
the situation has changed to some extent at present, As G.Trapizonian
assured, they pin hopes only on themselves, as in his words, "no
foreign force has ever asked about our needs and helped us." The
community’s Co-chairman said that they have many things to do in
connection with the parliamentary elections to be held in Abkhazia. In
G.Trapizonian’s words, the community is going to nominate five Armenian
candidates at these elections. In the words of Sergei Vardanian,
editor of the Dzayn Hamshenakan newspaper, instead of former 128
Armenian schools only 37 work at present in Abkhazia, the pupils’
number has decreased. He said that RA Ministry of Education and
Science allocates seats for Abkhazian Armenian youth at Universities
every year, but the latters’ parents find it difficult to send their
children to Yerevan due to bad material conditions.

ARMENIAN FARE FILLS THE AIR IN L.A.
By John Henderson
Denver Post Staff Writer

Denver Post, CO
Dec 13 2006

I found a suburb that has real charm, an identity. Credit the ethnic
makeup for Glendale becoming more than just another boring bedroom
community built on off-ramps and Macaroni Grills.

Glendale, Calif. – Suburbia is America’s culinary wasteland. It’s
where you must get in your car to buy a gallon of milk or pint of
beer, where your best dining options are Chili’s or Black-Eyed Pea
and where Olive Garden is considered just one step away from Italy.

Suburbia’s great contribution to urban planning is the cul-de-sac.

There is no there there.

But just northeast of Los Angeles, where suburban life is a world unto
its own, there is one ‘burb where you can tell what city line you’re
crossing without a freeway map, and where you can dine somewhere
besides a strip mall.

Credit the ethnic makeup of Glendale for it becoming more than just
another boring bedroom community built on off-ramps and Macaroni
Grills.

Glendale has 85,000 ethnic Armenians – about 40 percent of the city’s
population – making it the largest Armenian community west of the
Black Sea. Walk by shops in the tree-lined downtown, and you hear a
smattering of Armenian and Farsi, the national language of Iran from
which many Armenians emigrated after the overthrow of the shah in 1979.

You see Arabic-style lettering on ice cream shops and auto garages.

You see Armenian flags on houses.

But you sense something else. You sense the smell of roasted lamb
and charbroiled chicken and cumin and nutmeg. Glendale is blessed
with a plethora of Armenian restaurants. Step inside one, and you
won’t think you’re anywhere near a Tony Roma’s, although one is also
right downtown.

People come from all over metro L.A. to Glendale for the food, and
so did I. I spent two straight weekends watching Southern California
botch another attempt at a national football title, and on a sunny
Sunday afternoon visited the flagship of Glendale’s Armenian cuisine.

Raffi’s Place has a brick outdoor patio surrounding a huge tree with
lamp heaters. The place is packed with Armenians, handsome people
with big, dark eyes and an innate sense of style. I saw two giggling
teenage girls speaking Armenian or Farsi into their cellphones,
a man in his 20s wearing a baby blue UCLA sweatshirt.

I was the only one speaking English and looked only slightly out of
place wearing blue jeans and a souvenir golf shirt from the Tour de
France and reading the L.A. Times sports section. I didn’t look like
someone craving shirazi.

I did have one thing in common with everyone. I loved the food.

Denver has numerous Middle Eastern restaurants, and I want to visit
Beirut merely to see if I can find Lebanese food better than at the
Pita Jungle on University Boulevard near the University of Denver.

Armenian food is similar to Lebanese: It’s big on kabobs, marinated
chicken and hummus.

But it’s different in many ways. Armenians put shallots in their
yogurt. Eggplant is a big appetizer. Raffi’s menu offers pomegranate
juice. Armenia, a tiny landlocked country squeezed between Iran,
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, is surprisingly into fish.

I stepped away from the kabobs and tried the patient waiter’s
recommendation of a true Armenian dish: chicken soltani. It’s
marinated chicken barg (big chunks) and chicken koobideh (ground up)
with grilled tomato and green pepper over basmati rice.

The dish came in a Denny’s-sized portion but had four-star quality.

The barg was a foot-long string of chicken, tangy and succulent, and
it rested on a giant slab of ground chicken. I could eat only about
three-quarters and spent the rest of my time watching the Armenian
families socialize and the line grow into the parking lot.

Glendale has been fairly accommodating during the Armenian invasion,
which began in the 1920s but attracted another surge in the ’70s. The
Armenians turned ultra-WASP Glendale, home of John Wayne and Elvin
Bishop, into a cultural melting pot. The city even flies American flags
at half-staff on April 24, Armenian Genocide Day, commemorating the
slaughter of an estimated half-million Armenians during the Ottoman
Empire from 1915-23.

But Glendale did start a controversy when it tried applying its laws
against outdoor grilling to Armenian restaurants, which seems like
telling gardeners to cover up their rose bushes.

"It’s barbecue," said Raymond Bakijan, Raffi’s manager. "It’s got to
be outside."

I’d say Glendale raised a stink, but it smelled too good. Still does.

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY "CONDEMNS" REFERENDUM IN KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.12.2006 15:17 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey does not recognize the outcome of the
referendum held in Karabakh, December 10. The statement made by
Turkish Foreign Ministry says that the International Law and the
World community will not recognize the adoption of constitution in
Nagorno Karabakh, underlining, that Ankara does not recognize the
independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, neither the "referendum" nor its
outcome, The New Anatolian reports.

It’s worth reminding that in the Constitutional referendum in Karabakh
took part over 98 % of voters.

The Organic Law, adopted in the referendum defines the NKR as a
sovereign and independent state.

"ARMAVIA" PLANS TO OPEN REGULAR FLIGHT YEREVAN-TBILISI-YEREVAN TILL END, 2006

Yerevan, December 11. ArmInfo. The "Armavia" Company plans to open
a new regular flight Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan till the end, 2006,
which had been stopped after the former USSR collapse, the Company’s
press-service told ArmInfo.

According to the source data, the opening of the new flight is
conditioned on the increase of demand in air communication between
the two countries in view of the business contacts development.

Moreover, this flight will become one way of transportation more for
the citizens between Russia and Georgia with change in Armenia after
Russia had stopped a direct transport communication with Georgia. The
Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan flights will be carried out twice a week by
YAK-42 airplane. The price of the air-ticket to both ends without
airport taxes starts from $100. Moreover, it is scheduled to open
one regular flight more Yerevan-Ashkhabad-Yerevan till the end, 2006.

CHAIRMAN OF AZERBAIJAN DEMOCRATIC REFORMS PARTY GAVE A SPEECH IN HUDSON INSTITUTE AND HELD MEETINGS IN PENTAGON
Author: S. Ilhamgizi

TREND, Azerbaijan
Dec 9 2006

MP Asim Molazadeh, Chairman of the Democratic Reforms Party of
Azerbaijan has participated in an arrangement organized by the
US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce within his visit to U.S.A., the
press-service of the Party told Trend.

He gave a speech in the Hudson Institute on the topic – "The Role of
GUAM in the Stability, Economic Development, and Democratic Reforms
in the Region". Representatives of a number of American research
centres and foreign embassies took part in the event as well
Mr. Mollazadeh held meetings in the Pentagon. During the meeting with
employees of the Eurasian Command of the US Defence Ministry, relations
between US and Azerbaijan, as well as issues on resolving regional
conflicts, GUAM, and the regional security issues were discussed.

The aim of the visit is to develop relations between US and Azerbaijan,
discuss the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well
as corresponding American projects for Azerbaijan.

NAGORNO KARABAKH SEEKS COMMON CAUSE WITH PRIDNESTROVIE
By Jason Cooper

Tiraspol Times & Weekly Review, Moldova
Dec 8 2006

A delegation from Nagorno Karabakh’s parliament (shown) supports PMR,
while Armenia strongly criticizes MoldovaTIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times)
– Pridnestrovie, also known as Transdnistria, has much in common
with Nagorno Karabakh. That was the conclusion by a top NKR Armenian
delegate to Tiraspol, speaking at a news conference in a run-up to
Sunday’s presidential elections.

" – The two countries have much in common. Both of them are
self-sufficient states with all inseparable attributes," Yuri
Hayrapetian, the chairman of the committee on state and legal issues
at the Nagorno Karabakh National Assembly, told a news conference in
Tiraspol. Yuri Hayrapetian and NKR government representative Garry
Jahangirian arrived in Tiraspol to observe the presidential election
due on December 10.

The NKR delegates are going to attend the polling stations and meet
with the Armenian community of Pridnestrovie, often alternately also
called Transdniester in English or Transnistria in Romanian.

" – Both Transdnistria and Nagorno Karabakh are not yet perceived by
the international community as full subjects of international law.

But both states formed and asserted their independence and have
survived bloody wars. Both are under economic blockades, and both
have experienced economic and political hardships," Hayrapetian said.

However, he also remarked that unlike Pridnestrovie, Nagorno Karabakh
has a supporter which defends its interests at international level,
renders it financial assistance, and has a common border with NKR. He
was referring to the Republic of Armenia. And although Moldova is
often quick to assert that in Pridnestrovie’s case, Russia is that
kind of supporter, Hayrapetian pointed out that this was not the
case. Russia does not unequivocally defend Pridnestrovie’s interests
at the international level, does not automatically render financial
assistance, and does not in the least share any kind of common border
with Pridnestrovie. Although Pridnestrovie does consider Russia a
friend, the relationship is much less clear-cut than in the case of
Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia.

" – The other difference is complete absence of any interaction between
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, the borders with which make the front
line and actually we are still in state of war. At least in this case,
Transdnistria and Moldova has maintained some kind of dialogue. In
our case, the negotiations with Azerbaijan proceeded limply. Instead,
we decided to build our state in accordance with our interests,"
Yuri Hayrapetian said.

Armenia criticizes Moldova Meanwhile, Armenia has issued a strongly
worded statement against Moldova and two other states, noting that
Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are meddling into an issue that doesn’t
concern them.

" – Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are playing into the hands of
Azerbaijan by meddling into an issue which does not concern them,"
said Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian when commenting on
GUAM’s statement about referendum in Nagorno Karabakh.

In his words, the Moldova-backed statement does not have anything
with reality.

" – During a decade and a half, in a situation of no-peace and
no-war, and to their credit, the people and authorities of Nagorno
Karabakh have built a lawful, well-regulated internal governance
system. They have built political institutions; through elections
they have selected their own authorities and developed a legislative
framework. Today, they have recognized the need for a basic law, and
chosen the internationally accepted practice of a referendum as the
only acceptable way to collectively adopt that basic law. Azerbaijan
claims that exercising a vote is an obstruction to the peace process.

Just the opposite. At the core of the negotiations to reach a peaceful
resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is the right of the people
of Nagorno Karabakh for self-determination. What really obstructs
the process is the Azerbaijani overreaction to Karabakh’s democratic
activities, their refusal to engage Nagorno Karabakh in peace talks,
their repeated militaristic calls and their persistent efforts to
sidetrack the Minsk Group negotiation process," reports the press
office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

On Sunday, Pridnestrovie’s voters go to the polls in a democratic
election to freely and fairly choose a president. It is the fourth
such election in the young country’s 16 year history. (With information
from PanArmenian Network)

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