Author: Hakobian Adrine

OSCE SECRETARY GENERAL, ARMENIA FM WELCOME THE DOCUMENTS ON KARABAKH SIGNED IN HELSINKI
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
15.12.2008 15:16

The two documents on the Karabakh issue adopted by the OSCE Foreign
Ministers in Helsinki are targeted at the peaceful resolution of
the conflict, the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian,
and the OSCE Secretary General, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, said
during a joint press conference today. The question refers to the
documents signed in Helsinki by the OSCE Foreign Ministers and the
Foreign Ministers of the Minsk Group co-chair countries.

"As a security forum, the OSCE has tried to ensure security on the
matter. The documents adopted in Helsinki by the Foreign Ministers of
the 52 OSCE member states and the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chair countries reiterate the position to solve the issue in
a peaceful manner and through maintenance of the cease-fire regime,"
The OSCE Secretary General said.

"The documents show that it’s necessary to continue the talks on the
basis of the Madrid Proposals and try to bring the positions of the
parties closer," RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian added.

THE REVOLUTIONARIES BROUGHT `ZARYA’ FROM GEORGIA

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
13 Dec 2008
Armenia

According to the ex Commander of the police internal troops Grigor
Grigoryan, the police troops received only 10 `Zarya’ special means,
from which only 4 have been used for the March 1 developments. This
fact has already been recorded.

But around 20 `Zarya’ special means have been used during the collapse,
which presumes that the demonstrators have also used this special
means. The latter is confirmed by the operative information received
before, according to which the radicals have imported special armaments
from Georgia.

SEVAN TO TURN INTO A "GOLDEN" LAKE?

A1+
[05:02 pm] 11 December, 2008

Lake Sevan is in danger again. The gold-extracting "GeoProMining"
company- owner of the Ararat Gold Extraction Company and the Sotk
gold mine exploitation concession- plans on moving the gold production
unit from Ararat to Sotk.

According to ecologists, the cyanide technologies of gold extraction
and joining of chemical substances will increase the risks for the
lake. Besides that, the wastes such as poisonous metals and elements
that gather in the granary will remain that way for millions of years.

Ecologists consider that as a violation of the law and predict that
in a couple of years it will be impossible to prevent the outflow of
dust that spreads to Lake Sevan through scraps and winds.

"Sevan is in danger because the interests of gold extractors are high,"
said ecologists today during a round-table discussion on "Risks for
Sevan from gold mining" in the UN Office of Armenia.

In the beginning of the discussion, participants watched a film
entitled "Golden mine for Sevan" about the consequences of a
transaction of gold mines in Ararat and Vardenis.

Head of the National Committee of the UN Environmental Protection
Program, president of the "For Stable Development" Association Karine
Danielyan said that the issue must be perceived in the context of
development of the country.

"It is time to think about what course we are going to take,"
said Danielyan. Professor of the Armenian-Russian University Gagik
Sukhudyan said that the pollution of Sevan’s basin is a violation of
the law and the issue must be raised in the European Court.

"I have come to the conclusion that we must allocate peacekeeping
forces between our administration and Mother Nature," said Sukhudyan.

Let us recall that former owner of the Indian gold-extracting factory
"Vedanta Resources" had the desire to move the production unit from
Ararat to Sotk back in 2005. The Armenian administration denied the
proposal, but temporarily. Only in May this year did it become clear
that the new owner of the factory-"GeoProMining"-has restarted the
work of the factory and is getting ready to draft a complete plan
with an evaluation of the influence on the environment.

Ecologists have expressed concerns to the RA Ministry of Environmental
Protection, but it wasn’t until recently that the Minister heard
the government’s decision to not back the project during an outgoing
session in Sevan.

"We know that the owners of that company are lobbying the project
at high levels and according to our data, there are people who are
trying to green light that project. Head of the government’s natural
resources management agency Artashes Zeroyan was supposed to speak
at the discussion, but he didn’t show up. This raises worries that
perhaps there is some pressure," said head of the "Ecolur" information
NGO Inga Zarafyan.

BENEVOLENT CAFETERIA IS CLOSED

A1+
[08:42 pm] 11 December, 2008

One of the two benevolent cafeterias in Alaverdi closed its doors on
December 1. It is funded by "Mission Armenia" benevolent organization
and has been feeding more than a hundred needy people for five years,
most of them being pensioners and handicapped.

Now, the dry food has substituted the hot food. On December 10,
each of the 105 needy eating at the cafeteria received 1 kilogram of
macaroni, 1 liter of vegetable oil, half a kilogram of sugar and a
box of nourishing food. The needy will keep receiving food on December
22 too, but this time they will get six eggs, a pack of sausages and
a box of nourishing food.

Manager of the benevolent cafeteria Aytsemnik Mkrtumyan says that
this has nothing to do with the global crisis. It was the decision of
the government according to which the needy must get along with this
food until springtime. According to Aytsemnik Mkrtumyan, the cafeteria
will open its doors to the needy starting from March, but until then,
three of the seven cafeteria workers will be on a compulsory vacation.

KHANLAR HAJIYEV: "EUROPEAN COURT IS EXPECTED TO PASS JUDGMENT CONCERNING 40 APPEALS ON AZERBAIJAN"

Azeri Press Agency
Dec 11 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Kamala Guliyeva – APA. "European Court of Human Rights has
received over 1000 appeals on Azerbaijan," judge of the European Court
of Human Rights from Azerbaijan Khanlar Hajiyev said, APA reports.

He said that half of the appeals had been made by Armenians with
Azerbaijani citizenship. Khanlar Hajiyev said the appeals sent from
Azerbaijan were different.

"Most of them are about the mistakes made in trials. There are
appeals concerning non-execution of court decisions, violations in
parliamentary elections and property," he said.

Khanlar Hajiyev said the European Court had passed 16 judgments
on Azerbaijan.

"As the number of the lawyers receiving appeals on Azerbaijan has
been increased, more cases will be considered. The court is expected
to pass judgment in connection with 40 appeals on Azerbaijan," he said.

Khanlar Hajiyev said the European Court had several appeals in
connection with IDPs from Nagorno Karabakh.

"One of them is connected with 6 Azerbaijanis from Lachin
region. Two of them are complaints concerning Armenians. The
process will continue. It requires time. It is difficult to say
what judgment the court will pass. Such decisions of the court are
called pilot judgments. Such judgments may be followed by a number of
complaints. That’s why they are careful in passing such judgments. On
the other hand the problem has a political side. Therefore there is
no position on this issue yet," he said.

Khanlar Hajiyev noted that the European Court was not a political
organization and could not solve Karabakh problem.

"The court can consider the issues concerning the property and other
rights of the people displaced from Nagorno Karabakh. But such appeals
must be made individually," he said.

NKR PRESIDENT ISSUED A CONGRATULATORY…

Azat Artsakh Daily
10 Dec 08
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR

In connection with the anniversary of the NKR State Independence
Referendum and the Constitution Day NKR President Bako Sahakyan issued
a congratulatory address to the citizens of the republic. The address
reads as follows: "Respected citizens of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic,
Dear compatriots, The tenth of December is one of the most memorable
days for our people. On very day in 1991 our people officially sealed
their will to form free, independent and sovereign state. And it was
not a coincident that 15 years later on this very day of 2006 the
people of Artsakh once again expressed their resoluteness to further
strengthen and develop independent statehood and on a nation-wide
referendum adopted the basic of the country – the NKR Constitution. It
has marked the irreversibility of our state policy to build democratic
country, our commitment to the follow international norms and integrate
with the civilized world. The basic law of the country is among
the attributes of independent statehood. It guarantees rights and
freedoms of people and citizens, regulates internal life of the state
and its relations with the world. It is a specific bridge between the
past, the present and the future of the country and its people. The
Constitution clearly states that independence and secure existence20of
Artsakh have no alternatives. Dear friends, I congratulate all our
people once again on this very important holiday and cordially wish
you peace, good health and happiness. All the best to you."

NAGORNO-KARABAKH PRESIDENT CONGRATULATED COUNTRY’S POPULATION ON CONSTITUTION DAY

DE FACTO
Dec 10, 2008

STEPANAKERT, 10.12.08. DE FACTO. In connection with the anniversary
of the NKR State Independence Referendum and the Constitution Day the
NKR President sent a Congratulatory address to the Republic’s citizens.

According to the information DE FACTO received at the Central
Department of Information of the Office of the NKR President,
the address reads as follows: "Respected citizens of the Nagorno
Karabagh Republic, Dear compatriots, The tenth of December is one
of the most memorable days for our people. On very day in 1991 our
people officially sealed their will to form free, independent and
sovereign state. And it was not a coincident that 15 years later on
this very day of 2006 the people of Artsakh once again expressed their
resoluteness to further strengthen and develop independent statehood
and on a nation-wide referendum adopted the basic of the country –
the NKR Constitution. It has marked the irreversibility of our state
policy to build democratic country, our commitment to the follow
international norms and integrate with the civilized world.

The basic law of the country is among the attributes of independent
statehood. It guarantees rights and freedoms of people and citizens,
regulates internal life of the state and its relations with the
world. It is a specific bridge between the past, the present and the
future of the=2 0country and its people. The Constitution clearly
states that independence and secure existence of Artsakh have no
alternatives.

Dear friends, I congratulate all our people once again on this
very important holiday and cordially wish you peace, good health
and happiness.

All the best to you."

TURKISH WRITERS PUBLISH GENOCIDE APOLOGY

Legalbrief
Dec 9 2008
South Africa

Academics and writers in Turkey have risked a fierce official backlash
by issuing a public apology for the alleged genocide suffered by
Armenians at the hands of Ottoman forces during the World War I.

The Guardian reports that, breaking one of Turkish society’s biggest
taboos, the apology comes in an open letter that invites Turks to
sign an online petition supporting its sentiments. The contents
exposes its authors – three scholars, Ahmet Insel, Baskin Oran and
Cengiz Aktar, and a journalist, Ali Bayramoglu – to the wrath of
the Turkish state, which has prosecuted writers, including the Nobel
prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, for supporting Armenian genocide
claims. Turkey rejects the assertion of many historians and Armenia’s
government that up to 1.5m Armenians died in a wave of expulsions
that amounted to state-sanctioned genocide. The letter has triggered
a furious response from ultranationalists, who have labelled it a
‘betrayal’ and an ‘insult to the Turkish nation’.

RUSSIA’S VTB CLOSES DEAL TO BUY 51% STAKE IN AZERBAIJAN’S AF BANK

RIA Novosti
17:19 | 09/ 12/ 2008

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s state-controlled VTB Bank,
the country’s second-largest banking institution, said on Tuesday it
had sealed a deal to buy a 51% stake in Azerbaijan-based AF Bank.

"We plan in the near future to rebrand the subsidiary bank, and rename
it Bank VTB (Azerbaijan)," the VTB press office said.

AF Bank holds 39th place among Azerbaijan’s 46 banks in terms of
assets. It has charter capital of around $9.65 million and assets of
$15.3 million.

VTB’s Azerbaijan subsidiary will support inter-state programs and
participate in the implementation of large-scale Russian-Azerbaijani
projects with the involvement of Russian capital, the press office
said.

"The decision to acquire a controlling stake in AF Bank was made in
accordance with the strategy to expand VTB’s presence on the markets
of CIS countries [former Soviet republics, except the Baltic states
of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia] ," the press office said.

VTB has subsidiary banks in Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia and Georgia,
and also in some European and Asian countries.

The credit portfolio of VTB Group, which includes VTB Bank, has
grown 65% so far this year to 2 trillion rubles ($71.4 billion),
VTB CEO Andrei Kostin said on Tuesday.

"The credit portfolio of VTB Group in Russia grew 65% in the first
eleven months and 24% in September-November," Kostin said during a
meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

He also said VTB paid on Monday the first 3.5 billion rubles ($125
million) of a loan to Russian aircraft engine manufacturer NPO Saturn.

"We paid the first tranche of 3.5 billion rubles yesterday, which
will let the enterprise settle its liabilities on previously secured
loans," Kostin said.

"The second and the third tranches are to follow, and the loan will
total 11.5 billion rubles [$410 million]," he added.

ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS CALL ABDULLAH GUL FOR RECOGNIZING FACT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan

Dec 9, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN. Over thirty Armenian intellectuals
have sent an open letter to Turkish President Abdullah Gul calling him
for admitting the fact of Armenian Genocide. "Our two peoples’ historic
memory is very deep and disturbed, there are no easy solutions. Your
generation of Turkey’s leadership should admit the irrefutable truth
and recognize the fact of Armenian Genocide," the letter read. Giving
assurance that it is the Turkish people that first of all needs the
recognition of the Genocide, the letter authors mention: "Thus it
(the Turkish people) will be get free of the burden of history and
will stand near the other states open-faced."

At the end of the letter Armenian intellectuals stated that A. Gul’s
visit and Turkey’s initiative aimed at strengthening the general
stability in the South Caucasus are reassuring. "However these efforts
can go to ruin easily unless the state takes resolute steps," the
letter read. USSR People’s Artist Sos Sargsian, composers Robert
Amirkhanian and Edward Mirzoyan, solo singer Hasmik Hatsagortsian,
Aravot daily’s editor Aram Abrahamian, and others have signed under
the letter.