Author: Hakobian Adrine

4,414 PEOPLE STILL MISSING AS A RESULT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

ARMENPRESS
March 12, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 12, ARMENPRESS: By the end of 2007 there remained
some 4,414 missing persons in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict whose fate was unresolved. These figures were released by
the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC).

Since 1992, the International Committee of the Red Cross has been
working on the issue of the missing in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, helping the authorities to search for information and answers
to transmit to the families. Particularly, it has helped repatriate
some 700 Armenians who were held in Azerbaijan.

The ICRC is helping also reunify family members separated due to
conflict or returning mortal remains.

BANKER.AM WEBSITE LAUNCHED

Noyan Tapan
March 10, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, NOYAN TAPAN. A new website: has
been launched. The initiating groups aims to provide information on
processes in the financial and banking system of Armenia.

The website will present an intercative bank map, social and
professional ratings, forecasts of national economic indices, digital
and graphic databases of indices of the banking system, interviews
with Armenian bankers, professional advice, the database of supply
and demand for banking employees, legislative acts, a library,
educational offers, humor, a virtual bank game.

AZERBAIJAN: A FAILED MILITARY ADVENTURE

amp;p=0&id=376&y=2008&m=03&d=10
06 .03.08

Today our interlocutor is the Commandant of the Institute for National
Strategic Studies of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of
Armenia, Major General, Doctor of Political Sciences Hayk Kotanjian. We
are interested in his evaluation of the contradictory interpretations
of the armed conflict on March 4, 2008, on the contact line of the
Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Defense Army of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the vicinity of Mardakert.

The comments by the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides on the recent
violation of the cease-fire in Karabakh are radically opposite. How
would you comment on the recent incident on the contact line in
Karabakh?

The facts are as follows. In the morning of March 4, a subversive group
of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, violating the cease-fire regime,
occupied one of the posts of the NKR Defense Army. As a result two
soldiers of the Defense Army were wounded. In connection with this
fact, at the request of the Karabakh side the leadership of the RA
Armed Forces informed the OSCE representative Mr. A. Kasprzhik about
it, as well as with the view of immediate restoration of the status
quo and the cease-fire regime. The leadership of the RA Armed Forces
also tried to get into direct telephone contact with the leadership
of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, while the Ministry of Defense
of Azerbaijan informed that Minister Abiyev wasn’t able to enter
upon telephone negotiations due to his business. The Armenian side,
according to the warfare rules, took all the appropriate retaliatory
measures, dislodged the Azerbaijani soldiers from their occupied post
and restored status quo on the contact line.

As a result of successful armed activities by the NKR Defense Army
sub-units, the Armenian military leadership in response to the appeal
of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, informed about the readiness to
provide an opportunity for evacuation of the Azerbaijani soldiers’
corpses from the armed conflict territory. The validity of the given
facts is known to the OSCE.

The political interpretation by the Azerbaijani experts circulating
in mass media is that the Armenian side has initiated the incident
in order to detract the Armenian people’s attention from the state of
emergency declared in Yerevan. In your opinion what is the political
motive of suchlike assessment?

The failed sortie by the Azerbaijani army is being actively discussed
among the Baku’s governmental and public circles and individual
experts in mass media, in order to impose upon the Azerbaijani and
the international communities their own version of the incident. The
failed attempt by the Azerbaijani army to examine the Armenian
positions through an action during the hard times of restoring internal
stability in Armenia is being interpreted by the Azerbaijani side from
opposite perspective. The Azerbaijani side accuses the Armenians in the
authorship and responsibility of this bloody adventure. Baku brings
up false figures of supposedly died Armenian soldiers, underlying
the fighting heroism of the Azerbaijani army.

Despite the verifiable facts, this very obfuscation of facts aims
at concealing the failure of the Azerbaijani bloody adventure
and providing the international and expert communities with an
interpretation of the incident in favour of Baku’s political interests
– facing the ordeal of the forthcoming challenges of the presidential
election campaign.

The interpretation by the Azerbaijani side, based upon rigid
falsifications of facts and exploitation of the emergency situation
declared in Armenia, is an attempt to manipulate the opinions of
the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples, as well as the international
community, interested in maintaining peace and stability in the
South Caucasus.

President of Algeria congratulates Serge Sargsyan

armradio.am
07.03.2008 12:56

The President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Abdelaziz
Bouteflika congratulated RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan on his
victory in the presidential elections. The message says, in part:

`On behalf of the government and people of Algeria and myself I warmly
congratulate you on the occasion of your election to the highest
position of the Head of State and wish you success in carrying out your
mission.

Using the proper opportunity, I want to confirm my willingness to
cooperate with you to develop the friendly relations and cooperation
between our two countries, as well as establish political dialogue on
international issues of common interest.’

Abkhazia in independence appeal

Story from BBC NEWS:
europe/7283192.stm

Published: 2008/03/07 12:30:39 GMT

The breakaway Abkhazia region in Georgia has called on the UN and other
international bodies to recognise it as independent.
The appeal was made by the separatist Abkhaz parliament on Friday, a
day after Russia said it was lifting trade restrictions on the
territory.

Georgia condemned Russia’s move, warning that it encouraged separatism.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Georgians were driven from their homes in
Abkhazia during a war in the 1990s.

On Wednesday, Georgia’s other breakaway region, South Ossetia, asked
the UN and other international bodies to recognise its independence.

Georgia’s foreign ministry accused Russia on Friday of an attempt to
infringe Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, after Russia
said it was lifting the sanctions it imposed in 1996.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov said the situation
regarding Abkhazia had completely changed.

He denied the move had anything to do with recognition by some states
of Kosovo’s independence. Russia says Kosovo remains part of Serbia.

The Russian sanctions were to try to limit Abkhazia’s separatist
aspirations, but analysts say they have had little effect.

Georgia’s foreign ministry said: "This step can only be considered as
an undisguised attempt to infringe the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Georgia, to encourage separatism".

It said Russia was "abandoning its duty not to supply weapons of all
kinds and military equipment to the Abkhaz side".

Mr Denisov said Russia’s position on the territorial integrity of
Georgia remained unchanged.

But the Russian foreign ministry accused Georgia of "undermining the
negotiating process" on the Abkhazia question.

SIDES TO MAKE FINAL SPEECHES IN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ON MARCH 7

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Constitutional Court (CC) on
March 6 continued the examination of the case on disputing the RA
Central Electoral Commission’s "Decision No 24-A on Being Elected the
President of the Republic" of February 24, 2008 based on the
applications of the RA presidential candidates Tigran Karapetian and
Levon Ter-Petrosian.

According to official information of the CC press service, the
examination of the case continued by explanations provided by the
respondent, co-respondents and the respresentative of the third person.
Representatives of the RA prosecutor general’s office, the RA police
adjunct to the government, the RA National Television and Radio
Committee and the third person spoke: they answered the questions of
the respresentatives of the applicant sides and the CC members. A.
Zeynalian – the representative of the applicant Ter-Petrosian spoke as
a witness on his own initiative in the CC. The court also discussed
other petitions of the side and made respective decisions on them.

The court examination of the case will continue on March 7, at 10 a.m.
The sides will make final speeches.

ARMENPRESS

KOCHARIAN AND U.S. DIPLOMAT DISCUSS WAYS OUT OF
POLITICAL TURMOIL

YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS: President Robert
Kocharian met today with U.S. deputy assistant
secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs,
Mathew Bryza, who is also the U.S. cochairman in the
OSCE Minsk Group.
Kocharian’s press office said the main subject of
their conversation was the post-election situation and
quick ways out of the political turmoil.
Kocharian was quoted as saying that the authorities
are responsible for maintenance of security, stability
and public order. He added that all steps the
government took to quell massive unrest were dictated
by the situation. He said the main objective is to
stabilize the situation, neutralize threats and bring
the processes back to normal track.
According to Mathew Bryza, the US government is
watching closely Armenian developments. Saying that
his government realizes the necessity of bringing law
and order back to Armenia, Bryza also said Washington
is concerned by the tension. He stressed that all
sides must display responsibility to diffuse it as
quickly as possible.
Bryza and Kocharian also discussed a set of
restrictions imposed together with state of emergency.

OSCE CONCERNED ABOUT THE CEASE-FIRE VIOLATION

armradio.am
06.03.2008 14:57

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva,
expressed serious concern today about military activity on the Line
of Contact in the conflict dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference
on the morning of 4 March, in particular over reports of casualties
including fatalities.

"I call on the parties to exercise maximum restraint, and observe
the terms of the cease-fire," the Minister said. "At this critical
juncture in the negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, any action leading to a destabilization of
the Line of Contact can only have a negative impact on the overall
situation. I urge the parties to avoid actions that could lead to
further unnecessary loss of life."

The Chairman-in-Office, recalling his trip last week to the region,
added that in his talks with the leadership in both Armenia and
Azerbaijan he had underlined the importance of maintaining stability
in the region and of efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the
conflict.

"My Personal Representative on the Conflict dealt with by the OSCE
Minsk Conference, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, is in the region
at the moment and has been in close contact with the parties," the
Minister said.

ALL EMERGENCY RULE RESTRICTIONS PROVIDED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.03.2008 17:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Foreign Ministry of Armenia informed countries
and international organizations why the state of emergency was imposed,
RA MFA acting spokesman Tigran Balayan told a briefing today.

All emergency rule restrictions are provided by the international law,
he noted.

He also informed that the Foreign Ministry accredited 10 foreign
reporters during the last several days.

"Activities of journalists are not limited in Armenia," he said.

NKR PRESIDENT FOR FORMATION OF CHAMBER OF LAWYERS AS INDEPENDENT ORGAN

DeFacto Agency
March 4 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, 04.03.08. DE FACTO. The Chamber of Lawyers should be formed
as an independent organ, which will become a base for its efficient
and objective activity, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Bako
Sahakian stated in the course of a sitting held with the participation
of the Republic judicial system and the Chamber of Lawyers.

The amendments being held in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic judicial
system and the issues referring to the activity of the Chamber of
lawyers were discussed at the sitting, the Central Department of
Information under the NKR President reports.

The state’s head especially underscored that legitimacy should be the
most important criterion of the judicial organs’ activity, which will
become the best guarantee of transparency of the judicial organs’ work.