Author: Hambardsumian Paul

MY BEST FRIEND LIVES IN YEREVAN

KarabakhOpen
18-12-2007 10:31:47

Suzy is in the sixth form at the school of the village of Vagazin
in Kashatagh. She was 8 when her family moved to Vagazin where they
do not have an interesting time, Suzy says. "I like Yerevan more,
when we go to my granny. My best friend also lives in Yerevan. Her
name is Anahit, I tell my secrets only to her," says Suzy who has
five sisters and brothers.

Suzy says she does not like her peers in the village and will by all
means move to Yerevan. "But I cannot make such a decision myself, my
parents must decide. But if they want to stay here, I will go to study
in Yerevan, like my elder sister. I want to be a doctor," Suzy says.

His brother Sargis also does not like their village but he is not
going to move because he was born here, and his family and friends
live here. The only thing that 6-year-old Sargis dreams of is being
rich. "Where would you like to live if you were rich?" "It’s all
the same to me. I would like to be rich everywhere. Even in the
village." Wealth in his thinking is to have many cars.

The family of these imaginative children keeps cattle, and Sargis
who is only 6 helps his parents. He says in the evening he drives the
calves home, and drives them to the pasture in the morning. They make
cheese and exchange with sother products in Berdzor.

The mother of Sargis does not complain. They have a vegetable garden,
and gather fruits and berries in the forest. This year they gathered
a lot of nuts and different fruits. And every house there is now full
of nuts and fruit.

FORMER POLYCLINIC AND BAD CONDITIONS IN FURNITURE FACTORY AND POLICE STATION

KarabakhOpen
17-12-2007 10:40:32

Last week NKR President Bako Sahakyan visited several places in
the capital.

He went to the former polyclinic, which will host the Center of
Tourism of Artsakh after reconstruction.

Then the president visited the factory of furniture which was damaged
heavily during the war, and only one production unit operates. The
president said it is impossible to work in such conditions and produce
competitive production.

The next point was the police station where the president described
the conditions as unsatisfactory. Bako Sahakyan visited the Supreme
Court, the Procuracy and the remand prison, the General Department
of Information of the president administration reports.

EU POSTPONED KOSOVO’S FINAL STATUS SOLUTION TO EARLY SPRING

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.12.2007 18:28 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A solution to Kosovo’s final status will be delayed
until early spring, the European Union’s enlargement chief Olli Rehn
was quoted as saying on Thursday, a day after Serbia set a crucial
presidential election for January 20.

Thus, the EU countries agreed not to decide Kosovo’s status before
the Serbian presidential elections.

"Kosovo’s final solution will be postponed to early spring," Rehn
said. "A solution must be found. The current situation is not
sustainable".

EU Foreign Ministers are due to hold a key meeting in Slovenia on
March 28-29, Reuters reports.

EU LEADERS SIGN LANDMARK TREATY MEANT TO EASE DECISION-MAKING

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.12.2007 19:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ European Union leaders have signed a treaty in the
Portuguese capital, Lisbon, that is expected to greatly alter the way
the 27-nation body operates. The treaty creates an EU president and a
more powerful foreign policy chief. The document, signed at a ceremony
at the city’s historic Jeronimos Monastery, also scraps veto powers
in many policy areas. It is a replacement for the EU constitution,
which was abandoned following French and Dutch opposition. EU leaders
insist that the two texts are in no way equivalent. But the Lisbon
treaty incorporates some of the draft constitution’s key reforms,
and several governments face domestic pressure over the document.

Ireland is the only country planning to hold a referendum, but most
voters there seem either undecided or indifferent. Parliaments in
Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark are also expected to give a
turbulent reception to the 250-page text. However, Germany, France
and Poland have pledged to be among the first to ratify it, so that
the new reforms can come into force in 2009 as planned.

The treaty is a slimmed-down version of the European constitution,
with a more modest name and without any reference to EU symbols such
as the flag and anthem.

It is meant to ease decision-making, by scrapping national vetoes in
some 50 policy areas, including sensitive ones such as police and
judicial co-operation. There will also be a foreign policy chief,
controlling a big budget and thousands of diplomats and officials,
and a permanent EU president appointed for up to five years.

But some already fear that instead of giving Europe a strong single
voice in the world, the new posts will only generate more rivalry,
BBC reports.

GUAM: KOSOVO SOLUTION CAN’T BE PRECEDENT FOR ‘FROZEN CONFLICTS’

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.12.2007 12:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ GUAM expects the UN member states to confirm that
Kosovo’s status can be a precedent for resolution of the Nagorno
Karabakh, Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian and
Transnistrian conflicts, said Elmar Mammadyarov, Foreign Minister
of Azerbaijan.

"We discussed the issue in Madrid. The draft resolution has been
already introduced in UN," he told journalists Thursday.

According to the Minister, GUAM calls on UN member states to confirm
that "conflicts in Moldavia, Georgia and Azerbaijan can be resolved
in the framework of territorial integrity." "If Kosovo can’t be
a precedent all countries should confirm that," he said, Interfax
reports.

THE PREFERENCES ARE BEING CLARIFIED

Aravot, Armenia
Dec 12 2007

Aram Abrahamyan The preferences are being clarified

Believe or not in the results of opinion polls? The answer to this
question within political frameworks is definite: if these results
satisfy a specific political force, then they are precise and
objective, if results of a poll do not suit a political party, then
they are false and "fabricated" by opponents. Or citizens are afraid
and do not express their opinions during polls. Let’s consider the
last argument, which is presented, naturally, by the opposition. Of
course, it is impossible to fully exclude its being, true taking
into consideration, that our current authorities, to put it mildly,
are extremely far from being democratic and broad-minded. But if
the conduct of opinion polls is senseless, if citizens are afraid to
express their opinions, so holding an election is senseless to the
same extent, as the same people would be led by the same fears.

In particular the doubts concerning opinion polls being anonymous
come into effect in regard to an election being secret and anonymous.

Making a reservation for partial distortion of opinion results by
fear, one should also accept that this pattern in general reflects
the moods of the voters.

The ARP group, which cooperates with the Aravot daily, conducted
another telephone opinion poll on 28 November – 1 December among
663 residents of Yerevan. Before measuring the ratings of political
figures, the sociologists asked what solution can the Karabakh issue
have? The most frequent answer – Karabakh will be recognized as an
independent state – 34.1 per cent, will never be solved- 18.6 per cent,
Karabakh will unite to Armenia – 17.8 per cent, some territories of
Karabakh will be passed to Azerbaijan – 13.9 per cent.

There are also extreme pessimists (2.1 per cent), who believe that
Karabakh will be completely yielded to Azerbaijan.

The respondents believe that out of our [political] figures, this issue
can be solved by [Armenian Prime Minister] Serzh Sargsyan – 7.5 per
cent, [the leader of the National Democratic Union], Vazgen Manukyan –
4.5 per cent, former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan – 3.5 per
cent, no-one at the current moment – 31.5 per cent, foreign forces –
3.3 per cent, and undetermined- 45.9 per cent.

The preferences of Yerevan’s residents have become more precise. If the
election was held "on next Sunday" (2 December), 19.2 per cent (+1.9
per cent compared to the opinion poll in October) would vote for the
current Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, 9.2 per cent (+2.1 per cent)
– for the former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan . Then comes Vazgen
Manukyan 4.4 per cent (+2.9), [the leader of the Orinats Yerkir party
(the Law-Governed Country party)] Artur Baghdasaryan – 2.1 per cent
(+0.5 per cent), [presidential hopeful of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation – Dashnaktsutyun] Vahan Hovhannisyan – 2 per cent (+1.2 per
cent), [the leader of the National Unity Party] Artashes Geghamyan –
1.4 per cent (+ 0.5 per cent), 31.5 per cent of the respondents were
still undecided and 18.7 per cent said they are "against all".

Incidentally, if I was the opposition I would not emphasize the
issue of fear so much. According to a clear psychological mechanism,
as much I speak of a fear, so much people fear. They think- so there
is something to fear of.

VIVACELL SUBSCRIBERS WILL PARTICIPATE IN VOTING FOR BEST SONG

Economic News
December 13, 2007 Thursday

Yerevan. ">OREANDA-NEWS . December 13, 2007. The Biggest Event of
the Year! The 5th Junior Eurovision Song Contest will take place
on December 8th in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Junior Eurovision
Song Contest is the kids version of the most popular music event in
Europe. The youth ensemble of Public Television and Radio of Armenia
Arevik will represent Armenia in the Contest. The Song Contest will
be broadcasted live on the Public TV of Armenia on December 8th.

VivaCell subscribers have an opportunity to participate in voting
for the best song during the popular Song Contest. In order to vote
for the preferred song you need to send an SMS with the number of the
participant country to 7708 Short Number. The terms, conditions and
the voting time of the contest will be announced by the TV show hosts.

The following voting rules should be taken into consideration. Voting
for the own country participant is not allowed. Sending SMS outside of
the voting time will be considered as invalid and will not be taken
into account. Sending SMS in a wrong format will be considered as
invalid and will not be taken into account. From one mobile number
only 20 SMS are allowed. SMS will be chargeable in case you infringe
the above mentioned rules.

Desecration of Armenian khachkars in Old Jugha by Azerbaijan in the focus of attention of Europa Nostra pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage

2007-12-13 15:23:00

ArmInfo. The fact of desecration of ancient Armenian khachkars by
Azerbaijani troops in the territory of Old Jugha will be brought
in the magazine of Europa Nostra, the pan-European Federation for
Cultural Heritage, Armenian Deputy Culture Minister Gagik Gurdjyan
said at a press conference in Yerevan, Thursday.

He said that a relevant agreement was reached at the 12th International
Conference of National Trusts (ICNT) in Deli December 3-5. The Armenian
delegation made a report on the barbarian policy of Azerbaijan with
regard to the monuments in Old Jugha at the session on the topic of
preservation of cultural heritage in the zones of military conflicts
and natural calamities’ held within the frames of the event.

Moreover, all the participants in the session and the heads
of diplomatic missions were given the copies of a documentary
‘Jugha’ made by film director Tigran Karapetyan. G. Gurjyan said
that after the report, a newly established International National
Trusts Organization (INTO) comprising 12 countries, including the
USA, Holland and Slovenia, decreed that desecration of cultural and
historical monuments must be considered a crime against humanity. Thus,
there are preconditions for more serious attention of international
experts to the facts of vandalism. Moreover, unlike UNESCO, public
organizations can study the facts of destruction of cultural monuments
even when they are out of state borders.

To recall, the film ‘Jugha’ presenting the chronology of the
desecration in 2005 was distributed to US congressmen. According to
preliminary data, the film will be officially issued in 5 languages:
Armenian, Russian, English, French and Turkish. In 2005 Azerbaijani
troops desecrated over 2,000 monuments.

ISLAMIC VIGILANTES BLAMED FOR THE DEATH OF 40 WOMEN IN BASRA

Christian Today — Australia
Dec 13 2007

Reports of intimidation to keep the populous of Basra, a southern city
in Iraq, ‘Islamic’ has increased as conservative Islamic religious
vigilantes were blamed for the death of at least 40 women this year.

Reports of intimidation to keep the populous of Basra, a southern city
in Iraq, ‘Islamic’ has increased as conservative Islamic religious
vigilantes were blamed for the death of at least 40 women this year.

The Basra’s police chief, Major General Jalil Khalaf, told the AP
news agency women in the city were horrifically murdered and dumped in
the garbage with a note attributing their action to the victim being
‘un-Islamic.’

"The women of Basra are being horrifically murdered and then dumped
in the garbage with notes saying they were killed for un-Islamic
behavior," Mr. Khalaf said.

Women are not alone in being pressured to become more ‘Islamic’.

Ahmed, a 19-year-old student, told the Sunday Times British publication
that he was asked by militants to grow a beard and shorten his hair
in order to adhere to Islamic principal.

He went further, saying university religious polices are now active
within the campus to monitor the students’ behaviour and even check
their mobile phones to see whether there are any ‘immoral’ pictures
or videos.

The Archbishop of the Armenian Church of Iraq, Avak V. Asadourian,
gave a sombre assessment of the Christian plight in Iraq saying though
they had faith and courage, but, nonetheless they were leaving in
droves due to the manifestation of evil brought on by war.

"We do have the courage of faith, the outpouring of love, but because
of the war, you see death and destruction, the manifestation of evil.

Our people are lacking hope, and so they are leaving," said the
Archbishop in an interview with Ecumenical News International.

The sectarian war in the country shows no sign of abating as a car
bomb exploded in an Iraq killing 41 people on Wednesday.

SARKISIAN ‘CONFIDENT’ ABOUT PRE-ELECTION KARABAKH DEAL
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 13 2007

Contradicting a recent statement by President Robert Kocharian,
Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian has said that Armenia and Azerbaijan
could reach a framework peace agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh before
the Armenian presidential election.

"I don’t think the presidential election should impact on these
negotiations. I am very hopeful, confident even, that we can still
reach a conclusion on such a framework before then," he told Reuters
news agency in an interview published late Wednesday.

Sarkisian, who is the favorite to win the February 19 vote, argued
that he is aware and approves of the existing peace proposals by the
OSCE Minsk Group. "I am well aware of all the details and now when
new proposals are coming, there are also coming with my consent,"
he said. "That is why I don’t think that the presidential elections
can disturb the negotiation process."

Kocharian, however, claimed the opposite last October as he commented
on similarly upbeat statements made by the Minsk Group’s U.S. co-chair,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza.

Kocharian said the conflicting parties are unlikely to agree on the
proposed basic principles of a Karabakh settlement before presidential
elections due in both Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2008.

The remarks did not stop Bryza and the group’s two other co-chairs
from making more trips to Baku and Yerevan. The mediators are due
to again visit the conflict zone by mid-January in what appears to
be a last-ditch attempt to clinch a pre-election peace deal. They
presented the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers with a
slightly modified, final version of their peace proposals at an OSCE
ministerial council meeting in Madrid on November 29.

Sources privy to the negotiating process say the parties have
essentially accepted the main points of the framework accord and
mainly disagree on how those should be phrased.

The document envisages a gradual resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict that would begin with the liberation at least six of the
seven Armenian-controlled Azerbaijani districts around Karabakh
and culminate in a referendum of self-determination in the disputed
region. But it sets no time frames for the holding of the referendum,
suggesting that Karabakh’s status, the main bone of contention,
would remain unresolved in the foreseeable future.

This makes the Minsk Group plan similar to a solution proposed by the
mediators in 1997 and strongly advocated by Armenia’s then President
Levon Ter-Petrosian. Ter-Petrosian had to resign after key members
of his administration, notably then Prime Minister Kocharian and
then Interior Minister Sarkisian, rejected the plan as "defeatist"
and demanded a package deal that would solve all issues at once.

The Kocharian administration’s stated readiness to revert to the
so-called step-by-step strategy of conflict resolution thus represents
a major policy change. Analysts say that by embracing the proposed
deal Sarkisian would significantly boost Western support for his bid
to succeed Kocharian as Armenia’s president.

The Armenian prime minister was interviewed by Reuters while visiting
Brussels for talks with senior European Union and NATO officials. His
office said Karabakh was high on the agenda of the talks. Sarkisian
was due to proceed to Strasbourg on Wednesday to meet top Council of
Europe officials.

Ter-Petrosian and his pro-Western loyalists claim that neither
Kocharian or Sarkisian is committed to compromise on Karabakh.

Ter-Petrosian has repeatedly said that the two Karabakh-born men, whom
he had promoted to high-ranking positions in Yerevan in the 1990s,
believe that the best way to ensure continued Armenian control over
the territory is to perpetuate the status quo.

In a separate interview that could earn him more points in some
Western capitals and Washington in particular, Sarkisian said that
Turkey’s accession to the European Union would be "good" for Armenia.

"Maybe the problems between us could find a solution within an EU
framework," he told "The Financial Times" newspaper after his talks
in Brussels.

Other Armenian leaders, notably Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian,
have said that Turkey should not be allowed to join the EU without
normalizing relations with Armenia and facing up to the 1915 genocide
of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Sarkisian, by contrast, did not
demand any EU preconditions for the Turkish membership. He also said
he thinks Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is interested
in a rapprochement with Armenia.

"I don’t think it’s correct to say he’s not committed to establishing
relations with Armenia," said Sarkisian. "We’ll see what happens in
the future."