Armenia Overestimates Seriousness Of Turkey’s Foreign Policy: Safras

ARMENIA OVERESTIMATES SERIOUSNESS OF TURKEY’S FOREIGN POLICY: SAFRASTYAN

Tert.am
15:11 ~U 08.02.10

Armenia overestimates the seriousness of Turkey’s foreign policy, said
head of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the RA National Academy
of Sciences, Turkologist Ruben Safrastyan at a press conference today.

In recent years, in his opinion, Turkey’s foreign policy has included
some "adventurous elements." According to Safrastyan, Erdogan’s
incompatible statements are accounted for by this fact.

"Turkey has accumulated quite a mighty potential both in the sector of
economy and military forces. In such conditions, the ruling elite is
trying to re-estimate Turkey’s position in the modern world, especially
in our region. Turkey is trying to become a more important player,"
explained Safrastyan.

But in his words, Turkey’s neighbours and the world’s super-powers
don’t accept those rules of the game.

BAKU: Official Baku Sees Prospects In Karabakh Negotiation Process

OFFICIAL BAKU SEES PROSPECTS IN KARABAKH NEGOTIATION PROCESS

news.az
Feb 8 2010
Azerbaijan

Elkhan Polukhov "Baku sees a perspective in the negotiation process
over Karabakh".

"The resolution of the Karabakh conflict depends on the activeness
of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs", said spokesman for Azerbaijani
FM Elkhan Polukhov.

"As Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov said earlier, the intensification
of the process observed last year should be kept this year too",
Polukhov noted.

"It gives hopes for definite achievements in the negotiations. In turn,
Azerbaijan is ready to support its dynamics", he concluded.

NATO New Strategic Concept Discussed In Yerevan

NATO NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT DISCUSSED IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.02.2010 14:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "South Caucasus Youth Forum: What’s Our Role?"

international conference, which opened in Yerevan on the initiative of
Armenian Atlantic Association and with the assistance of the Norwegian
Atlantic Committee, brought together experts from Armenia, Georgia,
Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.

"This conference will help young people to determine their role in
formation of a common future," Executive Director of the Armenian
Atlantic Association Tevan Poghosyan said in his opening remarks.

At the NATO Summit in Strasbourg/Kehl on April 3 and 4, 2009, Heads of
State and Government (HoSG) tasked the Secretary General to develop
a new NATO Strategic Concept. This exercise should be completed by
the time of NATO’s next Summit which is expected to take place in
Lisbon in late 2010. The Summit also tasked the Secretary General to
convene and lead a broad based group of qualified experts who will
lay the ground for the new Strategic Concept. This will be done with
the active involvement of the North Atlantic Council (NAC).

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), also called the (North)
Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based
on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949. The
NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization
constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states
agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.

The Treaty of Brussels, signed on March 17, 1948 by Belgium, the
Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and the United Kingdom is considered
the precursor to the NATO agreement. The treaty and the Soviet Berlin
Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Union’s Defense
Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United
States was thought necessary in order to counter the military power
of the USSR, and therefore talks for a new military alliance began
almost immediately.

These talks resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed
in Washington, D.C. on April 4, 1949. It included the five Treaty
of Brussels states, as well as the United States, Canada, Portugal,
Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. Popular support for the Treaty
was not unanimous; some Icelanders commenced a pro-neutrality,
anti-membership riot in March 1949.

Greece and Turkey joined the alliance in 1952, forcing a series of
controversial negotiations, in which the United States and Britain
were the primary disputants, over how to bring the two countries into
the military command structure. In July 1997, three former communist
countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, were invited
to join NATO, which finally happened in 1999. Membership went on
expanding with the accession of seven more Northern European and
Eastern European countries to NATO: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
and also Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. They were first
invited to start talks of membership during the 2002 Prague Summit,
and joined NATO on 29 March 2004, shortly before the 2004 Istanbul
summit. At the April 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, NATO agreed
to the accession of Croatia and Albania and invited them to join. Both
countries joined NATO in April 2009.

In August 2003, NATO commenced its first mission ever outside Europe
when it assumed control over International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) in Afghanistan.

NATO new strategic concept discussed in Yerevan 04.02.2010 14:01
GMT+04:00 Print version Send to mail

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "South Caucasus Youth Forum: What’s Our Role?"

international conference, which opened in Yerevan on the initiative of
Armenian Atlantic Association and with the assistance of the Norwegian
Atlantic Committee, brought together experts from Armenia, Georgia,
Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.

"This conference will help young people to determine their role in
formation of a common future," Executive Director of the Armenian
Atlantic Association Tevan Poghosyan said in his opening remarks.

At the NATO Summit in Strasbourg/Kehl on April 3 and 4, 2009, Heads of
State and Government (HoSG) tasked the Secretary General to develop
a new NATO Strategic Concept. This exercise should be completed by
the time of NATO’s next Summit which is expected to take place in
Lisbon in late 2010. The Summit also tasked the Secretary General to
convene and lead a broad based group of qualified experts who will
lay the ground for the new Strategic Concept. This will be done with
the active involvement of the North Atlantic Council (NAC).

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), also called the (North)
Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based
on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949. The
NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization
constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states
agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.

The Treaty of Brussels, signed on March 17, 1948 by Belgium, the
Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and the United Kingdom is considered
the precursor to the NATO agreement. The treaty and the Soviet Berlin
Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Union’s Defense
Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United
States was thought necessary in order to counter the military power
of the USSR, and therefore talks for a new military alliance began
almost immediately.

These talks resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed
in Washington, D.C. on April 4, 1949. It included the five Treaty
of Brussels states, as well as the United States, Canada, Portugal,
Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. Popular support for the Treaty
was not unanimous; some Icelanders commenced a pro-neutrality,
anti-membership riot in March 1949.

Greece and Turkey joined the alliance in 1952, forcing a series of
controversial negotiations, in which the United States and Britain
were the primary disputants, over how to bring the two countries into
the military command structure. In July 1997, three former communist
countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, were invited
to join NATO, which finally happened in 1999. Membership went on
expanding with the accession of seven more Northern European and
Eastern European countries to NATO: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
and also Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. They were first
invited to start talks of membership during the 2002 Prague Summit,
and joined NATO on 29 March 2004, shortly before the 2004 Istanbul
summit. At the April 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, NATO agreed
to the accession of Croatia and Albania and invited them to join. Both
countries joined NATO in April 2009.

In August 2003, NATO commenced its first mission ever outside Europe
when it assumed control over International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) in Afghanistan.

Number Of Cancers Grows By 2-4% In Armenia Annually

NUMBER OF CANCERS GROWS BY 2-4% IN ARMENIA ANNUALLY

Noyan Tapan
Feb 5, 2010

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, NOYAN TAPAN. World Cancer Day is marked on
February 4. According to official data, each year 12 million people are
diagnosed with cancer and 7 million die from this disease worldwide.

Deputy Director of the National Oncological Center, M.D., Professor
Gagik Bazikian said during the February 4 meeting with reporters
that in Armenia about 7 thousand people are diagnosed with cancer
and nearly 5 thousand patients die annually. Like elsewhere, the
number of cancers grows by 2-4% annually in Armenia. There are now
29 thousand cancer patients in the country.

In the words of G. Bazikian, the likelihood of successful treatment is
90-95% at the first stage of this disease, 50-55% at the second stage,
and only 10-15% at third and fourth stages. However, about 40-45%
of Armenian patients apply to a doctor when it is too late.

"Unfortunately, Armenians ignore their medical problems and do
not apply to a doctor at the proper time," he said. Whereas, by
the decision of the RA Ministry of Healthcare, at the first stage,
patients can receive free medical aid under the state order program.

Turkey To Seek Swiss, US Support In Armenia Row: Official

TURKEY TO SEEK SWISS, US SUPPORT IN ARMENIA ROW: OFFICIAL

Agence France Presse
February 3, 2010 Wednesday 11:19 AM GMT

A top Turkish diplomat will travel to Switzerland and the United
States to seek their support over an Armenian court ruling which
Ankara says threatens historic reconciliation deals with Yerevan,
a foreign ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

Feridun Sinirlioglu, undersecretary at the ministry, "will visit
these two countries in the coming days to express our concern"
over the ruling last month by the Armenian constitutional court,
spokesman Burak Ozugergin told reporters here.

After months of Swiss-mediation and US encouragement, Turkey and
Armenia signed two protocols in October to establish diplomatic ties
and reopen their shared border, in a historic step towards ending
decades of hostility stemming from World War I-era massacres of
Armenians under Ottoman Turks.

But the process hit the rocks after the Armenian court upheld
the legality of the protocols, but underlined that they could not
contradict Yerevan’s official position that the Armenian mass killings
constituted genocide — a label fiercely rejected by Ankara.

Turkey accused Armenia of trying to re-write and set new conditions
on the deals, while Yerevan warned that the rapprochement was under
threat of collapse.

Ozugergin said Ankara maintained its desire to build better ties with
its eastern neighbour.

"There is no problem in Turkey’s Armenian opening. But Armenia has
a problem with its Turkey opening," he added.

The reconciliation process is also complicated by Ankara’s insistence
that normalising Turkish-Armenian ties depend on progress between
Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan over the Nagorny-Karabakh dispute
— a link that Yerevan rejects.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan after ethnic Armenian forces wrested Nagorny Karabakh from
Baku’s control in a war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives.

Javakhq Activist Chakhalyan’s Attorneys Appeal To European Court

JAVAKHQ ACTIVIST CHAKHALYAN’S ATTORNEYS APPEAL TO EUROPEAN COURT

Tert.am
13:33 ~U 04.02.10

The attorneys of Javakhq activist Vahagn Chakhalyan, sentenced to 10
years of imprisonment by the Georgian authorities for his political
views, are preparing to submit an appeal to the European Court, today
said program coordinator of Yerkir Union NGO, Robert Tatoyan, adding
that they don’t have any expectations from the Georgian justice system.

According to Tatoyan, there’s no doubt that the European Court’s
ruling will be in Chakhalyan’s favour, since that issue resonates
loudly in Europe.

Out of the 13 charges against Chakhalyan, only 6 have been proven.

As Armenia Weekly had reported earlier, "At the present moment,
Chakhalyan’s case symbolizes the unfavorable conditions under which
Armenians in Javakhk are required to live."

Samckhe-Javakheti (Javakhk) is an Armenian-populated region situated
in southwestern Georgia.

Iraq Sent Turkey 8 Letters Of Protest

IRAQ SENT TURKEY 8 LETTERS OF PROTEST

Tert.am
11:30 ~U 03.02.10

>From January to May 2009, Iraq has sent 8 letters of protest to
Turkey, said Iraqi MP Bayazid Hassan, reports Belgium-based Kurdish
news agency Firat.

Baghdad complained to Ankara for violating the Iraqi Kurdistan border
57 times

Turkey has yet to respond to those letters of protest.

Armenia, Georgia Benefit If Upper Lars Checkpoint Opens

ARMENIA, GEORGIA BENEFIT IF UPPER LARS CHECKPOINT OPENS

Tert.am
14:17 ~U 03.02.10

Armenia has a stake in the opening of the Upper Lars checkpoint since
its goods are transported to Russia through that border crossing.

"But if Upper Lars is opened, even if only for Armenia, it’s all the
same, Georgia will win, since that will strengthen Georgia’s status
as a transit country," said Javakhq Patriotic Union president, MP
Shirak Torosyan, responding to Tert.am’s question.

According to Torosyan, if Upper Lars opens also for the passage of
Georgian goods, then Georgia will once again come out on top.

Armenia-Turkey process must acknowledge all problems and challenges

PRESS RELEASE
The Civilitas Foundation

One Northern Avenue, suit 30
Yerevan, Armenia
tel: +37410500119
email: [email protected]

Vartan Oskanian responds to Tert.am on recent developments on
Armenia-Turkey relations.

Mr. Oskanian what is your opinion about recent developments in the
Armenia-Turkey process?

Vartan Oskanian: My opinion is the same as it was at the start of this
process. These documents are the product of miscalculations on both sides.

The Armenian side miscalculated, convinced that:
1. the Armenia-Turkey border opening is of existential importance for
Armenia’s domestic stability and economic development;
2. it will be easy for Turkey to go counter to Azerbaijan`s interests
3. If the document does not contain the words `Treaty of Kars,’
`genocide’ or `Nagorno Karabakh,’ then by utilizing state propaganda
mechanisms, it will be possible to convince the Armenian people that the
formulations that indeed address those matters are harmless.

The Turkish side miscalculated, convinced that:
1. the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border is so important for Armenia
that Turkey-centric formulations arrived at through clever diplomatic
machinations can eventually in fact be executed.
2. Genocide and other historical issues are solely Diaspora concerns and
not of particular interest to those living in Armenia.
3. a Karabakh resolution is close at hand, any signing the Armenia-Turkey
protocols and linking the ratification process to Nagorno Karabakh will
serve as additional incentive for the Armenian side to speed up the
resolution, or at the very least, return some territories.

Taking into consideration the great importance of normal relations between
Armenia and Turkey, there must be a review of this issue and a new approach
must be devised. The process toward improved relations will not succeed if
it is based on the short-term political interests of the Armenian or Turkish
governments, or if they overlook existing political and historical
complexities. Such a process must sincerely acknowledge all problems and
challenges if the purpose is indeed to achieve real and sustainable
rapprochement

www.civilitasfoundation.org

Armenian Students And Civil Servants Can Take Courses At Ecole Natio

ARMENIAN STUDENTS AND CIVIL SERVANTS CAN TAKE COURSES AT ECOLE NATIONALE D’ADMINISTRATION OF FRANCE

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.02.2010 18:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ National School of Administration of France (Ecole
Nationale d’Administration-ENA) announces an enrolment for foreign
graduate students, young civil servants.

As the press office of the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia
reported, applicant will be enrolled in three educational programs:
an international long-term 18-month course of CIL (Cycle international
long) for civil servants and students under 35 years who will work in
government; short-term 9-month course of International Relations CIC
(Cycle international court).This course is provided for civil servants
up to 30 years of experience.

A third program, a 7-month international course of CIAP government
(Cycle international d’administration publique) organized for civil
servants under 25 years with experience in education.

All three educational courses will be conducted in the 2010-2011
academic year.