Author: Hunanian Jack

ARTSAKH-ARMENIA-DIASPORA TRINITY ESSENTIAL FOR KARABAKH PROBLEM RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.12.2008 14:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Deputies of the National Assembly of France,
mayors of the French cities, politicians, representatives of the
Armenian organizations of France and journalists attended December
8 a reception dated to the 20th anniversary of the Karabakh movement
organized by the NKR Permanent Representation in France, the NKR MFA
press office reported.

"20 years have passed since that historical year of 1988. During these
20 hard years, we suffered a war, had innumerable victims, experienced
and still keeps on experiencing a severe blockade…But we managed
to withstand and win a victory thanks to our unity and solidarity",
said Hovhannes Gevorgyan, NKR Permanent Representative in France.

Speaking about the Diaspora’s role in the victory of Artsakh,
Mr. Gevorgyan mentioned that the Artsakh-Armenia-Diaspora trinity
keeps on being an indispensable condition for the final resolution
of the Karabakh problem and the NKR’s international recognition.

He also touched upon the tragic events of Sumgait, in 1988, and the
earthquake in Spitak.

Those present paid homage to the innocent victims by one-minute
silence.

ARMENIAN PREMIER: RELATIONS WITH GEORGIA PRIORITY FOR ARMENIA

ARKA
Dec 9, 2008

TBILISI, December 9. /ARKA/. Relations with Georgia have a priority
meaning for Armenia, said RA Premier Tigran Sargsyan at the regular
sitting of Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission on economic
cooperation in Tbilisi on Tuesday.

"I am sure the issues we will jointly consider will contribute to
improvement of bilateral relations between our nations," said Sargsyan.

He said the agreement reached by Armenian and Georgian Presidents
during the recent visit of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to Tbilisi
(September 30 – October 1) served as stimulus for solving many issues.
Georgian Premier Grigol Mgaloblishvili stressed Armenian-Georgian
relations are well developing lately.

He said he hoped the sitting will boost existing bilateral relations.

A protocol will be signed at the end of the commission’s sitting.

The sides will also sign another protocol on amendments to
intergovernmental agreement on free trade as well as to Cooperation
program between Georgia’s Ministry of Culture, Protection of Monuments
and Sport and Armenian Ministry of Culture.

Armenian Prime Minister will have meetings with Georgian President
Mikhail Sahakashvili as well as with his Georgian counterpart Grigol
Mgaloblishvili during his stay in Tbilisi.

Armenian delegation members are Finance Minister Tigran Davtyan,
Economy Minister Nerses Yeritsyan, Energy and Natural Resources
0D Minister Armen Movsisyan, Diaspora minister Hranush Hakobyan,
Head of Government’s Staff David Sargsyan and President of National
Expenses Commission Gagik Khachatryan, as well as Hrant Beglaryan, the
First Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications, Deputy Foreign
Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan, Deputy Agriculture inister Levon Rukhkyan,
Deputy Culture Minister Gagik Gyurjyan, Armenian Ambassador to Georgia
Hrach Silvanian, Deputy Vladimir Badalyan and other officials.

HINDERED, BUT…

A1+
[08:01 pm] 09 December, 2008

Members of the "Miatsum" national initiative left for Ijevan today
to hold a meeting with citizens in the Culture Home of Ijevan. The
members had scheduled the showing of the film by Tigran Khzmalyan on
liberated lands and issues of citizens of Javakhk, which was supposed
to be followed by a discussion with the theme "Armenia’s liberated
lands and the future of Armenian statehood".

However, the mayor of Ijevan refused to submit a written reply to
NA Deputy Zaruhi Postanjyan to use the hall of the Culture Home,
while Ijevan police and National Security Service officials had begun
pressure to prevent the gathering of people in the "Fountains" square.

As members approached the closed doors of the Culture Home, they
organized a meeting on their own in the "Fountains" square with
the locals. With the microphone in their hands, Zaruhi Postanjyan,
Alek Yenigomshyan, Alexander Kananyan and Grizelda Ghazaryan touched
upon the consequences of the administration’s intentions to hand over
liberated lands of Armenia and the impermissibility in strategic terms.

CSTO FOREIGN MINISTERS TO MEET IN HELSINKI

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.12.2008 13:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security treaty
Organization (CSTO) will hold an informal meeting in Helsinki in the
framework of the OSCE Ministerial Council summit.

"The CSTO member states will demonstrate a unanimous position on the
new European Security Treaty at the summit. The Ministers have already
voiced support to Russia’s stand on the CFE during consultations in
the CSTO Secretariat in November," CSTO Secretary-General Nikolay
Bordyuzha said, the CSTO press office reports.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT GETTING READY TO FIGHT FRESH WAVE OF GLOBAL CRISIS

ARKA
Dec 3, 2008

YEREVAN, December 3. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Government is undertaking
meaningful steps to fight the second wave of the global financial
crisis, RA Minister of Finance Tigran Davtyan told today the RA
Parliament.

"The two stages of the crisis are the financial downturn and economic
recession," the minister said, adding Armenia was able to avoid the
first wave of the crisis.

According to the minister, the global financial tailspin had little
influence on Armenia’s isolated and small financial system. Davtyan
emphasized the RA government’s harsh financial policy in the past
years, saying it shielded the country’s economy from the global crisis.

The minister said it is the beginning of the global financial
recession, adding it is impossible to say how long it will last and
what possible impact it will have on Armenia’s economy.

"The Armenian government is taking serious steps to respond to the
fresh wave of the crisis," the minister said.

As a precaution, the RA Government has decided to assign $50mln for
small- and-medium-sized businesses. Local businessmen will be able
to use the money soon, according to Davtyan.

"We are negotiating with the World Bank over the issue, and tomorrow
our negotiations will enter a decisive stage," the minister said,
adding the Armenian government plans to ask WB to double its financial
assistance to the country in the coming four years. Thus, the WB
financial support to Armenia can reach $1bln.

According to Davtyan, the RA government will ask the RA Parliament
to allow it to show flexibility in offering state guarantees. There
is nothing for Armenia to worry about, Davtyan concluded.

SITTING OF THE COUNCIL OF DEFENSE MINISTERS TOOK PLACE IN MOD ARMENIA

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28.1 1.08

On November 28, 2008 the sitting of the Council of Defense Ministers of
the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
took place in the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia.

The participants signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation. RA
Defense Minsiter Seyran Ohanyan informed that during the session
the issue of creating a "Common anti-aircraft defense system"
was discussed. It has been raised many times, but has remained
unsettled. The question has long been on the CSTO agenda.

During the meeting of the OSCE Foreign Ministers in Helsinki on
December 4 the participants will discuss Russia’s new initiative of
preparing a new security agreement of Europe.

Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
Nikolay Bordyuzha said that the CSTO member states have approved this
initiation of the Russian President: "High level consultations were
held recently on the initiative of preparing a new security agreement
in Europe.

All he partners of Russia and CSTO member states approved the idea
and agreed to develop it together.

BAKU-YEREVAN DIALOGUE WILL HELP NORMALIZATION, BABACAN

Hurriyet
Dec 2 2008
Turkey

ISTANBUL – Better ties between Turkey and Armenia would help resolve
the longstanding conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, said the Turkish
foreign minister yesterday.

"The normalisation of Turkish-Armenian relations would have a positive
impact on the Azerbaijan-Armenia talks over Nagorno-Karabakh,"
Ali Babacan told reporters after a meeting with his Azerbaijani
counterpart, Elmar Memmedyarov, in Baku.

The dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan has intensified through
the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe’s, or OSCE,
Minsk process, Babacan added. "The fact that parts of Azerbaijani
territory are under Armenian occupation is a problem that needs to
be urgently addressed. Turkey, one of 11 members of the Minsk group,
attaches great importance to the process," he said and added he hoped
recent diplomatic traffic would yield results soon.

Caucasus platform proposal Babacan’s visit came amid a push by Turkey
for more influence in the volatile Caucasus region, where Russia
and Georgia fought a brief war in August. After the conflict, Ankara
proposed the creation of a new forum for cooperation in the region,
for which Babacan called on regional governments to support. "All
the countries of the region must sit at the bargaining table," he said.

Before his departure for Azerbaijan late Sunday, Babacan told reporters
he would meet his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in Helsinki
at an OSCE meeting this week.

"There is an ongoing process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and there
is also a parallel process between Turkey and Armenia," Babacan was
quoted by the Anatolia News Agency as saying. "Following the OSCE
meeting, I will have separate meetings with the two ministers."

Babacan is expected to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and the
normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia with his
Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts. Babacan also said there had
been no date set for a tripartite meeting of the ministers of Turkey,
Azerbaijan and Armenia.

NATO meeting The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in
1988 due to Armenian territorial claims over Azerbaijan. Since 1992,
Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994 Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time active hostilities ended. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
are currently holding peaceful negotiations.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their border has
been closed for more than a decade over Armenian aggression toward
Azerbaijan.

After Baku, Babacan will proceed to Brussels for the NATO foreign
ministers meeting.

ARMENIAN CASCADE BANK TO ATTRACT DEPOSITS IN BRANCHES

ARKA
Dec 1, 2008

YEREVAN, December 1. /ARKA/. Armenian Cascade Bank intends to attract
deposits in its branches, the bank’s press-service told ARKA News
Agency.

It increases the current interest rates for all attracted deposits
by 0.5% until December 31.

The maximum interest rate of the bank’s deposits is 11% annually.

Currently Cascade Bank has Yervand Kochar branch opened this November
6. The second Komitas branch will open tomorrow, December 3.

Cascade Bank was established on May 26, 2005, when Cascade Capital
Holdings became the sole owner of Emporiki Bank (Armenia) CJSC. By
September 30, the bank’s total capital had reached 5.1bln AMD, assets
14.2bln AMD, liabilities 9.1bln AMD.

The bank’s fixed deposits reached 699.5mln AMD this September 30.

Public Radio of Armenia

27.11.2008 17:58

Following worldwide protests of Armenians, the Panoramio, the partner
of Google Earth, eliminated the inscription `Talaat Pasha’ on the
Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan on the website, independent
correspondent Jean Eckian informed

It was reported earlier that a hacker posted the name of Talaat Pasha
on the Armenian Memorial of Tsitsernakabert in the Google Earth.

This intolerable profanation was signed Haluk Dolmayan. Actually, it
was the adulterated name of historian and Director of the Institute-
Museum of the Armenian Genocide, Hayk Demoyan.

By clicking on the location titled Talaat Pasha, one could see the
Yerevan memorial to the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Nov 29 2008

Illustrated talk on images of the Nativity in Armenian art
Sat Nov 29, 2008, 02:20 PM EST

Belmont, Mass. – An illustrated talk on `Images of the Nativity in
Armenian Art’ by Prof. Christina Maranci of Tufts University will
highlight NAASR’s 2008 Christmas Open House on Thursday, Dec. 11. The
Open House will begin at 6 p.m. and conclude at 11 p.m., with
Prof. Maranci’s talk set for 8 p.m. The evening’s events will take
place at the NAASR Center, 395 Concord Ave. in Belmont.

Both before and after Prof. Maranci’s talk, NAASR’s bookstore will be
open and feature a one night only 20 percent off sale, with additional
discounts of 40 percent or more on selected titles. There will also be
refreshments, music, and gift-wrapping. In addition to NAASR items
there will be a special collection of items from Made In Armenia
Direct for sale.
Christina Maranci holds the Arthur H. Dadian and Ara Oztemel Chair of
Armenian Art and Architectural History at Tufts University. Her
research focuses on medieval Armenia and cross-cultural relations with
the Byzantine, Sasanian, and Islamic worlds, as well as issues of
historiography. Her publications on Armenian art and architecture have
appeared in numerous journals, including the Art Bulletin, Gesta,
Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies, and Journal of the
Society of Architectural Historians. Her book, Medieval Armenian
Architecture: Constructions of Race and Nation, examines the role of
Austrian art historian Josef Strzygowski in shaping the study of the
field.
Admission to the event is free (donations appreciated). The NAASR
Center is located opposite the First Armenian Church and next to the
U.S. Post Office. Ample parking is available around the building and
in adjacent areas.

More information about the lecture is available by calling
617-489-1610, faxing 617-484-1759, e-mailing [email protected], or writing
to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.