Author: Hunanian Jack

PEOPLE WITH SPIRITUAL TIES TO LAND ARE SATISFIED AND DO NOT COMPLAIN OF HARDSHIP

KarabakhOpen
01-04-2008 12:11:12

"Let me see, will she recognize me? She does!" started our talk Alexan
Hakobyan, with the cat snuggling up to his feet. The same cat which
was his friend when he was the head of the administration of Kashatagh
for 10 years.

We have met Alexan Hakobyan for a number of times when he was the
governor of the region, where in 8 years he settled 12 thousand people
in villages without electricity and gas. Over 80 abandoned settlements
turned into villages. He not only dealt with administrative issues,
solving them in the poor region on the basis of rights, morality, laws,
but also being a scientist, he spent his spare time on excavations
of historical monuments, studied them, wrote.

Four years ago he was dismissed. It would be clear if they said 10
years is a long time, and rotation is necessary. However, a person
replaced him who "managed" to decrease the population of the region by
4 thousand within 3 years. It is true that his tenure overlapped with
elimination of allowances for settlers but the people of Kashatagh
who had to leave said they left not because they had no allowances
any more but because of unfair treatment they get.

On these days a conference was held in Berdzor devoted to the
development of Kashatagh. It was noted that for the first time over
the past four years growth of population was reported – 8700 people
live in the region now.

Addressing the conference, President Bako Sahakyan criticized the
administration of the region, and not only the region, noting that
regress in the development of the region is due to mistakes in
governance and a wrong policy. However, as always, nobody claimed
responsible for the mistakes.

The sign that the Karabakh government admits it mistakes of past
years was the invitation of Alexan Hakobyan to the conference. In
an interview with Karabakh-Open.com Alexan Hakobyan commended
the initiative of this conference. "Actually, the government
cannot undertake such hard work alone, it needs the assistance of
non-governmental organizations. Especially that we had to start from
zero," said Hakobyan.

"With three or four years of intensive efforts it is possible to
raise the level of development of Kashatagh to the average level of
Karabakh. I mean the material aspect. However, I think, the spiritual
and cultural climate is more important. Without a normal spiritual
climate any effort will be doomed to failure. It also includes the
attitude toward monuments and churches. Now there are three churches
in the region and only one priest. I think it is not helpful to
establishing a spiritual tie between people and the land. Meanwhile,
people with spiritual ties to land are satisfied and do not complain
of hardship," said Alexan Hakobyan.

"This country is rich in monuments. In a couple of years after
settlement we set up a museum where still hundreds of exhibits,
evidence to the ancient history of this country, are displayed. We
also created the relief map where one can find mounts, rivers,
historical and cultural monuments, churches, graveyards, bridges,
there are also Muslim monuments from the Turkmen period," said Alexan
Hakobyan, the author of a number of scientific books and articles.

There are 14 preserved churches in Kashatagh. Another 15 are
half-ruined.

The fundament of about 20 buildings and crypts, 34 graveyards and
separate khachkars have been preserved. The first lithographs on
tombstones date from the 4th century. The oldest Armenian lithograph
on a khachkar dates back to 1768 and is in the village of Gokhtanik.

HEAD OF RPA FACTION: ANTAGONISTIC MOODS CURRENTLY PREVAIL IN ARMENIAN SOCIETY

arminfo
2008-03-28 22:20:00

ArmInfo. At the moment antagonistic moods prevail in the Armenian
society, in this situation it is unreasonable to lead people through
trials again, Head of the parliamentary faction of the Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) Karen Karapetyan told ArmInfo correspondent,
commenting upon independent MP Viktor Dallakyan’s proposal to hold
snap parliamentary elections in a year.

Karapetyan noted that he doesn’t share Dallakyan’s approaches. "Of
course, among the MPs there are people who are not at all prisoners
to their parliamentary chairs. However, I am sure that our country
needs no new convulsion", Karapetyan said. He added that numerous
small and large countries take advantage of the domestic situation
of Armenia and try to weaken the republic. There are cases when
the interests of these states coincide with those of Armenia, but,
unfortunately, such cases are not frequent, he said. The MP added
that large countries will have no difficulty in introducing discord
in such a small country as Armenia which still has a considerable
number of poor citizens and small experience of state governing.

GEORGIA: IS NATO CAPABLE TO ACT INDEPENDENTLY?

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.03.2008 16:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia’s attitude about granting Georgia a NATO
Membership Action Plan is not only our problem. We wonder whether
NATO is capable to act independently, Georgian Foreign Minister David
Bakradze said in Brussels.

"’No’ in Bucharest will be very clearly seen by some people in Moscow
as their success, and it will be very clearly seen in Moscow that they
have indirect veto right on NATO decisions," Bakradze told reporters
before visiting NATO headquarters. "The major problems for Georgia’s
integration in NATO are unresolved conflicts and Russia."

"If NATO opens up to Georgia and Ukraine, it will help end the
separatist conflicts and boost stability in the whole Black Sea
region," he insisted, Prime News reports.

WAHPETON ARTIST FINALIST FOR FELLOWSHIP GRANT
by Erin C. Hevern

Wahpeton Daily News
8/03/27/news/news04.txt
March 27 2008
ND

>From nearly 500 applicants and 34 finalists, Wahpeton artist Norik
Astvatsaturov was chosen as a finalist for a Bush Foundation Artist
Fellowship. The $50,000 fellowship is the largest artist grant in the
Upper Midwest and one of three open-application artist fellowships of
its size in the United States. Winners of the Bush Foundation Artist
Fellowship will be announced in June.

Astvatsaturov fled with his family to the U.S. in 1992 as a refugee
from Azerbaijan, which sits on the coast of the Caspian Sea. Since
fleeing to the U.S., Astvatsaturov has continued to create the
traditional metal art work, also know as repousse, used in the Armenian
refugee communities in North Dakota as well as throughout the country
for wedding, anniversary and other important ceremonies.

Astvatsaturov works with a variety of metals including silver, gold,
bronze and copper.He said his first pieces that he made when coming
to the U.S. were copper metal portraits of Jesus and a mother and her
baby. Astvatsaturov added that he is currently working on the bottom
portion of a German silver jewelry box for his daughter.

In 2005 Astvatsaturov received an individual artist fellowship for
his accomplishments and five traditional arts apprenticeships from the
North Dakota Council for the Arts. Just as a finalist, Astvatsaturov
will receive $1,000 in recognition for all his unique artistry.

Astvatsaturov is humble, however, and said that just because he is
a finalist that doesn’t mean he will win.

"I have hopes to win, everyone has to have hope," Astvatsaturov said.

"The Bush Artist Fellows Program provides artists who exhibit strong
vision, creative energy, commitment to excellence and evidence of
perseverance with $48,000 in unrestricted funds," reads a March 24
press release from the foundation. "In addition, fellows receive
assistance in developing individualized communication plans, along
with $2,000 to implement the plan, for a total of $50,000."

Astvatsaturov said that money would be helpful to continue his work
while also allowing him to travel to his home country that he hasn’t
visited in 16 years. He wants to once again become familiar with
the land and other artists in Azerbaijan. Astvatsaturov said it’s
important for artists to stay connected with other artists.

"You have to know, you have to compare what you are doing," he said.

2008 Fellowships focus on three categories including traditional and
functional craft arts, which Astvatsaturov’s metal art work falls into,
visual arts and media arts.

The Bush Artist Program is one of three fellowship programs within
the Bush Foundation, a private grant making organization. They made
approximately $40 million available in grants in 2007 to support
programs and efforts to sustain communities in Minnesota, North Dakota
and South Dakota.

"QUITE NEW SITUATION AFTER APRIL 9"

Panorama.am
18:21 26/03/2008

"I believe that after April 9, after the new president gives his
oath and after the formation of the new government the situation in
Armenia will be quite different," said Samvel Nikoyan, the secretary
of the Republican Party in a meeting held with the journalists today.

According to him the new government’s activities would be mainly
directed towards establishing trust and justice in the country towards
the state officials. "I think that those problems will not only be
overcame but they should not repeat again. I think that the officials
should state upon creating dialogue with the opposition," he said.

According to the politician only the "strong and powerful" can
offer that dialogue and added that the subject of the dialogue could
vary. "Like in many European countries, we could offer the opposition
to carry out the human rights and democracy founding activities,"
he said.

AZERI TREND AGENCY FALSIFIES WORDS OF MATTHEW BRYZA

Noyan Tapan
March 25, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 25, NOYAN TAPAN. On March 25, the Trend news agency
of Azerbaijan issued a report about the interview of Matthew Bryza,
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State with the New York-based
Armenian Reporter newspaper. The English version of the Trend report is
obviously a reverse translation from another language, probably Russian
or Azeri, for this reason, it does not fully coincide with the original
English version of the Armenian Reporter. However, there is a fragment,
where the words of the American official were obviously falsified,
and this cannot be the result of a mere translation error. Below
we present the Trend fragment and the original text of the Armenian
Reporter. The falsified fragment is marked by CAPITALS.

Trend report.

Title: Recognition of Nagorno Karabakh Republic by Armenia to be
Asymmetric Respond – Matthew Bryza

ws&newsid=1162329&lang=EN

"I think that any step directed to forejudge the negotiations on
approaching positions of Armenia and Azerbaijan on basic principles
would not be fruitful. OUR ATTITUDE WAS PRECISELY TO THE RESOLUTION
SUBMITTED BY AZERBAIJAN TO THE AGENDA OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY. IT WAS
A UNILATERAL RESOLUTION, WHICH REFLECTED UNFAIR AND NON-BALANCED
CHARACTER OF PROPOSALS PUT FORWARD ON THE NEGOTIATION TABLE. If
the Armenian Government will take unilateral step and recognize
independence of Nagorno Karabakh Republic, then it would cause a
serious damage to the peace process, Bryza said in the interview
to Armenian Reporter newspaper in the United States." Bryza stated
if Armenia would take such step it would be asymmetric respond to
Azerbaijan.

End of quote.

The Armenian Reporter text. Title: U.S. official
sees return of democratic momentum in Armenia, at

Bryza: I think any move that pre-judges the outcome of the negotiations
that are under way and that are achieving some real results in
terms of moving closer to finalizing the basic principles would be
unhelpful. AND WE LOOKED AT THE UN GA RESOLUTION OF AZERBAIJAN IN THAT
VERY LIGHT: THAT IT WAS A ONE-SIDED RESOLUTION THAT DID NOT REFLECT THE
FAIR AND BALANCED NATURE OF THE PROPOSAL ON THE TABLE. Similarly, if
the Armenian side were to move unilaterally and pre-judge the outcome
of the negotiations by recognizing Nagorno Karabakh that would be
something that is very seriously undermining the peace process. I
think that would be a highly asymmetric response [to Azerbaijan’s
move at the UN GA] and potentially a highly destabilizing move.

End of quote.

As evident, the Trend text has falsified Mr Bryza’s assessment of
the UN GA resolution on Nagorno Karabakh and, most importantly,
his assessment of the current proposals of the Co-Chairs for Nagorno
Karabakh negotiations.

Matthew Bryza has said the current proposals are "fair and balanced",
and the UN resolution proposed by Azerbaijan "does not reflect" their
nature. In contrast, the Trend report claims that Mr Brysa has said
the proposals are "UNFAIR AND NON-BALANCED," which is reflected by
the UN GA Resolution. In other words, Trend says exactly the contrary
to what Matthew Bryza has said.

FEDOROV: SUPPLIES OF SUKHOI SUPERJET-100S SHELVED

SKRIN Market & Corporate News
March 25, 2008 Tuesday 10:59 AM GMT

The supplies of Russia’s first Sukhoi Superjet-100s have been
shelved for indefinite time, Alexei Fedorov, chief of United Aircraft
Corporation, said. The reason is the delayed certification testing of
the jets. It was put off till April of 2008 instead of the scheduled
end of 2007, Kommersant reported with reference to RIA Novosti.

The first Sukhoi Superjet-100s were to be supplied in late 2008 –
Aeroflot was to get them at the end of this year. The new deadline
hasn’t been fixed yet. It will be determined once the tests are
completed, Fedorov said.

In April of 2006, Sukhoi Civil Airlines that is a member of United
Aircraft Corp entered into a contract with Aeroflot for delivery of
30 new jets and the optional delivery of another 15 jets. No penalty
is expected, Fedorov specified, explaining that the contract with
Russia’s airlines provides for certain delay.

Of all foreign states, Armenia will be the first to obtain Sukhoi
SuperJet-100s. Russia and Armenia clinched the deal worth over USD50
mln in September of 2007. Under the contract, Armenia will get two
Sukhoi Superjet-100s in 2008.

ASSISTED-SUICIDE ADVOCATE KEVORKIAN TO RUN FOR U.S. CONGRESS

CBC News
March 24 2008
Canada

Jack Kevorkian, a retired Michigan pathologist who loudly advocated
for assisted suicide, announced on Monday that he will run for a seat
in the U.S. Congress.

The 79-year-old claims to have helped at least 130 people die between
1990 to 1998 and was convicted of second-degree murder in one case,
for which he spent eight years behind bars.

He told reporters in Michigan that he has never been interested in
politics but was motivated to run as an independent for a congressional
seat representing Detroit’s suburbs.

"I have never been a political person. I have only voted once in
my life," Kevorkian said, during a rambling press conference in
Southfield in which he quoted everyone from Alexis de Toqueville and
Frederick Douglass.

Kevorkian has vowed not to help in any additional suicides.

The retired pathologist was released from jail in June 2007 and said
he had no regrets about conducting the assisted suicide.

PRESIDENT KOCHARYAN CONDOLES WITH VARAZDAT HARUTYUNYAN’S FAMILY

armradio.am
24.03.2008 12:37

Connected with the death of Academician Varazdat Harutyunyan, RA
President Robert Kocharyan sent a telegram of condolence to his family.

"With deep pain I learnt about the death of the Academician of the
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia Varazdat
Harutyunyan.

Invaluable is Varazdat Harutyunyan’s contribution to the recognition,
maintenance and restoration of the Armenian architectural legacy. A
great scientist, beloved teacher left us. With all his life he served
as an example for the generation.

Varazdat Harutyunyan’s image will always remain bright in our memory.

I extend my condolences to Varazdat Harutyunyan’s family, relatives,
colleagues and friends."

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN CUSTOMS OFFICIALS DISCUSS ISSUES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION OF ALCOHOLIC DRINKS BY POTI-KAVKAZ ROUTE

Noyan Tapan
March 20, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. A delegation headed by the deputy head
of the RF Federal Customs Service Leonid Shornikov is in Yerevan with
the aim of discussing issues related to customs control of goods
liable to excise tax, in particular, issues of transportation of
alcoholic drinks by Poti-Kavkaz route. During a meeting at the RA State
Customs Committee, they exchanged information on the opportunities
and prospects of exporting alcoholic drinks from Armenia to Russia via
Poti-Kavkaz ferry link. The Russian side presented the current state of
the "Kavkaz" port’s infrastructures, as well as the measures necessary
to organize the process of internal transit customs transportation,
the customs registration and control efficiently and in line with
the Russian customs legislation.

Armenian customs officials informed Russian partners about consignments
of alcoholic drinks to be exported, the Armenian companies that plan
to export alcoholic drinks to the Russian market, transport means to
be used for further transportation of these drinks in the territory
of Russia, as well as about measures (in addition to excise stamps)
aimed at ensuring the identification of imported alcoholic drinks.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the sides agreed to exchange
information each month for rapid settlement of problems arising
during the import of alcoholic drinks from Armenia to Russia and in
the opposite direction.