Author: Jagharian Tania

AZERBAIJANI ECOLOGY MINISTRY RELEASES RESULTS OF MONITORING INTO KURA AND ARAS RIVERS

Today.Az
06 October 2009 [12:53]

The Azerbaijani Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry held a
monitoring to study level of pollution of transboundary rivers.

The Azerbaijani Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry held a
monitoring to study the level of pollution of transboundary over the
third decade of September.

According to the monitoring, the water waste in the Kur River
transbordering with Armenia was 218 cubic meters per minute with an
increase of 94 cubic meters per minute.

The ministry revealed out that the level of pollution the Kura and
Aras Rivers by Georgia and Armenia exceeded the norm. Amount of
nutrients in the waters of Kura exceeds the norm numerously due flow
of domestic and industrial wastes from Georgia and Armenia to water
facilities without preliminary purification

Composition of specific contaminants of phenol and copper compounds
exceeded the allowed density norm in water.

In the Shikhly-2 area content of phenols, one main pollutants of
water exceeded the allowed density by 7 times, ammonium ions by 6
times and copper compounds by 6. Content of phenols exceeded the
allowed density by 6 times and copper by 6 times in the Agstafachay
area and 6 times in Agstafachay reservoir.

According to the monitoring, the water waste in the Aras River
transbordering with Armenia was 163 cubic meters per minute and content
of copper in the water exceeded the allowed density by 4 times and
phenols by 3 times in Horadiz section of the Aras River. Content of
phenols exceeded the allowed density by 2 times and copper by 3 times
the Shahsevan I and 2 times in Bahramtapa.

The oxygen regime of the water was 4.35-6.53 milligram per liter in
all areas and changed within sanitary norm.

LEBANON’S ARMENIANS PROTEST PRESIDENT VISIT

Associated Press
2009-10-07 12:40 AM

Thousands of Lebanese of Armenian descent held a peaceful protest
in Beirut Tuesday at the start of a visit by Armenia’s president who
has announced plans to establish relations with Turkey.

Nearly 2,000 angry protesters gathered around the hotel east of
Beirut where President Serge Sarkisian will be staying during his
two-day visit.

There are 150,000 Armenians in Lebanon, or nearly 4 percent of the
population.

Sarkisian’s tour of the Diaspora Armenian communities around the world
aims to raise support for his landmark bid for diplomatic ties with
Turkey after a century of enmity.

The killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in
1915 has been the main barrier to reconciliation. Armenians have long
fought to persuade other governments to consider it a genocide. Turkey
rejects the label and says the death toll is inflated.

Hundreds of riot police and soldiers surrounded the Metropolitan
Palace Hotel as the demonstrators waved Armenian flags and banners
in Armenian reading "we will not forget" and "we will struggle."

Sarkisian’s tour dubbed a "pan-Armenian tour" has so far taken him
to Paris, New York and Los Angeles. After Lebanon, he will head to
Rostov-on-Don in Russia to discuss a planned meeting Oct. 10 when the
Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers are expected to sign the deal
to establish ties.

Last month, Turkey and Armenia said they would set aside hostilities
and establish diplomatic ties in favor of practical concerns such as
oil interests and Turkey’s EU membership bid.

Armenians in their poor, isolated homeland are more eager to improve
ties with Turkey than many in the vast Armenian Diaspora.

Armenians abroad _ estimated at 5.7 million _ outnumber the 3.2 million
living in Armenia itself, the smallest of the ex-Soviet republics. The
largest communities are in Russia (2 million), the United States
(1.4 million), according to government data.

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN TO MEET IN CHISINAU OCTOBER 8

armradio.am
06.10.2009 15:09

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs held a briefing in Baku today. Earlier
Russian mediator Yuri Merzlyakov presented the statement issued by
the Co-Chairs.

The statement reads that the co-chairs came to Baku after holding
meetings with Armenian authorities.

"We offered Azerbaijani President to meet with his Armenian counterpart
in Chisinau. Ilham Aliyev gave his consent to the meeting. The meeting
will take place prior to the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent
States on October 8."

According to the statement, the Chisinau meeting will be the
continuation of talks in Moscow on July 18.

Yuri Merzlyakov said President Ilham Aliyev regarded the outcomes of
the Moscow meeting as positive. "President said Chisinau meeting will
continue the positive dynamics of the Moscow talks," he said.

French co-chair Bernard Fassier expressed his satisfaction with the
meeting with Azerbaijani community of Nagorno Karabakh.

"All the members of the community told us that they are ready to live
together with Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh again," he said.

U.S. co-chair Robert Bradtke said it was his first visit to Azerbaijan
in the capacity of co-chair and noted that the U.S. government was
ready to continue the mediation in the peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

"Some p rogress has been made in the negotiations up to now. We hope
that more progress will be achieved in Chisinau meeting," he said.

ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES IGNORE OPINION OF DIASPORA

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.10.2009 18:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Meeting of the Armenian President with the Armenian
community had to take place many months ago not now, head of the
Armenian Relief Union East Coast office Angela Manoogian said ,
commenting on the meeting of RA President with representatives of
the Armenian Diaspora in Los Angeles.

According to her, the Armenian authorities must take into account
the fact that most of the Diaspora survived the Armenian Genocide
and are very delicate to the subject. "I am very sorry that today,
being pressed by Turkey, Armenia makes concessions on some issues,"
Angela Manoogian said, noting that recognition of the Genocide is
the most important for the Diaspora.

"The Diaspora should participate in making any decisions related
to "Hay Dat", Angela Manoogian said, stressing that the Armenian
authorities have ignored the opinion of the Diaspora.

LATIN AMERICA CONGRATULATES BRAZIL ON WINNING 2016 OLYMPIC BID

Xinhua
2009-10-03 08:22:58

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) — Leaders from across Latin America
celebrated on Friday after Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro won its
bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games, at the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) meeting in Danish capital Copenhagen, according to
news reaching here.

Speaking from Copenhagen where he traveled to witness the IOC’s choice,
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that Rio deserved to host the
Olympics, and described the news as "a victory for 190million souls",
referring to Brazil’s population. "If I died right now, it would have
been worth it," he added.

Rio had previously bid for the 2004 Games, which took place in Geek
capital Athens, and then again for the 2012 Games, where London won
the right to host.

In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez told media at the sidelines of
an Argentina-Venezuela political coordination meeting that "we are
going to give Rio a big round of applause and I am going to launch
a forecast: Venezuela will be the winner of the football competition
in those Olympics," he said.

In Chile, President Michelle Bachelet cheered the decision, telling
media "great joy" during a public event in the Bio Bio Region of
southern Chile.

"It is great that Brazil won and that Latin America will host the
2016 Olympic Games," she said.

Peru’s President Alan Garcia told media that Peru feels the victory
as its own, that it represents a victory for all Latin America,
and that it represents an opportunity for Peru’s tourist industry.

"Even though I will not be in power, I will work hard so that all
the citizens of the world who go to Brazil will make a stop in Peru,
on the way there and the way back," he said.

In Colombia, President Alvaro Uribe said he was "very happy" to hear
the news, and said that he hoped that Brazil would back Colombia’s
bid to host the 2015 Pan American Games.

"Major congraturations for the Brazil government, to its president
and to its people," he said at a public event in central western
city Armenia.

Gerardo Werthein, president-elect of Argentina’s Olympic Committee,
told Argentine news channel C5N by telephone from Copenhagen that
"this is a great opportunity for the whole Latin American region".

Werthein, head of an equestrian sports organization, said that he
enjoyed "the success of friends" describing the news as "an impressive
moment that we can’t help but live and share."

In winning city Rio de Janeiro itself, citizens gathered at
world-famous beach Copacabana to celebrate at an event organized by the
city government, featuring musicians and Olympic athletes. Celebrants
watched the decision at a large screen set up to watch the announcement
of the host city live.

Rio authorities said that at least 15,000 gathered ahead of the event,
and many more appeared after victory was announced. Many were dressed
in national colours green and yellow.

Rio’s rivals for the Olympics were Spain’s capital, Madrid; Japan’s
capital, Tokyo; and U.S. city Chicago.

NEWS.am

Bernard Fassier: Nagorno-Karbakh’s recognized status to put end to
threat of war

20:10 / 10/02/2009

The involvement of Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiations does not
depend on the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, stated Bernard Fassier,
French Co-Chairs of the OSCE Mnsk Group. Nagorno-Karabakh
representatives participated in the negotiations before, but thing
changed because of the Armenian side’s decision, he said. Fassier
pointed out that Nagorno-Karabakh’s involvement in the negotiations
depends not only on the Armenian side, but, to a certan extent, on the
Azerbijani side.

The French Co-Chair also said that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem will
be solved under agreements reached with Baku. Azerbaijan recognizing
Nagorno-Karabakh’s status will put an end to the threat of a new war,
Fassier said. With international guarantees, it becomes much more
serious, he said.

Fassier expressed hope that the Armenian-Azerbajani presidential
meeting that is to be held in Kihshinev, Moldova, will really take
place.

We would remind you that OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Robert Bradtke
(USA), Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) and Bernard Fassier (France) arrived
in Nagorno-Karabakh today as part of their regional visit. They held a
meeting with NKR President Bako Sahakyan.

MAXIM KHOROSHENKOV: WE’RE INTERESTED IN RA MARKET PERSPECTIVES

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
30.09.2009 21:12 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yerevan hosted an annual conference for TNK
Lubricants Company distributors. According to company Directory
General Maxim Khoroshenkov, the regular event covers current issues
of the company.

"This year, we decided to hold a conference in Armenia, as we’re
interested in RA market perspectives. In 2008, TNK production was
ranked first in Armenian market of industrial lubricants," Maxim
Khoroshenkov stated.

TNK-BP is a leading Russian oil company, specializing in the production
and marketing of lubricants and special liquids for cars, commercial
vehicles, and a broad spectrum of industrial equipment. It is among
the top ten privately-owned oil companies in the world in terms of
crude oil production. The company was formed in 2003 as a result of
the merger of BP’s Russian oil and gas assets and the oil and gas
assets of Alfa, Access/Renova group (AAR).

SERGE SARGSYAN IS LAUGHING

os15359.html
14:58:52 – 30/09/2009

"When I am alone, sometimes I am laughing because in many cases
the situation seems absurd", stated Serge Sargsyan on September 30
during his meeting with the members of the Public Council when they
discussed the Armenian and Turkish relations. Serge Sargsyan touched
upon his laughing in the contest of the Karabakh issue dwelling on
the question whether the Karabakh issue is a precondition in the
process of the normalization of the Armenian and Turkish relations.

"When I am alone, sometimes I am laughing because in many cases
the situation seems absurd. People who have never been to Karabakh,
neither in Armenia, they did not go out because maybe someone from
the military commissariat could come and ask them what they were
doing there, accuse me of making compromises in Karabakh issue. Isn’t
it absurd? Do they want to defend Karabakh from me?" wonders Serge
Sargsyan and continues, "So what? Do I have go on compromises in this
question? To have what? To become the king of Armenia? What else may
excite me?" asks Serge Sargsyan rhetorically.

He notes that if we assume that there are some hints in connection
with the Kars agreement and historical questions, so there is no hint
relating to the Karabakh issue. He also notes that the Armenian society
is inclined to believing foreigners, when Erdoghan says Karabakh is
a precondition and when they say it is not, people believe Erdoghan.

Serge Sargsyan says that even the international society states about
the lack of preconditions and no link to the Karabakh issue. According
to Serge Sargsyan, the Minsk group co-chairs are likely to underline
this circumstance in the nearly future. According to him, the Karabakh
issue of course has to be settled when they reach a variant expressing
all the aims and approaches of Armenians, so separate discussions
will be held in this connection.

THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN INDEPENDENCE AT TAGLYAN HALL

ary-of-the-armenian-independence-at-taglyan-hall/
Sep 28 2009

On Monday, September 21, 2009 Taglyan hall in Hollywood was the
venue for celebrating the 18th anniversary of the Independence Day
of the Republic of Armenia. Clergy members who had attended the
ceremony were His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, His Eminence
Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, Very Rev. Fr. Dajad Dz. V. Yardemian,
Very Rev. Fr. Bared Dz. V. Yeretsian, Archpriest Fr. Arshag
Khatchadourian, Archpriest Fr. Manoog Markarian, Rev. Fr. Mampre
Kesabyan, Rev. Fr. Mikael Kyureghyan and Rev. Fr. Avedis Abovian.

On behalf of the Western Diocese, the Diocesan Council and the Diocesan
faithful, the Primate congratulated the Armenian Consul General Grigor
Hovhannissian and wished him well in his endeavors.

DIASPORA IS READY

15311.html
11:36:15 – 28/09/2009

In order to learn the opinions of the Diaspora on the Armenian and
Turkish protocols, from October 1, Serge Sargsyan will be visiting
New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Beirut and Doni Rostov. It is called
a pan-Armenian trip. But the question occurs what percent of all the
Armenians lives in those cities. For example, which is the reason why
Serge Sargsyan does not visit the Armenians living in Tehran. And why
not those living in Athens. There are numerous communities in these
cities too in addition they seem to be politically and socially active
communities. Are all the Armenians which are 10 million situated in
those four-five cities only? Is it possible to learn the opinions
of ten million Armenians in only 7 days? Whereas, Serge Sargsyan
stated on an occasion that 10 million Armenians means 10 million
ambassadors all over the world, so he has to learn each opinion of
these "ambassadors". If ten million is important in one case, how it
can be unimportant in another case and only the Armenians living in
those four-five cities become important.

It is of course comprehensible that it is physically impossible to meet
the majority of the Armenian Diaspora until the term of singing the
Armenian and Turkish protocols. But the question is that in this case
they do not need to meet anyone at all and present is as discussions or
communication with the Diaspora. Another format is better to be found
in which not the president but his delegates would participate. Let
them go and meet Armenians in decades of cities on behalf of the
president. If it was needed, let them take Serge Sargsyan’s letter
of attorney with them. Perhaps, in this case it would be possible
to dwell on some communication with the Diaspora. But only 10 cities
seem very few for 10 million Diaspora and the real aim does not seem
to be the Diaspora’s opinion but the Diaspora regularly becomes means.

By the way, the Diaspora is preparing to receive Serge Sargsyan with
a protest. See photo report.