Author: Jagharian Tania

THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP: GETTING DOWN TO WORK

armradio.am
04.06.2009 18:40

Four weeks after the launch of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) the EU
and its eastern neighbours (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,
Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) are getting down to work. One of the
innovations of the EaP is a new multilateral dimension to relations
with these countries alongside the bilateral path of cooperation. The
first Eastern Partnership (EaP) multilateral platform will be
held tomorrow, 5 June, in Brussels. It will focus on democracy,
good governance and stability. The other platforms, devoted to
economic integration, energy and people to people contacts, will
also be launched during the month of June. The aim of the platforms
is to support the eastern partners’ efforts to approximate to EU
standards, to foster exchanges of experience and best practice and to
strengthen contacts between them. Tomorrow’s meeting will concentrate
on mapping out fields for co operation, and will discuss the launch
of two Flagship Initiatives, on border management and prevention,
preparedness and response to disasters.

"The European Commission has wasted no time in getting this new
initiative off the ground. The launch of the multilateral platforms
is key to the success of the Eastern Partnership. I hope that it will
bring very concrete support to our partners’ reform efforts, as well
as deepening mutual understanding" said Commissioner=2 0for External
Relations and European Neighborhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner. She
added:" The first platform is devoted to governance issues which are
at the heart of this partnership. Respect for citizens’ rights, and
the rule of law, with a vibrant civil society are key elements of the
democratic societies we hope to see grow in these countries. While our
partners are all in different situations and stages of transition,
they face similar challenges, so a multilateral approach can bring
real value added".

The Eastern Partnership brings countries in Eastern Europe and South
Caucasus, EU Member States and institutions together to promote
security, stability and prosperity. It provides additional support
for reforms and modernization efforts in partner countries, bringing
them closer to EU principles and practices. This initiative builds on
the EU’s European Neighbourhood Policy by developing its specific
Eastern dimension. In addition to strengthening the bilateral
relationship between the EU and the partner countries of the EaP
multilateral platforms provide a framework to improve understanding
of EU legislation and standards, to share experience, and develop
joint activities within the Eastern Partnership initiative.

The whole-day meeting on 5 June chaired by the Commission within
the multilateral thematic platform on Democracy, good governance
and stability marks the beginning of the implementation phase of the
Partnership. Representativ es of the six partner countries, the EU
Member States, the Council Secretariat, and the European Parliament,
the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social
Committee will participate in the working sessions.

Two flagship projects will be presented in this first meeting:
"Integrated Border Management" programme and "Prevention of,
preparedness for, and response to natural and man-made disasters"
(which should be already launched before the end of 2009). The other
flagship initiatives include: integration of electricity markets,
energy efficiency and renewables; a SME facility; and diversification
of energy supply.

ELMAR MAMMADYAROV: "IF WE ACHIEVE PHASE-BY-PHASE SOLUTION WE CAN SPEAK ABOUT SOME PROGRESS"

APA
June 3 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova -APA. "The meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents in St Petersburg tomorrow will most probably have same
format with Zurich and Prague meetings", Azerbaijan Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists, APA reports.

He said traditionally the co-chairs submitted their ideas to the
presidents first of all and then the presidents held tete-a-tete
meeting, following that the co-chairs and foreign ministers were
invited to the meeting and the presidents gave instructions to
them. Mammadyarov said it was difficult to make comments on the US
co-chair Matthew Bryza’s opinion that "the co-chairs have done enough
work in the past two months and if the presidents wished they could
reach final results tomorrow". "It is important point if the co-chairs
see any positive point in the process. However I can say that Armenia
showed non-constructive position in Prague. I don’t know, may be the
co-chairs saw different points in Yerevan. It will become clear in St
Petersburg tomorrow. We consider the phase-by-phase settlement and if
we reach it, we can say that there is some progress". The minister said
the sides reached an agreement on one issue during the Prague process.

"The sides agreed that despite an agreement on some principles, they
can not speak about the agreement on the principles if all of them
are not agreed".

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES OUTGOING DUTCH AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
June 3, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
received today Onno Elderenbosch, the Ambassador of Netherlands to
Armenia who ends his four-year diplomatic mission in Armenia.

Public relations department of Armenian Government told Armenpress
that the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Ambassador for his
efforts exerted towards the consolidation of Armenian-Dutch relations
during the whole process of his diplomatic mission and expressed hope
that Onno Elderenbosch will continue the mission aimed at development
of the relations between the two states.

PETER SEMNEBY SHARES OPTIMISM OF OSCE MINSK GROUP

ArmInfo
2009-06-02 14:40:00

EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby told
ANS- PRESS that the negotiations for settlement of the Karabakh
conflict have been intensified. He shared OSCE Minsk Group’s hopes
that the upcoming meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents is a
new opportunity to bring the stands of the conflicting parties closer.

P. Semneby said that to achieve agreement between Azerbaijan and
Armenia on the basis of the Madrid principles within the nearest
future, the EU relies on the efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group. However,
alongside with this, there is still unused potential that may help
settling the conflict i.e. the Eastern Partnership program that will
give the EU more opportunities to help settling the conflict. One of
the four regional platforms created as part of this program implies
establishment of ties between people, Peter Semneby said.

Armenian politologist is surprised with Russia’s decision to transfer $500 million to Armenia

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.06.2009 18:55 GMT+04:00

"I knew that Eastern Partnership program will be signed, and I
expected Mayoral elections to be held the way they were. Still, I
had my doubts about the situation with $500 million to take the turn
it took," Alexander Iskandaryan told a news conference, responding to
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter’s question on what the politologist considered
to be the most significant event of the last month. According to him,
Russia’s statement on the transfer of $500 million is important to
Armenia in financial crisis circumstances, considering problems the
region is currently facing.

OBAMA PIVOTS PRAGMATIC, ANYTHING BUT BUSH GONE
By David Paul Kuhn

RealClearPolitics
http://www.realclearpoliti cs.com/articles/2009/06/01/obama_pivots_pragmatic_ anything_but_bush_gone_96765.html
June 1 2009

The illusions appear gone. On the world stage, the idealistic candidate
has become the pragmatic president.

George W. Bush took five years to pivot away from neo-conservative
idealism. Obama has turned away from his tepid idealism in a matter of
months. The words will remain grandiose. But the gauntlet before Barack
Obama has compelled him to be practical. Marriages of convenience
are again dominating U.S. foreign policy.

Obama flies off to Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week, ahead of traveling
to Europe to commemorate the 65th anniversary of D-Day. We recall
D-Day as a big moment of last century’s big moral war. Good and evil
were clear and we were good. But we were also willing to ally with
Joseph Stalin’s repressive regime to face down the far greater evil.

Today’s Middle East politics offer more shades of grey. But democracy,
as with World War II, is not this president’s chief concern. At
this point, it’s the avoidance of war from East Asia to the Middle
East. Obama has responded to rapid escalation with a rapid, and
healthy, turn towards full-on pragmatism.

Every new administration has a learning curve on international
affairs. In recent decades, there has been a pattern of a new White
House attempting the opposite of its predecessor.

George W. Bush’s early strategy was ABC (Anything but Clinton). Clinton
engaged North Korea so Bush would not. Clinton tried a shotgun
wedding on Palestine and Israel. Bush left the fraught relationship
alone. Clinton conveyed the image of consensus on treaties like
Kyoto. Bush scuttled them. Clinton tolerated a Saddam Hussein who
stayed within his borders, and Bush, well we know what happened there.

Obama initially attempted an ABB (Anything but Bush) policy. Bush
spoke in Manichean terms about national security threats. Obama would
do nuance. Obama directed the Pentagon to trash the term "Global
War on Terror" in favor of "Overseas Contingency Operation." It was
rhetorical de-escalation. He pledged to close the detention center
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as a bold stroke to symbolize his turn
away from Bush (though Bush eventually moved towards that policy as
well). Obama publicly reached his hand out to Iran, where Bush only
finally resigned himself to quiet efforts. Obama is engaging the
Israel-Palestine issue early and hard.

But Obama has kept more Bush than he intended. Obama has rankled his
left flank by continuing Bush’s military tribunals for Guantanamo
detainees despite calling them an "enormous failure" nearly a year
ago. Elsewhere, citing Bush’s argument that national security requires
secrecy, Obama has defended warrantless wiretapping and withheld
photos depicting prisoner abuse.

Obama’s talk in Prague of a world without nuclear weapons has given
way to the concern that Iran and North Korea could spark a nuclear
arms race in East Asia and the Middle East.

Obama’s open-ended promises for a "new beginning" on Iran now carry
a caveat. Obama recently set a year-end deadline for significant
diplomatic progress.

Last month, Obama sat beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and decided not to give him the full-court press. Obama did not say
all settlement building must stop. But last week, Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton did. "Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural
growth exceptions," she said.

This White House initially shied away from setting diplomatic
trip-wires for North Korea, relying on consensus and containment. But
just this weekend, following North Korea’s latest nuclear test, Defense
Secretary Robert Gates offered the first explicit red line. Gates
said the Obama administration intends to hold North Korea "fully
accountable" should it sell or transfer any nuclear material.

Obama’s early decision to flip on his pledge to call the Armenian
genocide, genocide, now appears to be a harbinger of a full-turn toward
pragmatism. Even U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is walking lockstep.

The woman who in 1991 unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square that read,
"to those who died for democracy in China" and attempted to push
a human rights petition to President Hu Jintao, was mostly mum on
human rights during her recent visit to China. The visit came only
days before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Obama has more immediate needs from China: a partner on the economic
recession, North Korea and environmental policy.

Bush also shifted by the winter of his presidency. He quietly engaged
North Korea and Iran. His good-and-evil language faded as he came to
work with all but the most hardened adversaries in Iraq. Bush came
to mildly push for a two-state solution in the Middle East and even,
to the chagrin of Dick Cheney, moved to close the Guantanamo detention
center. Bush realized hard power was not enough.

Obama is now adding some hard to his soft power. It’s this move to
have realism reign over idealism that frames Obama’s speech in Cairo
Thursday, a heavily anticipated address to the Muslim world. Few
expect a sequel to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s 2005 speech
in Cairo, when she recanted a policy that put stability before "the
democratic aspirations of all people."

Democracy is not the ends for Obama in his Middle East. It’s
peace. More immediately, the absence of war between Israel and
Iran. Jordan exemplifies why some monarchs are better for peace, just
as Hamas’ 2006 victory demonstrated that elections can undercut peace.

Bush attempted in his last years to walk back his commitment to
"ending tyranny in our world." But it’s the Democrat who has ended
the democracy agenda. Obama heads to authoritarian Egypt with more
pressing problems on his mind than tyranny.

David Paul Kuhn is the Chief Political Correspondent for
RealClearPolitics and the author of The Neglected Voter. He can be
reached at [email protected]

SEEMED TO BE GUNSHOTS

A1+
01:41 am | June 01, 2009

Politics

An alarm was received today that there had been shots and one injured
at the Nor Nork 4th quarter district.

Head of the ANC headquarters at the Nor Nork 1st quarter district
Gurgen Yeghiazaryan told "A1+" that a group of terrified citizens
came to the ANC headquarters and quickly informed that somebody was
transferred to the hospital after receiving gun shots at the Nor Nork
4th quarter district.

"I sent people to our sub-headquarters to verify the information on
the scene, but it was not possible because there was nobody there,"
said Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, adding that they had tried to find out
from the Nor Nork hospital if the person with the gun shots had
been transferred there or not. It turned out that nobody had been
transferred to the hospital with gun shots.

Later, Republican Party press speaker Eduard Sharmazanov informed
that there had been no gun shots at Nor Nork connected with the
elections. "The elections are being held in a calm environment and
there is a large voter turnout. In general, we condemn any dispersion
of false information and senseless stir of emotions," said Sharmazanov.

COORDINATOR OF ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS: THE TIME AND CONDITIONS OF THE NEXT BATTLE WILL BE DEFINED BY US

ArmInfo
2009-06-01 19:02:00

ArmInfo. ‘As a result of yesterday’s election we have finally formed
as the leading force which will lead the people to the final victory’,
– coordinator of Armenian National Congress Levon Zurabyan said at
today’s rally of the opposition.

He also added yesterday’s election were the battle the rime and
conditions of which were defined by the authorities. But the time
and conditions of the next battle will be defined by us, Zurabyan
promised. He thinks that the authorities managed to create am awful
totalitarian system all the structures of which are functioning to
ensure falsifications. Even the army serve this purpose. ‘Nevertheless
we did not become weaker as a result of yesterday’s election. On the
contrary, we have become stronger and more united. Having organized
the election in such a way the authorities demonstrated to the whole
world that they can be spoken to only the language of violence’, –
Zurabyan said.

Fund for Armenian Relief Fellowship Alumni Association
Roubinyans 29, Yerevan, Armenia

phone:37410249677

Musical Support for Salzburg International Medical Seminars

Yerevan, May 29th, 2009

FARFAA-Salzburg Group together with the Yerevan State Medical
University and Youth Orchestra of Armenia ( conductor Sergey
Smbatyan) has organized a benefit concert for Salzburg International
Medical Seminars, Open Medial Institute Program , and its seminar
center – Schloss Arenberg , which was damaged in a filre recently. The
concert took place on May 29th , at the Main Conference Hall of the
YSMU.

The AAF/Salzburg Medical Seminars director Prof.W.Aulitzky arrived from
Vienna to join the benefit event.

The American Austrian Foundation’s Salzburg Medical Seminars program
participated over 10,000 physicians from countries in transition s,
over 450 physicians from Armenia. Over 1000 faculty members from the
leading USA medical institutions as NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, the
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center and others, have trained these physicians the newest advances
in all the medical specialities.

Schloss Arenberg is a conference center, where the Seminars take place
During the summer months the Schloss is home to cultural programs linked
to the Salzburg Music Festival and the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.

On April 20th, 2009 a fire broke out on the roof of Schloss Arenberg,
where two welders had been doing some repairs. Fire fighters arrived
within minutes, but had difficulty accessing the burning wooden beams
under the copper roof. The fire was finally extinguished only in 12
hours . 180 Firefighters used 3,000 liters of water per minute to try
and put out the blaze, which coupled with the smoke damage totally
destroyed the building. Fortunately no one was seriously injured.

FARFAA-Salzburg Group with the alumni of Schloss Arenberg, YSMU and
Youth Orchestra of Armenia. extended their helping hands to the
Schloss Arenberg Center to support its rebuilding. Prof Aulitzky
announced that the Armenian Lounge will be opened in Schloss Arenberg
after its reconstruction.

The Youth Orchestra of Armenia was founded in November 2005, with the
efforts of the students of the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory.
Despite its recent formation, the Youth Orchestra of Armenia had already
the occasion to present Armenia with honour all over the world. Sergey
Smbatyan, violinist and prize-winner in international competitions, is
the chief coductor and artistic director of the orchestra.

W.A. Mozart, Komitas-Aslamazyan and E.Mirzoyan pieces were performed
with high level of artistry and sophistication, and twelve year old
piano soloist Anahit Arushanyan amazed the audience. YSMU has
sponsored the Youth Orchestra for performing the concert.

Open Medical Institute (OMI) is a program of the American Austrian
Foundation (AAF) whose main goal is to educate physicians and health
care providers from countries in transition and foster their
professional growth ()

FAR FAA is a non-for-profit organization of medical professionals, aimed
at improving the health care system of the community and advancing
medical sciences in Armenia

SIMON BAHCELI’S ARTICLE ON THE RENOVATION OF THE OLD SOURP ASDVADZADZIN CHURCH IN TURKISH-OCCUPIED NICOSIA FAILED TO REVEAL A NUMBER OF TRUTHS BY THE TURKISH-ORIGIN JOURNALIST
Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra

Gibrahayer
27-05-2009
Nicosia

Dear Gibrahayer readers,

I am writing this letter regarding Simon Bahceli’s article on the
renovation of the old Sourp Asdvadzadzin church in Turkish-occupied
Nicosia, in the interest of revealing a number of truths the
Turkish-origin journalist failed to write.

To begin with, Bahceli contacted me on 5 May, informing me on
his intend to write the article in question. We met on 8 May
and I personally took him to Dr. Antranik Ashdjian’s office, the
Armenian Prelature of Cyprus and Nareg Elementary School, devoting
a whole morning for him; it was also I who provided him with the
B/W photographs he used in his article, as well as a large amount of
historical information. Sadly, he neglected to include my name, or the
names of Dr. Ashdjian – with whom he spoke for about an hour -and Mr
John Guevherian, with whom he also spoke at the Arachnortaran. Also,
I stressed to him, in person, on the phone and over e-mail that it
is very important that also he speaks with the Representative, Mr
Vartkes Mahdessian, which I very much doubt he did.

Not only that, Bahceli failed to mention that we attempted to visit the
chu rch on 14 May, after claiming he20was told by the UN we could. Upon
arriving at the gate, the guard (an illegal Turkish settler) told us
we needed a permit to enter. Bahceli phoned the UN and the UN told
him to phone EVKAF, but unfortunately it was not made possible to
enter the church site. He did, however, wanted to take pictures of
the church, so we went behind the Melikian mansion, where we saw two
Turkish-speaking persons inside the compound, claiming to be bidders
for the restoration. Asking them how they got inside, they told him
they had entered through a passage. We went back to the guard to ask
him if he could let us in too, since they were obviously in, and to
my utter surprise and fury the guard, together with two trespassers,
told us that they entered the site by themselves, he couldn’t kick
them out, but he couldn’t let us in either…

Now, with regard to the article itself, an unsuspected reader will get
the idea that there was never a problem with the Turkish Cypriots,
and that Armenian Cypriots left only because they felt safely in
the Greek Cypriot side of Nicosia… However, there is more to that
story (simply ask Manoug Mangaldjian, he will tell it to you as he
remembers it). Moreover, I was there when the people were speaking
to Bahceli, and I know that much more was said. Not to mention the
complete absence of any reference to the Armenian Genocide monument,
for which everyone he spoke with made mention, including myself.

Another thing: southern Nicosia for the government-controlled parts
but simply Nicosia for the Turkish-occupied parts of Nicosia? The
use of this makes not only the journalist but also the newspaper,
Cyprus Mail, responsible for this illegality.

Historical inaccuracies are also observed: the Armenian presence in
the area is about 500-600 years old, NOT 1000 years, and the church
was re-built in 1308, not the 13th century.

Geographical inaccuracies also exist: the church compound is NOT
located in the Arabahmet, but in the Karaman Zade quarter; this is
not a simple mistake, as the Turkish pseudo-state calls the whole area
Arabahmet, in the same way it designates 3 of the 4 Turkish-occupied
Larnaca district villages as belonging to the so-called "LefkoÅ~_a
kaza" district and 1 to the so-called "Gazimagusa kaza". Upon our
conversations, I stressed to Bahceli this fact, which he blatantly
ignored. And one more thing: why would the church not hold that much
importance for the Greek Orthodox? A church is always a church.

Finally, again stressing his T/C outlook, it is Ottoman Armenians
NOT Anatolian Armenians he should refer to.

I am very upset for this whole thing, and I hope the newspaper never
allows such mistreatment of the truth again.