Author: Jidarian Alex

INAUGURATION OF NKR PRESIDENT

KarabakhOpen
07-09-2007 20:04:57

Today the National Assembly held a special meeting which started at
17:00 in the capital of NKR Stepanakert. The meeting was conducted by
Speaker Ashot Ghulyan. In the presence of high-ranking guests, the
Armenian president Robert Kocharyan, the ex-president of NKR Arkady
Ghukasyan, the primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic
Church Archbishop Pargev, members of the two Armenian parliaments,
and a number of foreign guests the president elect swore to people:
"Assuming the post of president of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, I
swear to fulfill the provisions of the Constitution, honor human
and the citizen’s rights and freedoms, guarantee the sovereignty,
independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic for
the glory of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the welfare of our people."

Speaker Ashot Ghulyan congratulated the president on behalf of
the guests.

Afterwards Archbishop Pargev blessed the president.

The inaugural address of NKR President Bako Sahakyan runs:

"Assuming high and responsible post of the President of
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic I would like to thank in the first place our
people for active participation in the July 19 Presidential elections
and my constituency for confidence. I appreciate the position of
those citizens who voted for other Presidential candidates too. This
means that they are concerned about development and progress in our
country. These visions will be definitely taken into consideration.

The past elections once again vindicated a unified will of the people
of Artsakh to live in a free and sovereign historical motherland.

Simultaneously, they demonstrated a decisive role of the country’s
public sector in forming the state’s supreme authority. In the coming
five years we will continue to build free and prosperous country
securing for this very purpose cooperation between all strata of
our society.

Taking the opportunity I would like to thank all foreign state and
nongovernmental structures, international organizations, mass media
that carried out observation of the July 19 elections and covered this
important for our state event. The assessments of the observers will
substantially contribute to the rating of our country as an effectively
functioning state worthy of international recognition. We also highly
appreciate their remarks and suggestions, which will be taken into
consideration in elaborating further democratization of our country.

These assessments prove that the foundation of our independent
statehood is quite firm. In this context I would like to express my
respect and gratitude to the first President of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, President of the Republic of Armenia Robert Kocharyan to his
merit and contribution to NKR’s declaration as an independent state,
effective organization of the republic’s defense against aggression,
development of state institutions, economic recovery in the first
postwar years, as well as for his input in just settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Achievements in the recent period gave me a right to thank on behalf
of people second president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Arkady
Ghukasyan.

Under his leadership in the last ten years our country registered
considerable progress in carrying out socioeconomic reforms,
democratization of public and political life, and finally adopted
its basic law – the Constitution. We are confident that Mr. Ghukasyan
will continue to use reach experience of state, political and national
figure for the interests of the Motherland.

Dear friends,

During the campaign I got another chance to visit almost all
settlements of the republic and get acquainted with problems and
concerns of our people. It was very much important for me see and hear
about all these issues. In the coming five years we will definitely
take into account suggestions and advice given during these meetings.

The main goal of my presidency will be to have a viable, socially just,
economically developed, and politically stable state. The strength
of such a state to a greater extent is derivative from our policy
towards the needs of the youth and socially vulnerable strata. The
authorities have much to do in this field.

Being guided by the Constitution we will continue to build a state,
which will protect the interests of its citizens. Ethnic minorities
will enjoy special protection.

We have a clear-cut agenda of challenges facing our republic. To
address them we need to reshape the policy of socioeconomic development
and put special emphasize on exploring investment resources directing
them into the most perspective fields. Available scientific and
intellectual potential will also serve this purpose.

International recognition of the Artsakh Republic, which is a pillar
of our foreign policy, will give a serious impetus to the pace of
our development.

This is also in the interests of the region. NKR Defense Army will be
ready to rebuff any attack against our state and society. The issues
of army building, strengthening defense capacity, solving social
problems of the servicemen will be always in the focus of attention.

We are exclusively adherent to the principles of peaceful settlement of
the Karabakh-Azerbaijan conflict. Highly appreciating the efforts of
international mediators, we hope that our opponents will eventually
realize that there is no alternative to the full participation of
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the negotiation process.

Ladies and gentlemen,

International recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is the
most important task that requires hard work to further consolidate
potentials of Artsakh, Armenia and the Diaspora and deepen traditional
cooperation. Our strength is in our unity.

At the end I would like to thank all those who have congratulated
me on my election. I assure you that all my energy, knowledge, and
experience will be used for the good of our nation.

Thank you."

The meeting of the Karabakh parliament ended with this speech. On
the inauguration there will be a concert with performers from Armenia
and Karabakh in the evening in the capital, as well as a firework.

Belmont panel urges selectmen to quit ADL program

By Alex I. Oster, Globe Correspondent | September 7, 2007

BELMONT – The Belmont Human Rights Commission voted unanimously
yesterday to recommend that selectmen quit the Anti-Defamation
League-sponsored No Place For Hate program until the civil rights
group recognizes the Armenian genocide as historic fact and supports
federal legislation to have the US government officially acknowledge
the atrocity.

"If you have an organization that states that their purpose is to
defend people, you can’t choose only one," said Janet Boswell, a
commission member.

About 50 people, many of them Armenian-Americans, attended the monthly
meeting of the commission, which changed its agenda at Belmont Town
Hall last night to discuss the town’s membership in the controversial
No Place For Hate program.

The program had come under fire recently by Armenian groups angry that
the League would not acknowledge the massacres of Armenians in Turkey
in the years following 1915 as genocide.

Watertown officials decided to leave the program last month. The town
of Arlington followed, and other communities, including Newton and
Needham, are considering doing so.

After the controversy in Watertown, the Anti-Defamation League stated
that the experience of the Armenians was "tantamount to genocide," but
said no more.

Belmont has been involved with No Place For Hate since 2005.

Our "original reason for joining was because they provide resources
and a network of towns devoted to eliminating discrimination,"
committee member Fran Yuan said.

Belmont was "looking to be proactive" when it joined, said Laurie
Graham, commission chairwoman, "to help educate people and promote
diversity."

The meeting was punctuated with applause for citizens addressing the
commission, but the panel received the loudest applause, and a
standing ovation, when it passed the resolution.

(c) Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

/2007/09/07/belmont_panel_urges_selectmen_to_quit_ adl_program/

DISCUSSION ON "MILITARIZATION OF THE CAUCASUS"

armradio.am
07.09.2007 11:01

September 11 the Institute for War and Peace Reporting /IWPR/ Armenia
Branch will hold a discussion titled "Militarization of the Caucasus."

The discussion follows the special issue of the IWPR Caucasus Reporting
Service comprising three analytical articles from Azerbaijan, Armenia
and Georgia.

Up till now, relative stability in the Caucasus has been guaranteed
in large part due to a military balance, whose cornerstone has been
the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). If the CFE
treaty begins to unravel, could that lead to a destabilization and
rise in tension in the South Caucasus, with the threat of unresolved
conflicts flaring up again?

The discussion will involve analysts, political and public figures
reporting on the subject.

ARMENIA WILL BE ENTITLED TO JOIN EU FOREIGN POLICY STATEMENTS IN A MONTH

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.09.2007 18:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Neighborhood Policy program has been
compiled on the whole. We just have to coordinate the financial
chapter, RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told a news conference
in Yerevan.

Implementation of this program is very important for Armenia, since
it includes cooperation with the European structures in all fields,
he added.

"It’s important that the document highlights the possibilities of
economic cooperation with the EU, reforms in the social and economic
sectors, transition to European standards. Thanks to this program
the European market will be open for Armenian goods," Minister
Oskanian said.

"The basic provisions of the program were adopted during the Brussels
conference. These include economic cooperation, simplification of
visa regime for ENP member states and financing of reforms. We have
achieved one more important agreement: in a month Armenia will be
entitled to join the EU foreign policy statements, which do not
conflict with the foreign policy of our republic," he underscored.

AZERBAIJAN SAYS 5 KILLED IN FIGHTING NEAR REBEL NAGORNY KARABAKH

Agence France Presse
Sept 5 2007

BAKU, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) – Azerbaijan said Wednesday that three
Armenian and two Azerbaijani soldiers had been killed in fighting near
the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh, but a separatist official
denied the claim.

Azerbaijani defence ministry spokesman Ilgar Verdiyev said two of
its soldiers were killed after Armenian forces opened fire on their
positions in violation of a ceasefire, in two separate attacks
on Tuesday.

Azerbaijani forces had returned fire, killing three Armenian soldiers,
he said.

Senor Hasratian, a spokesman for the defence ministry of Karabakh’s
unrecognized government, denied there had been any fighting or
any deaths.

"This information does not correspond to reality," he said.

Armenian forces seized control of Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan
in the early 1990s, in a war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives
and forced about a million people on both sides to flee their homes.

The two sides signed a ceasefire in 1994 but the two countries have
cut direct economic and transport links and failed to negotiate a
settlement on the region’s status.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are spread across a ceasefire line in
and around Nagorny Karabakh, often facing each other at close range,
and shootings are common.

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE: RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS A MUST FOR TURKEY

armradio.am
06.09.2007 15:03

September 6 RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian received the
delegation of the French Socialist Party headed by First Secretary
Francois Hollande.

Greeting the guests, Minister Oskanian stressed the importance of the
visit of French Socialists to Armenia, noting that the Armenian-French
relations are on a high level, and the Socialist Party has a great
input here.

Presenting the aim of the visit, Francois Hollande said Armenia and
Armenians are of particular importance for France, which is evidenced
by the visit of the ex-President of France Jacques Chirac to Armenia,
the conduct of the Year of Armenian in France, as well as the French
Armenian community.

At the guest’s request, Minister Oskanian presented the main
directions of Armenia’s foreign policy, the relations with neighbors,
the negotiation process on the Karabakh conflict settlement, Armenia’s
position on normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

Turning to the possible accession of Turkey to the EU, Mr. Hollande
informed that the Socialist Party stands for the continuation of
accession talks and considers that the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide is a must for Turkey, and the opening of the border with
Armenia and establishment of diplomatic relations must take place as
soon as possible. The leader of the French Socialists also turned to
the domestic developments in France.

The French delegation comprised MPs (Rene Rouquet and Bruno le Roux,
as well as the leaders of the ARF Western European body.

THEATRE NEEDS SPONSORS

A1+
[01:55 pm] 05 September, 2007

"We have audience but we don’t have good performances. Good
performances always attract spectators," the director of "Metro"
Theatre Karen Mirakyan explained the lack of audience in some Armenian
theatres this way.

"Metro" Theatre was constructed 15 years ago and today it needs
repairs. The theatre has problems with illumination, inner decoration,
etc. The redecoration is namely financed by sponsors.

"We spend great sums to stage a performance and we never know for
sure whether we shall ever be able to get back the money," said
Karen Mirakyan.

Nevertheless, the staff likes the theatre and never expects great
profits.

The director points out that the hall is usually overcrowded during
spectacles as they present the unsold tickets to orphanages, retirement
homes and soldiers. "Both soldiers and orphans want to watch a play but
they cannot afford tickets, therefore we present them as invitations,"
he said.

To note, this year the theatre will celebrate its 15th anniversary
provided they are able to find a sponsor.

HOVIK ARSENIAN APPEALS AGAINST DECISION OF COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE ON PROLONGING DETENTION TERM OF HIS DEFENDANT

Noyan Tapan
Sep 4, 2007

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Hovik Arsenian, the defender of
Alexandre Arzumanian, the former RA Minister of Foreign Affairs,
appealed to the Criminal Court of Appeal on September 3 against the
August 31 decision of the Court of First Instance of the Kentron and
Nork-Marash communities of Yerevan on prolonging the detention term
of his defendant for two more months.

It should be mentioned that Alexandre Arzumanian has been put under
arrest since May 10 on the charge of "Legalizing incomes received
through criminal ways". According to the information provided to
a Noyan Tapan correspondent by Sona Truzian, the Spokeswoman of
the RA Prosecutor General, investigation activities are currently
being carried out in Moscow within the frameworks of the case. The
investigation group will return to Armenia one of these days.

"LEVON TER PETROSIAN IS OBLIGED TO RETURN TO BIG POLITICS," LEADER OF "HAYAPASHTNER" INITIATIVE BELIEVES

Noyan Tapan
Sep 4, 2007

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN. "Levon Ter-Petrosian, the first
President of the Republic of Armenia, is obliged to return to big
politics, as he is the only one, who is able to win the current
authorities." This opinion was expressed by freedom fighter Levon
Sahakian, the leader of the newly-created "Hayapashtner" initiative,
during his meeting with journalists on September 4. According to
him, classic parties are lacking in Armenia. In the opinion of
Levon Sahakian, the only party, which is close to a classic one,
is the Armenian National Movement. And as for the flaws during the
tenure of Levon Ter-Petrosian, in the conviction of the leader of
the newly-created initiative, they were connected with the fact
that non-patriotic people had gathered around the Armenian National
Movement.

In the words of Levon Sahakian, if the opposition puts forward its
common candidate in the 2008 presidential elections, the "Hayapashtner"
initiative will support the latter, irrespective of its position
towards that candidate.

He also mentioned that this initiative will be in the first rows
of the political processes and will do its best to make Armenia a
powerful state.

ADL REINSTATES REGIONAL DIRECTOR IT FIRED OVER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CONTROVERSY
By: Israel Insider staff

Israel Insider
fs/11977.htm
Sept 2 2007
Israel

Following a much-publicized scandal, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Monday reinstated Andrew Tarsy as its New England regional director,
according to the Jerusalem Post. Tarsy was fired two weeks ago after
public stating that the ADL’s refusal to recognize the Armenian
genocide was "morally indefensible."

Abraham Foxman, the organization’s director, afterwards officially
reversed the ADL’s position and said that the massacre was "tantamount
to genocide." His remarks caused uproar among Turkish leaders.

"I am delighted to be back on the job as the New England regional
director," Tarsy said in a statement released Tuesday. "I am proud
that ADL has made a very significant change confronting a moral issue
and acknowledging the Armenian genocide for what it was. This was an
act of leadership by Mr. Foxman and ADL."

Nancy Kaufman, the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations
Council of Greater Boston, said that the conflict was sure to continue,
but expressed approval of the ADL’s recent decisions.

"I don’t think it’s the end of the story, but rather the end of a
chapter in an ongoing story," she said. "It’s a terrific ending,
which speaks to the importance of speaking our mind when we have a
moral issue we feel strongly about."