Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS TO BE INCLUDED IN TURKISH PARLIAMENT’S AGENDA

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.11.2009 17:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish parliamentary committee on external relations
will pass a positive conclusion on Armenia-Turkey protocols, RPA
parliamentary group secretary Eduard Sharmazanov said.

"Otherwise the meeting between Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and US President Barack Obama won’t take place," he told a news
conference in Yerevan.

Earlier, US, Russia and EU spoke of the necessity to normalize
Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions and within reasonable
terms.

AZERBAIJANI CONSUL: ARMENIA’S WELFARE DIRECTLY CONNECTED WITH KARABAKH CONFLICT

news.az
Nov 30 2009
Azerbaijan

Elin Suleymanov News.Az interviews Azerbaijan’s consul general in
Los Angeles, Elin Suleymanov.

What do you expect from Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit to
the United States?

Turkey is among the key allies of the United States, therefore, during
the visit the sides will discuss a wide range of issues. Washington is
greatly interested in Turkey’s support of US initiatives in Afghanistan
and on Iran as well as the Middle East. Of course, we want the visit
to result in an increase in efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict
as well as in a more realistic approach to the full integration of the
South Caucasus. Moreover, there is a need to demonstrate a strategic
approach to the export of Caspian oil and gas and energy security.

Can we expect the visit to speed up the Karabakh settlement process?

I hope Erdogan will raise the issue of the need for the resolution of
the Karabakh conflict as soon as possible, as he did in his recent
statements. Today, I think, few people doubt that the welfare of
Armenia is directly bound to the Karabakh conflict settlement.

Attempts to ignore the real problems of the region at the expense of
symbolic tactical steps are harmful and have negative implications.

Therefore, we can expect that an open exchange of views between our
US and Turkish partners will lead to a comprehensive assessment of the
situation in the region, especially in the context of their long-term
interests. The main element of any analysis is the understanding of
the threat posed by the unsettled regional problems.

Have the positions of Turkey and Azerbaijan become more important
for official Washington since Barack Obama came to power?

Azerbaijan’s position is reinforced thanks to the pragmatic and
balanced policy based on national interests conducted by Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev. This policy is a continuation of the strategic
course laid by national leader Heydar Aliyev, the main priority
of which is to strengthen our statehood and raise the welfare of
the Azerbaijani people. Moreover, Azerbaijan does not view itself
separately from the region, being aware that regional welfare creates
favourable conditions for the further development of our country.

Therefore, Azerbaijan, which builds its relations on a mutually
profitable basis, is a valuable and reliable partner both for the
United States and other countries. US President Barack Obama and other
senior US officials have already spoken about it. Washington should
take steps to implement the plans earlier voiced by President Obama.

To attain its goals, Obama’s administration should obtain the support
of reliable friends such as Azerbaijan and Turkey.

And finally, do the Turkish and Azerbaijani diasporas in the United
States manage to resist the Armenian diaspora there?

The Azerbaijani diaspora has recently stepped up its work. We have
witnessed numerous events held by US Azerbaijanis. For example,
there is a plan to hold a conference of the US Azerbaijanis Network
in Chicago in the near future. Yet I do not want to view the activity
of the Azerbaijani diaspora only in terms of confronting the Armenian
diaspora. The Azerbaijani community has a wide range of interests from
contribution to intercultural dialogue to participation in debates
on global energy security. At the same time, it should be noted that
the formation and strengthening of the diaspora is a long-term process.

Meanwhile, we should not forget that the Armenian diapora is among
the most organized ethno-political groups in the United States.

Unfortunately, some radical circles within the Armenian diaspora
continue to see developments in our region only through a prism of
narrow ethnic interests and confrontation. For example, differences
between Yerevan and the diaspora and within the diaspora itself over
the Turkish-Armenian dialogue turned into an attempt to present
the Karabakh issue as a factor uniting Armenians. It means that
confrontation with neighbours, in particular, blatant attempts to
legitimate ethnic cleansing in Shusha, has become a uniting factor.

Anyway, the decisions about the future are taken in the region,
not within diaspora circles.

What can you say about the role of Turkey and Azerbaijan in the South
Caucasus region in the near future?

Undoubtedly, Azerbaijan is the leading country in the South Caucasus.

This position will be strengthened through cooperation with Georgia,
Turkey and other partners. In turn, new opportunities are opening
for Turkey. Ankara may use this situation to strengthen its positions
in the Caucasus and Central Asia. The statements of Turkish leaders
prove that Ankara understands Azerbaijan’s role in this regard.

MANASYAN: IT IS NOT WORTH PAYING HEED TO ALIEV

Aysor
Nov 25 2009
Armenia

"Aliev’s statement was not an ultimatum, and I think it is not worth
quoting him, since his words are quoted in Azerbaijan and Turkey,"
said at press conference analyst Alexander Manasyan.

He said "It is not worth paying heed to Aliev’s statement as the
addressee of his sayings was not Armenia". But Armenia should, however,
take into account and discuss all versions, he added.

"First, Aliev’s statement was addressed to domestic ‘consumer’,
secondly, he addressed the statement to Minsk Group co-chairs, third,
he sent the statement to Turkey, and finally, it is just a method of
propaganda and warfare," said Alexander Manasyan.

ARMENIA EXPECTS FROM ASTANA BALANCED POSITION ON KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.11.2009 17:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OSCE plays a key role in the Nagorno Karabakh peace
process. Armenia hopes that Kazakhstan will come up with a balanced
position on the issue, an Armenian diplomat said.

"Armenia appreciates the OSCE Minsk Group format as a mechanism to
settle the Karabakh conflict. We also hope to strengthen cooperation
between Armenia and OSCE under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan,"
Victor Biyugov, representative of RA MFA European Department said when
addressing "Upcoming chairmanship of Kazakhstan in OSCE: opportunities
and prospects" seminar.

BORDYUZHA TREATS I. ALIYEV’S WAR RHETORIC NEGATIVELY

ARMENPRESS
Nov 24, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS: "I treat Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev’s war rhetoric negatively," CSTO Secretary General Nikolay
Bordyuzha stated at today’s briefing with journalists, pointing out
that he was a serviceman in time and was present at the hottest points
of fights. "I know what is happening during the war and I hope that
this statement is nothing else but just a statement directed toward
promoting the agreement to be reached with Armenia. I am sharply
against and treat negatively any statement directed toward solving
any political conflict in a military way," CSTO Secretary General said.

According to him, especially in the latest period the negotiation
process has activated, only this year 6 meetings of presidents have
already been held. "It comes to say that the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents have a goal to reach the regulation of a very difficult
issue. That process is going on and it is the most important,,
N. Bordyuzha said.

The session under the heading "CSTO as a factor of stability and
security in the Caucasian region" has started its work today in
Yerevan in the format of a round-table. CSTO secretary general, the
professionals of "CSTO Institute" autonomous non-trade organization,
political analysts, experts, representatives of Armenian political
research and analytical centers take part in the event.

ELIZABETH SODERSTROM, THE OPERA STAR WHO HAD IT ALL
Martin Kettle

guardian.co.uk
Monday 23 November 2009 15.16 GMT

The Swedish soprano was not just a great singer and actor, but a
remarkable woman

The newspaper obituaries of opera singers, which are invariably written
by anorak-coated music critics, too often take a standard and not very
interesting form. Born. Studied with. Made debut as. First appeared
in this country as. Much admired in the roles of X, Y and Z.

Triumphed as this or that. Retired early — or late. Much loved. Now
dead. Usually accompanied by a nice photo in costume.

Just occasionally, however, a singer is too interesting and too
rounded a human being to be confined within that dull mould. There
was an example of that last week in the obituaries of the remarkable
Armenian- Greek soprano Arda Mandikian, who I confess was barely
a name to me but whose life and art would clearly be worth a full
biography. Now, all too rapidly after the death of a great southern
European soprano, comes the death of a great northern European one,
and one who, like Mandikian, can simply not be adequately recalled
within the list of the roles that she sang.

Elizabeth Soderstrom was not so much a great soprano – though she was
one — as a great actor and a remarkable woman. I can tell you when I
heard her first — at Covent Garden as the Countess in The Marriage
of Figaro. And I can tell you when I heard her last — the New York
Met 10 years ago in her farewell performances as a very different
Countess, in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades. I can tell you some
of the roles I heard her sing, too — Melisande, Madeleine and Katya
Kabanova among them.

The feeling that touched an audience in a Soderstrom performance,
though, was not the response to the voice, lovely though that was. It
was the response to the person. Soderstrom possessed a remarkable
ability to communicate the personality of the character she was
portraying by drawing on things within her own personality. I do not
in the slightest degree mean that she always played herself — as
Pavarotti did or Bartoli does. She could not have been more different
when she portrayed Katya or Madeleine. What you always got from her
was intelligence and empathy. You cared about her character because
you cared about Soderstrom. Everything she did was always interesting.

You could, I suppose, say that she was a superb actor, which she was,
but that would not capture the presence and humanity that she always
conveyed. She was a giver to an audience, all the time.

I was once told a story about Soderstrom that may help to convey how
her artistry burned. She was rehearsing the Countess Madeleine at
Glyndebourne under John Pritchard. The contract with the orchestra
meant that Pritchard had to stop the rehearsal on the dot, or else
the musicians would start qualifying for overtime, which could not be
afforded. The rehearsal went slowly, and had only reached part way
through the magical closing scene for the soprano when the deadline
was reached. In the pit, Pritchard promptly put down his baton. The
orchestra stopped and began packing up. Soderstrom, in full flow and
unprepared for the break, looked as if she had been physically struck
down by the sudden end of the rehearsal. In tears, she refused to stop,
and sang her part unaccompanied to the end.

She was such a nice woman too. I only met her once, at the court
theatre at Drottningholm outside Stockholm where she was artistic
director for a few years in the mid-1990s. "Hello," she said as I
arrived for my appointment, "I have been so looking forward to this.

Let’s go and have some lunch and you can tell me about English
politics." She laughed a lot. She told great stories. She was a great
talker. Meeting her was like meeting a favourite relative.

Many years ago Soderstrom appeared on Desert Island Discs. Unlike some
sopranos, who choose only records by other sopranos and sometimes only
records they have made themnselves, I remember that Soderstrom chose
a wonderfully eclectic selection. One of her choices was a really
grungey heavy metal track — I can’t remember who it was by. Why did
you choose that, she was asked? Because my son likes playing it all
the time, very loudly, and it will remind me of him, she replied.

With some singers, what matters is the voice. With others, it’s the
stage presence. Soderstrom had both the voice and the presence. But
she had something even more special, her life-enhancing personality
and warmth which infused every aspect of her artistry. Many singers
attract admiration. A few attract worship. Soderstrom, on the other
hand, attracted love.

news.am, Armenia
Nov 22 2009

Co-Chairs called on Aliyev to refrain from warlike statements

20:50 / 11/22/2009After Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting in Munich, OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chairs called on Azerbaijani President to refrain from making
warlike statements. As NEWS.am reported earlier, on the threshold of
the meeting, Ilham Aliyev made a number of warlike statements. In
particular, he stated that if the hope for talks comes to an end
`country is justified in liberating its territories by coercive
methods.’

The meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents, Serzh Sargsyan and
Ilham Aliyev, has begun at the Consulate of France in Munich, Germany.
Both countries’ Foreign Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward
Nalbandyan, as well as OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs- Robert Bradtke
(USA), Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) and Bernard Fassier (France) and the
personal representative of the Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andzrej
Kasprzyk participated in the meeting. In the course of the meeting,
the officials exchanged opinions on current stage and prospects of
negotiations on Karabakh conflict settlement.

World mass media have provided coverage of the meeting in the context
of the Azeri leader’s strongly worded statements. Specifically, the
Euronews TV channel entitled its report as `Last chance talks over
Karabakh’. The source reports that `the Moscow mediated truce deal
signed last year between Azerbaijan and Armenia is on the verge of
unravelling if talks today do not produce a result.’ Referring to the
Azeri leader, Euronews reports that `President Ilham Aliyev has
already warned his country would be prepared to take the region back
by force.’

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

CONSULTATIONS WITH THE PRELATES AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE DIOCESES OF NORTH
AMERICA

18-20 November 2009, His Holiness Aram I presided over meetings between the
Prelates and lay representatives of North American Dioceses and the members
of the Executive Committee and Religious Council of the Catholicosate.

During these three days, participants discussed issues of concern for each
of the dioceses on spiritual, educational, social, administrative and legal
matters, and then common concerns for cooperation.

After expressing his appreciation both to the clergy and lay
representatives, His Holiness Aram I urged them to engage the youth in their
efforts to shape the mission of the church within their pluralist contexts.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the dioceses of
the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

KARAPETYAN: OPPOSITION MOVES CLOSER TO GOVERNMENT

Aysor
Nov 20 2009
Armenia

"Armenia today meets the serious process of political integration,"
said at press conference leader of People’s Party Tigran Karapetyan.

"Traditional political forces come together while the opposition is
moving closer to government," he said adding that these processes
stand from world globalization.

In particular, the politician says that last statements of Armenian
first-sitting President Levon Ter-Petrosyan make think that some
coming-in is underway.

"Actually, today’s decision made by Administrative Court to let
Nikola Pashinyan to nominate as a deputy in Parliament, makes clear
that there is a common agreement," said Tigran Karapetyan suggesting
that Armenian National Congress will enter Armenian Parliament in 2012.

Meanwhile, the common basis can hardly be created since some unsolved
mattes stand between ANC and authorities. "I link Nikol Pashinyan’s
case and last statement of Levon Ter-Petrosyan," he said adding
that such kind developments appear as the result of the influence of
external forces.

"Certain centers have common views; any sponsored by these forces
processes could provoke great standoff against authorities,"
said Tigran Karapetyan pointing that during the discussions on
Armenian-Turkish protocols, Armenian National Congress kept silence.

"Armenian National Congress, actually, didn’t put a crimp in this
process, which is sponsored by U.S. and partly by Russia."

MEDIATORS WILL NEVER SUPPORT ISLAMIC AZERBAIJAN IN KARABAKH ISSUE, SAYS GULUZADE

Tert
Nov 19 2009
Armenia

The document that OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have prepared for
the upcoming meeting between Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s presidents
isn’t in Baku’s interests, said political analyst Vafa Guluzade to
Azerbaijani news source 1news.az.

"The West creates only those documents that stem from their allies’
interests. In this case, the mediators support Christian Armenia,"
noted Guluzade, adding that the mediators would never agree with that
"which Islamic Azerbaijan requests."

"If Azerbaijan was currently in Armenia’s place, I assure you, those
very states would cast stones at us, [saying] that how dare you seize
independent Armenia’s territories. For that reason I’m not optimistic
on the matter of the upcoming meeting," noted the Azerbaijani analyst.

Commenting on Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s
statements that "Turkey intends to change the status-quo of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict." Guluzade said that the Turkish minister’s
statement is of an unfounded or abstract nature.

"Likewise, let him explain what he meant by saying that. For numerous
years, diplomats from various countries, speaking in the language of
diplomatic margins, have disguised the essence of their intentions. Is
it possible that the change in the status-quo of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is necessary for Davutoglu for opening the Armenia-Turkey
border, and that, irrespective of who gains?" concluded Guluzade.