Author: Kajoyan Gevork

KARABAKH MP URGES AZERBAIJAN TO RECOGNIZE KARABAKH’S INDEPENDENCE

ArmInfo News Agency (in Russian)
Aug 26 2008
Armenia

Stepanakert, 26 August: "The fact that the parliament of a powerful
country, the Russian Federation, is recommending the country’s
leadership to recognize the independence of unrecognized nations –
in particular, South Ossetia and Abkhazia – means that a new era is
coming in the world politics, even though this move could be considered
Russia’s response to the West’s recognition of Kosovo without taking
Russia’s position into account.

"But this makes no difference now. The fact is that certain countries,
the USA and Russia in particular, consider it possible to recognize
nations that had been ignored by the international community. This,
of course, opens new opportunities for those nations, including the
Nagornyy Karabakh republic [NKR], but I don’t wish to draw parallels
between the situations in South Osetia and Nagornyy Karabakh," Vahram
Atanesyan, chairman of the foreign relations committee of the NKR
National Assembly, has told Arminfo. He was commenting on the Russian
Duma appeal to Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev to recognize South
Ossetia’s and Abkhazia’s independence.

He said that "it is desirable that taking into consideration the
processes going on in the modern world, the Azerbaijani leadership
make a fair and smart decision on recognizing Nagornyy Karabakh
independence and establishing direct ties with the NKR to settle the
issues that both sides are interested in".

"This would be the best option. I hope that the current processes would
lead to that and I think that we should not speed up the processes
in any direction. It should be realized that the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict settlement talks are under way and some possibilities are
seen, and I think that in the light of the recent events, those
possibilities would be made more concrete," Atanesyan concluded.

NEW U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN IN SEPTEMBER

ARKA
Aug 27, 2008

YEREVAN, August 27. /ARKA/. The newly appointed U.S. Ambassador
to Armenia Marie L.Yovanovich is to arrive in Yerevan in mid
September, U.S. Charge d’Affaires in Armenia Joseph Pennington told
journalists. The exact date of her arrival is not known yet, he said.

The nomination of Yovanovich was approved by U.S. Senate on August 1.

Yovanovich was nominated by the Administration of President
Bush. Response of the Armenian American lobby to the nomination was
not unambiguous as in her speech at the External Affairs Committee
on June 19 Yovanovich evaded calling the 1915 massacre of Armenians
in Ottoman Empire genocide.

ISA QAMBAR: "RECOGNITION OF INDEPENDENCE OF ABKHAZIA AND SOUTH OSSETIA IS RUSSIA’S OPEN CHALLENGE TO THE WORLD SOCIETY"

Today.Az, Azerbaijan
Aug 27 2008

Recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is an open
and cynical violation of all international norms and principle of
inviolability of borders and Russia’s open challenge to the world
society, said Musavat party leader Isa Qambar.

He considers the recognition of independence of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia to be an erroneous step from the side of the working
leadership of Russia, which created a new situation in our region and
leads to reassessment of trust to Russia from the side of the whole
world society.

"I am sure that Azerbaijan should draw serious conclusions from the
established situation and take all necessary measures to ensure its
territorial integrity and security", said Qambar.

According to him, by its decision to recognize independence of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia, Russia will cause its own international isolation
and if the Armenian leadership decides to recognize independence
of Nagorno Karabakh, it will not change Nagorno Karabakh’s destiny,
which is an integral part of Azerbaijan, but may lead to Armenia’s
international isolation and prove Armenia to be Russia’s outpost in
the Caucasus, rather than an independent state.

"Certainly, following these events, Azerbaijan, like Georgia, which
has borders with Russia, can not feel safe from possible aggression
from the Russia side. It means that Azerbaijan should accelerate
its integration with NATO, which is the most effective system of
security from possible aggression by Russia. It is time for taking
definite steps in this direction. Any delay in this issue threatens
the territorial integrity of our country".

He added that Musavat party, like the rest oppositional parties and
movements of our country, is ready to forget all differences for
the national interests of Azerbaijan, if the Azerbaijan leadership
conducts correct external policy.

ARMENIA: 80-85% OF GRAPE USED FOR COGNAC PRODUCTION
by Esmerk

VinMoldova.md
August 26, 2008 Tuesday

Avag Arutyunyan, Chairman of the Union of Armenian Winemakers,
has announced that 80-85% of grape grown in the country are used for
cognac production. For large Armenian producers cognac is a commercial
product, while wine an image one. According to the Union of Winemakers,
cognac output decreased to 6.39mn litres in Armenia in H1 2008, against
7.31mn litres in the same period of 2007. Cognac export surged 61%,
to 13mn litres in 2007, against 2006.

EMBASSY OF ARMENIA IN ABU DHABI STARTS ACCEPTING CITIZENSHIP APPLICATIONS

Azad Hye
Aug 25 2008
Dubai, UAE

In 2007 the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia was amended and
appropriate legislation was passed allowing dual citizenship, thus
paving the road in front of the Diaspora Armenians for acquiring
Armenian citizenship. Until then, Chapter 1 of the Law of the
Citizenship of the Republic of Armenia, which was signed in 1995 by
President Levon Ter Petrossian, stated clearly, "a citizen of the
Republic of Armenia may not be a citizen of another country at the
same time".

Following the adopted changes, thousands of future citizens have
already filed for the Armenian citizenship. Under this legislation,
persons of Armenian descent who live in foreign countries can file for
the Armenian citizenship through the Embassies, while the procedure
takes no more than a year.

The Consular Office of the Embassy of Armenia in Abu Dhabi has taken
all measures to accept citizenship applications. Questions such as
how to apply, what documents are needed, how the applications will be
processed, are all clearly answered by the Embassy staff. Already, in
the past few months Ambassador Vahagn Melikian met with the Armenian
Community members in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Kuwait, in three separate
occasions, providing extensive explanations about the procedures
involved in the process of applying for the citizenship. This was a
great encouragement for the community members. It also helped them
to benefit from their summer vacations in order to secure official
documents from their original countries, required for the citizenship
process. It is expected that after the summer vacations considerable
number of Armenians will be applying for the citizenship through the
Abu Dhabi Embassy.

"Dual citizenship is an important mechanism that is further bringing
together the Homeland and the Diaspora. We are ready in the Consulate
to provide every single detail and assistance that will make the
applying for Armenian citizenship a memorable event for all those
who have the will to start a new kind of relationship with Armenia,
based on full citizenship, with all accruing rights and duties",
said Marat Melikian, Consul in Abu Dhabi.

Information about the documents required to apply for the Armenian
citizenship and the application form are available below.

Until recently the Diaspora Armenians were granted Special Residency
Status in the form of Special Armenian Passports. This enabled them
to travel into Armenia without visa. In Armenia they enjoyed the
full protection of the law, as well as the rights and obligations of
Armenian citizens, except for the right to vote and to run for office,
enroll in political organizations or serve in the army.

The new law will create new waves of Armenians heading toward
Armenia. Thus, the law will have far-reaching positive results. A
dual citizen will have all the rights of an Armenian citizen except
running for the presidency or for a seat in the National Assembly. That
does not mean dual citizens will never be able to serve in those
posts. After living in Armenia for 10 years, they may give up their
other citizenship and receive full rights.

As far as the Armenian government is concerned, dual citizens are first
and foremost citizens of Armenia. They have the same duties toward
the country as any Armenian citizen would. That includes serving in
the military, except for those who have served in another army for
12 months and those who have passed the age of 27.

Dual citizens will be completely under the jurisdiction of the Armenian
government. This means that the Armenian authorities will consider
them as Armenian citizens and they will not be able to ask for trial
under foreign penal codes.

On of the issues that needs to be looked into is paying
taxation. International tax agreements between Armenia and other
countries will ensure that the individual does not pay the same tax
twice in two separate countries.

The introduction of dual citizenship in Armenia will certainly
encourage investments in the long run. It is a completely different
thing to be a citizen enjoying full participation in the civil,
political and other aspects of the country, than feeling a kind of
vague moral obligation towards it.

Although this new law came too late (it was first discussed in
1991), however it will be a good opportunity to provide Armenia with
the means of development and further progress. The authorities in
Armenia were hesitant in the past and they opposed to the concept
of dual citizenship fearing that new citizens will have significant
influence on the voting scene in Armenia. With the gradual advent
of the new law, especially after having a five year term secured
to President Serzh Sargsyan, the new citizens of Armenia will not
create any political imbalance in the country and by the time the next
Presidential elections are due, the new voters will be integrated in
the mainstream politics and will not create any accumulative advantage
in favor of any particular political party.

It is far from reality that all of the Armenians will be involved in
the citizenship acquiring process. Those who are most likely to apply
for the citizenship are in fact those who left Armenia in the last
two decades (especially after the 1995 law) and have subsequently
adopted the citizenship of their new environments. The majority of
these people have members of their families back in Armenia and they
continue to maintain plots of land or property there. Their number is
not less than 700,000 and they currently live in three major locations:
Russia, the United States and Europe.

The second group of Diaspora Armenians who will be inclined to ask
for Armenian citizenship are the Armenians of neighboring countries,
such as Georgia (a drive that will be escalated after the recent
clashes between Georgia and Russia), Iran and Middle Eastern Arab
countries. Armenia is considered a better economic and social
environment for these Armenians compared to their present host
countries. Especially the potential of Armenia is considered brighter
than the politically and economically unstable Middle East countries,
although at the present time there are many similarities between these
countries and Armenia. A third and smaller wave of Armenians could be
those currently residing in the United States, Canada and Europe for
a long time, but who have maintained ties with the motherland and
who are engaged in charity work or have already established their
businesses in Armenia.

Thus, the practice of dual citizenship will attract more Diaspora
Armenians back to Armenia and encourage them to invest more there. This
can lead to a rise in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Armenia,
as more Diaspora Armenians will feel secure about their investments
or property acquisitions there. Eventually, Diaspora Armenians will be
more active participants in the social and political life in Armenia.

Questions and Answers:

If someone has a valid Special Residency Status for 10 year term,
can he/she still apply for Citizenship?

Yes, he/she can still apply for the full citizenship. When the full
citizenship is eventually granted, the Special Residency Status will
stop being useful for the same person.

What are the documents required for applying the citizenship?

Diaspora Armenians need to secure the following documents for their
applications:

Note: The documents either should be in Armenian or translated into
Armenian language.

1- Application form (see form in PDF format below). The form could
be collected from the Embassy (see Embassy contact details below)

2- Self described curriculum vitae or biography.

3- Original passport and copy of it (additionally, copy of the Special
Residency Status / Special Armenian Passport should be provided, if
applicable). Those who do not have proper passports need to provide
copy of their travel document or certificate of non-citizenship.

4- Six photos of the following size: 35X45mm

5- Health certificate: issued by a general practitioner or a clinic.

6- Police clearance certificate (penal record) related to the countries
where the person has lived in the past ten years.

7- Employment letter.

8- Birth certificate and its copy.

9- A document that proves the Armenian ancestry of the individual. This
can be a baptism certificate from an Armenian Church or birth
certificate of first-degree relative (parents, grandparents, brothers,
sisters) or any other document that proves the ethnic origin.

Other categories such as those married to citizens of Armenia or
those who possessed in the past Armenian citizenship and failed to
keep it because dual citizenship was not allowed, are required to
provide fewer documents. Check with the Consulate to know the exact
requirements for each case.

When submitting the application, there is a small test to be taken
with 30 questions related to the Armenian constitution. The test is
simple and most answers are logical multiple choices.

In one-year time, the individual whose application is accepted will be
required to travel to Armenia and attend special oath taking ceremony,
together with other lucky applicants from all around the world.

Information about the documents required to apply for the Armenian
citizenship (PDF format, in Armenian language)

Application form (PDF format, in Armenian language). Note: The actual
application form comes in the shape of A3 size folded paper (two A4
size papers in one piece).

Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Abu Dhabi H.E. Vahagn Melikian,
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Tel: +971 2 4444196
(Consular office: +971 2 4444128) Fax: (971 2) 4444197

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SIGNS LAW ON CHANGE IN WATER DISCHARGE FROM LAKE SEVAN

Noyan Tapan

Au g 25, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on
August 22 signed a law on making amendments to the RA Law on Approval
of the Annual nad Complex Programs of Measures on Restoration,
Preservation, Reproduction and Use of the Ecosystem of Lake Sevan,
NT was informed by the RA president’s press service.

BAKU NOT SEES PROSPECTS FOR RECOGNITION OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH BEYOND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF AZERBAIJAN: FOREIGN MINISTRY

Trend News Agency
Aug 25 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 25 August/ TrendNews, corr R. Novruzov/ The official
Baku does not see any prospects of recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh
beyond the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

"The independence of Nagorno-Karabakh should be recognized only within
the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," Khazar Ibrahim, spokesman
for the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan said to media on 25 August.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.

The leadership of the self-declared ‘ Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’
intends to follow the example of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and to
appeal Council of Federation of Russia to recognize its independence.

On 25 August, the Upper Chamber of the Russian parliament unanimously
voted for the appeal to the Russian President to recognize the
independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Vesti TV channel of
Russia reported. The speaker of the Upper Chamber of the Russian
parliament Sergey Mironov stated that " South Ossetia and Abkhazia
has all grounds for the recognition of their independence".

Presidents of self-declared republics Eduard Kokoity and Sergey Bagapsh
told the Council that the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have
a right to be recognized than Kosovo. "We have more political and
legal grounds foe recognition (of independence) than Kosovo".

ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES FELLOW CITIZENS ON 18TH ANNIVERSARY OF DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

ARKA
Aug 25, 2008

YEREVAN, August 25. /ARKA/. Armenia’s President Serge Sargsian
congratulated last Friday his fellow citizens on the 18th anniversary
of the Declaration of Independence.

On August 23, 1990, Armenia’s Supreme Council declared the independence
of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian people shaping their own
destiny, the President said.

The declaration expressed the united will of the Armenian people who
fought for their national dignity in Artsakh, Armenia and in other
countries populated by Armenians, according to President Sargsian.

The declaration was the first document to help Armenia integrate into
the world community, Sargsian said in his speech.

"I congratulate us all on this symbolic day that makes us once more
think about the road we have passed and get united for the progress
of our country," the President said.

ANGELA MERKEL INITIATES EU CONFERENCE WITH PARTICIPATION OF GEORGIA’S NEIGHBORS

arminfo
2008-08-25 16:04:00

ArmInfo. German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel announced an idea
of holding a conference of the European Union with participation of
Georgia’s neighbor states. Deutsche Welle reports Ukraine, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are in question. The
German Government made a relevant proposal to France. It’s up to the
French presidency of the EU to decide if this conference will take
place, as well as when and who will be invited, spokesman Thomas
Steg said.

Australia.TO, Australia
Aug 25 2008

War à la carte

The US is inventing wars aplenty these days. Will it be Iran or
Ossetia this month? asks Eric Walberg

Last week, Georgia launched a major military offensive against the
rebel province South Ossetia , just hours after President Mikheil
Saakashvili had announced a unilateral ceasefire. Close to 1,500 have
been killed, Russian officials say. Thirty thousand refugees, mostly
women and children, streamed across the border into the North Ossetian
capital Vladikavkaz in Russia .

The timing ‘ and subterfuge ‘ suggest the unscrupulous Saakashvili was
counting on surprise. `Most decision makers have gone for the
holidays,’ he said in an interview with CNN. `Brilliant moment to
attack a small country.’ Apparently he was referring to Russia
invading Georgia , despite the fact that it was Georgia which had just
launched a full-scale invasion of the `small country’ South Ossetia,
while Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was in Beijing for the
Olympics. Twenty-seven Russian peacekeepers and troops have been
killed and 150 wounded so far, many when their barracks were shelled
by Georgian forces at the start of the invasion. Georgian State
Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili rushed to announce that
their mini-blitzkreig had destroyed ten Russian combat planes ( Russia
says two) and that Georgian troops were in full control of the capital
Tskhinvali.

Russia’s Defense Ministry denounced the Georgian attack as a `dirty
adventure.’ From Beijing , Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said,
`It is regrettable that on the day before the opening of the Olympic
Games, the Georgian authorities have undertaken aggressive actions in
South Ossetia .’ He later added, `War has started.’ Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev vowed that Moscow will protect Russian citizens ‘ most
South Ossetians hold Russian passports. The offensive prompted Moscow
to send in 150 tanks, to launch air strikes on nearby Gori and
military sites, and to order warships to Georgia ‘s Black Sea coast.

Georgia’s national security council declared a state of war with
Russia and a full military mobilisation. US military planes are
already flying Georgia ‘s 2,000 troops in Iraq ‘ the third-largest
force after the United States and Britain ‘ back to confront the
Russians. By Sunday, despite early claims of victory, Georgian troops
had retreated from South Ossetia , leaving diplomatic rubble behind
which will be very hard to clear. Truth is stranger than fiction in
Georgia .

The writing has been on the wall for months. Georgian President
Saakashvili’s fawning over Western leaders at the `emergency’ NATO
meeting in April and his pre-election anti-Russian bluster in May made
it clear to all that Georgia is the more-than-willing canary in the
Eastern mine shaft. The Georgian attack on South Ossetia’s capital
Tskhinvali ‘ I repeat ‘ just hours after Saakashvili declared a
cease-fire, looks very much like an attempt to reincorporate the rebel
province into Georgia unilaterally. But whoever is advising the brash
young president ignores the postscript ‘ no pasaran! South Ossetia has
been independent for 16 years and is not likely to drape flowers on
invading Georgia tanks. It also just happens to have Russia as patron.

The aftershocks of this wild gamble by Saakashvili are just
beginning. This is Russia ‘s most serious altercation with a foreign
country since the collapse of the Soviet Union and could escalate into
an all-out war engulfing much of the Caucasus region. Russian warships
are not planning to block shipments of oil from Georgia ‘s Black Sea
port of Poti , Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said on
Sunday, but reserve the right to search ships coming to and from
it. Another source naval source said, `The crews are assigned the task
to not allow arms and military hardware supplies to reach Georgia by
sea.’ The Russians have already sunk a Georgian missile boat that was
trying to attack Russian ships. Upping the ante, Ukraine said it
reserved the right to bar Russian warships from returning to their
nominally Ukrainian ‘ formerly Russian ‘ base of Sevastopol , on the
Crimean peninsula. On Saturday, Russia accused Ukraine of `arming the
Georgians to the teeth.’

Georgia’s other separatist region, Abkhazia, was mobilising its forces
for a push into the Kodori Gorge, the only part of Abkhazia controlled
by Georgia . `No dialogue is possible with the current Georgian
leadership,’ said Abkhazia’s President Sergei Bagapsh. `They are state
criminals who must be tried for the crimes committed in South Ossetia
, the genocide of the Ossetian people.’ Britain has ordered its
nationals to leave Georgia . British charity worker Sian Davis said,
"It’s really, really quiet, eerily quiet. Everyone was either at home
or had packed up and moved out of the city. People are really, really
scared. People are panicking.’ So far the more than 2,000 US nationals
in this tiny but strategic country are mostly staying put.

This is yet another made-in-the-USA war. US President George W Bush
loudly supported Georgia ‘s request to join NATO in April, much to the
consternation of European leaders. NATO promised to send advisers in
December. Not losing any time, the US sent more than 1,000 US Marines
and soldiers to the Vaziani military base on the South Ossetian border
in July `to teach combat skills to Georgian troops.’ The UN Security
Council failed to reach an agreement on the current crisis after three
emergency meetings. A Russian-drafted statement that called on Georgia
and the separatists to `renounce the use of force’ was vetoed by the
US , UK and France . To dispel any conceivable doubt, Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice said Friday: `We call on Russia to cease
attacks on Georgia by aircraft and missiles, respect Georgia ‘s
territorial integrity, and withdraw its ground combat forces from
Georgian soil.’

But it’s also yet another made-in-Israel war. A thousand military
advisers from Israeli security firms have been training the country’s
armed forces and were deeply involved in the Georgian army’s
preparations to attack and capture the capital of South Ossetia ,
according to the Israeli web site Debkafiles which has close links
with the regime’s intelligence and military sources. Haaretz reported
that Yakobashvili told Army Radio ‘ in Hebrew, ` Israel should be
proud of its military which trained Georgian soldiers.’ `We killed 60
Russian soldiers just yesterday,’ he boasted on Monday. `The Russians
have lost more than 50 tanks, and we have shot down 11 of their
planes. They have enormous damage in terms of manpower.’ He warned
that the Russians would try and open another battlefront in Abkhazia
and denied reports that the Georgian army was retreating. `The
Georgian forces are not retreating. We move our military according to
security needs.’

Israelis are active in real estate, tourism, gaming, military
manufacturing and security consulting in Georgia, including former Tel
Aviv mayor Roni Milo and Likudite and gambling operator Reuven
Gavrieli. `The Russians don’t look kindly on the military cooperation
of Israeli firms with the Georgian army, and as far as I know,
Israelis doing security consulting left Georgia in the past few days
because of the events there,’ the former Israeli ambassador to Georgia
and Armenia , Baruch Ben Neria, said yesterday. Since his posting, Ben
Neria has represented Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in Georgia .

By Sunday, Putin was in Vladikavkaz and said it is unlikely South
Ossetia will ever be reintegrated into Georgia . There are really only
two possible scenarios to end the conflict: a long-term stalemate or
Russian annexation of South Ossetia . The former is beginning to look
pretty good, and Saakashvili is probably already ruing his rash
move. The Georgian president is clearly hoping he can suck the US into
the conflict. Alexander Lomaya, secretary of Georgia ‘s National
Security Council, said only Western intervention could prevent all-out
war. But it is very unlikely Bush will risk WWIII over this scrap of
craggy mountain.

When US puppets get out of line, like a certain Saddam Hussein, they
are easily abandoned. Saakashvili would be wise to recall the fate of
the first post-Soviet Georgian president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, also a
darling of the US (in 1978 US Congress nominated him for the Nobel
Peace Prize). He rode to victory on a wave of nationalism in 1990,
declaring independence for Georgia and officially recognising the
`Chechen Republic of Ichkeria’. But South Ossetia wanted no part of
the fiery Gamsakhurdia’s chauvinistic vision and declared its own
`independence’. Engulfed by a wave of disgust a short two years later,
abandoned by his US friends, he fled to his beloved Ichkeria. He snuck
back into western Georgia , looking for support in restive Abkhazia,
but his uprising collapsed, prompting Abkhazia to secede.

Gamsakhurdia died in 1993, leaving the two secessionist provinces as a
legacy, and was buried in Chechnya . Saakashvili rehabilitated him in
2004 and had his remains interred in Mtatsminda Pantheon with other
Georgian `heroes’. Truth really is stranger than fiction in Georgia
. Now the burning question is: will history repeat itself?

*** Eric Walberg writes for Al-Ahram Weekly. You can reach him at

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