Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA CALLS FOR INCLUSION OF KARABAKH IN PEACE TALKS

Tert.am
27.06.11

Following the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani presidents’ recent
summit in Kazan, Russia, the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA)
has issued a statement, praising the parties’ move to reach a mutual
understanding over a set of issues and calling for the inclusion of
the Nagorno Karabakh in the current peace deal.

The full text of the statement is provided below.

The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) commends Armenia’s
President Serzh Sargsyan for his diplomatic efforts to secure a
peaceful and just resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

While no final agreement was reached on the Basic Principles being
negotiated, the Assembly notes that the sides did reach, according
to reports, a “mutual understanding on a number of issues whose
resolution would contribute to the creation of conditions for the
approval of the basic principles.”

We also take note of US President Barack Obama’s phone call to
President Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in advance
of the Kazan summit in which “President Obama told both leaders that
now is the time to resolve this conflict and to offer the people
of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh a better future for
themselves and for their children.”

We also extend our appreciation to US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton for her support of efforts to secure a lasting peace in
the region.

It is regrettable that it appears once again Azerbaijan is not ready
for peace. Armenia has consistently demonstrated its willingness to
resolve all outstanding issues with its neighbors, while Azerbaijan,
instead, has rapidly expanded its military budget and escalated
tensions by repeatedly threatening the resumption of military action.

It is also regrettable that America’s commitment to peace
and reconciliation continues to be undermined by Azerbaijan’s
intransigence. The Assembly recalls Azerbaijan’s interference with and
opposition to the Protocols between Turkey and Armenia, which were
brokered by the Swiss government with the full support of France,
Russia, the European Union, and the United States. Ironically,
after signing the Protocols, Turkey, under pressure from Azerbaijan,
insisted that a resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be
reached prior to Turkish ratification of the Protocols, effectively
holding Armenia hostage to Turkey’s ongoing blockade.

Given the outcome of the June 24 meeting in Kazan, as well as the
stalled process with respect to the Protocols, the Assembly strongly
believes that the United States would have more credibility and be
able to achieve more progress in the peace talks and in Turkey-Armenia
rapprochement, if the United States unequivocally affirmed the Armenian
Genocide, like its OSCE counterparts, France and Russia. U.S.

affirmation of this crime against humanity as so indicated by the
United States in its 1951 filing before the International Court of
Justice is long past due.

In addition, the time has also come to directly include Nagorno
Karabakh in the negotiations. Any resolution to the conflict as
mediated by the OSCE Co-Chairs must be acceptable to the people
of Nagorno Karabakh, and must take into account its right to
self-determination.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the
largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public
understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a
501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

LE HAK CIRCONSPECT QUANT AU PROCESSUS DE PAIX
Marion

armenews.com
lundi 27 juin 2011

Le Congrès national armenien (HAK) a declare, vendredi 24 juin, qu’il
attendait que l’accord-cadre de paix propose sur le Haut-Karabagh
soit diffuse et que Stepanakert exprime sa position, avant de se
prononcer sur la question.

” Nous ne pourrons jamais tirer de conclusion sans avoir une copie
du document. Chaque mot, chaque virgule, chaque phrase peut etre
determinant dans l’evaluation du document “, a affirme le coordinateur
du HAK, Levon Zurabian.

” Pour nous, tout document sera acceptable seulement s’il l’est pour
le peuple et le gouvernement du Haut-Karabagh “, a ajoute L. Zurabian
lors d’une conference de presse.

Les propositions de paix prevoient une resolution graduelle du
conflit du Haut-Karabagh qui commencerait par le retrait des troupes
armeniennes des districts de l’Azerbaïdjan entourant le territoire
conteste. Le statut final du Haut-Karabagh serait ensuite determine
par un referendum.

Les deux autres factions d’opposition, la Federation revolutionnaire
armenienne (FRA) et le parti Heritage, ont critique cette proposition
de paix comme inacceptable et ont appele le president Serge Sarkissian
a la rejeter.

En revanche, le HAK et son leader, l’ancien president Levon
Ter-Petrossian, se sont montres beaucoup plus prudents dans
l’evaluation des principes de base. Dans une interview publiee
jeudi 23 juin, L. Ter-Petrossian a souligne qu’ils ressemblent a un
règlement qu’il avait vainement soutenu durant les derniers mois de
sa presidence entre 1991 et 1998.

Les dirigeants du HAK ont critique certaines declarations de S.

Sarkissian a l’Assemblee parlementaire du Conseil de l’Europe (APCE).

Le president a notamment declare que l’Armenie ne reconnaît pas
formellement le Haut-Karabagh comme un Etat independant, car elle
soutient le principe d’integrite territoriale. Il a egalement affirme
qu’en cas de reprise des combats au Haut-Karabagh, l’Azerbaïdjan
aurait un ” avantage ” car il preparent depuis longtemps son peuple
a la guerre.

” Je voudrais croire que c’etait un lapsus, car autrement, cela
signifierait que le president de l’Armenie partage la meme position
que le president de l’Azerbaïdjan sur ce sujet “, a declare L.

Zurabian. ” Je pense que c’etait un lapsus de sa part. ”

” Il doit juste etre rapidement rectifie “, a-t-il ajoute.

BARACK OBAMA A EXHORTE EREVAN ET BAKOU A TROUVER UN ACCORD
Marion

armenews.com
lundi 27 juin 2011

Le president americain Barack Obama a personnellement appele les
presidents armenien et azerbaïdjanais avant leur reunion a Kazan en
Russie, vendredi 24 juin. Il les a exhortes a se mettre d’accord sur
les principes de base de la resolution du conflit du Haut-Karabagh.

” Le president Obama a vivement encourage les deux leaders a finaliser
et approuver les principes de base lors de leur rencontre avec le
president D. Medvedev a Kazan “, a declare la Maison Blanche dans un
communique publie jeudi soir.

” Une fois les principes de base approuves, les parties pourront
commencer a negocier un règlement definitif base sur les principes
d’Helsinki qui sont le non recours a la force, l’integrite territoriale
et le droit des peuples a l’autodetermination. ”

” Le president Obama a declare aux deux dirigeants qu’il est desormais
temps de resoudre ce conflit et d’offrir aux peuples armenien,
azerbaïdjanais et du Haut-Karabagh un avenir meilleur pour eux-memes
et pour leurs enfants “, a ajoute le communique.

Le president Serge Sarkissian aurait repondu qu’il etait determine
a trouver une solution ” juste et pacifique ” au conflit du
Haut-Karabagh. Il a egalement declare que la reunion de Kazan sera un
succès si le president Ilham Aliev ” montre une approche constructive
“.

Dans un message adresse a S. Sarkissian rapporte par le service de
presse presidentiel armenien, vendredi 24 juin, le president francais
Nicolas Sarkozy a exhorte les presidents armenien et azerbaïdjanais
” a montrer a leurs peuples le chemin du courage, de la sagesse et
de la paix “.

L’AZERBAIDJAN MONTRE SA FORCE, APRES L’ECHEC DES DISCUSSIONS AVEC L’ARMENIE
Stephane

armenews.com
lundi 27 juin 2011

L’Azerbaïdjan a profite dimanche du 20e anniversaire de l’independance
pour montrer sa force, avec un defile militaire sans precedent,
deux jours après l’echec des negociations avec l’Armenie sur le
Nagorny-Karabakh.

Des milliers de soldats et des centaines de vehicules militaires
ont defile dans le centre de la capitale, survolee par des avions
et helicoptères de combat. Une flottille de navires de guerre etait
alignee dans la baie sur la mer Caspienne.

Le president Ilham Aliev n’a pas cache qu’il s’agissait avant tout
de montrer a l’Armenie que l’Azerbaïdjan n’entendait pas ceder sur
la question de la province annexee militairement par l’Armenie dans
les annees 1990.

“La guerre n’est pas terminee”, a-t-il lance devant les soldats qui
defilaient. “L’integrite territoriale de l’Azerbaïdjan doit etre
restauree”, a-t-il declare, promettant de mettre fin a “l’occupation”
armenienne de ce territoire.

Il s’est egalement felicite de la hausse du budget de la defense
ces dernières annees, financee par les revenus confortables des
exportations de gaz et de petrole, soulignant avec fierte avoir
atteint l’objectif qu’il s’etait fixe, “que le budget militaire de
l’Azerbaïdjan soit superieur au budget entier de l’Armenie”.

Le defile comportait egalement, pour la première fois, du materiel
militaire fabrique en Azerbaïdjan, notamment des drones.

Il a ete retransmis en direct a la television, precede d’images
montrant des troupes en action et le president Aliev en tenue de
camouflage, sur fond de chants patriotiques.

L’Armenie a pris le contrôle du Nagorny-Karabakh a l’issue d’une
courte guerre contre Bakou au debut des annees 1990, et l’Azerbaïdjan
reclame depuis la retrocession de cette region.

Le conflit lie a ce territoire azerbaïdjanais peuple majoritairement
d’Armeniens a fait 30.000 morts entre 1988 et 1994 et des centaines
de milliers de refugies.

Les Armeniens ont alors pris le contrôle du territoire qui a
ensuite proclame son independance, non reconnue par la communaute
internationale. Un cessez-le-feu a ete signe en 1994, mais Bakou et
Erevan n’arrivent pas a se mettre d’accord, depuis, sur le statut de
la region.

“WAR IS NOT OVER”: AZERBAIJAN RESUMES BELLICOSE RHETORIC ON KARABAKH AFTER KAZAN
By Aris Ghazinyan

ArmeniaNow
27.06.11 | 12:00

Photo:

Azerbaijan’s so-called Karabakh Liberation Organization held a meeting
in Baku on June 25 to discuss the “dangerous situation regarding
Karabakh’s future that has formed after the Kazan meeting.”

The resolution adopted as a result of the meeting stated that “the
futility of the Kazan meeting has once again demonstrated the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chair countries’ pro-Armenian position. Hence, there
is no point in continuing these negotiations.”

Enlarge Photo With this document the organization is demanding that
the Azeri authorities “immediately start a war against Armenia”.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated on June 26: “Armenia’s
occupation of 20 percent of Azeri territories is temporary and cannot
last forever. I am strongly convinced that our territorial integrity
will be recovered by any means it takes. The war in Karabakh is not
over yet.”

The demonstrative nature of this statement is in the fact that
it was voiced right after the Kazan meeting, that is after the
co-chairs stressed once again that a diplomatic settlement is the
only acceptable settlement of the issue and has no alternative. The
Azerbaijani president’s statement, hence, became a sort of demarche.

It is symbolic that the statement itself was voiced during a military
parade in Baku held on Sunday and timed to Armed Forces Day and the
20th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s independence.

Some 6,000 servicemen took part in the parade demonstrating 400 units
of military hardware and ammunition.

S-300 surface-to-air missile systems purchased from Russia, anti-mine
carriers as well as modern defense technology items of Turkish, Czech
and Israeli make were paraded during the review. As reported by news
agencies, for the first time Azerbaijan demonstrated its unpiloted
planes along with combat helicopters and fighter jets. Besides,
Azeri-manufactured kinds of riffles were also demonstrated during
the parade.

To sum it up: the parade was designed as a show of Azerbaijan’s
military might. The Azeri president attended it in the capacity of
the Commander-in-Chief, but delivered his speech as president.

“Our state budget has grown 16 times. Accordingly, our military
spending has increased 20 times and mas 2,582,959,470 manats ($3.27
billion), but even that is not our limit. Today Azerbaijan’s military
spending exceeds Armenia’s entire state budget by 50 percent. By their
volume the military expenses will continue being a top priority in
Azerbaijan’s budget until Armenia withdraws from the Azeri lands and
a peace agreement is signed with this country,” Ilham Aliyev stated.

Baku is traditionally talking about its material-financial superiority
over Yerevan to make a point that “Armenia is much poorer than
Azerbaijan”. Still Ilham Aliyev’s late father and ex-president Heydar
Aliyev used to say: “Our military budget will soon exceed Armenia’s
total budget.”

In this connection Vahram Atanesyan, head of the NKR National
Assembly’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, says that
although money is important, it is, nevertheless, not the decisive
factor. “The international experience of recent years has shown that
even superpowers are unable to solve their issues by force… And
didn’t Artsakh [Nagorno Karabakh] manage to resist multi-million
Azerbaijan back in the early 1990s?”

After the Kazan meeting other structures, too, have started to
talk about the possibility of a new war. Sabine Freizer, the Europe
program director of the International Crisis Group, said that the
results of the trilateral meeting of the presidents (of Armenia,
Russia and Azerbaijan) are disappointing, but there still remains
a hope that the basic principles of the Karabakh settlement can,
after all, be agreed upon.”

The problem, she believes, is that there isn’t much time left.

Presidential elections will be held in the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing
countries in 2012, and in Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2013; and it would
be very difficult to reach an agreement over a Karabakh settlement
during the election campaign periods.

“If the negotiations on the basic principles fail, the likelihood
of a new wave of armed clashes between the sides will be very high,”
she says.

THE CALLS OF WAR SOUNDED IN BAKU AFTER THE MEETING IN KAZAN

Noyan Tapan

27.06.2011

(Noyan Tapan – 27.06.2011) The organization of the liberation of
Kharabakh formed in Azerbaijan held an extraordinary session of the
Supreme council after the meeting in Kazan. As Musavat reports, the
uncertain and dangerous situation formed over Kharabakh issue was
discussed during the session. The participants of the session noted,
“The co-chairs of Minsk group aren’t interested in the fair solution
of Kharabakh conflict, they wish to preserve “status-quo”, so it is
senseless to continue the negotiations.”

The organization of the liberation of Kharabakh demanded from the
authorities to begin war immediately. Moreover, the organization
decided to held actions against UN demanding to “use punitive measures
against Armenia.” So, the resolution of the issue by the means of
war is considered as the best variant in social-political frames
of Azerbaijan.

Minister of Economy predicts 4.6% economic growth by the end of the year
24.06.2011 17:19

Lena Badeyan
`Radiolur’

The indices of the first half of 2011 are encouraging, Minister of
Economy Tigran Davtyan told a press conference today.

According to him, considerable growth has been registered in the field
of industry. The highest growth was registered in the machine-building
sector, which is one of the best indicators of reviving economy.

According to the Minister, about 10 new enterprises in the spheres of
agriculture, industry and tourism, providing hundreds of new jobs,
were opened in the first half of 2011.

Tigran Davtyan says that this year the sphere of industry will become
the locomotive of the country’s economy.

The Minister predicts 4.6% economic growth by the end of the year. `If
everything goes well, we will exceed the plan,’ he said.

French parliamentarians statment about Van insult Chavushoglu

11:14 – 21.06.11

At the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s (PACE) summer
session which kicked off in Strasburg on Monday, a statement by the
Assembly’s raparteur for Turkey insulted PACE president Mehmet
Chavushoglu, according to the Kurdish news agency Firat.

Addressing the recent parliamentary election in Turkey and the Kurdish
minority’s influence on the country’s political life, Josette Durieu,
a French parliamentarian representing the socialist party in PACE,
said: “It is necessary to closely follow what trend the Kurds will
adopt after the election … I went to Van on the election day because
it is in Kurdistan. Policemen and soldiers were walking about in the
polling stations.”

Hearing the word Kurdistan, Chavushoglu answered: ” Turkey has a
region populated by Kurds, but there’s no Kurdistan as such. Let’s
avoid making statements violating the sovereignty of states.”

Tert.am

PEOPLE OF ARMENIA ARE ONLY RESERVOIR OF OUR STRENGTH – OPPOSITION

news.am
June 24 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. -The people of Armenia are the only reservoir of our
strength. We should be able to unite our people, Hrant Margaryan,
a representative of ARF-D (Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Dashnaktsutyun) Bureau stated at the party’s general meeting on Friday.

“We have not yet reached tangible results in this direction, but we are
following a right course. Unfortunately, Armenia’s political system
has not yet established, as no force enjoys strong public support,”
Margaryan stressed.

Referring to the ARFD’s goals, Margaryan emphasized the party aims
to achieve free and fair elections.

“We will work following legislative initiatives, parliamentary
activities and propaganda till new elections. We will elaborate and
force to accept our options to solve social issues. As for facing
external threats, we will be ready to cooperate with all political
forces without exceptions,” ARFD member noted.

KARABAKH PEACE REQUIRES ‘MUCH MORE THAN TWO SIGNATURES’ ON A DEAL

news.az
June 24 2011
Azerbaijan

News.Az interviews Armenian Phil Gamaghelyan, the managing editor of
the Caucasus Edition.

Azerbaijan’s spiritual leader, Sheikh Allashukur Pashazade, has
received an invitation to visit Armenia in November to attend a CIS
Inter-Religious Council meeting. Armenian Church leader Garegin II
visited Baku last year. What kind of role may such visits play in
the Karabakh settlement?

In the late 80s and early 90s and even during the war, relations
between the two societies were not as hostile as they are today.

Today, 20 years of memories of propaganda and memories of war have
led to a sense of extreme hostility between the societies and complete
de-humanization of each other. So even if the political leaders sign an
agreement, it will be hard for the two societies to return to normal
coexistence. So contacts of non-political leaders, and especially of
spiritual leaders, are key in re-humanizing each other and developing
conditions for future coexistence.

Do you see the need for a third side to take part in dialogue between
Azerbaijani and Armenian religious leaders? What do you think about
the mediatory role of the patriarch of Moscow and All-Russia, Kirill?

Ideally, we will come to a point where we can have a dialogue without a
need of third parties. Yet today, more often than not, we need third
parties to facilitate dialogue between us. As for who would a good
mediator: in my opinion it would be someone who both sides could
trust. So if both spiritual leaders are comfortable with Patriarch
of Moscow and All-Russia Kirill, then why not.

There seems to be a really good momentum for a Karabakh settlement.

The US, Russian and French presidents at the recent G8 summit called
on Azerbaijan and Armenia to finish work on the Basic Principles. And
now there are great expectations of the meeting of the Azeri, Russian
and Armenian leaders in Kazan on 25 June. Do you see the Karabakh
conflict being settled in the near future?

We are certainly at a crossroads. The status quo is unsustainable. And
hopefully we can avoid a slide backwards and instead can move forward.

At the same time, I think we cannot expect “the Karabakh conflict
to be settled in the near future”. A settlement of the conflict will
require much more than two signatures on a document. Any comprehensive
peace process includes a process of inter-societal reconciliation and
integration parallel with Track I negotiations. Yet in our case the
Track I negotiations are not complemented with any confidence-building
measures. Moreover, they are accompanied by decades of active hostility
building; exclusion of the key parties to the conflict, the Armenians
and Azerbaijanis of Nagorno-Karabakh, from the peace process; harsh
war rhetoric and military build up – all factors impeding settlement.

If we can get two signatures on a document along with genuine support
for broad confidence-building work, then we can say that we are on
track and moving toward a settlement.

It seems that the only mediator in the settlement process is Russia.

All the recent meetings at the presidents’ level have been hosted by
Russia. Do you think that the US and France have real interests in
solving the conflict?

Unfortunately, the conflict is not on the top of the agenda of either
the USA or Europe. It becomes obvious when you look into the news
coverage of the Western outlets, into where the funding is going,
where the efforts of the best diplomats are focused, what are the
conversations in the leading think tanks. Unlike the West, Russia has
been consistently showing visible interest in the conflict, and since
Obama took office the rest of the world seems to be content with that.

In this context, I would say we that we are lucky that Russia right
now seems to be favouring resolution rather than conflict when it
comes to Nagorno-Karabakh. But that might change after elections or
with some other changes in the political landscape. So I would hope
that we can make use of this opportunity before it is too late again.

Phil Gamaghelyan is the managing editor of the Caucasus Edition;
co-director of the Imagine Centre for Conflict Transformation and a
PhD candidate at the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at
George Mason University.