Author: Kalantarian Kevo

AZERBAIJAN INVESTIGATING THE REPORTS ON THE FRENCH DEPUTY’S VISIT TO NAGORNO KARABAKH

armradio.am
08.06.2009 18:40

The Government of Azerbaijan is investigating the reports on the
French National Assembly member’s visit to Nagorno Karabakh occupied
by Armenia, Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Elkhan
Polukhov told APA.

The ministry urged the embassy of Azerbaijan in France to learn the
reports and to inform the ministry. "We will take relevant steps after
clarifying the issue. The question is about the parliamentarian, not
the government official. But we can send a note of protest to France".

Let us remind that member of the French National Assembly, Chairman
of France-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group Francois Rochebloine
visited Armenia, after which he left for Stepanakert to meet with
the leadership of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

OSCE MINSK GROUP: PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN AGREE TO CONTINUE THE MEETINGS

armradio.am
06.06.2009 12:20

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group released the following statement
today:

"The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov
– Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard Fassier – France; Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza – United States) took part
with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office
Andrej Kasprzyk in the meeting of President of Azerbaijan Ilham
Aliyev and President of Armenia Serge Sargsyan in Saint Petersburg,
Russia on 4 June 2009.

This meeting was the fifth since June 2008 when the Presidents met
for the first time.

During their tete-a-tete conversation as well as at the working session
held afterwards with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Ministers of
Foreign Affairs, the Presidents discussed the overall conception of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement advanced by the mediators
and reviewed some of the elements of the proposed settlement that
have not yet been agreed.

The conversation took place in a constructive atmosphere and resulted
in positive steps that narrowed the differences between the two
countries on a number of the Basic Principles of the settlement.

Because of these positive developments in their discussion, both
Presidents asked the mediators to continue their shuttle diplomacy and
to open a new and major subject outlined by the Madrid Document which,
according to their views, still remains the basis of the negotiation.

In addition, the two Presidents agreed on the mediators’ proposal
for the Presidents to continue their meetings in the nearest future,
if possible in July."

PAN-ARMENIAN EXPO 3RD INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION TO BE HELD BETWEEN OCTOBER 23 TO 25 IN YEREVAN

NOYAN TAPAN
JUNE 4, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 4, NOYAN TAPAN. The Pan-Armenian Expo 3rd International
Universal Exhibition will be held between October 23 to 25 at Yerevan
K. Demirchian Sports and Concert Complex. Masis Sargsian, the Head
of the Business Assistance Department of the RA Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, reported this.

He reminded that the Expocenter company of the RA Chamber of Commerce
and Industry organizes the Pan-Armenian Expo Exhibition once every
three years. According to M. Sargsian, the organization work was
launched nearly two months ago, and the fulfillment of the Memorandum
signed on June 2 between the RA Chamber of Commerce and Industry and
the Ministry of Diaspora will make that work active.

It was mentioned that the idea of supporting a native producer is the
basis of Pan-Armenian Expo. "We should strive for promoting native
production in any way, create favorable atmosphere for Armenian
enterprises for getting raw materials, sale of production, renewal
of technologies, and entering new markets," M. Margarian said.

He expressed the hope that the tradition of increase of the number of
Pan-Armenian Expo’s participants from one exhibition to another will
be kept. It should be mentioned that Pan-Armenian Expo 2003 had nearly
160 participants and the exhibition of 2006 more than 200 participants.

TOMORROW ANDRES HERKEL WILL INFORM PACE MONITORING COMMITTEE ABOUT REFERENDUM IN AZERBAIJAN

APA
June 4 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova – APA. Co-rapporteur of the PACE Monitoring
Committee for Azerbaijan Andres Herkel will report about the
March 18 referendum held in Azerbaijan on amendments and annexes
to the Constitution at the meeting of the committee in Paris on
June 5. Andres Herkel told APA that he will brief the members of
the committee about his visit together with the other co-rapporteur
Evguenia Jivkova to Azerbaijan on April 8-11 and the referendum. "The
Monitoring Committee initiated before the Venice Commission to hold
legal examination concerning the referendum. We could not discuss
the committee’s opinion during the April session, therefore I want
to touch on this issue tomorrow," he said.

Co-rapporteur Evguenia Jivkova will not attend tomorrow’s
meeting. Functioning of the democratic institutions in Armenia,
state of human rights in Europe and improvement in PACE’s monitoring
procedure will be mainly debated at the meeting of the Monitoring
Committee. Discussions will be held on Azerbaijan, Moldova, Monaco,
Albania and Ukraine.

THEY WILL TRY TO ABORT THE BOYCOTT

LRAGIR.AM
16:13:26 – 04/06/2009

There is information that on these days everything is being made to
abort the boycott of the Armenian National Congress in connection
with the Yerevan Elders’ Council election. On June 1, during an
oppositional rally, Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated that the HAK is going
to boycott and to refuse its mandates.

Now, the government is trying to find people on the HAK ticket, who
will not obey the HAK decision and will take the mandates. According
to our information, the government uses all the possible mechanisms
to reach its goal.

Commenting on this information, the coordinator of the HAK central
office Levon Zurabyan told our reporter, "Naturally, this is what
the government may do, even if they manage to find people, who will
accept the mandates, this will not change anything, because the HAK
laid down the its mandates".

AZERBAIJAN CASHING IN ON OIC RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS

ARKA
June 4, 2009

YEREVAN, July 4. /ARKA/. Azerbaijan is cashing in on the religious
sentiments of the member-countries of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC), RA Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said,
commenting an anti-Armenian resolution adopted by the 36th conference
of the OIC Foreign Ministers in Damascus.

"Resolutions like that have hardly been adopted over the last
year except for this one," Kocharyan said in his interview to
Novosti-Armenia. He said that "Azerbaijan’s rhetoric proved effective"
at one time because "not everyone knows and remembers".

"It is no coincidence that Azerbaijan has made repeated statements on
the ineffectiveness of the OSCE Minsk Group and pronounced for going
beyond its format. The reason is that the OSCE Minsk Group is well
informed of the genesis of the conflict, all the details unknown to
many international organizations," Sh. Kocharyan said.

He said that, making successive attempts to pervert the truth about
the conflict and about its aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku
is trying to present it as a territorial dispute between Armenia
and Azerbaijan.

"They have succeeded to a certain extent, but this is the limit,"
Sh. Kocharyan said.

According to him, OIC is the only organization where Azerbaijan
recently managed to railroad the traditional resolution. "We dee
ply regret the fact that Azerbaijan is cashing in on the religious
sentiments of the IOC member-states to push resolutions like this
through it," he said.

Sh. Kocharyan also pointed out it is extremely dangerous because the
future is a dialogue, not a clash, between civilizations. "Even during
the military stage of the conflict the problem of self-determination
was not presented in a religious aspect. Azerbaijan is overstepping
the limits," Kocharyan said.

GOVERNMENT TO CONTINUE SUBSIDIZING ENTERPRISES AND PRIVATE ENTREPRENEURS IN MARZES
Hasmik Dilanyan

"Radiolur"
04.06.2009 17:02

The issue of resisting the global financial-economic crisis was again
on the agenda of today’s sitting of the Armenian Government. The
Government decided to expand the subsidization of loan to enterprises
and private entrepreneurs in rural communities.

According to RA Minister of f Finance Tigran Davtyan, the Government
has started implementing a pilot program from March of the current
year. Tens of loans have been provided to most vulnerable communities
in Shirak and Gegharkunik marzes. The Government subsidizes the loans
by covering 10% of the loans. Now the executive body confirms its
willingness to continue the program, involving a number of new regions.

According to Tigran Davtyan, this program will not only greatly
benefit the enterprises and private entrepreneurs in rural regions,
but will also expand the number of creditor.

A HUMANITARIAN NEEDS OUR HELP
By W. Robert Pearson

Washington Times
anitarian-needs-our-help/?feat=home_commentary
Jun e 3 2009

The world is in need of a little healing right now, a time of change
and challenges among nations and cultures. Humanitarians around the
planet work in countless communities to help make things better —
as aid workers, teachers, journalists and spiritual leaders.

Yet every so often, a humanitarian’s relationship with the world gets
turned upside down, so instead of helping the world, that good-hearted
person needs our support.

Right now, my colleague Silva Harotonian sits in Iran’s notorious
Evin Prison, innocent of any wrongdoing yet sentenced to three years
in jail on political charges. We ask the world to come to her aid by
calling for her release. Silva’s story will sound familiar. Journalist
Roxana Saberi suffered through a similar ordeal during her detainment
on political charges, and Ms. Saberi’s release on May 11 gives hope
to those of us asking for mercy for Silva.

When the same legal basis for Ms. Saberi’s discharge is applied
to Silva’s case, it indicates Silva also should be granted
freedom. Additionally, Iran’s judiciary chief, Ayatollah Mahmoud
Hashemi Shahroudi, commented on Ms. Saberi’s appeal that "all the
aspects of this case, such as its moral and worldly elements, should
be considered in a careful, quick and fair way." As she approaches
her second and final appeal, Silva deserves the same.

Silva, an Iranian citizen of Armenian descent, has always been a
natural humanitarian. A compassionate soul, she actively served her
Armenian Christian church and cared for ailing family members. We
at the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) hired
then 33-year-old Silva in late 2007 to work on one of our many
international, peer-to-peer exchange programs.

As a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization with a 40-year
history of international academic and people-to-people exchange
initiatives, IREX employs more than 500 people around the world and
has touched many thousands without ever being accused of nefarious
intentions.

Silva provided administrative support for our Maternal and Child Health
Education and Exchange Program, which allowed health care professionals
in the United States and Iran to share information on best practices.

Despite her modest role, serving the women and children in her home
country of Iran struck a chord with Silva. She worked from our office
in Yerevan, Armenia, translating documents, answering phone inquiries
and occasionally traveling to Iran to explain program logistics to
the health care exchange’s participants.

At the end of Silva’s fourth trip to Iran, in June 2008, Iranian
authorities arrested her. Months later, they formally charged her with
conspiring to overthrow the government through a "soft revolution"
and then sentenced her to three years in prison. Her first appeal
was denied a few weeks ago.

Silva is no revolutionary. In fact, our colleague never took much
interest in politics or following the news. She preferred to write
poetry and go to the theater when she wasn’t working or caring for
her family.

Neither Silva nor we at IREX have secret agendas. We are nonpartisan
humanitarians and closely cooperate with the governments in the
countries where we have been granted permission to operate. Our work
around the world speaks for itself, as IREX has achieved successes
in Egypt, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Morocco and countless other places.

With the experience of 40 years serving in more than 100 countries,
we know misunderstandings can lead to severe consequences. After
almost one year in jail, Silva continues to pay dearly. With limited
prior life experience, she has served time that will forever impact
her life. Day by day, her spirits and health deteriorate. Now is the
time to send her home.

By releasing Silva to her family now, Iranian authorities can
demonstrate the need for law-abiding behavior and show the value of
forgiveness and mercy, as in Ms. Saberi’s situation. Such an act would
also reinforce the special, important role of humanitarians in the
world. Those who give so much to others deserve special consideration.

Like all of us at IREX, Silva conducted her work with pure intentions
of spreading good will, by helping mothers and children while promoting
Iran’s health care advancement.

As Silva appeals her conviction, we will keep pursuing all avenues
for her release. In addition, her family is working desperately to
bring her home. It has set up a Web site, , where
visitors can sign a petition of support. Together, our voices are
becoming louder and our pleas for freedom more meaningful.

On behalf of humanitarians doing good work around the world, please
join us in helping to bring Silva home.

W. Robert Pearson, president of the International Research & Exchanges
Board, is a former director general of the U.S. Foreign Service and
a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey.

ANC MEMBER ACCUSED OF CONTRIBUTING TO INFORMATION LEAKAGE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.06.2009 16:09 GMT+04:00

Robert Avagyan, former member of the fact-finding group investigating
March 1, 2008 incidents, told journalist that the person contributing
to information leakage on the circumstances of policeman Hamlet
Tovmasyan’s death must have been a representative of Armenian
national Congress (ANC). According to Mr. Avagyan, the document
was not finally elaborated and contained several points requiring
further consideration, hence it was still early to draw final
conclusions. Nevertheless, breaching his duty not to disclose
any information and realizing the consequences deriving thereof,
Mr. Avagyan said that ANC might have sought to impede fact-finding
group’s activities by making that step. "By publicizing an unfinished
document, a specific group of people might have pursued a specific
goal, and I say for sure that it was an ANC representative that
contributed to information leakage." Avagyan is confident that the only
person who could have done that was Andranik Kocharyan, although he
denies his complicity in the affair. The opposition-run press recently
publicized a document containing preliminary data on police officer
Hamlet Tadevosyan’s death circumstances. The document had been kept
in a fire-resistant safe belonging to the fact-finding group.

"INLIGHT STUDIOS," MHER HARUTUNIAN’S 2 NEWLY NAMED MALL ART GALLERIES TO OPEN IN USA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.06.2009

/PanARMENIAN.Ne t/ Mher Harutunian, an Armenian born artist who moved to
Dayton from New York City in 2000, had established a steady following
at his "Portraits by Michael" art kiosk at Cincinnati’s Eastgate
Mall over a three-year period before mall management approached him
in early 2009 to see if he wanted to expand into a full store.

Pleasantly surprised, he signed a one-year lease agreement on the
3,000 square foot former B Moss women’s clothing store.

Prompted by Eastgate’s encouraging offer, Harutunian next contacted
Dayton’s Mall at Fairfield Commons and received an equally positive
offer. He now has a 16-month lease agreement with Fairfield to occupy
a 2,000 square foot former photography store, selling his works out
of a kiosk on the first floor before the gallery opens.

"Inlight Studios," Harutunian’s newly named mall art galleries, will
feature many of the artist’s works he sells at his kiosks. Ranging from
roughly 250 black and white hand drawn celebrity portraits done in
charcoal to custom portraits of personal photos hand drawn in pastel
or charcoal, Harutunian – who now goes by Michael instead of Mher –
is grateful for the opportunity both malls have given him.

Of the two new galleries, Harutunian thinks the Eastgate store will
offer him more customers, he is even thinking about offering art
classes at his Fairfield store.

Harutunian grew up in Armenia surrounded by art. His father, uncle
and cousins were all artists, with his father’s artwork decorating
the walls in his family’s apartment. He graduated from Yerevan Art
Academy in 1987, where his father was a professor.

>From there, Harutunian did artistic design work in the former USSR
until moving to Boston in 1992, then later to Manhattan in 1996.

With his two new galleries set to open, Harutunian has come a long
way in his 10 years spent in the Dayton area. Before opening his
kiosk at Eastgate, the artist used to sketch people at night in the
Oregon District.