PanARMENIAN.Net
OSCE MG Co-chairs depart for Karabakh
15.01.2008 17:35 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On January 15, OSCE Minsk Group
Co-chairs Bernard Fassier (France), Matthew Bryza
(U.S.) and Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) as well as
Personal Representatives of the OSCE CiO, Amb. Andrzej
Kasprzyk arrived in Stepanakert to meet with NKR
President Bako Sahakian.
A meeting with journalists is also scheduled, IA
Regnum reports.
ARMENPRESS
SOME 450,000 TOURISTS VISIT ARMENIA IN 2007
YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS: According to
preliminary figures, released by Armenia’s trade and
economic development ministry, some 450,000 tourists
visited the country in 2007.
Mekhak Apresian, head of a department dealing with
tourism issues, said the final figures will be
unveiled in early February. He said some 60 percent of
all foreign visitors are ethnic Armenians living in
other countries.
The average age of a foreigner visiting Armenia is
42 years and 60 percent are males. Regarding Diaspora
Armenians the share of males and females is equal.
Some 20 percent are first time visitors while 56
percent visit the country for third time and more
times.
The majority of foreign tourists are from Russia,
Georgia and USA, followed by tourists from Iran,
France, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Turkey and Syria.
PRESS RELEASE
15 January, 2008
Contact: Sophia Blbulyan
(374-10) 547 211, (374-93) 415 485
[email protected]
www.deemcommunic ations.com
Winter Festivities in Armenia revive holiday outdoor celebrations with a
Winter Festival launched by the first Winter Parade.
Yerevan, Armenia – A myriad of winter activities depicts the resurrection of
the Armenian holiday spirit carried through a series of events within the
scope of the WinterFest 2007.
According to the old calendar, January 14 is the New Year’s Day which was
considered one of the most celebrated traditional holidays. In modern times,
this day marks the end of the winter festivities in Armenia.
December 23, 2007, a first winter parade in Yerevan kicked off the first
ever winter festival of Armenia. This colorful parade highlighted the
WinterFest with its eminent indoor-outdoor winter activities. This festival
was initiated by Deem Communications and was realized with the support of
the Yerevan Municipality and CAPS/USAID Armenia, in collaboration with
Marriott Armenia Hotel Yerevan, Coca-Cola Armenia, SquareOne Restaurant,
Nina Hovnanian Treasures, as well as ATDA.
Along Abovyan Street to Republic Square, bright colored floats, decorated
cars and motorcycles, elegant horse carriages, dance groups, youth groups,
jugglers, and other participants entertained the thousands who visited. A
marching band led the parade into the main Square where attendees were
greeted with the arrival of the most significant character of the season,
Dzmer Pap (Santa Clause). Following the Parade was a holiday concert held
underneath Armenia’s national Christmas tree.
In addition, a series of activities were included in the WinterFest 2007,
such as circus performances and the puppet theater. Given the success of
this event, the director of Deem Communications, Raffi Niziblian, is
optimistic that WinterFest will bring back the customary outdoor
celebrations in Armenia. "Many countries in the world show off their
cultural wealth through such festivals. I believe that we have a unique way
of celebrating our holidays and we should share this heritage with the rest
of the world. This winter festival will become a tradition where foreign
tourists and Armenians alike will enjoy and celebrate," said Mr. Niziblian.
WinterFest will also offer to the tourism clusters a means to make best use
of their entertainment and hospitality services in Yerevan, as well as in
the other key tourist destinations such as Tzaghkadzor, Dillijan, Dzoraget
and Jermuk.
Raffi Niziblian concluded, "Our main objective is to liven up the cold and
dull winter season by instilling the cheerful holiday spirit for both locals
and visitors from other countries, and bolster festive winter tourism in
Armenia. We look forward to WinterFest 2008!"
###
PanARMENIAN.Net
Which factor prevails over the resolution of the
Kosovo issue – political or economic?
Everybody wants to create opportunities for rational
development of the situation. If this happens in
future we will have chances for stable economic
development in Kosovo.
12.01.2008 GMT+04:00
The reasons underlying the resolution of the Kosovo
issue which is being pushed on by the USA and EU are
not only political but economic. The independence and
the urge to separation from Serbia besides the concern
for the Kosovo Albanians, pursue pure economic goals.
There is the region of Trepca in Kosovo, which is very
rich in minerals. Before the breakup of Yugoslavia
many countries exported zinc, cadmium and silver from
there. The coal that Kosovo possesses is valued very
high as well.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ With the current prices for oil and
gas, regardless the ecology, the coal becomes one of
the alternative sources of energy. The coal
transportation to the USA is connected with many
difficulties, but for Europe the coal that Kosovo
possesses is of great importance. Besides all the
rest, the region has tin and chromium, which is enough
to invest money in its exploitation.
`Kosovo has enough supplies of natural resources to
become economically all-sufficient region by the
time,’ announced the UN Special Envoy for the Kosovo
status process Martti Ahtisaari. According to the
diplomat, the issues of the economic development of
the region of the country will become decisive in the
course of negotiations. `At present Kosovo is
significantly being subsidized by the international
donors, however, this region cannot endlessly rely on
the inflow of resources from the outside. Having
natural resources, which are hard to be extracted, one
should not think that the world tax-payers will
endlessly finance you. Everybody wants to create
opportunities for rational development of the
situation. If this happens in future we will have
chances for stable economic development in Kosovo,’
said Ahtisaari.
Kosovo’s independence is needed to cut Serbia off
these minerals. As always economic interests have
their influence on politics. The USA has started the
Gulf War, Operation Desert Shield, without liberating
Kuwait from Iraqi occupation, for sake of big reserves
of oil. The same may be said about the invasion of
Iraq under the pretext of abolishing the weapon of
mass destruction possessed by Saddam Hussein, which
hasn’t been found till today.
When it is said in the West that there will be no
Kosovo precedent, normally the economic factor is
meant. It is natural that Abkhazia, South Ossetia,
Transnistria and moreover Nagorno-Karabakh in the
economic plan, or to be more exact in energy sphere,
are of no interest to the USA or EU. Another thing is
that they all stand in the way and comply with the
interests of Russia.
It turned out that Kosovo’s independence is handy for
everyone. It is also of great importance for Serbia as
well, but the Serbs are not ready for anything yet,
and will hardly be in the near future. As a result,
the everlasting method of resolving such kind of
conflicts remains the war, though all the interested
parties say that `they are not going to allow any
military decisions to be taken.’ It seemed like Turkey
was also of the same opinion as the USA, but then it
simply started bombing Northern Iraq. President
Abdullah Gul, after his visit to Washington says that
this is not possible. The same will be in the Balkans,
i.e. the scenario of 1999, when Kosovo during the mass
confusion caused by the breakdown of Yugoslavia
started the war against the Serbs, may repeat.
The Kosovo Independence Day declared by Hashim Tachy
is not so far. They intend to part from Belgrade for
once and for all on February 3, this is the deadline
set by the USA and EU, when the second round of the
elections in Serbia will take place. `It’s a sure
thing, since the Americans have already promised
independence to Kosovo. But if Washington recognizes
Kosovo and the European countries don’t, we will face
a huge disaster,’ writes The New York Times. We will
have to face disaster in any case, and unfortunately
the Balkans will become the cause of the war, like it
has happened several times throughout the history.
«PanARMENIAN.Net» analytical department
Mediamax, Armenia
Jan 11 2008
ARMENIAN EX-PRESIDENT SAYS GOVERNMENT POSTS TO BE DISTRIBUTED AMONG
SUPPORTERS
Yerevan, 11 January: Armenian ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan said
in Yerevan today that "only in a nightmare can you see that Armenia
will be ruled by representatives of the current regime in the next 10
years".
Speaking at a news conference in Yerevan today, Levon Ter-Petrosyan
said that if he wins the 19 February presidential elections, members
of his team will be representatives of the political forces that
support him today, Mediamax reports. "You know these people well,
each of these political forces will get posts commensurate with their
contribution to our victory," the first Armenian president said.
"Among all the presidential candidates, we are the only real force
that really confronts the authorities," he said.
In response to the question that the leader of the National
Democratic Union [NDU], Vazgen Manukyan, still asserts that he won
the 1996 presidential elections from Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the
ex-president said: "Politics are a legal process, and the reality is
that disputing the results of the elections in 1996, Manukyan and his
supporters presented the Constitutional Court with copies of more
than 1,000 protocols from polling stations. As a result of the check,
we found out that inaccuracies were in place only in a few dozen
protocols," Ter-Petrosyan said.
"Manukyan could not provide any evidence to back up his allegations
that the elections had been rigged," the ex-president said.
[translated]
HAVE THEY CHANGED THEIR MINDS?
A1+
[06:52 pm] 10 January, 2008
Dieter Boden, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission
during the presidential elections in Georgia announced today that
many fraud cases were registered during the elections.
In an interview with "Frankfurter Rundshau" newspaper, the Ambassador
stated that it was becoming more and more obvious that "rude and
deliberate riggings took place during the counting of ballots".
According to him, the next day of election the OSCE Observation
Mission positively assessed the election process, since "the obvious
cases of violation were not revealed then".
Boden called the opposition to present all facts on the rigging to
the Central Electoral Commission, since the body was competent to
revise the results of the elections.
DAVID NALBANDIAN’S AUSTRALIAN OPEN CAMPAIGN IN SERIOUS DOUBT
armradio.am
10.01.2008 14:35
Argentinean Armenian tennis star David Nalbandian’s Australian Open
campaign is in serious doubt after he suffered a back injury.
Nalbandian, who twice beat World No.1 Roger Federer last year,
suffered back spasms while practicing with Russian Marat Safin at
Melbourne Park.
He was forced to pull out of this week’s Kooyong Classic lead-up
event and was awaiting the results of an MRI scan.
Nalbandian, who ranks number 10 in the world, hoped to improve his
rating in the Australian Open.
ARMENIAN FM: POGROMS OF ARMENIANS IN SUMGAIT THE FIRST ATTEMPT OF ETHNIC PURGE IN OUR REGION
arminfo
2008-01-09 18:13:00
ArmInfo. ‘Sumgait pogroms of Armenians was the first attempt of ethnic
purge in our region’, Foreign Minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan said
at a press conference, Wednesday, on occasion of the 20th anniversary
of these tragic events to be marked in 2008.
He said the negotiations for settlement of Karabakh conflict and the
Sumgait events of 1988 are inseparably associated. ‘The military phase
of the conflict started after the events in Sumgait. It was Sumgait
that changed the course of Karabakh process’, the minister said. He
also added that commemoration of these events will drive home the
NKR people’s right to self-determination. Return to the status quo of
1988 is impossible and Azerbaijan must understand this, the minister
stressed. He drew parallels between purges in Kosovo and Sumgait and
stressed that Armenian diplomats have to carry out serious outreach
activities at international instances.
The minister also urged NGOs to join the events to be organized on
occasion of the 20th anniversary of Sumgait pogroms.
DINK MURDERER RECOGNIZED ADULT
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.01.2008 14:44 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ogun Samast accused of murdering prominent Agos
editor Hrant Dink almost one year ago can now be named by the media,
after authorities lifted a ban on publishing his identity. Till now,
the media have been forbidden to publish Samast’s name as he was
believed to be under the age of 18.
However, the results of medical tests conducted on Samast revealed he
is currently 19 years of age, meaning he was not a minor. Samast is
standing trial for the murder of Dink along with a number of other
men accused of involvement in the crime or inciting Samast to commit
the shooting. Detained a few days after the shooting, Samast, who
has links to far right wing Turkish groups, admitted to killing Dink,
NTV -Turk reports.
Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates
Jan 6 2007
Bush, Gul set for fence-mending talks
(AFP)
6 January 2008
WASHINGTON – With the United States bowing to Turkey’s insistence on
punitive action against Kurdish rebels in Iraq, the two nations can
look forward to a more harmonious encounter at summit talks here this
week.
President George W. Bush is set to welcome his Turkish counterpart
Abdullah Gul to the White House on Tuesday morning, shortly before
Bush leaves for the Middle East on his first visit to Israel and the
Palestinian territories.
The leaders are expected to discuss Turkey’s long-running bid to join
the European Union, an aspiration warmly backed by the United States
in the face of resistance from some EU powerbrokers such as France.
And with Bush seeking to revitalize Middle East peace talks, Turkey’s
influence with Israel and Arab states will also figure in Gul’s
Washington talks, as will Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to the
State Department.
It will be Gul’s debut trip to Washington since the mildly Islamist
politician took over as Turkey’s president in August.
Since then, Turkish opinion has been inflamed by deadly cross-border
attacks from northern Iraq by the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK), and by a push in the US Congress to accuse the old Ottoman
Empire of `genocide.’
But on both fronts, Turkey’s government has grounds for satisfaction
as the two presidents bid to reinvigorate the oft-strained
partnership between the United States and its Muslim-majority NATO
ally.
Mark Parris, a former US ambassador to Turkey, said the breakthrough
came in November when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
enjoyed a `meeting of minds’ with Bush in Washington at the bloody
height of the PKK raids.
`Bush used for the first time the expression `common enemy,’ which
elevated the perceived threat posed by the PKK to US interests,’
Parris, an expert on Turkey at the Brookings Institution, told AFP.
Bush promised Erdogan reAl time US intelligence on PKK guerrilla
movements across the mountainous border between Turkey and Iraq, and
the United States acquiesced to Turkish air raids on rebel redoubts.
In return, according to Parris, the Turkish military promised to
limit civilian casualties, to eschew overnight stays on Iraqi soil,
and to avoid actions that could destabilize Iraq more broadly.
Late last month, Gul told the Anatolia news agency that the US
support `befits our alliance’ and added: `This is how it should be.
We could have come to this point earlier.’
Underlining the threat from Turkey’s perspective, five people were
killed Thursday when a powerful car bomb exploded near a military
base in Diyarbakir, the main city in the country’s mainly Kurdish
southeast. Another two people were injured in a bombing in the
eastern city of Malatya.
Ahmet Davutoglu, Erdogan’s chief foreign policy advisor, said the
joint work against the PKK since the prime minister’s Washington
visit has done much to mend US-Turkish fences.
`The Turkish-American cooperation is bearing fruit, we’re satisfied
with it,’ he told the CNN-Turk network on Wednesday, stressing that
their alliance was no longer an `unconditional partnership.’
Turkish leaders are also happy with the waning of the campaign in the
US House of Representatives to label the World War I slaughter of
ethnic Armenians by Ottoman troops as `genocide.’
After the genocide bill was passed by the chamber’s foreign affairs
committee in October, Turkey threatened to sever US access to an
airbase that is a key staging post for supplies bound for Iraq and
Afghanistan.
But the resolution’s Democratic authors then agreed to shelve a vote
in the full House, bowing to intense pressure not just from Turkey
but also from the Bush administration.