Author: Kalashian Nyrie

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION TO BE INTRODUCED IN U.S. SENATE SOON

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.02.2009 17:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Recognition of the Armenian Genocide is an
irreversible process not only in the Unites States but also throughout
the globe.

"We suppose that a draft resolution recognizing the Genocide will be
submitted to the 111th Congress soon," Ms. Arpi Vartanian, the Armenian
Assembly of America Regional Director for Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh,
told a news conference in Yerevan on Wednesday.

"The Assembly negotiates with the Congressmen, Co-chairs of the
Caucasus on Armenian Issues and new administration members for soonest
recognition of the Armenian Genocide," she said.

Ms. Vartanian also reminded about the frequent visits of Turkish
delegations to Washington with the purpose to dissuade the
administration from the move.

"Meanwhile, Congressmen expect President Obama to keep his pledges,
including recognition of the Armenian Genocide. "We understand that the
U.S. has its own interests in the Caucasus and that Washington doesn’t
want to damage relations with Turkey. But we believe that Obama-Biden
administration will support the Armenian Americans and will recognize
the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire," she said.

ARMENIA’S BOXERS PERFORM SUCCESSFULLY IN GEORGIAN YOUTH OPEN TOURNAMENT

Noyan Tapan

Feb 2, 2009

KUTAYIS, FEBRUARY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. The Georgian Youth Open Tournament
was held on January 25-31 in Kutayis. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was
informed by Arman Muradian, the newly elected Chairman of Armenian
Boxing Federation and Co-chairman of Bamo Holding, the Federation
had sent 12 boxers to Kutayis.

In younger boxers’ tournament Taron Soghomonian (50 kg) took the first
place and Ashot Safarian (40 kg) the third place. Henrik Mukoyan (42
kg), Vahe Sargsian (44 kg), and Kolya Grigorian (48 kg) won the elder
age group tournament. Artur Kirakosian (46 kg) and Andranik Hloyan
(54 kg) took the second place and Gagik Sargsian the third place.

WHAT’S ERDOGAN’S HANG-UP WITH THE PALESTINIANS?
By Amikam Nachmani

Ha’aretz
ages/1060816.html
Feb 2 2009
Israel

What moved Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to take up the
mantle as Israel’s leading critic in the aftermath of Operation Cast
Lead? Is this a matter of a personal affront, in that Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert, who visited Ankara just days before the operation,
did not warn the Turks of what was to come?

Israel’s former ambassador to Ankara, Zvi Elpeleg, once cautioned that
Turkey is about as sensitive about the Palestinian issue as it is about
the Armenian issue. Millions of people in Turkey take no interest in
what is happening beyond their borders, with one exception: Palestine.

Advertisement

Turkish concerns for the Palestinians are deeply rooted. Their
misery, say the Turks, began during the Ottoman era of sovereignty
in Palestine. The Ottomans allowed the start of Jewish settlement
in the country. The Ottomans also viewed the Palestinians as some
of their most loyal subjects. They enlisted in the imperial army,
fought in combat, became high-ranking officers, received citations of
bravery from the sultan, married Turkish women, and, most importantly,
hoped to keep the Ottoman Empire intact so they could put into practice
Arab nationalism under its umbrella.

During the recent crisis in Gaza, the Turkish press often focused
on the passivity of the Arab regimes in light of the events, while
contrasting it with Turkey’s spirited efforts. "Does the apathy
of the Arab regimes stem from the fact that we, the Ottoman Turks,
ruled Palestine for a longer period of time than the Arabs?" asked
one Turkish newspaper.

The start of the crisis looked promising from Turkey’s standpoint
because in the last year it has been prominent as a go-between
for Israel and Syria. Gaza is regarded as naturally suited for
Turkish mediation, given that Egypt has been strongly criticized
by Hamas. "Neo-Ottomanism" and "the Golden Age," Turkish newspapers
enthused about the country’s elevated standing. But then something
ruined the picture and the blame fell on Israel. Syria announced the
suspension of negotiations with Israel, adding further to Erdogan’s
insult in the wake of Olmert’s visit. "I am a descendant of the Ottoman
Empire that granted refuge to your forefathers who were expelled from
Spain; when you suffered we stood by your side," he protested. The
task of mediation was ultimately won by Egypt, not Turkey, which only
added to the insult.

>From Israel’s vantage point, the greatest danger is pushing Turkey
into the arms of the "reverse periphery alliance" with Iran. In the
1950s and ’60s, our region featured a mysterious alliance of actors who
shared the common denominator of being non-Arabs and hostility toward
Moscow. Over time, this group included Turkey, Iran, Israel, Ethiopia,
the Kurds in Iraq, the Christians in Lebanon and the Christians in
Sudan. It would be best if we could avoid the formation of a new
alliance with Turkey and Iran as the central figures, whose uniting
factor would be hostility toward Israel. Relations between Ankara
and Tehran are as good as ever, trade between them is burgeoning,
and Turkey is not particularly worried about Iran’s nuclear program.

It is worth noting, though, that alongside his stinging remarks,
Erdogan rebuffed opposition calls to sever diplomatic ties with Israel,
and he made clear that Turkey’s foreign relations "are not emotional"
but are conducted with reason. "Dear friends, we are not running a
supermarket here, we are running the Republic of Turkey," he said.

A close relationship with Turkey is of supreme importance to Israel. We
must not quarrel with Erdogan. Instead, we need to find a way to
blunt the crisis and repair ties. This will be an urgent mission for
the new government in Jerusalem.

The writer teaches in the Political Science Department at Bar-Ilan
University and is a senior researcher at the university’s Begin-Sadat
Center for Strategic Studies.

ARMENIA TO RECEIVE $6.8 MILLION BEFORE APRIL UNDER MILLENNIUM CHALLENGES PROGRAM

ARKA
Feb 2, 2009

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Armenia will receive $6.8 million in the
1st Q 2009 as part of United States’ Millennium Challenges Program,
Ara Hovsepyan, executive general director of Millennium Challenges
Fund – Armenia non-commercial organization, said on Friday.

He told journalists that the corporation approved the fund’s
application for the program implementation on December 30, 2008.

"The money targets mainly programs aimed at irrigation and restoration
of water infrastructures", Hovsepyan said.

In his words, Millennium Challenges Fund – Armenia has already embarked
on the program. In particular, the fund signed an agreement with Sade,
a French company, on reconstruction of Arzni-Shamiram water pipeline.

Hovsepyan said that the company has launched the groundwork for
the reconstruction and is now cleaning the channel of dilapidated
4.2-kilometer water pipeline.

Preparation for reconstruction of 18 pump stations is under way
as well, and the contractor will be chosen in tender and named by
mid-February.

Armenia plans to receive $70 million in 2009 against $28 million
in 2008.

Under the agreement signed on March 27, 2006, Millennium Challenges
Corporation is to provide $235.65 million within five years for
reconstruction of irrigation infrastructures and roads.

As of September 30, 2008, $22, 5 million has been alread y transferred
under the program.

Armenian Government has allocated $16.8 million for repairing rural
roads as part of Millennium Challenges Fund’s programs. -0—

ARMENIA, CZECH REPUBLIC INTERESTED IN DEEPENING MILITARY COOPERATION

armradio.am
02.02.2009 18:25

On February 2 the Defense Minister of Armenia, Seyran Ohanyan, received
the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic
to Armenia Ivan Jestrab and Military Attaché Ivan Trnka.

Seyran Ohanyan first greeted the guests, and noted that the military
and military-political cooperation between the two countries has great
perspectives of development, which is evidenced by the appointment
of the first Military Attaché to the Republic of Armenia.

During the meeting Seyran Ohanyan stated that good opportunities exist
for developing cooperation in the military and military-political
spheres both within the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace
Program and the New Neighborhood Policy and newly shaped Eastern
Partnership Initiative of the European Union.

The parties discussed the current state of bilateral relations in the
military sphere and issues related t the perspectives of deepening
those.

The interlocutors referred to issues of regional security.

–Boundary_(ID_VRxVcG1zxrPnLtQlAN7WUw)- –

LATVIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT ARMENIA IN 2009

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.01.2009 21:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with his
Latvian counterpart Valdis Zatlers on the margins of the World Economic
Forum in Davos.

The Presidents discussed bilateral relations, the ways to strengthen
trade and economic ties and cooperation within the European
Neighborhood Policy.

Mr. Zatlers said he looks forward to visiting Armenia this year,
the RA leader’s press office reported.

The Presidents of Armenia and Latvia first met during the 63rd session
of the UN General Assembly in New York.

ARMENIAN SOCCER TEAM COMPOSITION FOR FRIENDLY MATCH WITH ESTONIA DETERMINED

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.01.2009 21:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Jan Poulsen, the coach of the Armenian national
football team, announced the names of 18 players who will meet with
the Estonian team in a friendly match in Cyprus on February 11.

"I do not think that February is a good time for playing because
it’s the period of seasonal practice. Not all players of our team
can go to Cyprus therefore. But attaching importance to this match,
I invited some new players," he said.

Mediamax, Armenia
Jan 28 2009

Pro-government MP hails Council of Europe body decision on Armenia

Yerevan, 28 January: Resolution 1643, approved yesterday at a PACE
[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe] session, became a
triumph of common sense and a proof of excessiveness of accusations,
according to which the Armenian authorities do no have a political
will.

Member of the Armenian delegation to PACE [and a senior member of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun] Armen Rustamyan
said this in an interview to a Mediamax special correspondent in
Strasbourg.

"The working committee on making changes to Articles 225 and 300 of
the Criminal Code of Armenia, which was set up by the order of the
chairman of the Armenian parliament, caused significant changes in the
mood of PACE MPs and established prerequisites to reconsider the
initial report," the Armenian MP stated.

According to him, "now the ball is in our court and we have to present
proofs of the work realized before the session of the PACE Monitoring
Committee due in late March".

"If the Monitoring Committee makes a decision in late March, according
to which we will have not fulfilled all our commitments, it will be
extremely and almost impossible to prove anything here, and then the
issue on depriving our delegation of the right of vote will again be
put forward in PACE," Armen Rustamyan stated.

"We should try to do something for the issue concerning Armenia not to
be discussed at the spring session of PACE at all, and to do that, we
need consistent and coordinated work not only by the working group and
the parliament, but by all power branches in Armenia," he stated in
the interview to Mediamax.

Assessing the behaviour of the Azerbaijani delegates at the session,
the Armenian MP described it as a "tactical mistake". "It seemed to
them that PACE was going to ‘get rid’ of Armenia, and they decided to
make their contribution to that, but in the end they remained all
alone," Armen Rustamyan stated. "When they talk about their successful
presidential elections, I immediately recall the USSR elections, where
there were no alternatives. Sometimes it seems to our colleagues that
people in Europe do not know how the presidential elections in
Azerbaijan proceeded," he noted.

PERES – ERDOGAN CONFRONTATION
David Essing

IsraCast
spx?ID=1057&t=Peres—Erdogan-Confrontation&am p;play=1
Jan 30 2009
Israel

Israel’s President Shimon Peres Pulls No Punches In Rebuttal Of
Turkish Leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Condemnation Of Israeli Operation
Against Hamas

Israeli Experts Believe Erdogan Is Bashing Israel To Win Islamist
Votes In Upcoming Turkish Election

IsraCast Comment: Peres Could Have Recalled Turkey’s Past Oppression
Of Armenians & Current Warfare Against Kurds

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, there were fireworks after
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan again condemned Israel for
its Operation ‘Cast Shield’ against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Sharing
the stage was Israel’s President Shimon Peres who refuted Erdogan’s
allegations. Also taking part in the discussion were UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa.

‘What would you do if missiles were falling on Istanbul!’ That was the
passionate reaction of President Shimon Peres to the condemnation of
Israel by Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan as they collided head-on
at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Turkish leader had again
castigated the Jewish state for launching its military operation to
halt the Palestinian rocketing of Israeli civilians from the Gaza Strip
that has been going on for eight years. Erdogan’s verbal assaults
have surprised Israel in light of the fact here is what is called
‘the secret strategic alliance’ between the two non-Arab countries
in the Middle East.

Since the Turkish leader’s sharp criticism, tens of thousands of
Israeli tourists have canceled their trips to their favorite resorts in
Turkey. The Turkish leader had also been acting as a mediator between
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Syrian President Assad. Erdogan’s sudden
and what Israel views as totally unjustified condemnation has taken
Jerusalem by surprise. Some Israeli experts say it may be linked to
upcoming elections in Turkey – Erdogan, leader of the Justice and
Development Party, may be trying to garner votes from Islamists by
bashing Israel. This is arousing criticism by Erdogan’s political
rivals back home.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister has been quoted as taking a different
view of the war in Gaza. Turkey’s top diplomat reportedly said
that Hamas should decide whether it wants to carry guns or conduct
politics. Turkish sources are also aware that Erdogan’s allegations
against the Jewish state could backfire.

For example, human rights organizations have long pressured the Jewish
state to lend its voice to the international move to condemn Turkey
for genocide in murdering over an estimated one million Armenians in
1915. But for whatever reason, Israeli governments have refrained from
doing so. Moreover, today Turkey itself shows far less restraint that
Israel in its ongoing confrontation with its own Kurdish population
which seeks autonomy. Turkey also launches cross border raids against
the Kurds and has warned it will go to war to prevent the establishment
of an independent Kurdistan.

AZERI LEADER SHRUGS OFF RIGHTS CRITICISM
By Guy Faulconbridge

Reuters
Jan 30 2009

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said a
proposal to scrap a two-term limit on his presidency was aimed at
creating more democracy, not keeping him in power indefinitely.

Aliyev accused the West of applying double standards in its criticism
of the referendum due in March on whether to scrap the two-term limit,
a step that could allow the 47-year-old to stay in power long after
his term ends in 2013.

The West criticizes Aliyev for concentrating too much power in his
own hands but he remains popular after years of economic boom and
there is little doubt that the presidency will be extended.

"You will not find any member of the European Union whose leader
cannot be elected as many times as the people want him to be in this
position. Is it democratic? Yes. So the same should be applied to
Azerbaijan," he told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday at the
World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"It is democratic, so if the people support this or that leader they
have the right to elect him. So I think lifting the restrictions
(on the number of terms) is more democratic than having these
restrictions," he said, speaking in English.

The Aliyev family has governed the oil-producing Caspian country
for most of the last three decades, first by former President Heydar
Aliyev and since 2003, by his son Ilham.

Azerbaijan has one of the world’s fastest growing economies, with
average annual GDP growth of 21.1 percent from 2003-7 and estimated
growth of 10.8 percent last year.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said last
year’s presidential election, won by Aliyev with 89 percent of the
vote, made "considerable progress" but that it fell short of fully
democratic standards.

BIASED CRITICISM

Aliyev dismissed much of the criticism of Azerbaijan’s record on
human rights and democracy.

"If the criticism is justified and when it comes from a respectable
source we are more than ready and willing to discuss it," he
said. "Some of the criticism we sometimes hear from various NGOs
actually does not bother (us) because this criticism is mainly biased."

Aliyev said the West often judged human rights selectively and ignored
major violations in countries where it had geopolitical interests. He
mentioned Armenia as an example.

"The situation with human rights in Azerbaijan is not bad. If you
look at our region you will see that countries in our neighborhood
who brutally violate the elementary human rights of their people have
not become the subject of criticism."

"Sometimes those countries that are considered to be more friendly
or more close or more, how to say it, more associated with the West,
if they do something wrong it is not noticed."

"But if Azerbaijan, which is also friendly to the West but which
pursues its own independent policy, does one percent of what those
other countries do then we immediately become a subject of criticism."

On resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, one of a handful of
"frozen conflicts" stemming from the collapse of the Soviet Union,
Aliyev said there were still no results.

Ethnic Armenian separatists, backed by Armenia, fought a war in the
1990s to throw off Azerbaijan’s control over Nagorno- Karabakh. An
estimated 30,000 people were killed. A fragile ceasefire is in force
but a peace accord has never been signed.