Author: Kanayan Tamar

AFTER TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN, MOST VISITORS TO GEORGIA FROM ARMENIA

epress.am
04.03.2012

Visits to Georgia by foreign citizens in the first quarter of
2012 increased by 39.4% year-to-year, reaching 677,278, according
to official figures released by the Interior Ministry on Apr. 2,
reports Civil Georgia.

>From Jan. to Mar. 2012, citizens from Turkey made up the largest share
in total visits (14.7%), followed by citizens of Azerbaijan (10.7%),
Armenia (6.8%) and Russia (2.6%).

In late February, Georgia unilaterally lifted visa rules for the
Russian citizens. According to the Georgian Interior Ministry,
the move was reflected in the increase of number of visits made by
Russian citizens to Georgia in March – 6,192 visits in Mar. 2012 as
compared to only 2,163 in Mar. 2011.

Visits from Iran, whose citizens also do not require a Georgian
visa since January, almost doubled in the first quarter of 2012 to
over 9,000.

BULGARIA’S PRIME MINISTER PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

armradio.am
03.04.2012 12:25

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borisov, who is in Yerevan on
an official visit, visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister laid a wreath at the memorial to the
Armenian Genocide victims.

Members of the Bulgarian delegation put flowers at the Eternal Fire and
honored the memory of the innocent victims with a minute of silence.

Boyko Borisov and his delegation visited Armenian Genocide Museum
and took a tour of the museum after which Boyko Borisov left a note
in the Commemoration Book.

The members of the Bulgarian delegation had a tour of the Memorial
Alley, where Boyko Borisov planted a fir tree.

AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTRY COMMENTS ON RECENT STATEMENT OF ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER

APA
April 3 2012
Azerbaijan

Baku. Viktoria Dementyeva – APA. “The Armenian minister seems to
palter again, or he does not take seriously the decisions passed by
an important organization like the UN Security Council,” spokesman for
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elman Abdullayev said while commenting on
the statement issued by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian,
APA reports.

He said the UN Security Council passed four resolutions on Nagorno
Karabakh conflict.

“These resolutions are efficient and demand unconditional withdrawal
of the Armenian Armed Forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

Azerbaijan supported the initiatives of some European organizations
concerning the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of
Nagorno Karabakh, but unfortunately, these initiatives were prevented
by Yerevan. This demonstrates their real intention regarding the
maintenance of the status quo. The positions of Azerbaijan and the
international community coincide regarding the inadmissibility of
the status quo, this is an undeniable fact. The status quo must be
changed and the process must start by withdrawal of the Armenian
troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories,” he said.

According to Armenian media, yesterday at the joint briefing with
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian said Azerbaijan is interested in maintenance of
the status quo and therefore rejected the recent four proposals of
the OSCE Minsk Group.

“Moreover, the resolutions of the UN Security Council were adopted
in 1993, that’s why, the co-chairs never refer to these resolutions
in their statements,” he said.

GENOCIDE
by Rebecca Donnelly

School Library Journal Reviews
April 1, 2012

SECTION: THE BOOK REVIEW; Grades 5-up; Pg. 184 Vol. 58 No. 04

Gr 7-10-The first book provides an overview of several well-known
genocides, including the Holocaust and the more recent tragedies
in Rwanda and Darfur. The slaughter of Armenians by Turks before
World War I; the Mongol conquests; the killing fields of Cambodia;
and the massacre at Srebrenica are also discussed. Throughout
the text, Friedman asks readers to consider difficult questions:
Why do peacekeeping forces sometimes fail? What is the role of
witnesses to genocide? How should such crimes be prosecuted, and
how can future generations be educated? Sidebars cover topics such
as the use of propaganda and the Nuremberg trials, and basic maps
provide geographical context. Back matter includes a useful key to
the characteristics that genocides have in common.

Human Rights opens with the story of a young gravel pit worker in
Zambia and then discusses the history of the concept of human rights.

Each chapter covers a different subset of rights, including children’s
rights; criminal and political prisoners’ rights; the right to life;
gender, race, and cultural rights; and the right to free expression.

“Case studies” (really just extended sidebars) highlight people and
movements, like Falun Gong and the Tank Man in Tiananmen Square.

Despite occasionally awkward language (“a person’s nationality is
important to have a sense of identity”), this book will serve students
well for brief reports, but they will need additional resources for
longer projects. The critical-thinking exercises offer plenty of
opportunities to engage with the subject. Back matter includes the
UN Declaration of Human Rights. Both books include black-and-white
and full-color photos. Well-laid-out and thought-provoking books on
important topics.-Rebecca Donnelly, Loma Colorado Public Library,
Rio Rancho, NM

ATTACK ON IRAN WOULD BE ‘DISASTROUS’ FOR MIDDLE EAST, TURKISH PRIME MINISTER WARNS

CASMII

April 3 2012

(source: Huffington Post )

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned over the weekend
that an Israeli strike on Iran would have “disastrous” consequences for
the Middle East, likely sparking a regional war, Turkish newspapers
reported on Sunday. Turkey is a major U.S. ally in the region and
Erdogan indicated that he had expressed his concerns to President
Barack Obama.

The Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported:

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Erdogan was quoted by the Turkish
daily Hurriyet as warning against the “disastrous” outcome of a
possible Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying:
“The entire region would be devastated if Israel strikes Iran.” […]

Erdogan also criticized the international community for keeping mum
on Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons, while threatening Iran over what
he said was a peaceful nuclear program.

“Israel has between 250 to 300 nuclear warheads. Nobody is discussing
that,” Erdogan said, adding: “Iran says they would not produce nuclear
weapons. They are saying that they would produce a specific amount
of enriched uranium rods and stop after that.”

Turkey is set to host a new round of diplomatic talks between Iran
and a group of world powers — the U.S., France, Britain, China,
Russia, and Germany — beginning on April 13.

On Monday, Russia’s foreign minister also strongly warned against
a military attack on Iran, saying that a pre-emptive strike would
violate international law.

Sergey Lavrov said on a visit to Armenia that an attack on Iran would
destabilize the region.

Israel and the U.S. have warned that all options remain open, including
military action, to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Iran insists its uranium enrichment program is aimed at civilian power
generation and research, but Israel and Western nations believe it
is a cover for a nuclear weapons bid.

Russia, which built Iran’s first nuclear power plant, backed some of
the previous U.N. sanctions against Tehran, but in recent months has
firmly rejected imposing new sanctions and called for dialogue.

ARMENIA FAVORS DIALOGUE, OPPOSES FORCE, OVER IRAN NUCLEAR ISSUE

Press TV
April 3 2012
Iran

Armenia has expressed its opposition to any military aggression against
Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program, reiterating that the
issue must be settled through diplomatic channels.

“Yerevan has time and again emphasized [the] need for solving Iran’s
nuclear issue through dialogue at [the] international society,”
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at a joint press
conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday.

“Our position remains unchanged. Iran is our neighbor country, and
we are interested in excluding the use of force or ways other than
negotiations for the settlement of the issue,” he added.

Lavrov also warned against the “grave” consequences of a military
strike on Iran over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

Lavrov noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
inspectors “currently work at all nuclear objects of Iran and have
uncovered no illicit activities so far.”

The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Tehran
of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program and
have used this pretext to push for four rounds of UN sanctions and
unilateral embargoes against the Islamic Republic.

Iran has refuted the allegations, arguing that as a signatory to the
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, Tehran is
entitled to the peaceful use of nuclear technology.

RUSSIA, ARMENIA OPPOSE MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN

CASMII

April 3 2012

by Tigran Avetisian (source: Azatutyun)

Russia and Armenia spoke out on Monday against possible Western
military action against Iran, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov warning of “very serious” consequences for regional security
during a visit to Yerevan.

Speaking after talks with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian,
Lavrov said attempts to end the West’s nuclear standoff with Tehran
by force would destabilize not only the Middle East but also the
South Caucasus.

“It is hard to predict consequences [of military action] but they
would obviously be very serious and negative,” he told a joint news
conference. “It would affect the security of not only Armenia but
also Azerbaijan given the fact that there are three times as many
ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran as in Azerbaijan.”

“It’s hard to predict how the Iranian Azerbaijanis would react to the
use of military force against their country,” Lavrov said. “But if,
God forbid, that happens then there will undoubtedly be large inflows
of refugees and a large part of those refugees will end up in Russia
given the existence of a large Azerbaijani Diaspora there.”

Moscow has strongly opposed use of force by the United States, other
Western nations and Israel ever since Iran embarked on a controversial
nuclear program. Lavrov reaffirmed the Russian position that it would
run counter to international law.

Nalbandian indicated that Armenia is also against air strikes and
other military operations against Iranian nuclear facilities. “Iran
is Armenia’s neighbor and we are interested in solutions to problems
concerning Iran achieved through dialogue and negotiations, rather
than use of force,” he said.

The Iran standoff as well as the situation in Syria were apparently
on the agenda of the two ministers’ talks which Nalbandian said
testify to a “high level of political dialogue” between Moscow and
Yerevan. A statement by the Armenian Foreign Ministry said they
discussed “ongoing developments in the Middle East” and agreed on
“the need to solve problems through dialogue.”

According to the statement, Lavrov and Nalbandian also had a “detailed
discussion” on international efforts to end the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. Nalbandian was quoted as praising Russia for its active
involvement in the negotiating process.

Speaking at the news conference, Lavrov said that both Armenia and
Azerbaijan are his country’s “strategic partners” and that Moscow will
carry on with its Karabakh mediation. He also defended the work of the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by Russia, the United States and France.

Lavrov met with Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian later in the day. An
Armenian government statement said the meeting focused on economic
issues.

“Russia is our strategic partner and we must expand and strengthen
bilateral relations,” Sarkisian told the Russian minister.

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS RECEIVES BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER

ARMENPRESS
APRIL 3, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 3, ARMENPRESS: Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin
II received the delegation led by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. As
press service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin told Armenpress,
the catholicos noted with gratification that the relations of the two
countries are in balance with centuries-long friendship of Armenian
and Bulgarian people and are developing in different spheres of
cooperation.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov referred to church-state relations in
Bulgaria, particularly, state support to the Bulgarian Church in
repair and construction of historical monasteries and churches.

Referring to the relations of the two countries Borisov highlighted
preservation of the historical friendship between the two peoples
and its further development.

Wrapping up the meeting, His Holiness conveyed his brotherly love and
good wishes to head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Bulgarian
Patriarch Maxim and his blessings to Bulgaria and Bulgarian People.

RUSSIAN WARSHIPS TO TEAM UP WITH CHINA FORCES FOR JOINT DRILL

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 3, 2012 – 19:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Four Russian warships, as well as support vessels,
warplanes, helicopters and naval infantry, will team up with Chinese
naval forces in a joint exercise in April, a source in Russia’s
Pacific Fleet said on Tuesday, April 3, RIA Novosti reported.

The Russian Navy will be represented by the guided missile cruiser
Varyag, and three large antisubmarine ships in an exercise that is
to take place between April 22 and 29 in the Yellow Sea.

In all, more than 20 Russian and Chinese warships and support vessels
will participate.

Since 2005, China and Russia have conducted several joint military
exercises within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization.

The group also includes the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and aims to promote regional
cooperation and check U.S. influence.

CYPRUS FM: NATION HAVING SURVIVED GENOCIDE DESERVES RESPECT

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 3, 2012 – 21:23 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian Foreign Minster Edward Nalbandian
congratulated his Cypriot counterpart Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis on
the 20th anniversary of establishment of bilateral relations.

He said that Armenia deeply appreciates the fact that Cyprus was
one of the first counties to recognize the Armenian Genocide. FM
Nalbandian stressed the importance of Armenian community in Cyprus
in deepening of bilateral ties.

Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, in turn, stressed that the Armenian community
totaling about 3500 people, plays a major role in development of the
country and bilateral relations. In this context she noted that about
15 agreements have been so far concluded between the two countries,
voicing confidence for the cooperation to continue,

The FMs noted that the parties discussed bilateral cooperation in
political, trade and economic fields, regional and international
security, as well as Nagorno Karabakh conflict and unification
of Cyprus.