Author: Kanayan Tamar

news.am, Armenia
june 20 2011

Expert: Armenian president left doors half open for opposition

June 18, 2011 | 20:05

YEREVAN. – Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan responded to opposition
Armenian National Congress leaving the door for negotiations half
opened. Thus, he said `yes’ to dialogue with ANC but excluded the
early elections point from dialogue agenda, said political analyst
Yervand Bozoyan to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

He emphasized that President Sargsyan intentionally left the door half
open, so that ANC could enter into it.

`And, certainly, ANC will go into it, it will certainly continue the
dialogue with authorities because it is already deeply involved in the
process and does not possess the necessary political recourse to make
a step back,’ added the expert

He noted that authorities initiated the dialogue process with a sole
purpose of weakening ANC and, in the long run, they achieved the set
goal. Bozoyan said that the incumbent president has rich experience in
this context.

`Once Serzh Sargsyan diminished opposition National Unity party led by
Artashes Geghamyan through a dialogue process. In 2008 he weakened
Orinats Yerkir party led by Arthur Baghdasaryan in a similar way,’
concluded the expert.

Byurakan observatory to host seminar dedicated to Anania Shirakatsi

June 19, 2011 – 15:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – By decision of the Armenian government and UNESCO,
2012 will be declared the year the prominent Armenian mathematician,
astronomer and geographer, Anania Shirakatsi, to honor his 1400th
birthday.

The main event of the year will be a scientific conference to be held
at Armenia’s Byurakan observatory, which will focus of Shirakatsi’s
astrological works as well as the country’s astrological monuments.

As preparation for the event, Byurakan observatory will host a seminar
on July 12-13, 2011, on the initiative of professor Hrach Martirosyan
of Leiden University.

Armenian musicians to perform at Rudaki Symphony Orchestra concert in Tehran

June 19, 2011 – 17:53 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Rudaki Symphony Orchestra will give its first
public performance at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on June 20 and 21.

The orchestra was established in February by the Rudaki Foundation, a
nongovernmental artistic and cultural institution.

A wide repertoire of Iranian compositions is scheduled to be performed
during the concerts. Twelve Armenian musicians will join the orchestra
for the concerts, which will be conducted by Arash Amini, Tehran Times
reported.

Sakharov’s widow Yelena Bonner dies at 88 in U.S. – media

Yelena Bonner, a human rights activist and the widow of the late
Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov

MOSCOW, June 19 (RIA Novosti)

Yelena Bonner, a human rights activist and the widow of the late
Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, died
in the U.S. at the age of 88, Ekho Moskvy radio station reported on
Sunday.

Bonner died on Saturday in Boston after a grave illness, the radio
station said, referring to human rights activist Pavel Litvinov and
the Pyotr Grigorenko Fund.

Bonner’s daughter Tatiana Yankelevich said that her mother would be
buried in Moscow.

“We announce with deep sorrow that our mother Yelena Georgiyevna
Bonner died today, on June 18 at 13:55 (17:55 GMT). According to her
will, her body will be cremated and the cinerary urn will be buried at
the Vostryakovo cemetery in Moscow next to her husband, mother and
brother,” Yankelevich said in a statement.

Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist and an advocate of civil
liberties and reforms in the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1975.

Be a Detachment Leader for 1 Week in Shushi, Karabakh

06.18.2011 17:16
epress.am

>From Aug. 3-10, in the city of Shushi, the European Movement in
Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) is organizing a summer school for 15
students from Nagorno-Karabakh high schools. At the summer school,
those who want will have the opportunity to be a detachment leader.

Organizers will cover transportation, food and accommodation for participants.

`With much anticipation, we wait for all those engaged people who
might make the students’ routine interesting and useful. We
particularly need such specialists who will suggest interesting
methods for organizing entertainment,’ reads the press statement by
the group.

Will they look into Serzh Sargsyan’s eyes?

07:20 pm | June 17, 2011 | Politics

Political scientist Levon Shirinyan says Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham
Aliyev will be presented with an agreement on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict resolution in Kazan, but is rest assured that neither will
sign it.

“If the resolution states territorial integrity, that doesn’t favor
Armenia. If it will be a document on principles, I don’t think Serzh
Sargsyan will sign,” Mr. Shirinyan told “A1+”.
The political scientist views the presentation of a document from the
psychological angle. “They can present the document to check the
sides’ reactions, even by looking into their eyes.”
As for Azerbaijan’s recent belligerent declarations claiming that the
process must be accelerated, the political scientist said:

“I don’t believe either side. The Armenian authorities say Armenia
will sign, if Azerbaijan signs. However, Azerbaijan will only sign
under a document that is not in the interests of Armenia or Artsakh,
and Armenia won’t sign that document. So, nothing will work out.”

The political scientist sees the enlargement of clear-cut,
well-organized war propaganda. “There is pressure from the
international community on both sides.
Levon Shirinyan says Armenia’s situation is absurd. “An army that won
the war is speaking as one that is defending itself. This signifies a
psychological defeat and is very dangerous.”

The political scientists says what Armenia needs to do now is to
present the essence of the NK conflict correctly. “This is a conflict
between the Republic of Artsakh and the Turkish state of Azerbaijan,
and that conflict has been solved from the military angle. What we
need to do is formulate.”

Shirinyan considers the view that conflicts are not resolved without
mutual concessions absurd, including in the case of the NK conflict.

“This is a manifestation of the Armenian-Turkish conflict where there
are no concessions, particularly on the part of Turkey. Throughout the
past 200 years, especially after the genocide, the Turks have not made
any concession and there cannot be any discussion on the return of our
lost lands. Who has given land without a war? This is a national
liberation struggle, a sacred act. We must work together and show the
world that the right to territorial integrity may not be above the
right of nations to self-determination. The right of nations to
self-determination is a much higher value; otherwise, the United
States would remain a colony of England to this day and there wouldn’t
be any French Revolution. It is inadmissible to speak about returning
a piece of land.”

The political scientist emphasized that Azerbaijani snipers take the
lives of Armenian soldiers before each meeting of the presidents and
Armenian snipers should give an adequate response to their opponents.

Interfax, Russia
June 17 2011

Opposition’s ultimatums are impermissible – Sargsyan

YEREVAN. June 17

Opposition’s ultimatums are impermissible – Sargsyan
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is ready for a dialog with the
opposition but finds the ultimatums from the opposition Armenian
National Congress impermissible.

“We have always been open to and ready for any discussion. And if
there are political forces that have concrete and reasonable proposals
we are ready for concrete decisions,” he said with regards to the
proposal of leader of the congress and former President Levon
Ter-Petrosian.

“From this point of view the most important principle is clear –
ultimatums are impermissible. To speak with each other in a language
of ultimatums is a style of action leading nowhere. The attempts to
transform the dialog into negotiations are simply unacceptable,”
Sargsyan said.

“If instead of unacceptable talks the Armenian National Congress is
really ready to continue a dialog on a broad range of key issues
concerning the development path of the country, the home and foreign
policies, and if it wishes to achieve this not only through specific
appointments, then representatives of coalition parties may sit down
to the table of discussion. The political coalition is ready for such
discussions with all political forces that have concrete proposals,”
he said.

“All other ways are fraught with serious dangers and unavoidable
losses,” he said.

At a March 31 rally, Ter-Petrosian supported talks with the
authorities on holding early presidential and parliamentary elections.

ml eb

Al-Arabiya , UAE
June 18 2011

Hopes and fears rise in Karabakh conflict

Saturday, 18 June 2011

Hopes have been raised of progress towards a peace deal to end the
long-running stand-off between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny
Karabakh, but analysts warn that a return to war is also possible.

There has been speculation ahead of talks between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents on June 25 in the Russian city of Kazan that
the bitter enemies could sign a `basic principles’ agreement — a
small step on a long road to a settlement of the dispute over the
mountainous region.

But 17 years after the ceasefire that ended all-out hostilities,
tensions have risen again with regular firefights along the Karabakh
frontline and repeated threats from Baku to seize the region back by
force if talks don’t yield results.

In response, the ethnic Armenian forces who have controlled Karabakh
since the war and their backers in Yerevan have threatened large-scale
retaliation if Baku takes military action.

`This is not a `frozen conflict;’ it is actually smouldering,’ said
Thomas de Waal, a Caucasus expert at the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace in Washington. `The level of the rhetoric makes
war more possible and the danger is that, at some point, words could
become deeds.’

Energy-rich Azerbaijan, flush with oil and gas money, has massively
increased military spending, and a report from the International
Crisis Group think tank earlier this year warned that an arms build-up
and clashes on the frontline could lead to renewed fighting.

The conflict in the 1990s killed some 30,000 people and forced around
a million more from their homes.

A return to war could threaten important pipelines which pass close to
Karabakh, taking Caspian Sea oil and gas from Azerbaijan to Europe,
and even involve neighboring powers like Turkey, which supports Baku
over Karabakh, and Russia, which has troops stationed in Armenia.

`The scenario could get very ugly — energy pipelines could be
considered fair game, you could have a huge refugee exodus and the
danger is that Turkey and Russia could be dragged in,’ said Lawrence
Sheets, Caucasus project director at the International Crisis Group.

A statement issued by the US, Russian and French presidents at the G8
summit last month put pressure on both countries to `move beyond the
unacceptable status quo’ and `take a decisive step towards a peaceful
settlement.’

`We strongly urge the leaders of the sides to prepare their
populations for peace, not war,’ the statement said.

It urged them to sign a `basic principles’ document that envisages an
Armenian withdrawal from areas around Karabakh also seized during the
war, the return of refugees, international security guarantees, and a
decision on the final status of the territory at an unspecified point
in the future.

Officials in both countries said they had come closer to resolving
differences over the document ahead of the talks this month, although
they continued to express suspicions about the other’s motives.

`I’ve seen some very hostile statements from both sides and nothing to
suggest that some sort of breakthrough is on the horizon,’ said Mr.
Sheets.

Even if the document is signed, huge obstacles to a peace deal remain.

Azerbaijan insists that Karabakh must remain part of its sovereign
territory, albeit with widespread autonomy, while Armenia says it must
never return to Baku’s control.

The ethnic Armenian authorities who now control the region say that
they too should have a seat at the negotiating table, although Baku
regards them as illegitimate.

Karabakh remains a highly emotive issue in both Azerbaijan and
Armenia, where enmity is constantly stoked by official rhetoric and
media reports.

`No one (in Armenia) believes that Nagorny Karabakh can be handed over
to Azerbaijan,’ said Manvel Sarkisian of the Armenian Centre for
Strategic and National Studies. `They believe that Karabakh should be
recognised as an independent state or joined with Armenia.’

In Azerbaijan however it is considered absolutely unthinkable for the
region to be allowed to secede.

`Azerbaijan’s position is clear — territorial integrity cannot be a
subject for discussion,’ said foreign ministry spokesman Elkhan
Polukhov. `This position has the unequivocal support of the
Azerbaijani public.’

No country in the world, even Armenia, has recognized Karabakh as
independent from Azerbaijan, but while Baku says that its sovereignty
must be maintained, Yerevan says that the people now living in the
disputed region must have the right to self-determination.

Negotiations mediated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe have continued since the 1990s without significant progress,
and Mr. De Waal said that a basic principles agreement would represent
a `huge commitment to embark on a serious peace process.’

But he cautioned that the document would not signal an end to the conflict.

`It’s important to stress that this is only a framework, a road map to
a peace treaty — not a final settlement,’ he said.

Ratifying Armenia-Turkey Protocols Might be Included in Turkey
Parliament Agenda: MP

06.18.2011 19:20
epress.am

Newly elected member of Turkey’s parliament Sinan OÄ?an doesn’t rule
out the possibility that the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP), led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, might include the
issue of ratifying the Armenia-Turkey Protocols on the parliament
agenda.

`If that happens, I, as a member of parliament, will be opposed to
discussing this issue without resolving Armenian-Azerbaijani relations
and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the liberation of Azerbaijan’s
occupied territories,’ he said, reports 1news.az.

Asked what, in his opinion, is Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an’s position on
this issue, who during the election campaign repeatedly made statement
defending Azerbaijan’s `territorial integrity’ and even ordered the
demolition of the Armenia-Turkey friendship monument in Kars (the
Monument to Humanity), OÄ?an said that was one part of the AKP’s
election strategy, with the aim of winning over a certain segment of
the electorate.

`But the elections are over and the government’s hands aren’t tied
now. I think, in a certain period, the issue of ratifying the
Armenia-Turkey Protocols will again become actual,’ he said.

Davit Babayan Says NKR Armed Forces Ready for Strain of Situation in
Contact Line by Azerbaijani Party before and after Kazan Meeting

22:03, 17 June, 2011

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS:

Before any meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents the
Azerbaijani party strains the situation in the border contact line,
and this cannot be excluded before and after the presidents’ upcoming
meeting in Kazan, according to Davit Babayan, chief of the NKR
President’s staff. He said in an interview with Armenpress that the
NKR Armed Forces “are ready for such a development”.