Author: Kanayan Tamar

LIVNI, TURKISH FM MEET TO REPAIR TIES
By Herb Keinon

Jerusalem Post
March 6 2009

In an apparent attempt to patch up Turkish-Israel ties, which had badly
deteriorated since Operation Cast Lead, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni
met with her Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan in Brussels on Thursday.

At the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of a meeting of
NATO foreign ministers, Livni and Babacan discussed bilateral ties,
stressing the strategic ties between the two countries.

The two ministers, according to a statement issued by Livni’s
office, discussed the importance of the Israeli-Turkish relationship
to regional stability, and said that diplomatic cooperation would
continue at the highest level.

The meeting came following weeks of tension between Jerusalem and
Ankara over Turkish Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan’s vicious
criticism of Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip during
January’s Operation Cast Lead. Erdogan and President Shimon Peres got
into a shouting match over the issue at the Davos economic summit last
month, after which Erdogan stormed off the stage. Late last month,
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi apologized to the
Turkish military for critical comments a senior IDF officer made at
a conference regarding the inappropriateness of Turkish criticism
considering Turkey’s history of conflict with Armenians and Kurds.

This meeting in Brussels was an apparent attempt by both capitals to
put the relations back on an even keel.

YEREVAN HOSTS DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL ON HISTORICAL MONUMENTS PRESERVATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.03.2009 22:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A 2-day documentary film festival kicked off
Wednesday in the Armenian National Art Gallery with screening of two
Armenian documentaries – Djugha and Momik.

The second documentary is about medieval architect Momik, the author
of Noravank Church.

Films shot by Bulgarian, Greek, Russian, Serbian and Turkish directors
will also be presented.

IMF CHIEF BACKS 540 MLN DOLLAR LOAN TO ARMENIA

Agence France Presse
March 3, 2009 Tuesday 12:31 PM GMT

The head of the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that he
backed a 540-million-dollar (426-million-euro) loan to Armenia to
help the ex-Soviet republic deal with the global economic crisis.

The move came as Armenia’s central bank announced that it would
cut back its efforts to prop up the country’s currency, leading the
Armenian dram to lose around 16 percent against the dollar at exchange
points in Yerevan.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Enhanced Coverage
LinkingDominique Strauss-Kahn -Search using: Biographies Plus News
News, Most Recent 60 Days said in a statement he would "recommend that
the IMF executive board approve a request for a 540-million-dollar,
28-month stand-by arrangement" to Armenia.

The board of the Washington-based body would discuss the proposal
later this week and following approval Armenia would be able to
draw 239 million dollars immediately, Strauss-Kahn Enhanced Coverage
LinkingStrauss-Kahn -Search using: Biographies Plus News News, Most
Recent 60 Days said.

Meanwhile the Armenian central bank issued a statement saying it
would cut back its efforts to support the country’s currency.

"The council of the central bank, having considered the worsening of
trade conditions amid the world financial and economic crisis and the
drop in capital inflows, decided to limit central bank interventions
on the foreign currency market, thus returning to a free-float policy,"
it said.

Immediately after the announcement, the dram’s value at exchange
points in Yerevan dropped from 305-308 drams to the dollar to a range
of 350 to 380, reflecting an average drop of around 16 percent.

Thousands of people have lost their jobs in the small Caucasus
Mountains country, including in its important mining sector, as a
result of the global crisis, according to local media.

Last week the World Bank said it would grant Armenia 85 million dollars
(67 million euros) to ease the effects of the financial crisis.

MELKONIAN ALUMNI CALL ON AGBU TO REOPEN MELKONIAN SCHOOL

Gibrahayer
March 4, 2009

Press officer, Melkonian Alumni Association Cyprus – GENEVA, FEB. 25,
2009 – Representatives of the worldwide Melkonian Alumni Associations
met in Geneva and reiterated their determination and belief that the
historic Melkonian Educational Institute must reopen in its present
location in Cyprus as a centre of learning to serve all the Armenians
of the European Union and nearby regions.

The Alumni Associations appeal to all Armenians who believe in the
necessity of the preservation of the Armenian language, culture and
history to join these efforts through active participation in the
ongoing campaign.

The Alumni Associations around the world also appeal to the AGBU
Central Board to reconsider its decision and allow for the school to
reopen for which reason the Melkonian Alumni Associations worldwide
pledge their support to cooperate in this direction.

The meeting of Alumni Association representatives also decided to
establish a Central Coordinating Committee in order to reach these
goals.

Putin accepts an invitation to visit Armenia

armradio.am
28.02.2009 16:57

On February 27 the Prime Minister of Armenia, Tigran Sargsyan paid a
one-day working visit to Moscow to discuss issues concerning the
economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of
Armenia.

During RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s meeting with the President
of the Central Bank of Russia Sergey Ignatev the parties discussed the
steps of the Russian Central Bank in the direction of ensuring
financial stability and exchanged views on the steps taken in both
countries to mitigate the consequences of the global financial crisis.

During the meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the
parties expressed appreciation for the dynamic development of bilateral
economic relations and discussed issues of common interest. Vladimir
Putin noted that despite the negative influence of the global
financial-economic crisis, the commodity turnover between the two
countries has reached almost a billion roubles – 900 billion, to be
exact. Russian investment in the Armenian economy is 1.800 million
roubles.

‘We are one of the leaders in that respect. In general, the process is
going well. I’d like to inform you that we have practically finished
work on a $500 million loan to Armenia. We are fulfilling our
agreements. All that remains to be done is to have the budget approved
by the State Duma, our parliament. I hope this will be done very soon.
We will adjust the budget, because the granting of the loan is also
linked with this task, and carry out our plans to support the Armenian
economy,’ Vladimir Putin said.

Tigran Sargsyan thanked for the support and added: `This is a very
impressive sum for us. We are convinced that, with this financial aid,
we’ll be able to overcome the negative consequences of the global
crisis. I’m sure that this money will also help us to create a
favourable macroeconomic environment for the thousands of companies
with Russian capital effectively operating on Armenian territory.

Tigran Sargsyan invited his Russia counterpart to Armenia, and the
invitation was accepted.

n-popular-website-back-minus-forum/

Azerbaijan: Popular website back — minus forum
Saturday, February 28th, 2009 @ 09:48 UTC

by Simon Maghakyan

Excerpt

After several days of closure, the popular semi-independent
Azerbaijani news and discussion website, Day.az, is back. However,
raising additional questions about its brief disappearance, the site’s
forum — known for its open and somewhat democratic discussion — is
not.

After several days of closure, the popular semi-independent
Azerbaijani news and discussion website, Day.az, is back. However,
raising additional questions about its brief disappearance, the site’s
forum — known for its open and somewhat democratic discussion — is
not.

The day after Day.az was closed, user Zaur at Web Designers Blog
commented on the importance of the forum.

óËÏÒÅÅ ×ÓÅÇÏ ÜÔÏ Ó×ÑÚÁÎÎÏ Ó ÒÅÆÅÒÅÎÄ&# xD5;ÍÏÍ ËÏÔÏÒÙÊ ÎÁÍÅÞÁÅÔ&# xD3;Ñ ÎÁ 18
íÁÒÔÁ, ËÁËÏÅ ÓÏ×ÐÁÄÅÎ&# xC9;Å, ÒÏ×ÎÏ ÞÅÒÅÚ ÍÅÓÑÃ! … ÌÏËÉÒÏ×Á&# xCE;ÉÅ ÒÅÓÕÒÓÁ ×
ËÏÔÏÒÏÍ ÍÏÇÌÏ ÏÔÒÁÚÉÔÓ&# xD1; ÍÁÓÓÏ×ÏÅ ÎÅÄÏ×ÏÌØ&# xD3;Ô×Ï ÇÒÁÖÄÁÎ(Ð& #xCF;ÌØÚÏ×ÁÔ&#x C5;ÌÅÊ
ÐÏÒÔ&#xC 1;ÌÁ) áÚÅÒÁÊÄÖ&# xC1;ÎÁ Ó …ÒÅÆÅÒÅÎ&#xC4 ;ÕÍÏÍ…

Most likely the closure was connected with the March 18 referendum
[that would institute unlimited presidency in Azerbaijan]: what a
coincidence that [day.az was closed] exactly a month before [the
referendum]! …[B]locking a resource where citizens could express
massive discontent about [the] referendum[…].

Writing for the Amnesty International USA Blog before Day.az reopened
on February 26, I also noted some of the forum’s controversial moves.

One of the most popular online portals in the entire former Soviet
Union, the Russian-language forum at Day.az has had thousands of
active users. One of the hottest sections of the forum has been
"Armenia and Azerbaijan."

In November 2004, as a Russian-language Armenian forum user reported
at the time, the administration of the Day.az forum promoted its first
Armenian moderator, Arthur, giving him the privilege to delete/edit
offensive and/or unrelated content from discussions.

The appointment was indeed unprecedented, as the Russian-language
announcement from the Day.az forum administrator explained […]

Another, more recent, controversial move at the forum has been the
creation of a private section where users with over 500 posts could
discuss and post adult content.

Considering the various messages left on the site’s front page
following its disappearance, many of which contradicted earlier
notices saying the whole project was closed, readers such as Arzu at
Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines are still confused.

– If there were plans to sell the portal form the very beginning then
why it wasn’t explained or announced when the website first shut down
and even before it was going to shut down? The editors could have
continued working while the management changed hands?
– Why was it all kept in dark and on the website it said it was closed
for technical reasons? Does changing management of the website has
technical sides to it?

I don’t know the answers but maybe soon it will become clear?

For now, if many were sure the site would no longer be the same when
it was announced that site would reappear, Global Voices Online’s Ali
S. Novruzov comments on his earlier Frontline Club post that the
absence of the forum is the most noticeable change.

Day.az reopened today, but its famous forum has been divorced from it
and moved to 600min.az, a former sister site of former day.az. […]

But while some wonder if the forum might have been one of the reasons
for Day.az’s disappearance, many questions about its initial
disappearance still remain unanswered.

Posted by Simon Maghakyan

FOREIGN INVESTORS FILLING ARMENIAN CAPITAL MARKET

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.02.2009 15:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia has the potential to develop the capital
market, RA Minister of Economy said.

"Major enterprises can cast a glance at developing countries’ market
which doesn’t suffer much from the global financial crisis," Nerses
Yeritsyan said during "Capital Market in Armenia" conference.

"Capital Market is a mechanism of redistribution of income absence
of which can be equaled to absence of tax legislation," he said.

The Minister also informed that the Armenian government has initiated
introduction of corporate management rules in the Armenian public
sector.

"Science-intensive economy is also a basis for development of capital
market. If a potential market participant doesn’t know where and how
to sell goods, the market will never develop," Minister Yeritsyan said.

"LET’S RALLY UNANIMOUSLY NEAR THE MATENADARAN!"

A1+
[02:46 pm] 27 February, 2009

On the eve of an opposition’s rally of March 1 over 44 political
prisoners issued a statement which runs;

After a crackdown on the opposition’s rally of last March, the
criminal regime staged a coup and spared no effort to break down and
crush public determination and will to struggle for their fundamental
rights. But all their efforts failed. On the eve of the March 1 rally
the authorities apply the same methods to bar your participation in
the rally.

Dear compatriots! Do not fear or pay attention to the illegal menaces
of the regime as they do not have any right to ban the rally. The
right to assemblies is set down in the Armenian Constitution. Instead
of intervening with the rally the authorities had better create
favourable conditions for it.

Hence, we appeal to everyone to take part in the rally with a winner’s
resolution in order to

â~@¢ end the "cause" our friends sacrificed for,

â~@¢ disclose and punish the perpetrators of the March 1 bloodshed,

â~@¢ release the political prisoners,

resist tax and economic pressure exerted by the regime.

We call on everyone to meet the first day of spring near the
Matenadaran, at 3.00 March 1.

Alexnadre Arzumanyan

Myasnik Malkhasyan

Gagik Jhangiryan

Smbat Ayvazyan

Sasun Mikayelyan Hakob Hakobyan

Grigor Voskerchyan

Suren Sirunyan

Shant Harutyunyan

Mushegh Saghatelyan

Tigran Lazarian

Levon Khachatryan

Tigran Melkonyan

Gevorg GHazaryan

Ashot Zakaryan

Hovhannes Harutyuntyan

Kristopher Elazyan

Vardan Ghavalbabunts

Harutyun Gharibyan

Mkrtich Safeyan

Jora Safeyan

Armen Sirunyan

Vardges Gaspari

Samvel Karapetyan

Simon Amirkhanyan

Aram Bareghamyan

Sos Gevorgyan

Armen Sargsyan

Sargis Hatspanyan

Mkrtich Abrahamyan

Armenak Abrahamyan

Roman Mnatsakanyan

Nver Stepanyan

Arman Babajanyan

Marzpetuny Ayvazyan

Tatev Gasparyan

Harutyun Urutyan

Ashot Manukyan

Gevorg Manukyan

Shmavon Galstyan

Felix Gevorgyan

David Aghayan

Petros Makeyan

David Matevosyan

"SHAMEFUL FOR POLICE"

Panorama.am
17:30 27/02/2009

"Everything will be done to reveal the murder of Vice Chief of Police
Gevorg Mheryan. This is significant for the police first of all,"
said Chief of Police Alik Sargsyan in a press conference.

Remind: On 3 February, at 20:30 the Vice Chief of Police Gevorg Mheryan
was murdered just in front of his house. Currently a criminal procedure
is claimed and an investigation is hold.

The Chief of police said that this case is "shameful" for the police
system and added that it is also important for the country’s rate.

A. Sargsyan mentioned that only the best specialists are included
into the investigative group and added that everything is done to
reveal the criminals.

CO-CHAIRS WILL VISIT NAGORNO KARABAKH

APA
Feb 26 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku -APA. Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Bernard Fassier (France),
Matthew Bryza (USA) and Yuriy Merzlyakov (Russia) will arrive in
Azerbaijan on Thursday.

The co-chairs will meet with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku on Friday and will leave in the
evening for Armenia, where they will meet with the authorities on
Saturday. The co-chairs will travel to Nagorno Karabakh and on March
2 they will return to Armenia to meet again with the authorities.

The visit of co-chairs to the region was coordinated at the meeting
of Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents on January 28 in Zurich.