Author: Karagyozian Lena

MEETING OF US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND ARMENIAN AND TURKISH FMs TAKES PLACE IN ISTANBUL

ARMENPRESS
Apr 7, 2009

YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS: Meeting of the US President Barack
Obama, Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Edward Nalbandyan and
Ali Babacan took place April 6 in the evening, in Istanbul spokesman
for the Armenian foreign minister Tigran Balayan told Armenpress,
without unveiling the details of the meeting.

Edward Nalbandyan left for Istanbul to participate in the "Alliance
of Civilizations" 2d forum conducted under the auspices of UN.

Turkish sources report that Obama addressed a message to the
presidents of the two countries calling on them to bring to end
bilateral negotiations directed towards restoration of ties between
the two neighboring countries.

The president addressed his message to personally foreign ministers
of the two countries meeting them in Istanbul in the hall intended
for the conduction of the forum.

International experts describe the step of Barack Obama as "very
serious" and even "historic".

AZERI, ARMENIAN LEADERS MAY MEET IN KARABAKH IN EARLY MAY – U.S. DIPLOMAT

Interfax
April 6 2009
Russia

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan are
likely to hold another round of negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh on the
sidelines of an EU session regarding the Eastern Partnership project
on May 7-8, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Co-Chair of
the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza said at a press conference in Baku
on Friday.

Bryza said he hoped Aliyev and Sargsyan would confirm their
participation in this meeting in the near future.

LEGAL ENTITIES PERMITTED NOT TO PAY STATE DUES IN COURTS IN ARMENIA

ARKA
Apr 7, 2009

YEREVAN, April 7. /ARKA/. Armenian Parliament members passed the
amendments to the country’s law about state.

The amendments give individual entrepreneurs and legal entities an
opportunity to get exemption from state due payments.

Armenian Minister of Justice Gevorg Danielyan said that the amendments
invalidate item 4 of article 22 of the law saying that individual
entrepreneurs and legal entities cannot be exempted from state due
payments.

This approach is inadmissible as it is not equal to persons and legal
entities and violates the principle of equality before the law and
the court.

The Minister also pointed out that the mentioned provision is in
conflict with the country’s Code of Civic Procedures envisaging
equality of physical and legal entities before the law.

Currently different amounts of state dues are paid in effecting
various legal operations. Basic amount of the state due is 1,000 Drams
(approx. 3 dollars).

06. April 2009, 10:08 Uhr

STAATSBESUCH IN ANKARA

Obamas heikle Mission bei den Türken

usland/0,1518,617565,00.html

Von Gregor Peter Schmitz, Washington

Schwieriger Abschluss einer Europareise: Bei seinem Trip nach Ankara und
Istanbul muss Barack Obama viele Problemthemen anpacken – die
Iran-Politik, den EU-Beitritt der Türkei, den Armenien-Genozid. Der
US-Präsident ist zwar beliebt bei den Türken, das Ansehen seines Landes
aber auf einem Tiefpunkt.

Das Wei�e Haus plant Reisen des US-Präsidenten gerne bis ins letzte
Detail: Eine sorgfältig aktualisierte Tabelle führt die Tagestermine des
POTUS – President of the United States – minutengenau auf, mitsamt An-
und Abreisezeiten. Auch eine Botschaft des Tages wird jeden Morgen
verabredet, abgestimmt auf den jeweiligen Besuchsort. Für die laufende
Europa-Visite war die Reihenfolge eigentlich klar festgelegt: Erst das
G-20-Treffen in London, danach der Nato-Gipfel in Kehl und StraÃ?burg, am
Wochenende die EU-US-Beratungen in Prag. Zum Abschluss am Montag und
Dienstag die Stippvisite in der Türkei.

Doch dann wurde die ganze schöne Planung plötzlich hinfällig: Die
Regierung in Ankara versuchte auf dem Nato-Gipfel die Wahl des neuen
Generalsekretärs Anders Fogh Rasmussen zu torpedieren. Denn der dänische
Premier habe vor vier Jahren Anti-Islam-Karikaturen in einer Zeitung
seines Landes nicht eindeutig genug verurteilt. Da die Berufung des
neuen Generalsekretärs nur einstimmig getroffen werden kann, drohte im
Bündnis just zum Jubiläum Stillstand. Erst Barack Obamas
Telefondiplomatie – er rief den Regierungschef der Türkei, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, an – sorgte für eine Lösung: Rasmussen wurde doch noch gekürt,
den Türken Gegenleistungen in Aussicht gestellt: angeblich ein
Spitzenposten in der Allianz sowie die Zusage eines Verbotsverfahrens
gegen den PKK-nahen dänischen TV-Sender Roj-TV.

Der Widerstand der Türkei wirbelte Obamas Reisekommunikation also
kräftig durcheinander. Doch dies dürfte dem Präsidenten eher
entgegenkommen, wenn er an diesem Montag in Ankara und am Dienstag in
Istanbul erwartet wird. Immerhin ist der US-Präsident teilweise auf die
türkischen Bedenken gegen Rasmussen eingegangen – was seinen Gastgebern
gefallen sollte. Deren Wohlwollen kann Obama brauchen. Denn die Türkei
ist ein wichtiger strategischer Partner für die USA, weshalb bereits die
Präsidenten Clinton und Bush die EU-Ambitionen Ankaras vehement
unterstützten. Washington sieht das überwiegend muslimische, aber auch
säkulare und demokratische Land als Modell für die islamische Welt an.

Au�erdem ist die Türkei der Nato-Mitgliedstaat mit der zweitgrö�ten
Armee. Allein in Afghanistan sind 1200 Soldaten stationiert. Der
US-Luftwaffenstützpunkt Incirlik im Süden des Landes dient zudem als
Nachschubstätte für Einsätze im Irak und in Afghanistan. Durch ihre Nähe
zu den rohstoffreichen zentralasiatischen Staaten ist die Türkei auch
zum wichtigen Nadelöhr für den Energienachschub avanciert. Und weil
Ankara gute Beziehungen zu Iran unterhält, könnten die Türken bei einem
diplomatischen Neuanfang zwischen Washington und Teheran helfen. Die
türkische Regierung unterstützte bereits die Organisation von Gesprächen
zwischen pakistanischen und afghanischen Spitzenvertretern und die
Verhandlung eines Waffenstillstands im Gaza-Konflikt.

Dementsprechend umfangreich fällt Obamas Besuchsprogramm aus. Der
Präsident wird unter anderem das Mausoleum von Staatsgründer Kemal
Atatürk besuchen, Religionsführer treffen, vor dem türkischen Parlament
eine Rede halten, die berühmte Blaue Moschee in Istanbul besichtigen und
am Dienstag eine Art Sprechstunde mit türkischen Jugendlichen abhalten –
interaktiv und wohl auch per Internet oder Videoübertragung zugänglich.
Mehr als die Hälfte der Türken nennen den Präsidenten in Umfragen den
vertrauenswürdigsten ausländischen Staatsmann – dennoch demonstrierten
vor der Reise Tausende Türken gegen den Staatsbesuch und skandierten
"Wir wollen dich nicht". </politik/ausland/0,1518,617536,00.html>

Es gibt viele Problemfälle für Obama bei seinem Staatsbesuch: Das
Ansehen der USA hat in der Türkei erheblich gelitten, insbesondere durch
die verheerende Irak-Invasion. Zum Zeitpunkt von Obamas Wahl äu�erten
sich nur noch neun Prozent der Türken in Umfragen positiv über den Kurs
Washingtons. Die amerikanische Hilfe für einen türkischen EU-Beitritt
beeindruckt angesichts der schleppenden Fortschritte nur noch wenige
Türken. Ankaras Vermittlerrolle im Nahostkonflikt stö�t an Grenzen:
Premier Erdogan stürmte im Januar auf dem Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos
wütend aus einer Diskussion mit Israels Präsident Schimon Peres. Zu gro�
war Erdogans Frust über die israelische Gaza-Invasion – daheim wurde er
prompt wie ein Held empfangen.

*Heikelstes Thema: der Genozid an den Armeniern*

Ohnehin wollen sich die Türken nicht auf die Rolle als Brückenbauer
zwischen Ost und West verengen lassen. "Obama darf die Türkei nicht
einfach nur als muslimischen Modellversuch behandeln" sagt Soner
Cagaptay, Türkei-Experte am "Washington Institute for Near East Policy".
Es sei eine gute Idee, das Land gleich nach den Auftritten bei Nato und
der EU zu besuchen – um so seine westliche Anbindung zu unterstreichen.

Am heikelsten dürfte für den Präsidenten aber jede �u�erung zum
armenischen Genozid werden – den Massakern an Hunderttausenden Armeniern
in den letzten Tagen des osmanischen Reiches 1915, welche die meisten
Türken bis heute nicht als Völkermord anerkennen wollen. Obama hat im
Wahlkampf versprochen, die Tötungen offiziell als Genozid zu bezeichnen.
In seinem Team im WeiÃ?en Haus arbeiten Wissenschaftler wie Samantha
Power, die den Pulitzerpreis für ein Buch über die amerikanische Antwort
auf Genozide gewann, in dem auch der Armenier-Völkermord vorkommt. Die
einflussreiche Vertretung armenisch-amerikanischer Gruppen übt viel
Druck auf Obama aus, in diesem Punkt ja nicht zu wanken. Doch ebenso
entschlossen klingt weiter die türkische Rhetorik. Erdogan sprach gerade
erst wieder vom "sogenannten Genozid".

Die türkische Kolumnistin Amberin Zaman skizziert in einem Beitrag für
die Türkei-Schriftenreihe des "German Marshall Fund" freilich einen
möglichen Kompromiss: Im vergangenen Jahr hätten türkische und
armenische Diplomaten mit Hilfe Schweizer Mediatoren ein umfassendes
Abkommen ausgearbeitet, das unter anderem eine historische Aufarbeitung
der Ereignisse von 1915 vorsehe – und den Weg freimache zu einer
Wiederaufnahme der diplomatischen Beziehungen zwischen der Türkei und
Armenien. So könne die Vision eines neuen "goldenen Zeitalters" zwischen
der Türkei und Washington, glaubt Zaman, trotz aller Genoziddebatten
rasch schon Wirklichkeit werden.

STATE COMMITTEE OF REAL ESTATE CADASTRE TO IMPROVE SERVICE QUALITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.04.2009 12:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan attended the
State Committee of Real Estate Cadastre to introduce new chairman
Yervand Zakharyan, reported the press office of the Armenian
government.

Thanking former chairman Manuk Vardanyan for the work carried out,
the head of the Armenian government voiced hope that Mr. Zakharyan
will give a renewed impetus to committee’s activities.

For his part, Mr. Zakharyan remarked that highly skilled specialists
can ensure resolution of existing problems.

Reiten Television KXMB Bismarck
April 5 2009

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, April 14, the 104th day of 2009. There are 261 days
left in the year.

In 1909, Armenians in Adana (AH’-dah-nah) Province in the Ottoman
Empire became targets of violence during an uprising by
counter-revolutionaries seeking to restore Sultan Abdul Hamid II to
power; the number of Armenians killed has been put at up to 30,000.

Today’s Highlight in History: On April 14, 1865, President Abraham
Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while
attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at Ford’s Theater in
Washington. (Lincoln died the following morning.)

On this date: In 1759, German-born English composer George Frideric
Handel died in London at age 74.

In 1775, the first American society for the abolition of slavery was
formed in Philadelphia.

In 1828, the first edition of Noah Webster’s "American Dictionary of
the English Language" was published.

In 1902, James Cash Penney opened his first store, The Golden Rule, in
Kemmerer, Wyo.

In 1909, Armenians in Adana (AH’-dah-nah) Province in the Ottoman
Empire became targets of violence during an uprising by
counter-revolutionaries seeking to restore Sultan Abdul Hamid II to
power; the number of Armenians killed has been put at up to 30,000.

In 1912, the British liner RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg in the
North Atlantic and began sinking.

In 1939, the John Steinbeck novel "The Grapes of Wrath" was first
published.

In 1949, at the conclusion of the so-called "Wilhelmstrasse Trial," 19
former Nazi Foreign Office officials were sentenced by an American
tribunal in Nuremberg to prison terms ranging from four to 25 years.

In 1956, Ampex Corp. demonstrated the first successful videotape
recorder at the National Association of Radio and Television
Broadcasters Convention in Chicago.

In 1989, former winery worker Ramon Salcido went on a rampage in
Sonoma County, Calif., killing seven people, including his wife and
two of his daughters; he is currently on death row.

Ten years ago: Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr told Congress the
Watergate-era law that gave him the power to probe actions of
executive branch officials was flawed and should be abolished. NATO
mistakenly bombed a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees; Yugoslav
officials said 75 people were killed. British entertainer Anthony
Newley died in Jensen Beach, Fla., at age 67.

Five years ago: In a historic policy shift, President George W.

Bush endorsed Israel’s plan to hold on to part of the West Bank in any
final peace settlement with the Palestinians; he also ruled out
Palestinian refugees returning to Israel, bringing strong criticism
from the Palestinians.

One year ago: Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp.,
announced they were combining. Kidnapped British journalist Richard
Butler was rescued by Iraqi troops from a house in Basra after two
months in captivity. Media billionaire Silvio Berlusconi won a
decisive victory in Italy’s parliamentary election. Carme Chacon was
sworn into office as Spain’s first woman defense minister.

Taylor Swift won video of the year and female video for her smash "Our
Song" while newcomer Kellie Pickler took home three awards during the
Country Music Television awards.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Bradford Dillman is 79. Actor Jay Robinson is
79. Country singer Loretta Lynn is 74. Actress Julie Christie is
69. Former baseball player Pete Rose is 68. Rock musician Ritchie
Blackmore is 64. Actor John Shea is 60. Actor-race car driver Brian
Forster is 49. Actor Brad Garrett is 49. Actor Robert Carlyle is
48. Rock singer-musician John Bell (Widespread Panic) is 47. Actor
Robert Clendenin is 45. Actor Lloyd Owen is 43.

Baseball player Greg Maddux is 43. Rock musician Barrett Martin is
42. Actor Anthony Michael Hall is 41. Actor Adrien Brody is 36.

Classical singer David Miller is 36. Rapper DaBrat is 35. Actor Antwon
Tanner is 34. Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is 32.

Actor-producer Rob McElhenney is 32. Actress Vivien Cardone is 16.

Actress Abigail Breslin is 13.

Thought for Today: "’History repeats itself’ and ‘History never
repeats itself’ are about equally true … We never know enough about
the infinitely complex circumstances of any past event to prophesy the
future by analogy." George Macaulay Trevelyan, English historian
(1876-1962).

(Above Advance for Use Tuesday, April 14)

US CONGRESSMAN WAS MISQUOTED BY TURKISH MEDIA ABOUT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.04.2009 21:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Rep. Mark Kirk, co-chair of the congressional
Armenian caucus, says that he remains hopeful about the progress of
the Armenian Genocide resolution and was misquoted by the Turkish
media about it.

"My hope is that we get this resolution to [a vote on] on the floor and
that we adopt it," Mr. Kirk told the Armenian Reporter on April 2. But,
he added, "I don’t know when Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi is going to put
this resolution on the floor. We are all waiting for the Speaker to
tell us."

"My hope is that [Speaker Pelosi] puts the resolution on the floor,"
he said. "President [Barack] Obama said that he is for this resolution
and campaign promises should matter."

Together with Reps. Adam Schiff (D.-Calif.), George Radanovich
(R.-Calif.) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D.-N.J.), Mr. Kirk is an original
co-sponsor of House Resolution 252 affirming the U.S. record on the
Armenian Genocide, which is currently co-sponsored by 85 additional
members of the House of Representatives.

On April 2, the English version of Hurriyet daily published a
translated excerpt of an interview with Rep. Kirk published the same
day in the daily Aksam in Turkish.

The excerpt quoted Rep. Kirk as saying, "Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Nancy Pelosi will not dare pass the bill. She will
not place Obama in a difficult position. The bill will not pass,
don’t worry."

When asked about this line, Mr. Kirk said that it was "quite an
addition to what I said."

While confirming that he spoke with Aksam newspaper correspondent
Nagehan Alci, Mr. Kirk said the quote was inaccurate.

"When my words were translated from English to Turkish and then
back to English, I did not recognize them anymore," Mr. Kirk
said. "The interview made it sound like I was not a supporter of
the resolution. Not only I am supporter, but I am a lead Republican
supporter."

The Armenian Reporter’s request for Ms. Alci to comment made shortly
before press time has not yet been answered.

ARMENIAN PROSECUTORS DROP MOST CHARGES IN OPPOSITION TRIAL

Public Television of Armenia
April 1 2009

The trial in the case of seven [seven oppositionists charged after 1
March 2008 riots in Yerevan] continued today at the Court of General
Jurisdiction in [Yerevan’s] Kentron and Nork-Marash districts. The
prosecutors, represented by Prosecutor Koryun Piloyan, changed the
charges due to amendments made to articles 225 and 300 of the Criminal
Code. Piloyan said that due to these amendments, the prosecutors
dropped several charges. In particular, charges under Article 300
(usurpation of power) were dropped in full, and only the [charges
under the] part of Article 225 that relates to organizing mass unrest
was sustained. The judge announced a two-hour recess following the
prosecutor’s motion. He then announced his decision, according to
which the cases of the defendants – except for Aleksandr Arzumanyan
and Suren Sirunyan – will be referred to other courts for trial.

PICTURE GALLERY ROBBER TURNED HIMSELF IN

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.04.2009 22:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On Mar. 31, Manvel V., aged 39, turned himself
in to Hrazdan Police Department. He admitted to having stolen 18
pictures by great Armenian artists from RA National Picture Gallery
Hrazdan Subsidiary. On the night of 30/31 March, Manvel V., having
broken the gallery window, stole 18 pictures by Ayvazovski, Gevorg
Bashindgaghyan, Mariam Aslamazyan, Panos Terlemezyan, Martiros Saryan,
Suren Safaryan, Hamayak Hakobyan, Stepan Aghadganyan, Sedrak Arakelyan
and Khatchatur Yesayan.

"The investigation is conducted on a state level and the culprit will
get his comeuppance," Manager of RA National Picture Gallery Hrazdan
Subsidiary told a PanARMENIAN.NET reporter.

RA National Picture Gallery Hrazdan Subsidiary compiled an exposition
of 101 works of painters and sculptors during 70 years of its
existence.

US AND RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS ISSUED A JOINT STATEMENT BASED ON NEGOTIATION RESULTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.04.2009 18:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US and Russia intend to conclude a new agreement
on reduction of strategic nuclear armaments until December 2009,
upon the expiry of current agreement, says the joint statement based
on results of today’s London negotiations between Barack Obama and
Dmitri Medvedev.

Obama and Medvedev agreed to continue with negotiations on Europe
security and promote constructive dialogue between Russia and NATO.

Barack Obama accepted an invitation to visit Russia in July 2009,
Svoboda Radio Station reported.