Author: Karakhanian Suren

State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
May 7, 2009 Thursday

PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV MEETS BRITISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN
AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Prague May 7

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has met British Secretary of State
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband.

Mr. Miliband pointed out the cooperation between the two countries
develops in various fields, particularly in political and economic
ones.

He invited on behalf of the British Prime Minister – the Azerbaijani
leader to pay a visit to the country.

President Ilham Aliyev accepted the invitation.

The Azerbaijani leader and British Secretary of State discussed the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, regional and
international developments and energy matters.

"NORVIK" UCO PARTICIPATED IN JOB FAIR

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.05.2009 11:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Norvik" UCO CJSC took part in Job Fair organized
in Congress Hotel by Armenian State University of Economics on May 5.

Various organizations took part in the event, presenting their
activities, personnel recruitment principles, and informed the
participants of vacancies.

University graduates from almost all of Armenain regions visited the
Labor Fair.

The event aimed to establish direct cooperation between employers
and potential employees.

Norvik UCO also took an active part in the discussion which raised
various important issues and aimed to reveal the ways of raising
students’ competitiveness.

State University of Economics Rector, Y.Suvaryan expressed his
gratitude to Norvik employees for efficient participation in the fair
and discussion. It was the first time that the State University of
Economics organized such an event. The University plans to continue
the tradition.

Norvik UCO was founded in February 2006 by Latvian-Icelandic JSC
Norvik Bank. In early July 2006 it was licensed and registered as
Norvik UCO. Norvik has been the leading credit organization in Armenia
for 2 years.

ARMENIAN PATRIARCH OF TURKEY: RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL LEADER?
By Harut Sassounian

Asbarez
menian-patriarch-of-turkey-religious-or-political- leader/
May 8th, 2009

year ago, the 53-year-old Patriarch of Turkey, Mesrob Mutafyan, was
unexpectedly diagnosed with a debilitating and apparently incurable
illness. His official duties were assumed on a temporary basis by
Archbishop Aram Ateshian, 55, and Archbishop Shahan Svajian, 83.

There have been many puzzling questions as to the cause of the
Patriarch’s illness. His doctors have announced that he is suffering
from an unspecified neurological disorder and loss of memory.

Members of the Istanbul Armenian community have expressed conflicting
opinions as to the advisability of replacing the Patriarch. Electing
a replacement is problematic, as Patriarchs usually serve for
life. However, such an important seat cannot remain vacant for
long. Patriarch Mutafyan was elected to his post in 1998.

There are only about 10 Armenian clergymen worldwide who qualify to
stand as candidates in a new patriarchal election, since Turkish law
disqualifies those not born in that country. Two of the 10 clergymen
reside in Istanbul, while the rest are in Armenia, the United States
and Germany.

Since Archbishop Atesyan has already taken on many of the patriarchal
duties, he may emerge as the front-runner in a future election for
that post. It is therefore important for the Armenian public to be
informed about his background, actions and statements.

In previous patriarchal elections, the Turkish government has indicated
to the local Armenian community its preferred candidate. An early
indication of such a preference would be the number of times a
particular clergyman is invited to Ankara for "consultation."

To gain insight into Abp. Atesyan’s positions on Armenian-Turkish
issues, here are several excerpts from his lengthy interview with
Spiegel online, the electronic version of the prominent German Der
Spiegel magazine.

The interview was conducted shortly after the Armenian clergyman, along
with the Jewish Rabbi, the Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Orthodox
Church, and the Islamic Mufti of Istanbul met with Pres. Obama in
Istanbul last month. The Greek Patriarch met separately with the
U.S. President.

Abp. Atesyan told Spiegel that he "spoke with Pres. Obama about the
events of 1915 and told him that both peoples suffered." He also the
President: "We, the Armenians in Turkey, are like the children of a
divorce. In Turkish, we call our homeland ‘Anavatan’ – that means
‘motherland’ – and in Armenian we call it ‘Hayrenik,’ which means
‘fatherland.’ We have lived with our mother for the past 80 years. Now
we want our parents to finally reconcile."

Commenting on Pres. Obama’s April 24 statement, Abp. Atesyan said:
"The Turkish government is unhappy that the US president used the term
‘Meds Yeghern,’ the ‘Great Catastrophe.’ That is the common Armenian
name for the events of 1915 and basically means the same thing. But
there is also some disappointment among Armenians. Many wished that
he would specifically use the G-word. But of course he did not. The
US needs Turkey, it is one of its most important strategic partners."

Abp. Atesyan proceeded to explain that "Armenians have been living on
Anatolian soil for the past 2,000 years, and for the last thousand we
have shared this land with the Turks. Our people were like brothers –
until the tragic events of 1915. Now there is hope once again, but
we should not gamble it away. Therefore the next step is diplomatic
rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia, followed by the opening of
common borders."

Interestingly, he dismissed the much talked about possible formation
of a "historical commission," by asserting that "a closer examination
of our history will not be attempted for the time being."

When asked about the Armenian Diaspora’s demands for genocide
recognition, Abp. Atesyan responded very cautiously: "I do not want
to judge them. I do not want to judge anyone. I am a member of the
clergy, it’s not my responsibility to conduct historical research or
raise questions of guilt. The only thing I want to say to my Turkish
and Armenian counterparts is: We know that something very terrible
happened to my people in 1915.

We also know that Turks and Muslims suffered. And we know that today
there is a chance for our people to engage with each other."

Abp. Atesyan then commented on recent developments in Turkey: "Yes,
there is certainly a change of mentality in Turkey. Ten years ago,
no one would have had the courage to ask questions about the events
of 1915. This fear has receded; today one can write about the issue
or discuss it on television. In comparison to the 1990s, human rights
in this country have made a big leap forward. This also affects our
ability to practice our religion. We are now in a position to freely
renovate our churches. Until recently, we had to ask permission from
the government for each new nail…. It is an unwritten law in this
country that a Christian can never be a government minister or a
military officer. But I believe that this could change in the future.

The problem in giving such interviews is that Armenian clergymen in
Turkey have to be extremely careful about what they say publicly,
given that country’s draconian laws restricting freedom of speech. One
wrong word can land them in jail or worse! In his case, Abp. Atesyan
has an even more compelling reason for minding his words. He could
either ingratiate himself to the Turkish authorities or have them
veto his patriarchal candidacy.

The wisest course for an Armenian clergyman in Turkey is to deal
exclusively with religious issues and not discuss politics, thus
avoiding the possibility of being used as a propaganda tool for the
Turkish government.

SECOND ARMENIAN FILM SERIES PREMIERES IN BOSTON
Andy Turpin

armenian-film-series-premieres-in-boston/
May 8, 2009

BOSTON, Mass. (A.W.)-On Fri., May 1, the Second Annual Armenian Film
Series premiered at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) to large scale
attendance by the greater Boston-area Armenian community. The Armenian
Dramatic Arts Alliance (ADAA) presented the event.

ADAA president Bianca Bagatourian introduced the film, saying, "It’s
so nice to see so many familiar faces… We’re very happy that this
film series fulfils the mission statement of the Armenian Dramatic
Arts Alliance so explicitly by helping spread Armenian culture across
the world stage."

This is a community effort and it’s really taken 10 years to get to
this point," said Paul Boghosian, a member of the events committee
and industrial advisory board. "Independent film is a very unique
area. As a director, you never know if you’ll get distribution or if
anyone will go see the film. And in our ultra-technological age it
can sometimes be easier to make the film than get it distributed."

The evening began with the screening of "Dinner Time," a one-minute
short by then-14-year old Gor Baghdasaryan from Armenia, the winner
of the Unicef Prize and presented by the Tufenkian Foundation and
the Manana Center for youth education and culture. A minute-long
film can say a thousand words about an Armenian village family’s
quality of everyday life and cohesion in an economically distraught
environment. And we can all look forward to great films to come as
the now-21-year-old Baghdasaryan ages and hones his film craft.

Next followed Eric Nazarian’s feature-length film "The Blue Hour," the
2008 winner of the Golden Apricot Prize. "The Blue Hour" is Nazarian’s
first feature film as a writer-director. Nazarian is a graduate of the
University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television. Born
in Armenia and raised in Los Angeles, he is currently working on a
law enforcement saga and an international drama about globalization.

As a film, "The Blue Hour" is hard to quantify because narratively it’s
a bit like measuring the amount of fluid in a sieve. Beautifully shot
and exquisitely acted, "The Blue Hour" is often compared to 2006’s Best
Picture winner "Crash," but that comparison is skin-deep to both films’
similar cinematography, sense of brooding sadness, and L.A. setting.

In truth, "The Blue Hour" is much more akin in its sense of
storytelling and disjointed lives to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s 2006
film "Babel." A shortcoming of "The Blue Hour" is the fact that anyone
looking to find fault with the film could easily tell a friend thinking
of seeing it that, "Yeah, it’s kind of like a cross between ‘Crash’
and ‘Babel’ but without the race relations stuff but with Linc from
the ‘Mod Squad.’" A brief Q&A and light reception followed the event.

HELP CENTER FOR TRAFFICKING VICTIMS WAS OPENED IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.05.2009 15:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Help Center for Trafficking Victims was opened in
Yerevan on May 7. At opening ceremony held in RA Ministry of Labor
and Social Issues, OSCE special representative and human trafficking
coordinator Eva Bede expressed hope that OSCE -RA collaboration
development will make the work of Help Center for Trafficking Victims
in Armenia more effective.

Help Center for Trafficking Victims was formed with the assistance of
Germany, France and Sweden. Anti-trafficking program is scheduled to
be completed till August 2010. Upon program completion Help Center
for Trafficking Victims will be integrated into the structure of RA
Ministry for Labor and Social Issues.

Memorandum of Understanding on Help Center formation was signed on
Nov. 4, 2008.

The Center aims to help anti-trafficking structures to create effective
mechanism for trafficking victims protection. The Center plans to
offer training programs for representatives of public organizations,
social services, legislative bodies, as well as human trafficking
awareness events.

CONFERENCE WITH NKR AND RA PRIME MINISTERS’ PARTICIPATION

NKR Government Information and
Public Relations Department
May 07, 2009

Yesterday, the RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan paid a working visit
to Gyumri (province of Shirak). The Prime Minister got familiarized
with the construction works of "Ani" and "Mush" districts of the
town at spot which was followed by a working conference with the
participation of the NKR Prime Minister Ara Haroutyunyan, the RA
Vice-Premier, Minister of Territorial Administration Armen Gevorgyan,
RA province governors, representatives of the corresponding ministries
and departments.

According to the information by the RA Government Information and
Public Relations Department the house-building process in disaster
areas, as well as the activities implemented within the framework
of cooperation between the RA provinces and administrative regions
of Nagorno Karabakh Republic were discussed. On part of the first
issue the RA Deputy Minister of Urban Planning, chief architect of
the Republic, Narek Sargsyan reported that the construction of 22
apartment houses or 1320 flats, that of about 900 dwelling houses in
Lori and Spitak is planned to be completed this year.

Edvard Melikyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of "Glendale
Hills" CJSC informed that within the framework of construction of
Gyumri’s "Mush" and "Ani" districts round 300 working places with an
average salary of 90-100 thousand drams were created, and in case of
realization of the whole volume of works the number of working places
will reach 1500.

The Prime Minister satisfactorily estimated the process of
house-building activities and, simultaneously, with the aim of
making the flats possibly accessible for people, drew attention to
the circumstances of forming prices on the flats under construction.

In concern with the next agenda issue of the conference, the RA Deputy
Minister of Territorial Administration Artashes Bakhshyan presented
an account on the arrangements implemented within the framework
of cooperation between the RA provinces and the NKR administrative
regions and on those envisaged for the current year. It was noted
that in the second half of 2008 and in the first months of this year
mutual visits of delegations were paid, exchange of experience and
consultations took place, certain activities aimed at cooperation
in the spheres of agriculture, nature conservation, healthcare,
education, culture and other ones were carried out. NKR Prime Minister
thanked the authorities of Armenia and the province governors for the
cooperation, which, according to him, greatly promotes the NKR economic
development. Discussing the further programmes of cooperation NKR
Prime Minister attached importance to the creation of direct contacts
between the higher educational institutions and schools of the NKR
and the RA, to the professional support and the issue of gradually
transferring the cooperation into the spheres of tourism and business.

The RA Vice-Premier, Minister of Territorial Administration Armen
Gevorgyan in his turn thanked the NKR authorities for the concerned
attitude they display towards the cooperation. He underlined the
importance of the regular organization of mutual visits and meetings
of this type so that the cooperation will carry a continual character.

Summarizing the results of the conference Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan estimated the implemented activities
positively. Simultaneously, the Prime Minister touched upon a number
of problems, which, according to him, are important from the viewpoint
of the essence of the RA Government’s anti-crisis programme. Tigran
Sargsyan attached importance to the arrangements aimed at organizing
the summer holidays of the population in Armenia and in the NKR. The
Prime Minister charged the RA province governors and proposed the
NKR Prime Minister within short time limits to provide information on
the conditions and opportunities for the rest of people and tourism
available in the RA provinces and in Nagorno Karabakh.

The Prime Minister also assigned the province governors a task to
estimate the volumes of grape purveyance in their provinces with the
aim of implementing grape export more efficiently. Tigran Sargsyan
emphasized as well the issue of social benefits, which was attached
importance to by the RA President during his working visit to the
province of Syunik . He charged the province governors to have
this issue in the focus of their attention, to take steps towards
specifying the lists of welfare recipient families in order to find
out the illegitimate welfare recipients so that these means could be
provided to the social strata being in real need of it.

WATERTOWN STATE REPRESENTATIVE SHARES PERSONAL TIES TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
Richard Conn

Watertown Wicked Local
May 6 2009
MA

WALTHAM – When the remembrance day rolls around each year,
state. Rep. Peter Koutoujian said he thinks of the plight endured by
his grandparents, Abraham and Zarouhi.

April 24 was the annual day of remembrance of the genocide carried
out by the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1915, which resulted in the
deaths of 1.5 million Armenians.

He said his grandparents "barely escaped with the clothes on the
their backs" from their small village in Marash, Turkey.

Koutoujian, D-Watertown and Waltham, along with 82 of his colleagues
in the state House of Representatives recently passed a bill which
urged Congress to officially recognize the deaths as the Armenian
Genocide of 1915.

The House bill calls for the passage of a congressional resolution,
which asks the president "to ensure that the foreign policy of the
United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity
concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing and
genocide documented in the United States record relating to Armenian
genocide."

The resolution has the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and
about 100 congressmen, Koutoujian said. While Koutoujian said the
resolution may cause a "backlash" from Turkish officials, he said
it’s vitally important it be passed.

"Every single historian has basically documented the fact that it
happened," Koutoujian said. "The only parties that have denied it,
are the Turkish government and those who are under the control of
the Turkish government."

Koutoujian said when his grandparents fled the killings, they followed
the French cavalry, who helped by stamping down the snow to allow
them an easier path.

"During the trek, they saw the bodies of friends, families, and
neighbors all along the sides," Koutoujian said.

Koutoujian said his grandparents were separated during the flight
from their home, with his grandfather ending up in the United States,
while his grandmother fled in Aleppo, Syria where she worked in an
orphanage. They were eventually reunited in Massachusetts.

Sharistan Melkonian, chairwoman of the Armenian National Committee
of Massachusetts, who is from Waltham, called the House resolution
"tremendously important."

Melkonian said Massachusetts elected officials have consistently
"done the right thing" by officially recognizing the genocide.

Melkonian said she’s hoping for an official stance soon from both the
president and Congress, which would send a message that further acts
of genocide would not be tolerated.

"When it comes to taking a stand the U.S. Congress as a whole has
not lived up to what we hoped it would live up to," she said. "It’s
important to send a message to Congress and the president that we
can do more."

DEPARTMENT OF STATE: WE HAVE A LOT OF INTERESTS WITH ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.05.2009 11:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. Secretary of State and Armenian Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbanidan had a constructive meeting, Mr. Robert Wood,
spokesman for the Department of State, told a briefing in Washington.

"They discussed, of course, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Armenia’s
relations with Turkey. And it was a very, very good meeting and
constructive. We have a lot of interests with Armenia, and we look
forward to improving and strengthening the bilateral relationship as
we go forward," he said.

NATO KICKS OFF GEORGIA EXERCISES

BBC NEWS
8035130.stm
2009/05/06 12:40:10 GMT

A series of Nato military exercises has begun in Georgia, amid angry
condemnation from Russia.

Soldiers from 18 countries are taking part in the drills at a Georgian
army base close to the capital, Tbilisi.

Russia, which fought a war against Georgia last year, has condemned
the exercises, which President Dmitry Medvedev called "an overt
provocation".

On Tuesday Georgia put down a mutiny by soldiers, and claimed it had
uncovered a Russian-backed coup plot.

Relations between Nato and Russia were supposed to have been on the
mend after last year’s war in Georgia, but have now taken a dramatic
turn for the worse, the BBC’s Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Moscow says.

Russia said on Wednesday that it was expelling two Canadian diplomats
working for Nato’s Moscow office in response to what it terms an
"unfriendly act" by the military alliance.

Last week Nato expelled two Russian envoys from its headquarters in
Brussels, reportedly due to spying.

‘Misinterpreted’

More than 1,000 soldiers will take part in the Nato exercises over
a period of more than three weeks.

Paul Reynolds World affairs correspondent, BBC News website The best
hope for an improvement in Nato-Russia ties lies in talks between
Washington and Moscow about nuclear weapons. The two sides have set
themselves a deadline of December to reach an agreement. If they do
agree that will be an up. But equally there will be downs in future
as well. The basic relationship has not been worked out. There is
suspicion among Nato members about the authoritarian nature of the
Russian government and its determination to exercise influence over
its near neighbours. And there is suspicion in Moscow that Nato would
like Russia to return to the chaotic days of the 1990s, when Russia
was passive and compliant.

They are taking place close to areas where Russian troops are stationed
in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Georgia’s defence ministry said Nato would spend the next few days
setting up a staff headquarters at the Vaziani base outside the
capital Tbilisi.

The first exercise, running until 19 May, is described as a "command
post" exercise focusing on co-ordinating Nato procedures in a
crisis-response situation.

Then a second, larger, exercise, based on peacekeeping training,
will run till 3 June.

Nato has denied the exercises are aimed at Russia or the breakaway
regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"This issue has been totally misused, I think, by all parties. Georgia
is not the object of this exercise, Georgia is the host of this
exercise like Armenia was the year before," Nato spokesman James
Appathurai told BBC News.

"The Russians can portray it the way they want… They’re not the
only ones to misuse this exercise for political purposes.

"I can tell you the secretary-general has spoken to the leadership
in Georgia to express his concern that they also are misusing this
exercise for political purposes."

Armenia, Kazakhstan, Serbia and Moldova – Russian allies which had
been invited by Nato to participate in the Georgian manoeuvres –
have all pulled out.

Unstable country

Nato has promised eventual membership to Georgia, but has given it
no target date for entry. Russia is vehemently opposed to Georgian
membership.

The mutiny on Tuesday in Georgia is likely to reinforce in the minds
of many Nato members that now is not the time to commit the alliance
to the defence of such an unstable country, says the BBC’s world
affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds.

The rebellion erupted on Tuesday morning, when soldiers at a tank
battalion began disobeying orders, Georgian officials said.

"The plan was to stage a large-scale mutiny in Tbilisi and to take
steps against the sovereignty of Georgia and the Georgian government’s
European and Euro-Atlantic integration," said President Mikhail
Saakashvili.

The interior ministry had earlier said it was part of a Russian-linked
coup attempt to kill the president – an allegation described by
Russia’s envoy to Nato as "mad".

‘SOS TEGHUT’ HOLDS A PROTEST ACTION IN FRONT OF VTB BANK (ARMENIA) AGAINST CREDITING TEGHUT PROJECT

ArmInfo
2009-05-05 19:13:00

On May 5, the NGOs unified in "SOS Teghut" held a protest action in
front of VTB Bank (Armenia) against crediting the Teghut project. To
recall, the bank is going to provide the Armenian Copper Programme
(ACP) company with $280 mln for implementation of the project on
developing the Teghut copper-molybdenum deposit. At the same time,
ecologists think that development of the deposit will not only affect
the region’s environment, but will also have a negative effect on
the health of residents of the nearby populated areas. As it was
mentioned for several times, the environmental risks in the ACP project
submitted for consideration of the government were lowered several
times. Moreover, development of the Teghut deposit runs counter to
Armenia’s legislation and international conventions.

Notwithstanding this, Head of Advertisement and Public Relations
Division of VTB Bank (Armenia) Alexander Avetisyan, who met the
participants in the protest action, pointed out that the bank is not
going and will not violate any legislative standard. The bank has
no policy aimed at violating the legislation, he said. If some big
project is contrary to some regulatory act it must be dismissed.

As regards the displeasure of SOS with the fact that the president of
VTB Andrey Kostin has not responded to their petition, Avetisyan said
that he could do nothing about it and urged his comrades to wait. "I am
sure that VTB is taking this problem very seriously," Avetisyan said.

Chairwoman of EcoLur NGO Inga Zarafyan said that the Teghut project
violated 11 national laws, 7 international conventions and 2 articles
of Armenia’s Constitution. "I think that sponsors must be responsible
for the projects they finance. Particularly, development banks clearly
say in their programs that they are ready to reduce some negative
effects. In contrast, commercial banks say that their only goal is
to earn money. By this action we urge commercial banks to show more
responsibility for their programs especially the ones that may prove
destructive for the country," Zarafyan said.