Author: Karakhanian Suren

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN LEADERS PLAN TO MEET NEXT TIME IN DAVOS

Azerbaijan Business Center
Jan 21 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia are ready
for their next meeting within the framework of the process of peaceful
settlement of Nagorno Garabagh conflict.

Foreign affairs minister Elmar Mammadayrov of Azerbaijan says that
both presidents’ next meeting can take place at the end of January
within the Davos Economic Forum.

"Besides, a meeting between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and
Armenia is expected on 27 January as well. There is such a proposal,
and Azerbaijan received it," Mammadyarov said.

He added that negotiations will most probably be held in Zurich.

350 RESIDENTS OF VANADZOR WERE LAID OFF
Gayane Sargsyan

A1+
[11:53 am] 20 January, 2009

Three hundred fifty workers of the "Avtogen-M" gas-welding equipment
manufacturing factory were laid off starting January 1 of this year.

"The main reason for lay-offs is that we are working in conjunction
with the Russian firm. They purchased the products and can’t pay the
money. They currently owe us nearly 100 million drams. In this case,
there is no sense in working and accumulating. What’s the point of
procuring new products if they can’t pay for them? In Armenia, sales
were at a minimum," says head of the factory Artak Ghazaryan.

Factory workers received an average wage of 60,000 drams and the
administration still has trouble paying the total 50 million drams
it owes to the workers for the months of September-December.

The head of the factory said that they were forced to estimate the
total earnings of workers at yearend in order to avoid any extra
expenses.

The company has appealed to the government for support and the
government has proposed a 14% interest rate loan.

"The support would have been great if the factory was still
functioning, but how are we going to pay off the interest rate in
these conditions?" says the head of the factory.

The factory administration hopes that their Moscow-based partner’s
financial state will improve by spring and he will be able to get
the factory back on its feet.

ECONOMIC CRISIS ACCORDING TO A. NRANIAN
By Nairi Muradian

AZG Armenian Daily
20/01/2009

Economy

According to Armenian National Assembly MP of ARF (Dashnaktsutyun)
faction Ara Nranian, present-day economic crisis has positive and
negative sides.

"The positive side is that in case of rapid changes re-distribution
of powers takes place; several countries that are in a position of
power in the financial-economic sense may have a fall. And those
countries that have an opportunity to make profit from the economic
crisis will have a rise", the ARF representative said at "Urbat"
club on January 16.

Touching upon the crisis in Armenia, the MP mentioned that the crisis
first struck at the mining industry. In that sense, several corrections
should be made to the economic policy. Ara Nranian attaches great
importance to the issue of economic diversification; "RA should not
stand on only one or two pillars. We should develop several branches
to substitute one for another providing economic growth in case of
inner crisis".

The National Assembly deputy underlined that because of the crisis
world gross demand decreased: "The producers cannot sell their product
and consequently they reduce production that leads to additional
unemployment".

ANTISEMITISM GETS OUT OF CONTROL IN TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.01.2009 15:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Prime Minister in Turkey has encouraged hatred
against Israel in his speeches which has become obvious anti-Semitic
propaganda among the general public, according to Director of Global
Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Professor Barry
Rubin.

"There are people around the clock besieging the Israeli consulate in
Istanbul shouting their hatred against Israel and Jewish people. All
around Istanbul billboards are full of propaganda posters against
Israel like; "Moses, even this is not written in your book" and
"Israel Stop this Crime." On the streets the people are writing such
graffiti as: "Kill Jews," "Kill Israel," "Israel should no longer
exist in the Middle East," and "Stop Israeli Massacre."

The week-end before, some people wrote, "We will kill you" on the door
of one of the biggest synagogues in Izmir resulted in the closing down
of synagogues. Near Istanbul University, a group put a huge poster on
the door of a shop owned by a Jew: "Do not buy from here, since this
shop is owned by a Jew." A group put posters on his wall saying that:
"Jews and Armenians are not allowed but dogs are allowed." Some young
people are even threatening others with violence if they are seen as
pro-Israel in social networking websites such as Facebook and Hi5.

The document attached is the official statement by the minister of
education stating that tomorrow [January 14] at 11am in all the high
schools and primary schools the students will pay homage to the women
and children dead during the war and furthermore, the teachers of
art will organize the session of painting and writing on the subject:
"Humanity Drama in Palestine" and the winners will receive awards.

The Jewish community can do nothing in response to what has been
going on for the last few weeks, except giving vague statements that
the Turkish Jewish Community does not want the war to be continued
any more.

We have previously faced some strong reaction regarding previous
operations in Gaza and the West Bank but this time is really different
from former ones. I feel open anti-Semitism and hatred from all
these people. Nobody understood, Even some widely read columnists
in Turkey are writing things that lead all these groups toward this
hatred becoming much more dangerous day by day.

But I know one thing: that the world should know about the widespread
and openly anti-Semitic propaganda which far exceeds anything happening
in Europe."

HILLARY CLINTON: WE WILL BE LOOKING VERY CLOSELY AT CHALLENGING ISSUES

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.01.2009 16:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As the world collectively embraces the irreversible
trend of Armenian Genocide affirmation, the confirmation hearing of
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is testament to the fact that there
is no turning back.

"President-elect Obama and Senator Clinton have forcefully advocated
for genocide prevention and affirmation and are poised to bring about
a new direction in this key policy area, including the repudiation of
President Bushâ~@~Ys anti-Evans doctrine," said Executive Director
of the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly), Mr. Bryan Ardouny,
the Assembly told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The Assembly congratulated Senator John Kerry (D-MA) for his ascension
to the Chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator
Kerry presided over the confirmation hearing of Secretary of State
nominee Hillary Clinton (D-NY). Senator Clinton fielded a broad range
of questions and is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate after
the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

During the question and answer session, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ),
a long-time supporter of Armenian issues, noted the importance of
Armenian Genocide affirmation and the need to move forward, stating,
"If we are to say â~@~Xnever again,â~@~Y part of that is ultimately
the recognition of what has happened so that we can move forward. And
I hope that you will be an advocate of having us get off of where we
have been and move forward to a recognition of that part of history
so that it is universally recognized so that we can move forward in
that respect."

Secretary Designate Clinton responded, "We will be looking very closely
at those and other challenging issues with the eye of moving forward
and being effective in responding to these very legitimate concerns."

"The Armenian Assembly whole-heartedly concurs with Senator
Menendez. Senator Clinton has consistently supported affirmation
of the Armenian Genocide and the Assembly looks forward to working
with the new Administration to reverse the Bush Administrationâ~@~Ys
Anti-Evans Doctrine," stated Assembly Board Member Annie Totah.

During her historic presidential campaign Secretary Designate Clinton
stated, "I believe the horrible events perpetrated by the Ottoman
Empire against Armenians constitute a clear case of genocide. Our
common morality and our nationâ~@~Ys credibility as a voice for human
rights challenge us to ensure that the Armenian Genocide be recognized
and remembered by the Congress and the President of the United States."

–Boundary_(ID_ouxYz90hslLaivfb09P0 VA)–

AZERBAIJANI PARTY VIOLATED ARMISTICE REGIME IN 2008 ABOUT 3,5 THOUSAND TIMES

ArmInfo
2009-01-14 13:21:00

ArmInfo. The Azerbaijani party violated the armistice regime in 2008
on the line of contact between the Armenian and NKR armed forces
about 3,5 thousand times, Head of the borderline representation of the
Armenian armed forces’ General Headquarters, Colonel Andranik Mkrtumyan
told ArmInfo. , Mkrtumyan said. In 2007, he said, Azerbaijan used
a large-caliber small-arms weapon 274 times, in 2007 – 89 times. As
a result of firing of the Armenian territory by the Azerbaijani AF
in 2008, 7 people died – two civilians (in Chinari village of Berd
region of Armenia’s Tavush marz) and 5 servicemen. 26 people more
(three of them civilians) were wounded. As A. Mkrtumyan emphasized,
the circumstance that the Azerbaijani party started actively using
manual rocket launchers in the last quarter, 2008, arouse special
concern. The peak fell on November – 8 ases, and total of 11 cases
of using manual rocket launchers by Azerbaijan were fixed. Moreover,
artillery was used by the Azerbaijani AF in 2008 during a failed
attempt of occupying the positions of the NKR Army in Martakert
direction on March 4. According to the Armenian Defence Ministry 12
artillery shells were launched by Azerbaijan during that attempt. ,
A. Mkrtumyan emphasized. He also touched on the issue of transferring
of the bodies of the dead by the parties. , A.Mkrtumyan said.

DIRECTOR OF ARMAVIA AIR STAFF: THE COMPANY’S PILOTS TO NEED A LITTLE TIME TO COMPLETELY MASTER SUKHOI SUPERJET AIRCRAFT

ArmInfo
2009-01-14 01:06:00

ArmInfo. Armavia pilots will need a little time to completely master
the Sukhoi Superjet aircraft, Director of Armavia Air Staff Mihran
Khachatryan told ArmInfo correspondent. "No considerable difficulties
will arise as the logic of this aircraft control is close to that of
A-320 which we are successfully exploiting",- Khachatryan said.

To recall, Sukhoi Superjet – 100 will replenish the air park of
Armavia air company in October 2009. In February and March French
planes Ð~B-320 and Ð~B- 319 are to be delivered to Armenia, it is also
envisaged to purchase 2 CRJ planes. At present, the company’s air
ark has two Ð~B-319, two Ð~B-320, a Boeing 737, a Yak-42, a Tu-134,
and an Il-86. In September 2007 Armavia and Sukhoi Civil Aircraft
CJSC signed a contract on delivery of 2 Sukhoi Superjet – 100 planes
worth over 50 mln USD.

–Boundary_(ID_4U43V25v6QnxZs16mE60Sg)–

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF NEWSPAPER ARRESTED IN AZERBAIJAN

Today.Az
13 January 2009 [12:14]

Zohrab Sadigov, editor-in-chief of "Kadr ve tereggi" newspaper, which
fell under the Press Council’s list of "racketeering newspapers" 2008,
has been arrested. Aghdam Region Police Office told APA’s Karabakh
bureau that Sadigov is accused of committing several crimes. The
police detained him over raping. An unnamed woman appealed to the
police and said she was raped by Sadigov. The other illegal actions of
the editor-in-chief were revealed while investigating this complaint.

Aghdam Region Prosecutor’s Office is carrying out investigation
in connection with the editor-in-chief. It was impossible to get
information about his arrest from the prosecutor’s office.

RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN CALLED TO FOREIGN MINISTRY FOR RUSSIA’S SALE OF AMMO TO ARMENIA

Trend News Agency
Jan 12 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 12/ Trend News, E. Rustamov/ Russian Ambassador
to Azerbaijan Vasiliy Istratov has been invited to the Foreign Ministry
of Azerbaijan due to reports claiming that Russia has sold ammunition
worth $800 million to Armenian armed forces from Russia’s military
base 102 located in Armenia’s Gumru city.

"The Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov officially inquired the
ambassador about the truth of reports. Istratov said Russia will make
a clarification on this issue," Foreign Ministry’s press service told
Trend News.

According to mass media reports, the list of ammo sold to Armenia
include 21 units of T-22 tanks, 27 units of BMP-2, 12 units of APC
70/80, 5 BREM-2 war vehicles produced on basis of 5 BMP-1, 4 units
of ZSU- 23-4 Shilka rockets, Strela rockets of different brands,
875 boxes of F-1 and RQD grenades, 1050 boxes of RKQ-3/3 EM grenade,
7,897 ammo of different brand (122 millimeters RS, 152 millimeters
2s3, 122 millimeters D-30), 120 units of QP-25 grenade launchers, 2,
846 units of 5.45 millimeters of AK-74 and AKS-74 guns, 1,472 units
of 7.62 millimeters of AKM and AKMS guns, 103 units of NB-8 nights
vision equipment, trotill sabers, mines of different brands (TM 62
M/P, OZM-72, PMN), 14 units of BM-37 mine launcher, 9 Grads (RSZO 9K51
BM-21), 10 units of Akasia howitzer produced on basis of T-55 (SAU 152
millimeters of 1S), 14 units of Gvozdika howitzer produced on basis
of MT-LBU (SAU 122 millimeters of 2 S1), 5 units of Rapira cannons
of 100 millimeters (MT-12r), 210 units of 3 M9M3 Kub rockets etc.

FIFA FAIR PLAY AWARD FOR ARMENIA, TURKEY

armradio.am
13.01.2009 11:49

The FIFA Fair Play Award for 2008 has gone to the Football Associations
of Armenia and Turkey for their part in encouraging dialogue between
two countries which otherwise do not have any form of diplomatic
relationship, FIFA official website informs.

On 6 September 2008, the President of Turkey, Abdula Gul, spent
eight hours in Yerevan, on the invitation of Armenian President
Serzh Sargsian, in order to attend the two countries’ encounter in
a qualifier for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africaâ~D¢.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country was holding the
EU Presidency at the time, dubbed the meeting a "historic and brave
initiative". The visit was also heartily applauded by the international
press, while 70 per cent of the Turkish public expressed their approval
in opinion polls.

As for the match itself, 10,000 fans were in the stands to witness
this historic encounter first-hand. Visitors from Turkey came through
to win the game 2-0, but more importantly the match passed by without
crowd trouble.

The Turkish President announced that he did not wish the dispute
between the two nations to be part of his legacy for future
generations. President Gul also invited his Armenian counterpart to
attend the FIFA World Cup qualifying match between the two sides in
Istanbul on 14 October 2009.

The award was presented by UEFA=2 0President and FIFA Executive
Committee member Michel Platini and his fellow FIFA Executive Committee
member Senes Erzik.

–Boundary_(ID_6CUctGl2gOAfWMvoaxUjgw)–