Author: Karakhanian Suren

OBAMA LEGALLY ELECTED U.S. 44TH PRESIDENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.12.2008 13:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In all 50 states and the District of Columbia,
the 538 electors performed a constitutional process to legally elect
Democrat Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States.

More than 131 million voters cast ballots – the most ever in a
presidential election. But Obama’s election is not complete until
Congress tallies the outcome of Monday’s Electoral College vote at
a joint session scheduled for Jan. 6.

Monday’s voting was largely ceremonial, the results preordained by
Obama’s Nov. 4 victory over Republican Sen. John McCain. Obama won
365 electoral votes, to 173 for McCain. With every state reporting,
all the electors had cast ballots in accordance with the popular
votes in their states, the AP reports.

Hillary Clinton will head the State Department while Robert Gates
will retain his post of Defense Secretary.

ANS TV, Azerbaijan
Dec 12 2008

Azeri TV’s website resumes work after alleged Armenian attack

A website of the Azerbaijani private television channel ANS has
resumed operation, the channel has said.

The TV said that the website anspress.com resumed operation at 1000
local time (0600 gmt) on 12 December. It added, however, that all
archive material dating from 22 November 2008 had been erased from the
website.

In the meantime, the website day.az quoted the ANS Press
editor-in-chief, Aytan Safarova, as saying that they were sure that
site had been hacked by Armenians. She added that the website was
operating as normal, despite minor glitches, and that they managed to
resume the operation of the website together with Americans.

On 9 December ANS said that the website had come under heavy attack by
Armenian hackers after the premiere of a movie produced by ANS
president Vahid Mustafayev. The movie, called "The Distinguished", is
about the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which are
technically at war over Nagornyy Karabakh. The Nagornyy Karabakh
region broke away from Azerbaijan in a separatist war in the early
1990s.

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA MET WITH HEADS OF COMMERCIAL BANKS

RIA OREANDA
Dec 11 2008
Russia

Yerevan . OREANDA-NEWS . On December 05, 2008 President Serzh
Sargsyan invited a working meeting with the participation of the
heads of the Armenias commercial banks, reported the Official website
.

The President of Armenia said that the purpose of the meeting is to
define the steps which would be necessary to take in the wake of the
deepening global financial crisis. Naturally, it should be done taking
into consideration the opinion of the banking system.

Speaking about the activities of the banking system during this period,
the President of Armenia said, Thanks to our banks we were able to
withstand the first wave of the crisis with no serious damage. I
believe it was conditioned not in the lesser degree by our wise
policy regarding both the attraction of resources as well as their
distribution.

I have often heard people saying that they trust the Armenian banks. It
is undoubtedly an advantage and we ought to use it to its best. Now,
when the financial crisis has been followed by the economic crisis,
we should be able together with you to develop efficient measures to
nourish those areas of economy which can bring profit, develop and
create new jobs. And there are such businesses in Armenia.

There are programs and these programs, even with a little financing,
with the help of loans can be implemented. First of all, I am referring
to small and medium businesses. You should be very active regarding
these issues. Really, our banking system should be become a source of
nourishment for the small and medium businesses. This should be your
main objective and on this mission you will be, of course, supported
by the state. We must foster the exports.

I have been and will be pursuing these issues. Rest assured that the
major package already adopted by the Government is the first step and
not the last one. We should be able to continue to work with the same
merit we have working with for the last months.

And I repeat, we will support your efforts, we will be constantly
looking for, finding and providing new resources, while you must use
these resources for the development of our economy and the increase
of our exports.

According to Serzh Sargsyan, there are many factors in Armenia which
make it possible to mitigate the repercussions of the global economic
crisis. We can not remain isolated, can not declare that the global
crisis will have no impact on Armenia, however there are many factors
that can help minimize the consequences of the crisis, the President
of Armenia noted and added that there were much more trying times in
our states development process, in our economy, and this is not the
worst of times.

Serzh Sargsyan expressed readiness to listen to the proposals and
recommendations of the participants to the meeting.

The Chairman of the Central Bank Arthur Javadian spoke about
developments in the banking system during the year of 2008 and
currently observable trends. He said that the system stands out by
its high degree of capitalization and liquidity which results in
its stability and ability to absorb a number of risks. The system is
functioning in the atmosphere of mutual trust and assistance.

According to the Chairman of the CB, the augmentation of the initial
capital in some banks, which took place earlier this year, continues
even now. Deposits by physical persons are also on the rise. In
his words, the relations of the Armenian commercial banks with the
international institutions have also improved which resulted in signing
in the second half of the year of the agreements worth 80 million ADM,
all of which are long-term financial instruments.

The participants to the meeting concurred that the proper use of the
competitive and relative advantages of our country would provide an
opportunity to mitigate the results of the global crisis.

Discussed were also other issues related to the banking system,
such as long-term and low interest loans, real estate and property
securities. President Sargsyan discussed with the bankers possible
solutions to all raised issues, and took note of their comments and
proposals. He said that the final solutions for many of the mentioned
issues would be forthcoming.

Concluding the meeting, the President of Armenia underscored once
again that that the state possesses sufficient resources to assist
the banking system on the relevant issues, while the banks should work
with a new ardor in the field of providing loans to the businesses.

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA: ARMENIA ABLE TO CREATE MORE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR BULGARIAN BUSINESS

ArmInfo
2008-12-11 13:08:00

ArmInfo. Armenia is able to create more favorable conditions for
Bulgarian business, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said at the
opening ceremony of the Armenian-Bulgarian Business Forum in Sophia.

‘I think that our proposals will be interesting to Bulgarian
businessmen since the Armenian legislation is one of the most liberal
in the world.

Government of Armenia does its best to promote investments in the
country.

We are ready to support any programme that involves foreign
investors. I’d like to emphasize that Armenia is rather an attractive
country’, Serzh Sargsyan said. The president highlighted that natural
gas and electricity tariffs in Armenia are among the lowest ones in
the world and the construction of a new power unit for the Armenian
nuclear power plant greatly contributes to this.

Fifteen Armenian companies participate in the business forum:
Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Armenia, Armenian
Development Agency, Apaven Company, Europrofile, Metex, Elit-Group,
Shen- Concern, Great Valley, Jermuk May Gortsaran, Artsakh Fruit,
as well as ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank.

ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS APPEAL TO GUL FOR GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

AZG Armenian Daily
10/12/2008

Armenian Genocide

Nearly 300 Armenian intellectuals and other public figures have
appealed to Turkey to acknowledge that the 1915 mass killings of
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, saying that is
a necessary condition for Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, "Azatutyun"
radio-station reported.In an open letter to Turkish President Abdullah
Gul made public on Tuesday, they said modern-day Turkey bears
"hereditary responsibility" for what they consider an "monumental
crime against humanity." "Genocide is a crime against humanity and
present civilization values, and no individual, organization or even
state authority can cast doubt on what happened," the letter said,
challenging Ankara’s vehement denial of any government policy to
exterminate Ottoman Turkey’s Armenian population. "Your generation
of Turkish leaders must accept the undeniable truth and recognize
the fact of the Armenian Genocide … Only in that case can there
be a sincere dialogue and a process of real reconciliation between
our peoples," it said. The letter was apparently initiated by
prominent writers, musicians and artists close to Armenia’s ruling
establishment, suggesting that it was approved by President Serzh
Sarkisian. The latter has been instrumental in an unprecedented thaw
in Turkish-Armenian relations observed in recent months. Sarkisian has
won plaudits in the West for inviting Gul to visit Yerevan and watch
with him a September match between Armenia’s and Turkey’s national
soccer teams. The so-called "football diplomacy" was followed by
a series of further negotiations between the Turkish and Armenian
foreign ministers. It is still not clear, however, whether Ankara is
ready to normalize relations with Yerevan before a resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

CNN’S ‘ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’ DOCUMENTARY FRUSTRATES AMERICAN ARMENIANS

Today’s Zaman
Dec 6 2008
Turkey

A documentary aired on Thursday on the CNN International news station
to mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide has failed
to satisfy an influential Armenian organization based in the United
States.

The documentary, titled "Scream Bloody Murder" and anchored by
Christiane Amanpour, gave wide coverage to the Holocaust as well
as atrocities committed in Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur, Rwanda and
chemical attacks on the Iraqi Kurds during the Saddam Hussein era,
the Anatolia news agency reported.

The documentary briefly touched upon the 1915 incidents in which
Anatolian Armenians were killed during the days of the Ottoman Empire,
suggesting that Christian Armenian citizens were massacred and forced
to emigrate for eight years and, as a result, 1 million Armenian women,
men and children were dead, the Anatolia reported.

The Washington-based Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA),
on its Web site, urged Armenian-Americans "to take action" against
the documentary, by sending protest letters to CNN executives.

"You have done a disservice to your viewers by nearly entirely
neglecting the Armenian Genocide — the thoroughly documented
systematic destruction by Ottoman Turkey between 1915 and 1923 of over
one and half million of its Armenian citizens. The only reference to
the first genocide of the 20th century is indirect and lasts only 45
seconds," ANCA said in a text, which it advised Armenian-Americans
to include in their protest letters.

PM OF ARMENIA TO PAY VISIT TO TBILISI TOMORROW

Daily Georgian Times
Dec 7 2008
Georgia

Tigran Sarkisijan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, will pay a working
visit to Georgia tomorrow.

As InterpressNews was reported from the press centre of the Georgia
Government in the framework of his visit the Prime Minister of
Armenia will hold a tete-a-tete meeting with Grigol Mgaloblishvili,
his Georgian counterpart.

The session of Georgian-Armenian intergovernmental economic commission
is scheduled to be held for tomorrow in Courtyard Marriott as well.

After the session the PMs of Georgia and Armenia will hold a joint
press conference.

RUSSIA, U.S., FRANCE CALL FOR FINAL PEACEFUL SOLUTION ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Xinhua

Dec 5 2008
China

HELSINKI, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) — Russia, the United States and France
called here on Thursday for an early comprehensive peaceful solution on
Nagorno-Karabakh, a conflict-stricken region breakaway from Azerbaijan.

The three countries, or the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair countries in
the jargon of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), made the call on the sideline of the OSCE ministerial meeting
in Helsinki.

In a joint declaration, the three countries urged the parities to
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to "build on the positive momentum"
established in the Moscow Declaration on Nov. 2 this year.

"In keeping with the Moscow Declaration, we call on the parties to
work with the co-chairs to develop confidence-building measures,
beginning with pulling back snipers from the Line of Contact to save
lives of innocent civilians and soldiers," said the document.

"We called on the parties to work with the co-chairs to finalize
the basic principles in coming months, and then begin drafting a
comprehensive peace settlement," the joint declaration said.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a region with a large Armenian population, declared
independence from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s and has been a source
of conflict ever since.

"We reiterate our firm view that there is no military solution to the
conflict and call on the parties to recommit to a peaceful resolution,"
the joint declaration added.

On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also stressed
the necessity to coordinate basic principles on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict.

"We call on the sides jointly with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs
to arrive at an agreement on the basic principles and then start
preparations for a comprehensive peace deal," he said.

TURKISH, ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS RECEIVE PEACE AND SPORT IMAGE OF THE YEAR AWARD

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.12.2008 16:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Serzh Sargsyan Turkey and Armenia have been presented
with Peace and Sport Image of the Year Award by Monaco-based Peace
and Sport Organization.

The organization said in a statement posted in its web-site, "this
distinction for the best image of fraternization through sport was
awarded for a photograph of the historic handshake between Turkish
President Abdullah Gul and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan during
the World Cup qualifier between Turkey and Armenia on Sept. 6, 2008.

Mahmut Ozgener, president of the Turkish Football Federation, received
the award on behalf of President Gul from Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Ozgener said during the ceremony that President Gul’s historic visit
to Armenia proved that sport was a powerful instrument bringing peoples
together and ensuring world peace, the Anatolian Agency reports.

The Peace and Sport Organization aims to use sport to educate
individuals and communities across the world about peace. It acts to
promote sport as a basis for efficient political actions and a tool
for peace.

E. NALBANDIAN AND E. MAMEDIAROV STRESS IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVATION OF POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE BETWEEN THE TWO PRESIDENTS

ARMENPRESS
Dec 4, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS: The working visit of Armenian Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian to Helsinki kicked off December 3.

Press service of Armenian Foreign Ministry told Armenpress that the
first meeting of the Minister in Helsinki was with OSCE Secretary
General, Ambassador Marc Perrin de Brichambaut. The sides discussed
issues concerning different aspects of OSCE activity and exchanged
thoughts on the reforms of the organization.

In this context Edward Nalbandian noted that Armenia signifies the OSCE
role in the issue of ensuring security and cooperation in Europe and
finds that the organization needs reformations to react the current
issues more efficiently.

The Foreign Minister and ambassador Brichambaut also referred to the
existing system of security in Europe. E. Nalbandian also pointed
out that the system of European security needs improvement and the
member states of the organization must exert joint efforts to make
it more functioning and efficient.

The Armenian Foreign Minister and OSCE Secretary General also discussed
issues connected with the activity of OSCE Yerevan office and increase
of its efficiency.

The OSCE Secretary General informed about his intention to visit
Armenia.

On the same day E. Nalbandian met with the rapporteur on Karabakh issue
of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Goran Lenmarker. During the meeting
the latest developments in negotiation process of Karabakh conflict
regulation were discussed. The Armenian Foreign Minister stressed
the importance of declaration signed in Moscow between Armenian,
Azerbaijani and Russian presidents on December 2 and noted that the
Azerbaijan’s distorted comments on the declaration and the attempts
to disregard the points reflected in it harm the efficiency of the
negotiation process and registration of the progress.

E. Nalbandian noted that Armenia underscores the parliamentary
diplomacy as a functioning format of discussion of the issues.

Goran Lenmarker said that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly always was
and remains a supporter to the regulation of the Karabakh issue only
through negotiations.

The meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Edward
Nalbandian and Elmar Mamediarov with OSCE Minsk group co-chairs
Yuri Merzlyakov, Bernard Fassier and Matthew Bryza and the personal
representative of OSCE acting chairman Andrzej Kasprzyk also took
place.

During the negotiations issues concerning Karabakh conflict regulation
were discussed.