Author: Karakhanian Suren

"WITHOUT RIGHT TO RETURN" PERFORMANCE PREMIERE DUE IN ARMENIA APRIL 23

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.03.2009 18:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Armenian files or No right for return" play by
Belgian Armenian actress and dramatist Karolina Safaryan will be
staged and acted on Apr. 23, 25, 26 in Yerevan.

The project is realized with the assistance of Armenian Ministry of
Culture within the framework of All Armenian Theater Project. "No
Right for Return" performance premiere stars Armen Jigharkhanyan
and features a number of Armenian actors working abroad, performance
director, RA Theater Workers’ Union President Hakob Ghazanchyan told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"Armenian files or No right for return" book presentation was held
in July of 2008 in Brussels.

The book author Karolina Safaryan portrays relations between young
Armenian and Turkish societies in Armenian Genocide context.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Roads in Armenia will be illuminated
28.03.2009 17:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ”Road illumination in population centers is a
burning issue we’re all trying to solve,” RA Transport Minister
Gurgen Sargsyan told a news conference on Saturday.

Yet its a costly project Armenia hasn’t got an opportunity to fulfill.

According to the Minister, the ”brightest country title” could go to
Belgium, where every little street is lighted. ”Illumination issue
is being studied in Armenia and a number of interesting suggestions
have been submitted. For example, road illumination could be
implemented with minimal expenses by using illumination of buildings
located along the road,” Gurgen Sargsyan noted.

Russia Today, Russia
March 28 2009

Moscow swings to France’s Sinatra

Charles Aznavour, the legendary French singer of Armenian origins, has
performed the only concert in Barvikha Luxury Village. The 84-year-old
Aznavour sang for six hundred music lovers.

The author of over one thousand songs is often referred to as the
`Frank Sinatra of France’.

Aznavour gave his first concert in Moscow 45 years ago. Since then his
chansons, mostly dealing with love and romance, have gained popularity
around the globe. The French singer performs in six languages and says
he remembers all of his songs by heart.

Born Shahnur Aznavurian in Paris, he has sold over 100 million records
worldwide and was named Entertainer of the Century by CNN and users of
Time Online, relegating Charlie Chaplin and Elvis Presley to positions
behind himself.

Today.Az, Azerbaijan
March 29 2009

OSCE to hold monitoring on contact line of Azerbaijani and Armenian
armed forces

29 March 2009 [16:24] – Today.Az

OSCE will hold monitoring on the contact line of Azerbaijani and
Armenian armed forces on March 31, said the press service for the
Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan.

The monitoring is held in line with the mandate of personal
representative of OSCE chairman-in-office on the contact line of the
armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia near Mezem village of Gazakh.

The Azerbaijani side will be represented by field assistants of
personal representatives of OSCE chairman-in-office Peter Kie and
Irzhi Aberle.

The opposite side, recognized as Azerbaijani land by the international
community, will be represented by personal representative of the OSCE
chairman-in-office Anzhei Kaspshik and his field assistants Imre
Palatinus, Vladimir Chountulov and Zhaslan Nurtazin.

/Day.Az/

URL:

Interfax, Russia
March 27 2009

All issues of Rapid Reaction Forces to be settled at CSTO summit in
June – Armenian official

MOSCOW March 27

The CSTO Rapid Reaction Forces will not get involved in the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, Armenian National Security Council
Secretary Artur Bagdasarian told Interfax-AVN.

"It would be wrong to establish links between the Nagorno-Karabakh and
the creation of the Rapid Reaction Forces. The goal is clear as a day:
these forces can be used in case of a military aggression against one
of the signatories of the treaty. This means that in case of military
aggression against Armenia or for example another CSTO member state
the Rapid Reaction Forces will be activated in line with the signed
international agreements," Bagdasarian said.

There remain many issues linked to the activity of these forces, and
the final decision on them will be made in Moscow at the CSTO summit
this June, he said.

The Armenian National Security Council made a decision to delegate a
contingent to the Rapid Reaction Forces, he said.

Russia’s president earlier voiced an initiative that Russia will
assist equipping these forces, he said. "Only a political decision has
been made at this stage. The Rapid Reaction Forces are being formed.

This presupposes institutional and legislative reforms. This will take
some more time," Bagdasarian said.

FURTHER EXPANSION OF NATO COULD HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON ALLIANCE VITALITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.03.2009 21:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ German Minister of Defense Franz-Josef Jung has
noted that further expansion of NATO could have a negative effect on
Alliance vitality.

"An Open Door Policy should be effected with care toward countries
seeking NATO membership. We must set clear limits for Alliance
expansion in new NATO strategy."

"Granting NATO membership to aspirant countries of Albania and Croatia
is on NATO Jubilee Summit agenda. Macedonia can gain NATO membership
upon settling the country name issue with Greece. Inviting Ukraine
and Georgia to join NATO is still a possibility, as announced at
2008 Bucharest Summit," Saarbrucker Zeitung cited Franz-Josef Jung
as saying.

COMMITTEE FOR POLITICAL PRISONER’S FREEDOM

LRAGIR.AM
13:06:45 – 26/03/2009

The Human Rights Defense of Armenian Civil Society issued a
statement through which it announces that the Armenian government,
the law enforcement bodies, the Armenian courts committed a number
of illegalities, in which result the prisoners of the "case of 7"
are deprived of their freedom only for their political views. The
Civil Society considers all the prisoners of the "7 case", as well
as Gagik and Vardan Jhangiryans political prisoners, and sets up a
commission for their freedom. The members of the committee are Vardan
Iskandaryan, Harutun Harutunyan, David Vardanyan, Vahe Jughuryan and
Karo Karapetyan.

The commission demands transferring the political prisoner Shant
Harutunyan to a public hospital from the psychological hospital and
stop the political persecution against him and all the other political
prisoners charged in the "7 case".

Former USSR political prisoners from different countries joined
the statement.

COMMUNIST PARTY BOYCOTTS MAY 31 ELECTIONS

A1+
08:10 pm | March 24, 2009

Politics

First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of Armenia Ruben Tovmasyan believes that the party has nothing to
do with the May 31 elections and calls on all political parties to
follow the Communist Party and boycott the elections.

"It is already clear who the next mayor of Yerevan is going to be and
it makes no sense to participate in the elections. We don’t take part
in elections just to participate," told "A1+" Tovmasyan.

The Communist Party of Armenia is of the opinion that there have not
been free, fair and transparent elections in Armenia for the past
20 years.

"What we have seen are corruption, falsifications, assaults, even
murders. We are now faced with the three and future resolutions on
Armenia in the PACE," told "A1+" today first secretary of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party.

According to Tovmasyan, the current social-economic crisis in the
country creates all the conditions needed to falsify the elections
once again and he is sure that the opposition can’t win under these
conditions.

"These authorities have made the country ill and must leave. This is
a rotten regime."

Tovmasyan recalled how Armenia was during the Soviet times. "Soviet
Armenia was created from scratch and made it to the top by exporting
its products to 133 countries of the world."

Tovmasyan said that he recently participated in the discussion with
the topic "Global crisis and Armenia" and, in his words, he didn’t
find any terms to cooperate.

"The Communist Party of Armenia is of the belief that all objects
of strategic importance must be state-owned, including the mining
industry, the energy sector, transportation, alcohol, communication,
etc. If we don’t do that, the crisis will grow deeper in Armenia,"
said Tovmasyan.

US RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE ARMENIA-TURKEY DIALOGUE

armradio.am
23.03.2009 17:57

Armen Rustamyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National
Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, sent a letter to Howard Berman,
Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the US House of
Representatives. The letter reads:

"Dear Chairman Berman:

I have the pleasure to write you upon the introduction of legislation
recognizing the Armenian Genocide, and to share with you and your
colleagues our compete support for the adoption of this measure
affirming the commitment of the United States to the cause of
genocide-prevention. Armenia aspires for the universal recognition
and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, and sees it both as a
restoration of an historical justice and as a way to improve the
overall situation in the region, while also preventing similar crimes
in the future.

The Armenian people in our homeland, in the United States and
around the world, remain grateful for the hard work that you and
your colleagues, including, of course, Congressmen Adam Schiff and
George Radanovich, have devoted over the course of many years to
secure US recognition and official commemoration of this crime. I
am confident that the proponents of this process and also rightly
convinced that the lack of official recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the United States has thus far in fact served to make
Turkey’s position in the issue of resolving the Armenian-Turkish
relations more uncompromising. We value these efforts and are, this
year, particularly encouraged by the clear statements of President
Barack Obama and senior members of his Administration in his regard
during the elections.

Please know that I remain available to share with your Congressional
colleagues, either in writing in person, the principled stand of the
Republic of Armenia in support of universal recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. I am confident that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide
by the United States not only would not hamper, but on the country will
contribute to the prospects of a thorough dialogue between Turkey and
Armenia. A clear and principled stance by the US can only assist in
developing awareness that the recognition of the Genocide is not at all
a demonstration of anti-Turkish sentiments, but a necessity emanating
from the need to condemn this crime against humanity. Furthermore,
any durable improvement of Armenia-Turkey relations must rest upon
a foundation of shared respect for truth and justice.

Thank you for your friendship with the people and government of the
Republic of Armenia and for all your support and assistance over
the years."

ECTHR HAS RETURNED 14 VERDICTS ON ARMENIA SO FAR
Gita Elibekyan

"Radiolur"
20.03.2009 15:26

"Our legislation would be in a better condition if it was in line
with international documents: this was the question raised during
the forum of lawyers. Some stated that unable to succeed in Armenian
courts, many Armenian citizens apply to the European Court of Human
Rights. Every citizen of the Republic of Armenia can apply to the
European Court if he considers that his rights were violated.

Statistics shows that Armenian citizens apply to the European Court
of European of Human Rights more recently than citizens of other
countries.

Every year the Court receives 100 applications from the Republic
of Armenia.

However, the European Court qualifies most of those applications as
unacceptable, since as Judge of the European Court Alvina Gyulumyan
noted, Armenians view the European Court as the court of forth
instance.

"The ECtHR is not a court of fourth instance. It’s a body that defends
the rights consolidated in the European Convention.," she said.

However, the European Court faces one problem. There are hundreds
of thousands of applications, the consideration of which will take
years. That is why applications from Armenia from the years 2003-2004
find their solution only today."

"Fourteen verdicts on Armenia have been returned so far," Alvina
Gyulumyan said.