Author: Karapetian Hovik

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 5, 2009

HIGHLIGHTS:

"PRESS CLUB" CYCLE: FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION

THE PUBLICATION OF "HAYK" DAILY HAS RESUMED

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND PRESS IN ARMENIA IN 2008

THE ARMENIAN JOURNALIST WINS "FREE PRESS OF EASTERN EUROPE" PRIZE

"PRESS CLUB" CYCLE: FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS

On February 28, another "Press Club" show went on the air of "Yerkir Media"
TV company. The cycle is produced under Yerevan Press Club project,
supported by the Open Society Institute Human Rights and Governance Grants
Program. The guests of the journalist Tsovinar Nazarian were the Head of
"Cooperation for Democracy" Center Stepan Danielian, publicist Hrant
Ter-Abrahamian and expert in culture studies Armineh Babian. The discussion
focused on the amendments to the RA Law "On Freedom of Conscience and
Religious Organizations", included in the agenda of the spring session of
the RA National Assembly.

The next "Press Club" show will be aired on "Yerkir Media" on Saturday,
March 7, at 17.40.

THE PUBLICATION OF "HAYK" DAILY HAS RESUMED

On February 28, the publication of "Hayk" daily resumed. As it has been
reported, the issue of the daily was suspended from February 20 due to the
arrest of the newspaper’s property and assets. The arrest was applied on
February 19, as a measure to secure the suit filed the day before by "Gind"
publishing house with the Yerevan Civil Court versus the newspaper founder,
"Hayk Editorial Office" LLC. The plaintiff demanded to pay the debts for the
publishing expenses. On February 23, as a result of negotiations between the
daily and the publishing house, "Gind" revoked its suit upon the condition
of "Hayk" repaying the dept till April 1, 2009 (see YPC Weekly Newsletter,
February 20-26, 2009). After the process of release of the property and the
assets, the "Hayk" resumed publication at "A. Markosian" printing house,
where it had moved since February 9.

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND PRESS IN ARMENIA IN 2008

On February 25 the US Department of State released country report on human
rights practices in different countries of the world in 2008, prepared by
the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Addressing the freedom of speech and press situation in Armenia, the US
Department of State noted in particular that "the Constitution provides for
freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but the government generally did
not respect these rights in practice" and "there were incidents of violence,
intimidation, and self-censorship in the press". The report also says about
"progovernment and antiopposition media bias" in the run-up to the
presidential election; censorship and suspended freedom of speech and press
during the state of emergency on March 1-21, 2008; lack of political
diversity, particularly on television; the adopted amendments to the RA Law
"On Television and Radio" imposing a two-year moratorium on the issuance of
new television and radio broadcasting licenses, and "further reducing
prospects for greater media pluralism".

In the opinion of the report authors, except during the state of emergency
period, "the print media generally expressed a wide variety of views without
restriction, but remained influenced by economic or political interest
groups or individuals". "The authorities continued to make unscheduled tax
inspections of independent and opposition media, which local observers
viewed as attempts to stifle the press", the report notes. "Most stations
were owned by progovernment politicians or well-connected businessmen,
factors that prompted journalists working for these stations to practice
self-censorship. Major broadcast media outlets generally expressed
progovernment views and avoided editorial comment or reporting critical of
the government. This was especially the case during the presidential
election campaign and the protests and state of emergency that followed the
election", the report says. In particular, the US Department of State noted
that during the presidential election campaign "the broadcast media
displayed bias in favor of the official candidate, and eventual winner,
then-prime minister Serzh Sargsian".

Neither the Central Election Commission (CEC) nor the National Commission on
Television and Radio (NCTR) "fulfilled their statutory obligations to ensure
equality and objectivity of media coverage towards candidates", the report
authors stressed and reminded about the RA Constitutional Court ruling of
March 8, 2008, which states that "the CEC neglected to exert effective
control over preelection promotion" and that the NCTR "displayed a
formalistic approach to complying with the law. As a result, media coverage
displayed not only partiality but also, in some cases, violations of legal
and ethical norms". "Nevertheless, the US State Department notes, the court
found that no sanctions or remedies were warranted because the candidates
were able to present their platforms to voters by other means of preelection
promotion."

By describing the situation during the state of emergency on March 1-21, the
report notes that censorship was imposed and freedom of speech and media
were severely restricted: "all opposition media, all Web sites critical of
the government, and several days of broadcasts of Radio Liberty " were
closed. However, the decree on state of emergency did not "prevent other
print and broadcast media from airing strident criticism and unfounded
charges against the political opposition and its leaders", the report
stresses and cites the statement of RA Human Rights Defender Armen
Harutiunian which notes that "a most vivid example of such unacceptable
coverage was demonstrated by the First Channel of the Public Television of
Armenia". "While the state of emergency decree applied only to Yerevan,
there were numerous reports of the severe media restrictions being imposed
in many other parts of the country", the report says.

The US State Department also lists the incidents with the media
representatives that occurred in 2008: the arson attempt of Journalists Club
of Gyumri on January 19 and the arson of "Asparez" president’s car on March
21; the detention of "Asparez" Board Chairman Levon Barseghian at a rally on
March 2 in Gyumri; cases of impeding professional activities of journalists
on the day of presidential election, on February 19, at post electoral
period and after state of emergency. The report cites the assaults on
journalists by persons whose identity remains unknown: on August 11, on
correspondent of "Haykakan Zhamanak" daily, Lusine Barseghian; on August 18,
on acting head of Yerevan office of the Armenian Service of Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty Hrach Melkumian; on November 17, on Chairman of
"Investigative Journalists" NGO Edik Baghdasarian.

The report reminds about the pressure exerted on "Gala" TV Company of
Gyumri, "simultaneously from tax auditors, broadcast regulators, and
municipal authorities". In particular, the report cites the court ruling of
March 19 on the suit of Gyumri Tax Inspection versus the "Gala" founder on
tax fines levy.

The report of the US State Department paid attention to the European Court
of Human Rights judgment of June 17, recognizing the refusals to grant a
broadcast license to "A1+" TV company founder as a violation of Article 10
of the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, i.e.,
of the right of the applicant to freely impart information and ideas. The
report reminds that "A1+" still remains without a broadcast license. The
amendments to the RA Law "On Television and Radio" adopted by the parliament
on September 10 imposed a moratorium until July 2010 on the broadcast
licensing competitions. Independent media, media analysts, and NGOs viewed
the amendments as an effort to block issuance of a license to "A1+", the
report notes. The report cites the letter of OSCE Representative on Freedom
of the Media Miklos Haraszti, urging the Armenian authorities to revoke the
broadcast licensing moratorium which means that Armenia will not be able to
comply with the decision of the European Court on the case of "A1+".

The report also emphasized the continuing detention of Arman Babajanian, the
Chief Editor of "Zhamanak-Yerevan" newspaper, convicted in September 2006
for document fraud to evade military service. This report, like the one of
2007, also refers to Arman Babajanian in the section on Political Prisoners
and Detainees.

THE ARMENIAN JOURNALIST WINS "FREE PRESS OF EASTERN EUROPE" PRIZE

The Freedom of Expression Foundation of Oslo and the Ebelin and Gerd
Bucerius "ZEIT" Foundation have announced the winners of the "Free Press of
Russia" and "Free Press of Eastern Europe" prizes for 2009. Three newspapers
from Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia, and four journalists from Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Russia became the laureates of the awards. Marianna
Grigorian, a free-lance journalist from Yerevan, is among the winners.

The annual Gerd Bucerius Prize "Free Press of Eastern Europe" was
established by the "ZEIT" Foundation in 2000 for the encouragement of "those
journalists who despite official pressures and economic difficulties defy
censorship in all its manifestations including self-censorship". Since 2004,
the Gerd Bucerius Prize is awarded in cooperation with the Norwegian Freedom
of Expression Foundation.

The award ceremony will be held on June 3, 2009 at the Norwegian Nobel
Institute of Oslo.

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Press Club is required.

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Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
_____________________________________ _______
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
0002, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site:

PRESS RELEASE
Clark University
Angela M. Bazydlo
Associate Director of Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
ph: 508-793-7635
cell: 508-365-8736

March 5, 2009

Clark University’s Taner Akçam to deliver lecture March 19 on the
Armenian Genocide, questions of national security

WORCESTER, Mass.-Clark University’s newly appointed Kaloosdian/Mugar
Professor of Armenian Genocide Studies and Modern Armenian History,
Taner Akçam, will deliver "Facing History: A Threat to National
Security? The Relationship Between Turkish and American National
Security Concepts and the Armenian Genocide" at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday,
March 19, in Tilton Hall, 2nd floor
of the Higgins University Center, 950 Main Street, Worcester.
Historian Taner Akçam (pronounced ACH-jahm) is widely recognized as
one of the first Turkish scholars to write extensively and
authoritatively on the Turkish genocide of the Armenians in the early
20th century, and notes that, when confronted with Turkish history,
especially the Armenian Genocide, many people in Turkey grow prickly.
Why are demands from inside and outside the country that Turkey come
to terms with its past so vehemently rejected? Why is facing history
seen as a threat to national security? Professor Akçam will explore
these questions at the lecture and contextualize the Armenian Genocide
issue within current debates over human rights and national security,
arguing for a solution that integrates pragmatism with values.
Professor Akçam grew up in Turkey, where he was imprisoned for
his participation in and fervent support for free press
publications. Following a dramatic escape, he later received political
asylum in Germany, where he earned a Ph.D. from the University of
Hannover and worked with the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. In
2007, the Armenian Bar Association presented the Hrant Dink Freedom
Award to Professor Akçam as "a champion of historical truth about the
Armenian Genocide and for his courageous defense of liberty and free
speech." Akçam’s life and work have been featured in four critically
acclaimed documentary films, and he is the author of 10 scholarly
works, as well as numerous articles. His most recent book, "A Shameful
Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish
Responsibility," (Metropolitan Books), was released in 2006.
The event is free and open to the public. It will be followed
by a reception. For more information, call 508-793-8897. Clark
University is a private, co-educational liberal-arts research
university with 2,200 undergraduate and 800 graduate students. Since
its founding in 1887 as the first all-graduate school in the United
States, Clark has challenged convention with innovative programs such
as the International Studies Stream, the Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Program, and the accelerated BA/MA programs with the fifth year
tuition-free for eligible students. The University is featured in
Loren Pope’s book, "Colleges That Change Lives."
–

PRESS RELEASE
Hayastan All Armenian Fund
Governmental Buiding 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Hasmik Grigoryan
Tel: +(3741) 56 01 06 ext. 105
Fax: +(3741) 52 15 05
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

6 March, 2009

Hayastan All Armenian Fund continues construction of school in Spitakashen
Village

Following a brief winter break, work has resumed on the construction of a
new school in Spitakashen Village, located in Nagorno Karabakh’s Martuni
Region. The project, launched in October 2008 is sponsored by the Hayastan
All Armenian Fund’s Toronto local committee.

The fund undertook the initiative in response to Spitakashen’s critical need
for a new educational facility. The old school, where currently classes are
held for the 130 students of the village, is a ramshackle and unsafe
structure, built in 1935. It also lacks central heating.

Today construction of the new school’s basement is near completion and work
on the remaining structure goes on, slated to be finished by August. When
the facility opens its doors in time for the 2009-2010 academic year, it
will feature all the essential amenities of a modern school.

"Our students were overjoyed to hear that their new school will have things
like an events hall, a playground, and heating," said the school principal.

In addition to the school initiative, the Hayastan All Armenian Fund
continues to finance projects in scores of Nagorno Karabakh villages like
Spitakashen, within the framework of a far-reaching rural-development
program. These projects help boost local economies, foster educational
excellence, and stem the tide of migration. Recently the Hayastan All
Armenian Fund completed a vitally important water-supply project in
Spitakashen, significantly improving the lives of its residents.

"I am confident that, with the water-supply issue resolved and construction
of a new school, life for the 110 families of Spitakashen will become
incomparably more dignified and comfortable," said Ara Vardanyan, the fund’s
acting executive director.

Spitakashen is named after the white stones that dot the landscape in and
around the village. The residents have long used these stones for home
construction, even though the material is extremely susceptible to low
temperatures and needs to be covered with plaster for structural integrity.

ARMENIAN ECONOMIST CALMS MARKET AMID NATIONAL CURRENCY DEVALUATION

Armenian Public TV
March 3 2009
Armenia

[Presenter] The dollar and its influence on the commodity market are
the topic of the day. How can one figure out this situation? Vache
Gabrielyan, deputy chairman of the Central Bank, will help our audience
at this moment.

[Passage omitted: Presenter welcomes Gabrielyan in the studio]

[Presenter addressing Gabrielyan] The Central Bank forecast today
that the exchange rate will not surpass the level of 380 drams,
but it has exceeded the level. What are the reasons for such a major
demand for the US dollar? Who are those using dollars and is there
a real demand for the foreign currency, in particular, the dollar,
in our country? Who benefit, and who lose?

[Gabrielyan] The Central Bank’s forecast refers to the stabilization
rate for an average period – a year, that is the market price, which
is the most proper for economy. As for exceeding or not exceeding the
mark of 380, according to our estimations, this is mere speculation
and does not express long-term fundamental economic provisions.

[Passage omitted: the banker describes the situation as a temporary
period]

As for the demand, who are buyers, why has the demand gone up? As a
rule, the buyers are importers; people who go abroad; those who need
to import something. However, recently, as there were expectations of
devaluation of the dram and appreciation of the dollar, a wide-ranging
layers of the population also started buying dollar. I believe that now
when the precision has been made, in essence, no major expectations
should emerge; according to our assessments, the demand for dollar
should essentially drop.

CB: RAPID TRANSITION FROM FIXED EXCHANGE RATE TO FLOATING MORE EFFECTIVE

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.03.2009 20:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The RA Central Bank has made a decision to limit its
intervention in the foreign exchange market and return to the policy
of the floating rate in order to eliminate the dram devaluation
expectations, said Vache Gabrielyan , the Deputy Chairman of RA
Central Bank at the press conference.

He emphasized that the gradual transition from the fixed rate to the
floating rate would have been "less effective and cost more. Such is
Russia’s experience where despite huge expenditures, the inflation
expectations do not change. The experince of countries like Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus where this transition was taking place
gradually proves that devaluation and inflation expectations are not
eliminated. Whereas in countries where such transitions take place
more abruptly, the currency devaluation expectations are eliminated
considerably faster," he added.

"Overall, said Gabrielyan, the Central Bank, in fact, has not
changed its policy in long-term period and from the point of view
of macroeconomics has never made any claims about the transition
to the fixed rate. A considerable pressure on the currency rate
of Armenia became obvious still in autumn when the country could
not import sufficient goods because of the military actions in
the neighbouring Georgia. If the Central Bank had allowed sharp
fluctuations of the currency rate, it would have caused considerable
problems from the point of view of financial stability, so rate
was temporarily fixed. The return to the policy of floating rate in
Armenia was necessary to immediately eliminate the national currency
devaluation expectations", said Gabrielyan adding that the stability
and liquidity of the bank system based on February monitoring results
also contributed to it.

The day before, only within several hours, the dollar rate in
Armenia rose dramatically to 360dram per $1, the euro rate reached
440drams. The dollar rate at exchange offices had been 305-310 per $1,
the euro rate-387 accordingly. The basic reason for such sudden surge
of foreign currencies against the dollar was the statement made by
the head of RA Central Bank, Arthur Javadyan, according to which the
Central Bank of Armenia has made a decision to limit its interference
in the foreign exchange market and to go back to the policy of the
floating exchange rate.

FLOATING EXCHANGE RATE WILL PROMOTE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ARMENIA, CBA DEPUTY CHAIRMAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan

M arch 4, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 4, NOYAN TAPAN. By returning to a floating exchange
rate policy on March 3, the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA), on the
whole, paid attention to economic growth. In the opinion of the CBA,
the floating exchange rate will become a stimulus for economic growth,
and Armenia will have an economic growth of several percents in 2009,
whereas the IMF has forecast an economic decline, the deputy chairman
of the CBA Vache Gabrielian stated at the March 4 press conference.

To recap, when the CBA adopted an inflation targeting policy,
it was announced that it was done due to the necessity to protect
the interests of those who receive their incomes in Armenian drams,
that is, who make the majority of the Armenian population. However,
according to the CBA, on March 3 the exchange rate was 372.11 drams a
dollar, exceeding the exchange rate of the previous day by 66.36 drams,
as a result of which consumer prices, in particular, prices of imported
foodstuffs and fuel for vehicles have risen by 20-30%. In response
to the question: "What will be the price of shifting to a floating
exchange rate in terms of forecasting expectations about promotion
of exports and investments and creation of jobs?", V. Gabrielian
replied that perhaps it would not be correct to connect the problem
of protecting the interests of those who receive incomes in drams
(the problem in this wording) with inflation targeting.

He added that by the law, the CBA has to ensure price stability which
presupposes a low and stable level of inflation which must be expressed
in drams. The CBA does not calculate a price growth in dollars because
the dram is the national currency, and inflation is calculated by the
consumer basket in drams. In this sense, inflation targeting has not
made any change. "We will continue calculating inflation in drams. In
any case, regardless of whether our policy will be conducted by means
of monetary aggregates or inflation targeting, it will be aimed at
combating the inflation in drams," the CBA official stated.

In his words, "naturally when the exchange rate of the dram against
the dollar has risen, it is more difficult for those who receive
their incomes in drams, but all our calculations of inflation are
related to the consumer basket in drams".

It should be mentioned that the IMF and the World Bank have expressed
their postive opinion about the CBA’s return to a floating exchange
rate regime.

NINKE OMES SAYS FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATE REGIME IS THE BEST VARIANT FOR ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
March 3, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS: "The International Monetary Fund was long
time advising Armenia and suggesting passing to a regime of "flexible"
exchange rate. This is the best variant for this country", permanent
representative of IMF in Armenia Ninke Omes told today journalists.

At the same time she noted that for the Central Banks of each country
it is very difficult to decide which the most optimal exchange rate is.

"If the exchange rate is fixed on a quite strong level, it means that
export for Armenia becomes rather expensive which negatively reflects
on the economic growth as well as on the rate of unemployment and
poverty. On the other hand if the exchange rate is fixed on a very
weak level, it means that the economy may be "overheated" which may
result in inflation. This is the reason why we praise the "flexible"
exchange rate, so that the market itself finds an optimal variant",-
the specialist explained.

According to her, today neither the Central Bank, nor the IMF can
say how much the money will devaluate. But the IMF tried to conduct
certain calculations applying three different models. Mentioning that
these calculations should not be regarded as absolute, N. Omes said
that it is possible that by the end of the year the exchange rate
will vary between 17-40%.

Bringing examples of other countries she noted that Belarus and
Kazakhstan devaluated their currency for nearly 20%, Georgia – for
11%. The process had a great influence especially on the Russian
economy, where the national currency gradually devaluated for 35%.

The specialist also noted that the IMF program which is implemented
with Armenia allows the Central Bank somehow to intervene the process:
there are very few countries where the currency is "flexible" and
the Central Banks do not intervene.

"We suggest that the Central Bank intervenes only in case there is a
very high fluctuation, so that to avoid abrupt changes. The Central
Bank should not fix a purposeful exchange rate and must allow the
exchange rate to "float"",- she said.

Commenting on the steps of not selling of the dollar by the Armenian
banks during the latest days, N. Omes noted that everyone waited for
this devaluation and saved the dollars. She expressed hope that in
the nearest future the banks and people will start selling dollars.

ARMENIAN PREMIER: VISIT TO MOSCOW EXTREMELY POSITIVE

ARKA
March 2, 2009

YEREVAN, March 2. /ARKA/. Armenian Premier Tigran Sargsyan considers
the visit of Armenian delegation to Moscow as extremely positive.

During the one-day visit of premier-headed Armenian government
delegation to Moscow on February 27, Premier Sargsyan met with his
Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Russian Minister of Transport
and Co-Chair of Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission Igor
Levitin, Chairman of the Russian Central Bank Sergey Ignatiev and a
group of Armenian businessmen.

"We have discussed the whole range of planned issues, and all
agreements intended were reached," Premier Sargsyan told journalists
in summarizing the outcome of his visit.

Many issues were solved quite quickly, Sargsyan said expressing
gratitude to Russian colleagues for understanding of problems occurring
in Armenia due to the global crisis.

The Premier stressed that all high-priority measures should be
implemented the soonest possible, as "time is a most important factor".

In the scope of the Moscow meetings, the sides considered all the
issues of the agenda of Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission.

During the meetings with Levitin, the whole range of issues of
Armenian-Russian cooperation was discussed, among them energy sector,
construction of the new nuclear power unit, concession management of
Armenian railways, construction of the new railroad, road construction
matte rs, agriculture, infrastructures, issue of "Mars" factory,
Sargsyan said.

The sides established the existing problems, recorded the progress
reached and the issues to proceeds with, the Premier said.

US Department of State
Feb 28 2009

Special Briefing: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Upcoming
Travel to the Middle East and Europe
Office of the Spokesman

Washington, DC
February 27, 2009

Speakers:
Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs
Jeffrey Feltman, Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs
George Laudato, USAID Acting Assistant Administrator for the Middle East
Gordon Duguid, Acting Department Deputy Spokesman

MR. DUGUID: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. A brief word on the
ground rules, please, before we start. We have first with us Assistant
Secretary Daniel Fried, who is our head for European and Eurasian
affairs. He will make two to three minutes of remarks on the record.

He will then take a few questions on background as a Senior State
Department Official. He then has to leave for another meeting, and
then our other two guests will come to the podium.

QUESTION: Can I please ask you why the questions are on background?
That seems a little unusual that you make your statement and then
you’re not prepared to put your name to the questions that are asked.

MR. DUGUID: It is not unusual. We do this regularly, particularly with
scene-setter backgrounds, which is what we have. Thank you. Ambassador
Fried.

AMBASSADOR FRIED: I don’t make the rules. I just follow them.

Morning, everybody. And the Secretary will be making her first trip to
Europe as Secretary next week following the Middle East portions of
her trip. And so I can walk through this starting with her arrival in
Brussels. She will be arriving the previous day, and she will have an
informal dinner that night of the so-called ` the transatlantic
dinner, which is an informal meeting which brings together the NATO,
EU foreign ministers all together, plus the Swiss. That will be a good
way to informally exchange views in a very relaxed atmosphere before
the next day. The next day will feature NATO ` the NATO ministerial
meeting at NATO headquarters.

QUESTION: Ambassador, what day are we on?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: That would ` yes, that’s Thursday, so arrives
Wednesday, Wednesday night is the transatlantic informal dinner
discussion. The next day is the NATO ministerial, her first
ministerial as Secretary. She will also be meeting with EU officials,
the so-called troika of Solana, Ferrero-Waldner, Czech Foreign
Minister Schwarzenberg, and I believe the Swedish Foreign Minister
Carl Bildt, because they’re the incoming presidency.

>From Brussels, she will go to Geneva, where she will have a bilateral
meeting with Sergey Lavrov, and I believe also a ` I believe a
bilateral meeting with the Swiss Foreign Minister Calmy-Rey.

QUESTION: That’s on Friday?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Yes. And then on Saturday, she will go ` I think
Friday after that, and Saturday, she will be meeting with Turkish
officials in Ankara, I believe meeting with the president and prime
minister as well as the foreign minister. So that’s an overview of the
trip.

In terms of the substance, there are really three ` there is an
overwhelming ` overarching theme to the trip to Brussels, which is the
reconnection of the United States with Europe and really a sense of
consolidating some of this enormous political goodwill on both sides
of the Atlantic, harnessing it to a common agenda ` not an American
agenda, but a common transatlantic agenda.

We have started this ` the new administration has started this process
with Vice President Biden’s trip to Munich for the Munich Security
Conference, and this will ` and Secretary Gates’s defense ` NATO
defense ministerial in Kracow last week. This is a chance to make this
political reconnection more operational. The Secretary wants to
channel this energy into ` this tremendous positive political energy `
into action on a common agenda. Now at NATO, there will be several
themes, but two of them are worth mentioning here.

One of them is Afghanistan, where, as you know, we are in the process
of both reviewing our strategy and intense consultations with allies
and countries in the region about the strategy, so it is very much an
iterative process. I honestly cannot speak too much to the
details. Ambassador Holbrooke is, of course, the lead in this
building.

Another issue is relations with ` NATO’s relations with Russia, and of
course, in Geneva, it’ll be U.S.-Russia relations. Much has been
written about the phrase the Vice President used and President has
used of pressing the reset button. That is obviously a colorful and,
therefore, effective metaphor for using the opportunity of a new
American administration to capitalize on the many areas where the
United States and Russia have common interests and can work in a
common fashion, particularly in arms control. START is one area that
certainly deserves attention.

The Vice President’s speech in Munich, though, not only used the reset
button, also used ` included some important cautionary notes which I
will recall for you, since they didn’t seem to get as much attention
as some of us on the trip thought they should. One of them was that
the United States will not recognize a Russian sphere of influence. At
` another related is that the United States will not recognize the
independence of those breakaway Georgian regions, South Ossetia and
Abkhazia. A third that the Vice President mentioned is that each
European country has a right to seek membership in alliances, to
choose its own way forward, which is a reference to NATO enlargement.

And it is important that the balance in the Vice President’s speech
was not there by accident and it was not casual. It reflects the
thinking of the new administration, both those of us who do Europe,
those of us who do Russia, those of us who do both, about the most
productive way to move forward with Russia, and the most productive
ways to do so building on areas where we have common interests, but
also mindful of our differences, not shying away from them nor
abandoning our values and our friends. That makes for a complicated
relationship with Russia, but we believe we can ` it is right to
emphasize the positive. Our initial work with the Russians so far has
been positive.

And to segue into Geneva, we’re all looking forward to the meeting
between Secretary Clinton and Minister Lavrov. There have been letters
between the leaders, between the foreign ministers, outlining a way
forward and a positive agenda, and it is on that that we want to
build, but with our eyes open about some of the differences we have.

Then we will be going on to Turkey. There is a very rich agenda with
our Turkish friends and allies. Turkey is a major player in the
region, has relations with all sides in the Middle East. It has ` it
is an important player in the South Caucasus, very much a friend of
the United States both generally and then specifically, as we try to
work to support Georgia, and as we work to advance peace between
Azerbaijan and Armenia’s settlement over Nagorno-Karabakh.

There’s a tremendously rich agenda with Turkey. And Turkey itself has
been going through a very important evolution at home, moving in a
democratic direction, but also with a lot of strains as Turkey
addresses issues of its democracy in its ` under its secular ` its
secular system. So we have ` we of course, had tremendous differences
with the Turks in the previous administration about Iraq. These are
largely passed. There was tremendous frustration in Turkey, I will be
honest, about attacks on Turks and on Turkey by the terrorist PKK
organization. And there was a great improvement in U.S.-Turkish
relations, starting after November 2007 when the United States leaned
forward and started cooperating very actively with Turkey against the
PKK terrorist organization.

So this is ` so the bilateral relationship with Turkey has
improved. Now we have an opportunity with the new administration to
build on that and build a genuine, close strategic partnership with
Turkey, encouraging them all the while to continue their democratic
reforms under their secular system. So that’s a survey, giving you a
sense of the themes. And I am obedient to the rules, so ` and you know
what they are.

QUESTION: Can I ask for clarification? Are ` all of you are speaking
on the record?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Yes.

QUESTION: On the record clarification of one point you made. This `

AMBASSADOR FRIED: Yes, of course.

QUESTION: You referred to tensions with Turkey over Iraq in the
past. Were you also referring to the disagreements about using Turkish
territory to begin the invasion of Iraq? Were you referring strictly
to the Kurdish issue?

AMBASSADOR FRIED: No, I was actually ` the tensions I was referring to
` it is a fair question. The tensions I was referring to were over
Iraq in 2003 —

QUESTION: Okay.

AMBASSADOR FRIED: — where the Turkish parliament ` the Turkish
Government in the end supported the transit of U.S. troops. The
Turkish parliament by, I think two or three votes, did not approve
it. It was a difficult period, now thankfully belonging to the past.

MR. DUGUID: I’d now like to introduce our Acting Assistant Secretary
for Near East Asian Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and the USAID’s Acting
Assistant Director for the Middle East Greg Laudato[1]. Their opening
remarks, again, will be on the record, questions on background.

ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY FELTMAN: I think all of you know that the
Secretary is traveling, leaving tomorrow night for her first trip to
the Middle East. She will be participating in the Gaza donor
conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Monday. She’ll also have the
opportunity while in Sharm el-Sheikh to meet many of her Arab and
European counterparts who will be gathered for the Sharm el-Sheikh
conference. She also will have a bilateral meeting, of course, with
Egyptian President Mubarak.

>From Sharm el-Sheikh, she will travel on to Jerusalem and
Ramallah. She’ll have a series of meetings with Israeli officials,
both her counterparts now, as well as Prime Minister Olmert and
President Peres, as well as have a chance for consultations with `
Benjamin Netanyahu, of course, has been asked to form the next
Israeli government. She will also go to Ramallah and have meetings
there with Palestinian officials.

QUESTION: That’s all on `

ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY FELTMAN: It’s Tuesday and Wednesday. She’ll
be in Jerusalem and Ramallah on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Sharm el-Sheikh conference has gathered a lot of international
leaders to try to address the immediate humanitarian concerns in the
Gaza Strip. The United States and others will be showing leadership in
stepping forth with new forms of assistance to reach the people in
need in the Gaza Strip. It’s also worth keeping this in context,
because not only do we want to address the needs ` the very real needs
in the Gaza Strip, but we also want to move forward toward that
comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace that President Obama talked about
here in the State Department a few weeks ago when the announcement was
made about the appointment of Senator Mitchell as Special Envoy for
Middle East Peace.

Part of this, of course, is a two-state solution for Israel and
Palestine, and the Secretary will use this trip to talk to Palestinian
leaders, Arab leaders, Israelis, about how to move forward toward the
two-state solution. But it’s also about a comprehensive peace between
Israel and all of Israel’s Arab neighbors.

In Israel, she’ll also have a chance, of course, to see a lot of
friends. She’s had ` Senator Clinton is a longtime friend and
supporter of Israel, and she will be able to compare notes on a
variety of issues that concern both Israel and the United States about
the region, including topics such as Iran. And I think I’ll let George
` yeah, sorry.

MR. DUGUID: I must correct the record. Mr. George Laudato.

MR. LAUDATO: Thank you. USAID’s Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham
will travel with the Secretary to the region to participate in the
conference. We expect that the U.S. ` while the U.S. pledge is still
being finalized, we expect that it will be a ` it will be announced at
the ` at Sharm. And we expect that the portion of that pledge that
USAID will manage will be generous and probably large ` somewhat
larger than what we are currently doing in the region, in Gaza.

We expect also that any activities that flow from that pledge will
look very similar to the types of activities that we are currently
working on in Gaza. Since late December, we’ve committed and ` we’ve
committed over $10 million to the relief effort in Gaza, have moved a
significant amount of that assistance into Gaza, and we operate
through eight major NGOs that have operational entities on the ground
in Gaza and allow them to reach out and move assistance directly to
the people in the towns and villages of Gaza. That has consisted of
food and food supplies, medical supplies, plastic sheeting, blankets `
the kinds of things one would associate with a ` with the immediate
needs of a ` well, a situation like we find ourselves in, in Gaza.

We’ve also moved a considerable amount of assistance through the World
Food Program, food aid, and they have set up feeding programs that
reach about 160,000 people. We’ve done a limited amount of
humanitarian-related reconstruction, and we’ve done this over the
years. I mean, we just, for example, recently in the fall, worked on
some major sewage activities in Gaza because of the very immediate
impact it was having on the lives of the local people. And we expect
that there will be more of this kind of activity at a higher level
when the ` when we operationalize the pledges that will be made in
Gaza ` in Sharm.

And we could just continue to ` we look forward to continuing to work
with the people. We’ve found it ` it’s been a very effective program
to date, and we hope to continue.

[1] USAID’s Acting Assistant Administrator for the Middle East George
Laudato

009/02/119888.htm

Interfax, Russia
Feb 27 2009

OSCE team halts monitoring after fire in Karabakh conflict region

Stepanakert, 27 February: A team of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe was forced on Thursday [26 February] to cut
short a regular monitoring mission along the separation line between
Azerbaijani and Nagornyy-Karabakh armed forces because of alleged fire
towards the inspectors from the Azerbaijani side, the
Nagornyy-Karabakh foreign ministry said.

"At the very start of the monitoring session, there was the sound of
an individual shot fired from the Azerbaijanii side towards the
coordinator of the OSCE office, a field assistant to a personal
representative of the OSCE chairman, and officials of the foreign
ministry and defence ministry of the Nagornyy-Karabakh republic who
were conducting a monitoring mission on the positions of the defence
army of the Nagornyy-Karabakh republic," the ministry told Interfax.

After this came "a burst of assault rifle fire from the Azerbaijani
side," the ministry said. The bullets "passed to the left of the
monitoring team, after which one more shot was fired towards the
mission".

Andrzej Kasprzyk, a personal representative of the OSCE
chairman-in-office, who was coordinating the mission from Azeri
territory, ordered the inspection to be ended, the ministry said.

The site of the monitoring was the vicinity of Horadiz, a village in
Fizuli District.

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry confirmed there had been outbreaks of
fire during the mission but claimed they had come from the
Nagornyy-Karabakh side and said Kasprzyk had ordered an investigation
into the incident.

"There was the sound of two individual shots [from the
Nagornyy-Karabakh side] that developed into a burst of fire," the
ministry said in a press release. "Later on, there was the sound of
one more shot. No more assault rifle fire was heard after that."

Kasprzyk ordered the mission to be halted and the incident to be
investigated, the release said.