Author: Karapetian Hovik

AZERBAIJAN`S FM MEETS PACE PRESIDENT IN BAKU

State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
July 2, 2008 Wednesday

Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met Wednesday with
visiting President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) Lluis Maria de Puig.

The PACE President noted during the trip he had closely familiarized
with the ongoing processes in Azerbaijan. He stressed he witnessed
Azerbaijan`s commitments to the European values.

Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict the
PACE chief said the conflict must be resolved within the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani Minister, in turn, expressed gratitude to the Council
of Europe (CoE) for its stance on the conflict. He underlined that
settlement of the conflict would be useful for Armenia as well.

The Minister expressed confidence the Azerbaijan-CoE cooperation
would continue to enhance in a variety of fields.

They also discussed other issues of mutual interest.

AZERBAIJAN WANTS TO STRENGTHEN MILITARY CO-OPERATION WITH PAKISTAN

Trend News Agency
July 7 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan wants to strengthen military co-operation with Pakistan.

"Pakistan has large experience in training personnel, military
technical training. Azerbaijan wants to use this experience," the
first Vice-Speaker of Azerbaijan Parliament, Chairman of Standing
Commission on Security Affairs and Defence, Ziyafyat Askerov, said
at the meeting with the Chairman of the Foreign Committee of Senate
of Pakistan on 7 July.

There is an agreement on bilateral co-operation between the Ministers
of Defence of Azerbaijan and Pakistan. The Ministry of Defence of
Azerbaijan co-operates with 50 countries.

Askerov noted that Azerbaijan and Pakistan successfully co-operate
in many spheres, including in the military and military technical
areas. According to him, Azerbaijan closely co-operates with Pakistan
in combating international terrorism.

The Chairman of the Foreign Committee of Senate of Pakistan, Mushahid
Hussein Said, said from the point of view of security, Azerbaijan
with Pakistan faces similar problems. "Both countries sustained
aggression of other country. For a period of long years, the fair
has not been able to triumph in Nagorno-Karabakh and Kashmir, and the
resolutions by the UN Security Council are not fulfilled. Therefore
it is important to strengthen co-operation," Said noted. He said that
unless the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is regulated, Pakistan will have
no relations with Armenia, because it is an aggressor country.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in
1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost the Nagorno-Karabakh, except of Shusha and Khojali, in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian Armed Forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and
Nagorno-Karabakh’s seven surrounding regions. In 1994, Azerbaijan
and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active
hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia,
France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful, but fruitless
negotiations.

IFAD STARTS IMPLEMENTATION OF ‘MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FARMERS’ PROGRAMME IN ARMENIA PRICED AT $32 MLN

ArmInfo
2008-07-07 12:12:00

The International Fund of Agriculture Development (IFAD) starts
implementation of a credit programme ‘Marketing Opportunities for
Farmers’ priced at $32 mln, specialist for foreign relations of the
coordination office of IFAD programmes in Armenia Alexander Kalantaryan
told ArmInfo. He said that the total cost of the programme ($32 mln)
includes a loan by IFAD at the rate of $11.9 mln. Besides IFAD,
the International Development Fund of OPEC will participate in
its financing and will extend credit to $10 mln for the programme
implementation. $5 mln more will be received from Armenia’s budget,
and $2.9 mln will be provided by other participants – financial
organizations of the programme. The rest 10% of the total sum will
be charged from clients as contribution. Moreover, the government of
Denmark will grant $2.2 mln for trainings among the borrowers.

He also said that the programme is aimed at improvement of the
social-economic state of farmers. Within the frames of the programme,
Kalantaryan said, the financing will be carried out by three key
directions. The matter concerns, in particular, such components
as ‘Rural financing’, ‘Rural infrastructures’, ‘Organization
and implementation the programme’. Each component consists of
subcomponents. The first component, including three subcomponents,
envisages creation of a rural joint-stock fund (Armenian Villages
Economic Development Fund) purposed to assist the enterprises which are
unable to become the banks’ full members but have a big potential. The
funds will be given to the private processing enterprises, especially
OJSC under the condition of receipt of their shares at the rate
of 20-40% of the capital with possibility of their further sale.
Within the frames of the second component, which envisages financing
of infrastructures, the maximum amount of the credit being extended
will expectedly make up $250,000.

The interlocutor recalled that IFAD has already carried out
four similar programmes in Armenia totally priced at about $65
mln. Moreover, the first programme of IFAD started in 1996 and was
aimed at recovery of irrigating systems. The Fund implements programmes
in the remote villages of Armenia, and the majority of credits (to
$1.4 mln) have been extended to Vanadzor region. In particular, IFAD
carried out crediting through 7 Armenian commercial banks, the most
active of which is Ardshininvestbank – over $1.5 mln. IFAD grants
the funds to the banks at 2-4% rate per annum with repayment term to
7 years, he said. Talking of the problems of agriculture development
in Armenia, A. Kalantaryan marked, among the primary ones, absence of
insurance of agricultural risks and small scale of farms which number
today about 300,000. Moreover, absence of knowledge in the area of
use of modern technologies and developments in agriculture, is also
a serious problem. He added that the XV international symposium on
apricot cultivation, to be held in Armenia, may play a considerable
role in solution of this problem .

By the data of National Statistical Service of Armenia, the gross
volume of agriculture over May, 2008, grew by 39,1%, and in Jan-May,
2008, the annual growth made up 1,9% to 95 bln drams ($307 mln).

Market Wire (press release)

Governor General of Canada

Jul 04, 2008 09:21 ET

Charles Aznavour Invested as an Honorary Officer of the Order of
Canada

OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – July 4, 2008) – Her Excellency the
Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada, will
present the insignia of Officer of the Order of Canada to Charles
Aznavour, a French Citizen who, as a singer, composer and actor, has
helped establish important cultural ties between French-speaking
communities in Canada and other countries. This special investiture
will occur at 12:00 p.m., on Saturday July 5, 2008, at the Residence
of the Governor General of Canada at the Citadelle of Quebec.

Charles Aznavour, O.C.

Geneva, Switzerland

Officer of the Order of Canada

Singer, songwriter and actor, Charles Aznavour is one of France’s most
popular musical icons. For the past 60 years, he has been singing
about our love stories and everyday lives in many languages. Versatile
and passionate, this enduring legend has charmed audiences around the
world; but first and foremost, he remains an ambassador of the French
language. Since first coming to Montreal, he has remained deeply
attached to Canada, where he has drawn admirers from coast to coast to
coast. Dedicated to humanitarian causes, he shares his artistic
talents in support of charitable organizations in Armenia, where he
was appointed UNESCO’s Permanent Ambassador.

ANNEX B – ORDER OF CANADA BACKGROUNDER

The Order of Canada was established in 1967 to recognize outstanding
achievement and service in various fields of human endeavour. It is
our country’s highest civilian honour for lifetime achievement. Three
different levels of membership-Companion, Officer and Member-honour
people whose accomplishments vary in degree and scope.

Appointments are made on the recommendations of the Advisory Council
on the Order of Canada, an independent council chaired by the chief
justice of Canada.

The governor general is the Chancellor and Principal Companion of the
Order. Members of the Advisory Council on the Order of Canada reflect
the diversity and excellence in Canadian society. Certain members are
appointed by virtue of their office; others are appointed for a fixed
term to achieve a balanced representation of the various regions of
the country.

Any group or individual is welcome to nominate deserving individuals
as candidates for appointment.

Any Canadian may be nominated for the Order of Canada. The only
exceptions are federal and provincial politicians and judges, who may
not be appointed while holding office.

People who are not Canadian may be considered for honorary
appointments.

Media interested in covering this event are asked to contact Rideau
Hall Press Office.

PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSIAN DISCUSSES NATURE PROTECTION WITH PUBLIC ECOLOGICAL ALLIANCE

ARMENPRESS
July 2

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian met today with members of the Public
Ecological Alliance, an umbrella organization of NGOs dealing with
nature protection issues, to discuss, particularly, the basic questions
relating to Armenia’s sustainable development, urban and ecological
situation in Yerevan, the problems of Lake Sevan, preservation of
Armenia’s biological diversity and special wildlife reserves.

The government department for public relations and information told
Armenpress that representatives of non-governmental organizations
pointed out that all these problems should be reviewed from the
perspective of sustainable development concept and solutions should
be sought within the frameworks of Armenia’s sustainable development
commitments.

They emphasized also that the Armenian Sustainable National Council
set up by the government’s decision in 2002 should step up its work.

After presenting the entire gamut of ecological problems
representatives of non-governmental organizations thanked the prime
minister for his consistent attention to ecological problems and
his willingness to meet with them to discuss their solutions. They
said the situation in many sectors is alarming because of infective
cooperation between the government and NGOs in the past.

Representatives of the Alliance agreed that these problems could be
resolved through system changes, by strengthening rule of law and
putting the nature management on scientifically based grounds.

By summarizing the meeting Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian said he
is too concerned over these problems. He stressed the active work of
the National Sustainable Development Council saying it is important
for institutionalizing their cooperation and making it more effective.

He promised to conduct regular meetings of the Council and to jointly
define its agenda.

E. SHARMAZANOV CONCERNED

Panorama.am
0:35 01/07/2008

Edward Sharmazanov, the press spokesman of the Republican Party,
expressed his view point concerning the recent PACE Summer session
and the behavior of the leader of Heritage Party Raffi Hovhannisyan,
the spokesman said that if Armenia has to meet some "not smooth
points" regarding the democracy have not been solved out after his
certain steps.

"If we talk about dialogue, then it should be established not only
in Armenia but out of it also. Any comprehensive idea and objective
decision is born in the result of dialogue. To tell the truth I don’t
share his behavior as better variant could be found," he said.

"HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CYPRUS BY TURKEY"

Gibrahayer
July 1, 2008
Nicosia

The Press and Information Office (PIO) of the Republic of Cyprus
has recently issued the following new publication in English: "HUMAN
RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CYPRUS BY TURKEY" This 48-page booklet examines
the documented, massive and continuing violations of internationally
protected human rights committed by Turkey in Cyprus. These violations
are the direct outcome of Turkey’s unlawful 1974 invasion of the
Republic of Cyprus, of the continuing occupation of nearly 37% of
its sovereign territory, and the systematic ethnic cleansing that
occurred in the area of Cyprus under Turkish occupation.

The text is based on a forthcoming larger study on the subject by Dr.

Van Coufoudakis, a distinguished political scientist and prominent
scholar of the Cyprus problem. That book will be published by the
end of 2008 in the United States of America.

The information comes from reports, investigations and decisions
by NGO’s, the European Commission of Human Rights, the European
Court of Human Rights, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of
Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the
European Parliament among other sources. These independent sources
fully document Turkey’s violations of contemporary international and
European human rights laws and treaties that Turkey itself has signed
and ratified.

The information presented leaves no doubt about Turkey’s systematic
and deliberate policy of eradicating the Greek and Christian
cultural heritage and presence in the Turkish occupied areas. These
discriminatory policies have been directed since 1974 at Greek,
Maronite and Armenian Cypriots because of their ethnicity, religion
and language. Such discrimination is explicitly prohibited under
both the European Convention of Human Rights and by the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the EU.

&nbs p; As the author points out: "This is a stigma on the
international community at a time when, with support from the Republic
of Cyprus, Turkey is engaged in accession talks with the EU. Turkey
continues to violate its international obligations capitalising
on regional instability and the support extended to Turkey by
influential external powers. The subordination of human rights to
economic, political and security considerations undermines not only
the European human rights regime, but also the European commitment
to the rule of law, democracy and human rights. Cyprus, since 1974,
was and remains the testing ground of these principles."

In short, the author argues that the restoration of human rights
in occupied Cyprus will provide the foundation of a just and viable
settlement to the Cyprus problem.

The booklet will be published in several languages.

HOW TO RECEIVE THIS PUBLICATION ?

This publication can be downloaded in PDF format from the PIO website
at: Our Cypriot subscribers may also obtain free
copies by visiting the PIO at Apellis Street in Nicosia.

Diaspora Armenians as well as Armenians in our homeland & Artsakh
may receive a free copy by calling (+357) 22801207 or by emailing:
registry at pio dot moi dot gov dot cy This publication will also be
available from the diplomatic missions of Cyprus abroad.

ARMENIA: PRO-OPPOSITION TV STATION TRIES FOR COMEBACK
Gayane Abrahamyan

EurasiaNet
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
NY

A favorable European court ruling has prompted popular pro-opposition
broadcaster A1+ to announce it is ready to return to the airwaves
in Armenia. The question is how President Serzh Sargsyan’s
administration — already on the international defensive after the
March 1 crackdown against opposition protestors — will respond to
the planned comeback.

In a June 17 ruling, the Strasbourg-based European Court for Human
Rights found that the Armenian government violated Article 10 of the
European Convention on Human Rights on freedom of speech by denying a
license to A1+, which is owned by the private Meltex Company. The court
indicated that a lack of transparency on the part of the presidentially
appointed National Television and Radio Commission (NTRC) played a
major role in its ruling on behalf of A1+. The case revolved around
actions in 2002, when the NTRC arbitrarily took A1+’s broadcasting
frequency away, and gave it to another broadcaster, according to the
court. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"Meltex, and the general public therefore, had no way of knowing on
what basis the NTRC had exercised its discretion to refuse a license,"
the ruling stated. The court ordered the Armenian government to
pay 20,000 Euros (roughly $31,000) in damages to the station and
its owners.

At a June 18 press conference in Strasbourg, Council of Europe
Secretary General Terry Davis qualified the decision as "a victory
for freedom of expression" that "should also serve as a lesson to
all governments inclined to arbitrary interpretations of Article 10
of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees this
essential freedom."

In a draft report about Armenia’s attempts to reduce political
tensions following the March 1 clash, the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe asserted that "[t]he authorities should now grant
[A1+] a broadcasting license without further delay, in line also with
a long-standing demand of the Assembly." The item was later removed
from the final report.

The Council of Europe’s Ministerial Committee will monitor
Armenia’s implementation of the court decision. "Experience
shows that the Ministerial Committee is usually very much committed
to assuring the fulfillment of the [Court’s] decisions — the
restoration of violated rights, in this case granting a broadcast
license and making legislative amendments," commented Meltex lawyer
Ara Ghazarian. Earlier resolutions by the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe had cited legislative "ambiguity" as a
contributing factor in the NTRC’s decision to "act arbitrarily"
and revoke A1+’s license. Since its closure, the station’s
presence has been restricted to the operation of a website. [For
additional information click here].

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an international advocacy
group based in New York, welcomed the court ruling and called on the
Armenian government to allow the station to resume broadcasting. "By
granting a license to A1+, newly elected President Serzh Sargsyan
will demonstrate his commitment to press freedom in the country,"
commented CPJ Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Nina
Ognianova in a June 19 statement.

But do the government and NTRC agree? For now, it seems the answer is
no. "The verdict can’t influence our future decisions, because
the commission makes them based only on legislation in force," NTRC
Chairman Grigor Amalian, who is believed to have led the charge
for revoking A+1’s license, told EurasiaNet. The president of
Armenia is charged with appointing all nine of the Commission’s
members. To date, the government has provided no indication on how
it will respond to the court decision.

While journalists and passers-by celebrated the ruling with champagne
on Yerevan’s Northern Avenue, Deputy Justice Minister Gevorg
Kostanian, who represented the Armenian government before the European
Court, maintained that A1+ did not win the case. "The Republic of
Armenia has won five-sixths of this case, while the founder of A1+,
Meltex Ltd., has won only one-sixth of it," claimed Kostanian. The
court did not find that the 2002 tender lost by A1+ was illegal,
and did not uphold Meltex’s claim for $1.5 million in financial
damages.

Meltex Chairman Mesrop Movsesian said the court decision does not
directly imply that the TV channel will reopen. He added that, in
his view, the ruling merely provides grounds for the station to bid
on available broadcast frequencies. A new tender is planned for the
autumn, when the five-year license term for a number of TV companies
expires. "We will participate in the upcoming competitions with quite
a different status having this verdict, and the commission can’t
ignore it," Movsesian told EurasiaNet. The company lost 12 bids for
a new broadcast license after the Commission’s 2002 revocation
decision.

The fact that the court did not grant A1+ a full $1.5 million in
damages is not a defeat, Movsesian said, responding to Kostanian’s
assertion. "This is, first of all, a moral victory for us and not a
fulfillment of financial expectations. The important thing was that it
was recognized as a limitation of the freedom of expression," Movsesian
said. He originally brought the suit against the government in 2004.

The verdict’s characterization of the decision to revoke A+1’s
license as "arbitrary" means that the company has the grounds to
re-appeal to the Armenian courts about previous decisions to deny
the station its broadcast license, noted lawyer Davit Sandukhchian,
who handles civil law cases related to media.

But attorney Aram Karakhanian, who also specializes in media law,
cautions that the decision should not be seen as a direct order to
the government. "The court could not say directly: ‘Republic of
Armenia, return this TV station to the air,’" said Karakhanian.

Getting back A1+’s license might take several years, conceded
Movsesian, but, for now, he stressed, the critical message has already
been delivered. "Authorities will finally understand that they are
not almighty and are obliged to provide freedom of speech," he said.

Editor’s Note: Gayane Abrahamyan is a reporter for the online
ArmeniaNow.com weekly in Yerevan.

PanARMENIAN.Net

OSCE MG Co-chairs brief RA President on outcomes of Baku meetings
28.06.2008 16:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan met Saturday with
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Ambassadors Matt Bryza of the U.S.,
Bernard Fassier of France and Yuri Merzlyakov of Russia as well as
with Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO, Ambassador Andrzej
Kasprzyk to discuss the Karabakh settlement, the RA leader’s press
office reported.

The President commented on Armenia’s position on the Karabakh conflict
resolution while the mediators briefed on the outcomes of their
meetings with Azerbaijani President and Foreign Minister.

ARMENIA TO DEVELOP RELATIONS WITH NATO WITHIN IPAP

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.06.2008 14:54 GMT+04:00

Armenia intends to develop cooperation with NATO in the framework of
the Individual Partnership Action Plan, President Serzh Sargsyan said.

"I think it will be a good experience for our armed forces. But we
have numerously stated that joining NATO is not on Armenia’s foreign
policy agenda. Former President Kocharian and I, then-Defense Minister,
have commented on the issue," the President said.

Asked whether Georgia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan’s aspiration to NATO
may be described as anti-Russian move, Mr Sargsyan said, "I do not
remember any state explaining its joining NATO by a wish to secure
itself against Russia. But I speak from the viewpoint of the Armenian
statehood. If our country is a member of CSTO and if there are Russian
bases here, joining NATO would certainly be an anti-Russian step. But
we don’t have reasons to do so," Kommersant reports.