Author: Khondkarian Raffi

ARMENIAN FM: HOPE TO SOLVE KARABAKH ISSUE IN 2006 SHOULD NOT BE LOST

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.03.2006 22:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The hope to solve the Nagorno Karabakh problem
in 2006 should not be lost. Though there is less time after
Rambouillet. However, we should work,” Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian
stated when answering questions of Azg Daily readers. In his words,
progress was made in 2005. Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan had
to come to agreement over one or two issues. “The OSCE MG co-chairs
logically concluded that inertia will help the process and the
Rambouillet meeting was to bind the presidents more.

This did not happen. We evaluated Rambouillet: there was no agreement
reached over a concrete issue in Rambouillet. However, we believe
the process did not fail. If Azerbaijan does not compromise over the
issue on the agenda, it would mean Baku has remained on its maximalist
positions, which do not promote settlement.

Armenia has made its part of concessions,” the Armenian FM said.

Answering a question whether the latest events in Transnistria and
resoluteness of the US and European structures in supporting Moldova
forebode a similar attitude of those countries to the NK issue, Vartan
Oskanian stated, “Of course, precedents in international relations
are a faction, which is not however final or decisive. Our approach to
conflicts is a rather clear one: each of these should be considered in
its own context, taking into account its historical and legal causes,
sources and most importantly the current situation de facto. What
will be the solution to the Karabakh conflict? All factors should be
considered in the Karabakh process and the self-determination right
remains a basic determinant.”

ARMENIA HAS BECOME 36TH MEMBER COUNTRY OF EUROCONTROL

09: 55 03/07/2006

Armenia has become 36th member country of Eurocontrol – European Agency
for Air Traffic Control. As REGNUM was informed at press office of
Armenian Foreign Ministry, joint program to modernize service of air
traffic control in Armenia was developed together with Eurocontrol.

Eurocontrol membership is mainly aimed at development of common
system of air traffic control in European area under conditions of air
traffic growth. “Armenian Eurocontrol’s joining corresponds to program
of establishing of common European system to control air traffic,”
stated Director General of Eurocontrol Victor Aguado. According to
him, Armenia’s joining the agency is important for establishing of
new flights, connecting Europe with Far East over Armenian territory.

It should be reminded, that Armenia has been a member of International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) since 1992. Since that time,
Armenia has been using technical assistance of the organization.

DPA CHAIRMAN DOESN’T EXCLUDE THAT ARMENIAN PRESIDENT WILL HAVE TO
RESIGN IN CONNECTION WITH NAGORNO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, NOYAN TAPAN. We can’t exlude such a situation when
Armenian President Robert Kocharian will have to think about
resignation for the purose of avoiding the compulsion of signing a
document on Nagorno Karabakh settlement not favorable for
Armenia. Such an opinion was expressed by Aram Sargsian, a member of
RA NA Ardarutiun (Justice) faction, Chairman of the Democratic Party
of Armenia (DPA), at the March 9 meeting at the National Press
Club. According to him, currently both Armenia and Azerbaijan are
exerted a strict pressure in connection with the quick settlement to
the Nagorno Karabakh problem. However, according to Sargsian, Armenia
constantly expresses readiness for one-sided concessions in the
process of settlement. Emphasizing the necessity to take active steps,
the MP touched upon his initiative aimed at the Armenian parliament’s
recognizing the fact of Karabakh’s coming out of Azerbaijan in a legal
way. According to Sargsian, this doesn’t mean recognition of Nagorno
Karabakh as an independent state and at the same time creates an
opportunity for presenting Nagorno Karabakh as a subject in the
negotiations process. Sargsian mentioned that the possibility of
quartering international peacekeers, which is not litigated by
Armenia, can bring to developments, more complicated than the Kosovo
ones, in the region. Answering journalists’ questions, Aram Sargsian
didn’t exclude the impact of possible sanctions against Iran on the
Karabakh settlement. According to him, the decision to be made in the
issue of Iran will condition the rest of the actions in the region. In
Aram Sargsian’s opinion, a possible application of sanctions against
Iran will be a very dangerous step as in difference to Iraq, Iran is
much more organized and powerful state. As he estimated, China, which
is making its relations with Iran closer, can play a very important
role in this issue. According to DPA Chairman, Armenia can have no
impact on these possible regional developments. Meanwhile he mentioned
that Armenia’s good-neighborly relations with Iran don’t give rise to
the West’s complaint as everybody understands that Armenia in no case
can spoil its relations with this country.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and visiting Azerbaijan
President Ilham Aliyev agreed Friday to deepen their countries’
economic ties through trade, investment, energy projects and other
exchanges.

Kyodo News Service; Mar 10, 2006

In a joint press conference after their talks at the premier’s
official residence in Tokyo, Koizumi called for “further improving
Azerbaijan’s trade and investment climate,” saying Japanese businesses
are interested in the country.

The Japanese leader also expressed thanks for Baku’s support of
Tokyo’s bid to get permanent membership on the U.N. Security Council,
and voiced hope Azerbaijan will peacefully resolve its regional
conflict with Armenia.

Aliyev said his country has well-funded economic development plans and
needs “good partners companies with advanced technology, knowledge,
expertise” possibly from Japan which he said is a world leader in this
area.

According to a joint statement the two leaders signed before speaking
to the press, the Azerbaijani side stated its intention to continue
efforts to improve its trade and investment environment through
deregulation plus tax and legal reforms.

Both sides expressed intention to further develop cooperation in the
field of energy, praising two projects in Azerbaijan to develop an oil
field and build an oil pipeline that are joined by Japanese concerns.

Visiting Japan for the first time, Aliyev arrived Tuesday for a
four-day stay.

On Thursday, he met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and agreed
to foster bilateral ties through cooperation in the development of oil
and natural gas exploration in the Caucasus state.

LEADERS URGED TO MEET LOCAL MP OVER UNREST IN GEORGIA’S ETHNIC ARMENIAN REGION

Imedi TV, Tbilisi
13 Mar 06

[Presenter] Certain forces wish to destabilize the situation in the
country by stirring up disorder in Akhalkalaki, Chair of Parliament
Nino Burjanadze told a meeting of the bureau today.

Majority member Beso Jugheli asked the speaker whether she had met
Hamlet Movsesyan, the MP for Akhalkalaki, who Jugheli said, wants to
brief the president on the events in Akhalkalaki.

[Burjanadze] A very unpleasant incident has taken place in Akhalkalaki
[protest by local Armenians on 11 March which ended in the ransacking
of a local university and court].

I should stress however that the serious incident that preceded the
attempts to create disorder [a clash between ethnic Armenians and
Georgians in Tsalka District in which an Armenian was killed and
several others wounded] is a very sensitive subject indeed. All the
questions must be answered and the guilty punished.

It is obvious that there are serious forces trying to destabilize
this region and the country. There are serious forces trying to set
Georgians and non-Georgians against each other.

[Jugheli, to Burjanadze] Have you spoken to Hamlet Movsesyan, the MP
for Akhalkalaki?

[Burjanadze] No, I have not spoken to him yet but I certainly will.

[Jugheli] Kalbatono Nino, I want to state, very gently, that no-one
pays any attention to what local constituency MPs say. Hamlet Movsesyan
is a clear example of this. Khatuna, hold on a second please. I do
not know whether he had a fever or something else but I know that
Hamlet Movsesyan has requested a meeting with the president.

VARTAN OSKANIAN AND NIKOLAY BORDYUZHA DISCUSS WAYS OF CSTO ACTIVITY IMPROVEMENT AND EFFICIENCY RAISING

Noyan Tapan
Mar 14 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The current situation in the territory
of th e Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and ways of
improvement of organization’s activity and raising of its efficiency
were discussed at RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian’s meeting
with CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha who is in Armenia on
a working visit.

The prospect of cooperation of CSTO with other international
organizations was also discussed. In this connection N.Bordyuzha
presented the results of his visit to Central Asia and UN Central
Headquarters.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by RA Foreign Ministry Press and
Information Department, the sides also touched upon issues regarding
the Collective Security Council sitting to be held in June in Minsk
and preparation of sittings of bodies subordinate to CSTO.

WHEN BILINGUAL IS SILVER, TRILINGUAL IS GOLD
By Domenico Maceri

The Seoul Times, South Korea
Oct 18 2005

Special Contribution

Asian students in the US “English gets boring sometimes” stated
Donna Nguyen, a senior at James Lick High School in San Jose,
California. Donna does not get bored very often. She can speak
English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. She can also read and write these
languages. So when she graduated from high school, she received
a recognition for her fluency in the form of a newly-instituted
bilingual certificate.

Her accomplishments are marked on her diploma as well as her
transcripts. The bilingual certificate is a new program available
only in a small number of American schools. It should be expanded to
recognize and encourage multilingualism, which is essential to make
it in today’s world.

To qualify for the bilingual certificate, students need to demonstrate
linguistic fluency and literacy in at least two languages. Students
need to show their language skills by passing an Advanced
Placement test in a foreign language if their native language is
English. Students whose home language is not English must pass an
Advanced Placement test in their home language and also pass the
state’s English standardized test.

Although the most likely combination is English-Spanish, the 82
students who met the criteria at Eastside Union School District in
San Jose also included French and German.

Glendale Unified School District, northwest of Los Angeles, also
recognizes bilingualism. On graduation day, students who can speak
two languages wear a silver medallion and trilingual students wear
a gold one. In 2004, one student qualified in Armenian, Russian,
German, and English.

Montreal in Canada Although the U.S. is a country of immigrants,
the native languages brought in tended to disappear quickly. Indeed,
being an American often meant speaking English and only English. Those
sentiments are still alive and well but more and more people are
beginning to see the value of bilingualism. It’s not just the marketing
value of two or more languages. International relations pretty much
dictate that monolingualism is not just a disadvantage but a danger
as well.

Serious shortages of bilingual personnel, for example, have been
reported in many areas of government. Soon after 9/11, it was revealed
that a vast amount of data had not been analyzed because of limited
linguistic resources.

In both Afghanistan and Iraq, US government officials have had to rely
a lot on local interpreters and translators and the results have been
far from positive.

The situation is so bad that the American government is considering
a targeted military draft for people with special skills such as
computer knowledge or foreign languages.

Unfortunately, bilingualism still conjures negative images in the
minds of some Americans. Some fear a Balkanization of the country
upon hearing the word bilingual. Images of Canada come to mind right
away. Also, fear that bilingualism may not lead to integration of
new arrivals pushes people to lobby for English-only laws.

Twenty-seven states have passed laws declaring English the official
language, but nothing has changed with regards to reducing immigration
nor the number of languages people speak.

Quebec City in Canada Fear that immigrant kids were not learning
English fast enough pushed California, Arizona, and Massachusetts
voters to virtually do away with bilingual education. The laws
eliminating bilingual education have been passed through the referendum
process in which voters were asked to choose along simplistic lines
of English-yes and Spanish-no.

Yet, most states are continuing bilingual education programs, which
in spite of their name, are not designed to develop skills in two
languages. Bilingual education programs in the U.S. aim to use the
students’ native languages as a springboard to eventual English-only
instruction by ensuring that immigrant students don’t fall behind
academically those born in the U.S.

Developing bilingual skills is really the focus of dual-language
schools which teach subjects in two languages. The numbers of these
type of schools in the U.S. are very small but they are expanding
rapidly as parents increasingly realize the value of bilingualism
for their kids.

Unfortunately, dual-language schools do not go beyond junior high
school. In the vast majority of American highs schools the focus is
on English. So when some high schools begin to recognize and foster
bilingualism, it’s an event worth celebrating.

As English increases its dominance in the world as the language to
know, it’s too easy to rest on our laurels and let the others learn our
language. It’s also dangerous. The smart thing is to go for the gold.

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“ROYAL-ARMENIA” IS IN THE “WAR”

Panorama
18:08 13/10/05

As jurist of the “Royal-Armenia” company Gevorg Minasyan informed,
Ashot Sargsyan will be a new advocate of president of the company
Gagik Hakobyan and the vice-president Aram Ghazaryan.

Let us remind you, that both president and vice-president of the
company were recently called to the National Security and were
arrested. Nobody knows what was the reason for the arrest. But Gevorg
Minasyan implied that the State Tax Service, by all means, has sent
some materials to the NS.

The thing is that “Royal-Armenia” and State Tax Service have been
‘battling’ with each other for already two years. The tax service was
periodically checking the documents of the company, and the company,
in its turn accused the tax service in corruption. As a result
“Royal-Armenia” brought a civil sue against the STS.

If the National Security wins the ‘battle’ so what about the coffee
war?

ANTI-SMOKING CENTER TO CHARGE $50 TO HELP GET RID OF DANGEROUS HABIT

Armenpress
Oct 13 2005

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS: Smokers wishing to give up this
pernicious habit can from now on pay $50 to doctors of a special
anti-smoking center who will help by medications and psychological
consultations to quit smoking.

The center was inaugurated yesterday at a Yerevan hospital. The
treatment of each patient will depend on the extent of their tobacco
dependence. David Petrosian, the chief manager of the center, cited
some figures yesterday saying that this sort of centers have helped to
reduce the number of smokers in the USA and some European countries
from 70 to 25 percent. The center has a dietitian to consult people
fearing they may put on weight after quitting smoking.

The World Health Organization estimates that 63.7 percent of Armenian
men are smokers – the highest rate in Europe. By comparison, an
estimated 60 percent of men in neighboring Georgia are smokers and
31.2 percent in Azerbaijan.

Armenia’s first ever restrictions on smoking in public places came
into force on March 2nd 2005, prohibiting smoking in hospitals,
cultural and education institutions and public transportation. There
are no mechanisms in place for enforcing the measures, and to date
there is little evidence of compliance with the restrictions.

DEPUTY FM DISMISSES CRISIS GROUP STATEMENT

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 13 2005

Baku, October 12, AssA-Irada
Deputy foreign minister and the President’s special envoy on the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper Garabagh conflict Araz Azimov has dismissed
the credibility of a recent statement by the International Crisis
Group, an organization working to prevent conflicts worldwide.

Azimov said it includes ‘erroneous views’, which is due to ‘either
the lack of awareness or their being incompetent’.

“A number of organizations like ICG operate in the world and their
activity is unofficial. Their report and recommendations are certainly
nothing but their own ideas.”*