Author: Khondkarian Raffi

State Center for International Cooperation was set up in Karabakh

08-02-2008 12:01:09 – KarabakhOpen

By a decision of the NKR government the Center for International
Cooperation was set up within the ministry of foreign affairs. On
January 25 the ex-secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Janna Krikorova was appointed director of the Center. On February 7 the
center was dedicated officially, and the heads of NGOs and journalists
were invited to the ceremony.

`The structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs supposes
establishment of various agencies whose activities are not related to
foreign policies but international relations. I know from my experience
at the ministry that we have some shortcomings here. We all know that
the NKR foreign ministry has two specific goals ` international
recognition of NKR and international relations ` independent from the
foreign policy. Proceeding from this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
came up with an initiative to set up a Center for International
Cooperation, which was supported at the top level,’ Janna Krikorova
said.

Janna Krikorova, who has considerable experience of work with
international and non-governmental organizations says the NGOs of
Karabakh often encounter difficulties. `Many of them need
consultations, simplicity in interrelation between the government and
NGOs. Therefore, in the first year we intend to assess the experience
and needs of the NGOs which deal with international organizations. We
want to assess the dynamics of development of non-governmental
relations,’ Janna Krikorova says.

CURRENT PERIOD IS CRUCIAL FOR COUNTRY, ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Feb 07 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, NOYAN TAPAN. During the February 6 meeting of
the Armenian president Robert Kocharian and the European Union troika
headed by Dimitri Rupel – the foreign minister of Slovenia currently
presiding over the EU, the sides exchanged ideas about cooperation
with the EU and addressed the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan,
NT was informed by the RA president’s press service.

Speaking with satisfaction about dynamically developing cooperation
of Armenia and the EU, R. Kocharian said that thanks to the joint
action plan, the relations have become more coordinated. He welcomed
the opening of a new diplomatic mission of the European Commission
in Armenia, which will allow to establish closer cooperation.

As for the upcoming presidential elections, R. Kocharian said that the
current period is a crucial one for the country. "We are interested
in holding good elections in line with international standards and
we have done everything in order to organize these elections in the
best way," he stated.

The Armenian president told the guests about latest developments in
negotiations on peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict and
presented Armenia’s approaches to problems of energy security and
regional cooperation.

LOCAL OBSERVERS ABLE TO FOLLOW COURSE OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Feb 6 2008

YEREVAN, February 6. /ARKA/. Local observers are able to follow the
course of the forthcoming presidential election in Armenia, according
to the CIS observers’ interim report.

All the presidential candidates can have authorized representatives,
but their number should not exceed the three-fold number of divisional
election committees, the CIS observers say in their report.

They call on executives and territorial election committees to secure
a proper election process at the first stage of the presidential
election campaign.

The CIS observers consider the RA General Prosecutor’s order to form
a monitoring group as an attempt to conduct legitimate and democratic
election.

CBA ISSUES "ARIES" SILVER COMMEMORATIVE COIN

Noyan Tapan
Feb 5, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA)
has put into circulation the "Aries" silver commemorative coin with a
depiction of the Aries zodiacal sign. The coin was issued under the
numismatic program "The Zodiacal Signs". According to the CBA press
service, commemorative coins depicting all the 12 signs of the zodiac
will be issued in this series.

The coat of arms of the Republic of Armenia is depicted in the middle
of the obverse of the coin. Below the coat of arms, the nominal value
of the coin is inscribed: "100" and "DRAMS" in Armenian and English
in a circle. The date of the coin’s issue – "2008" is inscribed above
the coat of arms. All this is enclosed in a striped circle. There
is another striped circle between the indicated circle and the
edge. The surface of the coin’s obverse between the two circles is
divided into 12 equal parts, in which the 12 zodiacal symbols are
depicted. "REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA" in Armenian and English is inscribed
in a circle along the edge of the coin.

The reverse of the coin has a depiction of the Aries zodiacal sign
against the background of the starry sky. There is also a star made
of white zirconium. Below on the right, the Aries zodiacal sign is
depicted. All this is enclosed in a striped circle. In the surface
between this circle and the edge, the name of the zodiacal sign is
inscribed in Latin (ARIES) in the top part of the coin and its name
is inscribed in Russian (OBEH) – in the bottom part. Color paints
have been used for the design of the reverse.

The author of the coin’s design is U. Valezhak. The commemorative
coin was minted at the Polish Mint. Its nominal value is 100 drams,
it is made of silver (925 alloy). Its weight is 28.28 grams, diameter –
38.61 mm, the number of the coins – 12 thousand.

OBAMA ARMENIANS’ FAVORITE IN DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Today’s Zaman
Feb 1 2008
Turkey

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has gained support
from an influential Armenian diaspora organization, the Washington
based-Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), days after he
pledged to officially recognize the controversial World War I-era
killings of Anatolian Armenians as genocide if he becomes president.

ANCA announced its support for Obama on Tuesday, praising him as "the
Democratic candidate best positioned to bring fundamental change to
how the United States addresses issues of special concern to Armenian
American voters."

A few days after Obama, rival Hillary Clinton had also announced
last month that she would officially recognize the alleged genocide
of Anatolian Armenians if she becomes president.

"Based on his strong record in office, his bold statements as a
candidate and our judgment as to the policies he will pursue as
president, we believe that, among a strong field of Democratic
candidates, Senator Obama will best reflect the views and values
of Armenian American voters," ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian was
quoted as saying a press conference held at the ANCA Western Region
headquarters. His quotes and the organization’s support have been
aired on the ANCA’s Web site.

The ANCA listed certain key elements of Obama’s record that led to the
endorsement. One of those elements is Obama’s "public criticism of the
Bush administration for firing former US Ambassador to Armenia John
Evans over his truthful remarks recognizing the Armenian Genocide."

The ANCA stressed that Obama "has publicly asserted that, ‘An official
policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an
untenable policy.’"

Ankara has already chided both Obama and Clinton, warning them to
act in a responsible manner while electioneering.

"Politicians who run for the US presidency should act in a more
responsible manner in regard to both history and the future; they
should take pains not to offend a friendly and ally country and its
people via groundless statements; and they should keep in mind the
sensitivities of the Turkish-American relations within this framework,"
the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement released
over the weekend.

The Washington-based diaspora organization also noted that "unlike
other Democratic candidates, he [Obama] also pledged to ‘promote
Armenian security by seeking an end to the Turkish and Azerbaijani
blockades, and by working for a lasting and durable settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that is agreeable to all parties,
and based upon America’s founding commitment to the principles of
democracy and self determination.’"

Armenians claim that up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered
in orchestrated killings during the last years of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey categorically rejects these claims, saying that 300,000
Armenians, along with at least as many Turks, died in civil strife
that emerged when the Armenians took up arms for independence in
eastern Anatolia and sided with the Russian troops who were invading
Ottoman territory.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE HOPES NATO TO HELP MEND TIES WITH TURKEY

Mediamax
Jan 30 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 30 January: An Armenian presidential candidate and member of
the [Armenian Revolutionary Federation]Dashnaktsutyun party bureau,
Vahan Hovhannisyan, said in Yerevan today that sooner or later NATO
would influence Turkey concerning the issue of normalization of
relations with Armenia.

Vahan Hovhannisyan said this today during his meeting with journalists
in the Information Center on NATO inYerevan.

The candidate noted that the talks on Turkey’s entry in the EU are
accompanied with reforms, which will have apositive influence on the
prospect of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations as well. At
the same time, VahanHovhannisyan said that Turkey is a member of
NATO for already a few decades and has always been considered to
be the"western advanced post of the alliance". "In Soviet times,
Turkey opposed the Soviet Union, today it alsohas a ‘special role’
caused by the instability in Iraq and in the whole Middle East,"
the member of theDashnaktsutyun bureau said.

Despite this fact, Vahan Hovhannisyan expressed the hope that other
member-states of NATO will realize the reason of cautious perception
of the alliance in Armenia, conditioned by Turkey’s policy, and will
work to improve thesituation.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FROM "DASHNAKTSUTIUN" URGED THE CITIZENS TO DEFEND THEIR RIGHT FOR SECRET VOTING

Mediamax
January 30, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian presidential candidate from
"Dashnaktsutiun" party Vahan Hovhannissian summed up today the results
of the first ten days of the pre-election campaign.

According to him, during the visits to the regions of the country,
he noted for himself that the residents of rural settlement are
interested in the political life, are concerned about the future
of Armenia and are not solving particularly daily problems. The
presidential candidate stated that the people is more concerned about
the opportunity of secret voting.

Vahan Hovhannissian informed that in the Northern regions of the
country, the electors are suggested the idea that in the end Vahan
Hovhannissian will give his votes in favor of the candidate from
the authority, and persuaded them to vote openly. He stated that
this is "an absolute lie and a legend", and that even in the second
round he is not going to give his votes to any of the candidates,
since he is sure that he will be the one to participate in the second
round. ""Dashnaktsutiun" party will not tolerate such attitude towards
the electors and urges all the citizens not to give any promises and
defend their right for secret voting", Vahan Hovhannissian stated.

At that, the candidate did not agree with the result of the sociologic
surveys of international organizations, noting that he does not
trust the agents of whose companies, which work in the provinces. He
noted that already 170 thousand citizens have signed agreements with
"Dashnaktsutiun" party and their number grows from day to day.

According to the candidate, each time, when "Dashnaktsutiun"
participates in the elections, the Public TV of Armenia demonstrates
a number of anti-dashnak feature films, and such a phenomenon is
already becoming funny.

Talking about the pre-election campaigns of the rivals, Vahan
Hovhannissian stated that some of them are extremely passive, but at
the same time, there are candidates, who visit the regions, and the
procession, accompanying them, is enough to secure audience for them.

AZERBAIJANI SOLDIER KILLED NEAR KARABAKH: OFFICIAL

Agence France Presse — English
January 28, 2008 Monday 11:18 AM GMT

Armenian forces have killed an Azerbaijani soldier near the disputed
region of Nagorny-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani defence ministry said
Monday.

Hatami Bahruz, 19, was killed when Armenian forces opened fire
on Azerbaijani positions in the Fizuli region overnight Monday,
violating a ceasefire, defence ministry spokesman Ilgar Verdiyev said.

Armenian forces seized control of Nagorny-Karabakh from Azerbaijan
in the early 1990s, in a war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives
and forced about a million people on both sides to flee their homes.

The two sides signed a ceasefire in 1994, but the two countries have
cut direct economic and transport links and failed to negotiate a
settlement on the region’s status.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are spread across a ceasefire line in
and around Nagorny-Karabakh, often facing each other at close range,
and shootings are common.

In 2007, 13 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed along the ceasefire line,
Verdiyev said.

TER-PETROSIAN’S HEADQUARTERS CLOSED DOWN

A1+
28 January, 2008

Presidential contender Levon Ter-Petrossian’s pre-election office in
Kapan was sealed on January 28.

Two policemen are presently guarding the office to prevent its
further operation.

"Over twenty policemen broke into the office and sent us off. We
weren’t even allowed to take our belongings and documents. Then they
sealed the office," the head of the office Roman Navasardian told A1+.

The sudden intrusion is accounted for the fact that the employees
had disobeyed the owner’s demand to vacate the premises. Although the
tenants hadn’t made a contract they had paid for two months in advance.

According to the local police, "after getting the money the owner
found out that she had made a mistake by allotting the premises to
Levon Ter-Petrossian’s adherents. She asked the marzpet for help and,
the latter assigned the corresponding bodies to tackle the problem."

"The woman must have been subjected to pressure. She didn’t even wait
for the court’s verdict due on January 30," Roman Navasardian said.

"We shall work outdoors. Surely, they will never allot us premises. We
have applied to the Kapan Mayor but so far we have got no response,"
he said.

"Obviously the police exerted pressure on the owner.

ARAM HARUTUNIAN TO START CAMPAIGNING ON FEBRUARY 2

ARMENPRESS
Jan 29, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS: A low-profile presidential candidate
Aram Harutunian will begin his election campaign by visiting several
towns and villages in the northwestern province of Shirak.

Speaking at a news conference today he said the first visits are
scheduled for February 2. Before that he plans to publish his election
manifesto and distribute it to people.

He said before starting his regional tours he will continue advertising
his election program on TV, ‘because it is the shortest and most
effective way to convey our ideas and visions to a broader audience.’
Harutunian praised media for equal and unbiased coverage of all nine
presidential candidates’ campaigns and called on his rivals to refrain
from smearing each other.

He also emphasized that his election program calls for passage of a
law on opposition saying such legislations have Germany and UK.