Author: Khoyetsian Rose

I WANT TO HARM SERJ SARGSYAN

A1+
[07:33 pm] 20 March, 2007

‘ Serj Sargsyan wants to make his brother a deputy.

People do not approve of it.If Serj Sargsyan’s brother is punished,
it will be a great insult for him," NDU chairman Vazgen Manukyan
explained Goris incidents.

NDU leader stated that he would endorse the candidacy of Samvel
Babayan, chairman of "Alliance" party.

Vazgen Manukyan has no personal interest . " Serj sargsyan has a great
influence on this system, besides he wants to become a president. I
am just against the present system.’

As to Vazgen Manukyan, the biggest threat in Armenia is that the
elections are under controll.

SEMNEBY: TIME TO SERIOUSLY DEAL WITH ISSUE TO SIGN AGREEMENT ON KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.03.2007 16:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Now Azerbaijan and Armenia must work with their
societies more active for signing a peace treaty, EU’s Special
Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby stated. He thinks that
much can be done both by the Armenian and Azeri sides concerning the
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Commenting on OSCE PA President Goran Lennmarker’s statement that
after parliamentarian elections in Armenia a peace treaty can be
signed on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, Peter Semneby
stressed that it demands courage from both parties.

"Almost two decades after the rise of the conflict it’s time for the
sides to seriously deal with the issue to sign a peace agreement. We
hope, basing on those principles and ideas that we offered last year
and the last meeting between Presidents I. Aliev and R. Kocharian in
Minsk it will be possible to reach an agreement,’ Peter Semneby stated,
"Trend" reports.

329 FROM OSCE OBSERVERS TO ARRIVE IN ARMENIA

A1+
[08:19 pm] 19 March, 2007

YEREVAN, 19 March 2007 – The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission
for the 12 May parliamentary elections in Armenia.

This follows an invitation from the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

Thirteen experts will be based in Yerevan, and 29 long-term observers
will be deployed around the country. The ODIHR will request that a
further 300 short-term observers be provided by OSCE participating
States to monitor the opening and closing of polling stations on
election day, voting, the vote count, and the tabulation of results.

The mission will assess the parliamentary elections for their
compliance with principles for democratic electoral processes,
including commitments agreed to by all 56 OSCE participating States,
as well as with national legislation.

Observers will closely monitor campaign activities, the work of
the election administration and relevant governmental bodies,
election-related legislation and its implementation, the media
environment, and the resolution of election-related disputes.

"The recently amended election code of Armenia provides a sound
framework for democratic elections, but the challenge for the
authorities is its implementation in good faith, so that this and
future elections are held in accordance with OSCE commitments,"
said Ambassador Boris Frlec, who heads the ODIHR mission.

The mission intends to join efforts with the short-term observers
from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, who will be headed by Tone
Tingsgaard, Vice-President of the OSCE PA. The mission will also
co-operate with other parliamentary delegations from the Council of
Europe and, possibly, the European Parliament.

The OSCE/ODIHR observation mission and the OSCE Office in Yerevan
operate independently under separate mandates.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 17 2007

TTK President Halaçoðlu responds to Sarafian’s claims

President of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK) Yusuf Halaçoðlu
said Armenian historian Ara Sarafian was disturbed by the institute’s
initiative to study the archives of Tashnak, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation political party founded during the Ottoman
Empire that now operates throughout the Armenian diaspora.

In a television program he participated in, Halaçoðlu said that they
would have to investigate all archives including the Tashnak
archives. `Between 1989 and 1992 I was in charge of those archives. I
categorized them. Obviously I know which documents are included in
the files. As Sarafian claims, there aren’t documents about each
village and each neighborhood. There are collective documents. There
are documents about how many Armenians were transferred from Elazýð,
where they went, and how long they stayed,’ Halaçoðlu said.

`If they are not in the Ottoman archives, they might be in the
patriarchate archives. Let’s study them. Why are they hesitant to
open those archives?’ Halaçoðlu asked. `There is someone that does a
lot of research there. He would know if such information could be
found in them. I said I didn’t know of such a list. Surely, if there
is, then we can research it together. But why is he backing away? Why
is he giving up the study because of what I said without even doing
any research?’

The TTK president claimed that Sarafian is interested in finding a
list of Armenians living in the region because he wants to file for
property rights. Halaçoðlu, who is not authorized to limit access to
archives, said `I am a researcher, I am not on the archives
administrative board.’

Recalling that Sarafian had launched a study in 1991 when Halaçoðlu
was the president of the Ottoman archives, Halaçoðlu said he gave
3,000 photocopies to the Armenian historian.

`Doesn’t Sarafian know what happened in the region? He does. He is
just trying to do demagoguery. What I said was very clear. I said our
research should not include only the Ottoman archives but every other
archive as well. I think our desire to research the Armenian and
Tashnak archives made them hesitant because in those archives there
are documents detailing what they did in Tashnak. For example, the
names of countries they cooperated with and bought weapons from,
which operation they launched and the names of people they killed.’

Halaçoðlu said Sarafian was trying to create a commotion instead of
cooperating with them. `Their cooperative stance seems like a
response to our recent attempts to conduct research,’ Halaçoðlu said.
`This is a serious institute. We invite everyone to be serious. I
don’t want to start a job by getting into polemics. If he really
wants to do research or wants to resolve this problem then he can
apply directly to us. We can decide the format of the research and
plan out a strategy.’

Recalling that Sarafyan believes 12,000 Armenians were killed in the
region, Halaçoðlu said that he welcomed any serious research to be
conducted regarding the issue.

EurasiaNet, NY
March 16 2007

AZERBAIJAN PURSUES NATO INTEGRATION
Khazri Bakinsky and Mina Muradova 3/16/07

Azerbaijan is pressing ahead with plans to overhaul the country’s
armed forces in order to bring them up to North Atlantic Treaty
Organization standards. The pace of reforms will be gradual,
according to senior government officials, who are quick to point out
that Azerbaijan remains locked in an unresolved conflict with Armenia
over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

The deputy speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament, Ziafarat Asgarov,
indicated that the legislature would adopt a new strategic doctrine
by mid-2007, the Ayna newspaper reported. A draft of the doctrine is
on the agenda for parliament’s spring session, he added. In the
meantime, Baku has agreed to increase the number of Azerbaijani
troops serving with NATO in Afghanistan, according to Robert Simmons,
the special representative of the NATO Secretary General for the
South Caucasus and Central Asia. As of 2005, Azerbaijan had 22 troops
in Afghanistan, according to the NATO figures.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has named NATO integration as a
top foreign policy priority for Azerbaijan. The country’s
participation in the alliance’s Individual Partnership Action Plan
(IPAP), a set of requirements that must be met by alliance
candidate-members, is scheduled to end in 2007. Azerbaijani
officials, who have already started work on plans for the next
two-year slot of Azerbaijan’s IPAP, have indicated that they want to
continue with the program.

A second IPAP, running from 2007-2009, is expected to be signed with
Azerbaijan soon, said Simmons, who held March 15 consultations in
Baku with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Col. Gen. Safar Abiyev.
Azerbaijan began its IPAP program in 2005. An evaluation of the
program’s initial two years was made in February. Simmons expressed
satisfaction with Azerbaijan’s military reform process. "Azerbaijan
is our reliable partner. The cooperation between Azerbaijan is
successfully developing," the APA news agency quoted Simmons as
saying.

Turkey, a NATO member with strong cultural ties to Azerbaijan, is
ready to act as an expediter of Baku’s reform process. A high-level
military commission is expected to be set up to coordinate bilateral
military cooperation, the Anatolia news agency reported March 1.
Particular emphasis will be put on training, an area that Gen. Ergin
Saygun, deputy chief of the Turkish General Staff, has described as
the most important part of the cooperation between the two states.
Turkey also plans to help Azerbaijan establish an army company that
meets NATO standards, the general said during a trip to Azerbaijan in
late February.

Several Turkish generals are planning to travel to Azerbaijan in late
April on an inspection tour, after which they will make initial
recommendations on Azerbaijani structural reforms, the News of
Azerbaijan news agency quoted Selami Chinbat, the Turkish embassy’s
military attaché in Baku, as saying.

An independent military expert, Ismet Abbasova, expressed hope that
the Aliyev administration’s desire to develop closer ties with NATO
could stimulate broad reforms in Azerbaijan. "I hope there will be
development in the education system because the lack of skilled
military staff indicates that the Azerbaijani army is not up to
modern standards," she said.

If all goes according to the Azerbaijani government’s plan, the
country’s armed forces would meet NATO standards by 2015. The
changeover, however, will not come easily, cautioned Zahid Oruj, a
pro-administration MP who holds an influential position on the
legislature’s Defense and Security Committee. "[T]aking into account
that military reforms are more complicated than economic and
political [reforms], and many officers have a Soviet education, it
will take time," he noted.

The "frozen conflict" with Armenia over the disputed breakaway region
of Nagorno-Karabakh could also hamper plans to create a purely
professional army, commented Lt. Gen. Vahid Aliyev, a military aide
to President Aliyev. "Since Azerbaijan is at war right now, it would
not be right to transform the entire army into a professional one,"
Lt. Gen. Aliyev told the APA news agency in late 2006.

Oruj said the government is currently "seriously" working on plans to
promote civilian leadership of the Defense Ministry. At the same
time, he downplayed media speculation that a civilian would be named
as defense minister anytime soon. "We did not undertake a commitment
on this because the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not ended
yet," he said. A Defense Ministry spokesperson said that he has no
information about which ministry posts might be assigned to
civilians.

Despite probable delays in establishing a professional,
civilian-administered military, Oruj affirms that Baku’s commitment
to NATO stands firm. "We do all this work because our national
interests demand it, and it is our own choice to transition to NATO
standards."

Other top government officials are more cautious. During a February
interview with the German television channel Deutsche Welle,
President Aliyev hinted that Azerbaijani eventual membership in NATO
should not be considered a foregone conclusion. "What will be the
result of this partnership, time alone will show," the Azerbaijani
president said.

Editor’s Note: Mina Muradova and Khazri Bakinsky are freelance
reporters in Baku.

KARABAKH LIBERATION ORGANIZATION ACCUSES MINSK GROUP OF JUSTIFYING SEPARATISTS REGIME OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 15 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend S.Ilhamgizi / The statement made by
the Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) on 15 March says that the
meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Geneva
with the participation of the Co-chairs of the OSCE Mink Group once
again demonstrated the pro-Armenian positions of the mediators.

The negotiations focused on several principles of Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict settlement. Debates were organized on the issue of withdrawal
of the Armenian troops from then regions around Nagorno-Karabakh and
presentation of intermediate status to the separatist regime and
creation of conditions for their relations with the international
organizations. "As seen, the Co-chairs of the OSCE Mink Group do not
want to recognize the fact of occupation of the Azerbaijani lands by
Armenia and try to draw away the attention from the occupation fact,
support Armenian occupation by giving intermediate status to the
separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh," the statement says.

KLO considers that all issues discussed during the negotiations are
contrary to the interests of Azerbaijan. The Co-chairs unambiguously
try to satisfy the requirements of the Armenian side, implement their
claims. Azerbaijan should refuse such negotiations and release its
occupied territories through military way.

ARMENIAN MINISTER SET TO ATTEND CHURCH CEREMONY IN TURKEY
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 15 2007

Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosian said on Thursday that she has
received and will likely accept a Turkish government invitation to
attend the inauguration of a newly renovated 10th century Armenian
church in what is now southeastern Turkey.

The Akhtamar church, one of the finest surviving monuments of medieval
Armenian architecture, will again open its doors after a $1.5 million
restoration ordered and paid for by the government in Ankara. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials are expected
to attend the ceremony, scheduled for March 29, along with nearly
300 guests.

Poghosian confirmed reports that official Yerevan has also been
invited to take part in the event. "Three or four days ago I received
an official invitation from the [Turkish] culture minister to attend
the opening ceremony for the church," she told a news briefing.

"There are technical issues that need to be cleared up. For example,
the issue of how to reach that location."

"Maybe I will go or maybe my deputy will. But I will probably go,"
said Poghosian. Some Armenian non-governmental organizations also
plan to send representatives to the event, she added.

Akhtamar, officially known as the Church of Surp Khach (Saint Cross),
is nestled on an island of the same name on Lake Van. It was built
in 921 A.D. by King Gagik Artsruni, the most famous ruler of the
medieval Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan that existed on the lands
surrounding the big lake.

The mountainous region close to Iran and Iraq was home to dozens of
ancient Armenian monasteries and churches until the 1915-1918 mass
killings and deportations of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Most of
those churches are believed to have been destroyed since then.

The Turkish government initiated Akhtamar’s renovation in 2005 after
being urged by the European Union to consider placing it on UNESCO’s
World Heritage List. It is not clear who will now control the historic
church or whether the Istanbul Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic
Church will be allowed to hold religious services there.

LACK OF PERSONS LIKE ANDRANIK HAROUTIUNIAN IS STRONGLY FELT IN OUR DAYS, ROMIK MKHITARIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Mar 15 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 15, NOYAN TAPAN. "Andranik Haroutiunian was one
of the devotees of Artsakh liberation struggle. He inherited love
for Armenians, patriotism from his grandfather who was from Van,
therefore from the very first days of Artsakh liberation struggle he
left for Berdadzor organizing the region’s self-defence." Prosaist
Sasun Grigorian said this during the March 15 presentation of the book
"Andranik of Berdadzor" held at the Union of Writers of Armenia.

In the words of TV journalist Karen Kocharian, there are few patriots
like A. Haroutiunian: though he was an artist by his soul, he left
everything, went to struggle with arms in his hands and consciously
went to be martyred.

"Andranik was a rock, a mighty personality, whom we need today,"
K. Kocharian said.

In the words of Lieutenant-Colonel Romik Mkhitarian, Adviser to
Chairman of Board of Yerkrapah Volunteers’ Union, lack of persons lack
Andranik is strongly felt in our days. "It’s a pity he died untimely,
as he had much to do both during the war and in the issue of state
building," the Lieutenant-Colonel emphasized.

The Zoravar Andranik Union posthumously gave A. Haroutiunian Zoravar
Andranik memorial medal. Prosaist S. Grigorian gave it to the
freedom-fighter’s son, Vahagn Haroutiunian.

TURKISH PARLIAMENTARIANS IN WASHINGTON TO LOBBY AGAINST ARMENIAN BILL

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
March 12 2007

WASHINGTON D.C. (A.A) -12.03.2007 -Turkish parliamentarians arrived in
Washington D.C. today to lobby against the resolution on the so-called
Armenian genocide, presented to the US House of Representatives.

Turkish MPs are to meet executives of the US Department of State and
members of Jewish organizations, and participate in a meeting to be
organized by Turkish American Council.

This is the second parliamentary delegation visiting the United
States. The first one lobbied against the resolution in the previous
weeks.

Another parliamentary delegation is expected to arrive in Washington
D.C. at the end of this month.

OSKANIAN AND FOURNET STRESSED IMPORTANCE OF INCLUDING SOCIETY INTO ARMENIA-NATO DIALOG

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.03.2007 18:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met
with Deputy Secretary-General of NATO Jean Fournet, the RA MFA Press
Office reports. At the meeting J. Fournet stressed the importance of
NATO week in Armenia launched March 12, in the context of spreading
appropriate information about the Alliance.

He also underlined the importance of dialog and discussions over the
role and place of NATO for the North Atlantic Alliance itself. The two
stressed the importance of including the society into the Armenia-NATO
dialog, which is not limited only to security issues and includes also
a wide range of questions that are of great interest to the society.

Alongside, Vartan Oskanian and Jean Fournet discussed the realization
process of Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP).