Author: Khoyetsian Rose

AZERIS LIE BRAZENLY: DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR CAUCASUS STUDIES

news.am
Jan 19 2010
Armenia

Pan-Turkism ideology advocated by Caucasian Tatars — thereafter called
Azerbaijanians brought about Armenian massacres, Director of the Center
for Caucasus Studies at MGIMO Vladimir Zakharov said, speaking at
the Jan. 19 seminar dedicated to 20th anniversary of massacres in Baku.

According to him, though Bolshevik Party banned activities of all
nationalist groups, nationalism has always existed in Azerbaijan.

Moreover, hatred against Armenians passed on from generation to
generation and in present Azerbaijan the image of Armenian as an
enemy is created at the national level.

Speaking of the Soviet leadership stance in the first years of
Karabakh conflict, Zakharov stated that Mikhail Gorbachev was handling
a complex problem of the Soviet Union collapse. As a result he adopted
a wait-and-see attitude advantageous to Azerbaijani side.

The expert also pointed out the weaknesses of Armenian authorities
in conveying the truth of Karabakh conflict to international community.

Zakharov emphasized that counteraction policy against Azerbaijan’s
misinformation should be carried out at the state level. In particular,
a special fund should be created to translate the appropriate
literature into foreign languages.

BAKO SAHAKIAN: AZERBAIJAN SHOULD RENOUNCE NON-CONSTRUCTIVE AND BELLICOSE APPROACHES

Noyan Tapan
Jan 18, 2010

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. NKR President Bako Sahakian
received OSCE Minsk Group American Co-chair Robert Bradtke on January
17. According to the NKR President’s Press Office, a number of issues
regarding the current stage and prospects of Azerbaijan-Karabakh
conflict settlement were discussed at the meeting.

B. Sahakian emphasized that official Stepanakert’s position in the
issue of normalizing the relations with Azerbaijan is kept unchanged:
the conflict cannot be settled under lack of Azerbaijan-Artsakh direct
dialogue. In this connection he mentioned that Azerbaijan should
renounce non-constructive and bellicose approaches. B. Sahakian
reiterated that Artsakh’s independence and security are not a
subject of bargaining, and any attempt of disregarding that fact
makes impossible conflict’s all-embracing settlement.

R. Bradtke, in his turn, emphasized that the variant of solving the
conflict by force is absolutely inadmissible.

Issues regarding the Armenian-Turkish relations were also touched
upon at the meeting. Both sides mentioned that the Armenia-Turkey
and Azerbaijan-Karabakh interrelations are separate processes not
connected with one another.

HRANT BAGRATYAN: ARMENIA NEEDS NEW RADICAL REFORMS
Hasmik Dilanyan

"Radiolur"
18.01.2010 16:40

Representative of the Armenian National Congress, ex-Prime Minister
of Armenia Hrant Bagratyan said he doesn’t believe our country has
overcome the crisis. Furthermore, according to him, the downfall has
not retreated.

"The Republic of Armenia needs new radical reforms," Hrant Bagratyan
told a press conference today.

Touching upon the Armenian-Turkish relations and the decision of the
Constitutional Court on the protocols, Hrant Bagratyan said "in essence
the Court was to declare the protocols conform to the Constitution."

‘KEY TO SETTLEMENT IN HANDS OF KARABAKH PEOPLE’: NALBANDIAN

Tert.am
14:45 ~U 18.01.10

It’s impossible to resolve the issue without the direct involvement
of Nagorno-Karabakh residents, said RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Edward Nalbandian in an interview with Aztatutyan ("Freedom") Radio
on Sunday, adding that the absence of Karabakh’s participation in
talks is the reason for the insistence that the settlement process
is being dragged out. "And as we saw, the key to settlement is in
the hands of the Karabakh people.

"The question of status is a question of the Karabakh people’s
decision. Without Karabakh’s participation, settlement is impossible.

The sooner Karabakh participates in these negotiations, the greater
the possibility of settlement.

"There is no meeting with the three presidents in which we don’t
raise this issue," Armenia’s foreign affairs minister concluded.

CARGO TRANSPORTATION ON SOUTH CAUCASUS RAILWAYS GROWS 3.2% IN 2009

Noyan Tapan
Jan 15, 2010

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The data center of South Caucasus
Railways CJSC informs that cargo transportation indices of the company
in 2009 were as follows: imports made 1,328,366 tons, exports –
345,495 tons.

The main import articles were grain products – 467,484 tons, oil
priducts – 363,035 tons, and container traffic – 137,733 tons. Export
indices for 2009 are as follows: cement – 117,319 tons, container
traffic – 82,062 tons, minerals – 79,323 tons, etc.

Domestic cargo transportation volumes grew considerably, amounting to
1,066,317 tons. The main articles of domestic cargo transportation were
non-ferrous metal and sulphur raw materials – 466,430 tons, mineral
building materials – 200,710 tons, mineral industrial raw materials –
156,837 tons, non-ferrous metals – 84,835 tons. The average increase
in cargo transportation made 3.2% in 2009 as compared to 2008. The
commodity turnover program of South Caucasus Railways was executed
by 100% in 2009.

South Caucasus Railways CJSC is a 100% subsidiary of Russian Railways
OJSC. The concession agreement on Armenian Railways’s concessionary
management by South Caucasus Railways CJSC was signed on 13 February
2008. The term of concessionary management is 30 years, with a right
to extend it for 10 years.

TURKEY HAS TO PASS FROM WORDS TO DEEDS IN PROTOCOLS’ RATIFICATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.01.2010 16:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Positive resolution of RA Constitutional Court
(CC) on Armenia-Turkey Protocols signed was expected, as it provided
legal formulation for political assessment of the documents, voiced
earlier by RA President, RPA parliamentary group secretary Eduard
Sharmazanov said.

As he told a news conference in Yerevan, RA CC resolution has
a binding legal force for all Armenian citizen, including the
authorities. "The resolution served as a legal confirmation to the fact
that Armenia-Turkey protocols contain no preconditions, and obligations
stipulated in the documents do not involve the third party."

RPA parliamentary group secretary emphasized that CC resolution is a
positive signal both to Turkey and international community, meaning
that Armenia is ready to fulfill obligations assumed. "It’s now
Turkey’s turn to pass from words to deed, proving itself consistent
in its policy," Sharmazanov noted.

Commenting on reporter’s questions whether RPA considers RA NA’s
introduction of reservations to Protocols, Eduard Sharmazanov noted
that RPA members don’t see it as necessary: protocols contain no
preconditions and are legally formulated, so Armenian community’s
apprehensions have no grounds.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) was founded in 1990 by Ashot
Navasardyan. The ideological basis of the party is the doctrine of
the Armenian political and military leader of the First Republic
of Armenia Garegin Nzhdeh. The birth of the Republican Party is
organically linked with the national liberation struggle in 1988.

Institutional framework for the establishment of the Republican Party
was formed at the beginning of this struggle by the military-political
union "Army of Independence". As a political party it was registered
on 14 May 1991.

The party has made a significant contribution to the work of the
Coordinating Council of volunteer militias, helping to establish the
rule of law and order in the republic, and after the formation of a
regular national army in Armenia Armenian Republican Party declared
about its demilitarization.

In July 2006, the 10th extraordinary congress of the party declared
the Republican Party of Armenia as National Conservative Party.

Chairman of the party up to 1997 was Ashot Navasardyan, between 1997
and 2005 – Andranik Margaryan. At present, the party is headed by
the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

BAKU IS STILL DANGEROUS FOR ITS PEOPLE

Aysor
Jan 14 2010
Armenia

The deputy of the Armenian Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan
answered to the questions of "Armenpress" news agency, concerning
to the Armenian massacres in Baku 20 years ago. Here is the reply
of the Deputy of the Armenian FM, provided by the RA MFA press and
information department.

Question – Mr. Kocharyan, 20 years ago took place mass pogroms
and exiles of Armenians. How would you describe that crime today
considering the occurred situation?

Answer – The events that took place 20 years ago in Baku following the
demands of the Karabakh people to get their self-determination, was
the usual monstrous policy of ethical cleanings adopted by Azerbaijan
from the very beginning.

The result of it was the forcible exile of around 400.000 Armenians,
the military aggression against the self-determined Nagorno Karabakh,
which brought to many humane and material losses.

The fact that Azerbaijan instead of recognizing its fault and having
responsibility for the results of crimes and aggressions committed
by him continues its anti-Armenian hysteria comes to prove that Baku
keeps staying dangerous for its own people and the region too.

‘IF AZERBAIJAN IS READY TO WAR, IT WILL START IT NOT CONSULTING WITH ANYBODY’, – THE NKR DEFENCE MINISTER SAYS

ArmInfo
2010-01-14 18:34:00

ArmInfo. ‘Peace in our region is preserved only thanks to the power of
the NKR Defence Army. This is our most important success, and raising
the fighting capacity of the army we should permanently force the
enemy to talk to us at the negotiating table but not at the battle
field’, – the NKR Defence Minister, General Movses Hakopyan said at
today’s press-conference in Stepanakert.

When commenting on bellicose statements of Baku Movses Hakopyan said:
‘I don’t think the war will start from statements. All the statements
have their purposes including the domestic political ones. We should
listen to such statements, make correct conclusions and take the
relevant measures to clarify originality of the statements, for which
our state and army have the relevant structures. We have to implement
the relevant work for these statements to remain just statements’,
– the minister said and added he treats all the statements seriously.

He also added that if Azerbaijan is ready to war, it will start it
not consulting with anybody. ‘For me as a defence minister the war
may start just now when I am talking to you. For this reason we keep
a big number of people at the front line and have sub-divisions on
duty, which are ready to war. For this reason soldiers of the NKR
Defence Army do not leave the fighting holes at the front line in the
conditions of neither war nor peace for 16 years’, – the minister said.

Asked about the possibility of snipers removal from the front
line,Movses Hakopyan said it did not take place as Azerbaijan did
not want to sign the relevant treaty with commanders of the NKR
Defence Army.

RIGHTS WATCHDOG SAYS ARMENIA ON VERGE OF ‘NOT FREE’

RFE/RL
January 14, 2010

A Freedom House expert says the Armenian government’s lack of respect
for political and civil rights has it extremely close to being declared
"not free," RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reports.

Christopher Walker, Freedom House’s director of studies, told RFE/RL
that Armenia’s rating by his organization for 2009 is "right on the
border between ‘partly free’ and ‘not free.’"

In its latest survey of freedom in countries around the world,
Freedom House on January 12 gave Armenia a "partly free" status.

Walker said that regarding fundamental issues for being democratic,
"we really haven’t seen any meaningful steps forward" from Armenia. He
said one of the key reasons for that is a "very deep relationship
between politics and economics" in the country.

Walker also pointed to the lingering fallout from the February
2008 presidential election and the deadly unrest in Yerevan that
followed it.

As it does annually, the Washington-based Freedom House rated countries
on a seven-point scale for political rights and civil liberties, with
"1" meaning "most free" and "7" being "least free."

Armenia received "6" and "4" in the "political rights" and "civil
liberties" categories, respectively, as it did last year.

The Freedom House report has provoked differing reactions in Armenia.

"Freedom House is taking a bit of an extreme approach toward us,"
Razmik Zohrabian, a deputy chairman of the ruling Republican Party,
told RFE/RL on January 13.

But Aram Manukian, a senior member of the opposition Armenian National
Congress, said the watchdog should have been even more critical of
Armenia’s rights record.

RUSSIAN, ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTERS DISCUSS DEVELOPMENT OF MILITARY COOPERATION

AZG DAILY
15-01-2010

International

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has held a working meeting
with his Armenian counterpart Seyran Ohanyan, the Russian ministry’s
spokeswoman, Irina Kovalchuk told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

"The parties discussed prospects for the development of military
and military-technical cooperation between Russia and Armenia as
well as regional security problems. Moreover, they focused on the
preparation of Armenian servicemen in higher schools of the Russian
Defense Ministry," she said.

"Russian-Armenian relations in the military sector are strategic
partnership," Serdyukov said, according to the source.