Author: Madatian Greg

MEETINGS IN BRUSSELS DID NOT PROMOTE NAGORNO-KARABAKH TALKS

A1+
[08:26 pm] 06 September, 2007

"I have nothing new to say about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
resolution process", – said the RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Vardan
Oskanyan today. What was the aim of the meeting of Vardan Oskanyan
with the Minsk Group Co-Chairmen? "The Co-Chairmen simply considered
that a rather long time has passed since we met last.

That was why they initiated out meeting",- answered Vardan Oskanyan
to the question of A1+.

Today Vardan Oskanyan repeated what he said in Brussels: "We are
waiting for steps of mutual compromise and settlement from the
Azerbaijani part.

Their ongoing extremist appeals will not result in progressive
settlement of the process. If Azerbaijan shows courageous policy aimed
at mutual compromise, then the document on the table is sufficient
for registering essential progress on the resolution".

Today the Azerbaijani part has already managed to reflect on the
statement of Vardan Oskanyan and responded that his expectations
were in vain. What is necessary to continue the negotiations under
such circumstances? Answering to our question Vardan Oskanyan said:
"Courageous steps from the Azerbaijani part".

The Minister also ensured that the Co-Chairmen did not put pressure
on any of the concerned parties in the negotiating process and such
rumors did not correspond to the reality.

"The Co-Chairmen are not in the habit of pressing.

They are mediators; they have their means of convincing. Sometimes
they manage to do that, sometimes they do not, but they act within
the frames of logic,-said Mr Oskanyan,-the farther the positions of
the parties are from extreme and are closer to logic, the better the
Co-Chairmen respond to those approaches. The closer your suggestion
is to the logic, the better the approaches of Co-Chairs concede with
your position. We do not complain of the Co-Chairs in this regard".

The Foreign Minister also informed that no changes were anticipating in
the Minsk Group. It concerns the American Co-Chair Matthew Bryza who
recently married Zeno Barani. She is of Turkish origin and is leading
the Azerbaijani lobby in the US and is famous for her anti-Armenian
position.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL PROGRAM ALREADY WORKED OUT FOR COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 5 2007

YEREVAN, September 5. /ARKA/. National program is already worked
out for combating human trafficking in 2007 to 2009. Armenian Deputy
Foreign Minister Armen Bayburdyan, speaking Wednesday at a regional
conference on struggle against trafficking, said that the document
is expected to be approved this month.

Beyburdyan said that the crackdown on human trafficking includes
trafficking pre-emption measures and strict punishment for offenders.

He said that a rehabilitation center would be established for victims
of trafficking.

"It is necessary to combat this phenomenon with joint efforts",
Bayburdyan said.

He said legal ground for the crackdown is already laid in Armenia –
appropriate laws are amended.

The conference organized by Armenian Foreign Ministry and CE human
rights unit will last until September 6.

Representatives of Belgian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Romanian, Russian,
Norwegian and Portuguese organizations as well as PACE and OSCE attend
the conference.

MINISTER OSKANIAN TO ADDRESS SECOND CONVENTION OF EUROPEAN ARMENIANS

armradio.am
06.09.2007 10:50

The European Armenian Federation has announced that Armenia’s Minister
for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Vartan Oskanian, will take part in the
upcoming second Convention of European Armenians. The Convention,
which will be held between October 15th and 16th in the halls of
the European Parliament in Brussels, will bring together Armenians
from throughout the European Union and around the world. This year’s
program will include, for the first time, many delegates from states
newly admitted to the Union.

The first session of the Convention will mark the 20th anniversary
of the European Parliament’s landmark resolution recognizing the
Armenian Genocide.

Among those who will be honored are those who spearheaded the adoption
of this human rights measure in the face of intense opposition, among
them former MEPs: Henri Saby, Ernest Glinne, Alfred Coste-Floret,
Paule Duport, Stan Newens, and Jaak Vandemeulebroucke.

During the course of the two-day Convention, European citizens
of Armenian heritage will have the opportunity to discuss among
themselves the challenges Armenia and Armenians face in a rapidly
changing Europe, and to share their views and priorities on these
issues with Union Union political leaders.

In addition to Minister Oskanian, many other distinguished guests will
participate in the Convention, including many Armenian ambassadors
serving in Europe, as well as, very notably, Mr. Hugues Mingarelli, the
European Commission negotiator in chief for the European Neighbourhood
Policy action plan for Armenia. Mrs Antonia Arslan, the Italian
Armenian intellectual, who wrote the best seller, "the Lark Farm,"
has also confirmed her participation.

European experts, scholars, Armenian organizations leaders, MEPs and
European Commission officials will discuss on Union policy on issues
such as the EU’s partial freezing of negotiations with Turkey, and
the evolution of the Union’s relations with Armenia and the entire
South Caucasus region.

"The Convention in the halls of the European Parliament is a unique
opportunity to raise awareness about issues of European Armenian
concern, among European policy-makers," said Hilda Tchoboian, the
Chairperson of the European Armenian Federation.

THERE ARE NO DETAINEES ON MURDER CASE OF PROSECUTOR OF LORI REGION AS YET

Noyan Tapan
Sep 4, 2007

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN. There are no detainees on the
murder case of the prosecutor of the region of Lori as yet. This
statement was made by Aghvan Hovsepian, the RA Prosecutor General,
during his meeting with journalists on September 4.

He made assertions that the examination of the case is immediately
under his control. "There are numerous versions on this case,
almost all of which concern the activities of Albert Ghazarian as
the prosecutor of the region of Lori. We have had no information
for bringing forth everyday versions so far," Aghvan Hovsepian said,
expressing hope that "this case should be revealed."

RA JUSTICE MINISTRY PROLONGED APPLICATION SUBMISSION TERMS FOR HEIRS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.09.2007 16:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Justice Ministry has prolonged the
terms of assistance in fulfilling application forms for the heirs
of those insured by AXA till December 20, the Ministry’s Spokesman
Lana Msheyan said. "The Ministry launched the assistance program
July 20 and expected to accomplish it till September 20. To date,
lawyers have filed 800 applications," she said.

Only the people whose ancestors are included in the AXA lists
are eligible to submit applications. The lists are posted
web site. You can also call
+37410 58 30 23 to get information.

The following documents should be submitted: the birth certificate,
marriage certificate, death certificate, family tree, letters, photos
and other documents proving the kinship, IA Regnum reports.

Armenians whose ancestors were killed in 1915 will receive some $17
million in all.

ARAM KARAPETIAN PROMISES A SUPER BEST-SELLER BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
By Gohar Gevorgian, Translated by L.H

AZG Armenian Daily #160
05/09/2007

The Chairman of the Nor Zhamanakner Party Aram Karapetian (NZP)
announced at a press conference on September 3 that he would put his
candidacy in the coming presidential elections. "I welcome all the
negotiations of the opposition and will be happy, if the opposition
unites, but I am sure that it will fail to do it and there is no need
to feed the society on false promises", mentioned Aram Karapetian.

According to the predictions of the Head of NZP, 8-10 candidates will
participate in the presidential elections, and the elections will
have a second round; Aram Karapetian and Serj Sargsian will appear
in the second round, if the latter announces his candidacy.

To the question of the reporter of "Azg" daily how Aram Karapetian
could be so confident that he would overcome the first round, he
answered: "I see that we are using maximum financial resources, we
are able to gather the biggest human resources, and we present real
programs with geopolitical analyses without any populism. All these
let me express my own opinion".

What about the finances, Aram Karapetian announced that they had
no problem connected with the finances, and they were even ready
to participate in the elections the next day. According to him, he
is sponsored by his brother who lives in Russia, and relatives from
Armenia and abroad.

What about the finances of the authorities, the Chairman of the NZP
is sure that they will play a big role in the coming elections, too,
though these elections will be more civilized.

"The candidate of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
will be the second candidate of the authorities", announced Aram
Karapetian. "What about Levon Ter-Petrosian, he will not overcome
the first round", the Head of NZP thinks.

It seems that NZP Chairman promises a super bestseller before the
coming elections.

He promises to publish sensational facts about the domestic and
foreign policies of the country since 1992, and facts connected with
the incidents of October 27. "I am ready to defend each fact in the
court", added Aram Karapetian.

"Armenia’s involvement in the Russian-Belarus Union will soon become
a subject of public discussions; I am not against it, but not to the
detriment of our independence", underlined Aram Karapetian. "However,
are we ready to participate in that process?" added the leader of
Nor Zhamanakner Party.

THE SUGGESTION OF THE EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

armradio.am
04.09.2007 17:10

"We are going to apply to the members of the Foreign Policy Committee
of the European Parliament to implement changes in the recurrent
report in the framework of Turkey’s accession to the European Union,"
Chairwoman of the European Armenian Federation Hilda Tchoboyan told
Armenpress, adding that the main objective of the changes is the to
have the report include norms proceeding form the Armenian Issue.

"We attached great importance to the issue of blockade, as well
as the reconciliation between the two countries. Turkey carries
responsibility for these issues. Therefore, the report must include
reference to the above-mentioned matters," said Hilda Tchoboyan, who
managed to get acquainted with the preliminary version of the report,
which includes no reference to those issues.

It should be noted that only after being discussed in the Foreign
Policy Committee, the recurrent report on Turkey’s accession to the
EU will be submitted to the consideration of the European Parliament,
which will probably take place in mid-October.

RA DEFENSE MINISTER: AZERBAIJAN AWARE OF ARMENIAN ARMY EFFICIENCY

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.09.2007 17:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Efficiency of the Armenian army is high,
RA Defense Minister Mikael Harutyunyan said. "If the efficiency
decreases Azerbaijan will not fail to launch hostilities. The fact
that Azerbaijan hasn’t committed aggression so far proves that our
army is efficient enough," he said.

According to the Minister, Azerbaijan is aware of the Armenian army’s
capability to defend the borders.

"That is why Azerbaijan will not launch military operations. However,
in case of necessity the Armenian army will fulfill the tasks set to
it," Harutyunyan said, Novosti Armenia reports.

FRENCH COURT PROLONGS DEADLINE FOR PETITIONS OF HEIRS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS
By Marieta Khachatrian

AZG Armenian Daily #158
01/09/2007

Genocide Recompensing

The French court prolonged the deadline for submitting petitions of
the heirs of the victims of the Armenian Genocide til January 7, the
head of the Vardges Yeghian law firm Armen Baghdoyan said on August 31.

He said there is already a list of 7000 Armenians who had insurance
policies at the French L’Union Vie, Caisse Paternelle and La Confiance
insurance companies, now the AXA company. According to him, the
French court has set up a special committee to study the petitions,
which includes three France-based Armenians. Baghdoyan also said
compensation to the relatives of the victims of the Genocide will
total 11.5 million dollars. Another three million dollars will be
handed out to the Armenian charity funds.

INTEGRATION WITH EUROPE MAY PROVE USEFUL…

AZG Armenian Daily #158
01/09/2007

Ecology

18 more Armenian NGOs expressed anxiety about a number of
programs implemented in Armenia in the frameworks of European New
Neighborhood. Welcoming Armenia’s integration with European structures
in general, they expressed hope that it will help overcoming certain
negative circumstances and directing the country to steady development.

The NGOs detailed that the main causes of their anxiety are violations
of legislation on nature protection, illegal construction and misusage
of nature resources.

Head of WWF Armenian office Karen Manvelian said that nowadays the
nature resources of Armenia are being thoroughly studied, while most
of the attention is being paid to business profit and ecology and
nature protection issues are being neglected.