REFEREE FROM ARMENIA
A1+
[02:42 pm] 07 November, 2007
Chairman of the Armenian Basketball Federation Hrach Rostomian has
been appointed referee of "Kozachka"-"Neuchatel" basketball match
within the framework of the European Women’s Basketball Cup Final. The
meeting is scheduled for November 8 in the Ukrainian city of Zaparoje.
This is the first time an Armenian referee has won honour on
international level.
THE HALO TRUST USA
850 SEVENTH AVENUE, SUITE 506
NEW YORK, NY 10019, USA
T: +1 212 581 0099, F: +1 212 581 2029
[email protected]
[email protected]
Non Profit Corporation
November 6, 2007
PRESS RELEASE
MAJOR GIFT TO CLEAR MINEFIELDS IN NAGORNO KARABAKH
The Walnut Creek, California-based Julia Burke Foundation has made a
significant commitment to the reconstruction of Nagorno Karabakh
with a three-year pledge in support of minefield clearance by The
HALO Trust, a British and American charity specializing in removal
of landmines and other explosive remnants of war.
The commitment includes an immediate grant of $400,000, to be
followed by `challenge grants’ in 2007-08 and 2008-09. These
`challenge grants’ will match on a dollar-for-dollar basis other
private funds raised by The HALO Trust, up to $300,000 in each year.
The first challenge grant opens November 5th.
Nagorno Karabakh suffers the world’s highest per capita casualty
rates from landmines and explosive remnants of war – surpassing even
Afghanistan and Cambodia. Although clearance operations to date
have resulted in a significant decline in casualties (14 last year,
down from the 2004 peak of 43), much work remains both to eliminate
casualties and to return mined land to productive use. HALO
calculates the cost of the remaining work at $15 million. Depending
on the speed of fundraising, the job could be finished within five
years.
HALO’s mineclearance operations in Nagorno Karabakh are currently
supported by the governments of the United States, the United
Kingdom and the Netherlands. Additional support has been provided
by private foundations, including the Cafesjian Family Foundation,
The Cooperative Bank, Pro Victimis, Newman’s Own Foundation,
Actiefonds Mijnen Ruimen, and by donations from individuals in the
United States.
`We are very satisfied with the professionalism of the HALO Trust
and the quality of their work in Nagorno Karabakh,’ said Vardan
Barseghian, NKR Representative to the U.S. `On behalf of my
government and the people of Nagorno Karabakh, I thank the Julia
Burke Foundation for their generous and very thoughtful gift, which
through the HALO Trust’s work will help save lives and also free our
beautiful land from landmines. I also call upon our American friends
to step up to the challenge grant and join this noble effort to
eliminate the deadly danger of landmines in Artsakh.’
HALO’s Nagorno Karabakh Program Coordinator Gala Danilova is
currently on mission to the U.S. to raise awareness about the state
of progress in Nagorno Karabakh and to encourage individuals and
groups to participate in the challenge grant. Groups interested in
organizing a presentation by Ms. Danilova should contact The HALO
Trust on (212) 581-0099. Donations can be made online at
or by telephone at 1-877-HALO-USA. One
hundred percent of all donations made under the challenge grant will
go directly to mineclearance in Nagorno Karabakh.
More information about the Julia Burke Foundation can be found at
Contact: Andrew Lyons, Vice President, The HALO Trust USA, (415)
359-9453, [email protected]
HUMANITARIAN MINECLEARANCE IN:
AFGHANISTAN, CAMBODIA, SRI LANKA, MOZAMBIQUE, ANGOLA, SOMALILAND,
SUDAN, GEORGIA, KOSOVO, and NAGORNO KARABAKH
PUBLIC COUNCIL TO BE SET WITHIN ARMENIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
ARKA
Nov 5, 2007
YEREVAN, November 5. /ARKA/. A public council will be set up within
the Ministry of Defense of Armenia.
The Ministry of Defense currently discusses the draft decree of Defense
Minister about establishing a public council within the Ministry,
the Press Service of Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported.
According to the draft decree, the public council is to ensure
cooperation of the Defense Ministry and Armenian citizens in protecting
the fundamental freedoms and human rights in the country’s Armed
Forces, as well as coordination of interests of public organizations,
state agencies and local governments in developing civil society
principles and control over the Armed Forces.
According to the press release, the Public Council is an advisory
body to be formed on volunteer basis. Figures of science, education,
sports and other fields are to be involved in the Council.
SAMAD SEYIDOV: ARMENIA ALLOCATES $25 MILLION TO FORM NAGORNO KARABAKH’S BUDGET, WE ARE READY TO ALLOCATE $100 MILLION
APA
[ 05 Nov 2007 19:12 ]
"I hope that you have read the resolution of the Council of Europe
on Nagorno Karabakh, which shows that Nagorno Karabakh community,
both Azerbaijanis and Armenians should reach an understanding and
take measures in this direction," Samad Seyidov, head of Azerbaijani
delegation to the Council of Europe said in the Nagorno Karabakh panel
in the framework of the event on "frozen conflicts" organized by the
Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
(PACE) and German Institute for International and Security Affairs
in Bundestag, APA European bureau correspondent reports.
Samad Seyidov mentioned that Nagorno Karabakh Armenians drove out
Azerbaijanis living there.
"If we speak about Nagorno Karabakh people, please take into account
60,000 Azerbaijanis living there. The second thing is that Nagorno
Karabakh representatives participated in the talks several years
ago and our colleagues know it. Let’s see who participates in these
negotiations as a leading force? Armenian military units have been
placed in Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh
passes military service in Armenia, budget of Nagorno Karabakh is
the main part of Armenian budget, Armenia announced Nagorno Karabakh
its main part due to Constitution Act adopted in 1989. This law is in
force by now. Then it is clear whom we have to carry out negotiations,"
he said.
Samad Seyidov stated Azerbaijan’s position regarding this issue.
"We are ready to carry out debates with people in Nagorno Karabakh
and I wonder why Nagorno Karabakh Armenians do not invite Nagorno
Karabakh Azerbaijanis to Karabakh? It is surprising why Armenians
fire at Nagorno Karabakh Azerbaijanis when they want to return
to their native lands? How can we carry out negotiations when
Armenian community of Nagorno Karabakh deviates from considering
themselves Azerbaijani citizen? We are ready to negotiations and we
can guarantee Nagorno Karabakh. But Nagorno Karabakh side does not
accept our terms. There is only one way-conflict should be solved
in the framework of international law. You know that territorial
integrity of states and nations’ defining their fortune does not
contradict each other. We are ready to give all necessary rights to
Nagorno Karabakh today. Armenia allocates $25 million to form Nagorno
Karabakh’s budget. But we are ready to allocate $ 100 million and
more to Nagorno Karabakh today," he said.
100 SCHOOLS WITHIN JURISDICTION OF YEREVAN MAYOR’S OFFICE TO BE HEATED WITH PRIVATE BOILER HOUSES IN WINTER
Noyan Tapan
Nov 5, 2007
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. 100 schools functioning within the
jurisdiction of Yerevan Mayor’s Office will be heated with private
boiler houses in winter. As Kamo Areyan, the Deputy Mayor of Yerevan,
said at the November 5 press conference, private boiler houses worked
only in 52 schools last winter.
According to K. Areyan, the Mayor’s Office has submitted a draft
program of 2008 local heating system of schools and pre-school
institutions to the RA government. According to it, next year it
is planned to provide 34 schools and 36 kindergartens with private
heating system within the limits of allocations of nearly 1b drams
(nearly 303 thousand USD) of Yerevan’s town expenditures.
The Deputy Mayor also said that by the decision of the RA Ministry
of Education and Science, autumn and spring holidays will be given
only to 1-3-form pupils in Yerevan schools. And spring holidays of
4-11-form pupils will be joined with their winter holidays. And winter
holidays will be established for all in the period from December 24
to January 20.
ic Wales, United Kingdom
Nov 3 2007
Genocide victims remembered
Nov 3 2007 by Katie Bodinger, South Wales Echo
A MEMORIAL to mark the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in
the early 20th Century was due to be unveiled today.
The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly, Lord Elis-Thomas, will
take part in the ceremony outside the Temple of Peace in Cardiff,
calling the deaths `one of the biggest genocides the world has ever
seen’.
Armenians claim 1.5 million people were either murdered or died
through starvation. Turkey insists there was no policy of genocide and
claims 300,000 Armenians died in inter-ethnic violence.
Lord Elis-Thomas said: `The fact that the funds for this fine memorial
have been raised entirely by the Armenians who live in Wales and that
it will occupy a special place here in the Temple of Peace, reflects
the vibrant Welsh interest in the history of Armenia.’
The monument, made of pink stone and Welsh slate, was designed and
crafted by stonemason Ieuan Rees of Betws, near Ammanford.
It carries an inscription in English, Welsh and Armenian, which reads,
`In memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide’.
But the memorial has provoked angry protests from the Turkish
community.
Hal Savas, of the Committee for the Protection of Turkish Rights,
said: `The allegation of genocide is entirely unproven.’
But a spokesman for the Armenian community said: `We hope they will
come to terms with history.’
diff-news/2007/11/03/genocide-victims-remembered-9 1466-20056103/
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 3 2007
Ganira Pashayeva offers establishing a body to thwart anti-propaganda
against Azerbaijan
[ 03 Nov 2007 15:30 ]
`Maps, books, postcards, discs, records and other materials about
Nakhchivan’s culture, history and monuments have already been sent to
Azerbaijani Diaspora in Los Angeles.
One of the heads of our Diaspora Javid Huseynov appealed to us and we
sent the materials we gathered from Heydar Aliyev Foundation and
Nakhchivan’s representation in Baku. Armenians again plan to have
debates and present the first part of their film about Nakhchivan,’
parliamentarian Ganira Pashayeva told APA.
The parliamentarian said that materials are also being gathered for
our Diaspora organizations in New York. Ganira Pashayeva said
Azerbaijani students in the US are mainly dissatisfied that there are
very few books about Azerbaijan, as well as Nakhchivan in the US
libraries. Ganira Pashayeva noted the necessity of preparing websites,
books and films about it.
Debates on Azerbaijan’s place in the region and role in energy
security will be held in Georgetown and Harvard universities with
support of Azerbaijani Turkish Entrepreneurs Union in December. We
agreed to devote a part of this meeting to Armenians’ claims against
Nakhchivan. A high-level Azerbaijani delegation will leave for the
US. We should not stop our propaganda a moment.
Armenians have already announced `Nakhchivan stage’ for them and
started separatist propagations. Our Diaspora should be active. I was
said in US that Armenian students assist congressmen free of
charge. All documents, materials are sent with assistants. Our
students should also think about such activities,’ she said.
Ganira Pashayeva offered establishing a body to thwart anti-propaganda
against Azerbaijan.
`We do not fight with Armenia. Armenia is weak in front of us. We are
vis-Ã -vis Armenian Diaspora and we should not forget that they
will continue this activity. They will respond to anti-propagation
against Azerbaijan, write articles on historical realities in foreign
media, publish books, brochures, prepare documentary films, find out
events, panels, positive and negative articles about Azerbaijan,
investigate their source and organize discussions in academic centers.
We need organization which will translate historical books related
with Azerbaijan into English and place it in leading libraries of the
world. This organization should be responsible for the above-said. It
can be subordinate to any organization or function freely. This
organization should also have relations with relevant state bodies,’
she said. /APA/
RESOLVING THE KURDISH DILEMMA
By Edward P. Joseph And Michael E. O’Hanlon
Wall Street Journal
Nov 2 2007
As President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prepare for
next week’s crucial meetings with Turkey’s leaders about the attacks
by Kurdish PKK rebels, they should look beyond crisis management
to deal with the wider Turkish-Kurdish agenda. If they do, it is
possible that the political stalemate within Iraq can begin to be
broken as well. Broadening the agenda could make diplomacy easier.
Iraq’s responsible Kurdish establishment is appealing to Washington
for support. Kurdish leaders like Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister
Barham Salih see the U.S. as the indispensable player in resolving
the crisis. Turkey has put aside anger over a recent Congressional
resolution on the Armenian genocide; it also looks to Washington to
advance its legitimate demand that the PKK threat in northern Iraq
be dealt with once and for all.
The problem is that, while Washington is relevant politically, it
will be tough to broker a deal that will meet Turkish expectations.
The momentum in Turkey towards a decisive military confrontation is
strong. So is the resistance in the Kurdish region of Iraq towards a
crackdown on the PKK, which is popular among Kurds along both sides
of the border.
Mr. Bush and Ms. Rice may be tempted to simply soothe tempers and
focus on the PKK problem. But all indications are that won’t solve
much. And a Turkish invasion, even if limited to the Qandil Mountain
stronghold of the PKK, could have disastrous consequences. It would
destabilize the most successful part of Iraq and further solidify
Kurdish nationalism — rendering compromise over the flashpoint,
oil-rich town of Kirkuk even more difficult.
Averting crisis in Kurdistan requires dealing with the three most
neuralgic issues: the PKK, oil and Kirkuk. Turkey sees Kurdish control
of Kirkuk and its oil as the precursor to a Kurdistan independent from
Iraq, which could in turn lead to the violent breakaway of Turkey’s
Kurdish region. Iraqi Kurds see Kirkuk as an inalienable piece of
Kurdish patrimony and a source of revenue-producing oil and gas. A
comprehensive deal will take some time to negotiate. But a signal from
Washington to finally deal with all these issues, and make tradeoffs
across all three, could be the key to defusing the current crisis.
Instead of simply delaying resolution of Kirkuk, as Washington has
asked the Kurds to do so far, the U.S. should table creative options
like giving the town a "special status" under the Iraqi constitution.
The constitution’s wide federalism provisions permit making Kirkuk
its own region, while at the same time guaranteeing full power-sharing
and property rights for its Turkomen, Arab and other minorities.
While not achieving maximal Kurdish aspirations to reclaim all of
Kirkuk under their control, a special status would advance much of
the Kurdish agenda without crossing Turkish red lines. It would also
stimulate much-needed dialogue with Kirkuk’s sizeable non-Kurdish
minority, roughly 40% of the population.
As for oil, the Kurds have been a major obstacle to a comprehensive
package on production and revenue-sharing necessary for a political
settlement in Iraq as a whole. In July, a breakthrough seemed close,
but fell apart largely over Kurdish concerns about their autonomy to
enter into contracts unfettered by Baghdad. Likewise, the question
of whether Kirkuk’s oil and gas is from "current fields" (subject to
sharing with others in Iraq) or "new fields" (possibly exempt from
the same kind of sharing) is another nettlesome question that has so
far defied resolution.
Up to now, Kurdish leaders have adroitly played their role as
"kingmaker" in Baghdad — helping determine which Shiite leader
governs Iraq in exchange for freedom to assert their demands on
oil and Kirkuk. Now, these same Kurdish leaders, facing their most
serious crisis since the U.S. invasion in 2003, might be more willing
to listen to creative, carefully crafted proposals from Washington.
An oil deal addressing Kurdish concerns about interference from
Baghdad, while providing firm guarantees about production and revenue
sharing, is certainly possible. And a breakthrough on oil could
advance discussions on the other political questions. Progress on
Kirkuk might make possible a badly needed conversation in Baghdad on
political arrangements to accommodate the concerns of the capital’s
mixed populations (such as helping people to relocate safely if they
feel the need), while acknowledging the reality, as seen in Kirkuk,
that the country’s demographics have been altered by war.
Mr. Joseph is visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies. Mr. O’Hanlon directs the "Opportunity 08
Project" at the Brookings Institution.
GEORGIA SEES NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT AS A THREAT TO IT
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 1 2007
Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili signed the variant of the
document on assessing threats against Georgia for 2007-2009. APA
reports quoting Novosti Gruziya that according to the document,
conflicts in the neighboring countries have negative influence on
Georgia’s security.
"Frozen conflict in Karabakh impedes the formation of common interests
among South Caucasus countries concerning the issues of foreign policy
and security and rapid development of the region. If Karabakh conflict
breaks out, the situation in the region will become tenser and it will
pose threat for the implementation of transport and energy projects,"
the document says.
SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
armradio.am
01.11.2007 10:48
November 27-28 the Armenian Gencoide Museum Institute will hold
an international scientific conference dedicated to issues of the
Armenian Genocide, historic memory and preservation of cultural legacy.
The conference will feature historians and political scientists from
a number of countries, Press Secretary of the Armenian Genocide Museum
Institute Inga Zarafyan told Armenpress.