Author: Nahapetian Boris

NIZAMI BAHMANOV: "IF THE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS WANT TO RESTORE THEIR ACTIVITY, THEY SHOULD FURTHER BASE ON THE RESOLUTION, ADOPTED BY UN"

Today.Az
cs/44376.html
April 18 2008
Azerbaijan

The failure of the co-chairing countries to support the UN resolution,
initiated by Azerbaijan is a disgraceful step they undertook.

The due announcement was made by leader of Azerbaijani community of
Nagorno Karabakh Nizami Bahmanov.

"The co-chairs explained the step by saying that the text of the
resolution is a unilateral approach to the conflict settlement. There
is a need to pay attention to the name of the document. The matter is
the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, not of Armenia. The thing is that
Armenia has been engaged in settling the occupied lands by Armenians
since 1992. The Azerbaijani authorities, who learned about it,
drew attention of the world community to the situation. The OSCE
Minsk Group, created for the purpose confirmed, the correctness
of facts presented by Azerbaijan and informed the OSCE leadership
and co-chairs about it. One of the paragraphs of the resolution
consists of it. It reflects facts of arsons in the occupied lands,
destruction of cultural establishments and property of Azerbaijanis,
recognized by the international mission. An uncontrolled zone, where
drug business and other illegal actions are flourishing, has been
created", said Bahmanov.

He noted that all the requirements contained in the document comply
with the international law.

"At the same time, the document positively assesses the mediation of
the Minsk Group and states that the formal may promote the resolution
of the conflict. It points at the recognition of the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan by the United Nations and all other influential
international organizations and countries and stresses the need to
return the Azerbaijanis to their homes and hold discussions on the
status of Nagorno Karabakh following ensuring normal co-existence of
two communities. This is what resolution implies", said the leader.

He said that co-chairs voting against the document is unclear and
caused our resentment.

"The co-chairs undertook this erroneous step as they failed to impose
their proposals on us. The point of proposals, made in Madrid,
is clear. According to them, Kelbajar would stay under Armenia’s
control for an unlimited term. The Lachin corridor would go to
Armenians and the status of Nagorno Karabakh should be defined
before return of Azerbaijanis there. Therefore, these proposals do
not suit Azerbaijan. If the co-chairs want to restore their activity,
they should further base on the resolution, adopted by the UN. They
will not attain the execution of any other plans, which do not comply
with this document. Azerbaijan carries out an active work in this
direction and tries to intensify the activity of the Minsk Group for
the conflict settlement", said Bahmanov.

SENTENCE ON REGULAR SUSPENDED IMPRISONMENT PRONOUNCED ON CASE OF MARCH 1 EVENTS

Noyan Tapan
April 17, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The general jurisdiction court of
Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork-Marash communities presided over by judge
Gagik Avetisian by the April 16 sentence sentenced Ruben Voskanian,
the head of the Armenian National Movement (ANM) party Vanadzor Board,
to 2.5 years’ suspended imprisonment with a probation term of one
year and a half. By the defendant’s mediation the case was examined
by the speeded up investigation order.

R. Voskanian was accused by part 1, Article 225 prim, RA Criminal
Code, organizing and holding a public event by violation of the
established order, and by part 1, Article 316, using violence to a
power representative.

According to the prosecution, R. Voskanian recruited people and sent
to Yerevan to take part in the rallies, as well as used violence not
harmful for life and health to policemen in the morning of March 1
in Liberty Square.

CYPRIOT SPEAKER CALLS PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY "PERFECT TOOL" FOR CYPRUS

Cyprus News Agency
April 15 2008

Nicosia, 15 April: The president of the House of Representatives,
Marios Karoyian believes that parliamentary diplomacy is a perfect
tool" to promote Cyprus’s objectives, to consolidate links and
relations with other parliaments and people, and project the country’s
civilization, which he describes as the "spear of the Republic
of Cyprus".

In an interview with CNA, Karoyian said that Cyprus President
Dhimitrios Khristofias, former house president, is particularly
sensitive to the role the house has to play and has always had a
deep understanding of the problems associated with the running of
the House of Representatives.

"This is why I believe that President Khristofias will have a lending
ear to matters relating to the financial autonomy of the house and
the creation of a department that will prepare legislation," he said.

Karoyian, who was elected to the house presidency in March this year,
said that events in the past couple of years and fate itself have
elevated him to his current post.

In less than two years Karoyian was elected MP of the Democratic Party
(Diko), securing more votes than any of the party’s other candidates,
was later on elected president of Diko and then president of the
House of Representatives.

He has told CNA that he had not planned this course and is fully
aware of the realities of power, saying that the "power that comes
with a high post is not eternal".

"The election to the house presidency charges me with additional
responsibilities to act collectively as the president of the house
and at the same time to continue the work that Mr Khristofias, former
president of the house, achieved in many sectors. On the other hand,
we are called upon to bring about the necessary changes and reforms
we deem are important to strengthen further the role of the parliament
within Cyprus and in relation to its international presence, and at the
same time to promote bilateral relations with many other parliaments,"
he said.

Karoyian noted that the shoulders of any one person are not strong
enough to withstand the problems, emanating from the continuing
occupation of the island’s northern third.

"Collective wisdom is the main parameter of my reasoning and
behaviour," he said, adding that "these elements are necessary for the
parliament, as a temple of democracy, to function in an impeccable
way, appropriate to our civilization, history and the vision we
want to realize, that is to see our homeland, the parliament, the
institutions making important steps forward, adopting innovation and
anything new coming from the technological revolution that has been
going on for the past two decades".

Furthermore, Karoyian said parliamentary diplomacy was important in
promoting Cyprus’s aims, enhancing support in parliaments and peoples,
promoting the Cyprus problem and promoting the Cypriot culture,
which is the spear of the Republic of Cyprus.

"We shall work always bearing in mind that we should serve the interest
of the county," he stressed.

Referring to comments about his Armenian origins, Karoyian said
these were from a small number of persons and that the majority of
the people were not affected by racist syndromes or concepts.

He said he was proud of his origin, proud to be part of the Greek
Cypriot community and would serve the country and the Republic
of Cyprus.

The house president said he aims to establish a two-way communication
with the citizens, which he believes is necessary to convince them that
politics are not some distant concept. Such contact, he explained,
could also help tackle criticism against politicians and politics
in general.

This approach, he told CNA, could make the citizen feel that
"decision-making does not take place behind closed doors and it is
not a dark procedure alien to the citizen."

Karoyian said his first official visit as house president would be
to the Greek parliament.

The house president fended off criticism that his party’s support
for Dhimitrios Khristofias’s candidacy during February’s presidential
elections was in exchange for his election to the house presidency.

He said Diko’s decision to back Khristofias for the presidency
was taken after the party had evaluated the positions of the
two candidates on the Cyprus problem, their credibility and other
political parameters.

AZERBAIJAN ANNOUNCES 53 PCT RISE IN ARMY SPENDING

Reuters
April 15 2008

BAKU, April 15 (Reuters) – Ex-Soviet Azerbaijan, in an armed
standoff with neighbour Armenia, is to increase military spending by
53 percent this year, state media quoted President Ilham Aliyev as
saying on Tuesday.

Azerbaijan fought a war in the 1990s with Armenia over the territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two countries have never signed a peace
treaty and Azerbaijan has not ruled out using force to restore its
control over Nagorno-Karabakh.

"In the past 4-5 years the military and defence budget of the country
has risen from $150 million to $1.3 billion. However Azerbaijan’s
state budget over this period has risen ten-fold," the Azerbaijan
newspaper quoted Aliyev as saying.

"I believe that in the context of an overall increase in government
spending, defence spending should be increased from $1.3 billion to
$2 billion in 2008. Azerbaijan has great military potential and must
strengthen this," he said.

Baku balanced its increased military spending with sustained supported
for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Azerbaijan’s foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on Tuesday
that with the appointment of a new Armenian foreign minister, Eduard
Nalbandyan, he would press for talks, but only on the basis that the
dispute region remains part of Azerbaijan.

"We can discuss the issue of autonomy for Nagorno-Karabakh only within
Azerbaijan" Mammadyarov said.

The International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank, said
in a report last year the fragile truce could be under threat, in
part because Azerbaijan is using cash from energy exports to beef up
its military.

Azerbaijan reported gross domestic product growth in 2007 of 25
percent, driven by revenues from the export of oil and gas. BP is a
major investor in Azerbaijan’s energy sector.

Up to 16 people were killed last month in fighting between Azeri
troops and Armenian forces along the heavily militarised ceasefire
line that separates the two sides, the biggest loss of life in a
single clash for several years. (Reporting by Lada Yevgrashina;
Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Stephen Weeks)

ODESA PREPARING TO OPEN ARMENIAN CONSULATE GENERAL

Noyan Tapan
April 15, 2008

ODESA, APRIL 15, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. Odesa is preparing
to open a consulate general for Armenia in May. This information
was provided by the head of the regional branch of Ukraine’s Foreign
Ministry Kostiantyn Rzhepyshevsky.

Odesa is also negotiating the creation of consulates for Italy,
Austria and Germany.

FOURTH ALL ARMENIAN CONFERENCE OF WRITERS TO BE HELD IN ARMENIA AND ARTSAKH ON JULY 6-13

Noyan Tapan
April 14, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. On July 6-13 the fourth All-Armenian
Conference of Writers will be held in Armenia and Artsakh. More than
seventy writers from different colonies of the Diaspora will take part
in this conference. According to the information provided to a Noyan
Tapan correspondent by Levon Ananian, the Chairman of the Union of
Armenian Writers, the conference will be held under the "The Literary
Young Generation: Challenges of the 21st Century" slogan this year. He
mentioned that on the initiative of the RA Ministry of Culture this
year the conference will be held within the frameworks of the "One
Nation, One Culture" festival.

In the words of Levon Ananian, within the frameworks of the conference
an exhibition-sale will be organized in the square after Sharle
Aznavur together with the RA Ministry of Culture. A collection will be
published, in which the works of the modern Armenian poets of Armenia
and the Diaspora published in the press will be presented. In addition
to this, a number of discussions dedicated to the problems of young
writers, in particular, will be organized.

"Today the young generation is standing in front of the danger of
alienation in the Diaspora. We have no young writers and literary
reproduction any longer in many colonies, particularly in Europe
and Turkey," Levon Ananian said. At the same time he mentioned that
in a number of colonies: in Tehran, Beirut, Aleppo and Los Angeles,
there is still a rising literary generation, the prospect of which,
however, is rather misty.

Levon Ananian stated that the fifth All-Armenian Conference of Writers
is envisaged to be held in Syria in 2010. It was also mentioned that
the conference of the Armenian writers, who write in foreign languages,
organized on the initiative of the Union of Armenian Writers, will
be held in the United States of America next year.

POSTEUROP VISITS HAYPOST

arminfo
2008-04-14 12:26:00

ArmInfo. The Chairman of PostEurop Mr. Bernard Damiens, and the
Secretary General of PostEurop Mr. Ingemar Persson will pay a visit to
HayPost on April 15 and 16, HayPost press release says. The purpose of
their visit will be to introduce PostEurop action plans to HayPost. The
leaders of PostEurop will meet with HayPost management and several
key ministers during their two-day visit to become acquainted with the
transformation progresses of HayPost and to identify key cooperation
and strategic programs for European postal integration. As part of
its objectives of building HayPost into a world-leading postal and
financial service company, HayPost formally became the 45th member
of PostEurop – an Association of 48 European public postal operators
with the intention to optimize postal operations and postal services
in Europe, and to foster greater cooperation between its Members.

As a new member of PostEurop, HayPost will acquire lessons from
the PostEurop networking tools to quickly improve the quality and
standards of its services. The leaders of PostEurop will participate
in officially launching the new HayPost Training Center on April 15
developed with the purpose of increasing the quality of HayPost’s
human capital, followed by an official opening of the newly renovated
post office No. 68 on April 16. The PostEurop Chairman and Secretary
General will also personally meet with RA Minister of Trade and
Economic Development, Nerses Yeritsyan, and State Property Management
Head, Karine Kirakosyan, as well as meet with HayPost management and
staff. HayPost CJSC is the national postal operator of the Republic
of Armenia operating through its 900 post offices throughout Armenia.

Today HayPost is undergoing a number of organizational and operational
changes with the purpose to ensure sustainable efficient services
and serve its customers more proficiently. In compliance with the
agreement signed on November 30, 2006 with the Government of Armenia,
the Dutch HayPost Trust Management B.V. is currently responsible for
the operational management of the Armenian national postal operator
with the objective to strengthen HayPost as a viable and credible
postal and financial service entity, meeting all international postal
and bank standards.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 12 2008

Agency says Azeri TV, radio signals can reach Armenian capital, Iran

Baku, 12 April: Several TV channels of Azerbaijan can be broadcast
over the area up to Yerevan in Armenia and one-third of Iran.

Communications and Information Technologies Minister Ali Abbasov has
said that foreign TV and radio broadcast interventions occur not only
in Azerbaijan, but abroad as well, APA reports. We are trying to
prevent this through mutual agreement, the minister said and added
that the situation in Azerbaijan is improving in this regard by the
year.

The small-scale intrusions that affect the broadcast of TV and radio
in some regions of Azerbaijan are the consequence of the failure of
private stations to comply with certain technical parameters, Abbasov
said.

HIS HOLINESS GAREGIN II CONVEYS HIS PONTIFICAL BLESSING TO PM TIGRAN SARGSYAN

armradio.am
11.04.2008 13:18

His Holiness Garegin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, congratulated and conveyed his pontifical blessings to
the newly appointed Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan. The
message says, in part:

"Dear Prime Minister,

>From the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin we convey our pontifical
blessing to you and congratulate on the occasion of your appointment
as Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.

You have had a valuable contribution to the organization and
development of Armenia’s economic life by chairing the Central Bank
of Armenia and initiating and fulfilling various programs. Knowing
your fervency and devotion to our Motherland, we believe you will have
your efforts serve the further progress, wellbeing and prosperity of
our country, fulfillment of the hopes of world-spread Armenians.

It is our prayer to heaven, that God protect you in peace and security
and grace you success and achievements in your responsible position
of the Prime Minister for the sake of our Motherland and people."

AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 301 FOUND UNSATISFACTORY

Today’s Zaman
April 10 2008
Turkey

An amendment to Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) included
in a "democracy package" submitted to Parliament by the ruling party
has not satisfied lawyers.

Article 301 has been criticized for stifling freedom of speech as
it forbids insulting "Turkishness." The amendment proposes changing
"Turkishness" to "Turkish nation," but experts note that there is
no difference in meaning. The amendment also calls for any cases to
be prosecuted under Article 301 to be pre-approved by the president,
though experts say this could create problems in terms of practicality.

They argue that the amendment will not meet the needs on the issue
and that more radical changes to the article are necessary in order
to avert any further problems, adding that the president could be
drawn into political debates because of the new version of the article.

The amendment would decrease the maximum sentence associated with
the article to two years. The amendment makes prosecution related
to the article contingent on the president’s approval and changes
phrases such as "Turkishness" to "Turkish nation" and "republic" to
"Turkish Republic."

Attorney Yucel Sayman does not find the government’s draft amendment
satisfactory. "Changing some words would not change anything
in essence. ‘Turkishness’ implied something more tangible; the
‘Turkish nation’ is fiction — it does not have a definite beginning
or end," Sayman said. He also stressed that requiring the president
to approve cases would create a new post of guardianship, making
it more difficult to judge cases impartially. "Any step other than
completely revoking Article 301 would be tantamount to our democracy
plunging into marshland," he said.

Erdal Doðan, lawyer for the late Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink, murdered after he was convicted of violating Article 301,
called the amendment cosmetic. Doðan claimed that articles such as
301 and 305 had to be completely removed from the Constitution. "Even
if you amend an article like 301, what will you do about established
practices and adjudications that we can call racist? And on the other
hand, even if the current president proves sensitive enough to stop any
lawsuits in relation to the article from being filed, the attitude of
his successor will still be uncertain. I do not think that either the
Turkish nation or the Turkish state is so helpless as to need such an
article. The aim should be taking the rulings of the universal court of
human rights as a precedent. The government should act courageously on
this. They should not prepare incomplete democratic packages," he said.

Professor Baskýn Oran, who is also being tried in relation to Article
301, claimed that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) had
simply ignored Article 301 because it feared neo-nationalists.

Oran maintained that the only real amendment to the article was
the introduction of the president’s approval and that this, too,
was realized to appease everyone for the time being. The condition
of having to have the president’s approval in order to proceed with
cases will prevent prosecutors from opening such cases frequently;
however, if the next president is elected from among neo-nationalists,
that will not be possible, either, Oran noted.

Oran also said that practices in Turkey were at the discretion of
people in power and not of institutions, noting that the amendment
thus had the same quality.

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