Author: Nahapetian Lilit

KIRO MANOYAN: IF AZERBAIJAN CONTINUES TO ACT FROM POSITIONS OF FORCE, ARMENIA WILL RECOGNIZE INDEPENDENCE OF NKR

Noyan Tapan
Oct 20, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. There will be no considerable
progress in negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict until the
new U.S. president’s assuming his post in January 2009, the Head of
the ARF’s Hay Dat (Armenian Cause) and Political Affairs Office Kiro
Manoyan expressed an opinion at the October 20 press conference. "We
must tell the international community that if Azerbaijan continues
to act from the positions of force, Armenia will recognize the
independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic," he declared.

Responding to the question about why at the time the ARF did not
support "Heritage" party’s legislative initiative on recongnizing the
NKR’s independence. K. Manoyan stated: "The recognition of Artsakh’s
independence should proceed from the process of negotiations rather
than the interests of some political force or another."

Confirming that the ARF is discontented with Serzh Sargsyan’s policy
on the NKR problem, K. Manoyan pointed out that in 1998 they were much
more displeased with the version that the first Armenian president
Levon Ter-Petrosian had proposed regarding the solution of the
Karabakh problem.

According to ARF’s representative, there was progress in negotiations
only after the resignation of L. Ter-Petrosian. In the words of
K. Manoyan, the major achievement of the Armenian side in 1998-2008 was
that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs started excluding the possibility
that Karabakh will again make part of Azerbaijan.

A ROUND TABLE ON SITUATION IN THE REGION HELD IN STEPANAKERT

ArmInfo
2008-10-24 19:05:00

ArmInfo. On the initiative of the Armenian branch of the London-based
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, a round table was held in
Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, under the "Karabakh Conversations"
program.

Public figures, politicians, intellectuals and representatives of
the non- governmental sector attended the round table.

As ArmInfo own correspondent in Stepanakert reports, Chairman of
the European Integration NGO Karen Bekaryan came out with a report
"New realias in the South Caucasus, the current state of Armenian-
Turkish relations, prospects of regional cooperation and Karabakh
peace process". He dwelled on the situation in the region after the
war in South Ossetia, the Karabakh peace process in the context of
new realias, possibilities of civil initiatives, etc. In particular,
he pointed out that the Armenian society lacks consolidation of
national conscience, and the society is a passive observer, it
doesn’t react to the ongoing events. He added that the main thing
is to avoid processes endangering Karabakh’s security. "The security
of Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia’s security", Karen Bekaryan said and
added that being independent, Armenia failed to settle the Karabakh
conflict though it managed to maintain the status quo. Bekaryan also
noted that he doesn’t wish Nagorno-Karabakh to gain independence the
way Abkhazia and South Ossetia did. According to him, now that the
USA is holding election Russia is trying to take over the initiative
in the South Caucasus region.

The participants in the round table noted that different power branches
and public of Nagorno-Karabakh should express its viewpoints more
actively, particularly, on Madrid principles, and determine its tasks
and place in modern world. "Karabakh Conversations" program will also
be carried out in Armenia and Azerbaijan.

ARMENIAN MP: IT IS EASIER TO ADOPT A NEW LAW ‘ON DEFENSE’ THAN AMEND THE FORMER ONE

ArmInfo
2008-10-23 18:17:00

ArmInfo. The acting law "On defense" was adopted in May 1997
when Armenia already has armed forces, a governing system and an
established army, Head of the Standing Parliamentary Commission for
Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs Artur Aghabekyan told
ArmInfo correspondent when commenting upon the new law "On defense"
adopted by the parliament in the first reading, Thursday.

Before the adoption of the law in 1997 one was guided by the
government’s decisions, orders of the defense minister and decrees
of the president. "The law was adopted with due regard for our
experience in the defense sphere and the Soviet Union’s experience",
the MP noted. As Aghabekyan noted, for a long time representatives
of the Armenian army familiarized themselves with other countries’
experience, furthermore, after reforming of the Armenian Constitution
it was necessary to bring the law "On defense" in conformity with
the Constitution to enhance the defensive capacity of the Armenian
army. "It was necessary to change a lot of things in the law,
therefore we preferred adopting a new law rather than amending it",
the MP said. He also stressed that the process of elaboration of
the new law started when Serzh Sargsyan was the defense minister of
Armenia. "The main principle laid in the new law is that armed forces
are a non-political structure and are under civil control. Civilians
are to work at the defense ministry, and the defense minister, being
an employee of the government, is also to be a civilian", Aghabekyan
said. Actually, in Armenia all defense ministers were civilians, except
Vagharshak Haroutyunyan, as this was permitted by the law, he added.

RUSSIA TO SUFFER HEAVIER LOSSES FROM GLOBAL CRISIS THAN ARMENIA, EXPERT SAYS

ARKA
Oct 23, 2008

YEREVAN, October 23. /ARKA/. Russia is likely to suffer bigger losses
from the global financial crisis than Armenia, according to Academician
Abel Aghanbekyan, head of the Business Management Doctor Program.

Since Armenia lacks "seatbelts to be safe from the crisis, the country
needs to settle all the issues on-the-run", the expert said at the
roundtable Armenian and Russian Economies Today and Tomorrow.

Armenia and Russia have quite different relations with other courtiers,
and global developments have a contradictory influence on Armenia,
according to Aghanbekyan.

The record-low oil prices can be an advantage and may result in a
two-fold cut in petrol prices, he said, adding local gas-filling
stations will have an opportunity to lower petrol prices.

The expert believes changes in the euro/dollar exchange rate are
likely to influence Armenia depending on the imports and exports.

Aghanbekyan said the global financial crisis would first of all hit
investments in Armenia’s economy.

"Feeling lack of liquidity, people cut donations," he added. Moscow
is now in a difficult situation, as the foreigners who were involved
in urban construction have lost their jobs and do not have money to
return home," Aghanbekyan said.

This will affect foreign transfers to Armenia, according to the expert.

"This will intensify inflation pressure, with the crisis devaluating
savings and hampering the banking business," he said.

Russian non-commercial transfers to Armenia totaled $858.2mln as of
end-August – 38.4% ($620mln) year-on-year increase, the Central Bank
of Armenia reports.

Aghanbekyan believes shrewd and well-organized businesses can derive
benefits from the crisis. "Good companies increase their market share
during a crisis," he said. Good financial organizations buy sinking
stocks to expand their business.

"On the one hand, a crisis is a major stress, on the other hand,
it purifies markets and helps them boost in the future," the expert
added.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION SUSPENDS PROTEST RALLIES – TER-PETROSYAN

Interfax
Oct 17 2008
Russia

The Armenian opposition is temporarily suspending mass protest rallies
for 2-3 months, said opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

"We are suspending mass protest rallies for a period of 2-3 months,
but it doesn’t mean we will not act again," Ter-Petrosyan said at a
rally on Friday.

"This decision was taken due to a threat to Armenia’s statehood
and also the situation with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and Armenia’s foreign policy," he said.

"I said that, in the event of a threat to Nagorny Karabakh, I
will call on all my supporters to suspend their fight and unite to
deal with the threat faced by Karabakh. It’s an extremely important
decision. You must realize that I must have had good reasons to make
such a decision," said Ter-Petrosyan.

"The activity of the opposition movement will weaken the position of
President Serzh Sargsyan and will at the same time increase pressure
from the West. Consequently, the opposition may find itself being
a tool in the hands of the West. Several months down the road, you
will see that this decision was right," said Ter-Petrosyan.

Ter-Petrosyan also called on the Armenian parliament to recognize
the independence of Nagorny Karabakh.

MOLDOVAN TROOPS TAKE PART IN PEACEKEEPING EXERCISE IN ARMENIA

Basapress news agency
October 20, 2008 Monday
Moldovia

Excerpt

Chisinau, 20 October: Moldovan servicemen ranked third among
the militaries from 14 states that took part in a multinational
peacekeeping exercise Cooperative Longbow-Lancer 2008 conducted
between 8 and 20 October in Yerevan, Armenia.

Nicolae Vranie, the head of the 30-strong Moldovan contingent which
participated in the drill, has said that the results achieved in
Yerevan prove that Moldovan servicemen are well trained and their
professionalism is highly assessed at the international level.

The drill was attended by 600 servicemen.

MOVING TO WINTER TIME

A1+
[09:16 pm] 23 October, 2008

Clocks move back an hour on October 26 at 3:00 a.m., told "A1+"
the press service of the Ministry of Economy. This change is in
accordance to the law on the order of estimating time in Armenia,
which was approved on December 10, 1997.

This time change takes place in 122 countries and the first change was
made in 1906 with the initiative of Washington. Although Georgia is
our neighboring country, Armenia has an hour difference. In reality,
our hours must be the same as Georgia because Georgia, Armenia and
Moscow are all in the third time zone. But according to the new NA law,
Armenia has moved on to the 4th time zone.

Clocks will be moved one hour ahead for the summer on the last Sunday
in March in Armenia.

KEENE STATE GENOCIDE AWARENESS LECTURE: "GENOCIDES IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE"

Keene State College
Oct 20, 2008
U.S.A.

KEENE, N.H. 10/20/08 – Professor Donald Bloxham will give Keene
State College Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies’ 2nd Annual Genocide
Awareness Lecture: "Genocides in Comparative Perspective: Does the
Holocaust Fit?" on Monday, October 27. The lecture is free and open
to the public and will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Mabel Brown Room of
Keene State College’s L. P. Young Student Center.

An expert in Holocaust and genocide studies, with focused work on
the Armenian genocide, Bloxham is professor of modern history at
the University of Edinburgh and has authored nearly 50 articles and
book chapters. He is co-editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of
Genocide and serves on the editorial board of the journals Holocaust
Studies, Patterns of Prejudice, and the Journal of Genocide Research.

Professor Bloxham was the 2007-08 J. B. and Maurice C. Shapiro
Senior Scholar-in-Residence at the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum, where he completed his forthcoming book, The Final Solution:
A Genocide and Its Contexts. He is the recipient of the 2007 Raphael
Lemkin Award for genocide scholarship.

The Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies, recognized as a "center of
excellence" by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, has a strong
collection of print and media resources, holds a biennial residential
summer institute for educators, and supports a minor in Holocaust
studies at Keene State College.

One of the nation’s oldest Holocaust resource centers, it is a
nonsectarian organization dedicated to teaching the lessons of the
Holocaust. It fulfills founder Dr. Charles Hildebrandt’s charge,
"to remember … and to teach," through annual community programming
and educational outreach activities.

For a schedule of workshops, in-service training, classroom
presentations, and individual curriculum consultations, visit
For more information, contact Margaret Barney,
[email protected], or call the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies
at 603-358-2490.

MIDDLE EAST QUARTET MAY MEET SOON – RUSSIA’S LAVROV

Reuters India
Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:53am IST
India

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Quartet of Middle East peace mediators may
meet in early November with Israeli and Palestinian participation,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted by Interfax news
agency as saying.

The so-called Quartet of the United States, the European Union, Russia
and the United Nations has been attempting to breath life into the
stalled peace process.

"It would be natural that such a meeting should be held in the Middle
East region. At the present time, the conversation is to conduct
this meeting in the first half of November," Interfax quoted Lavrov
as saying in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

Lavrov said the meeting would take place at ministerial level,
Interfax quoted him as saying. Lavrov is on an official visit with
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Armenia.

Israeli and Palestinian diplomats have been attempting to negotiate a
peace deal that could be finalised before U.S. President George W. Bush
steps down in January, though both sides now doubt an agreement can
be reached in this timeframe.

During the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 26, the Quartet issued a
statement saying it favoured holding an international meeting on the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process in Moscow next year.

LEVON TER-PETROSYAN’S POSITION IS FAIR AND OPEN

ArmInfo
2008-10-18 13:28:00

ArmInfo. The position occupied by the leader of the opposition Armenian
National Congress, the first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan
to stop temporarily holding of rallies is fair and open, secretary
of the Heritage parliamentary faction Stepan Safaryan told ArmInfo
correspondent.

‘Recent regional developments connected with Armenia’s initiative to
establish relations with Turkey as well as the complicated situation
around the Karabakh conflict settlement process are dictating careful
line of actions not only to the authorities but to the opposition of
Armenia as well’, – he said.

‘But stopping of the rallies does not at all mean that the opposition
is going to "ground arms", we shall continue fighting for establishing
the constitutional order in the country, but we are not going to
poison the situation’, – Safaryan concluded.