Author: Nahapetian Samvel

ARMENIA: ANOTHER DELAY IN THE "CASE OF THE SEVEN"

EurasiaNet
March 6 2009
NY

A Yerevan court has postponed to March 9 a hearing for seven supporters
of ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian who are charged with organizing
deadly post-election clashes in March of 2008.

In a heated exchange with the judge, defendant Shant Arutyunian,
a former mayor of the town of Abovian, questioned the court’s
competence and objectivity. Arutyunian was eventually thrown out of
the courtroom. Calling the judge "an idiot," former foreign minister
Alexander Arzumanian left the courtroom in protest, followed by the
other five defendants, news agencies reported.

The defendants make up a who’s-who list of former senior Armenian
officials. Aside from Arzumanian and Arutyunian, the group includes
three parliamentarians, another onetime Abovian mayor and the
ex-security chief for the minister of internal affairs.

KARABAKH: DETERIORATION INEVITABLE;
by Aleksei Matveyev

WPS Agency
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 6, 2009 Friday
Russia

Confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot help affecting
the talks

RUSSIA WILL DISAGREE WITH DEPLOYMENT OF CONTINGENTS FORM THE THIRD
COUNTRIES IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH; Nagorno-Karabakh: nothing to show for
all the peace efforts.

The situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict area remains
problematic. Clashes and skirmishes along the line of contact between
the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan are reported on
a daily basis. The authorities in Baku on the one hand and Yerevan
and Stepanakert on the other pin the blame on each other.

That skirmishes in the conflict area continue is not exactly surprising
because Armenia and Azerbaijan have never stopped boosting their
military potentials. When bullets fly, political agreements become
even more difficult to reach.

A meeting in Davos in the last days of January failed to bring
presidents Serj Sargsjan (Armenia) and Ilham Aliyev (Azerbaijan)
any closer to signing of the final document that would settle the
conflict. Commenting on the negotiations, Sargsjan said Armenia
knew better than forsake the national idea for issues of secondary
importance. Aliyev in his turn reiterated that Azerbaijan would never
grant Nagorno-Karabakh independence and sovereignty.

OSCE Minsk Group chairmen Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Bernard Fassier
(France), and Matthew Bryza (United States) got the floor after
the presidents. They said final principles of settlement would
have to be worked out yet on the basis of the proposals formulated
during the conference of OSCE foreign ministers in Madrid, Spain,
in November 2007.

The OSCE is not the only intermediary going out of its way to settle
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Russia has been doing all it can to
solve the problem too. President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and his
Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts met in Moscow on November 2,
2008, and signed the so-called Karabakh Conflict Peaceful Settlement
Declaration.

Turkey is trying to edge in as an intermediary too. On February 11,
the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet featured a piece titled Karabakh Plan
claiming that Armenia and Azerbaijan had given partial consent to
some key issues of settlement.

According to the newspaper, settlement of the conflict should include
several phases. Return to Azerbaijan of control over several districts
(Fizuli, Agdam, Jabrail, Kubatly, Zangelan) will constitute the initial
phase. Azerbaijani population will return to these territories during
the second phase. An interim administration will be established in
Nagorno-Karabakh after that. Azerbaijan will open all roads to the
enclave. Finally, the Turkish plan stipulates the deployment of an
international contingent of peacekeepers in the region in the final
phase. Also importantly, this contingent is not supposed to include
representatives of the warring sides or countries involved in the
negotiations.

These initiatives have enemies in Armenia and Azerbaijan
alike. Position of Russia is to be taken into account too. It is
unlikely that Moscow will want the region policed by contingents from
the third countries. This development amounting to foreign military
presence in the Caucasus cannot please Russia.

In other words, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement remains in a
blind alley. Attempts to solve the problem by sheer strength of arms
cannot be ruled out.

ARAB BUSINESSMEN SHOW GREAT INTEREST IN ARMENIA AS COUNTRY FOR INVESTMENTS

Noyan Tapan

M arch 5, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The UAE Minister for Foreign Trade
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, who is on a visit to Armenia at the invitation
of RA Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsian, took familiarization trips
to Nor Hachn’s diamond manufacturing enterprises and Tsakhkadzor on
March 5.

In Nor Hachn, she was introduced to the current state of Armenia’s
gem and jewelry sector, the technologies of the sector and the
possible directions of its development, the investment and export
opportunities. Then the minister went to Tsakhkadzor where she
familiarized herself with the current state and potential of the
production and processing of agricultural products, investment and
export opportunities, as well as the opportunities of cooperation
and implementation of investment programs in the tourism sector.

N. Yeritsian said that the main purpose of the visit is to develop
short-term and long-term programs that will enable to ensure an
inflow of investments into Armenia from the UAE, a country with a
developed economy.

The minister announced that some agreements have already been reached,
in particular on export of Armenian agricultural products to the UAE.

In the words of businessman Isa Bin Naser, they were unaware that
Armenia has quite a lot of sectors where it is possible to establish
cooperation. He said that during the visit, an agreement was reached to
found joint ventures and develop programs that will promote cooperation
and economic links between the two countries. "We mainly show interest
in agriculture, light industry and tourism. The scope of cooperation
is quite wide so Armenia is of great interest to us – in terms of
investments and its georgaphical location," the businessman said.

CO-CHAIRS OF OSCE MINSK GROUP ISSUE STATEMENT

A1+
[08:35 pm] 05 March, 2009

The Charge d’Affaires of the US Mission to the OSCE, Kyle Scott, issued
the following statement in the OSCE’s Permanent Council today on behalf
of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Bernard Fassier
of France, Yury Merzlyakov of Russia and Matthew Bryza of the United
States. "On behalf of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, France,
the Russian Federation and the United States, I have the following
statement to make: The Minsk Group Co-Chairs condemn the shooting
incident near Goradiz along the Line of Contact on February 26,
when shots were fired during a monitoring mission carried out by the
Personal Representative of the Chair-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk. We
call on the parties to adhere scrupulously to the ceasefire and
express our deep regret that over 30 people have died and 50 have been
wounded in 2008 as a result of ceasefire violations. We condemn in the
strongest terms the violation of the ceasefire during the course of
an OSCE monitoring mission, particularly given that local commanders
provided written security guarantees to the OSCE monitoring mission
just prior to their monitoring activities on February 26. We call for
an explanation from the parties for how such an egregious violation
of the ceasefire could have taken place. We regret that not all of the
parties agreed to the recommendation made by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs
at the Ministerial Council meeting in Helsinki in December 2008 to
pull snipers back from the Line of Contact. We express full support
and admiration for the work of Personal Representative Kasprzyk and
his team, and underline the importance of monitoring the Line of
Contact as a confidence building measure between the sides."

WOMEN DIRECTORS OF PRIVATE COMPANIES: ARMENIA – TOP TEN

Panorama.am
12:47 06/03/2009

Armenia is nominated in the list of top ten of those countries where
the women direct private companies. The list of top ten includes
Malaysia, Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil, reports Grant Thornton which has
made a survey in 36 countries of the world.

According to the results of the survey Philippines occupies the first
horizontal (47%), Russia is the second (42%), Thailand – the third
(38%).

According to the survey results the rate in Great Britain, USA,
France and Germany is low. Japan is the last country in the list (7%).

QUESTIONS TO HIS EXCELLENCY DEMETRIS CHRISTOFIAS

GIBRAHAYER e-Magazine
March 4, 2009

28th of February 2009 Paris – France

Mr. President, We, the Pro Edvcatio* worldwide International movement,
read the three press releases – namely that of an AGBU (Armenian
General Benevolent Union) based in New York, USA, issued on the 6th of
February 2009, and those of the Melkonian Alumni Association of Cyprus
and the Melkonian Alumni & Friends of Los Angeles CA, USA. Issued
respectively the 10th and 11th of February 2009 and published in
the Gibrahayer e-magazine all of the three press releases being on
the subject of the MEI (the Melkonian Educational Institute based in
Nicosia -Cyprus) crisis.

The president of the above-mentioned AGBU Mr Berj Setrakian and one
of his fellow members Mr Benon Sevan of Nicosia met with you in your
office on the 22nd of January, as well as with the President of the
House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus Mr Marios Garoyian,
the same day, and the Minister of Education and Culture Dr Andreas
Demetrios, the House Representative Mr Takis Hadjigeorghiou and the
Executive Dean of the University of Nicosia Dr Nicos Peristianis,
the 23rd of January. The agenda of these meetings was about the
MEI property as well as the past, present and future projects of
their AGBU.

Our20analyses, of the contents of those three press releases engender
the following questions and remarks:

Do you think that an AGBU has the legitimacy to deal with such matters
and projects that involve the complete alteration and the dismantlement
of MEI?

Did your office make the necessary inquiries to ascertain the limits
of your visitors’ legal rights and their legitimacy?

Do you think that, in an "Etat de Droit", the legality could prevail
over legitimacy for the above mentioned topics?

Do you think that Cultural Communities of Western Armenians – citizens
of several sovereign countries, amongst which the Republic of Cyprus –
could be considered the colonies of the Republic of Armenia or might
be represented by a philanthropic organisation such as an AGBU?

Do you think that friendly – even excellent – relations between the
Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Armenia could override the
protection and the development of the Western Armenian Language and
its cultural identity, for which the Republic of Cyprus has signed
an International treaty (EU, No.148) Do you think that a library and
/or a cultural centre alone without a school such as MEI providing
the necessary level of language skills suffice for the development
of the Western Armenian in Cyprus and in other countries?

Should the answer to the preceding question be yes, then the subsequent
question is: when will all the schools of different cultural identities
in Cyprus be annihilated, for the sake of a library and a cultural
or research center?

Western Armenian values are different from eastern ones and that
according to the Constitution of Cyprus Mr Vartkes Mahdessian is the
consultative member of the House of Representatives of the Republic
of Cyprus charged at state level with issues related to the Armenians
in Cyprus. How can then the absence of the Armenian Representative be
explained when aforementioned visitors of AGBU met with you and with
other high ranking officials of Cyprus trying to discuss projects
that concern MEI and All Armenians’ worldwide Diaspora?

Does the absence of the Official Representative of Armenian Cypriots
imply that his competency is restricted to the taking care of the
reparation of Ledra Palace Armenian Cemetery and he can be kept away
from meetings where MEI and issues of concern to all Armenians are
discussed with the representatives of an AGBU?

Shouldn’t MEI be reopened to carry out its vital educational mission
as a Western Armenian International Boarding High School, given that
education is above all a Human Rights issue and it is not a negotiable
matter for financial considerations, whoever the negotiators are and
whatever their past or present qualifications or competencies may be?

Mr. President, we would be obliged to receive your answers to the
above questions, before drawing our conclu sions.

Sincerely Yours, Dr. Art Maranci – MA-USA Dr Vartan Ozinian – Secretary
General Spokesman for Pro Edvcatio

*P R O E D V C A T I O is a Worldwide International movement which
deals with educational matters – taking into consideration social,
economic and political dimensions of the cultural dynamics – together
with geopolitical realities and related strategies for the development
of human resources, respectful to legitimacy and legal conditions. The
Pro Edvcatio’s G R T A S S E R E is a panel – constituted by ad hoc
Armenians of Diaspora and non-Armenians – which deals with Armenian
educational issues.

ON NATIONAL POLICY OF GEORGIA

"Noravank" Foundation
03 March 2009

The theme of the latest discussion arranged by "Arantsq" analytical
centre was the national policy pursued by the authorities of
Georgia. The expert of "Noravank" Foundation, Candidate of Historical
Sciences Tamara Vardanyan, the representative of "Mitq" analytical
centre Vahe Sargsyan, and the deputy director of the Institute of
Caucasus Sergey Minasyan took part in that discussion.

The participants of the discussion expressed their concern that the
struggle of the authorities of Georgia with the Armeniancy of Georgia
is not restricted by the known frontiers, i.e. spiritual and cultural,
educational and language, social, judicial directions. The split
of unity between two parts of Armeniancy of Georgia, i.e. between
Armenians of Javakhq and Tbilisi, is one of the manifestations of
anti-Armenian policy and it is implemented with the help of special
measures in the information field. For years Georgian authorities
have done everything to sow controversy between these two groups.

The expert of "Noravank" Foundation Tamara Vardanyan, while speaking
about the situation in Armenian community of Tbilisi, noticed that
the Armenians of Tbilisi have no potential for self-organization
as it is rather apolitical community and the most tolerant and
cosmopolitan one. The main wish of the Armenians of Tbilisi is to
live peacefully in t heir favourite city of Tbilisi. "There is no
consistency in the national problems to be seen, or any wish to resist
Georgian authorities as there is no necessary potential", – said the
expert. Due to these realities the Armenians of Tbilisi do not react or
support the just complaints of the Armenians of Javakhq. Even more,
"the Armenians of Tbilisi scare and are very concerned when the
situation in Javakhq has worsened", – concluded the expert.

Tamara Vardanyan also touched upon the unfounded rumours spread
in Tbilisi lately that allegedly Armenia wanted to initiate
war against Georgia and she did not exclude the possibility of
Azerbaijani-Turkish trace. T. Vardanyan noticed: "The dissemination
of such a misinformation in Georgia should bother us and this is
another evidence that we are not active in the information field. Who
if not Armenian side should refute such lies?" T. Vardanyan is of
the opinion that the accumulated problems can de solved only by the
activation of horizontal ties, on all the levels: from social to the
state and official. The spokesperson underlined the following thesis:
"both sides should clearly understand that the Armenian-Georgian
friendship is beneficial only for Armenia and Georgia and this should
be the base for the quality and level of their relations".

The representative of "Mitq" analytical centre Vahe Sargsyan tried to
illustrate with the help of the specific examples the similarity of the
manifestations of anti-Armenian policy in Azerbaijan and Georgia. If
during the Soviet period Azerbaijan could finally arrange mass exodus
of the Armenians from Nakhijevan and change the demographic picture
in Nagorno-Karabakh in their favour, then in the same way Georgia
divided Samtskhe-Javakhq-Tsalka region in the favour of Georgian and
Adjarian elements and changed the demographic picture. In the opinion
of V. Sargsyan the only difference between the policies of Azerbaijan
and Georgia is that "if Azerbaijan simply destroyed Armenians then
Georgian implies the same policy by estranging them". Saying that
Georgia has always carried out chauvinistic policy towards national
minorities V. Sargsyan concluded: "Today that policy has become even
more obvious and impudent. Meanwhile, the authorities of Armenian
are extremely prudent. We must change out tactics. The Armenians of
Javakhq and Georgia should become a political factor, we should use
our "wealth", i.e. the potential of Armenians of Tbilisi and Javakhq
and make Georgia stay abstain from anti-Armenian manifestations as
this can also be dangerous for Georgia".

Sergey Minasyan, the deputy director of the Institute of Caucasus,
noticed that the society of Georgia regards the problem of national
minorities, including the problem of the Armenians of Jvakhq, not
as a judicial but mainly as a political problem .. According to
S. Minasyan the Georgian society is afraid of taking liberal steps
towards national minorities and this is the reason why they do not
implement their commitment to the European institutions. He mentioned
that this kind of policy on behalf of Georgian authorities concludes
to the quite opposite result. For example, Armenians of Javakhq have
no confidence in Georgian authorities, the contradictions between
them aggravated. How a Javakhian can trust Georgian authorities if
"he is compelled to forget his mother tongue, or he is not regarded
as a full citizen"? The political analyst is sure that if there are no
changes in Georgian position on that issue then the commitments to the
European Union regarding national minorities will stay on the paper.

"AYTMATOV AND MODERNITY"

"Noravank" Foundation
02 March 2009

On February 26-27 in Bishkek the International Humanitarian Forum
"Aytmatov and modernity" was arranged under the aegis of the Interstate
Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of CIS. More than one hundred
political and public figures from Armenia, the RF, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kirgizia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Turkey took part in
the work of that forum. As it was stated by the vice-prime-minister
of Kirgizia Uktomkhan Abdullayeva "the important aim of that forum
is to elaborate the main recommendations for the future".

Armenia was represented on that forum by the film director Karen
Gevorgyan and the head of the Chair of Russian and World literature
of Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University, the executive editor of
"Noravank" Foundation’s "XXI century" journal (Russian language
edition) Lilit Meliksetyan.

ARSHAVIR BOZINYAN APPEARED IN A POLICE STATION

A1+
[01:41 pm] 02 March, 2009

"We are given a definite order – not to free you until the rally
is over," the disabled war veteran, resident of Vanatur, Arshavir
Bozinyan, was told at the police station yesterday.

At about 12.00, on March 1, Arshavir Bozinyan was on his way to Yerevan
when their car was stopped near Abovyan City. "We were waiting for
you," said the patrol force.

Bozinyan was going to Yerevan to attend the rally of the Armenian
National Congress (HAK).

"The police said they had stopped our car in Hrazdan but we had
disobeyed their instruction." But this is an outrageous lie. I was
kept in the police Abovyan department for half an hour- from 4.30
to 5 p.m.," says Mr. Bozinyan. "This evidences that the authorities
feared lest many people should attend the opposition rally of March
1. The rally showed that people fear nothing and nobody," adds the
Karabakh war veteran.

PanARMENIAN.Net

EP rapporteur accuses Armenian lobby of blackmail?
28.02.2009 14:06 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Parliamentâ??s rapporteur on
Turkey, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, has said Armenian lobbyists have threatened
to destroy her career because she has refused to refer the 1915 events
as Genocide.

She said Armenians have told her that they will do their best to
prevent her re-election to the European Parliament.

Vowing that she would work hard to keep her report as it was, she
said, "I will never step away. If I am convinced that the document is
good for both Turks and Armenians, then I will keep the report as it
is."

Stressing that she very much appreciated Turkish President Abdullah
Gulâ??s visit to Armenia last fall, Oomen-Ruijten added that
the Turkish-Armenian border should be opened.

â??But that the Armenians living in Europe and the U.S. are
not very interested in the opening of the border,â?? she
added, Todayâ??s Zaman reports.