Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

GORAN LENMARKER: FAVORABLE ATMOSPHERE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR KARABAKH TALKS
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
15.05.2009 13:52

"The objective of ensuring stability and security in the South Caucasus
and the steps towards this end will provide an opportunity for regional
development," Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia
Arthur Baghdasaryan declared at the "Security and Cooperation in the
South Caucasus and around" international conference in Yerevan.

Forty representatives from 25 countries, as well as the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly Rapporteur on Nagorno Karabakh Goran Lenmarker
participated in the conference.

One should not pay attention to Turkey’s attempts to interfere
with the settlement of the Karabakh issue and the efforts to
make the Karabakh issue a precondition for the establishment of
Armenian-Turkish relations, as well as the corresponding statements
of the Turkish officials. It’s better to look into the process,
which always inspires optimism to the Rapporteur on Nagorno Karabakh
at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Goran Lenmarker.

Mr. Lenmarker told reporters today that his optimism regarding the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict has not faded away. "I declared
three years ago that the parties had a golden opportunity to resolve
the issue, and I say the same today. I don’t know how long this
opportunity will persist, but a favorable atmosphere20for negotiations
has been established today," Mr. Lenmarker said. According to the
Rapporteur on Nagorno Karabakh, the peaceful settlement of the issue
envisages mutual concessions.

Won’t Turkey’s attempts to lay down preconditions hamper the process
of settlement of the Karabakh issue? In response to the question the
European diplomat stated: "These two processes support each other. The
football diplomacy was a very proper moment. Such meetings will help
resolve this complex issue. We can always refer to some statements
and say that they hamper or contribute to the process, but we had
better look at the process."

"I want to see a prosperous region. Therefore, the three countries
of the South Caucasus should cooperate," Lenmarker concluded.

YEREVAN, BAKU CLARIFY POSITIONS ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT BASIC PRINCIPLES

Interfax
May 8 2009
Russia

Yerevan thinks that the Thursday meeting between Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan and Azeri President Ilkham Aliyev in Prague is useful,
the Armenian presidential press service told Interfax.

"The Armenian side assesses the Prague meeting as useful, which
allowed the country to even more clarify the positions on the basic
principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, as well as to approach
the position on the certain issues," the press service said.

The Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers were tasked to continue
adjusting the main settlement principles and preparing the next
meeting between the two leaders together with the co-chairmen of the
OSCE Minsk Group on the basis of the ‘Madrid proposals.’

The opening of the Prague meeting of the two presidents was attended
by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Azeri Foreign
Minister Elmar Mamedyarov, the Minsk Group co-chairmen, and Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej
Kasprzyk. The meeting then proceeded in the tete-a-tete format and
lasted over two hours.

This has been the fourth meeting Sargsyan and Aliyev, since the former
was elected Armenian president.

Interfax, Russia
May 7 2009

KARABAKH PROBLEM SOLUTION MUST BE BASED ON OBSERVANCE OF RIGHT TO SELF
DETERMINATION

YEREVAN May 7

A solution to the problem of Nagorno- Karabakh has to be based on the
observance of the Nagorno-Karabakh people’s right to
self-determination, a high-ranking Armenian Foreign Ministry official
has said.

The settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict needs to be based on
the observance of the Nagorno-Karabakh people’s right to self-
determination, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian
told journalists.

Commenting on statements published in a number of Azeri media outlets
suggesting that the conflict settlement process is focused primarily
on the issue of refugees, Kocharian said these statements distort the
essence of the negotiating process.

ARMENIAN FLAG BURNED IN SUMGAYIT CITY OF AZERBAIJAN

APA
May 8 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Ramil Mammadli – APA. Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO)
attempted to hold protest actions in several regions of Azerbaijan
on the day of 17th anniversary of Armenian invasion in Shusha. KLO
press service told APA the organization held a remembrance ceremony
at the Teachers Institute in Sumgayit. After the ceremony, the people
gathered outside the institute continued the events as an action. The
KLO members burned the Armenian flag.

Then the protesters attempted to march toward the Nizami Park of the
city, but police prevented them. 10 protesters were detained. The
analogical situation took place in Barda region as well. Police
prevented the march-meeting attempt by the KLO offices in Aghdam,
Tartar and Barda regions. No protesters were detained there. KLO
organized the remembrance events in the alleys of martyrs in Ganja,
Imishli, Shaki, Aghsu and Mingachevir. The organization addressed
the international organizations at the end of the ceremonies.

SEVERAL COUNTRIES REFUSED TO SIGN NABUCCO DECLARATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.05.2009 20:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Union this Thursday signed a joint
declaration on construction of Nabucco pipeline. The state parties
to the document are Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Egypt. As noted
by several diplomatic sources, EU failed to achieve the expected
"political support" since the declaration has not been signed by
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Interfax reports, referring
to a publication in Wall Street Journal.

Nabucco pipeline construction project was officially introduced
in Sofia in March 2009. The project aims to decrease the union’s
dependence upon the Russian gas. Pipeline construction was discussed
in Prague, during the Eastern Partnership summit which lasted till
Friday. The summit was devoted to developing cooperation between EU
and Eastern European states. The state parties of the project are
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.

NKR PRESIDENT’S CONGRATULATION ON THE DAY OF THE NKR DEFENSE ARMY AND THE LIBERATION OF SHOUSHI

armradio.am
09.05.2009 11:45

"Dear compatriots, Respected veterans of the Great Patriotic War,
Soldiers, officers and generals of the NKR Defense Army

I congratulate you on the Victory Holiday, the Day of the NKR Defense
Army and the liberation of Shoushi, a festive that is very much
valuable and memorable day for all of us. It has become the symbol
of our national victories.

Tens of thousands of Artsakh people partook at in the Great Patriotic
War.

Fighting in different battlefields they also defended the Motherland
and the bright future of the Armenian nation. Their lives set an
example of audacity, heroism and courage for generations to come, the
ones who stood to defend the right to live freely and independently
in their native land. We must surround all the veterans of the Great
Patriotic war with warmth and care.

The victory in the Artsakh war was splendidly crowned with the
liberation of Shoushi. It was the beginning of the military success
of our Defense Army forged in the hearth of national-liberation
struggle. The NKR Defense Army is our pride and our greatest
achievement that keeps honorably fulfilling the assigned task.

Compatriots, we must always remember the price of the gained
victories. We should remember for the sake of our perished sisters
and brothers, for the sake of reali zing their unfinished work,
dreams and goals. Eternal glory to our martyrs!

It is our duty to make their goals and dreams to be fulfilled, to
stand behind their families, support and help them.

On this festive day I extend my gratitude to all of those who have
made invaluable contributions to our victories. It was the victory of
the entire Armenian nation, its steadfastness, unity and cohesion and
the very spirit of this victory should lead us also in daily life,
in all our undertakings.

I am thankful to all servicemen of our Defense army, to privates and
high ranking officers who devotedly serve to the Motherland.

Dear friends, I cordially congratulate you once again on this solemn
day and wish you peace, happiness, stabile and secure live."

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TRANSFERS TO INDIVIDUALS THROUGH ARMENIA’S BANKING SYSTEM $183.8MLN IN JAN-MAR 2009

ARKA
May 8, 2009

YEREVAN, May 8. /ARKA/. The total amount of private non-commercial
transfers to individuals through Armenia’s banking system amounted
to $183.8mln in January-March 2009. The information is provided in
monthly report of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) for March 2009.

According to the statistics, the indicator decreased by 30.8% or
$81.9mln against analogue period of 2008. A total of $40.3mln was
transferred from Armenia in Jan-Mar 2009 against $54.3mln in Jan-Mar
2008, an annual decrease of 25.8%.

As a result the net inflow amounted to $143.5mln in Jan-Mar
2009 against $211.4mln in Jan-Mar 2008, an annual decrease of
32.1%. Transfers from Russia and USA have the biggest share in total
transfers – 82.9% in January-March 2009 against 85% in analogue period
of 2008.

SHORT ECONOMIC RECESSION TO BE THE BEST SCENARIO FOR ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.05.2009 18:12 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Short economic recession will be the best scenario
for Armenia, Manouk Yergnyan, Chairman of Economy and Values research
centre told journalists today. Mr. Yergyan finds it very difficult
to make predictions on crisis impact. He singled out three scenarios
for further development of global financial-economic crisis.

According to the first, most optimistic scenario, economy will recover
only at the end of the current year. The basic scenario, according to
Mr. Yergyan, predicts continuation of economic crisis for the coming
3-4 years. "That means, after a year of crisis, 3-4 years will be
needed for full recovery," he said.

The third scenario does not allow for any prediction since this
is really a global crisis with peculiarities of its own. In this
connection, Mr. Yergnyan added that Armenia will hardly manage to
ensure high paces of annual economic growth. Summing up, he noted that
"Short economic recession will be the best scenario for Armenia."

In January-March 2009, Armenia recorded economic recession of 6.1%
in comparison with the same period of last year.

Council of Europe Congress mission assesses pre-electoral situation in
Armenia

Yerevan, 06.05.2009 – In view of the first municipal elections in the
Armenian capital city of Yerevan, on 31 May 2009, a pre-electoral
mission of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional
Authorities was carried out from 3 to 6 May.

The three-member delegation – Congress Vice-President Fabio Pellegrini
(Italy, SOC), Michel Guégan (France, NR) and Nigel Mermagen (UK, ILDG)
– met with government and city officials, candidates from most of the
political factions, as well as with NGO representatives and the media.
In addition, the delegation met a group of Ambassadors of European and
non-European countries.

The people that the delegation spoke to underlined the particular
importance of these elections for local democracy in Armenia and the
political situation in the country as a whole. The Congress delegation
understood that there were threats to the proper conduct of these
elections, in particular with respect to the registration and
mobilisation of voters, the counting of votes, and media objectivity in
the campaign.

The delegation had the overall impression that the institutional and
political role of the Mayor is in danger of being sidelined by a harsh
confrontation between the political factions which are in power and the
opposition. "We are concerned that the real needs of the citizens of
Yerevan could be brushed aside because of this confrontation," said
Fabio Pellegrini at the end of the mission.

"The Congress is aware of the importance and the specific character of
these elections. As the only institutional observers of these elections,
we will take these aspects into account during our observation mission,
which will be carried out at the end of May," stressed Nigel Mermagen.

"Despite the concerns which were raised during our mission, we are
confident that the Armenian authorities will do their utmost to conduct
these elections in a decent way in line with European standards,"
concluded Michel Guégan.

The Congress will be the only international organisation to observe the
elections on 31 May.

More information is available at

Press Release
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Communication Division
Ref: 372a09
Tel. +33 (0)3 90 21 49 36
Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 27 51
Internet:
e-mail: [email protected]

The Congress has two chambers, the Chamber of Local Authorities and the
Chamber of Regions.
It brings together 318 full and 318 substitute members representing more
than 200 000 European territorial communities.
President of the Congress: Yavuz Mildon (Turkey, EPP/CD), President of
the Chamber of Regions: Ludmila Sfirloaga (Romania, SOC),

President of the Chamber of Local Authorities: Ian Micallef (Malta,
EPP/CD).
Political Groups: Socialist Group (SOC), Group of the European People’s
Party – Christian Democrats (EPP/CD),
Independent and Liberal Democrat Group (ILDG).

OBAMA’S WORDS REBUKED

Burbank Leader
05/04/politics/blr-genocide25.txt
May 5 2009
CA

Author and journalist Mark Arax gives the keynote speach during
the city of Glendale’s Armenian Genocide Commemoration at the Alex
Theatre. (Scott Smeltzer/News-Press)

Local Armenians are incensed that the president’s statement Friday
did not include the term ‘genocide.’

By Zain Shauk Published: Last Updated Friday, April 24, 2009 10:17
PM PDT

Speakers at the city’s Armenian Genocide Commemoration event Friday
blasted President Obama for betraying campaign pledges to acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide, injecting a sense of anger into the somber
ceremony.

Obama issued a statement Friday, on the 94th anniversary of the
genocide, acknowledging the mass killings of 1.5 million Armenians
at the hands of Ottoman Turks as "atrocities" and used the Armenian
phrase "Meds Yeghern," which translates to "The Great Calamity"
to describe the acts.

But as a senator and presidential candidate, Obama frequently supported
efforts to recognize the mass killings using the word "genocide,"
famously stating in a speech on Jan. 19, 2008, that "the Armenian
Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view,
but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body
of historical evidence. The facts are undeniable .â~@~B.â~@~B. and
as president, I will recognize the Armenian Genocide."

But in his statement, Obama danced around language that he has
previously insisted should be attributed to the acts, said Zanku
Armenian, president of the Armenian National Committee Glendale’s
board of directors.

"He did not have the courage to use the word ‘genocide,’" said
Armenian, who was in Washington to lobby support for a House of
Representatives resolution calling for official recognition of the
genocide.

"The irony is he used Armenian words," he continued, adding that
Armenians would be disheartened by the president’s avoidance of the
term "genocide."

The use of "genocide" to describe the events has been of critical
importance to the Armenian community because the size and scale of
the mass killings should be recognized and remembered just as other
genocides are, said speakers at the commemoration event, which was
at the Alex Theatre.

"President Obama, if you’re listening, I can’t tell you how
disappointed the community is for betraying your promise," said
Councilman Ara Najarian, who was chairman of the event organizing
committee.

Rep. Adam Schiff, who sponsored the resolution for recognition of
the genocide, received a standing ovation from the audience before he
spoke about his "disappointment" that Obama, who is the first president
to have been a champion of recognition for the events, fell short of
describing it with the same force he had as a candidate and senator.

As a candidate, Obama had argued that the United States deserved
a president that would acknowledge the genocide for what it was,
Schiff said.

"He was right," Schiff said. "But he was not that president today,
and that was deeply disappointing."

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian also spoke at the event, saying he
recently received questions about why he continues to push for
genocide recognition.

He asked the audience to remember the impact of the terrorist attacks
on Sept. 11, 2001, and the emotions they felt upon seeing the World
Trade Center towers fall in New York City, comparing those reactions
to those that might have been felt on a daily basis in Armenia,
where innocent people were systematically killed for a year and a half.

Killings of that scale deserve to be remembered, he said.

Several speakers, including Mayor Frank Quintero and journalist
Mark Arax, took to the stage to commemorate the genocide, along with
musical acts, including choir and band performances.

A slew of officials and clergy filled the first rows of the theater,
including Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who said he came to
remember those who died in the genocide.

"We have to keep the memory of this in our mind so that this never
happens again," he said.

MAN ON THE STREET

The Glendale News-Press asked visitors entering the city’s Armenian
Genocide Commemoration at the Alex Theatre what they thought of
President Obama’s reference to the mass killings as "atrocities"
rather than calling it a "genocide," which he had pledged to do as
a candidate.

"He’s scared to use the ‘genocide’ word. That’s what I think. It’s
hurtful that he didn’t use the ‘genocide’ word and he used the
[Armenian phrase meaning ‘The Great Calamity’] because it’s
Armenian. Americans don’t understand what ‘Meds Yeghern’ means."

HASMIK KARAPETYAN Glendale

"It is still man’s inhumanity to man, whatever the term is, and
so hopefully in our future we will all realize that we are all
one. Whatever you do to others you will do to yourself."

ZEN LOPEZ Glendale

"He’s always trying to walk that middle line, so based on that I
wasn’t expecting him to say anything else."

ARMEN TALVERDIAN Tujunga

"As an Armenian, my own belief is that America’s government will
not accept the Armenian Genocide for the reason that they are allies
with Turkey."