Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

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United Nations Online Courses 2010

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is pleased
to announce its February to June 2010 e-Learning Course Calendar. Kindly
share this information with your training department or with your colleagues
who may be interested in taking our suite of online courses listed below:

FEBRUARY 2010

* Advance Risk Management
Course Dates: 8 February to 18 March 2010
* Arbitration & Alternative Dispute Resolution (Foundation Course)
Course Dates: 15 February to 1 April 2010
* Fundamentals of Capital Market Development & Regulation
Course Dates: 22 February to 2 April 2010

MARCH 2010

* International Negotiations: Practical Skills and Techniques
Course Dates: 1 to 26 March 2010
* Fundamentals of Corporate Governance
Course Dates: 8 March to 2 April 2010
* Cross-Cultural Negotiation
Course Dates: 15 March to 16 April 2010
* Fundamentals of Risk Management
Course Dates: 22 March to 16 April 2010
* Fundamentals of the Money Market
Course Dates: 22 March to 23 April 2010
* Negotiation of Financial Transactions
Course Dates: 29 March to 7 May 2010
* Negotiating for Conflict and Dispute Resolution
Course Dates: 29 March to 30 April 2010

APRIL 2010

* Fundamentals of the Foreign Exchange Market
Course Dates: 5 April to 7 May 2010
* Understanding International Contracts and Loan Agreements
Course Dates: 5 April to 21 May 2010
* Arbitration & Alternative Dispute Resolution (Introductory Course)
Course Dates: 5 April to 21 May 2010
* Global Financial Governance
Course Dates: 12 April to 7 May 2010
* Capital Market Development & Regulation – Advanced Course
Course Dates: 12 April to 21 May 2010
* Fundamentals of the Bond Market
Course Dates: 19 April to 21 May 2010
* Basic Course on Public Debt Management
Course Dates: 19 April to 28 May 2010
* Fundamentals of the Equity Market
Course Dates: 26 April to 28 May 2010

MAY 2010

* Drafting and Negotiating Clauses of Loan Agreements
Course Dates: 31 May to 2 July 2010
* Fundamentals of Anti-Money Laundering: International Standards and
Compliance Issues
Course Dates: 3 May to 4 June 2010
* Millennium Development Goals and Debt Management
Course Dates:3 May to 17 June 2010
* Fundamentals of the Derivative Markets
Course Dates: 3 May to 4 June 2010
* Introduction to International Intellectual Property Law
Course Dates: 10 May to 11 June 2010
* The Settlement of Disputes under the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Course Dates: 10 May to 11 June 2010
* Audit of Public Debt
Course Dates: 17 May to 18 June 2010
* Trade and Climate Change
Course Dates: 31 May to 25 June 2010

JUNE TO DECEMBER 2010 (more courses will be added)

* Debt Rescheduling with the Paris Club
Course Dates: 6 September to 22 October 2010
* Effective Public Debt Management
Course Dates: 13 September to 29 October 2010
* Legal Aspects of Public Debt Management
Course Dates: 20 September to 29 October 2010
* Managed Mobility: Trade, Migration and Labour Movement
Course Dates: 13 September to 8 October 2010
* New Frontiers in Agricultural Trade Regulation
Course Dates: 15 November to 10 December 2010

Registration procedure, fees, and other course details can be viewed from
our website at:

UNITAR courses are based on a decade-long experience in public finance and
negotiation training. Over the past seven years, thousands of finance-sector
and trade officials have already benefited from UNITAR e-Learning courses.

The e-Learning Team
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
Geneva, Switzerland

Interfax, Russia
Jan 14 2010

ARMENIA TO DEEPEN RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA – PRESIDENT SARGSYAN

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has promised to do his best for
deepening relations with Moscow."I am pleased to say that new elements
emerged in our strategic partnership in 2009. We reserved a high level
of the intensive political dialog and strengthened economic, cultural
and humanitarian relations.

Armenia will continue to deepen relations with Russia," Sargsyan told
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday.

Lavrov conveyed greetings from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a
source at the Armenian presidential press office told Interfax.

"Medvedev hopes that the intensive and frank dialog, which progressed
last year, will continue to develop this year," Lavrov said.

"We value the level of the bilateral strategic partnership and the
allied relations in all spheres," he said.

Sargsyan and Lavrov stressed the importance of further strengthening
of bilateral agreements and said that new documents would create
additional possibilities for cooperation and strengthen contacts.

Sargsyan and Lavrov discussed the South Caucasian situation, including
the Karabakh settlement and the Armenian-Turkish normalization, a
source at the Armenian presidential press office told Interfax.

Sargsyan thanked Russia for assisting the Karabakh settlement and the
Armenian- Turkish normalization. "We are grateful to Russia for its
support to the Karabakh settlement and normalization of Armenia-Turkey
relations," he said.

"Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin once again reaffirmed the
Russian position at the January 13 press conference he shared with the
Turkish premier, the Russian foreign minister said. Putin stressed
that the two processes [the Karabakh settlement and the Armenia-Turkey
normalization] were not interrelated. He said the resolution of both
problems was rather difficult, and it would be wrong to link them,"
the press office source said.

Russia is interested in the solution of the Karabakh problem and the
normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations, Lavrov stressed. Armenia
and Azerbaijan can make progress in the Karabakh settlement if
‘positive dynamics’ persists, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard
Nalbandian told a Thursday press conference.

"If positive dynamics are retained, the sides may progress in the
Karabakh settlement. The Armenian and Azeri leaders will soon resume
their meetings," he said.

There is no alterative to the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh
conflict, the minister said.

"Armenia has never threatened to resolve the conflict by force. It
adherences to exclusively peaceful settlement methods," he said.

LAVROV COMMENTS ON HEARSAY ON COINCIDENCE OF HIS VISIT TO YEREVAN WITH ERDOGAN’S VISIT TO MOSCOW

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.01.2010 14:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An agreement on Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov’s visit to Yerevan was achieved six weeks ago.

"It’s a scheduled visit and has nothing to do with the visit of
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Moscow," Mr. Lavrov
said when commenting on the hearsay on coincidence of his visit to
Yerevan with Erdogan’s visit to Moscow.

"We agreed on my visit to Yerevan six weeks ago while Turkish PM
decided to visit Moscow just several days ago. So, you might just
as well link my visit to any other event in any spot on the globe,"
he said.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbanidan for his part confirmed
that Sergei Lavrov was invited to Armenia during the OSCE Ministerial
Council in Athens in December 2009.

DISTRICT COMMISSION ACKNOWLEGED ARA SIMONYAN AS MP

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.01.2010 19:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On January 14, after a vote recount the , district
election commission of 10-th electoral district of Yerevan guided by
the relevant paragraphs of the Electoral Code decided to recognize
the candidate of the National Unity Party Ara Simonyan as a member
of the parliament.

Prior to the decision, the district commission reviewed all the
inquieries received. The district commission recognized as invalid
the results of voting at N 10/15 and 10/19 polling stations. All the
relevant materials will be sent to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office,
press office of RA Central Electoral Commission reported.

On January 10 the candidate of National Unity Party Ara Simonyan,
who collected 7,622 votes in the elections to the National Assembly
at the 10th electoral district of Yerevan. Three candidates run for
MP: Ara Simonyan (7,622 votes), leader of Marxist Party of Armenia
David Hakobyan (299 votes), being under arrest the chief editor of an
opposition newspaper "Haykakan Zhamanak " Nikol Pashinyan (5023 votes).

2010 MARKS 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN POGROMS IN BAKU

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.01.2010 11:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Twenty years ago today the Azerbaijani authorities
instigated the pogroms of Armenian population in Baku. Some 400
Armenians were killed and 200 thousand were exiled in the period of
January 13-19. The exact number of those killed was never determined,
as no investigation was carried out into the crimes.

On January 13, 1900 a crowd numbering 50 thousand people divided into
groups and started "cleaning" the city of Armenians. On January 17,
the European Parliament called on EU Council of Foreign Ministers
and European Council to protect Armenians and render assistance to
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. On January 18, a group of U.S. Senators
sent a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev to express concerns over the
violence against the Armenian population in Azerbaijan and called
for unification of Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia.

ARMENIA’S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OPENS HEARINGS ON PROTOCOLS

Aysor
Jan 12 2010
Armenia

Today, at 11 am Armenia’s Constitutional Court is scheduled to begin
open hearings on the Armenian-Turkish protocols, which were signed
in Zurich on October 10 2009, to rule whether they conform to the
Armenian Constitution.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan will represent country’s
President Sargsyan. Member of the Constitutional Court of Armenia
Vladimir Hovhannisyan will mainly spoke to the court.

After voting whether Armenian-Turkish protocols conform to the
Armenian Constitution, the decision is expected to be sent to Armenian
President.

Armenia’s Constitutional Court consists of 9 members. Despite the
hearing on protocols is open, the decision and the conclusion on the
matter will be declared at the close meeting for members only.

If the decision is not made at the beginning, the hearing will
be logged.

In case of the decision that Armenian-Turkish protocols do not conform
to the Armenian Constitution, the process of reconciliation between
the countries will be brought to a stop. If Armenia’s National Assembly
doesn’t approve the protocols, the process will stop either.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

TURKISH CIVIL SOCIETY SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AND
ASSISTED TO ACCEPT IT: EUROPE AND THE ARMENIAN DIASPORA HAVE A CRITICAL ROLE
IN MAKING THIS HAPPEN
Said Taner Akçam

On 6 January 2010 at 18:00 hrs, the Armenian Church University Association
(ACUSA) organized an evening to meet the dissident historian, Taner Akçam. A
large number of youth representing youth organizations and educational
institutions came to listen to the historian at the Gulbenkian Hall of the
Cilicia Museum. Ms. Gacia Kouyoumdjian welcomed the audience on behalf of
the ACUSA committee.

In his lecture, Prof. Akçam said that for a long time it was forbidden to
mention the Armenian Genocide in Turkey and that Article 301 of the Penal
Code (which makes it illegal to insult Turkey, the Turkish ethnicity or
Turkish government institutions) was a consequence of this policy. However,
this topic is no longer taboo thanks to Turkish journalists, writers and
activists. The independence of Armenia, the publication of "AGOS", the
possibility of networking and communication and the question of Turkey’s
admission to the European Union have broken the silence. As a result, the
public is informed of the issue. In 2000, the Turkish authorities reacted to
this situation by publishing new textbooks, which stated that ‘Armenians
massacred the Turks’. The textbooks were promoted through special seminars,
public quiz events and competitions. Hrant Dink was a major figure among
those who spoke for the rights of minorities in Turkey. In conclusion, Taner
Akçam said that Turkish Popular Movements, the authorities in Armenia, the
European Union and the Armenian Diaspora should work together to pressure
Turkey to recognize the Genocide. He concluded that the time had come for
the two peoples to dialogue.

The floor was then open to ask questions to the speaker.

##
View the photos here:
tos/Photos428.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Youth
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

ARMENIA DROP TO 4TH POSITION AT WORLD TEAM CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.01.2010 12:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia made a 2:2 draw with India and suffered a
1:3 defeat by Greece in the 5th and 6th rounds of the World Team Chess
Championship respectively. In the 7th round, Armenian grandmasters
will rival Russians.

The World Team Chess Championship was established in 1985 and is
being held in four year cycles. It was first planned that the event be
played in Lucerne for keeps, but recently this idea has been dropped.

Due to instability of the results produced by the Swiss system
adopted at the Olympiads the World Team Championship was scheduled
to be an invitational round robin event. Only ten teams qualify;
the invitation rules varied over decades evolving to the following
contemporary formula: the host team, three top teams from recent
Olympiad, four continental champions, winners of Women’s Olympiad
and one invited team.

At the Championship, Armenian National Team won bronze in 1997,
2001 and 2005.

TURKEY DRAGGING OUT PROTOCOLS RATIFICATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.01.2010 14:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey is dragging out the process of ratification
of protocol to normalize relations with Armenia, according to Professor
Ruben Safrastyan, Director of RA NAS Oriental Studies Institute.

"RA Constitutional Court’s decision on protocols will hardly accelerate
ratification process in Turkey," he said. "Ankara seeks to exert
certain pressure on Armenia through delaying the ratification process
and wring certain concessions from RA and US as regards the Karabakh
issue."

On January 12, RA Constitutional Court will consider the protocols
to determine their conformity with RA Constitution.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the common border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich
by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish
counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of
diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.

American Thinker
Jan 4 2010

Letters for Obama

By Ken Blackwell

Historian H.W. Brands has done a great service to all Americans in his
newly edited version of the letters of Theodore Roosevelt. More than a
century ago, in 1905, President Roosevelt basked in congratulations
from around the world. He had just negotiated the Treaty of Portsmouth
(New Hampshire), which put an end to the bloody Russo-Japanese War.
For this outstanding achievement, T.R. was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize.

The occasion prompted our young, Harvard-trained president to reflect
seriously on what is needed to preserve peace. In a letter to the
famous Carl Schurz, a German immigrant and noted advocate of
disarmament, President Roosevelt politely but firmly dissented from
the views held by Progressives at the time (and by all too many now as
well). Roosevelt did not think that armed forces necessarily led to
war. He pointed to the Ottoman Turks, who had butchered hundreds of
thousands of Armenians while the Great Powers of Europe kept hands
off. They "kept the peace." T.R. thought their policy iniquitous.

Commenting on the just-completed British war against jihadists in the
Sudan, Roosevelt said that if England had disarmed and allowed the
followers of the Muslim Mahdi (Expected One) to prevail, "the result
would have been a horrible and bloody calamity to mankind." But T.R.
did not glorify armed conflict. "Unjust war is dreadful; a just war
may be the highest duty."

It was in that British colonial war that young Winston Churchill saw
action as a subaltern in the cavalry. He faced death repeatedly —
just as young Theodore had at San Juan Hill in Cuba.

Churchill wrote that "nothing is as exhilarating as to be shot at
without result."

President Obama should read these letters. He too is a young,
Harvard-trained President, and he too is the recipient of a Nobel
Peace Prize. Our 44th president could find much wisdom in the thoughts
of our 26th.

T.R. was certainly an idealist. He certainly brought change. But his
idealism was tempered by realism. He saw the world as it was, not as
he wished it would be.

There is of course no analogy between international law and private or
municipal law. [Here], the law abiding man does not have to arm
himself against the lawless simply because there is some armed force
— the police, the sheriff’s posse, the national guard, the regulars
— which can be called out to enforce the laws. At present, there is
no similar international force to call on …

Basically, President Roosevelt’s point is well taken. I would have to
dissent in part, because for black Americans in 1905, night riders of
the KKK were too often aided and abetted by the police and sheriff’s
posses. To his credit, though, President Roosevelt stood strongly for
civil rights for all Americans.

"No one in his senses," T.R. wrote, "would suggest [American]
disarmament." One has to wonder how those words were received by the
leading American disarmers. Still, as president, T.R. knew the value
of the West African proverb: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Roosevelt accepted his Nobel Peace Prize while still speaking strongly
for an armed peace. He agreed with our first president, George
Washington, that if you seek peace, then you must prepare for war. To
demonstrate U.S. resolve, Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet around
the world. Japan and Germany — rising naval powers — took note.

I can think of no better example for our young president than Theodore
Roosevelt. Tragically for our country and the world, T.R.’s unique
brand of realistic idealism was rejected by the administration of
Woodrow Wilson. Wilson’s impractical idealism put pacifists in charge
of the War, Navy, and State Departments in the vain hope that
exchanging America’s eagle for an ostrich could preserve peace.

Whenever I hear President Obama talk about his year of "engagement" —
of extending an open hand to the mullahs of Iran — I hear Woodrow
Wilson, not Theodore Roosevelt. The dictators in Tehran have slapped
away Obama’s every initiative, sneered at his every utterance.

We should never forget that the mullahs are the number-one supporters
of terrorism in the world. They are the ones who murdered our 241
Marines and Navy corpsmen in Beirut in 1983. With this new year, can
we count Obama’s "engagement" to break?

President Roosevelt did not inherit a war being waged on America by
international terrorists. We can be sure that if he had, he would not
have hesitated to call terrorists terrorists — or to take the strong,
resolute action necessary to defeat them.

Ken Blackwell is a senior fellow at the Family Research Council. He
served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Humans Rights
Commission and was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

/letters_for_obama.html