NEXT CIS GOVERNMENTAL LEADERS COUNCIL SITTING DUE IN MAY 2010 IN MOSCOW
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
20.11.2009 17:04 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The next CIS Governmental Leaders Council sitting
will take place in May 2010 in Moscow, CIS Executive Committee
Secretary Sergey Lebedev told at Council sitting in Yalta.
At the sitting, CIS Prime Ministers resolved to finalize priority
events’ plan on energetic concept implementation, RIA Novosti reported.
SARGSYAN-ALIYEV MEETINGS SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 22 IN MOSCOW
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
19.11.2009 21:27 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian and Azeri Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and
Iham Aliyev will meet November 22 in Munich. Meeting will take place
in French General Consul’s residence.
"By the invitation of OSCE MG Co-Chairing states (US, France and
Russia), Armenian and Azeri Presidents are to meet on November 22 in
French General Consul’s residence, Munich," French Foreign Ministry
says in a release.
"The basic principles of just, long-term and peaceful settlement of
conflict were submitted to French and Russian Foreign Ministers and
US Assistant Secretary of State on November 2007 in Munich. During
the G8 Summit this year, co-chairing countries’ Presidents made a
joint statement calling on parties to invest their best efforts in
finishing coordination of Madrid Principles. This are principles
mediators are trying to reconcile with parties," says the statement.
LEADERS TO MEET ON KARABAKH, PRESSURE FOR PROGRESS
Reuters
Nov 19 2009
UK
TBILISI, Nov 19 (Reuters) – The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
will hold talks on Sunday on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, France
said on Thursday, with Turkey pressing for progress before it seals
a rapprochement with Armenia.
Fifteen years of mediation have failed to produce a peace deal on the
Armenian-populated mountain territory, at the heart of a key transit
region for oil and gas to the West.
But a historic thaw between Armenia and close Azeri ally Turkey —
which has significance for Turkey’s EU membership bid and landlocked
Armenia’s crisis-hit economy — has thrust the conflict back into
the diplomatic spotlight.
Turkey says it wants to see progress on Nagorno-Karabakh before
it ratifies a deal to open its border with Armenia and establish
diplomatic ties, overcoming a century of hostility stemming from the
mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
The French Foreign Ministry, in a statement posted on its website,
said Armenia’s Serzh Sarksyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev would
meet on Sunday at the French consulate in Munich.
The negotiations are led by a trio of mediators from the United States,
Russia and France working under the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Backed by Armenia, ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh threw off
rule by Muslim Azerbaijan in fighting that erupted as the Soviet
Union headed towards its 1991 collapse. Some 30,000 people died and
more than 1 million were made homeless.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan. Ethnic Armenian forces took control of Nagorno-Karabakh and
seven surrounding Azeri districts, including a corridor to Armenia. A
ceasefire was agreed in 1994.
The Munich meeting will be the sixth this year, an intensity fuelling
speculation about a possible breakthrough. Mediators say they are
making progress, but diplomats caution that neither side appears
ready to commit to difficult concessions and sell them to their people.
"Azerbaijan is standing at the middle of the bridge, and waiting for
the other side to approach," Azeri Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov
said on Thursday.
Sarksyan is already under fire from nationalists at home over the thaw
with longtime foe Turkey, making a deal on Nagorno-Karabakh even more
unpalatable, analysts say.
Mediators are working on a deal that would see the return of many
of the Azeri districts held by Armenians, in return for greater
international legitimacy for the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities and a
GHUKASYAN’S SENSATION IN THE U.S.
By Appo Jabarian
Lragir.am
16/11/09
The Noyan Tapan News Agency reported this week that Arkady
Ghukasyan, the former President of Artsakh, currently Armenia’s
Ambassador-at-Large, and the Vice-President of the Board of Trustees
of Armenia Fund has been visiting the United States and Canada to
solicit donations ahead of the upcoming Thanksgiving Day Telethon on
November 26.
Mr. Ghukasyan started his North American tour with an October 19
reception in North Jersey, New Jersey; continued with an October 24
reception in Montreal, Canada; and as of press time on November 3,
he had been present in Los Angeles, in order to solicit donations
for the Telethon.
According to several participants, Mr. Ghukasyan’s stated purpose
of his appearances was to discuss the upcoming Telethon, which will
raise money for Shushi.
‘However, the bulk of his comments pertained to the Protocols.
Overall, his performance was reported to be fairly polished. He
admitted various weaknesses and shortcomings in the Protocols
throughout this process. At the same time, he defended the President’s
integrity and patriotism. In criticizing the Protocols, he did very
little sugarcoating; in fact, he probably went beyond the call of
duty. Overall, his comments left the audience slightly off-balance —
happy over criticisms that were quite strong at times, yet cynical as
folks realized that his criticisms were mainly designed to placate us,
not to change anything substantial,’ reported one participant.
Mr. Ghukasyan, who several months ago was appointed as Armenia’s
Ambassador-at-Large by Pres. Serge Sargsyan, said that he was aware of
and understands the Diaspora’s dissatisfaction with the Protocols. He
further claimed that he shares those feelings, and sees them to be
justified. He acknowledged that Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian is very weak and unprepared.
Mr. G hukasyan stated that he ‘realizes that dialogue with the Diaspora
occurred very late in this process, and that was a mistake also; that
he could not understand how bright Diaspora Armenian minds weren’t
included in the process, as they can offer their know-how in dealing
with such issues,’ especially when — as Mr. Ghukasyan underlined —
‘fighting against Turks on the battlefield is easier than dealing
with them in a diplomatic war. For the latter, Armenia is in serious
need of advisors,’ he reportedly said.
Mr. Ghukasyan claimed that he ‘has privately expressed his displeasure
about the Protocols to the President, ten times more than Diaspora’s
complaints.’ At the same time, while the Protocols are sub par,
they are not fatal and ‘we need to develop loopholeÕ½ and adopt new
laws to protect ourselves.’ He even noted that ‘it’s possible that
Pres. Sargsyan made a mistake, but he is a sincere and patriotic
person who has taken a heavy responsibility on his shoulders,’
appealing to everyone ‘to support the President, not to oppose him.’
In a related note, Mr. Ghukasyan acknowledged that Armenia went into
this ‘not fully appreciating the impact of the Protocols, and that it
must work on that; and that ‘Genocide recognition is something that
Armenia wants and it is not negotiable.’ In an attempt to relieve
Armenia’s current leadership of comprehensive responsibility on core
issues affecting all Armenians, Mr. Ghukasyan urged the Diaspora
‘to continue its fight for Genocide recognition, and that no one,
not even Armenia, has the right to prevent it from doing so.’ A donor
underlined that in saying this, he evaded the question of whether
Armenia itself bears responsibility for pursuing this issue, until
members of the audience stated that Armenia and Diaspora should be
working together, to which he agreed and moved on.
As for Artsakh, he said no one is prepared to give up a single village
from the liberated territories.
Regarding fund raising, he claimed that the Azeris are watching
closely, reminding his audience that ‘If we don’t raise enough
funds for Shushi, the Azeris will immediately say that Shushi is not
that important for Armenians.’ This rang hollow — a shallow fund
raising ploy.
He concluded by lavishly praising a number of well-known sponsors in
the audience, again to prepare the ground for fund raising.
While several influential members of the Armenian-American community
embraced Mr. Ghukasyan’s message with apprehension, there is no
doubt that Armenians worldwide should rally around Armenia-Artsakh
and forge ahead with their economic and moral solidarity.
ARMENIA RANKS 125TH OUT OF 180 COUNTRIES BY THE PERCEPTION OF CORRUPTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
17.11.2009 16:06 GMT+04:00
Anti-Corruption Center "Transparency International" conducted studies
of corruption perception in 180 countries based on perceptions of
experts and entrepreneurs. Countries were judged through a 10-point
scale, provided that 3 independent organizations in each country made
estimations, Amalia Kostanyan, head of "Transparency International"
office in Armenia told November 17 press conference.
According to her, Armenia ranks 125th among 180 countries, while last
year Armenia ranked 114th.
As executive director of "Transparency International" office in
Armenian Varuzhan Oktanyan said, indicators of Armenia decreased by
0.2 points up 2,7 points in 2009.
The same trend was registered in Azerbaijan and Georgia, but the most
dramatic decrease was registered in Iran. The best indicator – 9.4 was
registered in New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Singapore.
According to Amalia Kostanyan, although in Central Asia in general
rates of perception of corruption have not have grown over the past
few years, Kazakhstan after introducing the Singapore model was able
to pull ahead. He also said, that among Baltic states, Estonia has
the best situation, having 6,6 points.
WHICH SON, OR WHICH FATHER
Hakob Badalyan
Lragir.am
17/11/09
During his visit to the U.S., the Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan meeting with the Armenian students studying in America stated
that Armenia is ready for economic relations with Turkey and has
necessary measures to eliminate possible dangers. The prime minister
stated that a strong wave cannot come and destroy Armenia after the
opening of the border. According to Tigran Sargsyan, we must not
think as losers, the time to lose has long ago passed and the time
for victory already came. So said Tigran Sargsyan and smiling tried
to assure the students that they are getting ready for a victory
studying in the U.S.
This victorious mood that either the students inspired the prime
minister or he was trying to inspire the students was impressive. But
there is something incomprehensible in this mood. Not because it does
not correspond to the content of the Armenian and Turkish protocols,
with which the border will be or will not be opened. The point is
not the content of the Armenian and Turkish protocols but the reality
present in Armenia. Looking at this realty, the simple question occurs
whom Tigran Sargsyan is going to defeat or whom we are going to win
in his opinion. Whom or what the Armenian students studying in the U.S.
are going to win.
Will we win Turkey with open borders and with the help of these
youths if of course after having completed their studies they return
to Armenia? If so, the prime minister’s approaches perhaps are as
serious as his pre-crisis observations that not the crisis but the
foreign capital escaping from the crisis will come to Armenia. Just
the opposite came out to happen: the crisis came to Armenia and
the existing capital rushed away from Armenia (for example, Gagik
Tsarukyan’s acquirement of 40 million in Bulgaria).
Whom other can we win with open borders besides Turkey? About what
other victory could Tigran Sargsyan speak? Maybe he intends a victory
over ourselves about which he noted in a TV interview saying that the
border opening will enable to overcome the oligopoly in the economy
and to change our life.
We have to note, that from this point, defeating Turkey seems more
real than winning ourselves. The point is that this possibility
would be more real if after numerous speeches of Tigran Sargsyan he
made a single step in his direction to register a local victory for
us to see how our prime minister registers a victory over a vicious
phenomenon of the governmental system. In turn, the Armenian students
studying in the U.S. may wonder how they can defeat for instance
Hovik Abrahamyan’s son who can be presented the post of the head of
a commune on the occasion of his wedding. Is Tigran Sargsyan able to
explain clearly and sincerely this reality, how, whom we are going
to win. Sons, cousins, daughters and relatives are many but posts
are few and Armenians are devoted to them.
ARMENIAN POLITICAL ANALYST SPEAKS ON TURKEY’S REAL INTERESTS
Tert
Nov 16 2009
Armenia
Those who say that Nagorno-Karabakh has once again appeared in the
limelight don’t understand that Turkey has other interests, said
political analyst Igor Murdyan, commenting on the Armenia-Turkey
rapprochement.
"Turkey has understood that the failure or the successive outcome of
the establishment of relations with Armenia in no way correspond to
Turkey’s interests," he noted.
Muradyan also spoke about those issues which are important for
Turkey. "That is the opening of the border. The NATO member country
that is also reaching toward the European Union, that country’s 330
km border in which the region also has a claim."
The second issue the analyst considers leaving the "Armenian factor"
aside, which is, in Muradyan’s words, impossible, since no major
European country has an interest in forgetting this factor.
According to Muradyan, U.S. statements that Turkey is their colleague
is nothing but a diplomatic bluff. In the analyst’s words, the U.S. has
a clear issue: maintaining Turkey’s expansion into "the four corners
of the world."
ANC-PAC MEETS WITH SENATORIAL CANDIDATE DANNY TARKANIAN
armradio.am
16.11.2009 10:43
The Armenian National Committee Political Action Committee (ANC-PAC)
recently met with Danny Tarkanian who is bidding to become the first
ever Armenian American elected to the US Senate.
The meeting focused on Tarkanian’s goals, if elected to the Senate,
as well as his views on what his agenda would be with regard to issues
of importance to the Armenian American community.
"I look forward to working with the ANCA, once I am elected, to ensure
that Armenian Americans finally have a voice of their own in the
Senate" said Tarkanian. "For many years we have heard platitudes from
‘friends’ of the community, but it is time to have a direct ancestor
of genocide survivors speak up about the unfair pressure being put on
Armenia to accept Protocols which call for a ‘historical commission’
and put in danger the very status of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh.
Instead of tepidly worded letters to the Secretary of State, I will
demand to know why America would pressure the victim, Armenia, while
helping the perpetrators, Turkey and Azerbaijan."
IN ARMENIA THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM H1N1 FLU HAS REACHED TO 11
ARMENPRESS
Nov 13, 2009
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS: In Armenia the number of patients
suffering from A/ H1N1 flu or "Swine Flu" has reached to 11. Armenian
Health Care Minister’s Assistant Shushan Hunanyan told Armenpress
that the number of ill people has increased in 5 over yesterday. One
of the latter is a taxi-driver, the other four are the members of the
same family; one of them has arrived lately in Armenia from Omsk and
has infected the others. Currently the mentioned 5 patients are in
Nork Infection Hospital. Their state is assessed as satisfactory.
Sh. Hunanyan said that the treatment of all the patients is organized
for free within the frameworks of state order. According to her,
the two patients received a treatment for this infection, have been
discharged from the hospital. Currently 8 patients receive a treatment
for H1N1 flu.
TURKISH-ARMENIAN WRITER REPORTS DEATH THREATS
Astghik Bedevian
Armenialiberty.org
Nov 13 2009
Turkey — Sevan Nisanyan, a Turnish-Armenian newspaper columnist.
A Turkish-Armenian newspaper columnist claimed on Friday to have
received hundreds of deaths threats after altering a famous quote from
the founder of modern Turkey to make a case for sweeping reforms in
the country.
The quote was drawn from a 1923 speech by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in
which he urged the Turkish youth to fight hard for their homeland.
"Your first duty is to preserve and to defend Turkish Independence
and the Turkish Republic forever," declared Ataturk.
"Your first duty is to be a human being," Sevan Nisanyan,
an Istanbul-based ethnic Armenian intellectual, countered in an
October 29 article published by the "Taraf" daily. "This is the very
foundation of your existence and your future. This foundation is your
most precious treasure."
Speaking to RFE/RL by phone, Nisanyan said the appeal infuriated
nationalist Turks and he has since received about 800 e-mails and
letters containing verbal abuse and threats to kill him. "People have
gone mad," he said. "The reaction has been like ‘How dare an Armenian
write such strong and negative things about Ataturk?’"
Some of those letters were reprinted by "Taraf" this week. "We
will make you write the correct version of the ‘Address to Youth’
with your own blood. … I’ll kill you like that Hrant Dink dog,"
one of them read, referring to the Turkish-Armenian editor gunned
down in Istanbul in January 2007.
"I believe that the military is behind this uproar," Nisanyan charged,
adding that he has already appealed to the Turkish police for
protection. "The police have been the more liberal party in recent
years," he said. "The biggest problem is the military. The police
have been very friendly and helped me a lot."