Author: Nalbandian Eduard

EUROPEAN VOICE: THE EU NEEDS TO INTEGRATE ITSELF INTO THE MINSK GROUP AND TAKE ACTIVE PEACEMAKING PART IN ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI CONFLICT

ArmInfo
2009-06-09 17:19:00

ArmInfo. The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is, then, far from
frozen. Indeed, Nagorno-Karabakh is probably a more dangerous ‘frozen
conflict’ than those in Moldova and Georgia, the article "Another
peace role for the EU" published at the European Voice site says.

According to the article authors, Both sides continue to compete
in an arms race, making the region the most heavily militarised
in Europe. In both countries, the animosity is very evident, and
hate-full propaganda appears each day. Peace remains a distant
prospect, with the ‘Minsk Group’ talks being held under the aegis
of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
producing no visible results.

‘A war over Nagorno-Karabakh would have devastating regional
consequences.

It would destroy the region’s fragile stability and it would undermine
and seriously threaten the security of energy supplies from the
Caspian to the international markets, including the prospects of
the southern gas corridor connecting the EU gas market with Caspian
producers. Turkey and Russia might find themselves supporting opposing
sides, while Europe and the US would be hard pressed to intervene. The
price of a conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh would be extremely high for
the European Union, as it has been in the case of Georgia – and so it
is surprising how little attention Europe is giving to the conflict’,
the authors say and add that while the EU is actively engaged in the
breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniester and now also in Georgia,
through the Geneva process, it has no direct role in Nagorno-Karabakh.

There is also a lack of knowledge about the conflict within EU
institutions and reluctance on the part of some member states to see
the EU become more deeply involved. At the same time, there is growing
recognition of the strategic importance of this region, not least in
terms of energy security and diversification – the major pipelines
from the Caspian to the west are mere 15 km from the ceasefire
line, and several pumping stations are exposed and vulnerable to
attack. Furthermore, there is a good chance that, if hostilities
resumed, the EU would be asked to deal with the aftermath (as was
the case in Georgia last year). And, if a peace deal were struck,
the EU would be well placed to oversee the deal’s implementation,
given its experience in other conflicts. It would therefore make
sense for the EU to stake out a greater role for itself now.

The EU needs to integrate itself into the Minsk Group. If Europe is
to become the main implementer and guarantor of a peace deal, Europe
also needs to be a part of the deal- making process. That means France
will have to trade in its seat, and the new EU representative in the
Minsk Process would need a clear and strong mandate, with room to
negotiate on behalf of the twenty-seven member states.

The EU’s new Eastern Partnership cites as its goal stability, security
and prosperity in the Eastern Neighbourhood. Without the resolution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict this will never be achievable and
the region will remain a ticking time bomb. Therefore the EU needs to
show that it has learned its lesson in Georgia and become an active
peacemaker in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

PROSPEROUS ARMENIA IS AGAINST CHANGES IN TAX LEGISLATION

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
09.06.2009 23:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "If voting for the package of changes in the tax
legislation takes place today, the "Prosperous Armenia" fraction
.might not participate in it, Vardan Bostangyan, vice-chairman of the
NA standing committee on economy issues, told news conference today.

According to him, fraction is against the changes, since they
contradict at least six constitutional norms. Touching upon amendments,
suggested by the deputies of the Republican Party of Armenia,
Mr.Bostanjian mentioned, that the fraction cannot be disoriented
by them.

ESTONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS ARMENIA

armradio.am
10.06.2009 10:43

The foreign Minister of the republic of Estonia, Urmas Paet, will
visit Armenia from June 10 to 12, Press and Information Department
of RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs reorted.

Minister Paet is expected to have meetings with the President of
Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Speaker of
the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan and Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian.

UNPRECEDENTED ARMENIAN VOTER PARTICIPATION IN LEBANON ELECTIONS

cedented-armenian-voter-participation-in-lebanon-e lections/

BEIRUT-As the curtain fell on the 2009 Lebanese parliamentary elections
Sunday, the Lebanese-Armenian community turned out in unprecedented
numbers to ensure the Armenian community’s participation in the
Lebanese political process, with 80 percent of the Armenian vote
going in support of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation candidates.

Hagop Pakradouni and Arthur Nazarian were the ARF candidates elected
in a vote that saw the Lebanese Armenian community turn out in droves
to make its voice heard in the name of ensuring the security and
prosperity of the community.

The ARF campaign, that has been hard at work for months, started
the day as early as 5 a.m. ensuring that precincts monitors and
other campaign workers were in place. Unprecedented Armenian votes
were reported in the Metn district, which includes Bourdj Hammoud,
as well as in other Armenian-populated areas.

After a close vote, the Lebanese parliament will be led by the
coalition known as "March 14" and supported by forces loyal to former
prime minister Rafik Hariri who was assassinated two years ago. This
group was being opposed by a group led by retired General Michel Aoun.

The outcome of the vote would not prevent future dialogue in
solidifying the Armenian representation in the parliament based on
the common interests of the community there, said Shahan Kandaharian,
the editor of Aztag daily.

LEBANON’S RULING COALITION HANGS ON TO POWER

U.TV
http://u.tv/News/Lebanons-ruling-coali tion-hangs-on-to-power/362c852f-ad35-47c9-b576-c38 9683c753c
June 8 2009

US-backed governing alliance sees off strong challenge from Hezbollah
in parliamentary elections

Lebanon’s US-backed ruling coalition has emerged victorious in a
dramatic reversal of fortune after polls showed it losing its slim
majority to a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.

The tally announced by the interior ministry for the 128 parliamentary
seats showed the winning coalition with 68, while the Hezbollah-led
alliance had 57. Three seats went to independents.

Despite scenes of jubilations from supporters of Saad Hariri, the
leader of the governing coalition, who is now expected to become prime
minister, the allocation of seats was largely unchanged from the last
parliament, pointing to a continuation of Lebanon’s political deadlock.

Israel, which warned before the elections that a Hezbollah victory
could further destabilise the Middle East, appeared relieved by the
results. Tzahi Hanegbi, who heads the parliamentary committee in
charge of foreign affairs and defence, said the initial indications
from Lebanon were positive.

"We can say that, after many years in which the leading trend in the
Middle East was the clear strengthening of the radical camp, the camp
that puts Israel and the US in its crosshairs, then yesterday might
have been a reversal of the trend," he told Army Radio.

Appearing to concede defeat, the Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah told
the Hezbollah-run al-Manar television station: "Whatever the results
are, it won’t change the sensitive equilibrium. Lebanon’s only choice
is consensus."

The celebrations began last night on the streets of Beirut, with
supporters of the ruling coalition blaring car horns, letting off
fireworks and flying party colours.

Voters had queued patiently all day outside polling booths, many for
several hours, watched over by 50,000 soldiers and police in what
monitors said was Lebanon’s most free and fair parliamentary election
to date.

Isolated voting booths, indelible ink and a voter education campaign
launched by the interior ministry made the elections a significant
improvement on 2005, with turnout averaging more than 50%.

The vote pitted a moderate Sunni-led government, supported by the
west, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, against an opposition led by Hezbollah,
the Middle East’s most powerful militant group, which fought Israel
in the devastating 2006 war and is financed by Iran’s Shia government.

Presidential elections will take place in Iran on Friday, and fears
about growing Iranian influence were evident among some Lebanese
voters. "My main concern is for the army to be the only ones to carry
arms," said Georges Abdo, a Christian hairdresser who voted for the
ruling coalition.

Such fears were dismissed by voters supporting the Hezbollah-led
coalition. "We don’t listen to everything Hezbollah says," said Harout
Vartanian, a 30-year-old Armenian kung fu champion who said he was
voting with the opposition to secure his community’s representation
in cabinet.

There were widespread reports of vote-buying before the poll, with
some Lebanese expatriates being offered free air tickets home. Though
voting passed off largely without incident, tensions in the capital
and the battleground Christian towns remained high, with the army
imposing a midnight curfew on the capital.

The Christian leader, Michel Aoun, redrew the political map in 2005
when he forged an unlikely alliance with Hezbollah, weathering fierce
criticism from opponents. His FPM has defended its alliance with
Hezbollah as helping to stabilise Lebanon rather than give Hezbollah
a platform for renewed conflict with Israel.

"If the west wants to make serious negotiations with Islamist groups
like Hezbollah, then the FPM has set a precedent," Ziad Abs, who
negotiated the FPM’s alliance, told the Guardian. "The main threat
to us is from Israel. There can be no stability in Lebanon without
peace in the region."

While the US continues to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation,
Barack Obama has offered dialogue with Iran and is sending his Middle
East envoy, George Mitchell, to the region this week to work on an
Arab-Israeli peace deal, with a visit to Damascus expected.

In a break with US policy, Britain announced in March that it would
re-establish contact with Hezbollah politicians, making a distinction
between the group’s armed wing and its politics.

Hezbollah, boosted by its war against Israel, provoked a political
crisis in 2007-2008 with demands for veto power over government
decisions. It carried out a series of protests and set up a tent city
in central Beirut, paralysing the commercial heart of the Lebanese
capital. The showdown culminated in street battles that brought the
country to the edge of another civil war.

An agreement to end the violent confrontation gave Hezbollah veto
power over major government decisions.

This time, the pro-western coalition vowed not to give Hezbollah
and its allies a blocking minority in the new government if it won,
maintaining that the arrangement paralysed decision-making. Hezbollah
and its allies have countered that sharing power ensured peace. A
failure by the parties to agree on how to share power could set the
stage for another round of confrontation.

FIDH AND CSI CALL TO RELEASE POLITICAL PRISONERS

A1+
05:57 pm | June 05, 2009

Politics

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Civil
Society Institute (CSI) made a joint statement which runs:

On May 28, 2009 the President of Armenia Mr. Serzh Sarkisian called on
political parties and on the newly-created public council to submit
their recommendations on the necessity and conditions for an amnesty
to his Cabinet.

The amnesty would concern opposition activists, including three members
of Parliament who supported the opposition and protested against
the results of 2008 presidential elections. A number of protesters
were arrested and detained on various charges in the wake of the
1st-of-March events, when the President declared a state of emergency.

"If it turns out that there is a comprehensive need matured among
the society, I’ll use my Constitutional right and ask the National
Assembly to adopt a decision on amnesty" – the Armenian President
reportedly stated.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Civil
Society Institute (CSI) have repeatedly called upon the Armenian
authorities to release all political prisoners, including those
deprived of their liberty in relation to the events of 1 and 2 March
2008. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe formulated
a similar request in its resolutions 1609 and 1920.

Our organisations would like to renew their call and encourage the
President of Armenia to release all political prisoners and prisoners
of conscience in Armenia.

NEWLY-FLEDGED HEROES OF AZERBAIJAN

HULIQ
%E2%80%9Cnewly-fledged%E2%80%9D-heroes
June 5 2009
SC

During the Great Patriotic War Azerbaijani heroes has incomprehensibly
"grew" in quantity. Azeris have spread the regular disinformation.

According to the data published three years ago in the
(http:// ) website 8160 Russians, 2069
Ukrainians, 90 Georgians, 90 Armenians, and 43 Azeris are registered
as heroes of USSR.

According to ;" (http://www. regnum.ru/news/fd-abroad/
azeri/1161528.html) on the 9-th of the may of the current year
Azerbaijani heroes has made a sharp raise in number getting to 130
Though the website emphasizes "approximately 130" regarding the
quantity of heroes, anyway the number is far away from the true data.

According to the data of the Mother Armenia Military-historical Museum
the number of heroes of Armenian nationality and Armenian-living heroes
of both USSR and Russian Federation is 119 ( 106 Armenians), azeris
are 43 ( including 30 Azeris as representatives of other states)
The Public Relation and Information Center of the Ra Presidential
Administration has applied to Regnum Agency to verify the information.

FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER OSKANIAN TO TALK AT BENTLEY

/former-foreign-minister-oskanian-to-talk-at-bentl ey/
June 4, 2009

Former Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian will give a talk
entitled "Speaking To Be Heard: A Statesman Looks Back," on Wed.,
June 17, at 7 p.m. at Bentley University’s LaCava Center on the
Bentley campus in Waltham, Mass. The lecture is co-sponsored by the
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) and
the Bentley Global Studies Department.

Oskanian served as Armenia’s foreign minister for a decade before
leaving office last year. Having previously served as deputy foreign
minister and first deputy foreign minister, he was Armenia’s chief
negotiator in the Karabagh peace talks from 1993 to 2008. He has
been a witness to and a participant in the historic events that have
shaped the Republic of Armenia’s place in the world since achieving
independence.

An eloquent speaker, Oskanian has just issued a volume of his speeches
as foreign minister. Published by the Civilitas Foundation in Yerevan,
of which Oskanian is the founder, Speaking To Be Heard: A Decade of
Speeches, edited by Civilitas Foundation director Salpi Ghazarian,
contains more than 90 speeches. NAASR is the North American distributor
for the book. Speaking To Be Heard will be on sale and available for
signing the night of the talk.

Oskanian holds a master’s degree in international law and diplomacy
from the Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy at Tufts
University, as well as a master’s degree in structural engineering
from Tufts. This will be his only appearance in the Boston area.

The talk is free and open to the public. Parking is available
in Bentley lots L1 and L6 adjacent to the LaCava Center. For
driving directions to the Bentley University campus, visit

For more information, call (617) 489-1610 or email [email protected].

BICKERING IN POLICE DEPARTMENT WAS ORGANIZED FOR TRAINING PURPOSES?

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
04.06.2009

/PanARMEN IAN.Net/ As reported to journalists, the attack in Erebuni
police department was just a training. But PanARMENIAN.Net has
information on the bickering to have really taken place.

Earlier, a group of people in military uniforms were reported to
have broken into Erebuni police department and severely beaten police
officers. Some people were reportedly injured.

ARMENIAN RAILWAY READY FOR THE OPENING OF THE SHARED BORDER WITH TURKEY
Shakeh Avoyan

"Radiolur"
04.06.2009 16:16

The Armenian railway is quite ready for the opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border, said Shevket Shaydulin, Director General of
the South Caucasus Railways CJSC, which has assumed the concession
management of the Armenian railway. He told a press conference today
that the works to modernize the infrastructures in that direction
were under way.

"We are ready to resume the rail communication between Armenia and
Turkey. Today there is a distinct program of activities, a business
project is being worked out. We are taking corresponding steps to
modernize the Akhuryan station at the border," he said.

Shevket Shaydulin assured that there would be no problems with railway
transportation in case the border was opened. The Company intends to
make an investment of $900 million in that direction.