Author: Nanijanian Alex

ARMENIAN FUND OF FRANCE PHONETHON GARNERS 1 178 000 EUROS

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.11.2008 12:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During four days, the Armenian Fund of France
mobilized 600 volunteers for collection of donations in France,
Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands to the benefit of Armenia and
Karabakh, independent French journalist told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Despite the worldwide crisis, the donations totaled 1 178 000 euros,
with 1 074 000 euros collected in France. The sum increased by 15
200 euros against last year’s figure.

In consideration of the activities carried out, representative of
Karabakh government and Armenian Fund in Stepanakert Michel Tancrez
handed a gold medal to Pierre Terzian, the President Armenian Fund
of France.

HUNGARIAN MFA DOESN’T RULE OUT POSSIBILITY TO EXTRADITE MURDERER OF ARMENIAN OFFICER TO AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.11.2008 15:06 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is a possibility to extradite Azeri serviceman
Ramil Safarov, the murderer of Armenia officer Gurgen Margaryan,
to Azerbaijan. However, official Budapest did not undertake such
commitment, Hungarian Foreign Minister said.

"The trial is over and the court has already announced the verdict. If
the Azeri side requests extradition, the issue will be given a
thorough consideration in Hungary, since there are serious concerns
that Ramil Safarov will not suffer a just punishment in Azerbaijan,"
Kinga Goncz told a news conference in Yerevan.

Lieutenant of the Armenian Armed Forces Gurgen Margaryan, who was
in Budapest to participate in a three-month English language course
which was part of the Partnership for Peace NATO-sponsored program,
was axed, while asleep, by a fellow Azerbaijani participant, Lieutenant
Ramil Safarov on February 19, 2004.

On April 13, 2006 the Budapest Court of First Instance sentenced
Safarov to life imprisonment. The Court of Appeal upheld the verdict
in February 2007.

MORE CONTACT WITH ARMENIA IN THE OFFING, SAYS BABACAN

Today’s Zaman
Nov 13 2008
Turkey

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan (R) speaks during a joint press conference
with his Algerian counterpart, Mourad Medelci, on Wednesday.

Turkey will intensify contacts with Armenia and Azerbaijan, Foreign
Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday, announcing that his Armenian
counterpart, Eduard Nalbandian, will soon visit Turkey.

Babacan, speaking at a news conference after talks with visiting
Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, also said he would visit
Azerbaijan, which has been locked in a dispute with Armenia over
Nagorno-Karabakh, under Armenian occupation since the early 1990s. The
dates for the visits will be announced later, said Babacan, adding
that there will be intense diplomacy among the three countries until
end of the year.

Babacan had three-way talks with Nalbandian and Azerbaijan’s Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in New York on the sidelines of UN General
Assembly in September, where they discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute.

The row has poisoned not only Armenia-Azerbaijan ties but also
relations between Turkey and Armenia. Turkey severed its ties with
Armenia and closed its border with the landlocked country in 1993 in
show of solidarity with Azerbaijan. There have been no formal ties
between the two countries since then, and Ankara says the normalization
of relations depends on Armenian withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh and
an end to Yerevan’s support for the Armenian diaspora’s efforts to
win international recognition for claims that Armenians were subjected
to genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

President Abdullah Gul broke the ice when he paid a visit to Yerevan to
watch a soccer match between the two countries’ national teams in early
September. Gul invited Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan to Turkey
for the next game between the two countries’ teams next year. But
Babacan suggested the next meeting would be earlier than that.

Asked when the two presidents would meet again, Babacan said it was
not necessary to wait for another soccer game for the next top-level
meeting between Turkey and Armenia. "My expectation is that such a
meeting could take place in months," he said. "What is important here
is the Caucasus platform for lasting peace and stability."

Turkey has proposed a Caucasus Cooperation and Stability Platform
to improve dialogue for conflict resolution among regional countries
following a brief war between Georgia and Russia over the breakaway
region of South Ossetia. The proposed platform is planned to include
Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hosted a summit with Sarksyan
and Azerbaijani President Ä°lham Aliyev early this month to discuss
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Babacan reiterated that Turkey supported
the Russian initiative and said Russia’s role was crucial in efforts
to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

A new three-way meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan
and Armenia is also planned, but the agenda should be set carefully
before deciding on a date, Babacan said. The foreign minister also
said his Georgian counterpart told him in a recent visit to Ä°stanbul
that Georgia would be part of the proposed Caucasus platform, despite
earlier Georgian statements that the country would not sit at the same
table with Russia unless it fully withdraws its troops from Georgia.

Gul will visit Azerbaijan today to attend an energy summit in the
capital city of Baku at the invitation of his Azerbaijani counterpart,
President Aliyev.

Turkey, Algeria discuss political, energy cooperation

The foreign ministers of Turkey and Algeria have said they saw eye
to eye on many issues when they met to discuss efforts for peace in
the Middle East and cooperation in business and energy yesterday.

"Algeria and Turkey are two countries that work for stability and
peace in their region. Our views on many problems and our stances on
the right solutions for regional problems overlap," Turkish Foreign
Minister Ali Babacan said at a joint press conference with his Algerian
counterpart, Mourad Medelci, in Ankara.

Medelci said the two countries had grown apart from each other in the
past but that they have been converging again in recent years. Now,
he stressed, there is growing cooperation in many areas. He added
that they had discussed expanded cooperation in trade, energy,
investment, tourism and the banking sector and that, in politics,
the two countries would work together for a more just world.

Turkey currently imports liquefied natural gas from Algeria. Babacan
said Algeria helps Turkey deal with shortages when there are
fluctuations in natural gas supplies from other countries by increasing
the amount of liquefied gas it provides. The two countries agreed
to have more talks to expand the existing cooperation in this area,
he added. Ankara Today’s Zaman

–Boundary_(ID_9Kq39z+WL7LYk2uCLR9GfQ)–

FROM BROADWAY TO BOOKSTORES
by Richard Horgan

Film Stew
=1448
Nov 13 2008
CA

It started with the murder of a Hollywood A-list male actor, found in
the back of a limousine with his Best Supporting Actor Oscar rudely
re-deployed for his anal consideration. And it will soon continue with
the notion of paparazzi werewolves battling deeply embedded Tinseltown
bloodsuckers and the appearance of a naked (and walking dead version
of) Orson Welles, without clothes because he has just shape shifted
from the physical countenance of a rat back to human form.

Welcome to the wonderful new world of actress Adrienne Barbeau who,
after publishing her memoir in 2006, has moved on to this summer’s
saucy Hollywood mystery novel Vampyres of Hollywood and is currently
working on a sequel. Not bad for someone who just a few years ago
walked blind into an L.A. writing course that was also attended at the
time by actresses Mariette Hartley, Tess Harper and Michael Learned.

Barbeau’s success as a writer in her early 60’s is almost as
preposterous as the idea of her giving birth at age 51 to healthy twin
boys. But both have happened and the still busy actress, who spoke
last night to a small crowd at Burbank’s Buena Vista branch lirary,
looks none the worse for the wear. Quite the contrary in fact; the
now 63-year-old Sacramento native, of Armenian and French descent,
was positively radiant as she revealed that she has already received –
and turned down – a first offer for the movie rights to Vampyres. But
make no "mystake"; in this era of Twilight, True Blood and Let the
Right One In, a TV or big screen adaptation is inevitable.

On the acting front, Barbeau – who 40 years ago made her Broadway
debut in Fiddler on the Roof – just completed a short film in which
she plays, for the first time ever, a zombie. But this is no ordinary
zombie; rather, the movie features a protagonist who is very aware
of the transformation in progress and is trying to deal with it. Add
to this a recent guest star appearance on Cold Case and the Levar
Burton directed indie drama Reach for Me (in which Barbeau co-stars
alongside Seymour Cassel and Alfre Woodard), and you’ve got one
of the best current examples of a woman (way) over 40 leapfrogging
(or should that be leap-Fog-ing?) over Hollywood ageism. Bravo!

CONVERGENCE OF VIEWS

Cyprus Mail
12 Nov 08

‘If we had the same positions right from the start, the problem would
have been solved before we began’

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali
Talat yesterday continued direct talks on the issue of the legislature.

The UN Secretary-general’s Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer
said the two leaders will meet again tomorrow morning and that so
far they were "making steady progress" on the issue of governance.

"This is an enormously important negotiation for the people of Cyprus
and inevitably it’s going to take time and inevitably the negotiations
are going to be difficult negotiations but they are making progress,"
he said.

Asked to define what he meant by progress, the UN Special Envoy said:
"There are points of convergence in the discussion, and as they reach
points of convergence they are able to move on and there are obviously
points of divergence as well and it’s the points of divergence that
constitute the debate."

Whether there was more convergence or divergence he would not say
although some points of divergence will be discussed by the leaders’
representatives – George Iacovou and Ozdil Nami – on Friday in relation
to the legislature.

"As you can imagine for any country governance and power sharing is an
enormously important issue. This is a central issue. So it is hardly
surprising that it takes a while and I think it is very important to
be understanding and tolerant with that frankly. An expectation that
you can just suddenly solve all of these problems overnight after so
many years is unrealistic," he said.

Discussions were held on the competencies of the federal government,
on the executive, the role of the executive and how the executive
was elected, he added.

Speaking to reporters following his seventh face-to-face meeting with
Talat, Christofias explained that in a difficult negotiating process
there is convergence of views but also differences.

"Consequently, it is no coincidence that we have authorised our aides
to meet again on Friday to discuss issues on which final convergence
can be reached," he said.

Asked about the outcome of yesterday’s meeting Christofias said
there had been convergence and divergence but like Downer refused
to elaborate.

"If we had the same positions right from the start, the problem would
have been solved before we began," he pointed out.

Christofias said: "There must be convergence on the philosophy of the
kind of state we want, on how unified, firm and functional this state
will be and this is a topic we shall be discussing until the end."

The president said the two leaders would not necessarily agree on
everything before moving on to another chapter.

"Once we conclude the discussions on all the aspects of the Cyprus
issue, then we shall go back to see what give and take we can achieve,
where and how," he said.

Meanwhile commenting on the negotiating process yesterday, UN
Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said it was encouraging that negotiations
were much better than in the past.

"The negotiation process has been, I think, encouraging. Both leaders
have demonstrated very strong political will to resolve this long
standing – four decade -issue through dialogue and a mutually
acceptable formula. This is encouraging," he said.

House president Marios Garoyian had a different take on the issue.

According to him only after a change in the positions of the as yet
intransigent Turkish side could there be progress at the negotiations.

"Things are not encouraging, not because of the stance of the Greek
Cypriot side but because the Turkish side continues to follow an
intransigent and sterile stance," he said.

If this changed there would be "substantive developments in the Cyprus
issue", he said.

Garoyian was speaking to reporters at Larnaca airport before leaving
for an official visit to Armenia.

RA DEFENCE MINISTER LEAVES FOR GEORGIA ON TWO-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT

Noyan Tapan

Nov 11, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. On November 11, a delegation led
by RA Defence Minister Seyran Ohanian left for Tbilisi on a two-day
official visit at the invitation of Georgian Defence Minister Davit
Kezerashvili.

According to RA Defence Minister’s Spokesperson Seyran Shahsuvarian,
during the visit meetings are envisaged with Georgian Prime Minister
Grigol Mgaloblishvili, Foreign Minister Yekaterine Tgheshelashvili,
Chairman of parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence and Security
Georgy Targamadze.

The delegation will return to Armenia on November 13.

WESTERN MINES COMPANY ANNOUNCES OF ITS INTENTION TO INVEST IN DIAMOND CUTTING AND JEWELRY BRANCH IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2008-11-07 14:44:00

ArmInfo. The Western Mines Company announced of its intention to
invest in the diamond cutting and jewelry branch in Armenia. This
intention was expressed on Friday by the Company Director during the
meeting with Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sarkisyan, the Armenian
governmental message says.

As the Company director said, before visiting Armenia, he met with the
president of the western- African state Sierra Leone who supported
the suggestion of the Western Mines Company to establish business
relations with Armenia and added that his republic is ready to assist
in it in every way.

Being an owner of gold and diamond deposits in Sierra Leone, the
Company director considers the tax and investment field of Armenia in
diamond-cutting and jewelry branches favourable. T. Sarkisyan assured
the guest that the government of Armenia will assist in establishment
of business relations in every way taking into account good traditions
in these branches. The Armenian PM thinks that development of trade
will contribute to establishment of political relations between the
two countries.

NEGOTIATION PROCESS ON KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT CORRESPONDS TO PAP’S PROGRAM, ARAM SAFARIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan

Nov 7, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 7, NOYAN TAPAN. The negotiation process on
settlement of the Karabakh conflict corresponds to the program of
"Prosperous Armenia" Party (PAP), the secretary of the National
Assembly "PAP" faction Aram Safarian stated at the November 7 press
conference. According to him, their party’s position is that the
settlement of the Karabakh problem should be based on the 3 pivotal
points: 1) Karabakh may not become part of Azerbaijan as a result of
any negotiations as it has achieved the right to be an independent
state, 2) Karabakh must have a common land border with Armenia, 3)
the people of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic has the natural right to
live, work and create peacefully in homeland, and this right must be
ensured by international guarantees.

A. Safarian expressed a positive opinion about the Declaration on
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, which was signed by the
presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow on November
2. He said that it is line with the principles of PAP.

GORIK HAKOBIAN – HEAD OF THE ARMENIAN NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE

Jane’s Intelligence Digest
27-Oct-2008

Lieutenant General Gorik Hakobian has been the head of the Armenian
National Security Service (NSS) since November 2004.

Q. What are the main priorities of the Armenian National Security
Service?

A. "Since 2007, Armenia has conducted its national security policy
based on the first ever National Security Strategy, approved by
President Serzh Sarkisian and developed through an inter-departmental
commission. The NSS was one of the departments that participated
most actively in the formulation of this document, which provides the
political basis for reforming the national security system as a whole,
including the NSS strategy and priorities.

"One of the main goals of this strategy is the stable democratic
development of our society with the renewal and continuous increase
of Armenia’s domestic and external resources. It assumes that the NSS
should possess and improve special tools to identify and withstand the
threats to national security in its modern understanding. According
to this logic, it is important to specify basic principles for
strengthening Armenia’s national security system, such as shifting
the focus to assist the state in the sustainable development of a
modern democratic society in the whole context of political and legal,
socio-economic, defence, energy and informational directions. This
shift defines the essence and main priorities of our external and
domestic security activities.

"So, in the field of external security, NSS priorities are
grouped in a whole system of special measures aimed at protecting
Armenia’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,
as well as strengthening national security by participating in
international security co-operation, including combating international
terrorism. Domestic priorities include the protection of people’s
rights and liberties, the socio-political stability of society,
strengthening democratic law and order, law enforcement and maintaining
an equilibrium of inter-ethnic relations. Among these priorities,
a special importance is assigned to the consistent fight against
corruption.

"Systemic security reforms are now underway. These reforms reflect
principal changes concerning not only security, but also the essence
and direction of a balanced state security policy."

Q. What are the foreign threats to national security?

A. "We are concerned with the possibility of a recurrence of the
Armenian genocide [a reference to historic violence between Armenians
and Turks in Turkey and the Caucasus] because of the intensive
militarisation of Azerbaijan and the recurring official statements
of our neighbours concerning their plans to regain Nagorno-Karabakh
by military force, which legitimately gained self-determination. The
very recent attempt at militarily opposing the self-determination of
the people of South Ossetia proves that there are no alternatives
but peaceful and political ways to resolve conflicts in the South
Caucasus. And Azerbaijan’s threats to start a new war over Karabakh
are not helpful in this regard.

"Armenia continues to fulfill its obligations to the international
community concerning the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and participates in consultations and negotiations within
the framework of the Operation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States.

"Armenia proves its commitment to peace by its balanced foreign policy
of co-operation with leading states and organisations that provide
global and regional security. Armenia is not only a consumer of
international security but is also an active participant in providing
international security in hot spots of the world."

Q. In your opinion, what are the most urgent problems in Armenia’s
national security sphere?

A. "Among the most urgent problems are the fight against corruption
and international terrorism. During a recent meeting of senior NSS
officials with President Sarkisian, the fight against corruption
was identified as a priority. He stressed that the formation of
a strong and secure Armenia needs more consistent efforts to
overcome corruption. As the president noted, corruption among
state officials and within the government discredits not only the
authorities but the state as a whole, and it makes it less reliable
and accountable. Honest-minded people and qualified effective managers
of the private and state sectors are put aside from business and
governance by corruption.

"The high level of corruption, the lack of an adequate anti-corruption
legislative base and imperfect law-enforcement practices are obstacles
to Armenia’s full integration in the world community.

"The NSS participates in conducting strong control over the level of
corruption through special means, including encouraging anti-corruption
efforts among the public. It is very important that in carrying out
the president’s special order, we inform the public of some individual
cases of corruption within the anti-corruption activities. In this
connection, as an example of the continuous fight against corruption,
we may note the developing reformation of the tax and customs services,
including essential structural and personnel changes.

"Another urgent and rather responsible sector of our activity is our
participation in combating international terrorism. The assessment of
competent international organisations demonstrates the consistency
of our participation in this important aspect of international
security co-operation. Having visited Armenia in September 2007,
a delegation of inspectors from the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee
noted that 12 of 13 adopted documents to combat terrorism were either
already implemented or close to enforcement. Along with some success,
we continue our counter-terrorism activities in conjunction with our
partners and follow the dynamics of the situation in this region that
is full of diverse external threats."

CURRENT ATTITUDE TO ARMENIA’S SCIENCE INADMISSIBLE: NAS PRESIDENT

ARKA
Nov 5, 2008

YEREVAN, November 5. /ARKA/. Current attitude to Armenian science
cannot be tolerated, as it can lead to collapse, according to Radik
Martirosyan, president of the RA National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

"A strong army and economy are necessary for a powerful country. To
have a strong economy, a country needs a science in line with modern
standards," Martirosyan said at today’s parliamentary hearings.

He pointed out considerable cut in government allocations for science
in 2009, saying the situation would get worse in the coming three
years.

According to the NAS president, 8.3bln drams will be assigned for
science in 2009, which is 0.85% of total budget allocations, compared
to 0.9% in 2008.

Budget allocations for science totaled 6.8bln drams this year.

Martirosyan said Armenia’s neighbors allocate more funds for science
than the country, adding the average monthly wage in NAS is 55,000
drams and the government yearly assigns 1mln drams per research worker.

Out of the total sum, 800,000 drams are allocated for wages and social
payments and only 200,000 drams are spent on research activities.

European countries annually assign $170,000 for each researcher, in
Russia yearly allocations for each scientist reach $16,000, whereas
Armenia annually assigns $3,000 per research worker, the NAS president
said, the money is not enough to guarantee the country’s scientific
progress.