Author: Tadevosian Garnik

OPPOSITION HOLDS RALLY IN TBILISI

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.11.2008 18:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On November 7, 2008, up to 10 000 people congregated
in Tbilisi to vent their anger and frustration with Saakashvili’s
leadership in the largest manifestation of popular protest since
November 2003. Participants put forward a number of demands, including
Saakashvili’s resignation and the holding of parliamentary elections
in April 2008 as required by the constitution, rather than in the
fall of that year as decreed by Saakashvili.

Ten opposition parties from across the political spectrum, including
the People’s Party, the Labor Party, the Republican Party, the
Conservative Party, Georgia’s Way, Tavisupleba, Chven Tviton (We
Ourselves), and Okruashvili’s For a United Georgia, aligned in a
National Council that on October 17 unveiled a joint manifesto which
repeated many of Okruashvili’s criticisms of the Saakashvili regime.

It characterized the social, political, and economic situation in
Georgia as "grave," accused Saakashvili and his "corrupt team" of
"usurping power," and claimed that "political terror…reigns, and
basic human rights and freedoms are neglected." It further called
for the consolidation of Georgian society to elect in free and fair
elections in the spring of 2008 a new leadership that would enjoy
public trust and prove capable of tackling the serious problems the
country faced, RFE/RL reports.

CHAIRMAN OF CBA ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL OF HEADS OF STATE BODIES ON REGULATION OF SECURITIES MARKETS OF CIS COUNTRIES

Noyan Tapan

Nov 7, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 7, NOYAN TAPAN. The Chairman of the Central Bank of
Armenia (CBA) Arthur Javadian has been elected the Chairman of the
Council of the Heads of State Bodies on Regulation of Securities
Markets of the CIS Member States. NT was informed by the CBA PR
Service that the election was held at the Council’s sitting in the
city of Almaty (Kazakhstan) on November 5-6.

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ARMED FORCES OF ARMENIA AND BELARUS OUTLINED PROSPECTS FOR COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF TOPOGRAPHY

WPS Agency
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
November 5, 2008 Wednesday
Russia

A working visit of a delegation of the topographic department of the
main staff of the armed forces of Armenia to Belarus was accomplished
on October 31. For three days, Armenian delegation visited some
military units of the Belarusian army and discussed prospects of
bilateral cooperation with the colleagues.

SECTION: CIS DEFENSE; No. 123

LENGTH: 139 words

Members of the delegation got acquainted with equipment and
technologies used in the interests of topographic, geodetic and
navigation support of the Belarusian armed forces. Armenian servicemen
were especially interested in equipment of the 31st navigation
topographic center. This military unit possesses newest topographic,
geodetic and printing equipment and is staffed with highly skilled
personnel.

In the military academy of Belarus, foreign specialists got
acquainted with peculiarities of the training process and methods
of training of personnel in the field of geo information military
technologies. According to results of the visit the parties signed
minutes of the working meeting. The document makes provisions for
further development of bilateral contacts.

ARMENIAN POLITICIAN: "NAGORNO KARABAKH LOST THE STATUS OF AN EQUAL PARTY IN THE CONFLICT DUE TO ROBERT KOCHARYAN’S POLICY"

Today.Az
litics/48799.html
Nov 6 2008
Azerbaijan

"The Moscow declaration on the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh
conflict has two moments, which cause serious concerns", said member
of the political board of the Respublika opposition party Suren
Surenyants.

He said the first moment is that despite the decision of the OSCE
Budapest forum of 1994, "Nagorno Karabakh" lost the status of an
equal party of the conflict in the result of the 10 year policy of
President Robert Kocharyan.

"Nagorno karabakh has been formally excluded from the negotiation
process", noted he.

The second moment, he says, is the violation of order and method of
work of the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group.

He said though the new document does not fix the priority of the
principle of the territorial integrity, it refers to Madrid proposals,
which attempt to harmonize principles of the territorial integrity
and the right of nations for self-determination.

He reminded that the Madrid principles contain the demand to return
the lands and fix the indefinite term of the possible conduction of
a referendum in "Nagorno Karabakh".

FAILURE TO MEET COE COMMITMENTS DOESN’T LEAD TO IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.11.2008 18:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Joining the Council of Europe in 2001, Armenia
undertook certain obligations. Presently, the republic is in process of
fulfillment, said the head of the Armenian delegation to Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe.

"Armenia’s progress in fulfilling PACE resolutions 1609 and 1620 will
be considered during PACE January session," Davit Harutyunyan said.

"Armenia has chosen the way toward the CoE. If a member country fails
to meet its commitments, it become a topic of discussion but doesn’t
necessarily lead to imposition of sanctions. The problems addressed
in PACE resolutions are rather political than legal," he said, adding
that CoE Commissioner for Human Right Thomas Hammarberg is expected
to visit Armenia in November.

On 17 April 2008, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted Resolution 1609
on the functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia, in which it
set out four concrete requirements for the resolution of the political
crisis that ensued after the presidential election in Armenia

PACE PRESIDENT: "THE START OF DIALOGUE ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH IS A WINDOW OF HOPE FOR THE ENTIRE REGION"

Azeri Press Agency
Nov 4 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Victoria Dementieva-APA. Following the start of dialogue aimed
at finding a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
Lluís Maria de Puig, has urged the Presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan to continue down this road.

"I wish to congratulate Presidents Aliyev and Sarksyan, and President
Medvedev, who facilitated the meeting, on their commitment to finding a
peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The start of this
dialogue, which will be followed by intensified diplomatic efforts
and the promotion of a series of confidence-building measures, is a
window of hope for the entire region," said the President.

"As I pointed out during my visits to Baku and Yerevan last July,
our Assembly has worked relentlessly over the past 15 years to
bring about a political solution to the conflict in compliance with
international standards and principles and the commitments which the
two states made upon joining the Council of Europe. Such a solution
is now closer than ever," he added.

"The Parliamentary Assembly stands ready to help the Parliaments of
Armenia and Azerbaijan in all their efforts so that the process just
started proves successful," he concluded.

–Boundary_(ID_HA9w/eahhIgoPP7ZE3jvZg) —

RA DEFENSE MINISTER OFF TO BUCHAREST ON FORMAL VISIT

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.11.2008 14:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan and the
delegation headed by him departed Sunday for Bucharest on a three-day
formal visit, the Minister’s spokesman, col. Seyran Shahsuvaryan
told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The Armenian Minister is scheduled to meet with his Romanian
counterpart Teodor Melescanu and representatives of the Armenian
community of Romania.

Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Nov 2 2008

Russia hosts Azeri-Armenian talks

Aliyev, centre, and Sarkisian, right, met on Sunday in Medvedev’s
residence near Moscow [AFP]

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to "intensify talks"
to end their long-running dispute over the province of Nagorny
Karabakh, according to officials.

A joint statement made by Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani president, and
Serzh Sarkisian, his Armenian counterpart, also called for a "peaceful
resolution" to the dispute.

The pledge was made during talks hosted by Dmitry Medvedev, the
Russian president, near Moscow on Sunday.

Moscow is vying for influence with Washington in Azerbaijan, a key
energy exporter that ships oil and gas through the Western-backed
pipelines that cross Georgia and Turkey, bypassing Russia.

According to analysts, the Kremlin could strengthen its position in
the region by pushing Armenia, another close ally, towards compromise
on the issue.

Medvedev was present for the talks, which were held at his residence
in Barvikha near Moscow.

Dispute’s genesis

An enclave of Azerbaijan with a largely ethnic Armenian population,
Nagorny Karabakh broke free of Baku’s control in the early 1990s in a
war that killed nearly 30,000 people and forced two million to flee
their homes.

A ceasefire was signed in 1994 but the dispute remains unresolved
after years of negotiations.

Shootings between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the region are
common.

In October, Medvedev launched a fresh push to end the conflict during
a visit to Armenia.

At the meeting, Sarkisian said he was ready for talks with Azerbaijan
on the basis of principles worked out at negotiations in Madrid last
year under a plan that would give Nagorny Karabakh the right to
self-determination.

Russia’s role

The Kremlin would act as guarantor of a new accord, an administration
official was quoted as saying on Saturday.

"Russia would be prepared to support a resolution to the problem that
suits both sides and act as guarantor if a compromise deal is
reached," the unnamed Kremlin official said, according to state news
agency RIA Novosti.

A resolution would also "allow the return of stability and calm in the
South Caucasus and in the post-conflict period maintain the historical
balance of power in the region".

2008112133731167547.html

GEORGIA IS NOW ON THE VERGE OF JUST ANOTHER SHOCK
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.10.2008 GMT+04:00

The reckless move of the Georgian President spoiled the image
of not only the US but also that of the Ukraine and Israel, which
provided Georgia with arms, without thinking twice about the probable
catastrophic outcome of the war.

Georgia is now on the brink of just another shock. In an open letter
addressed to the President and published in the Georgian daily
"Rezonansi" on October 24, ex-speaker of the Georgian Parliament
and Saakashvili’s ex-ally Nino Burjanadze quite clearly speaks of
the forthcoming ‘relieve of the guard’. It wasn’t too long ago that
Burjanadze returned from the USA, and this letter is apparently the
result of consultations with the representatives of the US Political
Establishment. The letter is rather harsh and it can be regarded
as the message of a new Georgian president, to whose post, to all
appearances, the ex-speaker is gradually climbing.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Burjanadze writes: "You know quite well that I wanted
to quit the team several times because of disagreements with you and
your political team. I knew that it would have been better for my
personal political career to distance myself from those decisions
which not only did I disagree with but also strongly opposed. I
thought that November 7 would have been a bitter lesson for the
authorities. Unfortunately, it became obvious that the authorities
have failed to learn anything from November 7 and they only started to
make superficial, faзade changes…" "Continuation of a revolutionary
style of governance was unacceptable for me. Principle disagreements
between us about the style of governance and decision-making process
made it impossible to remain together in the same political team and
as a result I quit. Later, the 2008 August tragedy put us in face of
a new, gravest reality. From now on, even one minor wrong step can
turn fatal for the country," Burjanadze writes.

Most likely, the ex-speaker is the only Georgian leader in
Saakashvili’s closest circle who does not deny that Georgia lost
the August war. And not only the war does she mention. Burjanadze
also enumerates all the failures of Saakashvili’s policy, among them
unprecedented control over the media and business, aimed at maintaining
power; in fact one-party, fictional parliament; judiciary dependent
on the instructions of the executive authorities.

"The war has been lost and each Georgian will have to acknowledge,
think over and improve its historical burden, but, first and foremost,
this is the government’s responsibility. When a person, and moreover
a governor, cannot admit his failure, it brings new difficulties. The
government should be brave enough to admit its mistake. Only in such
case it will be possible to plan new policy rationally and unite the
society around it. Today, when the country still faces the threat
of destabilization and when there is an urgent need to overcome
the crisis, I have a strong reason to believe that the authorities
are not capable of averting another provocation. This opinion is
strengthened by unanswered questions concerning the August events,
by the fact that the Georgian government’s structure and mentality has
remained the same as it was before the August war. I clearly see that
the current authorities’ main priority is to maintain power. Hence,
a real threat exists that attempts to maintain power may cause you
to make further irreparable mistakes. I announce that in case of one
more adventure Georgia will lose young people, territories, it will
finally lose the western trust and support, any perspective of joining
Euro-Atlantic structures and will also face a great deal of other
problems, which are quite unpredictable. You should make a choice –
what is more important for you – the country, the promises given to
the people in 2003 or securing your personal power. I will struggle
to ensure that after five years of the revolution the country no more
faces a problem of stability, justice and elementary freedom. I should
be honest before the generation of my children!", Burjanadze stresses.

Let us admit that Nino Burjanadze’s letter is like one written by a
future Georgian president, who still by word of mouth is trying to
help Georgia out of the swamp which it had been driven into by the
myopic policy of Mikhail Saakashvili. The latter had truly believed
that the Russian forces would be fought against not by the Georgian
army but by the US or NATO battalions. He had also believed that an
instant blitzkrieg would be enough for Georgia to occupy a standing
close to such countries as the United States, France or Germany at
the worst. However, happened what was to happen – Georgia was able to
make no hero of herself; President Bush and his team could not clearly
explain why armed and well-equipped Georgian soldiers simply ran away
with the first gunshots from the Russian side. The reckless move of
the Georgian President spoiled the image of not only the US but also
that of the Ukraine and Israel, which provided Georgia with arms,
without thinking twice about the probable catastrophic outcome of
the war. On the other hand, the war was just a business and nothing
personal for these countries. However, for Georgia and for President
Saakashvili the war turned into a tragedy, which the latter, however,
is reluctant to admit.

–Boundary_(ID_FFFwzC5AlyPZfMaJCmZxBg)–

TO GIVE KARABAKH TO EU

Lragir.am
15:33:52 – 28/10/2008

One of the traditional parties of Armenia, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun,
is known to uphold the slogan "not a patch of land". On October 28
it became known at the Hayatsk press club that the slogan of one of
the other traditional parties, the Liberal Democratic Ramkavar Party
of Armenia, is "not a yard of border".

The point is that the leader of the Ramkavar Party of Armenia presented
their approach toward the settlement of the Karabakh issue at the
Hayatsk press club. Hence, first it is proposed to apply to the
Court of the Hague, afterwards Karabakh gets the mandate of the EU,
turns into an area of interest for the EU, and since both Armenia
and Azerbaijan are headed for the EU, the EU should address the
reconstruction of communications at peace.

How about the liberated territories, the reporters asked the leader
of the Ramkavar Party of Armenia? He said there are no borders,
and this territory or that territory in the EU.

By the way, this approach toward the settlement is included in the
terms of the program of the Ramkavar Party which will be presented to
the conference of the united Ramkavar Party: the Ramkavar Party, the
Dashink Party, the National Rebirth Party, the Liberal Progressive
Party. Harutiun Arakelyan said the process of uniting is about to
finish, and the conference will probably be in February, which will
elect the new leadership of the party, and adopt the program.