Author: Talalian Arpi

STATE REGISTER OF ARMENIA HAS NOT REGISTERED THE NEWSPAPER ‘VERSIA’

ArmInfo
2009-02-06 13:05:00

ArmInfo. Azernbaijani Defense Ministry has refuted the reports by
Azerbaijani media regarding the application by the Azerbaijani soldier
to the Armenian leadership. Azerbaijani Defense Ministry Spokesman
E. Sabiroghlu made relevant refutation.

On Thursday referring to an item in the Armenian press Azerbaijani
agencies disseminated a report that Azerbaijani soldier Vusal Hasanov
(Hajiyev in some sources) applied to the Armenian leadership with a
letter complaining for humiliating treatment in army and expressing
desire to desert to the Armenian party. Reference to a certain Armenian
newspaper ‘Versia’ was reported on Friday. However, Armenian Justice
Ministry Spokeswoman Lana Mshetsyan told ArmInfo the State Register
of Armenia has not registered either Armenian- or Russian-language
newspaper ‘Versia’. Though the Azerbaijani official refuted the
‘item in the Armenian press’, in reality the refutation was addressed
to the Azerbaijani media since it was they that disseminated such
‘misinformation’.

NKR FOREIGN POLICY AND SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSING NATIONAL SECURITY CONCEPT

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.02.2009 15:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The NKR foreign policy and security council has
decided to launch a serious of public discussions on the national
security concept.

Masis Mayilyan, the chairman of the council, said the document is of
utmost importance since it will represent the state strategy with a
glance to available resources and possibilities.

"If the other forms and levels of Arstakh’s security are conditioned
by the outcomes of future bilateral and multilateral agreements,
there are no obstacles to creation of missing elements of our own
system of national security," Mr. Mayilyan told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The council is a partnership of NKR public affairs and experts dealing
with the urgent foreign policy problems.

ACCORDING TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEPUTIES, IN ARMENIA PEOPLE LOSE JOBS NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS

Noyan Tapan

Feb 5, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, NOYAN TAPAN. As of late January, 3,500 people
lost jobs due to the global financial and economic crisis, the RA
minister of labor and social issues Arsen Hambartsumian stated during
the February 4 sitting of the RA National Assembly. Noting that
this data is not final, the minister called on all the unemployed
to be registered at the regional employment centers to help organize
more precise registration. The minister did not give an answer to NA
deputies’ question about what steps the government is going to take
for preventing an increase in unemployment.

According to some deputies, many people lost their jobs because
of the recent steps of the government. The member of "OYP" faction
Stepan Aslanian noted that empty areas have appeared in the fairs of
Yerevan due to the use of cash registers, the requirement on invoices
and for other reasons. In his words, the fact that in conditions of
the crisis people lose their jobs for other reasons is worrying.

The member of "Heritage" faction Armen Martirosian said that employees
of fairs often suffer because of the owners of these areas. He added
that these owners are those engaged in big business who must be made
to pay the full amount of taxes.

The minister of economy Nerses Yeritsian pointed out the necessity
to record all the documents on turnover for efficient organization
of tax collection.

As regards invoices for foodstuffs, according to the minister,
henceforth only the receiver may issue an invoice with the passport
data of the supplier and the quantity of goods.

A. Martirosian also addressed the problem of private taxi drivers who
demand extending the period of use of their vehicles and cancelling
the requirement on yellow number plates which does not allow them to
transport passengers out of Armenia. By the way, on the day of the
sitting taxi drivers held another action of protest.

The minister of transport and communication Gurgen Sargsyan announced
that an agreement on yellow number plates was reached with Georgia,
and no problems with transporting passengers there will arise. As
for the period of use of vehicles, it will not be changed because
the problem is related to safety of passenger transportation.

GEORGIA ACCUSED OF BULLYING ETHNIC ARMENIANS
By Olesya Vartanian

Institute for War and Peace Reporting
;s=f&o =349859&apc_state=henh
Feb 5 2009
UK

Some Yerevan politicians say arrest of Armenian activists on espionage
charges is attempt to intimidate the minority.

Politicians in Armenia have been angered by the arrest in Georgia late
last month of two ethnic Armenians charged with spying for Russia’s
secret services.

The two Armenians – Grigor Minasian and Sargis Hakobjanian – are
campaigners in the Armenian community in the southern region of
Samtskhe-Javakheti, where Armenians form a majority of the population.

They were arrested on January 21, but little publicity has been given
to the case.

Georgian newspapers have barely mentioned the affair, and a
high-ranking official at the interior minister said officials were
deliberately not releasing a lot of material so as not to "make a
lot of noise about this, as it is an isolated case of Russian spies
trying to work in Samtskhe-Javakheti".

Some Armenian politicians, however, have been furious and said the
arrests were an attempt to intimidate their ethnic kin in Georgia.

Georgia’s state minister for re-integration Temur Lakobashvili said
Russia had intensified espionage activities in the country since the
August war over South Ossetia.

"We have information that the Russians tried to hide their activities
within non-governmental organisations. We are talking about dozens of
millions of dollars," said Lakobashvili, refusing to elaborate further.

Georgia has previously accused Russia of espionage, and the two
countries fell out spectacularly in 2006 when police arrested four
Russian officers. Russia effectively blockaded Georgia as a result,
even after Georgia released and deported the men.

The lawyer for the two arrested ethnic Armenians, Nino Andriashvili,
said they were accused of cooperating with a Belarus-based organisation
allegedly set up by Russia’s Federal Security Service, FSB, called
the Association for Legal Assistance to the Population, ALAP.

Andriashvili said the two men had admitted being involved in espionage,
but denied a secondary charge of planning to create a private army. She
said the investigators had a video of the two men discussing the
creation of such an army with the local head of ALAP, but that they
had not thought he was being serious.

"Minasian and Hakobjanian came to see him in his office, and they
were having a drink. And this person started to say things like
‘we are really cool, we will make a good army, we will train up some
lads’. And they started to agree with him," she said.

She said the un-named man from ALAP suggested funding three projects,
including a sports hall for around 100,000 US dollars.

But some ethnic Armenians do not believe the government’s story of
Russian-funded treachery, saying this is an attempt to intimidate
the community whose region hosted a Russian military base until 2006.

"How many more political prisoners, uninvestigated cases and murders
does this society need? God alone knows who wanted this. It is
possible that more arrests could follow this," said one man from
Samtskhe-Javakheti who knew Minasian, but who asked not to be named.

"There won’t be an uprising or bloodshed, but there will definitely
be protests about this."

And the local Armenians could count on support from some public
figures in neighbouring Armenia, if they did take to the streets.

Shirak Torosian, who represents the Republican Party in the Armenian
parliament, said the Georgian government needed to be told this was
unacceptable.

"Now pressure from public opinion is crucial, to makethe Georgian
authorities think more carefully. Otherwise, this incident could have
dangerous consequences for the region," said Torosian.

"This arrow could turn into a boomerang."

Both of the arrested men promoted the rights of the Armenian
community. Minasian, 33, headed a youth organisation and Hakobjanian,
50, campaigned on cultural issues.

Minasian’s organisation also worked with the Union of Armenian
Assistance, which has links to Dashnaktsutyun (the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation), a controversial nationalist party and
member of Armenia’s ruling coalition.

Kiro Manoian, the head of the Dashnaktsutyun office of political
affairs, said the arrests were an attempt to cow Armenians.

"The story with the arrest came at a very convenient moment to secure
the attention of society and shut the mouths of Armenians," he said.

"Georgian society is already bored of hearing about problems with
Russia. Of course Armenia and the population of [Samtskhe-Javakheti]
became a convenient target to distract attention from the country’s
internal problems."

ALAP seems to be based in Minsk, and its website says the organisation
is dedicating to promoting "peace, education and civil society
development", but has no information on the source of its funding.

Local NGOs said the organisation appeared in Samtskhe-Javakheti several
months ago. In December last year, a representative gave questionnaires
to representatives of NGOs in the region. They received between
300-800 dollars if they filled them in – a lot of money in the region.

Minasian and Hakobjanian’s completed questionnaires were presented
as proof of their alleged espionage, although their lawyer said none
of the information they provided was a state secret.

IWPR saw one of the questionnaires and it included 20 questions related
to the region, some of which were potentially sensitive. One question
concerned the resettlement of Meskhetian Turks – a people deported
in Stalin’s time who have been agitating to come home ever since –
while another addressed security around a pipeline being built.

Other NGOs in the region also filled in the forms, though they realised
the questions were unusual.

"We all joked that this organisation reminded us of the FSB. And we
were very surprised when we found out that they intended to spend
so much money," said the head of one NGO in Samtskhe-Javakheti,
who asked to remain anonymous out of concerns that the criminal case
might expand to take in other public figures.

"We were told that the possible projects were unlimited, and the
money also. I have worked for many years in the non-governmental
sector. When has there ever been money like that?"

The ALAP office in central Tbilisi closed a month ago. The telephones
were disconnected, and they have not replied to emails.

ORANGE ARMENIA PLANS TO MAKE ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS OF 70 MILLION DOLLARS IN 2009

Noyan Tapan

Feb 3, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan on February 3 received Director General of France Telecom
(Orange Armenia) company Bruno Dutois. Presenting the activities
of France Telecom which is considered one of the world’s leading
operators in the communication sector, B. Dutois said that Orange
Armenia is still at the stage of its formation and intends to finish
preparatory work by late 2009 and start its activities during that
period. According to him, in 2009 the company plans to make additional
investments of 70 million USD, having a purpose of operating not only
in the capital city but also in Armenian marzes (provinces).

T. Sargsyan attached importance to the entrance of France Telcom
into the Armenian market from several points of view: first, the
competition in the communication sector will increase, thanks to
which the consumer will benefit, new investments will be made and
new jobs will be created. This circumstance is especially important
under conditions of the current financial and economic crisis.

According to the RA Government Information and PR Department, the
French Ambassador to Armenia Serge Smessov and the Director-Shareholder
of Grant Thornton Amyot company Armand Pinarbasi participated in
the meeting.

MP FROM REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ARMENIA: ECONOMIC CRISIS TO DIRECT FINANCIAL FLOWS INTO REAL SECTOR OF ARMENIA’S ECONOMY

ArmInfo
2009-02-03 17:12:00

ArmInfo. The economic crisis will direct financial flows to the real
sector of Armenia’s economy, Armenian MP from the Republican Party
of Armenia faction, Chairman of Standing Parliamentary Commission
for Economic Issues Vardan Ayvazyan told journalists, Tuesday.

"The crisis will become good means for transition of virtual capital
to real ground",- Ayvazyan said. He added that the crisis arose as a
result of abusing money flows by financial companies and circulation
of huge amounts outside the real sector. "Though Armenia didn’t have
to experience such shocks due to the undeveloped financial market,
nevertheless, this should become a warning for us: the current
financial means in economy shouldn’t be an aim in itself, they should
serve the real sector", – Ayvazyan said.

ARMENIA’S APPROACHES TO TURKEY’S INITIATIVE
Lusine Vsilyan

"Radiolur"
02.02.2009 18:13

Discussions on one of the latest regional initiatives – the Caucasus
Platform – were held in Turkey recently. Representatives of Foreign
Ministries of five countries of the region – Russia, Turkey, Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia – met in Istanbul. It seems, however, that the
Istanbul meeting did not bring anything new. Official information was
restricted to the report that the meeting was of working character,
technical issues were discussed and no document was adopted as a result
of the meeting. How do Armenian analysts comment on the discussions
of the Caucasus Platform?

At the peak of the Russian-Georgian conflict in August 2008 Turkey
came forth with an initiative of establishing a new interstate union
aimed at promoting stability in the region. The proposal referred
to the five countries of the region – Russia, Armenia, Georgia,
Azerbaijan and Turkey. The initiative was called Caucasus Stability
and Cooperation Platform.

Following the proposal all the countries spoke in favor of regional
cooperation and actually supported the initiative. The Armenian
Foreign Minister also declared the initiative was acceptable.

After the recent meeting in Istanbul experts say Ankara’s proposal
will not go beyond discussions. One of the periodicals rushed to
describe it as a "bridge that20does not lead anywhere."

Political scientist Sergey Shakaryants considers that Turkey’s
initiative of establishing a stability and cooperation platform in
the region is destined to fail, first of all because great strategic
changes have taken place in the region. The recent high-level contacts
between Russia and Europe showed that Russia is not going to refuse
from its decisions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "It means that
five out of the six countries in the region are recognized, while
the Turkish initiative recognizes only three of them, also Russia
and Turkey," Shakaryants says.

According to the political scientist, the second factor that makes
the success of the Platform uncertain is the exclusion of Iran,
which contradicts the reality. "Because of these two reasons Turkey’s
initiative is unreal and has no strategic prerequisites. Even if
the Foreign Ministers of the five countries hold several meetings
and sign some documents, it’s hard to imagine that it will lead to
accomplishment of any programs within the framework of the Caucasus
Platform."

To ground his initiative Turkish President Abdullah noted the Stability
and Cooperation Platform would contribute to the resolution of frozen
conflicts in the region, including the Karabakh issue. "Only the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict remains unsettled in the region. However,
Turkey’s interference in its settlement is neither expected, not
welcomed," the political scientist notes.

"Turkey has never been considered an international mediator in the
Karabakh conflict resolution. That is why the Caucasus Platform
will not advance the settlement of the conflict. It was Russia that
categorically spoke against Turkey’s involvement. Turkey has long been
isolated from the negotiation process. The Caucasus Platform will not
provide new opportunities, since the issue has been solved on much
higher level," Sergey Shakaryants stated. The political scientist adds
that the format of the Caucasus Platform cannot promote rapprochement.

According to Sergey Shakaryants, the Armenian-Turkish contacts can
yield results only in case Turkey refuses from its preconditions,
from its approach of unilaterally supporting Azerbaijan’s unilateral
approach. He considers, however, that Turkey is not going to refuse
from the position.

Political scientist Alexander Iskandaryan’s assessment of the
initiative is more optimistic. He first emphasizes that he does not
comprehend the initiative as a real purpose. "The Caucasus Platform
is a tool of cooperation, which did not exist in the past. It
envisages a framework of cooperation, where Turkey, Russia and the
three South Caucasian countries should try to work out mechanisms
of cooperation. Whatever topic was put on the basis of the platform,
it would be interesting because it would be discussed by the five coun
tries of the region. From this point of view the initiative functions,
since it is discussed.

To what extent does Alexander Iskandaryan agree with the assessment
that the initiative will not go beyond discussions? "Something has
already happened: Turkey started to play, it got deper involved in the
discussions on what is going to take place in the South Caucasus. One
could consider this as simple discussions, but I do believe it’s not
very unserious."

Even the meetings of technical nature are already a result only because
they exist. This is a process, which we cannot assess as a success or
failure with the results of the technical meetings. In this case, the
simple meeting is already a result, but launching broader cooperation
would be a greater achievement."

SAFAR ABIYEV CALLED TO MOSCOW

ArmInfo
2009-01-30 12:23:00

ArmInfo. Official visit of Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev
to Moscow starts today.

As Bakililar.AZ reports, S. Abiyev will meet his Russian counterpart
and discuss the information about transfer of armament to Armenia to
the sum of $800 mln, which evoked a wide response in Azerbaijan. The
Russian party claimed about the necessity of the meeting and detailed
explanations. As the source recalls, the Russian DM officially denied
the information about transfer of military equipment to Armenia to
the sum of $800 mln and called it absurd and provocation. Azerbaijan
expressed discontent with the provided explanations and is thoroughly
investigating the data. Negotiations of S.

Abiyev with A. Serdyukov should drop down the curtain in this
unpleasant history.

BAHAMAS WELCOMES FIRST AMBASSADOR OF UKRAINE

Bahama Islands Info
Jan 30 2009
The Bahamas

NASSAU, Bahamas – The Bahamas welcomed the first Ambassador of Ukraine
during a ceremony at Government House Thursday. The two countries
established diplomatic relations on September 27, 2003.

Governor General His Excellency Arthur Hanna accepted Letters of
Credence accrediting Yuriy A. Sergeyev, 52, as Ambassador of Ukraine
to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, marking "a momentous development"
in mutual relations.

"You have signalled that despite differing historical contexts and
priorities, when you assume duty our respective countries will see an
intensification in bilateral cooperation," the Governor General said.

The Ambassador highlighted the common development challenges
both countries face, Europe’s regional global outreach policy and
collaboration at the United Nations level. He has also raised awareness
of the opportunities that exist for increased, mutually beneficial
relations in the political, economic, technical, scientific and
cultural areas.

Acknowledging these areas, the Governor General also took note of
the Ambassador’s specific proposals for joint trade projects and the
development of tourism between The Bahamas and Ukraine.

"Your impressive credentials as a promoter and key practitioner of the
foreign policy of Ukraine nationally and in major European regional
centres, are indicative of the confidence and the priority your
government places in this new stage of our relations," the Governor
General said.

He said he was confident the Ambassador’s credentials would serve
well as he discharges his duties for the mutually beneficial relations
and priorities.

In his response, Ambassador Sergeyev said he was sure of the ability
to fruitfully cooperate in carrying out joint trade projects as well
as developing tourist infrastructure in both countries.

Ambassador Sergeyev was born on February 5, 1956 in Leninakan
(Armenia). He is the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United
Nations. He served as Ambassador to France, Permanent Representative
of Ukraine to UNESCO from March 2003 to April 2007. From 1981 to
1992 he served as assistant, Docent at the Philological Faculty
of T. Shevchenko Kyiv State University. He is fluent in English
and French.

Photo: Governor General His Excellency Arthur Hanna (left) accepts
Letters of Credence from Yuriy A. Sergeyev, 52, accrediting him as
Ambassador of Ukraine to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, during a
ceremony at Government House on Thursday, January 29, 2009.

VAHAGN CHAKHALYAN: JAVAKHETI ARMENIANS WILL CONTINUE STRUGGLE FOR THEIR RIGHTS

Noyan Tapan

Jan 29, 2009

YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The imprisoned leader of the "United
Javakhk" Democratic Alliance" political movement Vahag Chakhalyan
made a statement on January 28. The statement reads:

"Since the day of its establishment the "United Javakhk" Democratic
Alliance" political movement, of which I am the leader, has been
seeking solutions to the problems of the Javakheti and Georgian
Armenians on the whole.

There used to be and there still are a lot of problems to face. The
Georgian authorities undertake successive actions to encourage the
immigration of the Javakheti Armenians and to change the ethnic picture
of the region. Thus, 70% of the students at the State University in
Akhalkalaki are ethnic Georgians. Moreover, a Georgian orphanage is
established and a big prison is being built in Ninotsminda, attempts
to georgianize the Armenian churches are made, new Georgian monasteries
are constructed, etc. In Javakheti there is no alternative to using the
Georgian language, which is imposed at all levels of social life. The
Javakheti Armenians are refused the right to establish an Armenian
language based university.

After the murder of the ethnic Armenian – Gevorg Gevorgyan in Tsalka
region on March 9, 2006, his relatives and friends organized a protest
action, which was forcefully broken up by the police. This20caused
a well-grounded discontent of the Javakheti Armenians. The "United
Javakhk" Democratic Alliance" placed itself at the head of this wave
of protests.

After each protest action I, as a leader of the "United Javakhk"
Democratic Alliance", had a meeting with the Georgian authorities. The
latter kept on promising to solve the problems regarding the Javakheti
Armenians, however, the promises remained unfulfilled. The authorities
advised us to refrain from mass protest actions and to pursue our
objectives through participation in elections and other democratic
processes.

The "United Javakhk" Democratic Alliance" followed this
advice. In October 2006 we took part in the elections to the local
self-administration bodies, however blatant falsifications of the
voting results by the authorities deprived the "United Javakhk"
Democratic Alliance" of the opportunity to have any visible
participation in the local self-administration bodies. The protest
action organized by the "United Javakhk" Democratic Alliance" was
put down by police by means of provocation and use of force.

Throughout the year 2007 the Georgian authorities had been undertaking
successive actions to liquidate the "United Javakhk" Democratic
Alliance" and to ensure my political isolation and neutralization. The
culmination of these actions became the events that took place in
July 17-21, 2008.

Today, 6 months after my imprisonment, the Georgian authorities
charge me wi th organizing protest actions in Akhalkalaki in 2006,
– the actions by means of which the Javakheti Armenians voiced
the problems and issues they were concerned about and requested the
Georgian authorities to solve them; -the protest actions during which
the Javakheti Armenians voiced their discontent about the blatant
falsifications made by the authorities during the elections to the
local self-administration bodies, claiming to declare the election
results invalid.

Thus, in this courtroom I am stating the following: this lawsuit
is a farce, and the reason for continuously delaying the trial
lies in the fact that the Georgian authorities are afraid of me,
as a political activist, who is a mouthpiece for the rights of the
Javakheti Armenians. By charging me you charge the Armenian minority
of your country.

The arrests of Ahaltsikha Armenian activists Grigor Minasyan, and
Sargis Hakobjanyan are also the result of this fear. This is a new
provocation, which aims to impel the Javakheti Armenians to extremist
actions and by this to discredit the peaceful struggle of Javakheti
Armenians for their language, educational and religious rights.

As in the past, once again I request the Georgian authorities to:

Stop all the criminal cases brought against the members of the "United
Javakhk" Democratic Alliance", my relatives and friends, as well as
against me. To stop all political and economic persecutions. Release
all political pris oners who were arrested for their activities aimed
at protection of the rights of the Armenian minority, including –
of people arrested in Akhaltsikhe.

Cease all the programs aimed at the artificial change of the
demographic picture of the Samtskhe-Javakheti and Tsalka regions.

Solve all the linguistic-educational, socio-economic and cultural
problems the Armenian Minority of Georgia is concerned about.

Register the Armenian Apostolic Church and return it all the
churches that have been confiscated during the soviet era. Legally
authorize the use of the Armenian language in the work of the
local self-administration bodies and in general office work in
Samtskhe-Javakheti and Tsalka regions. Give permission for establishing
an Armenian university in Akhalkalaki.

The Georgian authorities will not be able to solve any problems
by means of judicial proceedings and repressions. This will only
intensify the discontent.

The Javakheti Armenians will continue the struggle for their rights".