Author: Talalian Arpi

THE CAUCASIAN CONFLICT CAN BE ENDED WITHIN DAYS
Sergei Kremlev

1 4.08.2008

What are the prospects of Russia’s policies in the Caucasus following
the rebuff of the Georgian military intervention in South Ossetia
under conditions when according to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov "the current Georgia’s leadership is a special US project"
and the Washington administration has chosen to speak to Moscow in a
master’s voice saying "that Russia should act in a way that…", or
"Russia must do this or that…. " ?

If we were to speak about other things that are not half-measures
rather than about a continuous following the political course
predestined by the course of operation of Georgia’s coercion to peace,
that is about something that Russia does need to do, namely: to give
its consent as soon as possible to make a completely vindicated and
natural as well as a long-ripe decision to satisfy the many-times
repeated requests of the peoples of South Ossetia and the Republic of
Abkhazia about granting them the membership of the Russian Federation.

Let me remind the reader who may have forgotten that within the
Russian Constitution it is legal to extend the Russian Federation by
way of including new territories in the composition of the Russian
state. Article 65-2, Chapter 3, ("The Federal Composition") r eads:"
The incorporation of a new subject of the Russian Federation is to
be effected in the order set out by a federal constitutional law."

The peoples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have long been prepared to
get under Russia’s control. In the situation when the Western pressure
on Moscow in the area where the Georgian issue is concerned is going
to grow every day, there is the only way to put an end to it, that is,
based on the inalienable right of self-determination of the Abkhazian
and South Ossetian peoples, to satisfy the pressing requests of the
peoples of these two republics.

For how long would Georgia under Mikhail Saakashvili enjoy its
stripes-and-stars "independence" beseeching for "territorial
integrity" they are making a myth of? Why is Moscow failing to state
unequivocally and resolutely that calls of Tbilisi and Washington for
"the territorial integrity" of the present-day Georgian state within
the boundaries of the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic are
equal to the call for respect of the territorial integrity of the
Russian Federation within the boundaries of the Soviet Union of 1991?

In 2006 I wrote;" Virtually without shooting a single shot we can have
a Caucasus that would be stable and inherently friendly to Russia. We
can have it within a matter of weeks…"

And even today in the current tense situation when shots c ontinue
to sound we can still resolve the problem within 24 hours.

Here’s a tentative algorithm of the (potentially) historic 24 hours:

1) Moscow informs the leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia that
Russia is ready to incorporate them.

2) An extraordinary federal Constitutional Act is to be worked out
installing the order of incorporation of a new subject of the Russian
Federation. Such an act can be produced in just one day.

3) An urgent extraordinary plenary joint session of the two
houses of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation with the
participation of the president, the prime-minister and Russia’s
government is convened to vote in a new federal constitutional law
in three readings, voting in on its basis the incorporation into
the Russian Federation of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic
of South Ossetia in accordance with the principle of the rights of
nations for self-determination. Given that Georgia seceded from the
USSR making reference to this right proclaimed in 1917 in US President
Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Articles, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have every
right to join the Russian Federation based on this very programme!

4) Russian assault force troops are to be deployed in Abkhazia
and South Ossetia to ensure efficient defence of the new Russian
territories.

5) The leadership of Georgia and all the countries of the world are
warned against any action by force20threatening the security of the
residents of the new Russian territories that would be treated as
an act of aggression against Russia with the full range of ensuing
consequences.

6) The RF Federal Assembly would then appeal to all the Caucasian
nations to express its preparedness to carry out hands-on activities to
ensure peace and stability in the Caucasus, including the preparedness
to incorporate into the new federative Russia both Georgia and Armenia.

These 6 items can become the basis of a long-term programme of settling
all the conflict situations currently developing in the Caucasus.

*** Shortly before he died in Paris, Russian émigré writer Vladimir
Maksimov said:" Should we firmly and resolutely say "Dry up!" once,
they in the West would listen to Russia’s voice. Here in the West
they are getting obedient and urbane very fast, beginning to speak
the normal human language. But should you give in, you can forget
all about mercy from these civilised people. They treat people who
give in shamelessly, losing all sense of decency and respect; and
they would not be satisfied until they do you in."

Vladimir Maksimov knew what he was talking about. These words of his
should be remembered. Should we wait till they do us in first within
the Russian geopolitical space as they are trying to do at present,
and then – if we remain idle, what would be inevitable =E 2 within
the Russian land.

Is it not time for us to say firmly and resolutely:"Dry up!"?

–Boundary_(ID_RrlfnOUM0hO5Jzr/D8zuzw) —

"LOGOS EXPO" CENTER TO CONDUCT INTERNATIONAL AND SPECIALIZED EXHIBITIONS IN ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
Aug 14, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS: "LOGOS-EXPO" center is going to carry
out a number of exhibitions October 14-17 in Armenia. Press service
of the center told Armenpress that there will be international and
specialized exhibitions such as – "BUILD EXPO-2008", "AUTOSHOW
EXPO-2008", "Polygraph, Publication, Advertisement EXPO-2008",
"Industrial Armenia EXPO-2008", "EXPO FOOD & DRINKS-2008",
"COMP-EXPO-2008", "Furniture Saloon EXPO-2008".

The thematic departments of the "Industrial Armenia EXPO-2008" will
be heavy, light mining industry, chemistry, electrical technology,
stone processing, machine-building, jewelry production etc. The main
goal of the exhibitions is to find new partners, markets, attract
the attention of foreign investors towards Armenia’s economy, present
the country’s economic potential.

The main thematic departments of the "COMP-EXPO-2007" will be software,
local and global networks’ projecting, internet provider, means of
communication, banking devices and technology.

In "EXPO FOOD & DRINKS-2008" dairy produce, meat, non-alcoholic and
alcoholic drinks, cigarettes, candies, ice-cream and other goods
will be presented. During the "Furniture Saloon EXPO-2008" furniture
for kitchens, bedrooms, offices, restaurants, children rooms will
be displayed.

"LOGOS EXPO" center is planning also to conduct "Education and Career
EXPO-2008" ninth international specialized exhibition, the main
thematic departments of which will be education in average and higher
educational establishments, the role of international organizations
in the education sphere.

December 10-12 it is expected to organize "EXPO Beauty-2008" 5th
international specialized exhibition during which different cosmetics,
jewelry, wedding means, shoes and clothes will be displayed.

FLOW OF ARMENIAN TOURISTS TO ADZHARIA (GEORGIA) SAGGING SHARPLY

arminfo
8-08-11 11:37:00

ArmInfo. Flow of Armenians tourists to the most popular Georgian
resorts in Adzharia has sharply decreased though Yerevan-Batumi
train moves in conformity with the timetable, Press-Secretary of
Armenian Ministry of Transport and Communication Susanna Tonoyan told
ArmInfo. She said that yesterday the train delivered 300 passengers
from Batumi to Yerevan. In the meanwhile on 9 August (the train from
Armenia leaves on countable days) CJSC South -Caucasian Railroad
(subsidiary of Russian Railways) delivered only 21 to Batumi though
the train is designed for more than 200 seats.

In summer season the train is often fully loaded, S. Tonoyan said. She
underlined that Armenian citizens leave for Batumi also by cars and
buses via another highway Akhalkalaki-Ninotsminda-Khachuri-Batumi
passing by Gori town for security reason. However, road traffic
has considerably reduced as well since many refrain from resting in
Georgia after relevant call by the Armenian Foreign Ministry. In case
of necessity, S. Tonoyan said, the South-Caucasian Railroad is ready
to make additional Yerevan-Tbilisi run to deliver Armenian tourists
to the motherland.

To recall, many Armenian tourists expressed desire to return
to Armenia. In this connection the Armenian Embassy and Consulate
General in Georgia ensured safe return of 3500 Armenian tourists and
850 foreign citizens as of August 10.

CONGRESSMAN CALLS POLICE ON UNWANTED CAMERAMAN

Associated Press
Aug 6 2008

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, holding an election-eve news conference,
called police to get a man with a video camera removed from his
home Wednesday.

The cameraman identified himself as Peter Musurlian of Glendale,
Calif. He said he worked for an Armenian-American group angry with
Cohen’s opposition to a House resolution labeling the killing of
Armenians in World War I as genocide.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the nonbinding resolution
last year despite arguments it would anger Turkey, which allows
U.S. military shipments headed for Iraq to cross its borders.

Cohen held a brief media availability at his house prior to Thursday’s
Democratic Primary.

When Musurlian showed up, Cohen pushed him out the front door and
called police. He said the cameraman had followed him for several days,
interrupting his meetings with constituents and shining bright lights
in his face.

Police talked with Musurlian across the street from Cohen’s residence
and sent him on his way.

Musurlian said his group was supporting Cohen’s main re-election
opponent, Memphis lawyer Nikki Tinker.

POPULATION OF ARMENIA MORE THAN 3.2 MILLION

Panorama.am
14:58 05/08/2008

In a reporting time period the population of Armenia formed 3231.9
thousands people, reported the National Statistical Center of Armenia
making the final reports of demography. The number of people living in
the urban communities is 2070.2 thousands and in the rural communities
– 1161.7 thousands.

Dating from the beginning of the year the rate of the population
increased by 1.8 thousands persons and compared with the previous year
– 8.2 thousands. According to the Statistical Center the development
of the population rate is due to the increased birthrate and migration.

LEVON ARONIAN SHARES 3RD-12TH PLACES IN SECOND "GRAND PRIX" CHESS TOURNAMENT

Noyan Tapan

Au g 4, 2008

SOCHI, AUGUST 4, NOYAN TAPAN. After 4 rounds in the second "Grand Prix"
chess tournament in Sochi, Levon Aronian (Armenia) has earned 2 points
and with another 10 chess players shares 3rd-12th places. The leader
is Ivan Cheparinov from Bulgaria (3 points).

Games of 5th rounds are scheduled for August 4.

MUST LEAVE

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on Aug 02, 2008
Armenia

"Levon Ter-Petrosyan is not engaged in politics. He has quit politics
and he must leave." Galust Sahakyan believes.

"It is up to them to decide the time and the day but he must definitely
leave. Until there are detained, he must somehow influence that
process, here our opinions coincide. We are also determined to solve
the issue of those who are detained, but the final decision is up to
the court."

SYSTEM MEMBERS BECOME SCARS ON THE SIDE
By Richard Cromelin

Daily Press
ars-0801aug01,0,3795286.story
Aug 1 2008
VA

While the former group takes an indefinite break, new band’s debut
album is released.

LOS ANGELES – "I don’t get it when people complain that baseball
games are too long," says Daron Malakian, watching the action from
a seat behind home plate at Dodger Stadium during one of the team’s
recent home games. "This is my favorite place in the world. I don’t
care how long it goes, I’ll be here to the end."

This most wholesome and mainstream of settings probably isn’t the place
you’d picture as Malakian’s chosen refuge, given the apocalyptic,
dissident, disillusioned, angry, irreligious scenarios that belch
from the self-titled debut album by his new band, Scars on Broadway.

"You’ve never seen the sky like this / You never want to die like
this," he sings in "Universe," a grand anthem that describes what
might be an environmental catastrophe. In the Bowie-tinged ballad
"3005," he watches from a spaceship as civilization and "resurrection
junkies" — his term for those addicted to religion — sink below the
surface. And what is it they say in the band’s single "They Say"? They
say "it’s all about to end."

"It’s what’s around me. It’s what I hear, it’s what I see, it’s what
I’m absorbing like a sponge," says Malakian, 33, eating a pregame hot
dog and garlic fries. "It’s the times we’re living in, and I think
as an artist I’m just trying to put my finger on that."

Not that he’s on a mission. In fact, when he writes — always alone
at home — it’s more like a mystery.

"I consider myself a medium to it all. There’s something there and
then there’s a song and then there’s me. A lot of times, I don’t feel
responsible for the songs myself. But that’s my job or my place in
life, to keep my search and catch the ideas before they pass me by."

Malakian’s methods helped make his other band, System of a Down, one
of the most commercially successful and critically admired groups
in hard rock, and that audience is primed for "Scars on Broadway,"
which was released this week. Malakian isn’t the only System mainstay
in the group — he brought bandmate John Dolmayan in as co-leader
after a couple of other drummers didn’t work out.

Along with Metallica’s upcoming return, the Scars’ album figures to be
one of the hard-rock highlights of the second half of the year. "They
Say" registered 100,000 downloads when it went up free on iTunes,
and the group (rounded out by guitarist Franky Perez, keyboardist
Danny Shamoun and bassist Dominic Cifarelli) made a few buzz-building
appearances in the spring.

On stage, Malakian is an imposing figure, seemingly possessed and
almost demonic in his intensity. At the ballpark, though, he’s
small in stature and low-key in manner, just a bearded, black-clad
L.A. sports fan.

"All four members of System are very different in temperament, unique
personalities," says Dolmayan, 36, slipping into the bar for a break
during the fourth inning. "I’d say that me and Daron are the alpha
male types. I think he’s always been looked at as kind of a leader
among friends, and I’ve kind of experienced that. Actually, me and
him got along the worst. … We both have a lot of drive."

An only child, Malakian was born and spent his early childhood in
Hollywood in a family of Armenian heritage. They moved to Glendale,
where he and his friends at one point noticed swastika-like designs
engraved in some old lampposts near his high school — the scars on
Broadway that would later give his band its name.

He and flamboyant singer-songwriter Serj Tankian formed the front line
and creative core of System of a Down, which began in 1995 and whose
combination of aggressive power, musical eccentricity and political
outspokenness made it one of the most popular hard-rock bands of
this decade.

In 2006, the group announced that it would take an indefinite break,
and "Scars on Broadway" follows Tankian’s "Elect the Dead" as the
second album to come out during the hiatus — a term that seems all
right with everyone involved except Malakian.

"I see it as a separation," he says. "We’re separated but didn’t
get divorced, and there’s a door that’s open that someday we may get
together and play. But I’m headed down the Scars highway right now,
and that’s it. I don’t have any plans, and nobody, I think, has any
plans to recreate or do anything with System right now."

"Not bad" is the way he describes his relationship with Tankian. "We
don’t really see each other very much because we’re doing our own
things."

If System’s legacy has created high expectations for Malakian’s new
outlet, its shadow is adding to the pressure he admits he’s feeling.

"It’s starting over. People get very fixated on name brands, and System
became a name brand that people became a fan of. I think that’s the
challenging part, getting people to accept these songs the way they
accepted those System songs. I put in just as much of myself, and I
feel they’re just as powerful as anything else I’ve ever written in
my life.

"In my opinion, they’re more rock-oriented, they’re more melodic in
a lot of ways," Dolmayan says of the Scars songs. "There is a darker
tone to a lot of the stuff, which to me is reminiscent of, like,
the Kinks or bands like Pink Floyd. I’ve always been attracted to
dark melodies, so that aspect of it really works for me."

The songs are definitely more varied, ranging from the raucous to the
reflective and exposing a new array of influences, from a musician
who cites David Bowie, Roxy Music, Brian Eno and ’60s pop on one side,
and the Stooges, the Ramones and the Dead Boys on the other. Malakian
even suggests the late punk provocateur GG Allin as the inspiration
for the caustically explicit "Chemicals."

Then there’s "Babylon," a measured, atmospheric ballad with a big
finish and a tender refrain: "I like the way we slept on rooftops in
the summertime / If we were all marooned again I’d give my soul to
save your life."

"My family is now out of Iraq, but when the war was just starting,
a big part of my family lived in Iraq," Malakian explains. "That song
kind of came out of me at that time. I just felt helpless, I really
wanted to save them and get them out of there. That helplessness I
think comes out in the song.

"In the Middle East in the summertime, to keep cool a lot of people
sleep on the rooftops. When I visited Iraq when I was 14 years old,
we slept on the roof. It’s just kind of me talking to my family."

Like the solace he finds in the images and musical textures of
"Babylon," the serenity and order of a baseball game might represent
a relief from the chaos that seems to surface when he sits down to
write. No wonder Dodger Stadium is his favorite place.

He got to play out there once, in a celebrity exhibition game a few
years ago. Not surprisingly, it led to a song.

"I wrote a song for System called ‘Old School Hollywood Baseball’
that was inspired by this place. I played baseball here, and I went
home and I picked up my guitar, and bam, it came out. …

"You’ve just got to catch the influences when they come at you. Every
song I’ve written is luck, I think, it’s luck — ‘How did that just
happen?’ "

ARONYAN ENDED IN DRAW

Panorama.am
20:02 01/08/2008

Armenian GM, Olympic Champion Levon Aronyan, who takes part in FIDE
Grand Prix tournament, ended in draw the first game of the second
round. In the first round Alexander Grishuk and Taimur Rajabov fixed
victories. Ukrainian Sergey Kariakin and Mohhamed Al Modiyah lost
their games.

The second round of Grand Prix will take place from July 30 to August
15 in Sochi. The specific point of this tournament is that all the
participants should have at least one meeting with each other.

It is important to know that according to Chess Professional
Association Levon Aronyan has been announced as the third chess player
in the world by his rating.

ARMENIAN POLITICAL SCIENTIST ARA PAPYAN: "ARMENIA CAN CHALLENGE LAWFULNESS OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE AND BAKU-TBILISI-KARS RAILROAD"

Today. Az

Ju ly 29 2008
Azerbaijan

Armenia remains the assignee of borders, fixed by US president Woodrow
Wilson on November 22 of 1920, said Ara Papyan, head of the Modus
Vivendi Center of Public Research and former Armenian ambassador to
Canada, at a seminar in Yerevan on July 29.

The former ambassador noted that the arbitrary decision of the US
president about the Armenian borders, adopted by the Sevres treaty,
signed between Armenia and Turkey in 1920, remains in effect. He said
the decision will be in force until Armenia signs new contracts on
borders and recognizes the current border with Turkey in line with
the international law.

He said Turkey and the United States have no legal document, in which
the United States recognizes the Turkish borders, adding that Woodrow
Wilson’s decision approved by the state seal, is still valid and has
a power of a law, mandatory for execution by the said country.

"Diplomatic relations between the two countries do not prove that
the countries mutually recognize the borders. Even becoming the UN
member, a country is only recognized as a legal subject, but not in
the framework of its borders", said Papyan. He noted that even after
Sovetization of Armenia, the texts and maps of the League of Nations
showed the eastern border of Turkey in line with Wilson’s decision
until 1924.

According to Papyan, the Kars treaty, signed in 1921, has not the
power of an international law. He noted that the contract was signed
not by the subjects of international law, who signed the Sevres treaty,
but by the Kemal Turkey and Soviet republics.

Papyan said "Armenian still has legal international right for a part
of the territories of eastern Turkey. "Armenia demands from Turkey
not the lands, but recognition of its violating of the international
law and the decision of the arbitrary court of a third country,
according to which Armenia retains its right for these lands",
explained the head of the Center of Public Research, noting that
the post-Soviet Armenia as an assignee of the first republic, also
remains the assignee of the borders, fixed by that arbitrage.

The former ambassador said Armenia is still able to claim its right
for these territories, which were to be transferred to it in line
with the Sevres treaty in the court. He said Armenia has a right to
offer to Turkey to rent these lands or to use them jointly.

Therefore, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad is illegal without Armenia’s participation,
which may even claim for the rental fee for the transit of these
projects via its territories, according to Papyan. He also offered
to the Armenian authorities to insist on withdrawal of Turkey’s
armed forces from those territories, leaving only the divisions for
restoration of public order. "The vitally important issue of the
national security of Armenia will thus be settled", said the former
ambassador of Armenia to Canada.

Papyan said Armenia will not be able to ensure its security only by
strengthening its military might. It also needs skillful diplomacy
and persons well acquainted with the international law.