Author: Tambiyan Samvel

PARLIAMENT TO ELECT FOUR MEMBERS OF NATIONAL TELEVISION AND RADIO COMMISSION

ARMENPRESS
Nov 27, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS: The competition for the vacancies
of members of the National Television and Radio Commission has been
conducted today in the parliament. According to changes in the law
on "TV and Radio" and Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly,
half of the members of the National Assembly through a competition
and with six-month term will be elected by the National Assembly and
the other half will be appointed by the president of the country.

NA public relations department told Armenpress that a competition
commission has been established by the NA speaker consisting of six
members. Eight candidates participated in the competition – Karen
Vardanyan, Hayk Kotanyan, Gevorg Harutyunyan, Goharik Arshakyan, Koryun
Arakelyan, Armen Lazarian, Aram Melkonyan, Spartak Karabakhtsyan. As
a result of the two-round competition – test and oral – the winner
participants will during four days be presented to the parliamentarians
and the NA will elect members of the commission.

In the test round all the participants except Spartak Karabakhtsyan,
overcame the necessary 90% limit and will be presented to parliament’s
election. The results of the oral competition will though help the
parliamentarians to orient in election process but will not have any
impact on the results of the tests.

AGENCY TO PROBE POLICE OFFENSES

Kathimerini
4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100008_24/11/2009_11272 9
Nov 24 2009
Greece

Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis yesterday heralded
the creation of an agency to investigate alleged cases of abusive or
violent treatment of citizens by police after sacking two officers
for allegedly mistreating a 35-year-old immigrant in front of her
child in central Athens.

"Those two gentlemen are to leave the police force immediately
and will never return," Chrysochoidis said, referring to the two
officers alleged to have handcuffed an Armenian woman in front of
her 2-year-old child before bringing them both to the police precinct
in Kypseli. According to sources, the officers said they had reacted
after the woman called them "animals" – a claim the woman has rejected.

Chrysochoidis said that a new agency would be set up to probe similar
claims of misconduct by officers of the regular police force and the
riot police unit (MAT). The agency would comprise ministry officials as
well as former prosecutors and legal experts but no active members of
the police force, to ensure that it remains independent, the minister
said. Chrysochoidis also heralded a review of the disciplinary process
currently employed for police officers accused of alleged offenses
with the aim of getting through a backlog of claims.

"The problem up until now has been that the system for dispensing
justice in such cases has been hampered by bureaucracy, a lack of
meritocracy and the absence of a serious examination of complaints
lodged by citizens," he said. The minister noted that he could not
guarantee that such instances of alleged police misconduct would
not occur in the future. "What I am saying is that from now on,
those who are guilty will be punished… we will crack down on
lawlessness and safeguard human rights so that the minority that
behaves unacceptably does not tarnish the image of the majority of
officers," Chrysochoidis said.

The minister added that officers will be expected to display their
police ID numbers on their uniforms to ensure accountability.

THE INTELLECTUALS PRESENTED THEIR PROBLEMS TO ARTAK DAVTYAN

Aysor
Nov 24 2009
Armenia

Yesterday Artak Davtyan, the Member of Parliament, the Chairman of
the Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport
of the National Assembly received Astghik Gevorgyan, the chairman of
the Armenian Union of Journalists, Levon Ananyan, the chairman of
the Armenian Union of Writers, Karen Aghamyan, the chairman of the
Armenian Union of Painters, Robert Amirkhanyan the chairman of the
Armenian Union of Composers, Mkrtich Minasyan the chairman of the
Armenian Architects, Rudolf Vatinyan the Secretary of the Armenian
Union of the Cinematographs and Sona Meloyan secretary of the Union
of the Armenian theater workers.

As the RA NA public relations department informs the Chairman of
the Standing Committee Artak Davtyan congratulated composer Robert
Amirkahnyan on his jubilee and wished him a fruitful work. He offered
the intellectuals of Armenia to present the problems concerning them
which, as was promised, were to be presented to the spokesman of the
NA Hovik Abrahamyan and possible solutions would be given.

Astghik Gevorgyan, the chairman of the Armenian Union of Journalists,
informed that lately the Government is circulating the changes made
in the RA "Law about the Public Organizations" and the RA Law project
of making additions where changes that are to be done there concern
the activities of the Arts Unions and cause anxiety.

The activity of the Armenian Art Unions is being regulated by the
"RA Law about the Public Organizations". Those who were present
considered some changes in the law offensive for their dignity.

As a result of the discussion the president of the Committee Artak
Davtyan has suggested to present distinct suggestions which will be
discussed in the NA corresponding committees and in parliamentary
audiences.

The chairman of the committee Artak Davtyan and the heads of the
Art Unions were of the same opinions that having a law about the Art
Unions and artists is necessary.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH RECOGNITION

The International News
=210063
Nov 24 2009
Pakistan

Armenia warns Azeris Azerbaijan angry at Armenian thaw with Turkey

YEREVAN: Armenia said on Monday it could recognise breakaway
Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state if Azerbaijan carries out
its threat of military action to take back the mountainous territory.

Tensions over the Armenian-populated region, which broke away from
Muslim Azerbaijan with Christian Armenian backing in the early 1990s,
are rising as Armenia pursues an historic thaw with Azeri ally Turkey
to the anger of oil-producing Azerbaijan.

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev held
talks on Sunday on the rebel territory at the heart of the South
Caucasus, a strategic crossroads between East and West and key transit
region for oil and gas to Europe.

In comments broadcast on Saturday, Aliyev warned that Azeri patience
was running thin and that without a breakthrough soon, Azeri troops
were ready to take back the territory by force.

Sarksyan’s spokesman Samvel Farmanyan said in a statement:" It should
be noted that Armenia so far has not recognised the independence
of Nagorno-Karabakh for one reason–so that it would not become an
obstacle to peaceful negotiation."

"If peaceful negotiations break down and military action begins, then
nothing stands in the way of Armenia recognizing the independence of
Nagorno-Karabakh." Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh erupted as the Soviet
Union headed towards its 1991 collapse. Some 30,000 people died and
more than 1 million were displaced before a ceasefire in 1994.

Ethnic Armenian forces took control of the territory of 100,000 people
and seven surrounding Azeri districts, including a land corridor
to Armenia.

With no peace deal, soldiers on the frontline continue to be picked
off by landmines and snipers. No state has recognised Nagorno-Karabakh
as independent.

A bid this year by Turkey and Armenia to bury a century of hostility
stemming from the allegedly mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks has thrust the dispute back into the diplomatic spotlight.

Ankara says it wants Armenian forces to pull back before it ratifies
a deal to establish diplomatic ties with Yerevan and open the border
it closed in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan, courted by Europe to supply gas for the planned Nabucco
pipeline, has reacted angrily to the thaw, fearing it will lose
leverage in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Media reports in Azerbaijan and Turkey speculate about a possible
Armenian pullback from the Azeri districts adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh
in order to clinch the deal with Turkey. Farmanyan said "such a
question is not being discussed."

Mediators from the United States, Russia and France gave little away
on Sunday after Aliyev and Sarksyan’s sixth meeting this year, saying
they made "important progress" but also met some difficulties.

They said they would work with the sides’ foreign ministers ahead of
an OSCE Ministerial Council in Athens on Dec. 1-2.

ARMENIAN-AZERI LEADERS HOLD TALKS

Aljazeera.net
November 23, 2009 Monday
Qatar

Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, has warned Serzh Sargsian,
his Armenian counterpart, that he will pursue a military option
against Armenia if a long-running border dispute is not resolved in
Munich this week.

The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia met for talks at the
headquarters of the French consulate general in Germany on Sunday.

The meeting focused on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh, a landlocked
region in the south Caucasus where territorial ownership had instigated
armed conflict with the participation of ethnic Armenians

Turkey, a new edition to the official mediators of the talks, attended
the meeting to press for progress before sealing a rapprochment
with Armenia. Officials from the United States, France and Russia
also joined.

The talks in Germany mark the sixth encounter for the Armenian and
Azeri president.

Patience ‘running thin’

Prior to the meeting, Aliyev warned that his country andrsquo;s
military was ready to take back the mountainous territory by force.

In comments broadcast on Saturday, he also warned Azeri patience
was running out, a statement analysts say reflects rising tension
over the prospect of Turkey opening its border with Armenia, which
oil-producing Azerbaijan vehemently opposes.

"If that meeting ends without result, then our hopes in negotiations
will be exhausted and then we are left with no other option. We have
the full right to liberate our land by military means," Aliyev said.

But a bid by Turkey and Armenia to bury a century of hostility stemming
from the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks has thrust the
Caucasus conflict back into the diplomatic spotlight.

Natalia Leshchenko, an expert on the Caucasus region, told Al Jazeera:
"This conflict has been frozen for almost two decades now so its
unlikely it would erupt into war. Besides, the Azeri leader is aware
of the fact that he would have to play against all the great powers
of the world by trying to start a conflict."

She said: "This is almost being done for the benefit of the domestic
audience to say that he will go ahead with these talks."

Turkey mediates

Ankara and Yerevan have signed accords to establish diplomatic ties
and open their border, which Turkey closed in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan during the war.

The deal carries huge significance for Turkey’s diplomatic clout in
the strategic Caucasus region, for its bid to join the European Union,
and for landlocked Armenia’s crippled economy.

But Azerbaijan has reacted angrily, fearing it will lose leverage
over Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

US, Russian and French mediators say they are making progress in
intensified talks, but Western diplomats say neither side appears
ready to commit to painful concessions.

‘Making progress’

The principles of a new deal would allow ethnic Armenian forces to
give back most of seven Azeri districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh
that they captured during the war.

If the deal is approved the territory would then be granted greater
international legitimacy before a popular vote in the future to decide
its final status.

Nagorno-Karabakh has been under control of Armenian troops and ethnic
Armenian forces since a 1994 ceasefire deal that ended six years of
war and killed at least 30,000 people.

The territory of 100,000 people wants recognition as an independent
state, but 15 years of mediation have failed to produce a peace deal.

Instead, sporadic exchanges of fire continue to threaten war in a
key oil and gas transit region to the West.

PRESIDENTS OF AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA COMPLETE TALKS IN MUNICH

Interfax
Nov 23 2009
Russia

Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan
on Sunday met at the residence of the French consul general in Munich,
the Azerbaijani presidential administration has told Interfax.

The meeting was also attended by the foreign ministers of the two
countries Elmar Mammadyarov and Eduard Nalbandian, cochairmen of the
OSCE Minsk Group Robert Bradtke (U.S.), Bernard Fassier (France)
and Yury Merzlyakov (Russia) and a personal representative of the
OSCE chairman-in-office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The sides exchanged opinions about the current state and prospects
of talks on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over
Nagorno Karabakh.

It was the sixth meeting of presidents this year.

Last Friday Aliyev said that if the meeting in Munich proves fruitless,
the war may resume in the area. Yerevan regarded the declaration as a
challenge to the entire international community, not just to Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh.

NATO Spokesman: Azerbaijan is the old and very active partner of the Alliance

[ 25 Nov 2009 10:31]
Moscow. Roman Agayev – APA. `Azerbaijan is our old and very active
partner within the framework of all events of the North Atlantic
Alliance, particularly Partnership for Peace program.’

NATO Spokesman James Appathurai said this while answering APA Moscow
correspondent’s question in Moscow-Brussels video-bridge on the theme
`NATO’s current agenda and Russia-NATO’ organized by NATO Information
Office in Moscow.

Commenting on the Alliance’s position on the settlement of
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and the Munich meeting of the presidents,
James Appathurai said NATO did not play a direct role in the process
of settlement of the conflict.

`We support all the processes on the settlement of the conflict and
the activity of all organizations established to help solve this
problem. But I reiterate that NATO does not play an active role in
this issue,’ James Appathurai said.

ALIYEV’S STATEMENT WAS MEANT TO ACCELERATE THE CONCLUSION OF THE PEACE TREATY, NIKOLAY BORDYUZHA HOPES
Lena Badeyan

"Radiolur"
24.11.2009 18:37

Touching upon Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statements about
the possibility of resumption of military actions if the talks fail,
the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization,
Nikolay Bordyuzha said: "How can I view the statements about resumption
of war? Of course, negatively. It’s very sad. I hope that the statement
was made to accelerate the conclusion of a treaty with Armenia,
and nothing else."

Nikolay Bordyuzha sees progress in the process of settlement of the
Karabakh issue. He hopes that the six meetings between the Presidents
of Armenia and Azerbaijan during the past year show that the parties
have the political will to reach a mutually acceptable solution.

The SCTO Secretary General positively assesses the Armenian-Turkish
talks does not think that the opening of the border will create
problems at the line of contact between the CSTO and NATO.

POTI PORT CLOSURE WON’T AFFECT IMPORTS TO ARMENIA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
23.11.2009 13:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ With weather conditions expected to worsen on
November 24, the port of Poti, Georgia, was closed, probably for a
couple of days, Railvneshtrans freight forwarding company reported.

"Weather permitting, the port will open in a day or two. The
closure for such a short period won’t affect imports to Armenia,"
Railvneshtrans transportation manager Ashot Merakyan a told
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Founded in 2004, Railvneshtrans freight forwarding company provides
railway, sea, air and truck cargo transportation services.

ARMENIAN-AZERI LEADERS HOLD TALKS

CCTV, China Central TV
20091123/102063.shtml
Nov 23 2009

The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia have met for talks on
the Nagor-no_Kara-bakh conflict. Azeri President Il-ham Ali-yev
and Armenia’s Serz-h Sarks-yan met on Sunday at the French Consul
General’s residence in Munich, Germany.

A French meditator said "important progress" has been made while some
difficulties have been identified during the four-hour talks. Tensions
over the breakaway mountainous region in Azerbaijan are rising.

Oil-producing Azerbaijan has been angry at a deal between Turkey and
Armenia to reopen their borders, 16 years after Ankara closed it in
solidarity with Azerbaijan during the Nago-rno-Kara_bakh war. Ali-yev,
warned on Saturday that Azerbaijan’s military is ready to take back
the mountainous territory by force.

Backed by Christian Armenia, ethnic Armenians in Nagor-no_Kara-bakh
threw off rule by Muslim Azerbaijan in 1991. The territory is still
seeking independence after 15 years of international mediation since
the 1994 cease-fire.