Author: Toneyan Mark

PanARMENIAN.Net

Turks say they were absent from Armenian hearings due
to religious holiday
28.12.2007 15:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The Chairman of the Standing
Committee on Foreign Relations of the National
Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Rustamian,
sent me an invitation via e-mail to attend the
parliamentary hearings organized under the heading
"Armenian-Turkish Relations: Problems and
Perspectives" held on 19-20 December. Although they do
not engender immediate results, such hearings are
essentially useful as they are conducive to aiding the
parties involved gauge each other’s viewpoints. For
this reason, I would have liked to have been able to
take part in the said discussions. Unfortunately, I
had to inform Rustamian that I would not be able to
attend due to prior engagements,’ Omer Engin Lutem,
chairman of the Eurasian Strategic Research Center
(ASAM), said in a letter to Armen Rustamian.

`As gathered from the press, 20 or so Turks were
invited to attend the hearings. Among them were
personalities such as Taner Akcam, Fatma Muge Gokcek
and Halil Berktay who fully espouse and have taken it
upon themselves to win others over to Armenian views;
people such as Orhan Pamuk and Baskin Oran who adhere
to views that fall fairly in line with the Armenian
stance; and individuals such as Can Paker who approach
the subject matter from the perspective of the
European Union. Apart from myself, in order to voice
the "Turkish standpoint", Turkish Historical Society
President Yusuf Halacoglu, and International Strategic
Research Institute Director Sedat Laciner were invited
to attend. Most likely Patriarch Mutafian was called
upon to participate in order to represent Turkey’s
Armenian community. As these hearings were organized
by the National Assembly of Armenia, it would only
have been appropriate if members of the Turkish Grand
National Assembly were invited to attend as well.
However, on this point, nothing surfaced in the
press,’ he wrote.

`All Turks invited notified how they would not be able
to attend the hearings. No doubt this is a result of
the hearings corresponding with a religious holiday
and a result of the invitations having been made so
late, and hence due to those in question having prior
engagements,’ he added.

`The importance of such hearings rests in generating
greater understanding concerning the views and
standpoints of the parties concerned. Looked at from
this perspective, it would be worthwhile if the
Turkish Grand National Assembly’s concerned
commissions were to organize a similar meeting in the
coming months," Lutem whote.

Meanwhile, Armen Rustamian said that the Turkish
government spoke out against the arrival of Turkish
scholars. `We provided a firm guarantee of security
but Ankara decided that their presence would be
inexpedient. For our part, we expressed readiness to
travel to Turkey for similar hearings dedicated to
cancellation of article 301,’ Rustamian said.

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 28 2007

Azerbaijan Cannot Deny Obligation Assumed before Council of Europe –
Azerbaijani Delegation Head to PACE
28.12.07 18:48

Azerbaijan, Baku / Òrend corr. I.Alizadeh / Azerbaijan cannot deny
the obligation on peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh assumed before the Council of Europe.

`NGOs and political parties may have their own position on different
issues and have right to demonstrate them. However, such an action
does not mean that the country may deny its obligation taken before
international organizations,’ Samad Seyyidov, the head of the
Azerbaijani Parliamentary Delegation to PACE, reported to the Trend
agency on 28 December. Around twenty political parties of Azerbaijan
signed an appeal which means refusal from the obligation taken on
peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict before
international organizations.

According to Seyyidov, peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict potential has not been exhausted. Azerbaijan and Armenia
assumed an obligation on peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict before the Council of Europe.

A member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE and MP Aydin
Mirzazadeh said that the possible deny of obligation may lead
Azerbaijan face to face with international community. The country
will isolate itself from PACE. Furthermore, Armenians may start new
statements against Azerbaijan. Therefore, Azerbaijan would not deny
its obligation before international organizations.

ARMENIAN NPP TO BE STOPPED FOR SCHEDULED CAPITAL REPAIR IN 2008

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Dec 24 2007

YEREVAN, December 24. /ARKA/. The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)
will be stopped for scheduled capital repair in 2008, Armenia’s
Minister of Energy Armen Movsisian told journalists.

The repair works are to be completed in three-month period by November
2008 to ensure proper operation of the plant within the country’s
energy system in the winter period, the Minister said.

He said that the country itself is going to carry out the capital
repair works with assistance of technical experts from Slovakia and
Check Republic, particularly "Scoda" company that has participated
in similar projects in Armenia.

He also pointed out that annual output of the Armenian NPP reaches
2.5-2.7bln kilowatt-hour, which is about 40-50% of the overall power
production in Armenia.

The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was commissioned in 1976
(the second unit – in 1980).Currently only the second unit operates
providing 40-50% of the overall power produced in Armenia.

In September 2003, the financial flows of Armenian NPP were transferred
to trust management of INTER RAO EES Closed Joint Stock Company –
the daughter enterprise of RAO "EES Russia" (60% of the shares) and
"Rosenergoatom" concern (40%). According to experts, the plant can
operate till 2016.

BAHAR MURADOVA: WE ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE ACTIVITY OF OSCE MINSK GROUP

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 24 2007

We have said for several times that we are dissatisfied with the
activity of OSCE Minsk Group. Activity of OSCE member-states on the
solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict has not yet given the result
we want, vice-speaker of Azerbaijani Parliament Bahar Muradova said,
APA reports.

She said that they achieved some progress in this field in 2007
compared with the previous years.

"The process of negotiations has been intensified, number of the
visits to the region has been increased, and concrete proposals are
being given. But there is not concrete result irrespective of all
these. Therefore we base on it and think that activity of OSCE by
now gave no result," she said.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
[email protected]
Internet

PRESS RELEASE
December 22, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA and SAVE DARFUR COALITION URGE PRES. BUSH
TO SIGN SUDAN DIVESTMENT BILL

— Genocide Accountability Act Becomes Law

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
joined with the Save Darfur Coalition and a range of faith-based
organizations yesterday in urging President Bush to sign the Sudan
Accountability and Divestment Act into law. The legislation,
adopted unanimously by the House and Senate despite opposition from
the Departments of State and Justice, would allow states and
localities to divest from companies involved in certain Sudanese
business sectors and allow mutual fund and private pension managers
to cut ties with those same companies.

In a December 21st letter to President Bush, signed by over thirty
groups including the American Jewish World Service, Genocide
Intervention Network, Jewish World Watch, National Council of
Churches, and the U.S.-Armenia Public Affairs Committee (USAPAC),
organizations noted that "signing of the bill, supportive public
statements issued along with the signing, the vigorous
implementation of this bill, and additional pressure on Sudan to
end the violence are all necessary ingredients of a comprehensive
US policy — and will send a message to the Government of Sudan
that there are serious consequences for its ruthless violations of
international law."

Last week, upon Senate adoption of the measure, bill author, Sen.
Chris Dodd (D-CT) noted that "this legislation empowers Americans
to exercise their rights as investors, taxpayers, and pensioners to
divest from businesses directly contributing to the violence and
misery of hundreds of thousands of innocent Darfuris." House
Darfur legislation champion Barbara Lee (D-CA), who had introduced
earlier Sudan divestment legislation prominently included in this
bill, explained "Let’s stop the rhetoric and do something, do
something now that we have declared for 3 years genocide taking
place. We need to put the United States on the right side of
history. Divestment worked in South Africa when our former
colleague and my mayor now, Ron Dellums, when he led the effort in
the 1980s. It can work now in Sudan. So I urge the President to
join us in saying to the Government of Khartoum not on our watch,
not on our dime."

The call coincided with the President’s signing of separate
legislation allowing U.S. courts to prosecute non-U.S. nationals
residing in the U.S. who have been complicit in perpetration of
genocide. Bill author, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick
Durbin (D-IL), explained the importance of the legislation.

"There is no safe haven for the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese
who have faced genocide in Darfur and yet without this law, our
country could become a safe haven for their killers. Today’s
action by the President makes it crystal clear: the legal loophole
in our law is closed and perpetrators of genocide who come to our
country will now face significant consequences."

The ANCA has, since its introduction, supported the adoption of
this legislation and worked to support its passage by the House as
part of a coalition that includes the Save Darfur Coalition,
Genocide Intervention Network, American Jewish World Service,
Armenian Assembly of America, Human Rights First, Human Rights
Watch, Alliance for Justice, and Refugees International. In a
March letter to members of the Senate, the coalition stressed that,
"The United States must not remain passive when those suspected of
genocide enter or are found in its territory. By eliminating
barriers to prosecution, the Genocide Accountability Act will
ensure that perpetrators of genocide do not evade accountability
when they are found in the United States. We welcome its
introduction and strongly urge its enactment into law."

Sen. Durbin’s legislation is the first bill from the newly
established Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and Law to become
law. Sen. Durbin and Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) are lead sponsors of
the Armenian Genocide Resolution (S.Res.106) which currently has
over 30 cosponsors.

THE ADVENTURES OF ARMEN FROM FRANCE IN SHUSHI

KarabakhOpen
21-12-2007 15:55:20

In Shushi everyone calls O. Racedgian from France Armen. In Stepanakert
too, they know him well, especially at the court and other law
enforcement agencies.

Armen moved to Shushi from Paris in 2004. He came with definite plans –
to set up businesses, create jobs, help develop tourism and services
in Shushi, and also to make some profit.

Armen got the approval of the regional administration and the Town
Hall legally, bought three premises and set up a computer center,
a realty agency and a souvenir shop. Soon people in Shushi started
calling him "photocopy 10 drams" because at that time a page of
photocopy cost 20 drams in Stepanakert.

Everything seemed to be okay. Although Armen who was used to life in
France had difficulty getting used to the post-Soviet ways, complicated
by the post-war syndrome. These ways are known to be based on the
interests of separate people and groups. However, he got used and
learned to "share".

Some time later pressure became stronger. They deprived Armen of
the premises he had bought legally. First he tried to explain to the
decision makers that it was his private property but he understood
it was pointless.

He filed a complaint. First the district court, then the Supreme
Court ruled that the government agency which made the decision
on "denationalization" of Armen’s buildings "acted illegally and
breached." the same courts, however, did not accuse those government
agencies and did not make them recover the immense damage to Armen.

Meanwhile, there are documents that Armen paid 8 thousand dollars for
only one the buildings to its previous owner, and it was confirmed
at the court.

Now Armen is at a loss. He says those who have power do not obey the
law but make others obey them as representatives of law and power. He
told several stories which may confuse a person but we do not doubt
that those stories are true because they were confirmed at the court
of law.

For instance, Armen told that he was invited to the Town Hall and
told that for the re-registration of the building two applications
are needed, one on disowning, the other on re-registration. Armen
wrote the applications. The Town Hall accepted the first and returned
the second. It turned out that he had "voluntarily" given away his
property which was provided to him for 99 years in accordance with
the first agreement.

"Now I don’t know what to do. I wrote a letter to the president,
they invited me and we had a talk but without any result. Friends
advise me to go back to France but I have decided to stay. I will
not leave. I have decided to reach my aim with the help of the
society since the law does not protect the interests of citizens,"
Armen says. Now he is preparing the documents for application for
the citizenship of Karabakh.

The Diaspora Armenians who intend to make investments in Shushi find
out that everything has been privatized in the town by a small group
of people.

They leave empty-handed, and town remains in ruins.

Meanwhile, our government is still calling compatriots to make
investments and to reconstruct Shushi.

EU: HOLDING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN LINE WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS VITAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.12.2007 17:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met
Wednesday with EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter
Semneby, the RA MFA press office reported.

Touching upon the forthcoming presidential elections, Mr Semneby said
the EU attaches importance to holding the elections in compliance
with international standards.

"The Armenian authorities do everything in their power to organize
the election at the proper level.

International organizations have been already sent invitations to
observe," Vartan Oskanian said.

The parties also discussed the Karabakh peaceful process, the
Armenian-Turkish relations and other regional problems.

ACCORDING TO PETER SEMNEBY, TURKS DID NOT COME TO ARMENIA BECAUSE OF THEIR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY

Noyan Tapan
Dec 19 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. The reason for the Turkish side’s
not participating in the December 19 hearings "Armenian-Turkish
Relations.

Problems and Prospects" in the RA National Assembly is that these
hearings coincided with one of the major religious holidays in
Turkey. Stating this opinion, the EU Special Representative for the
South Caucasus Peter Semneby expressed a hope that such discussions
will be held in the future too, and both the Armenian and Turkish
sides will take part in them. He said that EU welcomes any proposal
to organize such discussions.

The key problem, according to the EU representative, is that there are
few contacts between the sides, they do not understand and do not trust
each other. In his opinion, in case of overcoming these obsatcles,
it will be much easier to reach an agreement on establishing a dialog.

In response to reporters’ question, P. Semneby said that he does not
intend to visit Nagorno Karabakh in the near future. He added that
the date of the next visit has not been determined yet.

JAILED NATIONALIST DEFENDS TER-PETROSIAN ON KARABAKH
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
Dec 20 2007

Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s conciliatory discourse on
Nagorno-Karabakh prompted on Thursday unlikely support from a jailed
nationalist activist and government critic opposed to Armenian
territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.

Zhirayr Sefilian, a prominent veteran of the war in Karabakh, condemned
as "slander" government allegations that Ter-Petrosian is ready to
place the Armenian-populated territory back under Azerbaijani rule. In
a statement released from his prison, Sefilian said although he has
"serious disagreements" with Ter-Petrosian on the issue, he believes
that the latter "would not rush to resolve the conflict" in the event
of his victory in the February 19 presidential election.

"I am categorically against the notion that Levon is a president who
would surrender Artsakh (Karabakh)," he said. "True, we have serious
disagreements with him on the Artsakh issue, the most important of
them being our refusal to see any document envisaging territorial
concessions on the negotiation table."

"At the same time I am convinced that deep down, as Armenian people,
Levon Ter-Petrosian and his allies are also against conceding
territories, but because they are more pragmatic than us, they believe
that the conflict can not be resolved without concessions," he added.

Ending his nearly decade-long silence with a series of recent
speeches, Ter-Petrosian has said he continues to believe that Armenia’s
sustainable development is impossible without a compromise peace deal
with Azerbaijan and accused the current Armenian leaders of dragging
out the conflict’s resolution. He has said at the same time that they
are now ready to accept the kind of a peace plan which he advocated
before his resignation in 1998 and which they rejected as "defeatist."

President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian and their
allies have responded to these statements with renewed allegations
that the ex-president wants to "surrender" Karabakh to Azerbaijan.

Sefilian, who is regarded as a political prisoner by his supporters
and many other opposition figures, denied such claims, pointing to
Ter-Petrosian’s September 21 remark that the situation is now so
unfavorable for the Armenian side that he does not know what should
be done about it. "That is, Levon Ter-Petrosian hinted that he would
not rush to solve the problem," claimed the Lebanese citizen of
Armenian descent.

The main aim of Ter-Petrosian’s bid to return to power, continued
Sefilian, is to "restore our statehood and constitutional order,"
rather than make peace with Azerbaijan. "Therefore, supporting his
return to power does not mean being in favor of ceding the liberated
territories," he said.

Sefilian and another war veteran, Vartan Malkhasian, were arrested
in December last year just days after founding a new pressure
group opposed to Armenian troop withdrawal from any of the occupied
Azerbaijani territories around Karabakh. They both were charged with
plotting a violent overthrow of the government. Only Malkhasian was
convicted of the coup charge by a Yerevan district court last July.

He was sentenced to two years in prison.

Sefilian was handed a 18-month jail term under another article of
the Criminal Code that deals with illegal arms possession.

CUSTOMS COMMITTEE EXCEEDS PROJECTED TARGETS

ARMENPRESS
Dec 19 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS: President Robert Kocharian had a
working meeting today with head of the State Custom Committee Armen
Avetisian.

Kocharian’s press office quoted Avetisian as saying that the Committee
has collected this year 203 billion AMD by mid-December, up from the
projected 188.1 billion. He said the forecast is that the Committee
will collect 209 billion AMD by yearend.

Armen Avetisian said in compliance with Kocharian’s instructions,
4 billion AMD were invested to furnish the customs system with most
contemporary technical devices and equipment.