Author: Tvankchian Parkev

esctoday.com, Netherlands
Feb 14 2009

Live: Armenia selects for Moscow

Join us as Armenia selects Sirusho’s successor to represent the
country in the Eurovision Song Contest this May in Moscow.

The show

The show will start at 18:30 CET and it will be broadcast from the
Sport and concert complex in Yerevan. The winner will be chosen by a
jury and televoting.

Webcast

A webcast won’t be made available for the show.

Participants

Iren
Hasmik Margaryan
The Beautified Project
Gayane Arzumanyan
Marta Bulbulyan
Inga & Anush Arshakyanner
Oxygen
Artyom Hakobyan
Shprot
Hayk Kasparov
Arman Harutyunyan
Guj
Lilu
Davit Minasyan
Mher
Dorians
Bambir
Hripsime Hakobyan
Davo
Tigran Petrosyan
Sergey Grigoryan

LIVE COVERAGE

The show has started and the presenters are now on stage.

1. Iren

Iren’s entry is a typical r’n’b song in Armenian. She is accompanied
by three male dancers. Her vocals are very strong but the song might
not do as well on the Eurovision Song Contest stage as Armenia’s
pervious entries.

2. Hasmik Margaryan

It’s an ethno-pop song in Armenian as well. Hasmik is alone on this
big stage and slightly out of tune. Her song is a bit like what we got
from Armenia in the last years.

3. The Beautified Project

The first song in English for tonight’s show. It’s a band that reminds
a bit what Bulgaria showed us earlier this year. The singer is totally
out of tune and probably isn’t one of tonight’s favorites.

4. Hay-Ya

The song starts with an acapella part in armenian and turning into a
power ballad in English.Her vocals are very good though she’s a bit
out of rhythm and her English pronouciation is not very strong.

5. Marta Bulbulyan

An Armenian ethno ballad. Marta’s vocals are strong, but she is a
shouting a bit.

6. Inga & Anush Arshakyanner

The performance begins with Inga & Anoush behind a shadow wall. They
break through it and sing their billingual song (Armenian and English)
with a strong rhythm and Armenian motives. Dancers are joining the
duo. Their vocals are very good and it might go to represent Armenia
in Moscow.

7. Oxygen

Oxygen’s song is an Armenian ballad. She’s alone on stage and seems to
do well although she’s a bit shouting.

8. Artem Avun – Eternal fire

Artem starts his perfromance with his back to the crowd. His song is
in English. It’s a rock ballad and Artem involves high-singing parts
in the song, like in Azerbaijan’s entry last year.

9. Shprot – Lucky

Already during the postcard, she is welcomed warmly by the
audience. An Armenian ethno-electronic song. Shprot is getting out of
a ball in the middle of the stage and along with four dancers she
sings her entry, Lucky. She is dressed up as half man and half woman,
and so her dancers. The vocals are very strong.

10. Hayk Kasparov – Give an answer

It’s a pop song. Hayk is accompanied with three female dancers and the
performance reminds of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s performance of 2004.

The presenters are in the greenrom now. They talk with Shprot.

11. Arman Harutyunyan – Come on my friends

Armenian rock. His voice is a bit unusual but suits the kind of song
very well being similar to Azerbaijan 2008.

12. Guj

It’s a ballad in Armenian. Guj is singing in high keys and the song is
getting stronger and stronger. Still, it may not reach the high places
in tonight’s show.

13. Lilu

Another Armenian ethno-pop song, performed very well by Lilu and her
dancers. It has strong rhythms and tunes and may be another potential
winner for tonight.

14. Davit Minasyan

A pop song with a mediterranean touch. This could be a Greek hit. It
is sung in Armenian by Davit, who delivers strong vocals. The
performance is a bit weak as he’s just standing on stage.

15. Mher – Ay-ay-ay

The song is in English and it can give a feeling as if we are in
Sweden. Although, the vocals are not very strong and his English is
hardly understandable.

16. Dorians – Fly

The second band performing tonight. Fly is a rock-ballad in
english. The performance is has stronger and weaker parts, although if
Armenia will decide to send something different for ESC, this song
could be an option.

17. Bambir

Third band for tonight with a rock song. It sounds different, young
and fresh. The style is more what you would expect from an US American
band. The performance is very funky and moving.

18. Hripsime Hakobyan

Well accepted by the crowd in the hall. The stage is filled with smoke
and Hripsime appears and sings her pop-rock song not bad at all, her
vocals are good and this song could do well on the ESC stage.

19. Davo

Armenian hip-hop for Davo. The performance is very well choreographed
as four hip-hop dancers are helping him. Hip-hop songs never did well
in ESC so Armenia might choose another song for ESC.

20. Tigran Petrosyan – Only time

Tigran is going down from the celling of the hall inside a ball that
has a female acrobat on it. Four dancers are waiting for him on the
floor and the acrobat stays in the air. It’s a rhythmic ballad with
some potential but Tigran can’t deliver vocals that are strong enough
to suit it.

21. Sergey Grigoryan – Kez amar

The Armenian national final is ending with a ballad sung by Sergey and
a dancer behind him. The song is in English and Armenian and it’s
getting stronger and stronger. A very strong ending for this national
final.

The results will be revealed tomorrow at 12:10 CET (15:10 local time).

The Moscow Times, Russia
Feb 16 2009

Duma Ratifies Pact to Defend Neighbors

The State Duma ratified on Friday an accord that would oblige Russia
to provide troops and technical assistance to former Soviet states
belonging to the Collective Security Treaty Organization that face
outside aggression.

The document, which had been pending in the Duma since 2007, says the
security council of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty
Organization would have to decide whether to provide military support
to a country that applies for assistance.

The CSTO, founded in 2002, comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, CSTO members are working on a plan to build joint military
ventures. Russia and Armenia held talks Friday on a collective air
defense system similar to one that Russia agreed to set up with
Belarus earlier this month.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Israel more than other nations, has a moral obligation to call
Armenian Genocide by its name
14.02.2009 14:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ankara’s indefatigable efforts to prevent
international recognition of the Armenian genocide derive from the
fact that its denial is part of Turkey’s founding mythology, a plank
of official policy since the 1922 Lausanne Conference, where claims of
mass killings were dismissed as "Christian propaganda," journalist
Sean Gannon whites in his `Essay: Genocide by any international
standard’ published in The Jerusalem Post.

`In 1934, it successfully lobbied Washington to persuade MGM to drop
plans to film The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, Franz Werfel’s best-selling
novel about the Armenian experience, by threatening to boycott
American films,’ the article says.

It goes on:

`This campaign of denial intensified after 1965 when Armenian
commemorations of the 50th anniversary brought the issue to
international attention. By the mid-1970s, Turkey was engaged in what
Richard Falk described as "a major, proactive, deliberate effort
to… keep the truth about the Armenian Genocide from general
acknowledgment." By the 1990s, this included the endowment of chairs
in Turkish studies at several US universities with the aim of
disseminating Ankara’s version of events.

ACCORDING TO THIS VERSION, Armenians have willfully painted an
inaccurate picture of what happened in the World War I period and
why. And there is certainly truth in Turkey’s claim that the situation
was not as clear-cut as generally presented. Rarely acknowledged, for
instance, is that the rise of Armenian nationalism in the 19th century
led to enormous tensions between Armenians and their Ottoman
overlords, and that many had sided against the empire in the 1828,
1854 and 1877 wars.

It is also infrequently admitted that although 250,000 Armenians were
conscripted into the Ottoman armies during World War I, another
150,000, out of a sense of religious affinity with the Orthodox Slavs
and in the hope that a Russian victory would lead to an independent
Armenian state, volunteered to serve under the czar, while a further
50,000 joined Armenian guerrilla groups which openly sided with
him. Seldom spoken of either is the fact that hundreds of thousands of
Muslim, Greek and Jewish civilians died directly at their hands.

But while Constantinople may have gained grounds for viewing the
Armenians as a fifth column, nonpartisan sources make clear that their
deportation and murder began before any attempted insurrection. As
David Fromkin, who studied German sources, has written: "There are
historians today who continue to support the claim… that the Ottoman
rulers acted only after Armenia had risen against them. But observers
at the time who were by no means anti-Turk reported that such was not
the case. German officers stationed there agreed that the area was
quiet until the deportations began."

Ankara also denies that 1.5 million Armenians actually died. While
some Turkish historians allow that up to 600,000 were killed, the
semi-official Turkish Historical Society puts the figure closer to
300,000 and argues that, of these, only 10,000 were massacred, the
remainder dying of starvation and disease. It further claims that
these 10,000 were killed, not as part of a genocidal plan, but in the
heat of battle and more often than not by Kurds.

But it is a matter of historical record that the Special Organization,
an official arm of the Defense Ministry, oversaw the activities of
Einsatzgruppen-style killing squads that, in the words of one US
diplomat, "swept the countryside, massacring [Armenian] men, women and
children." And while Kurds were certainly involved in the killing,
they were deliberately coopted for the task by the Turkish War
Ministry in the knowledge that, as the Armenians’ historic blood
enemies, they would lose no opportunity to avenge ancient grudges.

Ankara’s distinction between those directly murdered and those who
died indirectly from starvation, disease and exposure is also highly
questionable. With no provision made for clothing, food or shelter,
the anticipated outcome of the deportations into the Syrian desert was
obviously death. In fact, the Turkish interior minister termed them
"marches to eternity" and his meaning was clear to his appalled German
allies who distanced themselves from the policy. To say that the
Armenians who died during the deportations were not deliberately
killed is like claiming there were no intentional Jewish deaths during
their "relocation" to the East or on the death marches to the West
during World War II.

THE FACT IS that the Armenian massacres constituted genocide by any
international standard, conforming to the UN’s criterion of having
been "committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnical, racial or religious group." Indeed, Raphael
Lemkin, who coined the term ‘genocide’ in 1944, used the Armenian
massacres as an illustrative example.

Today Turkey’s campaign to prevent its recognition is assuming a
Canute-like quality. Some 21 countries have already formally
acknowledged it, including Russia, Canada and France, as has the
European Parliament, the World Council of Churches and the
International Association of Genocide Scholars. And with President
Barack Obama (who twice pledged to recognize the genocide during his
election campaign), Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton, CIA chief Leon Panetta
and the NSC’s director of multilateral affairs Samantha Power also on
board, we now have what the Turkish daily Hurriyet described as the
"most pro-Armenian [administration] in history," and the Armenian
National Committee of America is currently preparing to place another
"recognition resolution" before Congress. In fact, Obama may well use
this year’s April 24 White House statement commemorating the killings
to recognize them as genocide.

Furthermore, an official with a leading American Jewish organization
recently told The Jerusalem Post that the post-Cast Lead
"deterioration in Israel-Turkey relations might prompt his group and
others to reconsider" their traditional support for Ankara’s
stance. And Israel, which Yair Auron, author of The Banality of
Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide, describes as Turkey’s
"principal partner" in denial, has itself made similar noises, with
Deputy Foreign Minister Majallie Whbee warning that if Turkey persists
in its claims that genocide is taking place in Gaza, "we will then
recognize the Armenian-related events as genocide."

Albeit for the wrong reasons, this is surely the right thing to
do. For, while fears regarding repercussions for both bilateral
relations and Turkey’s 25,000-strong Jewish community are
unfortunately well-founded, Israel, perhaps more than other nations,
has a moral obligation to call this crime by its name.

The writer is a freelance journalist, writing mainly on Irish and
Middle Eastern affairs. He is currently preparing a book on the
history of Irish-Israeli relations.’

RUSSIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL SAYS THE NUMBER OF CRIMES ON THE BASIS OF XENOPHOBIA RISE

RIA Novosti
2009-02-13 13:59:00

ArmInfo. Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chayka said the number of
crimes on the basis of xenophobia have risen.

‘There is such a problem. We see and know that’, – Russian Prosecutor
General Yuri Chayka said at today’s joint press conference in
Yerevanwith his Armenian counterpart Agvan Hovsepyan. He recalled
special department to investigate xenophobia was set up in Prosecutor
General’s Office two years ago. ‘According to the president’s decree,
similar department has been recently set up in Russian Ministry
of Internal Affairs [MIA]. The crimes on this basis have really
grown. But I should say we are working much, and together with MIA we
are coordinating our efforts to contradict these phenomena. I think
we shall continue working much in this direction. At the sitting of
Federal Security Service and MIA the president charged us to take
much efforts’, – Russian prosecutor general said. As for adequacy of
punishment measures, he said here is also much to think over. He also
added that the annual report on the state of legality in Russia, which
also says about this topic, will be submitted to the president soon.

‘We offer the complex of measures which will promote activation of
the joint work not only of the law-enforcement agencies, but the
power structures, federal subjects and the government in general’,
– he said. ‘The problem has become sharp because of the economic
crisis. There are many people in Russian from other CIS countries
which arrived to earn money. Many of them lost job because of the
crisis and have nowhere to go, as the situation in their native land
is harder while here they hope to get job in some way. We see it
and understand and try to work in this direction so that to remove
tension in the society’, – Yuri Chayka said.

ARMENIA BEST ROUTE FOR IRANIAN GAS TRANSIT TO EUROPE

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.02.2009 13:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The recent events have considerably affected the
situation in the Caucasus, an Armenian expert said.

"Implementation of regional projects bypassing Armenia is now
questioned. Tensions over South Ossetia still persist. Besides,
the transit route through Georgia is too expensive and can be easily
replaced by Armenia," Vahan Dilanyan told a news conference today.

"At the same time, Azerbaijan’s bellicose statements and ongoing
increase of the defense budget make an impression that it can follow
Georgia’s ways. Besides, Azeri oil and gas resources are not enough
for Nabucco, which demands 15 billion cubic meters of gas for a start,"
he said.

"Under the circumstances, Iran is likely to be invited to the
project. Given the U.S. and EU recent optimistic statements, it’s
quite possible. Thus, Armenia can become the most convenient and
secure route for the transit of Iranian gas to Europe," Dilanyan said.

The expert also reminded that Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan
said that Armenia can become an alternative route for Iranian gas
transit. "The global crisis has testified that economic benefits come
to replace political ones in implementation of regional projects. And
Armenia stands a good chance to make use of it," Dilanyan said.

ATA CALLS ON MINISTER OF CULTURE TO GIVE LEGAL ASSESSMENT TO UNSANCTIONED REDESIGNING OF THE ARMENIAN NORASHEN CHURCH

ArmInfo
2009-02-13 10:46:00

ArmInfo-BLACK SEA PRESS. The Assembly of Tbilisi Armenians (ATA)
has addressed the Minister of Culture, Monuments Prote ction and
Sports of Georgia, Nikoloz Rurua with the request to give legal
assessment to the actions of certain individuals in connection with
the illegal redesigning (fencing the area around the church) of the
Armenian Nuroshen Church in Tbilisi.Under the Georgian legislation,
the aforesaid church is a monument of cultural heritage and should
bee protected by the ministry.

As BLACK SEA PRES was told in the organization, the Assembly members
also demand give clarifications concerning the rest of the monuments –
so called disputable Armenian Churches: Surb-Nshan (XVIII century),
Shamkhoretsots-Surb Astvatsatsin (Karmir Avetaran – XVIII century),
Yerevantsots Surb Minas (XVIII century) and Mugni Surb Gevorg
(XIV century).

Members of the organization also addressed the Architecture Service
and the Tbilisi City Hall Supervision Service with a number of
questions concerning building-up of a fence around the Norashen
Church.On December 8, 2008, the Georgian Orthodox Church released a
statement in which it stated that during the meeting in the Georgian
Patriarchate on November 26 the decision had been made to: immediately
stop all works on the territory adjacent to the disputable monument;
address the Ministry of Culture,

Monuments Protection and Sports of Georgia in writing with the request
to assess the current condition of the monument and take all necessary
measures; authorize the bilateral commission to start the actual
work to determine the belonging and background of the aforesaid
monument and draw relevant conclusions based on the historical,
artistic and archeological expertise; to announce bilateral moratorium
with regard to the monument before the final conclusions are made by
the commission. The dispute around the Norashen Church arose in May
last year, when the Georgian Orthodox Church priest, Father Tariel
started to erect the iron fence around the Church together with a
group of workers.

PRESIDENT OF TURKMENISTAN BERDIMUHAMEDOV RECEIVES ARMENIAN MINISTER OF ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES MOVSISIAN

Turkmenistan Government Website

Feb 11 2009

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Minister
of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia Armen
Movsisian who had arrived in the Turkmen capital leading the government
delegation to participate in the first meeting of the Turkmen-Armenian
intergovernmental commission of economic cooperation.

Thanking for the opportunity of a personal meeting the guest conveyed
the heartfelt greeting to the Turkmen leader on behalf of President
of the Republic of Armenia Serj Sargsian and presented the letter
inviting to pay an official to Armenia. Taking an opportunity Armen
Movsisian congratulated Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the coming
national holiday of Turkmenistan – Fag Day and wished the Turkmen
leader and the people of Turkmenistan new impressive accomplishments
in implementing the large-scale reforms.

Thanking for the invitation and heartfelt congratulations Gurbanguly
Berdimuhamedov emphasized that Turkmenistan highly appreciated the ties
of friendship with its neighbours whom it was bound with partnership
as well as common history and traditions.

Exchanging views on the current condition and further trends in
mutually advantageous cooperation the sides focused with satisfaction
at the countries’ willingness to comprehensively develop and
intensify the intergovernmental dialogue characterized by mutual
confidence, understanding and friendship. The sides were unanimous
that the intergovernmental commission established on the initiative
of the Turkmen leader would substantially contribute to effective
collaboration. The agenda of the Turkmen-Armenian relations included
a broad range of the issues of mutual interest particularly in regard
to implementation of the national priorities and interests of each
partner and the existing profound potential of partnership.

Specifying the fields of further cooperation the President and
his guest focused on the trade, economic and humanitarian sphere
as the priority ones. Emphasis was put on further enhancement of
constructive partnership in the fuel and energy sector, transport
and communication standing as key factor for strengthening the
intergovernmental relations.

Informing of Armenia’s willingness to intensify collaboration with
Turkmenistan Armen Movsisian expressed belief that the first meeting of
the intergovernmental commission called upon to specify the priority
fields of effective cooperation would create powerful incentives to
maintain it.

In conclusion Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov wished success to the Armenian
delegation and fruitful work to the Turkmen-Armenian intergovernmental
talks

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of
Armenia to Turkmenistan Vladimir Badalian attended the meeting.

ARMENIAN CB SUSPENDED ACTIVITIES OF ADB CHARENTS BRANCH

ARKA
Feb 11, 2009

YEREVAN, February 11. /ARKA/. The Central Bank of Armenia suspended
activities of Charents branch of the Armenian Development Bank,
the CBA press-service told ARKA News Agency.

CBA Chairman Artur Javadyan made the decision on February 6.

Armenian Development Bank (ADB) was established in 1990. RA CBA
re-registered ADB in 1993 and issued #14 license. The Bank was under
the name of Reconstruction and Development Bank until 1996.

According to information at ARKA’s disposal, the bank’s assets reached
16.3bln AMD on December 31, 2008, with liabilities amounting to 10.5bln
AMD, capital 5.8bln AMD, credit investments 10.3bln AMD, liabilities
to clients 8.9bln AMD and net profit in 2008 to 747.2mln AMD.

The Bank had 2 branches until today, and now has one. ($1 – 305.51AMD).

CHARLES AZNAVOUR AGREES TO SERVE AS ARMENIA’S AMBASSADOR TO SWITZERLAND

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.02.2009 11:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Renowned singer Charles Aznavour has agreed to
serve as Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland.

"I consider it an honor that Armenia wants to see me as its envoy. I
had some hesitation at first because it’s not an easy mission. But
I have come to a conclusion that it’s important for Armenia and for
all of us," Aznavour said, the Armenian Public Television reports.

Earlier, Aznavour told El Pais in an interview that he can’t accept
the offer. "I was happy the day when President Serzh Sargsyan offered
me the post of Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland. But the next day
I understood that if I agree I will lose freedom," Aznavour told the
Spanish newspaper.

ARIEL COHEN: "AZERBAIJAN MAY ALSO SUFFER FROM THE GEOPOLITICAL REORIENTATION OF TURKEY ON RUSSIA AND EURASIA AND ANKARA’S DISTANCING FROM THE UNITED STATES"

Today.Az
litics/50647.html
Feb 12 2009
Azerbaijan

The normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia is a
slow process but there is a good will of both parties, said Ariel
Cohen, famous US specialist on Eurasia, expert in the sphere of
external policy, security and international relations, leader of the
Russia-Eurasian direction at "The Heritage Foundation".

"The matter is how Turks will settle the issue of the historical
facts of 1915-1917 and what should Turkey do for the history to stop
modernization in their relations. When the dead will stop seizing the
alive? As Turkey today is passing the stage of political Islamization
and in the result of this very complex geopolitical reorientation it
is distancing from the West. Azerbaijan can also suffer from this".

According to Cowen, improvement of relations between Turkey and Armenia
should be viewed in the context of geopolitical reorientation of Turkey
top Russia and Eurasia and Turkey’s distancing from the United States.

"Therefore, Azerbaijan should approach the processes between Ankara
and Yerevan carefully", concluded he.