Author: Vanyan Gary

IRAN READY TO PROVIDE ARMENIA WITH NUCLEAR FUEL

armradio.am
27.07.2009 17:07

Iran is ready to provide Armenia with nuclear fuel for its atomic
power plant which is under construction in the city of Armavir, West
Azarbaijan Province Governor General Rahim Qorbani said on Saturday,
Tehran Times reports.

"In light of mastering the nuclear enrichment technology… the
Islamic Republic of Iran is now ready to provide nuclear fuel for
the neighboring countries’ power plants," he said in a meeting with
the governor of Armavir in Urmia.

He also said the fact that many Armenians live in West Azarbaijan
Province can help expand relations between the two countries

NALBANDYAN IS ONLY A `SMALL SCREW’

Lragir.am
15:01:49 – 24/07/2009

The former minister of foreign affairs of Armenia Aleksandr Arzumanyan
considers the latest developments in connection with the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue very worrying. `In the present situation of
Armenia, Nalbandyan, being foreign minister in Serge Sargsyan’s system,
is just a small screw. This is totalitarian regime, where decisions are
taken by one person. In this case, Nalbandyan’s resignation would not
have any essential impact. This is the reason why the Armenian National
Congress points out Serge Sargsyan’s resignation as the only way out of
this situation. I think from this point of view, those, who demand
Nalbandyan’s resignation, should demand the resignation of the person,
who is directly responsible for the situation.

According to Alik Arzumanyan, by replacing one `small screw’ with
another one nothing will change in this system.

In answer to the question if it was not the same during their
government, as he played the same role as Nalbandyan, Alik Arzumanyan
stated that at that time there was no totalitarian system. There was a
mechanism of taking collegial decisions and anyone may agree or
disagree.

Ahmadinejad dismisses top vice president
25.07.2009 12:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Iran’s supreme leader handed a humiliation to the
president, ordering him to dismiss his choice for top deputy after the
appointment drew sharp condemnation from their hard-line base.
The move by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to show his
need to keep hard-liners’ support even at the cost of angering the
president, a close ally – at a time when Khamenei is facing
unprecedented opposition after the disputed June 12 election.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s appointment for his top vice president
sparked a rare split within the hard-line camp to which he belongs. A
chorus of ultra-conservative clerics and politicians denounced his
choice, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, while Ahmadinejad had strongly
defended the appointment.
Mashai is a relative by marriage to Ahmadinejad – his daughter is
married to the president’s son. Mashai angered hard-liners in 2008
when he said Iranians were "friends of all people in the world – even
Israelis." He was serving as vice president in charge of tourism and
cultural heritage at the time. Iran has 12 vice presidents, but the
first vice president is the most important because he leads Cabinet
meetings in the absence of the president.
After days of controversy, Khamenei ruled. "The view of the exalted
leader on the removal of Mashai from the post of vice president has
been notified to Ahmadinejad in writing," the semiofficial Fars news
agency reported Wednesday.
It was an unusually overt show of authority by Khamenei, who has the
ultimate say in state affairs in Iran. The supreme leader is believed
to often weigh in on senior government appointments behind the scenes,
but it is rare for him to openly order an official’s removal.
In the election dispute, Khamenei strongly supported the president,
who is seen as his protege, declaring valid the results that showed
Ahmadinejad’s re-election. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi
claims he won the election and Ahmadinejad’s victory is fraudulent,
and hundreds of thousands of supporters marched in the street in the
weeks after the election.
A fierce crackdown suppressed the massive street protests. But the
opposition continues to press its claims that Ahmadinejad’s government
is illegitimate. More importantly, the clerical leadership that
Khamenei in theory leads has been split, with many moderate clerics
angered by the handling of the election crisis or outright supportive
of Mousavi. That has made Khamenei more reliant on hard-line clerics
for support. It was not immediately clear if Ahmadinejad would cave in
to Khamenei’s order.
Ali Akbar Javanfekr, top media adviser to Ahmadinejad, said on Tuesday
that the president won’t change his mind over the controversy. But it
was unclear if his comments came before or after the supreme leader’s
order.
"The president makes his decisions … within the framework of his
legal powers and on the basis of investigations carried
out. Experience has proved that creating baseless controversies won’t
influence the president’s decision," Javanfekr said in his blog.
Nearly the same time as Khamenei was issuing his order late Tuesday,
Ahmadinejad vowed to keep Mashai.
"Mr. Mashai is a supporter of the position of the supreme leader and a
pious, caring, honest and creative caretaker for Iran … Why should
he resign?" the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as
saying. "Mashai has been appointed as first vice president and
continues his activities in the government."
The deputy speaker of the parliament, Mohammad Hasan Aboutorabi-Fard,
meanwhile, said that Mashai’s dismissal was a decision by the ruling
system itself, according to the semiofficial ISNA news.
"Removing Mashai from key posts and the position of vice president is
a strategic decision of the system … Dismissal or resignation of
Mashai needs to be announced by the president without any delay," IRNA
quoted him as saying late Tuesday.
Iran’s state television didn’t report Ahmadinejad’s comments
supporting his deputy. A conservative Web site said TV officials had
orders from higher officials not to do so.
Mashai also angered many of Iran’s top clerics in 2007 when he
attended a ceremony in Turkey where women performed a traditional
dance. Conservative interpretations of Islam prohibit women from
dancing.
He ran into trouble again in 2008 when he hosted a ceremony in Tehran
in which several women played tambourines and another one carried the
Quran to a podium to recite verses from the Muslim holy book, AFP
reported.

BOOK REVIEWS: TRADITIONALLY TURKISH
Bernard Trink

Bangkok Post
/traditionally-turkish
July 24 2009

The Sultan’s Seal
by Jenny White
Available at Asia Books and leading book stores, 350 baht

Turkey is one of those countries that pops up now and then in world
history, often enough for its name to be remembered yet too seldom
for even the well-educated to rattle off who the founding father of
its republic was. Most think its capital is Constantinople.

They massacred a whole lot of Kurds or Armenians, or somebody. They
have harems and baths. Lawrence of Arabia beat them all in
battle. Strong cigarettes. Muddy coffee. Belly dancers. Young Turks,
a musical group? No disrespect intended, but that’s what comes to
people’s minds when Turkey is mentioned.

One more thing, come to think of it. The museum of jewelled artefacts
in Topkapi. That film about a gang of thieves at work there gave
viewers the scenic tour of Constantinople/Istanbul/Stamboul a
half-century ago. To those who didn’t see it, the country is somewhere
between Greece and Iran. Backpackers will be more precise.

Jenny White is a Yank anthropologist, Turkish politics and society
her speciality. The Sultan’s Seal is her first work of fiction. The
story is set in 1886, the protagonist her literary creation Kamil
Pasha the magistrate for Istanbul’s Beyoglu Lower Court.

The author prefers Istanbul, sometimes Stamboul, to Constantinople. She
notes that at the time Turkey was known as "the sick man of Europe"
in diplomatic circles. It had long since passed its prime, though
Sultan Abdulhammid reigned like his 15th century predecessors.

The Balkans were declaring independence, Westernised Turks were trying
to depose him, England and Germany vying to exert influence. People
were being assassinated. Duplicity in the palace was the order of
the day.

The Secret Police spied on everybody, torture and disappearances
common. Kamil wisely steers clear of Royal mischief. Still, he can’t
overlook the body of an English woman found floating in the Bosphorus
wearing a pendant with the Sultan’s seal.

Sybil the British Ambassador’s daughter joins Kamil in his
investigation, in the course of which they fall in love. This might
have been an interesting crime thriller had White not filled the 403
pages with flowery descriptions of everything traditionally Turkish.

Telling the reader about the Golden Horn, courting practices, amd
acts of revenge is one thing, but the author knows her subject too
well and that’s the rub. We learn far more about 19th century Turkey
than we possibly want to know. Every floor, every vase, every dress,
is detailed ad nauseam.

I’ve been to Turkey, finding some of it awesome and some dull. I
wasn’t too regretful to leave it for my next port of call. To be sure,
every land should have at least one anthropologist in love with it
as White is with Turkey.

Which may well enhance her non-fiction works, yet novels require a
less pedantic approach. I trust she’ll take this into account when
writing about sleuth Kamil Pasha who, hopefully, won’t wed silly Sybil.

Armenian Assembly of America
1334 G Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE

July 22, 2009
Contact: Michael A Zachariades
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 393-3434

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY STATEMENT ON NAGORNO KARABAKH DEVELOPMENTS

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) issued the
following statement in regard to the Nagorno Karabakh peace process:

On the occasion of the July 17-18 meetings of the Presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan in Moscow, in regard to the Nagorno Karabakh peace
process, under the auspices of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group (OSCE), the Assembly reiterates its
long-standing position that any resolution must be acceptable to the
people of both Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

The meetings follow the joint declaration by the presidents of the
United States, France and Russia on July 10, at the recent Group of
Eight conference in Italy, in which the presidents instructed the
"mediators to present to the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan an
updated version of the Madrid Document of November 2007, the Co-Chairs’
last articulation of the Basic Principles," and urged the parties to
"resolve the few remaining differences…."

The issues are complex and will require time to reach a solution that is
acceptable to all parties, and most specifically to the citizens of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Throughout the ongoing negotiation process,
and again on July 16, the Armenian Government has stated that no
agreement can be reached without the concurrence of the government and
citizens of Nagorno Karabakh. We fully endorse that policy and urge the
Minsk Group Co-Chairs to ensure that the government of Nagorno Karabakh
joins the negotiation process as soon as possible. We note that the
OSCE Co-Chairs have repeatedly, and as recently as July 8, called for
the inclusion of Nagorno Karabakh.

We urge the United States, in particular, to ensure the fulfillment of
President Barack Obama’s campaign pledge "to work for a lasting and
durable settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict that is agreeable to
all parties, and based upon America’s founding commitment to the
principles of democracy and self determination." The Assembly also
recalls the leadership of the United States Senate and the passage of
S.J. Res. 178 in 1989, which expressed U.S. support for "the fundamental
rights and the aspirations of the people of Nagorno-Karabagh." Moreover,
the Assembly strongly supports the fundamental rights of the people of
Nagorno Karabakh, and its independence from foreign rule and oppression.
To that end, we support the efforts of the governments of Nagorno
Karabakh and Armenia.

For more than two decades the Assembly has committed its resources to
the pursuit of the just cause of the Armenian people of Nagorno
Karabakh. We have played an instrumental role in Congress, from the
Senate adoption of S.J. Res. 178, to the enactment of Section 907 of the
FREEDOM Support Act, which prohibits U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan until
its dual blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh are lifted. We will
continue to strongly support maximum assistance and aid to Nagorno
Karabakh to further promote its democratic development and overcome the
consequences of Azerbaijan’s aggression.

Therefore, we call upon the presidents of the United States, France and
Russia, whose nations collectively serve as the OSCE’s Minsk Group
co-chairs, to denounce Azerbaijan’s ongoing war rhetoric and its threats
for a resumption of military action. A new war will not only undermine
the peace process, but will also lead to the destabilization of the
South Caucasus.

The Assembly stands united with all Armenians to protect the freedom and
security of the Nagorno Karabakh people in the face of these most
serious external threats. The suffering endured and the sacrifices made
by Armenians since the Armenian Genocide deserves nothing less.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding
and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a 501(c) (3)
tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR#2009-060

OMBUDSMAN WILL SEND A LETTER TO MOJ

A1+
02:25 pm | July 22, 2009

Politics

Representatives of the Armenian Ombudsman’s Office yesterday visited
Arman Babajanian, the editor-in-chief of "Zhamanak-Yerevan" daily
hospitalized since July 6.

"We are going to send a letter to the Ministry of Justice with a
request to render medical assistance to Arman Babajanian," Human
Rights Defender Armen Harutiunian said to A1+.

Remind that Zhamanak-Yerevan’s chief editor was detained 3.5 years
ago and will be released in 45 days. Doctors say Babajanian’s health
condition is periled and he needs urgent treatment. Arman Babajanian is
diagnosed with brain cancer and needs immediate medical intervention.

ECONOMIC DECLINE UNLIKELY TO REACH 20% IN ARMENIA IN 2009, PREMIER STATES

ARKA
July 22, 2009

YEREVAN, July 22. /ARKA/. The economic decline will not reach the
pessimistic 20% in Armenia this year, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
told reporters.

Citing the data for the last six months reported by the RA
Statistical Service, the Premier said that they indicate positive
trends. Specifically, the GDP show lower rates of decrease than was
forecast for the first half of this year.

"Fortunately, the anti-crisis measures the Government is implementing
now are producing results. Particularly an increase of more than
220% in the construction sector this July as compared with this May
seriously slowed down the economic decline rates," Sargsyan said.

The Premier also pointed out other macroeconomic indicators showing
lower rates of economic decline over the last six months, which
suggests that "a better GDP growth index can be expected at the end
of 2009."

"We made various scenarios public, but we hope that we will not reach
the pessimistic level of 20%," Sargsyan said.

This January-June, a 16.3% economic decline was registered in Armenia
as compared with the corresponding period last year. The GDP reached
1,119.4bln AMD (US $3,216.2mln). An increase of 39.7% in GDP was
registered this June against this May.

As of the end of this June, 124.6bln AMD construction was carried
out in Armenia . An increase of 130.8% was registered in the Armenian
construction sector this June as compared with this May.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts an economic decline
within 10% in Armenia, and an inflation rate within 3%. The World Bank
(WB) forecasts a 9-10 per cent economic decline.

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN WILL BE LEAVING FOR A TWO-DAY WORKING VISIT TO MOSCOW

President.am
July 16 2009
Armenia

On July 17, President Serzh Sargsyan will be leaving for a two-day
working visit to Moscow.

Same day, the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the President
of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev will conduct negotiations on a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

It is expected that on July 18 there will take place a tripartite
meeting of the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan.

U.S. policy on Africa `won’t change under Obama’

The Natal Witness Group (KwaZulu Natal, South Africa)
16 July 2009

By Stephen Coan

Speaking at Chamber House yesterday, Jill Derderian, U.S. Consul-General
in Durban, said that U.S. policy towards Africa under President Barack
Obama’s administration is not substantially different from that of his
predecessor, George W. Bush.

`There is not major change, still a lot of continuity to look forward
to,’ Derderian said, addressing members of the South African Institute
of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of
Commerce on change, perceived or otherwise, under the Obama administration.

Derderian quoted from an early Bush position on Africa that regarded
African leaders as equal partners, asking that they set clear goals with
measurable results and good governance. She said Bush had also created
several initiatives that made a big impact on Africa, not least in the
field of HIV/Aids.

`During the Bush administration, the financial assistance to Africa went
up significantly,’ Derderian said. In 2001, it was $1,3 billion
(R10,55?billion), which rose to $5,6Tbillion in 2008. In 2010, it will
be $8,7 million.

Many of the previous administration’s positions were echoed by Obama in
a speech given in Accra during his recent visit to Ghana. He emphasised
democracy, the generation of wealth and peaceful resolution to conflict.
`He also placed an emphasis on good governance. He said `Africa doesn’t
need `strong men’, it needs strong institutions.’?’

`The U.S. wants to partner with Africa, but it’s not a one-way street,’
Derderian said. `His heritage obviously makes him a son of Africa, but
he’s also a son of the world. One South African newspaper referred to
his approach as `tough love’.’

Derderian had no definite date for when Obama might come to SA. `I don’t
know. We hope next year¦’

She was optimistic about the future relationship between the U.S. and
South Africa and said she is looking forward to 2010 ‘ `we both have
strong teams to be excited about’.

ontent&global[_id]=25254

PUBLIC COUNCIL TO BE FORMED AT MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

ARKA
July 16, 2009

YEREVAN, July 16. /ARKA/. A Public Council is being formed at the RA
Ministry of Defense.

The Information and Public Relations Department, RA Ministry of
Defense, reports that the Public Council is being formed as part of
reforms in the defense system, improvement of public control over
the armed forces and protection of human rights in the armed forces.

The Council will include representatives of the education and science
sector, environmental protection and sport systems as well as a
representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church, representatives of
NGOs and national minorities in Armenia.