RAFFI HOVHANNISYAN IS THE ONLY NOT TO FALSIFY
LRAGIR.AM
15:55:51 – 31/03/2009
Raffi Hohannisyan is the only member of the Armenian delegation to
PACE who presents the reality and does not distort it at the PACE
discussions. This was announced by the member of the Armenian National
Congress (HAK) Hovhannes Igityan, on March 31, who also noted that
if Raffi Hohannisyan does not present there something, just because
he considers it a matter to be solved within the Armenian society.
PanARMENIAN.Net
Turkish radical Grand Unity Party leader was found dead
28.03.2009 22:57 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish searchers found the body of the leader of a
right-wing political party and the wreckage of his helicopter on
Friday, two days after it crashed during election campaigning, Reuters
reports.
Members of a local militia discovered the wreckage and six bodies,
including that of Muhsin Yazicioglu, head of the Grand Unity Party
(BBP), in a mountainous area of Kahramanmaras province.
At least one passenger survived the crash on Wednesday and called the
authorities for help, but bad weather and difficult terrain made it
difficult to reach the site.
All on board were dead when help arrived. A journalist was among the
dead.
Yazicioglu founded the BBP, which combines nationalist and Islamist
ideologies, in 1993.
Hrant Dink’s murderer Ogun Samast was a member of radical organization
`Universal Order’, which is a part of mass movement of Turkish
`ideologists’ also known as `Grey Wolves’. It is a part of such
organizations, which have ties with pan-Turkism parties of `Grand
Unity’, though its leader Muhsin YazıcıoÄ?lu, by
all means kept himself away from it.
The party came under the spotlight in 2007 when two of its members
were charged in connection with the assassination of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink.
The party has denied any links to Dink’s killing.
A POLITICAL GOVERNMENT IS NEEDED
LRAGIR.AM
15:20:21 – 27/03/2009
On March 27, at the Pastark press-club, the economist Tatul Manaseryan
stated that for an effective anti-crisis policy the Armenian government
needs skilful and apolitical professionals. According to him, political
discussions, which were held for example, at the Sports and Music
Complex with the participation of the president, the prime minister and
over 5 decades of political parties, are important from unity point
of view, but today, professional discussions are more necessary;
the government must accept their advices. Tatul Manaseryan stated
that the government meets with specialists, accepts some advises but
does this out of the package, which, in fact, renders these advises
useless. The economist also stated that the political will of the
government lacks in regard with a lot of questions, especially in
connection with the struggle against the monopoly.
TRIBUTE TO ASHOT NAVASARDYAN’S MEMORY
Nvard Davtyan
"Radiolur"
28.03.2009 14:36
The President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, Speaker of the National
Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan, members of the Republican Party visited
Yerablur to pay tribute to the memory of Ashot Navasardyan, the
founder-president of the Republican Party, on the occasion of his
59th birthday.
According to Razmik Zohtrabyan, the Vice-President of the Republican
Party of Armenia, they always mark Ashot Navasardyan’s birthday
in a special way. "The Republican Party was created on the basis of
detachments struggling for independence. During the war we participated
both in the battles and the political life. We always keep his memory
bright. He was a man with conservative and national consciousness,"
the Vice-President of the Republican Party said.
According Galust Sahakyan, the Head of the Republican faction, Ashot
Navasardyan’s birthday is close to the birthday of the Republican
Party on April 2nd. "On these days we both mourn and feel proud. The
Party has lost Ashot Navasardyan, Vazgen Sargsyan and Andranik
Margaryan. Praise to all our late friends," he said.
The officials laid another wreath at Vazgen Sargsyan’s tomb.
"RECOGNITION OF THE GENOCIDE IS A NECESSITY"
A1+
07:39 pm | March 23, 2009
Politics
Armen Rustamyan, Chairman of the RoA NA Standing Committee on Foreign
Relations, sent a letter to Howard Berman, Chairman of the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the US House of Representatives. The letter
says in part:
"Dear Chairman Berman:
I have the pleasure to write to you upon the introduction of
legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide, and to share with
you and your colleagues our compete support for the adoption of this
measure affirming the commitment of the United States to the cause of
genocide-prevention. Armenia aspires for the universal recognition
and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, and sees it both as a
restoration of an historical justice and as a way to improve the
overall situation in the region, while also preventing similar crimes
in the future.
The Armenian people in our homeland, in the United States and
around the world, remain grateful for the hard work that you and
your colleagues, including, of course, Congressmen Adam Schiff and
George Radanovich, have devoted over the course of many years to
secure US recognition and official commemoration of this crime. I
am confident that the proponents of this process and also rightly
convinced that the lack of official recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the United States has thus far in fact served to make
Turkey’s position in the issue of resolving the Armenian-Turkish
relations more uncompromising. We value these efforts and are, this
year, particularly encouraged by the clear statements of President
Barack Obama and senior members of his Administration in his regard
during the elections.
Please know that I remain available to share with your Congressional
colleagues, either in writing in person, the principled stand of the
Republic of Armenia in support of universal recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. I am confident that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide
by the United States not only would not hamper, but on the country will
contribute to the prospects of a thorough dialogue between Turkey and
Armenia. A clear and principled stance by the US can only assist in
developing awareness that the recognition of the Genocide is not at all
a demonstration of anti-Turkish sentiments, but a necessity emanating
from the need to condemn this crime against humanity. Furthermore,
any durable improvement of Armenia-Turkey relations must rest upon
a foundation of shared respect for truth and justice.
Thank you for your friendship with the people and government of the
Republic of Armenia and for all your support and assistance over
the years."
ARMAN MUSINYAN REGRETS THAT THE "HERITAGE" DOES NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTIONS
Anna Nazaryan
"Radiolur"
24.03.2009 15:48
"The "Heritage" Party decided not to participate in the elections of
May 31, and Press Secretary of the Armenian National Congress Arman
Musinyan expressed regret in this connection. At the same time, he
said they understand the decision. "I regret not only that we did not
manage to run in the elections with a common candidate list, but also
for the fact that the "Heritage" does not participate," Musinyan said.
Marxist David Hakobyan declared yesterday that the candidate list
of the Armenian National Congress was compiled by the Armenian
Pan-National Movement and was not improved by the authorized
body. Arman Musinyan said, however, that the list has been approved
in the written form by all parties of the bloc. The only thing that
caused dissatisfaction was the sequence of the candidates in the list.
OBAMA VISIT RESULT OF TURKEY’S REGIONAL ROLE – FM
Anadolu Agency
March 22 2009
Turkey
ANKARA (A.A) -22.03.2009 -Turkish foreign minister defined on Sunday
the US president’s scheduled visit to Turkey as a result of Turkey’s
role in its region.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said US President Barack Obama’s
visit to Turkey was a result of Turkey’s role in its region.
"Obama’s visit is a natural outcome of Turkey’s increasing role in
its region," Babacan told the private Haberturk TV channel.
US President Obama is expected to visit Turkey on April 6 and 7.
Babacan said that Obama had started to revise the US foreign policy
after he took office, and the new US administration was listening
to other views more, taking recommendations, and was in an effort to
have a closer cooperation with its allies.
The Turkish foreign minister welcomed the United States’ close
dialogue efforts, and saw US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s
visit to Turkey and the visit of President Obama scheduled for April
as the signals of the US interest in the region.
Babacan said Obama’s visit would be his second abroad visit, following
his visit to Canada.
The Turkish foreign minister referred to a resolution at the US
congress regarding the incidents of 1915, and said that Turkish
executives were lobbying against the resolution in their meetings
with congresspeople and other US authorities.
Babacan said Turkish executives were explaining Turkey’s theses and the
possible negative effects of such a resolution on Turkish-US relations.
The minister said Turkey aimed to normalize its relations with Armenia,
and the process was going on well.
Babacan said that Armenian authorities were discussing Upper Karabakh
dispute with the Azerbaijani authorities, and also said that the
problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan were more complicated and
deeper.
ICRC REPRESENTATIVES HAVE VISITED RAFIG GASANOV FOR 7 TIMES
ArmInfo
2009-03-23 20:42:00
ArmInfo. The employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross
Delegation to Yerevan have visited captive Azerbaijani soldier Rafig
Gasanov for 7 times. The ICRC Delegation told ArmInfo correspondent
that Gasanov and his relatives send messages to each other via
the ICRC.
According to the source, the employees of the ICRC Delegation to Baku
visited three Armenian captives Hrant Markosyan, Alik Tevosyan and
Artush Sargsyan on March 12. The visit was paid in compliance with
the ICRC standards and aimed to assess the maintenance of the POWs
and the attitude to them. Communication was established between the
POWs and their families, the source said.
To recall, Gasanov came over to the Armenian side on 8 October
2008. Gasanov himself says that he has no desire to return to his
motherland. Three Armenian soldiers found themselves in Azerbaijan
on 28 February. According to the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry,
the soldiers lost their way.
ARMEN MARTIROSYAN ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
PanARMENIAN.Net
23.03.2009 13:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s permanent representative to UN Armen
Martirosyan was elected chairman of the Commission on the Status of
Women during the commission’s 54th session on March 13, the RA MFA
press office reported.
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional
commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of
main UN organs within the United Nations.
It was established in 1946 as a mechanism to promote, report on and
monitor issues relating to the political, economic, civil, social and
educational rights of women. Among its activities, the CSW drafted
several conventions and declarations, including the Declaration on
the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 1967.
The CSW is one of the commissions of the UN that do not limit
participation to states only. For example, NGOs are also allowed to
participate in sessions of the CSW. This is particularly important
for contested territories such as Taiwan, which is not a member of
the UN. In the past few years, NGOs from Taiwan (such as the National
Alliance of Taiwan Women’s Associations) have been able to participate
in the CSW sessions.
The UN Commission has advocated population control, reproductive
rights and contraception, while at the same time criticizing the
position of the Roman Catholic Church on sexual morality and fertility.
Medvedev Announces Plan to Rearm Russia
Published: Wednesday March 18, 2009
Source: Asbarez.com
MOSCOW (IHT)–Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said Tuesday that
Russia would begin a "large-scale rearming" in 2011 in response to
what he described as threats to the country’s security.
In a speech before generals in Moscow, Medvedev cited encroachment by
NATO as a primary reason for bolstering the military, including
nuclear forces.
The Russian President did not offer specifics on how much the budget
would grow for the military, whose capabilities deteriorated
significantly after the fall of Soviet Union.
Russia has increased military spending sharply in recent years, but
with the financial crisis and the drop in the price of oil, the
country’s finances are under pressure, suggesting that it would be
hard to lift these expenditures further.
Even so, Medvedev’s timing was notable. He is expected to hold his
first meeting with President Barack Obama in early April in London on
the sidelines of the summit meeting of the Group of 20 industrialized
and developing countries.
In recent weeks, he has said he is looking forward to the meeting, and
both he and Russia’s paramount leader, Prime Minister Vladimir
V. Putin, have been expressing some optimism about improving relations
with the United States under the new administration.
Medvedev’s comments Tuesday, though, indicated that Kremlin did not
want the United States and its NATO allies to presume that Russia was
coming to the table from a position of weakness.
"An analysis of the military-political situation in the world shows
that there are a range of regions where there remain serious potential
for conflicts," Medvedev said. "Threats remain that can bring about
local crises and international terrorism. NATO is not halting its
efforts to widen its military infrastructure near the borders of our
country. All of this demands a quality modernization of our armed
forces."
Medvedev emphasized that Russia would not be deterred in this plan by
the financial crisis.
His announcement comes as the Kremlin has already begun an effort to
overhaul the operations of the armed forces, which are still run
largely according to Soviet-style dictates.
While Russia’s far larger military easily triumphed over Georgia’s in
the conflict in August, the fighting exposed what many experts
described as flaws in training, weapons and equipment.