Author: Vanyan Gary

ARMENIA’S DE FACTO BORDERS:
A COMMENT BY OUR CORRESPONDENT TO THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE

ARARAT Center for Strategic Research
22 Nov 08

This is encouraging and promising, even though it’s happening nearly 15
years after the event! Showing the non-existent borders (at least since
1994!) of the NKAO (Nagorno Karabagh Autonomous Oblast) by Armenian
H1TV, Meteo or any other TV, or the HAAF’s (Hayastan All Armenia Fund)
calendars and maps or any other official or semi official Armenian
Republic or Diaspora publication, in my view, must be considered
outright treason. How else can one define deliberate propagation of
false information so consistently regarding such a strategic and
vitally important issue as ones own borders?!
The problem has been raised for several years with HAAF who every year
publishes in their wall calendar the same irresponsible and
non-existent NKAO territory next to the Armenian Republic. Even strong
protests coupled with threats that substantial and generous donations
will be withheld from HAAF unless this unacceptable and irresponsible
mistake is corrected and the proper DE FACTO borders are shown in their
maps lead to no result and the same false map is published once again.
And now we hear that something as basic as national geography school
textbooks have not been changed for nearly a decade therefore no effort
has been made to educate our younger generation simple facts of our
geogra
phical borders feeding them out of date and false information as
fact!
Why has this been tolerated for so long?
So rather than talk about `liberated territories’ or `occupied
territories’ or `buffer zone’ or `security zone’, all of which may well
be valid definitions in their specific fields of discourse, as
professor Valesyan has correctly pointed out international law has a
simple solution in cases like this. And that is the concept of DE FACTO
BORDERS. Any other term is not just false which propagates confusion
and non truth but is simply wrong and inappropriate and unpractical. It
follows that any map produced must, MUST, be based on existing
realities – i.e. de facto borders which as a matter of fact are backed
by NKR’s constitution, the OSCE sponsored Ceasefire Agreement of May
1994, and far more importantly the joint Army and Armed Forces of NKR
and the Republic of Armenia and therefore their laws!
If Armenia for whatever reason is still unable or unwilling to come to
terms with this glaring reality to call a spade a spade and define its
borders scientifically and accurately then it is not just betraying our
national interest but is being party to spreading confusion in national
and international circles, something which is quite unprecedented
anywhere in the world!
Finally let me end by stating that this failure to properly define ones
own de facto borders ha
s serious negative practical consequences for
Artsakh in that it prevents various international humanitarian agencies
(such as Oxfam for example), amongst others, from coming to Artsakh.
This is because in situations like this (no war no peace as in Artsakh)
these organisations need to know the de facto borders of a given
country backed and protected by law and order (administration backed by
armed forces) of the territory concerned. It certainly does not help
when various agencies of the given de facto territory issue irrelevant,
out of date, false and confusing information regarding their own
national (DE FACTO) borders!

Bagrat Nazarian, Contributing Correspondent (London),
ARARAT Center for Strategic Research

The Economist
November 22, 2008
U.S. Edition

Revolutions coloured green: The environment and people power

athens and new york

The use of cyberspace to oppose ecological abuse

New ways of sharing data and rallying support are a boon for
eco-warriors

THINK of spectacular popular protests, of the kind that make clever
use of technology to mobilise support, flummox the authorities and
disseminate facts and images. In many countries, that sort of approach
has been well used by political opposition movements, bent on
overturning regimes or reversing electoral fraud.

But more recently, both lone dissidents and bigger campaigns have been
employing the latest "people power" techniques in a different way:
challenging bad environmental decisions, especially the sort that
result from corrupt or non-existent governance. Eco-protest may lead,
in time, to political change, but the focus is narrower.

At a recent conference in Athens on corruption, campaigners from many
countries brought stories of their efforts to challenge environmental
abuse in innovative ways. In Armenia, for example, the local branch of
Transparency International’a global anti-corruption movement’has to
contend with a government that seems humourless and harsh. So
campaigners against a proposed mine in northern Armenia, which risks
destroying a pristine forest, devised colourful responses which the
authorities couldn’t repress without looking foolish. In a recent
street protest, they dressed up as animals; in another they staged a
"funeral" for a slice of nature that was at risk.

Some eco-protests are masterminded by global NGOs, drawing on a vast
pool of experience with manipulating images. Others are dreamed up by
local people with few assets other than their own desperation. In the
most successful actions, both elements are present. In recent weeks,
Greenpeace and its local supporters managed to embarrass the
government of Papua New Guinea by climbing a crane to stop a shipment
of timber.

But even in places to which global NGOs have little access, the ease
with which images and sounds can be disseminated has tilted the
balance of power in favour of environmentalists.

Take the fallout from a deal between the Russian aluminium concern
Rusal and the government of Guinea to mine bauxite. Green protests
were the last thing Rusal expected. But Kamara Secu, a leader of the
Guinean community in Russia, was undaunted. He rang Rusal’s press
officers and taped their response; they were dismissive and mocked his
accent. Mr Secu then posted a recording of the exchange on YouTube,
the video-sharing site; it was picked up by green bloggers, and helped
to rally support for a demonstration against Rusal.

Or consider the recent history of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, a forest park
straddling Belarus and Poland. The Belarus side is managed by a
well-connected agency whose new boss has been urging his staff to cook
up arguments in favour of commercial logging. Heorhi Kazulka, a
forestry official who lost his job because he refused to play ball, is
waging an online battle to publicise the park’s destruction. What
began as a lone effort has attracted many supporters who offer tips
and photographs.

Jon Corbett, of the Centre for Social, Spatial and Economic Justice,
an affiliate of the University of British Columbia, was first involved
in Indonesia’s anti-logging movement in the 1990s, in the pre-internet
age. Today, he says, things are far easier: local campaigns against
big commercial and political interests at least have a chance,
especially if they win global attention.

Blogs play a crucial role in attracting people to marches and sharing
information. In Iran, bloggers mounted a campaign to publicise the
threat to wetlands from roads and dams. Bulgaria’s bloggers campaigned
on behalf of the Strandzha Park, the country’s largest protected area,
targeted by commercial developers; they used a panoply of photo,
video, and petition sites. Bloggers in Poland placed special "green
ribbons" on their sites to show their solidarity with a campaign to
save the beautiful Rospuda valley from new roads.

Open-source video-editing tools and publicly available sounds have
made the creation of educational materials virtually cost-free’but
that doesn’t mean that eco-blogging is safe. Earlier this year an
Egyptian blogger, Tamer Mabrouk, posted material indicating that a
local firm had been dumping chemicals into Manzallah Lake and the Suez
Canal. The photos were noticed by a government newspaper which
denounced the firm’and Mr Mabrouk was duly arrested for defamation.

Electronically co-ordinated protest over green issues isn’t confined
to failed or authoritarian states; it has a role in well-organised
democracies, too. In Greece, for example, ten NGOs and a network of
local activists dotted across the Aegean are resisting a controversial
planning change that would make it easier to build holiday houses on
the islands.

George Papandreou, the opposition leader, has denounced the plan as an
example of the state’s capture by special interests, implying that the
only hope of fighting back lies in the mobilisation of ordinary
people, determined to save whatever remains of the country’s pristine
beauty. Athenian newspapers, including pro-opposition ones, have kept
an odd silence on the issue, a silence some Greeks ascribe to the
power of the construction lobby. Cyberspace, at least, crackles with
the controversy.

17 MILLION DRAM CREDIT TO BE PROVIDED TO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTREPRENEURSHIP OF ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan

Nov 21, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, NOYAN TAPAN. At the November 20 sitting, the
Armenian government approved the project for financing the credit
program on development of small and medium enterprises.

The RA minister of finance Tigran Davtian said that the project can
be viewed in the context of measures for reduction of the possible
impacts of the global economic crisis. By the project, additional
money of 17 bln drams (about 55 mln USD) will be allocated to the
German-Armenian Fund that will provide sums to banks which in their
turn will finance small and medium enterprises.

The prime minister Tigran Sargsyan considered the draft as an important
measure to overcome the global financial crisis. According to him,
the provision of credits will create an opportunity for thousands of
small and medium enterprises to receive loans and create jobs, and
the expansion of SME’s opportunities is one of the best anticrisis
measures.

T. Sargsyan announced that that SMEs in the marzes (provinces) where
mining companies are located will also be financed under the project,
which will reduce the negative effects of the global economic crisis.

He said that the World Bank envisages providing a 250 million dollar
credit in addition to the 50 million dollar one. Negotiations on this
credit are now being conducted with WB. The prime minister expressed
a hope that the first tranche of the indicated credit will be received
in the first quarter of 2009.

Unlike CIS countries, according to the prime minister, Armenia has
a relative advantage: it is the country’s banking system that has
withstood the crisis and also shows quite good indices, operating at
a profit of over 20 billion drams.

It was mentioned that the German-Armenian Fund was established based
on an intergovernmental agreement between Armenia and German. It has
about 10 thousand borrowers and a 100% index of credit repayment.

During the sitting of the Armenian government, the chairman of the
Central bank of Armenia Arthur Javadian presented the draft law on
All-Armenian bank. He said that it is planned to create an All-Armenian
bank in early 2009.

CATHEDRAL OF SURB ECHMIADZIN CONDEMNED ATTEMPT OF DEFILEMENT OF GRAVES IN TBILISI

De Facto
Nov 20, 2008

YEREVAN, 20.11.08. DE FACTO. "This deed does not correspond
to centuries-old friendship between our two countries", Vahram
Melikian, spokesman for the Holy See at Echmiadzin told a Panorama.am
correspondent.

To remind, the attempt of defilement of two graves of Mikhail and Lydia
Tamamshian, renowned Armenians, patrons of Tbilisi, representatives
of Tamamshev (Tamamshian) family, was made in Tbilisi on November
16. The act of defilement was made under the guidance of father Tariel
Sikinchelashvili, a representative of the Georgian Patriarchy, who
made the attempt, in his words, "within the frames of his private
program on improvement of the territory adjoining the Armenian church".

According to Vahram Melikian, Armenia Eparchy in Georgia does not have
a definite status there, as the law "On Consciousness and Religion"
has not been adopted there. "If the law is adopted, the status of
the Eparchy will be consolidated, and it will be able to dictate its
actions", Vahram Melikian said.

RUSSIAN DEPUTY MINISTER TO VISIT ANKARA FOR CAUCASUS TALKS

Today’s Zaman
Nov 19 2008
Turkey

A senior Russian official is scheduled to visit Ankara later this
week for talks on Turkey’s proposal for the establishment of a
regional platform for discussion and the resolution of conflicts in
the troubled Caucasus, which was suggested after a brief war between
Russia and Georgia.

Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Titov will arrive
in the Turkish capital on Friday for a one-day visit and will have
talks with Ambassador Unal Ceviköz, the deputy undersecretary of the
Foreign Ministry. Titov and Ceviköz, who is responsible for affairs
relating to the Caucasus and Central Asia, will assess progress made
so far concerning the proposed Caucasus Stability and Cooperation
Platform. Ankara hopes the platform with bring Turkey, Armenia,
Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia together around the same table.

Titov’s visit to Ankara comes only a few days after Foreign Minister
Ali Babacan’s remarks on the positive approach of the Georgian side
to the platform. Last week, Babacan told reporters that his Georgian
counterpart, Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili, told him during a recent visit
to Ä°stanbul that Georgia would be part of the proposed Caucasus
platform, despite earlier Georgian statements that the country would
not sit at the same table with Russia unless it fully withdrew its
troops from Georgia.

Ankara’s implementation of a proactive Caucasus policy is expected
to gain new momentum after another three-way meeting of the foreign
ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Babacan announced
last week that the meeting is planned but that the agenda should be
carefully decided before setting a date. Babacan had three-way talks
with Armenia’s Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian and Azerbaijan’s
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in New York on the sidelines
of UN General Assembly in September, where they discussed the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov praised Ankara’s
proposal for establishing the Caucasus Stability and Cooperation
Platform, calling it a very important initiative. Serdyukov arrived
in Ankara yesterday for an official visit at the invitation of his
Turkish counterpart, Vecdi Gönul. "We appreciate this [initiative]. In
the same way, we also agree with Turkey’s views concerning Georgia’s
territorial integrity. However, the Georgian administration’s efforts
to improve its military potential have been creating concerns. Its
efforts to approach NATO are also leading to concerns. We believe
that these efforts may cause bigger consequences than the incidents
in August," Serdyukov said at a joint press conference following
talks with Gönul.

–Boundary_(ID_RwqGY541G9O7SVv6 99bWww)–

ARMENIAN CEMETERIES TO BE RUINED IN GEORGIA

Panorama.am
17:38 19/11/2008

On 16 November Armenian cemeteries have been seriously damaged. In
this regard Armenian Apostolic Church has finally condemned Georgians
for their disrespectful attitude. In this regard priest Meliqyan of
the Holly Etchmiatsin said: "What is done does not correspond to our
relationship coming from ages."

Remind that On November 16 two cemeteries of famous Tamashyans’
family in Tbilisi were to be ruined. The representatives of Armenian
community eye-witnessed the vandalism.

To Panorama.am request why official Etchmiatsin kept silence and did
not send a message condemning their activities, priest Vahram said
that he has also answered to journalists questions. Note that before
priest’s phone was out of coverage.

CALL FOR THOROUGH INVESTIGATION INTO ASSAULT ON INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

Reporters Without Borders
Nov 18 2008
France

Reporters Without Borders calls for a "prompt and exhaustive"
investigation into yesterday’s assault in Yerevan on Edik Baghdasaryan,
the head of the Armenian Association of Investigative Journalists
and editor of Hetq, an online newspaper published by the association.

"Such a violent assault on an independent journalist who covers
corruption and crime has been targeted is particularly disturbing,"
Reporters Without Borders said. "As prompt and exhaustive an
investigation as possible must be carried out as a matter of urgency
in order to identify his assailants."

Baghdasaryan was assaulted by three unidentified men as he was about
to get into his car at about 8 p.m. yesterday in Yerevan. They beat
him repeatedly and one of them hit on the head with a stone before
they all made off. He was admitted to St. Grigor Lusarovich hospital
for treatment.

In an interview for local TV station A1+, Baghdasaryan said his
assailants seemed to have been waiting for him and began their attack
without saying a word. A camera belonging to Hetq, the online newspaper
he edits, was stolen during the attack. After his assailants had left,
he requested help from a neighbouring apartment building.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said he was "worried" by the attack on
Baghdasaryan after visiting him in hospital today. Sona Truzyan, the
spokesperson for the prosecutor-general’s office, said the incident
was being investigated as an "assault" under article 113 of the
criminal code.

SETTLEMENT IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE SETTLEMENT
James Hakobyan

Lragir.am
14:29:41 – 18/11/2008

All through the settlement of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh there
were moments when the situation appeared crucial, deciding, when the
historical decision seemed close. For instance, a few years ago or
in 2000 or in 2001 when frank Matthew Bryza was not co-chair, and the
United States was represented by heavy Kerry Kavanaugh, and Russia was
represented by Nicolay Gribkov instead of Merzlyakov, the co-chairs
visited Artsakh, then took a place to the town of Spitak from where
they went to the Armenian-Turkish border to watch the railway. Everyone
had the feeling that the blockade of Armenia was about to be lifted,
the Karabakh issue was about to solve and so peace and stability was
about to be established to the point of becoming unbearable. As you
can see, however, several years have passed since that historical
activity, Key West, Paris, Prague, Rambouillet have passed.

Moscow will also pass, and many other cities and, when no more cities
will be left, villages will pass but the settlement of the Karabakh
issue will remain on the international agenda of politics.

Whenever the imminence of settlement is considered, a lot of answerless
questions occur which, having no clear answers, are evidence that the
settlement is not only far but practically does not exist. The point
is that too many interests clash in the region20of Karabakh. They
are so many that the owners of those interests may often take others’
interests for their own ones. This is a joke, of course, but obviously
the region of Karabakh is not only the geographic but also functional
center of the South Caucasus.

Therefore, it cannot be an object of an international consensus,
especially in the ongoing vital struggle of great powers for energy
sources and economic infrastructures. In this situation, when everyone
is trying to come into control of this center of the South Caucasus,
is settlement, a peace accord, an agreement possible? After all,
these things presuppose a number of subjective factors, violation
of the status quo. After all, besides Russia, the United States and
Europe, and a little Turkey, there is also Iran.

Besides, what does the so-called settlement of the Karabakh conflict
mean?

The general approach or perception is that the settlement involves
self-determination of Karabakh, the return of the liberated
territories. Or first return then self-determination. Presently,
it is not so important. The order is not important. The fact, the
consequence is important. Therefore, it is important to find out
what importance the return of the territories to Azerbaijan has for
the mediators, or what importance the peacekeepers have who will
be deployed, or independent Karabakh which is supposed to exist de
facto and have a de jure recognized status. Only a highly superficia
l judgment would conclude that the interests of the mediators and the
regional neighbors would be identical. Moreover, it is clear that even
the interests of the two key mediators, Russia and the United States,
are not similar. For them, the settlement of the Karabakh conflict is
an essential increase of their influence in the region. No doubt, after
the Georgian-Russian war, the solution of the problems of Ossetia and
Abkhazia, the only key, the code to the region is Karabakh. The one
who "decodes" Karabakh will have finally won the Georgian-Ossetian
events. In other words, now these events have an interim winner and
an interim loser. Many think Russia is the winner, but apparently
the United States is the winner. And perhaps this was the reason why
the Russians rushed regarding the Karabakh issue, realizing that in
reality they need a visible rather than an invisible victory. However,
the actually invisible declaration which was signed in Moscow made
it clear that the Russians were unable to attain the desired result
regarding the Karabakh issue, and the United States managed to ensure
the solution of the least problem: to prevent the Russians from
"scoring" fast. The visit of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to the
region was evidence that the game has slowed down. Bryza thanked the
Russians that their "initiative" changed the moods of the presidents,
thereby considering the mission of=2 0the Russians complete. And
the presidents might have been in a bad mood because they might have
also believed that the settlement was close, and the United States
would not manage to hinder Russia. However, as Freddie Mercury said,
"the show must go on, gentlemen". The settlement is dead, long live
the settlement.

BILL CRIMINALIZING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL BLOCKED IN FRENCH SENATE

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.11.2008 16:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian
Genocide has been blocked in the French Senate, head of Movement for
France (MPF) Philippe de Villiers told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

He voiced hope that hearing on the bill will be held next year. "We
are trying to lobby the bill but the pressure is too strong," Mr. de
Villiers said.

The bill penalizing the Armenian Genocide denial was passed by the
lower house of the French National Assembly in October 2006.

US CO-CHAIR OF OSCE MG: RUSSIAN MILITARY SERVICEMEN CAN’T PLAY PEACEKEEPERS’ ROLE IN KARABAKH CONFLICT

ArmInfo
2008-11-13 18:26:00

ArmInfo. Russian military servicemen can’t play a role of peacekeeping
forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, US Co-chair of the OSCE
Minsk Group Matthew Bryza told journalists in Baku.

As Day.az news agency reports, Bryza noted that the co-chairs have
always adhered to the principles that in case peacekeeping forces
are deployed in the conflict zone in the future, they shouldn’t be
from OSCE MG co-chair countries or the region’s neighbor countries.

Bryza is unaware who can be the peacekeepers, but he said that the
work on the base principles should be completed. He also noted
that he discussed the issue of the Karabakh peace process at a
meeting with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. Bryza can’t say whether
President Aliyev and President Sargsyan have come to an understanding,
but he agrees with the fact that there is a level of confidence and
respect. Touching upon the issue of reality of possible ceding of part
of occupied territories to Azerbaijan before the year 2008 is out,
Bryza said that he didn’t know when it would happen.

The base principles of the co-chairs are balanced, he said and
expressed hope that the territories will be returned to Azerbaijan and
refugees will return there. A corridor may be set up, peacekeepers may
be deployed, and voting may be held sometime. The most important thing
in this matter is that the presidents should come to an understanding,
Bryza said in conclusion.