Author: Vardanian Garo

ARMENIAN FM DELIVERS SPEECH AT THE 16TH MINISTERIAL MEETING IN HELSINKI

ARMENPRESS
Dec 5, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian delivered speech at the 16th OSCE Ministerial meeting
in Helsinki. The full speech of the Armenian foreign minister is
presented below: "Mr Chairman Dear Colleagues I would like to begin
by thanking the Finnish Chairmanship-in-Office and Minister Alexander
Stubb for the devoted and effective work throughout the year.

Helsinki is a city whose name will be forever linked to the basic
principles governing the relations between the countries of the
OSCE area. It would be highly symbolic if here, in Helsinki, we set
the basis for the future deliberations on the improvement of the
capabilities of our Organization, which requires truly joint effort
and efficient partnership. A discussion around an OSCE Charter and
the legal personality of the OSCE could become a good basis to test
various ideas and develop common positions through a dialogue. This is
a time for united action and I hope that we will leave Helsinki with
a clear commitment to strengthen the effectiveness of our organization.

Mr Chairman, Armenia is interested in continued cooperation within
the OSCE in all three dimensions.

In human dimension we are ready to continue constructive cooperation
with the OSCE/ODIHR, yet at the same time we support the re-evaluation
of the role of the ODHIR and a higher level of its accountability
before the member states. We are ready to work with all interested
member states in this direction. We are prepared to work towards
developing a more consolidated approach in economic-environmental
dimension in order to ensure its continuity and sustainability.

We note the importance of the dialogue on the OSCE political-military
dimension. Conventional arms control is an issue of primary
importance. The situation in our region makes the maintenance of the
Conventional Arms Control Treaty more imperative. Full implementation
of commitments is crucial for the security and stability of the area
of application. Regrettably, Azerbaijan’s massive military build-up
conducted in violation of its international obligations has not
received an adequate reaction from the majority of the state parties
of the Convention.

An arms race can lead to a resumption of a military conflict. The
situation becomes somehow classic – if there is a gun on the stage, it
has to fire. Europe obviously needs a new security architecture, which
will take into account all the existing concerns. With this in mind,
we think that a debate over a European security treaty can provide
a good forum for the development of a commonly acceptable system.

That is why we support the proposal by Presidents of France and Russia
regarding the convening of a summit to launch the negotiations on the
implementation of the initiative to develop a European Security Treaty.

Dear Colleagues, I would now like to inform you on the latest
developments of the Nagorno Karabakh peace process for which OSCE
has an important mediation role through the dedicated effort of the
three Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh settlement received a new
impetus at the Moscow meeting initiated by President of the Russian
Federation in his capacity as a Head of Co-Chair state and the
signing by Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia of the Moscow
Declaration. The Co-Chairs supported and approved the Declaration,
and we believed that it would intensify the peace process.

However, Azerbaijan misinterprets all the provisions of the Declaration
going as far as stating, in particular, that the peaceful settlement
does not exclude use of force. I wonder if there is any other
state here, around this table, which could have such interpretation
of the very clear notion of the ‘peaceful political settlement.’
The other vivid example of the misinterpretation of the declaration
and the whole process of negotiations, was the provocative non-paper
distorting the whole sense of the peace talks circulated yesterday
by Azerbaijani delegation, which I don’t even want to comment.

Despite this, we would want to hope that we will be able to maintain
the spirit and the positive momentum of the Moscow declaration and
will advance towards the resolution of the conflict. This was also
the vision of the declaration made yesterday by the three Co-Chair
countries in framework of our Ministerial meeting. Dear Colleagues,
There is one more long-standing problem which needs wise approach
and political courage to be resolved. I would like to briefly touch
upon the Armenian-Turkish relations, the normalization of which will
highly contribute to the establishment of stability and security in
the whole region.

The bold steps taken by the Presidents of Armenia and Turkey
demonstrate political will and readiness to move forward. Of course,
no one expects miracles and we were pragmatic enough not to think that
all problems would be solved overnight. However, the important thing
is to achieve a tangible result and not to negotiate for the sake of
negotiations. We are looking for establishment of diplomatic relations
and opening of borders without any precondition and we expect the
same approach from the Turkish side. Parties continue to work and
negotiate and I hope that together we will achieve what I believe
is our common goal – normalize our relations and bring security and
stability to our region.

Mr Chairman, In conclusion, I would like to wish success to the
incoming Chairmanship-in-Office and to ensure my distinguished Greek
colleague, Minister Dora Bakoyanis that she can count on the support
of Armenia in all her endeavours aimed at reaching security and
prosperity in the OSCE area.

Thank you."

ARMENIAN PREMIER: MINISTERS AND HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS TO BE PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RISKS OF THE WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS WHICH WERE NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT

ArmInfo
2008-12-04 16:08:00

ArmInfo. Armenian premier: Ministers and heads of departments will
be personally responsible for the risks of the world economic crisis,
which were not taken into account, in case of possible negative affect
of the crisis, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan said in the
government, Thursday.

He charged to assess the risks in 2009. He also recalled that a
commission was set up under the prime minister which is called up to
coordinate the events directed to minimization of possible consequences
of the world crisis. If there is no good management at a company, the
government is ready to help drawing out of business-programmes, and
in this case it is not ruled out that the government will participate
in the capital of such companies, the premier said. "It is no secret
that the year of 2009 will be hard and will require intensive work
from all of us". – Tigran Sarkisyan said.

TURKISH AND ARMENIAN PUBLIC SHOULD BE READY FOR DIFFICULTIES IN ESTABLISHMENT OF BILATERAL DIALOGUE, A TURKISH EXPERT THINKS

ArmInfo
2008-12-03 17:58:00

ArmInfo. The Turkish and Armenian public should be ready for
difficulties in the process of establishment of a bilateral dialogue,
senior expert at the analytical center European Stability Initiative,
editor of the Istanbul-based Turkish Policy Quarterly, Nigar Goksel,
told ArmInfo correspondent.

She said some public organizations, youth groups of both countries
are already making attempts to establish a bilateral dialogue,
however, it is impossible to speak of possible results now. Goksel
said that she visits Armenia often and has started understanding the
approaches of Armenians living here better. However, many Turks will
find themselves unready to perceive these approaches. Certainly, the
same can be said about the readiness or unreadiness of the Armenian
public to perceive a given viewpoint concerning Armenian-Turkish
relations, Goksel said. The Turkish expert thinks that the widest
layers of both countries’ public should be aware of information about
the attempts to establish a dialogue.

ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN PMS TO DISCUSS WAYS TO OVERCOME FINANCIAL CRISIS

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.12.2008 13:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan is
departing for Moscow Friday on a working visit to meet with his
Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The Prime Ministers wills focus on the ways to overcome the
consequences of the world financial crisis, Shavarsh Kocharyan,
RA Deputy Foreign Minister told a news conference today.

Besides, PM Sargsyan is expected to meet with entrepreneurs.

FINANCIAL SOURCES TO BUILD RAILROAD AND ATOMIC POWER STATION UNDEFINED

Panorama.am
17:19 02/12/2008

In order to meet the challenges of international crisis, to guarantee
investments and financial streams the Government of Armenia has
taken the initiative to build new atomic power station, Iran-Armenia
railroad and to establish pan-Armenian bank, said Vardan Ayvazyan,
the Chairman of NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, during a
press conference.

Economist Andranik Tevanyan, the head of "Polit-economy" research
institute is concerned that Armenian Government confuses its people
presenting such projects. Tevanyan said that the state budget of 2009
does not include any of those projects.

Regarding this Vardan Ayvazyan said that investments will be made
for the railroad, whereas Mr. Tevanyan answered that the Minister
of Transport of Russian Federation Mr. Levitin himself has said that
they would not adopt that strategy.

It turned out that projects are announced without having definite
sources for them, said Mr. Tevanyan.

CONSTRUCTION OF KAJARAN-ARARAT SECTOR OF IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE COMPLETED

ArmInfo
2008-12-01 17:53:00

ArmInfo. Construction of the Kajaran-Ararat sector of the Iran-Armenia
gas pipeline has been completed, this will allow Armenia to receive
gas from Iran in the near future. The total value of the project made
up approximately 130 mln USD.

Former and incumbent presidents of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and Serzh
Sargsyan, Energy Minister Armen Movsissyan, Head of Gazprom Aleksey
Miller and Director General of ArmRusgasprom CJSC Karen Karapetyan
attended the closing ceremony of construction, Monday. The last joint
of the pipeline near the town of Vedi, Ararat region of Armenia,
was solemnly welded during the ceremony.

Chairman of Board of Gazprom A.Miller said that the new channel of
gas delivery is an important step to ensure the energy security of
Armenia, reliable and stable deliveries of energy resources. "Our
successful cooperation with Armenian colleagues can be carried out only
on the basis of high-level political cooperation between Russia and
Armenia. Our cooperation is based first and foremost on friendship
and mutual benefit, and this is the pledge of its steadiness and
durability", – Miller said.

Armenian Energy Minister A.Movsissyan said that the completed sector
of the gas pipeline will be tested in several days and put into
operation. Through this direction Armenia will manage to receive up
to 2.6 bln cub.m. per year.

According to interstate agreements reached earlier, Armenia will pay
for the gas by deliveries of electric power to Iran at the rate of
3 KW/h for 1 cub.m. The gas will be delivered if the need arises.

ARMAN MUSINYAN: MAXIMALLY EFFECTIVE SOLUTION TO THE KARABAKH ISSUE SHOULD BE FOUND
Siranuysh Muradyan

"Radiolur"
01.12.2008 16:25

The Nagorno Karabakh settlement is a national security issue and
it’s important to find a maximally effective solution to it, Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s Press Secretary Arman Musinyan told a press conference,
noting that an effective solution will depend on the powerfulness of
Armenia and the weakness of Azerbaijan at that point. According to
him, there are different views on the Karabakh conflict settlement
n the Armenian National Congress.

Arman Musinyan is assured that the Karabakh conflict settlement process
has greatly accelerated and it’s not ruled out that an agreement on
principled issues may be reached in the near future. According to him,
one should not think that the final treaty is going to bi signed;
the question refers to defining the principles that will serve as a
basis for talks. The Maindorf declaration will result in the signing
of some framework agreement, Mr. Musinyan considers.

Arman Musinyan informed that the Armenian National Congess intends
to convene an open meeting in December. It has been preliminarily
scheduled for December 12, but it still needs to be fixed. Participants
of the meeting will discuss issues related to the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement, internal political and economic situation in
the country.

The Armenian Reporter
28 Nov 08

In a two-hour special report, CNN chief international correspondent
Christiane Amanpour will report on the recurring nightmare of genocide
and the largely unknown struggles of the heroes who witnessed evil –
and "screamed bloody murder" for the international community to stop
it. The program will premiere on CNN on December 4 at 9 p.m. Eastern
and Pacific.

"We have profiled individuals," Ms. Amanpour told the Armenian
Reporter in an interview, "who have had the courage to stand up and
tell their governments what was going on and how it needed to be
stopped."

Ms. Amanpour said, "One of the people we look back on is Raphael
Lemkin, who . . . coined the term genocide specifically after the
Armenian Genocide and put that word right there in our vocabulary and
lobbied very, very hard for the Convention that would define that
word." The occasion for the documentary is the 60th anniversary of
the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide. The program touches briefly on the Armenian
Genocide in the context of Lemkin’s outrage that the murder of one
person is a capital crime, but the murder of an entire people was not
defined as such.

Past as prologue
Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew and lawyer, narrowly escaped the
Holocaust, but his parents and 40 other members of his family perished
in the slaughter. In the 1940s, Lemkin coined the term "genocide" and
lobbied the then-fledgling U.N. for an international convention
compelling nations to prevent and stop genocide.

Mark Nelson, vice president and senior executive producer for CNN
Productions says: "Lemkin hoped that the international community would
ensure that genocide never happened again, but other crusaders against
genocide met the same indifference and resistance Lemkin
encountered. This film is about their stories – and what we can learn
from them."

Just one generation later, Father François Ponchaud, a Catholic
missionary working in Cambodia, tried to alert the world to the
torture and mass executions following the rise of the brutal Khmer
Rouge regime. Fr. Ponchaud published articles, a book, and even spoke
before the U.N. to urge action to stop the killing.

"No one believed us" Fr. Ponchaud tells Ms. Amanpour in the
documentary. In fewer than four years, the Khmer Rouge’s reign of
terror claimed the lives of nearly two million men, women, and
children – one fourth of Cambodia’s population. "No one defends human
rights," the priest says in the documentary. "Governments are cold
beasts looking out for their own interests."

Committing genocide in front of the news cameras
In the 1980s, Saddam Hussein unleashed poison gas on the Iraqi Kurdish
population, killing tens of thousands of people. Ms. Amanpour draws on
U.S. government documents that show the Reagan administration opposed
measures to sanction Iraq – because it was trying to cultivate Iraq as
an ally against Iran in 1988.

Peter Galbraith, at the time an idealistic staffer in the U.S. Senate,
witnessed Hussein’s brutal policy and tried unsuccessfully to get
Congress to punish Iraq. The White House continued its support for
Hussein. Ms. Amanpour questions the Reagan administration officials
who made the decisions at the time, including former U.S. Secretary of
State George Shultz.

Ms. Amanpour returns to the former Yugoslavia – where in the 1990s she
reported on the "ethnic cleansing" of Muslims by Serbs. She reminds
viewers that the slaughter in Bosnia happened in full view of the
world, captured on 24-hour television news.

Ms. Amanpour describes the efforts of Richard Holbrooke, a private
citizen who would later become one of President Bill Clinton’s most
influential advisors=3B Mr. Holbrooke tried to persuade the Clinton
administration to use military force to stop the principal aggressors,
the Bosnian Serbs. It would take three years – and the massacre of
8,000 Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica – for him to make
his case and secure U.S. military support to end the "ethnic
cleansing."

Speaking to the Armenian Reporter, Ms. Amanpour said, "When I ask
former U.S. officials who were in national security or the State
Department during the Clinton administration – in which genocide
happened in Bosnia and in Rwanda – I ask them why was there this
collective failure to act, and some of them said to me, `Look, we need
our public behind us. This is something very difficult for us to
intervene when our national security is not directly threatened. We
need our public behind us.’"

She said her purpose was to raise awareness of international affairs
among Americans, the citizens of the most powerful nation on earth.
During an international news conference in 1994, Ms. Amanpour
challenged Mr. Clinton: "Do you not think that the constant flip-flops
of your administration on the issue of Bosnia set a very dangerous
precedent?"

Ms. Amanpour also returns to Rwanda – where she reported on genocide
there 14 years ago. The atrocities still haunt retired Canadian
Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire. In 1994, Mr. Dallaire was the commander of
the U.N. peace-keeping troops in Rwanda. He sounded early warnings
about an impending human tragedy but was prohibited from taking
military action to prevent the slaughter that eventually claimed the
lives of at least 800,000 people. Mr. Dallaire, ordered to leave
Rwanda by his bosses, tells Ms. Amanpour, "I refused a legal
order. But it was immoral."

Avoiding the G word
Ms. Amanpour recounts the Clinton administration’s refusal to use the
word "genocide" to describe the killing in Rwanda, and the U.N.’s
refusal to reinforce Mr. Dallaire’s troops. Former
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former U.S. National Security
Advisor Anthony Lake discuss the failures in Rwanda. Ms. Amanpour also
interviews current Rwandan president Paul Kagame, who says the world
was indifferent to the fate of Rwandans.

Finally, Ms. Amanpour reports on what many consider to be the first
genocide of the 21st century: Darfur.
"There was no lack of information, there was no lack of understanding,
there was a lack of will to stop genocide – year after year after
year," says Eric Reeves, a Smith College professor and one of the
founders of grassroots activism to end genocide in
Darfur. Ms. Amanpour interviews Dr. Mukesh Kapila, the U.N.’s former
top official in Sudan, who notes what he says is today’s challenge:
The U.N. is powerless to compel its members to act, even in the face
of mass murder.

But, Ms. Amanpour said to the Armenian Reporter, "Something incredible
happened in the last few years over Darfur. The reason Darfur is an
issue in the United States, perhaps more than in any other Western
country is because it has become a grassroots issue on campuses, in
NGOs, and even in places like Hollywood and such. Darfur has become a
rallying cry, and I think this is amazing. It really is amazing. And
that’s what gives me hope for the future."

Six decades after Lemkin’s challenge to never let genocide happen
again, Ms. Amanpour ponders what it will take for the world to live up
to his challenge and the promise of the Genocide Convention he worked
so tirelessly to bring about. The next time the killing starts and
someone stands up to scream bloody murder, will anyone listen?

Panorama.am

18:20 28/11/2008

VAZGEN I ` BELOVED AND TRUSTED PATRIARCH

A builder and a teacher, a scientist and a national hero, this is how
many of us today remember Vazgen I Catholicos.

Today an exhibition devoted to Vazgen I opened in National
Library. His works, as well as those numerous articles devoted to him
are presented in the exhibition. `Vazgen I took his functioning when
the state turned round its face from the church, but due to his wisdom
and discretion he was a beloved and trusted Patriarch,’ said Father
Vardan Navasardyan of Saint Etchmiadzin.

`He is not with us physically but he is a symbol of Armenian
Patriarchate even today. Due to his mystic power, he managed to
encourage commoners and workers, officials and rich,’ said Father
Vardan.

Note that a range of events devoted to 100th anniversary of Armenian
Patriarch Vazgen I have been organized and conducted not only in
Yerevan but in the regions, too.

Source: Panorama.am

"ESTABLISHMENT OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS AND OPENING OF THE BORDERS SHOULD NOT BE PERCEIVED AS A KINDNESS"
By Hakob Chaqrian

AZG Armenian Daily
26/11/2008

Announced Armenian Foreign Minister in Istanbul

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian paid a one-day working
visit to Istanbul on November 24.

As a representative of the presiding country of "Black Sea
Cooperation", he visited the secretariat of the organization, where
he answered the questions of the journalists about the present state
of Armenian-Turkish relations, the prospects of their improvement
and Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Turkish Public TV and CNN-Turk immediately responded to the press
conference mentioning in their websites that the Armenian Foreign
Minister spoke in favor of "normalization of relations" and "opening
of borders".

Istanbul "Zhamanak" newspaper’s editor-in-chief Ara Kochunian called
"Azg" daily editorial office and informed of the press conference.

Armenian Foreign Minister expressed gratification on the occasion of
his visit to Istanbul. He mentioned that the sides have relations in
the framework of the "Black Sea Cooperation". He positively assessed
the present stage of relations with Turkey.

"According to me, the bilateral relations develop positively. Armenia
is ready to normalize the relations with Turkey. I mean, establishment
of diplomatic relations without preconditions and opening of
borders. It should not be perceived as a kindness as it is driven
from the both sides’ interests".

Armenian Foreign Minister touched upon the normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations mentioning of many neighboring countries
in the world having problems with each other. He said that those
problems are not obstacles to establishing of diplomatic relations.

What about Karabakh conflict, the Minister spoke of the Moscow
declaration and highly appreciated Russia’s constructive role. He,
at the same time, hoped that the Moscow declaration would contribute
to the settlement of Karabakh conflict.

After the press conference, the Armenian Foreign Minister visited
the Polis Armenian patriarchate.

Later, Edward Nalbandian met with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan
for about 2,5 hours in "Four seasons" hotel.

After an half an hour-meeting a working dinner was held. After
the dinner, the foreign ministers answered the questions of the
journalists.

"Taking into consideration the solution of all the problems between
the two countries, the sides show a strong will. The meetings will
be continued", said Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.