Author: Varosian Antranik

GEORGIAN ARMENIAN COMMUNITY’S DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTION TO BE WORKED OUT

Noyan Tapan

Dec 11, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. An agreement on working out
Georgian Armenian community’s development conception was worked
out during Armenian Prime Minister’s visit to Georgia. According
to the report of the RA government Information and Public Relations
Department, Tigran Sargsian said this at the RA government December 11
sitting. The RA Prime Minister proposed that RA Ministry of Diaspora
be the initiator of document’s elaboration: the Ministry should create
a working group with the participation of interested Ministries and
introduce the conception to the government setting an exact term.

T. Sargsian considering the Georgian Armenian community one of the
most important communities, said that the conception on that community
will give answers to many questions on the part of those communities
as well. "We reached an agreement in Tbilisi that Armenian community’s
leadership will also take part in these elaborations. Their viewpoints
and opinions will be also important for working out that conception. I
think it will be right that besides the RA Ministries of Culture,
Education and Science, a representative of the Foreign Ministry is
also included in the working group," the Prime Minister said. He
instructed to make up a protocol decision on that and organize a
discussion during the first week of 2009 February.

AUGUST WAR MADE GEORGIA EPICENTER OF INSTABILITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.12.2008 15:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgia’s irresponsible moves caused Russia’s
disproportionate reaction. The fact is that two authoritative regimes
launched a war that they have been preparing for years, a Georgian
expert said.

"As to the democracy index, according to The Economist, both Georgia
and Russia were included in the list of so-called hybrid regimes,
rating 104 and 107 respectively along with Kenya, Ethiopia, Burundi
and Pakistan," Ivlian Khaindrava, director of South Caucasus programs
at the Tbilisi-based center of development and cooperation said in
an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"It was quite obvious that a war will break out. The OSCE observers in
South Ossetia did warn about possible escalation but nothing was done
to prevent it. This story resembles the OSCE behavior during elections
in the South Caucasus. At first, the observers announce that the
elections were held in line with international standards. However,
some 2 or 3 months later they publish a report to say that the
elections were beyond any standards," he said.

The diplomatic language of ‘mild’ European force is being exhausted,
according to Khaindrava.

"The August war debunked the myth of ‘democracy lighthouse’,
transforming it into Bush’s street in Tbilisi, which has become the
epicenter of instability mostly conditioned by unpredictability of
the Georgian authorities and Russian military presence August 2008
proved that security in the South Caucasus is not an abstract notion
for EU. Market deals are pregnant with bloodshed and losses and can’t
substitute sober decisions," he said.

OPEN, BUT CLOSED ‘PUBLIC’ DISCUSSION
Lusine Barseghyan

Haykakan Zhamanak
Nov 21 2008
Armenia

The "public" discussions initiated by [President] Serzh Sargsyan
yesterday [20 November] took place under conditions of total secrecy.

First, the presidential press service compiled a list of the invited
media outlets on a thorough selective basis. The entry into the
"public" discussions was based on a list. However, 10 minutes after
the start of the meeting, Sargsyan asked the media, including the TV
channels under his personal control, to leave the hall.

All the parties in the [opposition] Armenian National Congress have
rejected Sargsyan’s invitation. All other small parties were warned by
the presidential office to attend the meeting by all means. Already
behind closed doors, Sargsyan set a condition for everyone that
everything to be discussed should not be disclosed. In fact, Sargsyan
did it "for the sake of appearance".

Moscow Declaration calls for public discussions

The matter is that the Meindorf declaration signed in Moscow says
clearly that public discussions about Karabakh settlement should be
organized in Azerbaijan and Armenia. Now Sargsyan tries to show that
he keeps his word and organizes the discussions. However, in fact,
what was organized yesterday [20 November], cannot be called a public
discussion with the best will in the world. Anyway, this closed
"public" discussion lasted for about five hours yesterday.

Representatives of all the parties, who were leaving the sports and
concert complex named after Karen Demirchyan, did not say anything
about topics discussed. Some admitted in "friendly" conversations
only that their concerns regarding the Karabakh issue have not
been dispersed at all. Moreover, some people left this discussion
in a depressed condition. That is to say, people still had serious
concerns after about a five-hour discussion during which 47 people
raised questions.

The chairperson of the [opposition] Heritage Party board, Anahit
Bakhshyan, who took part in that discussion yesterday [21 November]
agreed to say only what issues the Heritage Party raised and
answered a few of our questions very briefly. Bakhshyan answered
briefly and clearly: "No", when asked if she is satisfied with the
discussions, and whether concerns regarding the Karabakh issue, have
been dispersed. Bakhshyan said that many questions arose after the
discussion. "However, I realized one thing that we raise many issues
about the course of the negotiations, which are not clear for them
either. Yes, there are many undiscovered, unclarified things. I just
do not want to break the rules of the game," Bakhshyan said.

She said that however, it was at least stated that the political
forces sitting there back the following formulation that the Nagornyy
Karabakh’s right for self-determination cannot be considered within
Azerbaijan’s composition. In short, all these moods show that Serzh
Sargsyan did not say anything specific about a Karabakh settlement.

Opposition dubs discussion "senseless"

While answering our question whether Sargsyan said when a referendum
will be held, Bakhshyan said: "He said but nothing is precisely
clear." We also asked Bakhshyan about the purpose of the discussion,
if Sargsyan will anyway sign what the international community puts
in front of him. "Serzh Sargsyan said that this meeting provided him
with an opportunity to listen to everyone’s opinions." Yesterday
[20 November] we also asked the Armenian National Congress [ANC]
to comment on this closed "public" discussion.

A representative of the ANC, Arman Musinyan, said: "The ANC member
parties said that this meeting was both senseless and frivolous by
refusing to attend it. This meeting was merely of PR goal, because
if there was something substantial to say, a specific plan would
have been suggested, in particular not secret Madrid principles,
which Serzh Sargsyan has found in the Internet. Maybe via Google."

ALARM SIGNAL: SEVAN IS IN DANGER
Marianna Gyurjyan

"Radiolur"
11.12.2008 15:22

"Golden mine for Sevan" film is a signal of alarm. The GeoProMining
Company, the concession manager of the gold processing plant in Ararat
and Sotk ore mine, intends to move the production from Ararat to Sotk.

"Currently the company has started financing the scientific research
into the influence on the environment in Sevan," the author of the
film scenario, President of the "EcoLur" information Center Inga
Zarafyan said. According to her, surveys have shown that citizens
oppose the implementation of the gold mining project in Sotk. The
technologies and chemical compound used for gold processing will
multiply the threats to the lake.

"Sevan is a national value. After being proclaimed a National Park
in 1977 it had to become a zone of special protection," expert Gagik
Sughudyan says. "If it is possible to open metal ores here, then we
violate those laws. Peacekeeping forces should be deployed between
today’s authorities and nature to have the nature stay untouched.

ARMENIAN SPECIALISTS GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH U.S. EXPERIENCE OF FIGHTING AGAINST CORRUPTION

ARMENPRESS
Dec 9, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS: The United States Department
of Justice held a conference on "Successful Techniques for the
Investigation and Prosecution of Corruption" in Yerevan on December
8-9.

Three U.S. prosecutors and three high-ranking U.S. police chiefs
joined by thirty Armenian prosecutors, ten investigators from the
special investigative service, ten police investigators, two National
Security Service officials, two officials of the tax service, two
customs officials, the Armenian representative to GRECO, and the
presidential aide on corruption issues participated in the event.

The American and Armenian law enforcement officials discussed
their countries’ respective approaches to fighting all forms of
corruption, including misconduct by police, judges, and other
high officials. Numerous investigation techniques were discussed
at the conference, including: the use of confidential informants,
undercover police officers, drug screening, financial investigations,
electronic surveillance, debriefing of police prisoners, and random
integrity tests.

U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch said that the conference
gives an opportunity to Armenian specialists to get acquainted with
the experience of USA in fighting against corruption. According to
her, fighting against corruption is a very important issue for the
solution of which a successive work must be carried out.

LACK OF PUBLIC AWARENESS IN ARMENIA?

A1+
[04:50 pm] 09 December, 2008

The Informational Technologies (IT) sector in Armenia is rather
vulnerable and there is not much room for development.

There are more than 80 IT companies in Armenia and they mainly export
their products. According to head of "Synergy International Systems"
Ashot Hovhannisyan, investments in the IT market are mainly from
abroad and products are generally exported.

Hovhannisyan set aside a couple of current issues in the IT sector
that require solutions and the most important one is the fact that
Armenia is not competitive compared to other countries.

For example, in countries like India the work force is comparably
cheap and that is why the IT sector moves forward. Other issues
connected to Internet connection and the lack of resources.

According to head of the Center for Management Technologies of Yerevan
Khazhak Karayan, several tax privileges and creation of free trade
zones may promote the IT sector. Karayan believes that the IT sector
needs government support, especially in terms of cooperation with
financial institutions. Getting funds from financial institutions
has been rather difficult to date because the evaluation mechanism
in Armenia is underdeveloped.

"That is a major issue today because the evaluations given by the
local financial institutions are an important standard for foreign
investors. I advise the government to allow exclusions for IT companies
when it comes time for project implementation," says Karayan.

Representative of the "X Tech" creative studio Arman Atoyan says that
the IT market in Armenia is underdeveloped due to lack of public
awareness. The latter would cause demand for WEB technologies and
program deals. Atoyan added that the "Armenian Youth Association for
Development of Information Society" has been founded with the purpose
of starting processes that will show people what IT is capable of.

"I think that it is very important to show the world a product that is
"Made in Armenia". Let’s start with the development of that brand,"
said Atoyan

As reported yesteray, the three 2008 Eurovision Song Contest
representatives, Boaz Mauda from Israel, Sirusho from Armenia and
Jelena Tomasevic from Serbia will record their song for peace in
Israel. today, esctoday.com can exclusively reveal that the song is
written by the three artists with a special guest lyricist, it is none
other than Israeli President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shimon
Peres.

President Peres welcomed the singers at his official residence and
declared his hope that the trio would be the beginning of a new era of
cultural exchange. He has contributed his own lyrics to the song and
they will be recorded by the three artists, all of whom reached the
top 10 of the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade earlier this year.

Tomorrow, the trio will be in Southern Israel to shoot their video,
with the Hotel Orchid in Eilat as the central location. They will be
joined by star Israeli dancer, Rona-Lee on set.

The song will feature on Boaz Mauda’s debut album due for release in
January. Boaz told esctoday.com: "with my two friends here, Sirusho
and Jelena, I truly believe that we can make a change with our music
and art. The meeting with President Shimon Peres was very exciting, he
greeted us and granted us with best wishes. I hope we can make a
change with this song. It is an example of how the young people can
make the difference and influence others with their hopes and dreams".

ARGENTINE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT SERGIO NAHABETIAN VISITS TCA ARSHAG DICKRANIAN SCHOOL

AZG Armenian Daily
09/12/2008

Diaspora

During his weeklong tour of Southern California as the guest of
California state Sen. Jack Scott, Sergio Nahabetian, Argentina’s only
Member of Parliament of Armenian descent, visited the Tekeyan Cultural
Association’s Arshag Dickranian Armenian School on Monday, November 24.

Accompanied by several members of the Armenian Rights Council of
America (ARCA), the coordinators of Nahabetian’s tour, he was first
greeted at the school entrance by the principal and several members
of the Board of Trustees. Nahabetian was then led to the conference
room for a briefing about the Dickranian School and Armenian day
schools in California in general.

Since his visit took place around noon, Nahabetian got the opportunity
to mingle with the students at the playground while touring the campus,
spending three times as much time as he had previously planned. At
the end of the visit, Nahabetian joined the upper-grade students who
had gathered at the Walter and Laurel Karabian Hall to meet and talk
with him. The students were impressed to hear the guest speak in their
mother tongue about the Armenian community of Argentina, their schools,
cultural centers and daily life. During the question-and-answer period,
the students also learned how Nahabetian, soon after being elected,
had single- handedly embarked upon — and succeeded– passing a
resolution in the parliament there recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

ARMENIAN SECURITY SERVICE ARRESTS CAVIAR SMUGGLER

Public Television of Armenia
Dec 6 2008
Armenia

Officers of the Armenian National Security Service [NSS] have
confiscated a large amount of smuggled caviar as a result of a search
operation.

Georgian citizen Aida Saralidze, who lives in Yerevan, tried to
smuggle into Yerevan about 112 kg of black and 49 kg of red caviar
about which she had earlier agreed with her companions in Georgia.

According to the press service of the Armenian National Security
Service, the officers have found tools for canning caviar at
Saralidze’s home. The National Security Service has brought a criminal
case into the case and arrested Saralidze.

THE US ROAD THROUGH TURKEY

The Monitor
December 8, 2008

The two countries share strategic concerns. They should work more
closely together.

E-mail a friend Print this Letter to the Editor Republish
ShareThisE-mail newsletters RSS To celebrate Barack Obama’s election
as the 44th US president, villagers in a remote province of Turkey
sacrificed 44 sheep. It was a small gesture in a faraway land, but
one with a big message: hope for a revived relationship.

Polls show this NATO ally and Middle East powerhouse holds opinions
of America that are among the lowest in the world. That’s mostly due
to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and related issues. The incoming Obama
administration would do well to repair ties with this secular Muslim
democracy, and take greater advantage of Turkey’s role in a tense
region where the countries’ interests overlap.

To Turkey’s north lie authoritarian Russia and the Caucasus states,
site of frozen and hot conflicts. To the east sit the energy-rich
Caspian Sea basin, Iran and its nuclear program, and, beyond that,
Afghanistan. Directly south are Iraq and Syria, two troubled states
in the region.

Ankara, the capital, has taken on the ambitious goal of "zero
problems" on its borders and is trying to become a neighborhood
troubleshooter. After Moscow rolled over Georgia in August, for
instance, Ankara proposed a regional dialogue, but Georgia wasn’t int
erested in talking to the Russian bear that nearly swallowed it whole.

Turkey has brought Syria and Israel together to negotiate over the
Golan Heights. Last week, it hosted the leaders of Pakistan and
Afghanistan for antiterrorism talks. It is at long last reaching out
to Armenia – despite a controversial history over the 1915 massacres
of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. Now it’s offering to mediate
between the US and Iran, and has been elected to a temporary seat on
the UN Security Council – center stage for the Iran stalemate.

Turkey has offered its land for an alternative gas pipeline network
for Europe and the Middle East, has greatly increased trade with its
neighbors, and is opening about a dozen embassies in Africa.

Call this diplomatic and economic expansion "Ottoman Lite."

The US has much to gain from Turkey’s emerging role, including
a region-altering breakthrough in talks between Israel and Syria
that need a big push from a President Obama. And Turkey will be an
important player as the US pulls out of Iraq. Ankara has faulted
the US for not doing enough to halt attacks on Turkey from Kurdish
terrorists in northern Iraq.

Even if the two countries smooth over tensions, though, the road
ahead will be as hilly as the Turkish capital.

At US election time, Turkish television obsessed over the prospect
of the new US Congress passing a resolution – with Mr. Obama’s b
lessing – that recognizes the Armenian massacres as genocide. Turkey
staunchly denies the claim. Yet in focusing on this, Turkey makes the
genocide controversy America’s problem, when it’s really Turkey’s to
resolve. The obsession hints at other issues to work out, including
human rights abuses.

The US, on the other hand, must not expect Turkey to be the automatic
ally of cold-war days. Russia has become its largest trading partner,
and the Muslim party now in power feels a greater kinship with its
Muslim brothers in the region.

Turkey is attempting to balance its allegiance with the West with a
new attentiveness to its neighbors. It is a tricky balance indeed,
but one that can also benefit Washington.