Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

AGO GROUP OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE MINISTERS’ COMMITTEE TO VISIT ARMENIA NOVEMBER 20-21

ARMENPRESS
NOVEMBER 2, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS: The Ago Group of the Council of
Europe Ministers’ Committee will visit Armenia November 20-21, press
service of the Council of Europe told Armenpress. The goal of the
visit is to discuss the implementation of the commitments assumed by
Armenia and the support of the Council of Europe in doing it. During
the visit meetings with officials, representatives of civil society,
political parties are expected to take place.

EU: CURRENT SITUATION WITH ARMENIA-TURKEY RELATIONS CAN’T LAST FOREVER

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.11.2009 11:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Current situation with Armenia-Turkey relations
can’t last forever, so the perspective of rapprochement and border
opening should be accepted. Scenarios of protecting regional interests
should be developed, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus
Ambassador Peter Semneby stated. According to him, the war in Georgia
has shown everybody there are major risks related to continuation of
territorial conflicts in the region. "This has given certain dynamics
to Armenia-Turkey relations. Turkey has been long ago implementing
steps, suggesting the country expects a change of situation at South
Caucasus."

"Russia is making investments in RA infrastructure, constructing
railroads. The investments will be compensated only in case of border
opening. Armenia was not the only one to start off the rapprochement.

In-depth discussions are held in Turkey, where many believe the
country can enhance its presence in the region should the issue be
resolved. Conflict with Armenia restricted Turkey’s possibilities
in South Caucasus to a great extent. Armenia-Turkey relations must
not be linked to Karabakh conflict, otherwise, the possibilities for
rapprochement will once again be lost."

Semneby also noted that Armenian government is facing a number of
challenges. According to him, Diaspora has taken ambiguous attitude
towards rapprochement. "This is a serious issue with RA government,
which has to provide Diaspora’s support and consider Armenian citizens’
interests."

Commenting on protocols’ ratification, Semneby stated: "100%
ratification guarantee can’t be given. Yet I’m confident the documents
will be ratified, which is equitable to both Armenia’s and Turkey’s
interests. Personal benefit and not kind disposition towards Armenia
drove Turkey to start this process. The rapprochement will open new
possibilities, positively affect regional security and economics,"
Vremya Novostey newspaper cited Semneby as saying.

news.am, Armenia
Oct 31 2009

Children of Armenia

11:52 / 10/31/2009`Children of Armenia’ by Michael Bobelian has been
just published by Simon & Schuster. Over 300-page long edition brings
forward the yet unresolved problem of Armenian Genocide.

`Like Native Americans, European Jews and Rwandan Tutsis, Turkish
Armenians seem to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
`Children of Armenia,’ Michael Bobelian’s first book, describes the
Ottoman Empire’s 1915 mass extermination of this Christian minority
without getting bogged down in `G-word’ histrionics,’ The Washington
Post reads Oct. 31.

`The purpose of this book is neither to prove the existence nor affirm
the veracity of the Genocide,’ Bobelian writes: The Armenian holocaust
is a historical fact.

`Children of Armenia’ focuses on the Turkish nationalism, world war
weariness, survivor psychology and Cold War squabbling that let the
world forget the unforgettable. Some will flinch at Bobelian’s
lionization of Gourgen Yanikian, an Armenian who shot two Turks in a
revenge plot hatched in the 1970s, but the author stumbles only when
he strays into Armenian exceptionalism, the idea that `no other people
have suffered such a warped fate ‘ a trivialization of their suffering
and a prolonged assault on the authenticity of their experience.’
Bobelian should know that if every culture insists on the supremacy of
its own suffering, the world will only grow more jaded about stopping
current horrors. Instead, any book about Armenia ‘ no, any exploration
of any genocide ‘ should pose questions relevant to today’s ethnic
cleansings. Otherwise, who will remember the Sudanese? ` reads The
Washington Post.

BELARUS FM WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE ARMENIAN GOODS IN HIS COUNTRY
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
30.10.2009 14:14

The Foreign Minister of Belarus, Sergey Martinov, is visiting
Armenia at the invitation of the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward
Nalbandian.

We do not use the full potential of the Armenian-Belarusian bilateral
cooperation, Martinov told a press conference today. Sergey Martinov
said he would like to see more Armenian goods on the Belarusian
market. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian informed, in
turn, that the Days of Belarus will be held in Armenia and the days
of Armenia will be held in Belarus in 2010.

After the signing of the protocols on October 10, the Turkish
authorities do not miss the opportunity to declare about
preconditions. Asked to comment on these, Minister Nalbandian stated:
"We have agreements incorporated in the two protocols, and they do
not include any preconditions." All other statements and comments
are secondary, he said.

It was noted in the joint statement of October 31 that the parties
were to tend to ratify and implement the protocols as soon as
possible, Edward Nalbandian reminded. "Turkish authorities insist
that the ratification of the protocols is connected with the Karabakh
issue. The Armenian authorities declare, however, that these statements
are meant for internal consumption."

Are these statements made for the domestic consumption in Armenia? "It
has been declared by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and this indicates
that they are meant for the international community, as well,"
Minister Nalbandian said.

AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIAN MASS MEDIA LEADERS DISCUSS KARABAKH

ITAR-TASS
Oct 29 2009
Russia

Moscow, 29 October: Leaders of mass media of Azerbaijan and Armenia met
in Moscow on Thursday [29 Oct] to discuss problems of mutual interest,
in particular the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The meeting was initiated by Russian presidential special envoy
for international cultural cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi. During the
round-table meeting, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders of newspapers,
news agencies, television channels and internet portals with the
involvement of Russian colleagues discussed a wide range of issues,
including the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The meeting was also attended by ambassadors plenipotentiary and
extraordinary of both countries – Polan Bul-Bul ogly and Armen
Smbatyan. The participants in the meeting agreed to hold such forums
on a regular basis.

ARMECONOMBANK ANNOUNCES NEW ACTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.10.2009 19:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armeconombank announced a new action: from November
1, 2009 – January 31, 2010 Armeconombank Yerevan branches’ clients
will be given chance to participate in unprecedented project, bank’s
press service reported.

Within action frameworks, mortgage loans will be provided at the annual
rate of 12-14% (instead of 14-16% stipulated) and annual rate for
golden items on pledge will comprise 20% (instead of 24% stipulated).

Besides, ArCa Classic, ArCa Adidas, Gift Card, MasterCard Standard,
MasterCard Business plastic cards will be provided and serviced free
of charge.

ARMENIA EMPLOYS TACTICS TO GAIN TIME: AZERBAIJANI MILITARY EXPERT

Today
022.html
Oct 29 2009
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with renowned Azerbaijani military expert Uzeyir
Jafarov.

Day.Az: What are your views about the reports claiming that Armenian
Armed Forces are strengthening their positions along contact line in
the Fizuli and Khojavand regions by mining neutral zones?

Uzeyir Jafarov: In 1994, shortly before signing of the ceasefire
agreement, Armenian Armed Forces mined front area of the contact line.

Of course, term of mines expire after certain time. Hence, one of
the reasons for Armenian side’s current actions is that term of the
previously planted mines has either expired or they have exploded
due to a number of reasons. So, Armenians replace them with new ones.

However, I also believe the Armenian troops’ key objective is to
strictly follow the tactics of causing complications in process of
establishing real peace in our region through gaining time.

Mining areas on the front line they try to gain time that Azerbaijan
will need to clear territories mined by the opposite side. Current
actions of the Armenian Armed Forces are blended with the actions of
Armenia’s top leaders who also have sought to prolong just settlement
of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for fifteen
years.

Q: Is strengthening of Armenians’ position on the front line
interrelated with Armenian President Serzh Sagsyan’s visit to
Nagorno-Karabakh?

A: This is true to a certain extent.. Because, Sezh Sargsyan, besides
being president of Armenia, is also Supreme Commander of the country.

Moreover, we must not forget that the current Armenian president came
into power whilst there was a war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Especially
because, as I noted above, the current actions of the Armenian army
consistent with the policies pursued by country’s highest political
leadership which are aimed at delaying fair settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Q: If the key objective is only to gain time, why the Armenian side
holds military exercises in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories?

A: Let’s start with the fact that probability of early full-scale
hostilities is too low. Such a scenario does not meet the tactics
of the enemy to prolong fair settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This issue once again indicates Armenians’
skills to exaggerate. I mean Armenia portrays rather modest army
exercises as large-scale maneuvers.

The Azerbaijani army conducts larger military exercises. However,
these exercises are not advertised. Although it is quite possible
Azerbaijan could conduct military exercises involving both domestic and
foreign media to frighten the enemy. It would actually make a sense.

AZERBAIJAN & TURKEY SHOULD JOIN EFFORTS TO AVOID RATIFICATION OF TURKEY-ARMENIA PROTOCOLS AT PARLIAMENT

Trend
Oct 28 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan and Turkey should join their efforts to avoid ratification
of the Turkey-Armenia protocols at the parliament, Turkish MP from the
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Shenol Bal told journalist in Baku.

"All efforts should be combined to prevent ratification of the
Turkey-Armenia protocols by the parliament," Bal added.

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward
Nalbandian signed the protocols Ankara-Yerevan in Zurich on October 10.

Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey have been broken due
to Armenia’s claims of an alleged genocide, and its occupation of
Azerbaijani lands. The border between them has been broken since 1993.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed
a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia,
France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.

According to the Turkish MP, no force could hurt the Turkey-Azerbaijan
brother relations.

ARMENIA DEFEATS AZERBAIJAN AT EUROPEAN CHESS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP 2009

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.10.2009 23:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia defeated Azerbaijan 2.5:1.5 while Russia
inflicted a 2.5:1.5 defeat on Georgia in the 7th tour of European
Chess Team Championship 2009.

Thanks to this victory, Armenian chess players pretend to win the
championship along with Russians and Azerbaijanis.

RA POLICE READY FOR BORDER OPENING: HUNAN POGHOSYAN

news.am
Oct 27 2009
Armenia

RA Police is ready for Armenia-Turkey border opening even if Turkey
pursues state policy of importing drugs into Armenia, Head of Senior
RA Police Department for Organized Crime Prevention (SDOCP), Colonel
Hunan Poghosyan stated at Oct. 27 interview with journalists.

"RA Police is ready to retort. It is not solely police struggle,
but all those concerned as well," the Colonel outlined, adding that
currently small amounts of drugs, mainly hard drugs-white heroin and
cocaine are imported in Armenia from Turkey.

Hunan Poghosyan also noted that an intense fight will be carried out
against animal theft, that became a real issue in border adjacent
regions.