Author: Zaminian Bedik

CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN POGROMS IN BAKU HELD IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.01.2010 17:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Center for implementation of youth programs NGO
jointly with the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and student
councils of various Armenian universities organized a conference on
Armenian pogroms in Baku . Chairman of the Student Council of YSU
Tsolak Hakobyan, President of the Student Council of the YSLU after
Bryusov Hasmik Apyan, Chairman of Center for implementation of youth
programs Mihran Hakobyan, head of Assembly of Azerbaijani Armenians
Gregory Ayvazyan and others held speeches.

"We’ve decided that we must express their protest. These are only
the first steps: we will organize similar events throughout the
year. We need to inform the international community about the existing
situation. We are supported by the Prosperous Armenia party, ARFD,
and non-governmental organizations, " Mihran Hakobyan said.

On January 13, 1990, the Azerbaijani authorities instigated the
Armenian pogroms of Baku. Some 400 Armenians were killed and 200
thousand were exiled in the period of January 13-19. The exact number
of those killed was never determined, as no investigation was carried
out into the crimes.

On the above-mentioned date, a crowd numbering 50 thousand people
divided into groups and started "cleaning" the city of Armenians. On
January 17, the European Parliament called on EU Council of Foreign
Ministers and European Council to protect Armenians and render
assistance to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. On January 18, a group of
U.S. Senators sent a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev to express concerns
over the violence against the Armenian population in Azerbaijan and
called for unification of Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia.

WILL THERE BE SIGNED A SECOND MEINDORF?
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
19.01.2010 GMT+04:00

If Sargsyan-Medvedev-Aliyev meeting really occurs, we can say that
Russian-American tandem Lavrov-Bradtke worked.

After the Russian Foreign Minister and OSCE Minsk Group American
Co-Chair visited Armenia, the central question of the week became
whether a second declaration will be signed in Moscow in case
Presidents Sargsyan, Aliyev and Medvedev meet there. Signing of
this declaration last but not least depends also on Turkey, which
could exert pressure on Baku. Although in light of recent statements
by Turkish Foreign Minister on the decision of the RA Constitutional
Court on ratification of the Protocols on Armenian-Turkish relations,
it appears that in near future ratification of the Protocols in
Turkish Parliament and adoption of any statement on Nagorno Karabakh
will be problematic.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On the eve of the forthcoming meeting in Moscow,
Ilham Aliyev once again burst out into another "program" speech, in
which, as always, he turned everything upside down. In particular,
Aliyev declared that the document adopted on the regulation of the
Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict at the summit of the OSCE Ministerial
Council in Athens "clearly shows the way to conflict settlement."

According to the President’s interpretation, the document states that
"the problem should be solved within the framework of territorial
integrity of countries. I believe that the key point is that for the
first time Armenia joined this document, signed it, thus admitting
settlement of the conflict within the framework of territorial
integrity. As for the issue of nations’ right to self-determination,
it can be solved within the territorial integrity of countries. All
international documents support exactly this kind of approach." As a
matter of principle, nothing new was said. Azeri authorities say only
what is pleasant to the ear of the "Azeri public". However, after
Munich, Aliyev a bit damped his warlike disposition, but could not
refrain this time, stating that Azerbaijan should further consolidate
its position by strengthening the economy and the military potential
of the country.

"Our total military expenditures amount to $ 2 billion. We must
further intensify our efforts in this direction. Strengthening of the
military and army potential in Azerbaijan plays a major role in the
negotiation process. I believe that the dynamics recently observed in
the negotiation process, i.e. the positive dynamics, is the result of
the growing economic, political and military potential of Azerbaijan,"
Aliyev said.

Well, everyone is allowed to threaten with words and the President
of Azerbaijan is no exception. But as we have already mentioned,
constant statements about the power of the Azerbaijani army can
drive the parties concerned to check whether Aliyev’s statements are
conformable to reality. Just the year of 1994 may repeat itself, when
Heydar Aliyev, in order to deter attack, agreed to a ceasefire, staying
away from the security zone around the Republic of Artsakh. It is
hard to say where the analogous policy of the current Azeri President
will drive Azerbaijan, as Ilham has neither the political influence
nor the flair of his father.

But, most likely, "Meindorf-2" will be signed. For some reason,
with its statement the Turkish Foreign Ministry intervened in the
decision of the RA Constitutional Court on the Protocols, which,
by the way, is considered interference in the internal affairs of a
state. But this can be explained by the fact that Ankara is going to
somewhat depart from Baku, and this statement is nothing but a way to
"justify itself". But, in principle, Turkey doesn’t have to justify
itself before Azerbaijan, and it is quite possible that this statement
may put an end to the lingering deaf-blind dialogue.

If Sargsyan-Medvedev-Aliyev meeting really occurs, we can say that
Russian-American tandem Lavrov-Bradtke worked. If not, then the
concerned parties would find other, weightier leverage to put pressure
on Azerbaijan, because in this case, Yerevan is calm and knows that
nobody and nothing can ever make her change her position. Will there be
a war? It is what mediators want the least and are most concerned to
prevent. And though in his recent speech Aliyev did not say anything
like "let’s go and liberate", we should be ready for everything, and,
first of all, for a war.

IN MEMORY OF THE ARMENIAN VICTIMS OF BAKU MASSACRES

Aysor
01/19/tstsernakaberd-bakoupogroms/
Jan 19 2010
Armenia

Today the participants of the train condemning the massacres of the
Armenians in Baku came to Tsitsernakaberd memorial to incense the
memory of the innocent victims of 1990 January.

20 years ago on January 19 the Soviet Army entered Baku were the
local Armenians were being massacred for many days already. Today
the people once again go to Tsitsernakaberd memorial and put flowers
for the memory of the victims of the pogroms, they put candles and
burn incense.

"Not punishing for the crimes will give birth to other crimes too. The
whole world should know that to the legal demand of the Armenians
of Karabakh the vandals answered with the genocide of the peaceful
people", – Edward Sharmazanov, the secretary of the ARP said.

Hayk Demoyan the director of the Genocide museum – institute mentioned
that there are more documentary sources and facts about Sumgait than
about the Baku massacres, however those documentaries exist and if
there is will they can be checked, but for that governmental policy
will be needed.

"Everything now is based on oral stories; the refugees tell as
witnesses but we first of all need governmental documentaries", –
Hayk Demoyan said and added that at present the Baku Massacres are
studied by private scientists.

On the train participated RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Mayor of
Yerevan Gagik Beglaryan, members of Government, political and social
dealers, witnesses that were forced to leave Azerbaijan for Armenia,
and people that had simply come to honor the Armenians killed during
the Baku massacres.

ACNIS: HRANT DINK WAS A FRIEND TO MANY, AND AN INSPIRATION TO ALL

armradio.am
19.01.2010 16:37

The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
issued a statement today commemorating the third anniversary of the
death of noted Turkish-Armenian intellectual Hrant Dink. The following
is the statement:

"It is always difficult to eulogize the dead, but it is especially
painful to commemorate the loss of the brave and the innocent. Far
too often we only truly appreciate the basic treasures of life when it
is too late. We long for loved ones, whether friends or family, only
after they have passed. We tend to take for granted their value and
their company. That is only human, but so too is the tragedy of loss.

As we mark the third anniversary of the tragic loss of one such loved
one, we must remind ourselves of the meaning of Hrant Dink. His brutal
murder on this day three years ago in Istanbul endowed his death with
a special meaning. But even more significantly, it was his life that
endowed his death with such a special meaning. Sometimes in history,
some men attain a higher meaning, in a sacrifice of the ultimate.

Hrant Dink was just such a man. He was brave, in so strongly and
passionately advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, but also
as an outspoken defender of minority and human rights in Turkey. He
was also innocent, in facing the persecution and prosecution of the
Turkish state, which had specifically targeted him for the "crime"
of "insulting Turkishness."

But Hrant Dink was much more than a symbol of change. He was an
inspiration to many and his mission was a motivation to even more.

Hrant Dink was also a loving father of three, Delal, Ararat and Sera;
a devoted husband of one special woman, Rakel; a friend to many,
and an inspiration to all.

The man may be gone, but his mission continues and his spirit
lives on."

THREE YEARS SINCE HRANT DINK’S DEATH: INVESTIGATION AT STANDSTILL AND SUSPICION OF CONSPIRACY ABOUND

Tert.am
15:27 â~@¢ 19.01.10

Three years after Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was
fatally shot outside his office by an ultranationalist teenager, the
investigation into his murder has stalled as the suspected perpetrator
and his immediate accomplices have been put on trial, but those who
masterminded the plot to kill him still wait to be revealed, reports
Turkish news source Today’s Zaman.

While the anniversary of Dink’s murder is being commemorated today with
a series of ceremonies in Turkey and abroad, Dink’s lawyers, domestic
and international rights organizations and activists express their
frustration that the murder investigation has not been progressing.

Not only that, but there is widespread suspicion among those concerned
with the Dink case that his murder was part of a wider conspiracy,
writes Sahin Alpay.

A report drafted by the Ä°stanbul Police Department suggested that
the killings of Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in Trabzon in February
2006, Hrant Dink in Ä°stanbul in January 2007 and three Christians in
Malatya three months later were part of a plan devised by Ergenekon,
a clandestine organization whose suspected members are currently on
trial, accused of creating chaos in the country to pave the way for
a military takeover.

Hrant Dink died three years ago, but as a co-founder of Agos, Arus
Yumul, head of the sociology department of Ä°stanbul Bilgi University,
told daily Taraf, "Hrant’s death is not an end but a beginning." In
the three years that have elapsed, Turkey has come a long way toward
achieving the cause Hrant dedicated his life to.

Due in main part to debates triggered by Hrant’s killing, Turkey
has become far more aware of the injustices inflicted upon not only
Armenians but all non-Muslim citizens, not only during the Ottoman
era but also in the Republican period. In the three years that have
passed, substantial progress has been made towards normalization
between the two countries and peoples Hrant loved.

In his piece, Alpay recalls Armenia’s January 12 Constitutional Court
decision, and states that the next step is for the Protocols to be
reviewed by Armenia’s and Turkey’s foreign affairs committees prior
to being submitted for ratification.

Alpay continues: "It is expected that the Armenian parliament will
debate the protocols in March. Turkey seems to link the ratification
of the protocols to steps towards normalization of relations between
Azerbaijan and Armenia and the ending of Armenian occupation of
Azerbaijan territory.

"Ankara is expecting the Minsk Group and especially Russia to put
pressure on Armenia to move in that direction. It appears that the
Turkish-Armenian normalization process is currently stuck on that
point.

"There are, however, innumerable political and economic advantages
of normalization for both sides, and as long as the leaders on both
sides consider normalization to be in line with national interests,
there are grounds for a cautious optimism for the process to get
unstuck. It remains to be seen how this will come about."

To mark the third-year anniversary of Dink’s death, a public ceremony
will take place in front of Agos newspaper in Å~^iÅ~_li, Istanbul,
on Tuesday afternoon.

Interfax, Russia
Jan 14 2010

Link between Karabakh, Turkish-Armenian relations will hamper
resolution -Putin

MOSCOW Jan 14

Linking the problem of improving Turkish-Armenian relations and the
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem is wrong, said Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

"I do not think it is right to tie up everything in one package.

Each of these problems alone is very hard to resolve, and if we throw
them all into one pile, the prospect of their resolution will be
automatically postponed until a very distant [time]," Putin told a
press conference held jointly with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.

Russia "like no one else" is interested in stabilizing the Caucasus
region, Putin said.

"Of course, we are interested in swift resolution of all problems,
including Karabakh," he said.

Russia is also interested in the stabilization of Turkish-Armenian
relations, the Russian prime minister added.

"We are very hopeful that any elements of extreme approaches, of the
extreme position based on the problems of the past will be removed
from the negotiating process, and today the Armenian leadership is
also on this positive path, and we welcome this," Putin said.

It would be inappropriate to link the resolution of one problem with
the other, and Russia will assist the resolution of these issues in
every possible way, the prime minister restated.

"At the same time, whereas in the first case (the Karabakh issue)

the solution of the problem will depend on Armenia and Azerbaijan, in
the second it will depend on Turkey and Armenia. We respect and will
respect the positions of all our partners, and Russia’s role here
consists in maintaining anything that is positive," Putin said.

SCR REGISTERED PASSENGER TRAFFIC INCREASE IN 2009

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.01.2010 13:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The passenger traffic at SCR grew by 32,4% and 10,4%
(international and local railway communications accordingly) compared
with 2008 index.

As South Caucasian Railways press service reported, in 2009
international passengers’ turnover comprised 13918 thousand passengers
per km (growing by 42,4% compared with 2008); local passengers
turnovers amounted to 20368 thousand passengers per km (registering
30,1% increase compared with 2008 index).

International railway communication is operating on two routes,
active in summer: Yerevan -Tbilisi and Yerevan -Batumi.

Local communication provides the following routes: Vanadzor-Ayrum,
Yerevan-Araks, Yerevan- Armavir, Yerevan-Yeraskh, Yerevan-Ararat,
Yerevan-Gyumri, Kanaker-Hrazdan, Gyumry-Pemzashen.

SCR CJSC is a 100% shareholder of "Russian Railways" OJSC. Armenian
Railways CJSC was transferred to South Caucasian Railway’s
concessionary management under a concessionary agreement dated February
13, 2008. The agreement was signed for 30-year term, with possible
extension of 10 years.

APRIL 24 NOT DEADLINE FOR PROTOCOLS RATIFICATION BY TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.01.2010 15:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ April 24 is an extremely important date with a view
to ratification of protocols by Turkey, yet it~Rs not a deadline,
an Armenian expert said.

~STurkish diplomacy possesses arsenal of tools and I do not rule out
that it may take action on the threshold on the Armenian Genocide
Commemoration Day,~T Ruben Melkonyan said when responding to a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter~Rs question during a news conference in
Yerevan on Friday.

Although, he noted, there were motions waiting for consideration in
the Turkish Grand Assembly for years.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country~Rs Organic Law.

TURKEY AND RUSSIA MOVE CLOSER TO BUILDING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 15 2010

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart,
Vladimir Putin, attend a joint press conference on Wednesday.

Turkey and Russia have come closer to building a strategic partnership
by agreeing to deepen cooperation in the area of energy and work on
a plan to lift visa requirements for their citizens.

The two countries also have ambitious plans to boost their trade volume
to $100 billion in the coming years. "Our relations are developing
and becoming more diversified in the political, military, economic
and cultural spheres. What is exciting for me is that both sides have
a positive will," to further boost ties, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart,
Vladimir Putin, late on Wednesday.

Erdogan, who had talks with Putin and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
during his one-day visit to Moscow, announced that the two countries
will start work on abolishing visa requirements for their nationals.

"The prime minister [Putin] has just given us the good news that
efforts to mutually abolish the visa requirements will go forward
as planned," Erdogan said, adding that the Turkish side hoped that
a final deal would be concluded during an upcoming visit by Medvedev
in May or June.

Erdogan said later in Ä°stanbul that the two countries would also
hold a strategic cooperation council meeting during Medvedev’s visit,
a cooperation platform similar to the ones Turkey launched with
neighboring Syria and Iraq last year.

Both Putin and Erdogan pledged to increase the use of national
currencies in bilateral trade, which the leaders want to boost to
$100 billion within the next five years. Erdogan said the aim is
achievable in the next four years.

In another key achievement of Erdogan’s short visit, Energy Minister
Taner Yıldız and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin signed
a memorandum on building nuclear power plants in Turkey in a sign
that Russian firms would be given a second chance to build Ankara’s
first plant.

Turkey canceled a previous tender to build a nuclear power station,
after a court earlier ruled the tender, won by Russian Inter RAO and
Atomstroiexport and Turkey’s Park Teknik, invalid due to problems
with the pricing of electricity from the plant.

Putin and Erdogan also had talks on energy projects. Putin said the
governments of Italy, Turkey and Russia should consider signing a
deal to support the proposed Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline, an oil link
between Turkey’s Black Sea coast and the Mediterranean.

The Russian prime minister also said Russia has won Turkish support for
all its major oil, gas and nuclear projects, while carefully avoiding
its usual harsh criticism of the rival trans-Turkish EU-backed Nabucco
gas pipeline. He said Ankara had pledged to fully clear the Russian gas
pipeline project South Stream before November 2010, when construction
is due to begin.

"We have an agreement that before Nov. 10, 2010 … the Turkish
government will make all the necessary judgments and issue a
construction permit. In the course of today’s talks Mr. Erdogan
confirmed these intentions," Putin said. "I very much hope this work
will be finished as planned," he said, adding that the work on South
Stream was going according to plan with environmental, geological
and seismic studies near completion.

Putin also said the project, which apart from Russia’s gas
export monopoly Gazprom involves Italy’s ENI, may benefit from an
inter-governmental agreement between Russia, Turkey and Italy.

Turkey aspires to become a key transit hub for Europe, but is facing
a tough balancing game between rival projects supported by Moscow and
the European Union. It insists South Stream and Nabucco are not rivals.

Putin added that cooperation with Turkey should also involve asset
swaps between major firms and added Russian firms were ready to take
part in the privatization of Turkey’s state assets.

Russia: No link between Armenia ties, Karabakh Putin also told Erdogan
that Turkey should not link the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh, a region
of Azerbaijan populated by ethnic Armenians who are now in control
of the area, to its bilateral relations with Armenia. "Both the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem and the Turkish-Armenian problem are very
complicated by nature. I do not think it is right to tie them into
one package," Putin said. "It is unwise from both a tactical and a
strategic point of view to package these problems together," he added.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov echoed Putin at a
press conference with his Armenian counterpart, Eduard Nalbandian. "To
try and artificially link those two issues is, in my opinion, not
correct," Lavrov told reporters in Yerevan. "We are interested in
this relationship normalizing. The sooner that happens, the better
for the whole region."

Turkey and Armenia agreed in October last year to establish diplomatic
ties and reopen their land border, closed by Ankara in 1993. But the
accords need parliamentary ratification, a step Turkey says depends
on Armenia making concessions in the festering conflict with Turkish
ally Azerbaijan over the breakaway mountain region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"I don’t want to have the impression, and I think the international
community also does not, that Turkey is specially blocking the
ratification of the protocols," Nalbandian said. "What’s a reasonable
timeframe? It’s not dragging it out or creating artificial barriers."

RUSSIAN CHURCH NOT AUTHORIZED TO EVALUATE STATUS OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Panorama.am
11:41 15/01/2010

"The Russian Orthodox Church has always been sad about the Karabakh
conflict and made efforts to find and propose to politicians ways of
settling it in a peaceful way together with Azerbaijani Muslims and
Armenian Christians," Hieromonk Philipp (Ryabykh), deputy head of the
Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Interfax
reported. In these days Russian Hieromonk declared that there are
three Russian Orthodox Church branches in Armenia, one of which is
situated in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani mass media spread news that
Russian monk had recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as Armenian land. The
Moscow Patriarchate said it does not consider itself authorized to
evaluate the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and favor peaceful settlement
of conflicts. Father Philipp said the Nagorno-Karabakh community, which
wants to come under the spiritual care of the Russian Orthodox Church,
currently has some 600 members. In summer 2009, a Moscow Patriarchate
parish was registered in Stepanakert, and a land site was allotted
for church construction. The development of the Nagorno- Karabakh
parish "has always been regarded by the Russian Orthodox Church
as a means of bringing another peace factor on the long-suffering
land of Nagorno-Karabakh, not as a means of taking anyone’s side,"
Father Philipp said. "The Russian Church believes that its presence
in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh will promote prompt
peaceful settlement in this region," he said.