Author: Zaminian Bedik

ITAR-TASS, Russia
March 7 2008

Armenia-Russia relations have rich future – Sarkisyan

07.03.2008, 13.47

MOSCOW, March 7 (Itar-Tass) – Armenian-Russian relations have a rich
future, in the view of Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan who
has been elected President.

`Armenian-Russian relations have a rich past, very good present and
I’ m certain, a rich future,’ the president-elect stressed in an
interview published by the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily on Friday.

`I’m glad with the fact that over the past five-seven years the trade
turnover between our countries has grown several times. Russia is the
main investor in the Armenian economy. Out of every three dollars
invested in our state by foreign partners one dollar is Russia’s
share,’ Sarkisyan noted. `Russian businesses in Armenia are feeling
very comfortable. Well-known Russian companies work in various
spheres of our economy,’ he said.

Sarkisyan believes that in the sphere of politics the bilateral
relations are also at a very high level: `They are of strategic
partnership nature, which meets both the interests of Moscow and
Yerevan. This is mutually advantageous cooperation.’

At the same time the existing potential of relations between Armenia
and Russia so far is not fully used not only in the sphere of
politics and economy, but also in other spheres, believes Sarkisyan.

Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan was elected new President of Armenia,
Armenian Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Garegin Azaryan
said on December 20 after 100 percent of ballots were counted.

According to preliminary data, Sarkisyan got 52.86 percent of votes
(863,544 electors). Levon Ter-Petrosyan got 21.5 percent (351,306
people) and Artur Bagdasaryan 16.6 percent (272,256 people).

NATO HOPES NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT WILL BE SETTLED PEACEFULLY – NATO ENVOY

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS
March 5, 2008
Russia

NATO hopes for a peaceful settlement of the conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan and will work toward
this, said NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the
South Caucasus and Central Asia Robert Simmons.

Although it is not directly involved in the peace process, NATO is
closely following the negotiating process handled by the OSCE Minsk
Group, Simmons said at a press conference at the Interfax main office
on Wednesday.

Talking about NATO’s relations with Armenia, Simmons said the country
was going through a stage of active reforms to establish the rule of
law and democracy, which NATO supports.

On the other hand, the recent events that followed presidential
elections in Armenia, such as demonstrations, unrest, its suppression,
and the imposition of the state of emergency, raise NATO’s concerns,
Simmons said.

123 TITLES OF LITERATURE TO BE PUBLISHED BY STATE ORDER SYSTEM THIS YEAR

Noyan Tapan
March 5, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 5, NOYAN TAPAN. 123 titles of children’s, popular
scientific, encyclopaedic, translation and musicological literature
will be published by the state order system in 2008. The Armenian
government allocated 135 mln 392 thousand drams (about 437 thousand
USD) to the literary and publishing agency of the RA ministry of
culture for this purpose.

The head of the agency’s publishing unit Seyranuhi Geghamian told
NT correspondent that unlike in previous years, this year special
attention will be paid to works presenting Armenia’s cultural
heritage and to musicological literature as for many years musical
educational institutions were not provided with literature on the
theory of music. Besides, Diasporan Armenian literature, particularly
the works of some modern Diasporan Armenian prose-writers, as well
as the poetic legacy of Kostan Zarian will be released.

According to S. Geghamian, books and albums dedicated to the 100th
anniversaries of William Saroyan and Victor Hambartsumian and to
the jubilees of Minas Avetisian, Mushegh Galshoyan, Hakob Kojoyan
and Romanos Melikian will be published. The albums "My Armenia",
"Shoushi", "Armenian Medieval Miniature Painting" and "The History
of Armenian Painting in the 19 and 20 Centuries" in Armenian, English
and Russian will come out.

OSCE: ANY SHAKE AT BORDER CAN DAMAGE KARABAKH TALKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.03.2008 12:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister
Ilkka Kanerva expressed serious concern about the violation of
ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh on March 4.

Mr Kanerva called on the parties to exercise maximum restraint and
to observe the terms of the ceasefire.

"At this critical juncture in the negotiations to find a peaceful
solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, any action leading to a
destabilization of the contact line can only have a negative impact
on the overall situation. I urge the conflict parties to avoid actions
that could lead to further unnecessary loss of life," he said.

The Chairman-in-Office, recalling his trip to the region last week,
added that in his talks with the leadership in both Azerbaijan and
Armenia he had underlined the importance of maintaining stability in
the region. "My Personal Representative, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk,
is in the region at the moment and has been in close contact with
the parties," Mr Kanerva said, Azeri Press Agency reports.

On March 4, Azeri special forces attacked one of Armenian
positions. The attack was rebuffed and status quo restored. Two
Armenian officers were injured. The Azeri side lost 8 soldiers killed.

THE KING OF BAHRAIN CONGRATULATES SERGE SARGSYAN

armradio.am
05.03.2008 17:10

The King of the Kingdom of Bahrain Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa
congratulated RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan on his victory in the
presidential elections.

The message says, in part:

"On behalf of the people of the Kingdom of Bahrain and myself I warmly
congratulate Your Excellency on the occasion of being elected to the
post of the President of the Republic of Armenia. This election was
the bright proof of the trust of the Armenian people.

I wish you success in your responsible position in fulfilling the
nation’s aims and further development of the country.

I want to use the opportunity to wish you success and happiness, as
well as lasting progress and prosperity to the people of your country."

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS’ DEMAND TO LIFT EMERGENCY RULE CLUMSY

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.03.2008 16:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ International organizations’ demands to lift the
emergency rule are clumsy, Armenian President’s spokesman Victor
Soghomonyan told a news conference in Yerevan.

"European officials should pay attention to some obvious things. First,
unauthorized rally has been going on for 10 days and despite numerous
calls to overthrow, no attempt to disperse the crowd has been
made. Second, Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters provoked disorders at
the French Embassy, what was completely neglected by the international
observers.

Third, before imposition of emergency rule, police did not use
weapons to disperse the demonstrators," he said, adding, "People
calling to lift the state of emergency seem to be absolutely unaware
of the situation."

"I would also like to mention that majority of foreign media
publications are pure lies," he resumed.

Press and Information Department
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Republic of Armenia
Tel. + 37410 544041. ext. 202
Fax. + 37410 565601
e-mail: [email protected]
web:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Statement on Serious Violation of Cease-Fire
on the Karabakh Frontline

Early this morning, there was a serious violation of the ceasefire regime
by Azerbaijan in the northeastern border area of Martakert region, in
northern Nagorno Karabakh. This differs from previous breaches of the
ceasefire that we have experienced during all these years. It differed in
terms of the type of ammunition and armaments used. This was clearly a
larger scale operation and more intensive. There are casualties. As of this
moment, there is one injured from the Armenian side, and as the Azerbaijani
press reported, two deaths from their side, and injuries too. These we can
obviously not confirm.

The Armenian side lost certain territory as a result of Azerbaijan’s
attacks. The international mediators are informed about this, and the
co-chairs are already involved. Ambassador Andrej Kasprcyk, the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office, and Matt Bryza, the US
Assistant Undersecretary of State, are in Baku, trying to mediate the
re-establishment of the ceasefire. This process encountered certain
complications. While the Azerbaijanis were willing to re-establish the
ceasefire regime, they were unwilling to return the territory they had
advanced into. Although that territory has been recovered as a result of
fighting, the fighting itself has not ceased. The ceasefire has not been
reinstituted.

We condemn this encroachment at this critical stage. This cease-fire which
has been maintained since 1994, is the longest lasting self-maintained
ceasefire in the world. Azerbaijan’s clear efforts to breach this ceasefire
present a clear danger.

Together with the draft resolution that is being circulated in the UN
General Assembly, these efforts to circumvent the negotiations process
through both political and military escapades threaten peace in the region.

AS OF MARCH 3, 40 PEOPLE WHO SUFFERED DURING MARCH 1 EVENTS ARE IN YEREVAN MEDICAL CENTERS, 17 OUT OF WHICH ARE SERVICEMEN

Noyan Tapan
March 3, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, NOYAN TAPAN. As of March 3, 15:00, 40 people,
who suffered during the March 1 events, are in Yerevan’s medical
centers, 17 out of which are servicemen. According to the data of
the RA Ministry of Health, 11 people receive medical aid in Grigor
Lusavorich medical center, 7 out of which are servicemen, 7 people
are in hospital N 1, 5 out of which are servicemen, 3 people are
in in medical center N 2, 3 in hospital N 3, 1 out of which is a
serviceman, 1 a deputy, 6 people are in the Erebuni medical center,
10 in the Armenia medical center, 4 out of which are servicemen.

ARMENIA OPPOSITION LEADER VOWS PROTESTS NOT OVER

Euronews.net
March 3 2008
France

An uneasy calm has returned to the Armenian capital Yerevan after
violent clashes between opposition supporters and riot police.

Troops are patrolling the streets to enforce a state of emergency,
which will remain until March 20.

Thousands of people have held daily demonstrations since a disputed
presidential election on February 19.

One eyewitness said: "There were masses of people. They were all
dispersed. They gathered in a different place but were dispersed
again. They have isolated the leader who could organise these people
and prevent these actions."

"The situation is horrible," said one resident. "I could not ever
imagine that here in Yerevan such things could happen. I don’t know
how to describe it, everyone just went crazy."

Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Armenia’s first president after independence
from the Soviet Union and the defeated presidential candidate, has
vowed that protests will continue.

He said the election, which was won by Prime Minister Serge Sarkisyan,
was rigged. International observers judged it to be generally fair
but noted some problems with the vote count.

Seven protesters and one police officer were killed in the fighting
on Saturday and more than 100 people were injured.

Two opposition politicians have been arrested, accused of trying to
seize power.

BABSON PROFESSOR/RESEARCHER PROMOTES PHOTO EXHIBIT OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN TURKEY

Babson College Athletics News
urkey3-08-ns.cfm

March 3 2008
MA

Babson History and Society professor Lisa DiCarlo is researching
reactions to a photo exhibit of the diverse cultures of Turkey that is
traveling through Turkey, Europe and the U.S. Reactions are noteworthy
since most citizens of Turkey are encouraged to consider themselves
‘of one kind,’ rather than a country of many traditions.

The exhibit, from the book Ebru: Reflections of Cultural Diversity
in Turkey, by Attila Durak, is a photographic journey by Durak who
is native Turk, a U.S. citizen, and who lives in both Istanbul and
New York.

In her article, DiCarlo writes of the significance of Durak’s
project at this time because of Turkey’s minority problems, and the
international attention it is attracting for human rights violations
in anticipation of qualifying for membership in the European Union.

DiCarlo’s academic research has been focused on Muslim to Christian
religious conversions in Turkey, where she spent several months
last year studying Christian converts’ decision-making processes and
subsequent social consequences. Durak’s exhibit lends itself to her
study and interest in identity politics, forming a natural path for
both to pursue their areas of expertise.

Durak’s exhibit opened in New York City last May, followed by a
Turkish debut opening attended by thousands in Istanbul last June.

Durak is currently in dialogue with an Armenian non-profit organization
in Yerevan that is interested in bringing the exhibit to Armenia. It
is also expected to appear in Moscow, Frankfurt – at the Frankfurt
Book Fair in October where the theme is Turkey – and tentatively in
Memphis, Tennessee at their Memphis in May Festival, where, again,
Turkey is the theme.