Author: Boshkezenian Garik

NABUCCO AIMES AT DIVERSIFICATION OF ENERGY SUPPLY TO EUROPE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
14.05.2009 17:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nabucco is mainly an economic project aimed
at diversification of energy supply to Europe, Sir Bryan Fall ,
special representative of Great Britain at South Caucasus told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter at news conference in Yerevan.

According to him, all the states in the region will benefit from
the project. "Hope it will have a positive influence on regional
situation," Fall emphasized.

The Nabucco pipeline is a planned natural gas pipeline that will
transport natural gas from Turkey to Austria, via Bulgaria, Romania,
and Hungary. The project is backed by several European Union states.

"INACCURACY" OF BRYZA’S STATEMENT NOT ACCIDENTAL

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
13.05.2009 14:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Independent Armenian expert Harutyun Mesropyan
thinks that inaccuracy of OSCE Minsk Group U.S. Co-chair Matthew
Bryza was not conditioned by poor knowledge of the Russian language.

"Bryza’s statement was rather ambiguous. On the one hand, the
Co-chairs say that the Karabakh conflict resolution has nothing to
do with opening of the Armenian-Turkish border. On the other hand,
they say that these processes are interrelated," Mesropyan told a
news conference today.

"Bryza’s statement was a provocation. I advise journalists to closely
watch the record on the Karabakh issue. Mediators send a message and
if the sides to not react fiercely, this message transforms into a
document," he underscored.

"An agreement on road map was signed by Armenian and Turkish Foreign
Ministries on the eve of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Armenian
and Azerbaijani Presidents met on May 7, just two days before Shushi
Liberation Day. Is this really coincidence?" Mesropyan said.

ACCORDING TO SUREN ZOLIAN, MATTHEW BRYZA CARRIES OUT INFORMATION DIVERSION

Noyan Tapan
May 13, 2009

YEREVAN, MAY 13, NOYAN TAPAN. According to political scientist Suren
Zolian, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs’ statements have become alarming
for the Armenian side lately. As the political scientist emphasized
at the May 13 discussion, it is especially alarming that superpowers
are inclined to protect the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,
and they also see Karabakh as part of the latter. Besides, according
to S. Zolian, comparison of principles of territorial integrity and
nations’ self-determination, for which the Minsk Group strives, means
autonomy. "I heard Co-chair Matthew Bryza’s words that Azerbaijan’s
President made progress in the negotiations promising autonomy to
Karabakh," S. Zolian said. He reminded that former President of
Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev had also given promises on autonomy, and it
is not evidence of progress in Azeri side’s position at all.

S. Zolian touched upon M. Bryza’s statement voiced in his interview
to the Ekho Moskvi radio that the liberated territories should be
returned to Azerbaijan stage-by-stage. The speaker said that with
such statements the American Co-chair oversteps the limit of functions
reserved for him by carrying out information diversion.

Management expert Haroutiun Mesropian participating in the discussion
gave assurance that M. Bryza did not just make a mistake, but
permitted provocative information leakage to see the reaction of
the sides. Besides, according to H. Mesropian, M. Bryza said that
the Nagorno Karabakh problem is not connected with Armenian-Turkish
relations, but in the final result they have an impact on each
other. According to expert’s observation, that statement means that
the preconditions put forward by Turkey have not been liquidated,
but have received more delicate formulations.

PRESENTATION OF MEDICAL INTERNET PORTAL DRUGS.AM TOOK PLACE IN YEREVAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
13.05.2009 19:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Presentation of the new health and medical Internet
portal drugs.am took place in Yerevan. The portal is very dynamic
and divided into three main spheres: news, consultations and "Sharp
corner". In the section of News one can find international and local
news related to medicine and health care. The consultation section
at the Sharp corner includes answers of physicians to users questions.

"There have not been an Armenian Internet portal which would embrace
the whole health care.5 per cent of Russia’s Internet are devoted to
medicine and health care, in Armenia their number is even less that 1
per cent. The aim of the portal is raising public awareness in health
care issues. We cooperate with Association of Child psychologists and
psychiatrists, and Association of family doctors. Our work will be
watched by the ministry of health. All the information which will
be published on our web-site will be checked by professionals,"
told the founder of the portal Pavel Sarkisyan.

"Information field of the medical sphere is underdeveloped in
Armenia. The initiative is very helpful for the whole society,"
said Armen Parsadanyan, RA health minister assistant.

Turkey demands Karabakh progress

BBC News:

Tu rkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled out re-opening the
border with Armenia until it pulls troops out of Azerbaijan.

Turkey and Armenia last month agreed a framework to normalise their
strained relations, raising hopes their long-sealed border might be
re-opened.

That raised concerns in Azerbaijan, where Armenian troops occupy the
enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

But Mr Erdogan said a thaw with Armenia would not come at Azerbaijan’s
expense.

Speaking in the Azeri capital, Baku, he reiterated his backing for Turkey’s
long-standing alliance with Azerbaijan.

"The border was closed as a result of the occupation of Azeri territories
and therefore it will not be opened until the occupation ends," he said at
a news conference with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies inside Azerbaijan but has been controlled by ethnic
Armenians since a war in the 1990s, which left some 30,000 people dead and
forced more than one million people from their homes.

While Turkey and Armenia have been engaged in a cautious rapprochement, so
have Armenia and Azerbaijan, including meetings between their leaders.

International diplomats have spoken of a new air of co-operation between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, and there is pressure for them to work towards an
agreement.

But Azerbaijan has protested over the potential thaw between Turkey and
Armenia, fearing the loss of its leverage over Armenia through its alliance
with Turkey.

MATTHEW BRYZA: BREAKTHROUGH ON KARABAKH POSSIBLE DURING THE MEETING IN ST. PETERSBURG

armradio.am
11.05.2009 11:36

"A breakthrough in the negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh issue may
occur during the meeting of Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in St.

Petersburg," US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian Affairs, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza
said in an interview with "Echo Moskvi," Interfax reports.

"They have a lot of work to do. But on the other hand, they are moving
step by step. Maybe they have not brought the turning point to the end,
but they have laid the foundation for it, and I hope that in a month,
when they meet in St. Petersburg, the turning point is possible in
the end," Bryza said.

According to him, Russia and the United States are equally suited for
resolving the Karabakh conflict. "I have always said that we have
a complicated relationship with Russia as regards Georgia, but our
relations are good and positive with regard to Karabakh," he said.

According to Bryza, it is necessary to continue solving the problems
connected with Nagorno Karabakh within the framework of the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chaired by Russia, the United States and France.

Regarding the U.S. position on the issue of settlement of this
conflict, Matthew Bryza stressed that the final decision should be
"balanced" in terms of the principles of the Helsinki Act of 1975 like
"self-determination, territorial integrity and non-use of force." "It
is possible to build such a balance, but it is a very difficult task,
that is why the negotiations have been continuing so long," he said.

ARMENIA, TURKEY, AGREE TO MOVE TOWARDS NORMALIZATION WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
08.05.2009 12:15
Prague

On May 7 the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, had a meeting with
his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Prague. This was the second
meeting of the two Presidents after Abdulla Gul’s visit to Yerevan. The
Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Turkey Edward Nalbandian and Ahmed
Davudoghlu were present at the meeting.

The Presidents of Armenia and Turkey positively assessed the talks
in Prague. During the meeting the parties agreed to "honor all
previous agreements and move forward towards the normalization of
the Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions and within a
reasonable time frame."

"The meeting was useful. We agreed to respect the agreement reached,"
the Armenian President told reporters after the meeting.

"Any precondition in the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations is excluded," President Sargsyan added.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations would establish stability in the South
Caucasus, which derived from the interests of all the countries.

SCHOTT’S VOCAB: MEDS YEGHERN

New York Times Blogs
eds-yeghern/
May 6 2009

An Armenian term meaning "great calamity" – used to describe the
murder of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915.

Many Armenians in America, and elsewhere, were disappointed recently
when President Obama shied away from using the word "genocide" to
describe the 1915 massacre, Ali Bulac reported in Today’s Zaman.

During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama said:

The Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion or
a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an
overwhelming body of historical evidence. America deserves a leader who
speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds forcefully
to all genocides.

Yet in a statement on Armenian Remembrance Day (April 24), President
Obama appeared to moderate his language:

Ninety four years ago, one of the great atrocities of the 20th century
began. Each year, we pause to remember the 1.5 million Armenians who
were subsequently massacred or marched to their death in the final days
of the Ottoman Empire. The Meds Yeghern must live on in our memories,
just as it lives on in the hearts of the Armenian people.

Discussing the "G word" in The Independent, Robert Fisk argued that
President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush had both reneged
on promises to call the 1915 massacre a genocide.

However, Ali Bulac’s analysis of President George W. Bush’s speeches
on the subject indicated that the 43rd president may have been inching
towards the term genocide by a process of rhetorical inflation:

George W. Bush, had described the events as a "tragedy." In 2006,
he called it a "horrible tragedy"; in 2007, he called it one of the
"greatest tragedies of the 20th century," and lastly, in 2008, he
said it was "an epic human tragedy."

Commenting on President Obama’s linguistic light touch, Agence
France-Presse reported:

After pressure from key U.S. ally Turkey, which is currently involved
in reconciliation talks with Armenia, [Obama] trod a delicate
diplomatic path and pointedly refrained from using the English word
"genocide."

OSCE OFFICE ORGANIZES ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN VISIT TO FRANCE

OSCE.org
May 5 2009

A two-day visit of Armenia’s Ombudsman, Armen Harutyunyan, to the
French Ombudsman institution, organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan
with the French Embassy in Armenia, finished today.

Harutyunyan and his French counterparts discussed investigation
of individual human rights complaints, co-operation with state
bodies, public relations and other practical matters. He also met
representatives of the Foreign Ministry and France-Armenia Friendship
Group at the National Assembly, and was filmed for French TV programme
Dossier Urgent with the French Ombudsman, Jean-Paul Delevoye.

"I found this trip very useful from the point of view of sharing
experiences and getting new ideas on how the Ombudsman institution
should operate. This kind of initiative strengthens the co-operation
between institutions and contributes to their effectiveness," said
Harutyunyan.

Later this month, an event to mark the fifth anniversary of
the Armenian ombudsman institution will be organized with the
participation of human rights institutions from different countries,
including France.

"OSCE participating States should support and promote the vital role
played by the human rights institutions in protecting human rights in
their respective countries," said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, the Head
of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. "Supporting exchanges of experience and
information between national human rights institutions will strengthen
the work of human rights defenders."

The OSCE Office in Yerevan has supported the Ombudsman institution from
its inception through the provision of legislative expertise, capacity
building exercises, expert opinion and best practices in the field.

RUSSIA PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN NKR CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2009 19:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ NKR conflict settlement negotiations have recently
intensified, significant progress could become possible after Prague
meeting between Armenian and Azeri Presidents, Turkish ex-Foreign
Minister Hikmet Cetin reported.

According to him, Russia plays a key role in NKR conflict
settlement. "Both US and Russia intensified their efforts aimed
at NKR conflict settlement. Armenian and Azeri Presidents signed a
"Declaration on inadmissibility of conflict settlement by military
force" through the instrumentality of Russia, which is no coincidence,"
Turkish Media cited Cetin as saying.