Author: Boshkezenian Garik

ARMENIA, HUNGARY WILLING TO REINFORCE TIES

armradio.am
08.04.2009 16:19

On April 8 the newly appointed Ambassador of Hungary to Armenia Gabor
Shagi presented the copies of his credentials to the Foreign Minister
of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian.

Greeting the guest, Edward Nalbandian noted that Armenia is interested
in the development of relations with Hungary and expressed hope that
the appointment of the Ambassador would contribute to the deepening and
expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

Ambassador Gabor Shagi stressed that Hungary is willing to reinforce
the cooperation with Armenia in bilateral and multilateral formats. He
noted there is a great potential for the development of trade-economic
and cultural ties.
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Subject: Armenia, Hungary willing to reinforce ties

Armenia, Hungary willing to reinforce ties

armradio.am
08.04.2009 16:19

On April 8 the newly appointed Ambassador of Hungary to Armenia Gabor
Shagi presented the copies of his credentials to the Foreign Minister
of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian.

Greeting the guest, Edward Nalbandian noted that Armenia is interested
in the development of relations with Hungary and expressed hope that
the appointment of the Ambassador would contribute to the deepening and
expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

Ambassador Gabor Shagi stressed that Hungary is willing to reinforce
the cooperation with Armenia in bilateral and multilateral formats. He
noted there is a great potential for the development of trade-economic
and cultural ties.

________________________________________ ________________________________
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A WAY TO EASE THE TENSION

A1+
07:17 pm | April 07, 2009

Politics

"The current Armenian authorities continue to lead a non-perspective
policy that eradicates the bases of national security and runs counter
to state interests of Armenia [Republic Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic]," stated members of the "Miatsum" national initiative as
they analyzed the political developments of January-March of this year.

The initiative believes that the all-embracing, strategic development
of Armenia, the vitality of Armenian statehood and security essentially
depend on the efficient resettlement of liberated territories of
Armenia.

Armenia must draft a new resettlement strategy plan in a short amount
of time in line with the broad and multifaceted privileges guaranteed
by the legislation and the political elite.

According to initiative members, the state must sponsor and implement
special programs aimed at assisting development of small and medium
businesses and different spheres of economy, establish agricultural
economies, as well as create opportunities for receiving credit in
order to stimulate resettlement of the liberated lands.

"We are certain that the negative effects of the crisis and qualitative
reforms in the political field, as well as the moral/psychological
state, will be greatly contributed by the political will to mitigate
social tension conditioned by the economic crisis, engage thousands of
citizens of Armenia in Armenia and abroad in carrying out long-term
programs for resettling the liberated lands and use economic
potential," as stated in the release of the initiative.

FOREIGN MINISTER’S ATTENDANCE TO ISTANBUL FORUM UNDEFINED

Panorama.am
14:03 06/04/2009

The Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan is currently in
Yerevan, Tigran Balayan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told
Panorama.am. According to our sources, the Foreign Minister has not
yet decided whether to leave for Istanbul or not. It is important to
remind that according to the press release spread by the Foreign
Ministry dated on 3 April, Minister Nalbandyan should attend
"Alliance of Civilizations" forum in Istanbul on 6-7 April. High
ranking officials from other countries, Presidents, Ministers and
Prime Ministers arrived in Istanbul to attend the forum.

PRESIDENT OBAMA – "IT’S REALLY ABOUT HOW THE TURKISH AND ARMENIAN PEOPLE DEAL WITH THE PAST"

hetq.am/en/politics/7172/
2009/04/06 | 22:12

Region politics

Excerpts of President Barack Obama’s speech to the Turkish Parliament
on Monday, April 6, as provided by the White House.

Mister speaker, madam deputy speaker, distinguished members, I am
honored to speak in this chamber, and I am committed to renewing the
alliance between our nations and the friendship between our people.

This is my first trip overseas as president of the United States. I’ve
been to the G-20 summit in London, and the NATO summit in Strasbourg,
and the European Union summit in Prague. Some people have asked me
if I chose to continue my travels to Ankara and Istanbul to send a
message to the world. And my answer is simple: Evet – yes.

Turkey is a critical ally. Turkey is an important part of Europe. And
Turkey and the United States must stand together – and work together –
to overcome the challenges of our time.

This morning I had the great privilege of visiting the tomb of your
extraordinary founder of your republic. And I was deeply impressed
by this beautiful memorial to a man who did so much to shape the
course of history. But it is also clear that the greatest monument
to Ataturk’s life is not something that can be cast in stone and
marble. His greatest legacy is Turkey’s strong, vibrant, secular
democracy, and that is the work that this assembly carries on today.

1915 Genocide Remarks

Another issue that confronts all democracies as they move to the future
is how we deal with the past. The United States is still working
through some of our own darker periods in our history. Facing the
Washington Monument that I spoke of is a memorial of Abraham Lincoln,
the man who freed those who were enslaved even after Washington led
our revolution. Our country still struggles with the legacies of
slavery and segregation, the past treatment of Native Americans.

Human endeavor is by its nature imperfect. History is often tragic,
but unresolved, it can be a heavy weight. Each country must work
through its past. And reckoning with the past can help us seize a
better future. I know there’s strong views in this chamber about
the terrible events of 1915. And while there’s been a good deal of
commentary about my views, it’s really about how the Turkish and
Armenian people deal with the past. And the best way forward for the
Turkish and Armenian people is a process that works through the past
in a way that is honest, open and constructive.

We’ve already seen historic and courageous steps taken by Turkish and
Armenian leaders. These contacts hold out the promise of a new day. An
open border would return the Turkish and Armenian people to a peaceful
and prosperous coexistence that would serve both of your nations. So
I want you to know that the United States strongly supports the full
normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia. It is a cause
worth working towards.

It speaks to Turkey’s leadership that you are poised to be the only
country in the region to have normal and peaceful relations with all
the South Caucasus nations. And to advance that peace, you can play a
constructive role in helping to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
which has continued for far too long.

ARMENIAN FREESTYLE WRESTLING NATIONAL TEAM WINS THREE MEDALS IN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Noyan Tapan
Apr 2, 2009

VILNIUS, APRIL 2, NOYAN TAPAN. The European freestyle Wrestling
Championship finished on April 1 in Vilnius. Artur Arakelian (60kg,
Yerevan), Suren Markosian (74 kg, Garni), and Edgar Yenokian
(96 kg, Yerevan) performed from Armenia on the last day of the
championship. Only E. Yenokian managed to take the third place and
to become a bronze medal winner.

Thus, the Armenian freestyle wrestling national team won 1 silver
and 2 bronze medals in the European Championship.

Greco-Roman wrestlers will compete on April 4 in Vilnius for European
Championship medals. The Armenian sportsmen will perform in all seven
weight categories.

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE

April 2, 2009
Contact: Michael A Zachariades
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 393-3434

SENIOR WHITE HOUSE POLICY ADVISORS MEET WITH ARMENIAN-AMERICAN
ORGANIZATIONS PRIOR TO OBAMA’S TRIP TO TURKEY

Washington, DC – On March 24, representatives of the Armenian Assembly
of America and the Armenian National Committee of America met, at the
invitation of the White House, with President Barack Obama’s senior
foreign policy advisors prior to the President’s departure for his first
overseas trip to Europe, which will include a visit to Turkey.

The Armenian-American leadership continues to look forward, this April,
to President Obama honoring his repeated pledges to properly recognize
the Armenian Genocide, to broaden U.S.-Armenia relations, and to support
other issues impacting Armenia and the surrounding region.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding
and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a 501(c) (3)
tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR#2009-023

MASSACRE OF ADANA ARMENIANS IN 1909 IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF GENOCIDE PRELUDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.04.2009 20:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Massacre of Adana Armenians in 1909 is a classic
example of Genocide prelude (similar example, Kristallnacht in
Holocaust chronicles), orientalist and historian Suren Manukyan told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Adana population was heartened with promises of "Liberty, Equality
and Fraternity" proclaimed by the new authorities of Ottoman Empire
a year before tragic events. Armenians demanded appointments to
governmental offices. An atmosphere of amicability was established
between Armenians and Turks of Adana region, the more unexpected was
the blow to Adana Armenians. People of Adana and adjusting villages
were subjected to all the tortures employed during the Genocide of
1915-23: hatred fomentation with religious mottos of "fighting the
unfaithful" and violence towards Christians. The Ottoman government
sent in the Army of Young Turks to keep peace, but instead they
tolerated the violence or participated in it.

In the aftermath of Adana massacres, the government of Turkey, as
well as some Turkish writers and nationalists, tried to deny the
pogroms. Young Turks tried to shift the responsibility for massacres
upon their political rival Abdul Hamid and even out the number of
those killed in the massacre, both massacre victims and perpetrators
(362 people were arrested: 149 Muslims and 213 Christians). Thus,
the impunity was the major total of Adana massacre. 9 Muslims and
6 Armenians were beheaded on May 28. Beheaded Muslims were common
people, none of the notables, yet true perpetrators of disturbances
were not made accountable. And the only fault of beheaded Armenians
was trying to protect themselves.

"Impunity of perpetrators and inconsistence of the Great Powers
created a firm perception of unpunishability of killing an Armenian,"
Suren Manukyan emphasized.

The tension erupted into riots on April 1, 1909, which soon escalated
into organized violence against the Armenian population of Adana and
in several surrounding cities. Reports estimated that the massacres
in Adana Province resulted in 30,000 deaths.

Turkish and Armenian revolutionary groups had worked together to
secure the restoration of constitutional rule, in 1908. On 31 March
(or 13 April, by the Western calendar) a military revolt directed
against the Committee of Union and Progress seized Istanbul. While the
revolt lasted only ten days, it precipitated a massacre of Armenians
in the province of Adana that lasted over a month.

The awakening of Turkish nationalism, and the perception of the
Armenians as a separatist, European-controlled entity, also contributed
to the violence.

AZERBAIJAN AND RUSSIA INK TENTATIVE GAS AGREEMENT
by Roman Kupchinsky

Jamestown Foundation
April 1 2009

On March 27 Russia’s state owned gas monopoly Gazprom signed a
memorandum of understanding with Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil and Gas
Company, SOCAR, which would provide for deliveries of Azeri gas to
Russia starting in January 2010. The report in the Russian newspaper
Vedomosti on March 30 did not disclose any details, merely confirming
that Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller signed the memorandum in
Moscow with the president of SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, and that the two
sides will begin talks on importing Azeri gas in 2010. Vedomosti mooted
that the deal was part of Gazprom’s plans to buy all the export gas
produced in Central Asia and the South Caucasus in order to terminate
the pro-Western Nabucco pipeline project, intended to supply the EU
with non-Russian gas via a new route by-passing Russian territory.

The vagueness of the memorandum’s wording suggests however, that Baku
might be using the rather nebulous agreement to maximize pressure
on the indecisive Europeans to finally make a firm commitment to
Nabucco. Azerbaijan is the only gas producing country in the former
Soviet Union besides Ukraine, which does not export gas, with which
Russia does not have a gas purchase contract. Gazprom’s talks with
SOCAR began last year while it was negotiating the 2009 gas price with
Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. These negotiations ended with
Gazprom offering to pay these producers the "European price" of gas,
based on the price of petroleum products. In the case of Azerbaijan,
Russia has apparently made a similar offer and the Azeri’s are
reportedly weighing their options between Gazprom’s firm offer and
the EU’s wavering stance on Nabucco.

In June 2008 Gazprom offered to buy the projected production of 16
billion cubic meters of gas annually from the second phase of the
giant Azeri Shakh Deniz gas field. (Kommersant, March 30). However,
the second output phase of gas from Shakh-Deniz, estimated to cost
$10 billion, will only come online in 2014 at the earliest, two years
later than previous estimates.

Gazprom’s approach to Azerbaijan is not limited to buying its gas,
even if it costs substantially more than in previous years. The
geopolitical and strategic factors tangential to the deal are of
critical importance to the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system
in an effort to prevent Iran from potentially deploying a missile
delivery system capable of delivering nuclear warheads to Central
European, Central Asian, Caspian and potentially Russian cities.

Azerbaijan’s Gabala radar station, currently used by Russia is a
case in point. The Russian military is concerned that the station
could fall into U.S. hands and be used against Moscow. According to
Michael Coffey, a California-based specialist on BMD:

Moscow’s air and missile defense systems have lost significant overseas
assets in recent years. The breakup of the Soviet Union curtailed the
Kremlin’s access to numerous BMD ground sites, many of which landed
in newly independent nations. In any case, insufficient resources
were available for the support and maintenance of the system and many
sites simply went offline (, August 28, 2007).

Russian support of the embryonic Caspian Economic Cooperation
Organization (CECO) is yet another factor behind Gazprom’s seduction
of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. On December 24, 2008 the Azeri
Constitutional Court ruled to allow a referendum in which the
possibility of unlimited presidential terms would be put to the
public thus allowing Aliyev to extend his time in office beyond the
constitutional limit of two consecutive terms. "The chairman of the
Constitutional Court, Farhad Abdullayev, said there were no legal
obstacles to parliament agreeing to sanction a referendum that would
approve or reject the constitutional change" (, December
24, 2008). Aliyev duly won the referendum on March 18.

If Moscow is convinced that Aliyev will remain in office for the
duration, the plan appears to be to draw his country into the CECO
along with Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia in order to
consolidate Russian control over the Caspian region and it vast
resources.

Aliyev, in the meantime, has been playing off Russia against the West
in order to put leverage on the United States and Europe which have
been backing off in their support for Nabucco. It is no secret that
he is upset by Russian arms deliveries to Armenia and has publicly
opposed this. The issue of Karabakh is sensitive for most Azerbaijanis
and he cannot afford to been seen as "soft" on this issue. And while
he has posed as being closer to the West than to Russia, it appears
that in the final analysis he might go where the money is -Gazprom
and the Kremlin.

ARMENIANS, GEORGIANS IN UNHOLY ROW OVER DISPUTED CHURCH
Nina Akhmeteli

Expatica Germany
re/news_focus/Armenians_-Georgians-in-unholy-row-o ver-disputed-church-_13867.html
April 1 2009

In a country that has undergone years of ethnic and political discord,
including a war with Russia last August, a debate over the ownership
of a church is only one of its many divisive internal battles.

Amidst the rambling homes and cobblestone streets of the Georgian
capital Tbilisi’s old town, two stone churches stand side-by-side,
sharing a snow-covered courtyard.

One, the Georgian Orthodox Church of Jvaris Mama, is alive with
parishioners and lit candles. Its neighbour, the Norashen Church,
sits lonely and locked.

Unused for nearly seven decades, the Norashen Church is at the heart
of long-running dispute between the Armenian Apostolic and the Georgian
Orthodox Churches.

The dispute has flared again in recent months, raising ethnic tensions
in Georgia as it is still recovering from an August war with Russia
over the South Ossetia region, where ethnic Ossetian separatists
broke from Georgian control in the early 1990s.

Ownership disputes between the two churches are common but the Norashen
Church has come to symbolise what some in the local Armenian community
say is the "Georgianisation" of traditionally Armenian churches.

Armenian experts say the Norashen Church was built in the 15th century
for the local Armenian community and continued to operate until it was
shut down during the Soviet Union’s anti-religion drive in the 1930s.

The Georgian church says there is no conclusive evidence that Norashen
was Armenian and that its origins are open to debate. When the Soviet
Union collapsed in 1991, ownership of the church fell to the Georgian
government and the dispute has yet to be resolved.

The latest flare-up occurred when local Armenians claimed that
the priest of the Georgian church next to Norashen, Father Tariel
Sikinchelashvili, tried to remove Armenian tombstones from its
graveyard.

Alexander Ohanian, the head of the head of Armenian Cooperation Centre
of Georgia, said that in mid-November he saw a bulldozer working in
the churchyard and that two Armenian tombstones had been removed.

Local Armenians gathered in the yard and confronted Father Tariel,
accusing him of seeking to remove evidence that the church is Armenian.

The tombstones were later returned but Ohanian said local Armenians
don’t believe their removal was an accident.

‘All I can do now is pray’

"It is too naive to think that he acted alone, without permission
from his superiors," Ohanian said.

A senior Armenian priest in Tbilisi, Father Narek Kushian, said the
Georgian church has been trying to convert the building since 1989.

"Father Tariel is trying to seize the church and add Orthodox
attributes to raise questions about its origin," Kushian said. "The
inscription on the cupola of the church was erased by him and the
main attributes showing this church is Armenian, such as the altar,
have also been destroyed."

Approached in his church, Father Tariel refused to comment on the
allegations.

"I am just too tired of it all," he said. "I’ve done as much as I
can and all I can do now is pray."

A spokesman for the Georgian Orthodox Church, Davit Sharashenidze, said
a commission is to resolve ownership disputes between the two churches.

"We can’t say unambiguously that it is an Armenian church, as there
is also evidence backing opposite claims," he said. "The Georgian
side has similar claims regarding Georgian churches in Armenia and
these issues need study and research by scientists."

A complicated politics

But the dispute has already become political as well as religious.

In recent weeks, hundreds of Armenians have participated in rallies
in Yerevan to protest against the alleged destruction of Armenian
cultural monuments in Georgia.

The dispute was also raised during a December visit by Armenian Prime
Minister Tigran Sarkisian to Georgia.

Georgian Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili said after meeting his
Armenian counterpart that he hoped no issues would be "politically
exploited" to drive a wedge between the two peoples.

The issue is especially sensitive in Georgia, where interethnic
conflicts in South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia,
have left thousands dead.

After the Abkhaz and Ossetians, Armenians are the third-largest ethnic
minority in Georgia, with nearly 250,000 Armenians in the country of
4.3 million.

WHEN THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND, OR HAVE TO PRETEND NOT TO UNDERSTAND THE ESSENCE OF THE MAYOR ELECTION
Hakob Badalyan

LRAGIR.AM
11:22:24 – 01/04/2009

On March 31, the parliamentary member from ARF Dashnaktsutyun, member
of the parliamentary committee to study March1 Artyusha Shahbazyan
stated that the Yerevan mayor election is not a possibility for
a system change in Armenia. The reason for Artyusha Shahbazyan’s
statement is evident. He stated this because, like all the other
coalition parties, the Dashnaktsutyun has a question of lowering the
Mayor election’s importance, in which result the governmental forces
will be possible to be at an advantage over Levon Ter-Petrosyan. The
governmental parties have all the rights to bring the election at
any level but how they will ground the acquisition of that right.

>From this point of view, for example, the statement of the
Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary member is out of any logic. It is either
above or too below the logic. The point is that the Mayor election
already means a system change. In other words, when in accordance
with the amendments to the Constitution, the Mayor is being elected
and not appointed; this supposes a system change in the country. It
is a little difficult to say what the ARF Dashnaktsutyun means by
saying a system change, but it the system is clear to be changed in
the country to every extent.

In other words, the opposition is given a chance to have power in
the capital. If the mechanism of election is launched, consequently,
it creates a possibility that for the opposition to win too. And if
the opposition wins power in Yerevan it changes the balance of the
governmental system bringing about a competitive situation instead
of a monolith pyramid. It is all the same even if we assume that the
Yerevan authorities will have only the streets cleaning and trees
and flowers planting function, the situation is changed completely
anyway; when the garbage of the capital is cleaned this means that
the garbage of the half of the country is cleaned by an oppositional
force. And the garbage should not be underestimated, because due to
it all the country is overwhelmed with garbage now.

Thus, if we watch the Mayor election from the governmental point of
view and situate it in the framework of daily problems solutions,
the system change is inevitable the same, if another political force
assumes the responsibility for solving these problems. So, the daily
round, which seems a trump to the government, is just an illusion a
conscious or unconscious illusion, which is showed by the governmental
party members who do not understand the logic of the mayor election,
or just pretend not to understand it.