Author: Chaltikian Arsine

MATCH-FIX BAN FOR MACEDONIAN CLUB

Story from BBC SPORT:
football/europe/8004987.stm
2009/04/17 17:20:18 GMT

Macedonian club FK Pobeda have been banned from European competitions
for eight years having been found guilty of deliberately losing
a match.

Club president Aleksandar Zabrcanec and former captain Nikolce
Zdravevski were handed lifetime bans by UEFA from all football
activities in Europe.

UEFA received reports of irregular betting in a Champions League
match against Armenian club Pyunik in 2004.

UEFA’s disciplinary panel issued the verdicts after a seven-hour
hearing.

The European authority will now ask football’s world governing body
FIFA to ban Zabrcanec and Zdravevski worldwide, though the verdicts
can be appealed.

The panel ruled that the two men fixed the outcome of the qualifying
match in which Pobeda conceded three goals in the first half during
the home leg.

Pobeda drew the second leg 1-1 in Armenia, losing 4-2 on aggregate.

UEFA said when brining the charges that Zabrcanec and Zdravevski were
suspected of "manipulating the outcome… to gain an undue advantage
for themselves and a third party."

UEFA President Michel Platini said last month that match-fixing and
illegal betting was the greatest problem facing European football.

However, while UEFA is steadily building its own investigation unit,
gathering the evidence required to bring a llegedly corrupt clubs
and officials to a hearing has proved difficult.

The Pobeda case is the second time that UEFA has sanctioned a club
for match-fixing, but the first case in which a club official or
player has been found guilty.

Greek club Egaleo FC were fined £28,000 in 2006 for "violation of
the principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship" and "creating
favourable conditions for illegal betting practices."

Egaleo fielded a weakened team at home against Lithuania’s Zalgiris
Vilnius in the first leg of an Intertoto Cup match played in July
2005. They lost the match 3-1 and were knocked out 5-4 on aggregate.

UEFA is still investigating bets made on an Intertoto Cup match
between Bulgarian side Cherno More and Makedonija in July 2007.

The visiting Bulgarians won the first leg 4-0 in Macedonia and went
through 7-0 on aggregate. That case is one of at least 22 suspect
games UEFA has shared with Interpol.

EXISTANCE OF DYNAMICALLY DEVELOPING RELATIONS IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF MUTUA

Gaziantep Haber 27
April 17 2009
Turkey

On the second day of his official visit to the Islamic Republic of
Iran, on April 14 the Armenian President Serzh Sargsian met with the
Secretary of the Iranian National Security Supreme Council Said Jalili.

17 Nisan 2009 Cuma 18:27

Press service of Armenian President told Armenpress that S. Sargsian
and S. Jalili have with gratification stressed the dynamically
developing relations in the atmosphere of mutual trust between the two
states since the independence, the high level of political dialogue
as well as the saturated schedule of the cooperation.

The interlocutors highly assessed the successes registered in the
energy, transport, economy and other spheres and expressed confidence
that the implementation of the planned extended infrastructural
programs will contribute to the further enhancement of Armenian-Iranian
relationship. S. Sargsian and S. Jalili have stressed the importance
of a close relationship between the national security councils of
the two states. In Tehran Serzh Sargsian also had a meeting with the
spiritual leader of Iran Islamic Republic Seyed Ali Khamene. The
Armenian President and the Iranian spiritual leader expressed
confidence that only a region which is based on peace, stability and
mutually beneficial cooperation can bring prosperity and development
to the people living there. Highly assessing the efforts of Seyed Ali
Khamene in the issue of consolidation of Armenian-Iranian relations
the Armenian President Serzh Sargsian expressed gratitude to the
Iranian spiritual leader for his considerate attitude towards the
protection of Armenian historical-cultural values. Afterwards the
Presidents Serzh Sargsian and Mahmud Ahmadinezhad, summing up the
two-day discussions in the invited press conference, highly assessed
the results of the official visit and agreements of cooperation and
implementation of extended programs in the economy, energy, transport,
trade and banking spheres signed with the presence of the heads of two
states testify of this. Within the frameworks of the official visit
Serzh Sargsian also visited the mausoleum to the founder-leader of Iran
Islamic Republic ayatollah Khomeini, put flowers on his grave and made
a note in the register of the honorable guests. Armenian President
Serzh Sargsian finished his two-day official visit to Iran with his
speech delivered during his meeting with nearly 3000 representatives
of Iranian-Armenian community in the Tehran "Ararat" sport complex.

DMITRY MEDVEDEV: "THE SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT SHOULD BE FIRST OF ALL BASED ON INTERNATIONAL LEGAL NORMS, UN AND OSCE RESOLUTIONS"

APA
April 17 2009
Azerbaijan

"Russia wishes maximum progress to be made in the negotiations on the
settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict," Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev said, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

"I think Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents should have regular
meetings. Russia is ready to carry out its mandate. We are doing our
best to support this process. I am sure if such contacts continue,
taking into account the proposals this conflict can be solved in line
with the interests of both nations. New ideas may emerge. Russia
is ready to do its best for the settlement of this difficult, but
solvable conflict. I think the parties should listen to each other’s
arguments. There are prospects and first of all it should be based
on the international legal norms and the resolutions of the UN and
OSCE on the conflict. So, there is a progress. The main thing is that
tertiary, but sometimes very complicated factors should not influence
these processes, the parties should demonstrate patience and see the
prospects," he said.

DEMAGOGY IS DANGEROUS IN THE CONTEXT OF HEIGHTENING OF ECONOMIC RESISTANCE
By Nairi Muradian

AZG Armenian Daily
April 15 2009
Armenia

"Social issues, especially under conditions of lowering economic
indices, are of essential importance in the context of formation of
atmosphere of tolerance and heightening of economic resistance in
Armenia", Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian told yesterday at a
conference on "Social Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Armenia."

"Under these circumstances demagogy is very dangerous. Political
figures appear, who in these objectively hard conditions try
to heighten their political rating often making unsubstantiated
statements", the Prime Minister underlined.

Tigran Sargsian added that similar approach doesn’t contribute to
efficient regulation and solution to social issues.

CHARLES AZNAVOUR TO DUB UPWARDS ANIMATED CARTOON HERO

PanArmenian
April 15 2009
Armenia

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Renowned French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour
signed a contract with Pixar animation studio on dubbing Upwards
animated cartoon hero named Karl.

Aznavour has acted in films but dubbing of animation will be a debut.

IRAN CALLS FOR FURTHER TIES WITH ARMENIA TO STRENGTHEN REGIONAL SECURITY

Mehr News Agency
April 14 2009
Iran

Tehran, 14 April: Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC)
Secretary Sa’id Jalili told Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan here
on Tuesday [14 April] that the Caucasus countries themselves are
capable of providing security in the region without the interference
of outside powers.

Jalali also said close cooperation between Iran and Armenia, which have
ample potential for cooperation in different areas, will strengthen
security in the sensitive Caucasus region.

The security official insisted that the territorial integrity of all
countries in the Caucasus region must be respected. The borders of
the countries in the region must be safe and free of tension.

He also said collective and multilateral security cooperation will
lead to a sustainable economic development in the region.

The Armenian president also pointed to sources of tension in the
region and insisted on exploring ways for a diplomatic solution to
the conflicts by a reliance on the regional collaboration.

Sargsyan added that regional security is achievable through regional
cooperation.

The Armenian leader also said the Islamic Republic plays an important
role in promoting regional stability and called Tehran-Yerevan
cooperation a good model for regional collaboration.

The volatile Caucasus region was thrown into even more turmoil in
August 2008 when Russia and Georgia fought a brief war over South
Ossetia.

April 14, 2009

PRESS RELEASE
UCLA AEF Chair in Armenian History
Contact: James Robbins, [email protected]
Tel: 310-825-3375
Email: [email protected]

Professor Hovannisian in European/American Conferences
International Conferences

UCLA. During the first quarter of 2009, Professor Richard G.
Hovannisian, AEF Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA, participated
in twelve conferences and community lectures in Europe and the United
States. The most recent was the 35th Anniversary Conference of the
Society for Armenian Studies held at UCLA from March 26-28. Hovannisian,
serving for the seventh time as the president of the SAS, was the
conference coordinator and chaired the session on the hundredth
anniversary of the Adana/Cilicia massacres of 1909, with the
participation of Drs. Bedross Der Matossian, Rubina Peroomian, and Ph.D.
candidate Ohannes Kilicdagi.

Drs. Richard and Vartiter Hovannisian were in Stockholm,
Sweden, from March 20 to 25, for an international conference titled "The
Legacy of the 1915 Genocide in the Ottoman Empire," with the
participation of Armenian, Assyrian, Pontic, Turkish, and Swedish
scholars. The moving force behind conference, held in the Kungsholmens
Konferens Center on March 23, was Mr. Vahagn Avedian, Chairman of the
Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden, together with Stefan Anderson
of the Living History Forum. In his morning keynote address on "The
Phases and Faces of the Denial of the 1915 Genocides," Hovannisian
assessed the various stages and changing strategies of denial from 1915
to the present. Ragip Zarakolu of Istanbul reflected on current
discussions of the genocide in Turkey; Prof. David Gaunt explained the
internal and external struggle for recognition of the Assyrian Genocide;
Laurent Leylekian of the Armenian Federation, Brussels, analyzed
Turkey’s policy relating to the Armenian Genocide within the framework
of accession to the European Union; and Professor Ove Bring considered
the legal dimensions of the 1915 atrocities. The conference was
moderated by noted foreign correspondent Marika Griehsel.

On March 22, Hovannisian, Zarakolu, and Leylekian engaged in
an informal roundtable with the Swedish Armenian community and
organizations. And on March 24, before returning to the United States
for the SAS conference, Hovannisian was guest lecturer at Uppsala
University on the topic of the "Armenian Genocide as the Prototype of
Modern Mass Killings."

Prior to his trip to Sweden, Richard Hovannisian was at the University
of Michigan-Ann Arbor, for a four-day conference, March 18-21, on
"Armenia and Armenians in International Treaties." The conference was
organized by the Michigan Armenian Studies Program under the direction
of Prof. Gerard Libaridian. Among the more than twenty treaties that
were discussed, Hovannisian focused on "The Unratified Treaty of
Alexandropol as the Basis for Subsequent Russian-Turkish-Armenian
Relations," giving little-known details about the negotiation of the
controversial treaty and its relevance today.

Community Lectures

Hovannisian’s community lectures during the first part of 2009 included
the Comité des Arméniens de Belgique in Brussels, February 1; St.
James Church and its newly-formed Armenian Cultural Association of
Sacramento, February 7; Armenian Cultural Association of Munich,
February 21, and Surp Khatch Armenian Church and Armenian Association of
Baden-Württemberg, Germany, February 22; St. Sarkis Church and
Armenian Cultural Association of the Carolinas, Charlotte, February 28;
La Casa Armena Milano, Italy, March 8; and the Armenian National
Committee of Providence, April 3. In addition, on March 4, Richard
Hovannisian was at the Pasadena headquarters of Facing History and
Ourselves, Inc. to direct a conference call with staff members around
the country on issues relating to the Armenian Genocide and approaches
to teaching the subject in middle schools and high schools.

In the second half of April, Richard and Vartiter
Hovannisian will be in Yerevan for the annual meeting of the National
Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia and to participate in a
conference sponsored by the Armenian Genocide Institute and Museum on
the Cilician massacres of 1909.

END

ARMENIA: OSCE CALLS FOR CALM AHEAD OF ARMENIA MUNICIPAL POLLS

Eurasianet

April 13, 2009

Amid growing antagonism between supporters and opponents of Serzh
Sargsyan’s administration in Armenia, the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe’s representative in Yerevan has called on
all sides to exercise restraint during the final weeks of campaigning
before municipal elections in late May.

"All participants in the election should display high political and
civil responsibility," the head of OSCE Yerevan office, Sergey Kapinos,
was quoted as saying by Armnfo news agency. Kapinos noted that the
campaign is increasingly characterized by attacks on journalists and
sporadic violence involving police.

In the absence of a formal invitation from Armenian officials, the
OSCE is not slated to monitor the Yerevan municipal election.

ARMEN AYVAZIAN: ARMENIAN AND DIASPORAN FIGURES ARE DISCONTENT WITH POLICY CARRIED ON BY ARMENIA TO TURKEY

Noyan Tapan
Apr 14, 2009

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The surveys conducted in Armenia
and Diaspora by the Ararat strategic center are evidence that
considerable part of Armenian scientists, experts, public figures is
too discontent with the policy carried on by the Armenian authorities
to Turkey. Center Director Armen Ayvazian mentioned at the April 14
press conference. According to him, the participants of the survey
held between March 12 to April 10 were asked three questions on three
concrete subjects.

96% respondents gave "an extremely negative answer" to the question of
how do you treat the fact of showing the film on the genocide allegedly
organized by the Armenians in Turkey. Asked whether after R. Erdogan’s
statements Armenia should continue the rapprochement policy, 61%
respondents gave a negative answer. And 81% respondents gave a negative
answer to the question of how do you treat the invitation of RA
government to Turkey to take part in the construction of a new nuclear
power plant. A. Ayvazian said that some of the respondents considered
that invitation a manifestation of Armenian officials’ humor.

According to the Ararat head, today Armenia’s authorities make
mistakes endangering country’s future. The first mistake, according to
A. Ayvazian, is that "the authorities do not perceive Turkey as it is,
as an enemy." The second mistake is that Armenia’s leaders name Turkish
officials and Azerbaijan’s leader "a normal person," while it is by
Azeri President’s order that Armenian monuments are destroyed in that
country. And the third mistake, according to the political scientist,
is disregarding the opinions of "non-court" Armenian experts.

Azerbaijan Publishes Demands Regarding Armenia-Turkey Relations

2009/04/10 | 14:15
region politics

Azerbaijan has declared three conditions before giving its consent to
the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia, as reported
by Hurriyet Daily News.

Azerbaijan sent an envoy recently to Ankara to explain the
government’s views on the reconciliation process between Yerevan and
Ankara. According to the envoy, Azerbaijan insists on three conditions
to give its green light to opening the borders:

1 – Armenia should withdraw from five of the seven regions surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh – Agdam, Fizuli, Jabrayil, Zangilan and Qubadli.
2 – The return of the southern portion of the Lachin corridor.
3 – The use by Turkey of the Lachin corridor.

The Lachin corridor connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. By enabling
Turkey to also use the Lachin corridor, Azerbaijan wants to have
direct land access to Turkey.