Author: Chmshkian Vicken

RESOLUTION 1643 COULD BE A GOOD BASIS FOR ACTING, OPPOSITION REPRESENTATIVE CONSIDERS
Lusine Vasilyan

"Radiolur"
03.02.2009 17:32

Representative of the Armenian National Congress Levon Zurabyan today
presented his assessment of PACE Resolution 1643 and the discussions
on Armenia at the Parliamentary Assembly.

According to Levon Zurabyan, the adopted document could serve a good
basis for working in the direction of releasing the political prisoners
and is harsher that the previous two. On the other hand, the opposition
representative noted that the resolution adopted in January was a
regress as compared to the draft adopted by the Monitoring Committee.

Levon Zurabyan noted that unlike the Council of Europe, the opposition
does not believe in the promises of the authorities and added that
from now on the Council of Europe is also responsible for releasing
the prisoners.

PROFESSOR OF MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY PROPOSES TO "FRUSTRATE THE NABUCCO PIPELINE BY ALL MEANS"

Today.Az
itics/50431.html
Feb 2 2009
Azerbaijan

As is known, the gas conflict between Russia and Ukraine has attached
a special importance to the Nabucco pipeline, which is aimed to reduce
the energy dependance of Europe from Gazprom’s monopoly and raise the
EU energy security. The United States promised to provide a political
support to the project, while the European Investment Bank and EBRD
to provide financial assistance. The success of the recent summit in
Budapest on Nabucco demonstrate the urgency of the alternative ways
of supplies of gas to Europe. But along with the project support,
the voices of its opponents are becoming louder in the world.

Russian Kommersant Vlast magazine offers to Putin’s government to
attempt to frustrate Nabucco’s construction. The magazine refers to the
words of French Foreign Minister Bernard KuÑ~Ahner: "We are interested
in both projects (South Stream and Nord Stream – AzerTac) and there is
no taboos here. Russia should realize that it can also become a part
of Nabucco project. Why not?". At the same time the author of the
article Vladimir Solovyov adds: "But for the working authorities of
Russia such a proposal is inadmissible. Vladimir Putin will hardly
reject the idea of turning Russia into an energy superpower. An
armed conflict for example between Armenia, friendly to Russia, and
Azerbaijan, supporting Nabucco, over disputable Nagorno Karabakh hinder
the appearance of a strong rival for Gazprom on the European market".

In the interview to Eurazia internet portal, Alexander Dugin, head
of the center of conservative studies of the sociological faculty
of the Moscow State University of Lomonosov, philology proessor,
said that the construction of an alternative gas project must be
frustrated by all means.

"I think the Nabucco project should be frustrated by all means as
the gas geopolitics is implied. If an armed conflict is needed,
we should do it, as all methods are good in the geopolitics", said he.

At the same time, he opposed the accusation of a number of foreign
politicians and mass media that the five day war in the Caucasus in
August of 2008 was initiated by the Russian government."Putin did not
initiate anything in South Ossetia. Saakashvili and Americans attacked
this area by the model of sanitary cordon", considers the professor.

He said Russia should recognize that it is being in a state of war
with the United States: "We should realize that Russia is at war with
the United States, not in the geopolitical and gas sector but also in
the sphere of direct confrontation. We should recognize that we are
fighting with the United States. We were self-defending brilliantly in
South Ossetia, but now we should attack. We should attack the United
States. Primarily, we must eliminate the "fifth column" here and
then build a model of consistent geopolitical steps, including steps
for outstripping", said the professor, did not specifying however,
which republics he considers to be the "fifth column" which should be
"eliminated".

"We need to frustrate Nabucco, split Ukraine, establish protectorate
over the eastern and southern parts and then introduce a different
political leadership there. On the whole, we should attack, otherwise,
we will have to give up, both in gas and other spheres. We need a
Russian order in the post Soviet area, primarily in the gas sector",
concluded Dugin.

–Boundary_(ID_Fda85+agu9lh9RCqNSc83Q)–

15 YEARS OF FRIENDLY RELATIONS

AZG Armenian Daily
28/01/2009

Iran-Armenia

"Iran-Armenia&quot ; union of friendship acting in Iran for two years
organized an event on January 10 in Tehran Arasbaran cultural center
dedicated to the 15th anniversary of Iran-Armenia friendship.

After the anthems of the two countries and the welcome speech of
the Union’s President Levon Aharonian, speeches were delivered by
former Iranian Ambassador to Armenia M.N. Coleiny, Armenian Envoy
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Iran Grigor Arakelian, Tehran
University lecturer Emilia Nersisian and others.

Photos of the sights and culture of the two countries were showed
during the speeches.

M.N. Coleiny, who is one of the regulators of Iran-Armenia relations,
remembered those difficulties and miserable resources, when the
relations between the two countries had started. At the end of his
speech, he thanked both his Persian and Armenian colleagues, especially
Grigor Arakelian, who made their contribution to establishment and
strengthening of relations between the two countries. He attached
importance to the great moral value of Iran-Armenia relations.

Grigor Arakelian, who is known as a developer of Iranian-Armenian
relations, mentioned that 17 years ago Iran opened its doors to
Armenia and the citizens of Armenia found out that Iran is their
biggest neighbor both with its territory and population, where
Armenians have had the opportunity to preserve their independence,
culture and religion. Iran and Armenia have the narrowest border with
each other compared with the neighboring countries, but the histories
and cultures of the two countries have a lot in common.

Armenian Ambassador to Iran Karen Nazarian expressed his appreciation
to the event and welcomed the activities of "Iran-Armenia" union
of friendship attaching importance particularly to the sphere of
information technologies.

Narek Amirkhanian was the announcer of the event, who started his
speech with an extract from Parouyr Sevak poem "Barev" translated
from Armenian into Persian.

COE SECRETARY GENERAL URGES TO INVESTIGATE NAGORNO-KARABAKH SOURCES

Trend News Agency
Jan 26 2009
Azerbaijan

France, Strasburg, Jan. 26 /Trend News, A.Maharramli/ "Sources of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be investigated and its causes must
be eliminated. The Council of Europe pays great attention to the South
Caucasus," Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Terry Davis said
on Jan. 26. He commented to the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation,
participating in the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe, on what mechanisms the Council of Europe can
involve to protect the rights of hundreds of Azerbaijani refugees and
IDPs, whose rights were violated as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. Today, the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe started in Strasbourg.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed
a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia,
France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Davis said that in any conflict, including Nagorno-Karabakh, the source
should be found and the causes combated. "This is a "triangular"
or tripartite conflict. I always said at the meetings between the
Presidents or Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan that the
negotiations should be conducted within the OSCE Minsk Group. We
support the efforts of the Minsk Group and cannot replace them. We
must go forward," he said. According to Davis, human rights are the
fundamental principle of the CE. "Indeed, in Azerbaijan and in Armenia
there are hundreds of refugees and IDPs. At a meeting with President
Ilham Aliyev during my last visit to Baku in December, I felt a
progress and hope in resolving the conflict. I hope this conflict
will be resolved before the end of my term of office," he said.

CONTINUING STRATEGIC DEFENSE REVIEW IMPORTANT TASK OF ARMENIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE IN 2009

ARKA
Jan 26, 2009

YEREVAN, January 26. /ARKA/. Continuing the strategic defense review
is one of the important tasks of Armenian Ministry of Defense in 2009,
Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan said Saturday in summarizing the
results of the ministry’s performance for 2008.

"We have assessed the threats and we should develop scenarios and
make the planning," the Minister said.

Among the important events of 2008 the Minister pointed out the passing
of the law about defense establishing the defense duties of citizens,
the country’s government, the parliament and the president. The law
also differentiates between the functions of the Ministry of Defense
and the General Staff.

Ohanyan reported that in 2008 a law about special civil service was
passed in Armenia followed by introduction of a special civil servant
institution in the central staff of the Ministry of Defense.

MASSACRE OF CHRISTIANS LINKED TO MURDER RING?

WorldNet Daily
p;pageId=86693
Jan 21 2009
OR

Necati Aydin, Tilman Geske and Ugur Yuksel, (L to R) who were martyred
by Muslims in Turkey

Lawyers prosecuting the murder of three Christians at a publishing
house in Turkey say there may have been a larger organized force
behind the five individuals suspected in the deaths.

WND has reported on the attack at the Zirve Publishing Co. office in
Malatya April 18, 2007.

All five suspects in previous court appearances have pointed fingers
at each other for the deaths of Tilman Geske of Germany and Turkish
nationals Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel.

Authorities reportedly have said they met several Muslims for a
Bible study, then were tied up, stabbed and tortured for several
hours before their throats were slit.

According to a new report from Compass Direct, which has been
documenting the case, attorneys working on the case now are lining
up witnesses in their attempt to expand the list of defendants from
the five Muslims to "subversive forces at the top of state power."

The report said the evidence being assembled indicates the murders were
instigated not by individuals but by Ergenekon, "a loose collection
of ultra-nationalist generals, businessmen, mafia and journalists
who planned to engineer a coup d’état in Turkey."

At a hearing in Malatya’s 3rd Criminal Court just days ago, the lawyers
said they wanted to call as a witness Ergun Poyraz, a journalist
linked to the organization.

Investigators are searching for links that led to the murders,
including the role of the district police chief, Ali Osman Kahya,
the report said.

"In the course of the publishing house murders, Ali Osman Kahya
was the head of Malatya security forces, which is no coincidence,"
attorney Murat Dincer told Compass Direct.

He said Kahya had been in similar positions of authority during other
political murders.

The report said an inquiry has been launched, and if officials decide
there is a connection, the Malatya murders could become part of a
larger investigation. If not, the five suspects probably will go on
trial for murder within a few months.

Named so far as defendants are suspected ringleader Emre Gunaydin,
Salih Gurler, Cuma Ozdemir, Hamit Ceker and Abuzer Yildirim. They
have been in jail for the past 18 months awaiting court proceedings.

The report said the Ergenekon organization previously was blamed for
murders of other high-profile Christians.

Christians, who make up less than 1 percent of the population in
Turkey, have been subjected to numerous attacks in recent years. In
2006, a Turkish teen shot to death a Roman Catholic priest as he prayed
in his church. Two other priests were attacked the same year. Early
in 2007 came the death of Armenian Christian editor Hrant Dink.

When the publishing house attack became known, Geske’s widow, Susanne,
responded in a way that hit the front pages of the nation’s largest
newspapers.

"Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do," she said,
agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23.34), according
to a letter Christians in Turkey have written to the worldwide church,
released through Voice of the Martyrs.

"In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing,
many many reports have come to the attention of the church of how this
comment of Susanne [Geske] has changed lives," the letter said. "One
columnist wrote of her comment, ‘She said in one sentence what 1,000
missionaries in 1,000 years could never do.’"

Titled "A letter to the Global Church from The Protestant Church
of Smyrna," it was publicized shortly after the slayings by VOM,
the ministry organization that works with persecuted Christians.

VOM noted that 2,000 years earlier, this location of Christians was
addressed in Rev. 2:8-11: "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna
write… ‘Do not fear any of those things which you are about to
suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison,
that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation 10 days. Be
faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He
who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.’"

The letter told of a Bible study planned that morning involving the
three Christians and apparently five Muslims who had been invited.

"No one knows what happened in the hearts of those men as they
listened to the gospel. Were they touched by the Holy Spirit? Were
they convicted of sin? Did they hear the gospel in their heart
of hearts? Today we only have the beginning of their story," the
letter said.

"The young men got guns, bread knives, ropes and towels ready for
their final act of service to Allah. They knew there would be a lot of
blood. They arrived in time for the Bible study, around 10 o’clock,"
the letter said. "Reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the
Bible the assault began. The boys tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman’s hands
and feet to chairs and as they videoed their work on their cellphones,
they tortured our brothers for almost three hours."

–Boundary_(ID_gxZsAw5yh7e9GQEI0BkCw w)–

AVERAGE MONTHLY SALARY REACHES 91.331 AMD IN ARMENIA IN 2008

ARKA
Jan 20, 2009

YEREVAN, January 20. /ARKA/. RA National Statistics Service reported
the nominal of average monthly salary reached 91,331 AMD in 2008,
an annual increase of 17.4%.

The average monthly salary in government-financed organizations reached
64,836 AMD, an annual increase of 18.6%, with a 27.7% increase against
November 2007.

The average monthly salary in privately-owned organizations reached
113,882 AMD, an annual increase of 16.3%, with a 24.5% increase
against November 2008.

The average monthly salary increased by 25.5% in December 2008 against
November 2008. ($1 – 305.27AMD).

NAGORNO KARABAKH REPUBLIC RECOGNITION DOESN’T VIOLATE AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.01.2009 16:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic doesn’t
violate Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and doesn’t threaten its
existence, according to an NKR official.

"The principle of territorial integrity is not applicable to Azerbaijan
by a number of reasons. Above all, Nagorno Karabakh has never been
de jure part of Azerbaijan," Ruben Zargaryan, historian and adviser
to Foreign Minister of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, said in an
interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"Bogged down in continuous threats, Baku officials undermine the talks
and neglect the principles of the Helsinki Final Act, including those
of peaceful resolution of conflicts and non-use of force," he said.

Zargaryan emphasized that the international law says that the principle
of territorial integrity doesn’t run counter to the right of nations
to self-determination.

"Nagorno Karabakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and even Kosovo proclaimed
independence irrespective of the position of former mother countries,
what conforms to new international approaches to democracy principles,
human rights protection, ethnic peace and regional stability," he said.

"The Kosovo model is classified as UDI (Unilateral Declaration of
Independence). I would like to emphasize that the international
law doesn’t have norms which oblige a self-determined state to ask
for mother country’s permission to secede. And last but not least,
by its democratic development index, Nagorno Karabakh passes ahead
of Kosovo. The same refers to Serbia and Azerbaijan."

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION ENCOURAGED BY SUPPORT FROM WEST IN ORGANIZING MARCH EVENTS

ARKA
Jan 19, 2009

YEREVAN, January 19. /ARKA/. The support from the West encouraged
Armenian opposition to organize the March events, Shushan Khatlamajan,
political analyst and coordinator at the Institute for Civil Society
and Regional Development, said Monday answering ARKA News Agency’s
question at a press conference in Novosti Press Center.

Armenian opposition headed by former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who
lost the election, staged protests saying the election was fraudulent
and the results were rigged. The rallies ended in clashes between
protesters and law enforcements.

As a result, ten were killed and 200 injured. Many were arrested.

"The bias western institutions and organizations display while
commenting on elections in the three South-Caucasian republics leads
to some deformation in public perception and particular political
processes", Khatlamajan said.

She said it is difficult to assume what would happen in Azerbaijan
and Georgia, if these countries’ opposition received such a support.

"For example, not only administrative, but also budget means were
used in Georgian parliamentary and presidential elections for backing
Saakashvili’s team. And if the same happened with Armenia, we would
be eaten alive", she said.

The political analyst said that, as a rule, European emissaries and
representatives of European organizations=2 0coming to Azerbaijan and
Georgia do little more than meet once or twice with the opposition
and promise to take due steps. And that’s all.

"In Armenia everything goes otherwise, and this can be understood in
two ways", Khatlamajan said.

Commenting on the reports of international organizations Freedom House
and Human Rights Watch, she expressed discontent at some aspects. She
said the organizations put special emphases on certain problems and
play down the progress reached by Armenia.

"If the reports were unbiased, balance of how much the society is
concerned about the levels of civil and political rights in the
country would be described differently", she said.

Freedom House, a U.S.-based international non-governmental
organization, in the findings from the latest edition of "Freedom in
the World – 2009", the annual survey of global political rights and
civil liberties, said that democracy level in Armenia has lowered,
just as in many former soviet republics.

Armenia is listed among partly free countries, as a year earlier.

Armenia, along with Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova,
lowered its 2008 political rights rank from 4 to 6 on a seven-point
scale because of post-election violence that took lives of ten people.

Human Rights Watch Organization says in its World Report-2009 that
"Armenia experienced one of its most serious civil and political rights
crises since independence when security forces used excessive force
on March 1 against opposition demonstrators protesting the results
of the February 2008 presidential election".

CHANGE IN CADASTRAL SYSTEM

NKR Government Information and
Public Relations Department
January 19, 2009

On January 17, according to the decree signed by the NKR President
Bako Sahakyan, Valery Alexanyan was relieved of the post of the Head
of the State Committee of Real Estate and Cadastre adjunct to the NKR
Government upon his own request. By one another President’s decree
Andranik Khachatryan was appointed Head of State Committee of Real
Estate and Cadastre with a five year officiating term.

Today, on January 19, the NKR Prime Minister Ara Haroutyunyan
has visited the State Committee of Real Estate and Cadastre and
introduced the newly appointed head of the sphere to the Staff. First,
the Head of the Government had expressed gratitude to V.Alexanyan
for the conducted activity and assured those present that his
working skills and experience will find an application in a not
less important sphere: he will head the Stepanakert branch of the
Armenian Agrarian University, training specialists required for the
sphere of agriculture, proclaimed to be a strategic direction in the
Republic. Valeri Alexanyan is considered to have an important role
in it, where expectations of the country’s leadership are great,-
A.Haroutyunyan noted.

With regard to the newly appointed Chairman of the Committee, the
Prime Minister emphasized, that he had already revealed himself
like an all-sufficient acting leader, while working in the NKR State
Procurement Agency. He expressed confidence that A.Khachatryan will
manage to increase the authority and efficiency of the cadastre
service, which is extremely important, as, according to the
Prime Minister’s words, inasmuch as contacting with the cadastre
sphere as well the population gets an impression on the authority’s
activities. "It is important that the citizens live the establishment
contented",- the NKR Government Head stressed. He wished successful
activity to the Staff of cadastre committee in the new head’s time.

Words of gratitude for estimation of his work were delivered by
V.Alexanyan.

A.Khachatryan expressed gratitude to the country’s leadership too
and assured to do all his best to justify the rendered confidence.