Author: Dabaghian Diana

AZERBAIJAN SUPPORTS GRADUAL SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Trend Daily News
March 15, 2010 Monday 1:50 PM GMT +4
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan supports the gradual process of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

"Azerbaijan supports the gradual process of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, because it knows that it is impossible to resolve all
problems within one day", Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told
media today.

The Azerbaijani side thinks that if there are conflicts in the world,
they must be resolved diplomatically.

"I would like to say that there are opportunities for diplomatic
settlement," minister said.

The ‘Prague Process’ was launched six years ago. As a result, the
Madrid principles were approved in 2007. The presidents, foreign
ministers have met within the last two years. The co-chairmen have
often visited the region. As a result of negotiations in December 2009,
an updated version of the Madrid principles was given to the parties",
Mammadyarov said.

Azerbaijan approves this document and believes that it opens an
opportunity to sign a more extensive document in future, minister said.

Minister said that Azerbaijan has chosen the diplomatic route and
follows it.

Concerning the position of Armenia, Yerevan must say whether it
approves this document or not. Then Azerbaijan will determine the
next actions.

"But I want to assure you that in the Foreign Ministry we are
discussing various options, as well as ways to negotiate this year",
Minister said.

He said that Prague process is incremental. "These stages are reflected
in the Madrid document. At the first stage the Armenian armed forces
must withdraw its troops from five regions (5 regions and 13 villages
in Kalbajar region).

"After withdrawal of troops, the Armenian side must restore all
communications", Mammadyarov said.

He said that after Armenian forces withdraw its troops from Lachin
and Kalbajar, all roads open at the first and the second stages. After
the return of the Azerbaijani community, there will be an opportunity
to discuss the status of Karabakh, Mammadyarov said.

"We think if Armenia withdraws its troops from the occupied lands
stage-by-stage, it will open many opportunities for the region, both in
terms of security, and from an economic point of view. As Azerbaijani
foreign minister, I think that it is the best process, he said.

As to security, it also deals with the international observers,
given that the security problem of Azerbaijani refugees after their
return is very important, the minister said. He added that after the
return of the Azerbaijani community, there will be an opportunity to
discuss the status of Karabakh.

"This is Azerbaijani land. It is incorrect for any Azerbaijani
territory to be out of the administrative control. All will take
place within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan ", Azerbaijani
foreign minister said.

"Nobody can take away the territory and escape. Whether you like it
or not, it is necessary to establish the right policy with neighbors.

Moreover, a gradual process is the best option, because we need to
remove the issue concerning the results of the war, the occupation of
Azerbaijani lands and the problem of internally displaced people from
the negotiations. The sooner this happens, the better ", minister said.

According to him, if the troops are withdrawn from the occupied lands,
it will open many opportunities in the region, both in terms of
security, and from an economic point of view, and improve the living
conditions of ordinary people.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the Security Council’s resolutions
on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied
territories.

Azerbaijani foreign minister asked about the position of Azerbaijan
on the latest discussions in the U.S. Congress on the "Armenian
genocide". He said that Baku does not approve this document, adopted
by the Congress’s committee. "If the U.S. Congress is discussing the
incident which took place a hundred years ago, it must assess the
issues occurred 20 years ago, Mammadyarov said.

ARMENIAN TRADITION UNRAVELS INTO ONLINE KNITTING REPURPOSE SERVICE
By Kathleen Kirk, Reporter

The BG News
avels-into-online-knitting-repurpose-service/
Marc h 16 2010

When Gayane Avanian asked her son Haik to create a Web site to showcase
a knitting service, neither expected the resulting ReKnit to be an
overnight success.

However, just two days after its January 4 launch, the GOOD magazine’s
blog picked up the idea for one of its posts, highlighting it as
"sustainable fashion" and starting a whirlwind of press.

Sweaters sent to ReKnit are carefully unraveled by Gayane Avanian
and reknitted into something else.

The finished product depends on the results of the votes tallied from
a poll on ReKnit’s Web site, rekn.it, and the votes will determine
the next month’s knitted item.

March’s item was a hat, with two styles to select from, but within
eighteen hours, the month’s 30-order limit had been filled.

According to Haik, the cap had been set to keep his mother from
becoming overwhelmed after January brought in 35 orders.

The idea behind ReKnit is based on Armenian tradition. Haik describes
reknitting as "culturally normal" to Armenians and often cites "an
extreme example of rekniting" with a 40-year-old ball of yarn that
was repurposed multiple times.

"My grandma first used it to knit jackets for my mom and aunt when
they were born. As they grew the jackets were combined into one
sweater for my mom," he said.

This repurposing continued several more times, until it was finally
made into a jacket for his sister Ani when she was a child.

"We still have that jacket, and it’s a great family heirloom that
has a lot of our history embedded," Haik said.

This method of maintaining family history is appreciated by some of
ReKnit’s clients.

In an interview with NPR, Gayane Avanian said a woman sent her a jacket
knitted by her grandmother with a note requesting she incorporate
the buttons that were on it. She added them to the finished scarf.

However, according to Haik, some people use ReKnit for other purposes
besides family history.

"I had a man e-mail me and ask if it would be okay to send in a
sweater with kid stains," he said. "I said sure."

The next ordering period for ReKnit starts April 1, with orders
accepted online. ReKnit charges $30 per sweater.

SLOVAKIA ‘BACKS’ AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

news.az
March 15 2010
Azerbaijan

Aliyev receives Slovakian FM On March 15 Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev received a delegation headed by Slovakian FM Miroslav Lajcak.

The head of the state said that Lajcak’s visit to Azerbaijan will open
great prospects for most spheres of cooperation between Azerbaijan
and Slovakia, according to AzerTaj.

President Ilham Aliyev also noted that there is a good potential and
mutual interests for these goals to come true.

Lajcak said Azerbaijan is one of the leading states in terms of the
region, policy, economy and energy sense. He also noted that the main
aim of the visit is the intensification of bilateral relations.

Earlier Azerbaijan`s Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov
met Slovakian counterpart Miroslav Lajcak to exchange views on the
two countries` bilateral relations.

Speaking to a post-meeting press conference, Lajcak said Slovakia
was interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in a variety of fields.

‘We, in particular, want to cooperate in energy, agriculture,
construction of power stations and environmental protection. We
discussed energy security with my Azerbaijani counterpart, and we
are well aware of the important role Azerbaijan plays in this field,’
Lajcak added.

Mammadyarov said they discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and
cooperation within the Eastern partnership program.

Slovakia`s foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak reaffirmed his country`s
support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Lajcak commented on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
as he talked to journalists in Baku. ‘Slovakia`s position on the
issue is clear.’

‘We support peaceful settlement of the conflict based on the principle
of internationally recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,’
Lajcak added.

AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
March 12 2010

Sarkozy: Armenia, Azerbaijan should reach compromise on Garabagh

12-03-2010 06:37:16
Yerevan and Baku should reach compromise for the resumption of the
`peace dynamics’ of the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh problem, French
President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
He expressed this view at talks with Armenian leader Serzh Sargsyan
held in the Elysee Palace on Wednesday, according to Russian news
agency Itar-Tass.
`Each party should exert every effort, reach compromise for the
resumption of the peace dynamics of the settlement of the conflict (in
Upper Garabagh),’ Sarkozy stressed. He noted that the `initiative
launched a year and a half ago in this sphere has weakened.’
France, along with Russia and the United States, is co-chair of the
OSCE Minsk Group created in 1992 for the settlement of the conflict.
It has been the second meeting of Sarkozy with Sargsyan after the
current president of Armenia took office in April 2008. Sargsyan paid
his first working visit to Paris in November 2008.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the
signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Upper
Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of
international law. Despite numerous rounds of OSCE-brokered
negotiations, peace talks have been fruitless so far and refugees
remain stranded. Baku says the occupied districts must be freed and
Azerbaijani refugees displaced during the armed conflict in the early
1990s returned home, and only after that could the status of Upper
Garabagh be determined within the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan.*

ANS TV, Azerbaijan
March 11 2010

Azeri minister says US vote on Armenian resolution may impact Karabakh conflict

[Presenter] So-called Armenian genocide bill passed by the Foreign
Relations Committee of the US Congress can influence the settlement of
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, [Azerbaijani] Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov has said.

[Elmar Mammadyarov speaking to reporters] If some congressmen look
into the 100-year-old historical events, then they should also
consider the 20-year-old events such as the Xocali genocide. From that
point of view, I don’t think that any actions or resolutions can bring
peace and stability to Azerbaijan and Armenia, also to the South
Caucasus.

[Correspondent] Can there be any negative influence?

[Elmar Mammadyarov] Negative influence, in general, exists because we
think that if they pass one-sided resolution in the [US] Congress
despite the fact that Armenia occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijani
lands and left about one million refugees and IDPs in the region, then
it’s the biggest blow on the security. Therefore, we think that if the
US Congress is going to discuss peace and security in the South
Caucasus they should also look into the present situation and not just
the history.

US SECRETARY OF STATE INVITES ARMENIAN PRESIDENT TO WASHINGTON

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.03.2010 20:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan had Thursday a phone conversation on the
initiative of Mrs. Clinton, who invited the RA President to Washington
to attend a Nuclear Security Summit.

Secretary Clinton voiced hope for a discussion of bilateral,
international and regional issues in the sidelines of the summit due
in the US capital in April 2010.

CENTRAL BANK: YEAR-ON-YEAR INFLATION IN ARMENIA MAY REACH 7 OR 8% IN APRIL AND MAY

ARKA
March 11, 2010

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. Year-on-year inflation in Armenia may reach
seven or even eight percent in April and May, Arthur Stepanyan, chief
of Armenian Central Bank’s monetary policy division, said on Thursday.

The central bank thinks that the planned gas price raise on April 1
will drive inflation 0.9 to 1 percentage point up – two times lower
than expected a year earlier.

Stepanyan told journalists that in April and May inflation will be
lower, compared with the present rate.

He said that the central bank tightened its monetary policy this year
to make inflation closer to the planned rate.

According to National Statistical Service of Armenia, the country
recorded 0.3% inflation in February, compared with January.

As a result, year-on-year inflation reached 9.4% in February, compared
with January, after rising 2.4 percentage points, compared with the
previous month.

Stepanyan said that nobody knows how to remedy the situation at once
and prevent price rise.

"But we think that even if targeted result is not reached later this
year, it will be reached in the first quarter of 2011," he said.

In its monetary policy program, the Central Bank of Armenia predicted
7.4% annual inflation for 2010.

AZERBAIJANI COMMANDER: INTERNAL TROOPS ARE ABLE TO LIBERATE OCCUPIED AZERBAIJANI TERRITORIES

Today
cs/63512.html
March 9 2010
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Internal Troops Commander General-Lieutenant Zakir Hasanov
stated that combat readiness of the Azerbaijani armed forces is at
a high level and it is able to liberate the occupied lands.

"The Azerbaijani soldiers are ready to fulfill all their tasks. The
soldiers are able to liberate their land from the occupation. Combat
readiness of the Azerbaijani Interior Troops is at the high-level
and they are provided with modern arms and necessary equipment. Our
security can be compared with the security of similar patterns of
the leading states," Hasanov told journalists today.

Hasanov said the Interior Troops’ officers are educated and trained
in military schools and training centers of the leading countries of
the world and apply the acquired skills in the motherland.

"Azerbaijan’s experience is also useful for other foreign countries."

"We have created the most modern educational system and this is
reflected in our operational capability," he added.

The Interior Troop’s military units have soldiers’ dormitories,
canteens and medical centers that are equipped with central heating
system that meets the most modern standards. There is a laboratory
for determining the quality of food, Hasanov said.

Based on the Interior Troops Leadership instructions, the soldiers are
served national dishes at least three times a week, the commander said.

THIS IS TURKEY!
By Henry Astrajian

rkey/
Mar 8th, 2010

Never for a moment, since its inception, has the so called "Modern,
Democratic, Secular" Turkey been any one of them. Never for a moment
since its inception has Turkey veered towards tempering its Islamic
fervor to become a secular state. Never since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
massacred tens of thousands of civilians to establish modern day
Turkey, has the Republic been for all its inhabitants; it has been
for a select few of the Central Asian Turkic origin.

Ataturk, the Free Mason that he was, never ceased to affirm the
dual identity of the republic which he established: Turkishness and
Islamism. In every speech and in every action he emphasized these
points to assert his authority and gain political advantage. He was
never a true Muslim. He drank liquor, had lavish nightlife, his palace
was full of immorality, and he did not observe the Five Tenets of
Islam, yet he used Islam to rule with iron fist. He beheaded thousands
of Kurds, not because they were Muslims, but because they were Kurds.

He did the same to the non-Muslims, just because they were not Muslims.

He introduced his brand of Islam separating it from State, but that
did not really happen. The country remained fanatic Muslim, the seat
of the Caliphate.

The country continued to believe in and practice chauvinism and
fascism yearning for the days of the Caliphate, where corrupt murderous
Sultans ruled the Islamic world, in the name of Allah and Islam.

In all this he had the support of the Army, which he had created,
and which in return had helped him conquer the land and establish
recent day Turkey.

What he had tailored for Turkey, like two sizes too big orphan’s
jacket, did not fit Turkey’s society. The Turk remained a deeply
fanatic Muslim wielding clout and oppressing the minorities, mainly
the Kurdish big minority, the Alevis, and the Christian.

To them Mohamed was the Messenger of God, while Kemal was the messenger
of the evil. This reactionary attitude of the Turks generated enmity
between them and the Army, which was the protector of Kemalism. Since
1960 the Army overthrew the country’s civilian government four times,
and now was preparing for the fifth..

Men, Prime Ministers and Presidents of the country like Celal
Bayar (Sentenced to death, later spared), Adnan Menderes (Hanged),
Bulent Ecevit, Demirel, Tansu Ciller, Mesoud Yilmaz and many others
became direct or indirect victims of such military interventions. All
Kemalists and all corrupt to the core, with skeletons in their closets,
were true to their ancestral Ottoman traditions. Tansu Ciller, Turkey’s
first and only female Prime Minister had spent five million dollars
for an undisclosed purpose, which she would not divulge even to the
Turkish Parliament. Finally she whispered in the ear of Suleyman
Demirel, the President, who assured the parliament, that she had
spent the money in lieu of the Government; she had financed the
assassination of journalists, Kurdish leaders, and the "Enemies of
the Republic". It is not clear if she did not pocket some of that
money to finance the purchase of a Holiday inn in New Hampshire,
a few miles away from where I live. Turkish media said she did.

The beat goes on and on, and on; stories of Turkish official and
unofficial behaviors and misconducts are endless.

The Islamists utilizing the ills of Kemalism and invoking the
righteousness of Islam established themselves as heirs to the
Ottoman Caliphate. Necmettin Erbakan a devout Naqshbandi Muslim Turk
established the Refah party with a clear Islamic platform. The threat
of its popularity and growth, led the Military to arrange for his
party’s dissolution. He was barred from running for office. Turkish
newspapers exposed his corruption, especially his stealing 140 kilogram
of gold which belonged to Refah party.

The high courts decision to dissolve the party did not deter the
Islamist from forming a new one under a new name Adalet ve Kalkinma
Party (AK) Justice and Development Party, and the leadership of
Erbakan’s proteges Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Abdulla Gul.

Now Turkey was and is divided three ways The Military, the Islamist,
and the Kurds, each driving its own donkey to the finishing line;
The military which was plotting to overthrow the government through
Ergenekon and through the newly cooked plot.

The Islamist Government by driving another nail in the coffin of
Kemalism by taking an unprecedented step of civilian government
arresting 50 of the retired and active duty Generals, and The Kurds
by continuing their struggle for autonomy veiled in pseudo claims of
struggle for Human Rights.

Turkey, according to Arab news media, is a fertile ground for ultra
fanatic, Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaa’ida, to establish itself; the
on-the-ground circumstances of Islamic fervor are right for Osama’s
move into Turkey. An estimated 180 of them are already on the ground.

The consequences of this are left to your imagination and
deliberations.

It is this kind of a degenerating country that the United States is
relying on to contain Iran, at a time when Turkey is in a love fest
with Iran attempting to bolster its stature, and clout in the Islamic
world.. It is this kind of a government that the United States fears
to alienate if she accepts the Turkish Genocide of Armenians.

It is with these realities at play, that the present, equally corrupt
government of Armenia was trying to make peace with Turkey. Oh,
what a farce, what a joke! Who was trying to steal from whom?

This is Turkey, a member of NATO, and an ally of the United States,
which under false pretence markets itself as a "Modern, Democratic,
Secular" state. The reality is far from the truth! Turkey is a
chauvinist, fascist, reactionary country. It has never been "Modern,
Secular, Democratic" at its founding, it is not now, and with its
ethnic makeup, religious fanaticism, Central Asian tribal culture,
feelings of uber alis, and the DNA, it will never be.

RENDAHL: CELEBRATING THE ARMENIAN WOMAN
By Kristi Rendahl

rendahl-celebrating-the-armenian-woman/
March 7, 2010

I’ve had the privilege of celebrating International Women’s Day
in Armenia on five occasions. It might well be one of my favorite
holidays, second only to International Children’s Day on June 1 (also
my birthday, for those of you who wish to note it in your calendars).

The only hard part about celebrating women in Armenia is narrowing
down the countless women to admire. But I want to take a moment to
tell you about a few women important in my life.

Gayane was my first close friend in Armenia. We ended up friends by
mere chance nearly 13 years ago, but have remained friends by choice.

Almost the same age, but separated by countless cultural norms, not
to mention language, we had to work to understand each other. She
colored outside of the lines in comparison with most village girls,
but never enough to cause a scandal. Together we raised the eyebrows of
neighbors by picnicking with a bottle of wine on a rock in the river
and having a leisurely conversation in the village square when only
men did such things. It’s hard to pinpoint when a person decides to
be utterly devoted to a friendship. My devotion to Gayane may have
begun when we hiked up to a khatchkar on the side of a mountain and
she insisted on wearing heels.

I should have seen then that her heels were indicative of a deeper
resolve to achieve the seemingly impossible. After meeting and
marrying an American man, she traveled with him to South Korea to
teach English for a year. Now keep in mind that this was the same woman
whose English skills during our friendship consisted of phrases like:
"Is your armchair comfortable?" But we lost touch for a few years,
so I didn’t hear about those experiences until they had moved to New
York City to start a new life together. Ever defying the expectations
of the world, Gayane was able to support her husband while he earned
a master’s degree, first at a miserable telemarketing job and later
at a major U.S. corporation. Today, the girl from the village can be
found commuting to work or taking their son to and from day care. At
breakneck speed. In her heels.

After living in Armenia for a few years, I met Gohar, the epitome
of sincerity and wisdom that she is. In the early 1990’s, Gohar and
her brother traveled to Greek-Cyprus to work in the tourism industry
for a few years, earning enough to buy her own flat upon returning
to Yerevan. Her apartment is cozy and comfortable, and it’s an honor
to be hosted there. She takes great pride in putting her signature on
it, painting her own door and walls, and renovating her bathroom. You
appreciate it more when you remember that she does this as a single
woman, unperturbed by the traditional expectations that some may try
to impose on her.

Another girl born and raised in a village, Gohar represents humility
and hard work and a willingness to take risks. One of the early
adopters of volunteerism in its truest form (not the mandatory
volunteerism of the Soviet era), she exemplifies service for native
and Diasporan Armenians alike in her work at the Fuller Center for
Housing in Armenia. Coming to the native homeland for the first time
can be both exciting and stressful for many diasporans. She serves as
one of those precious bridges that can help people understand where
Armenia has been, where it is now, and where it can be. I wish for
everyone to know someone like Gohar. She could teach the world that
generosity, kindness, and optimism can bring only good things.

Just when I needed a dose of inspiration while living in Armenia, I
met Rouzan and the wonderful people at the Manana Youth Center. Rouzan
and her husband had founded the organization in the early 1990’s.

While most people were focused on the basic necessities of food, they
recognized that children’s hunger for learning could not be ignored.

They welcomed me as a regular attendee of their journalism class
for 12-year-olds. At the center, then lacking even basic amenities,
I saw Rouzan challenge these kids-and me, for that matter-to think
about how to improve their homeland without money, without people
in power, without grown-ups. These kids asked tough questions about
complicated issues. And they corrected my grammar.

Time and again Rouzan and her husband have invested their own resources
for the sake of children in the community. There were times when it
wasn’t clear whether the work could go on, but Rouzan is scrappy and
her passion is contagious. Their efforts have blossomed into a center
that profoundly develops the creative potential of Armenian youth,
earning the youth dozens of international awards for their journalism,
filmmaking, photojournalism, and animation projects.

I can scarcely think of a better example of the potential for
excellence in Armenia. And I can think of no one who is a stronger
advocate for children than Rouzan (and I believe that her husband
and children would quite agree with me).

It is with these few words that I want to celebrate the women of
Armenia. There aren’t enough flowers in the world to express my
gratitude for the inspiration they have been to me. These women
represent the Armenian values of hospitality, strength, compassion,
knowledge, and creativity. They are symbolic of what is good in
Armenia, and what is good in the world. And they are what I think of
when someone asks me about Armenia.

Kristi Rendahl lived and worked in Armenia from 1997 to 2002, and
has since visited three times. She remains active in Armenian issues,
and can’t wait to return during the summer of 2010.