Author: Hakobian Adrine

300 SCHOOLS TO BE CONNECTED TO INTERNET IN ARMENIA

news.am
March 16 2010
Armenia

300 more schools will be connected to school Internet network in
Armenia till this year end, Director of National Center for Educational
Technologies Areg Grigoryan informed NEWS.am-Innovation. The centre
currently defines the necessary of technical prerequisites for
the expansion of Internet-connected network of Armenian schools,
thereafter will tender for the project implementation.

"Within next 10 days we will invite applications of organizations,
willing to expand the connection of new schools," Grigoryan said. The
selection of schools will be based on their technical conditions.

Overall, 644 schools are currently connected to the Internet,
Grigoryan noted.

NORWAY: FATE OF ARMENIANS CAN’T BE POLITICAL ISSUE TODAY

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.03.2010 15:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is no doubt that the Armenians were victims
of massive atrocities in 1915, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said
in a statement.

"The Norwegian authorities have not taken a position on whether the
atrocities can be characterized as genocide in accordance with current
criteria. Nor do we believe there are legal grounds for doing so. In
our view, this tragedy is an important topic in historical terms,
but should not be a legal or political issue today," the Ministry said.

It said the concept of genocide was defined in international treaties
to which Norway is party but emphasized that the rules contained in the
treaties "do not apply retroactively." It also announced its backing
for talks between Turkey and Armenia to normalize their relations and
called for the ratification of protocols signed by the two countries
in October to happen as soon as possible, Today’s Zaman reported.

ELMAR MAMMADYAROV: "I WILL SPEAK TO BERNARD FASSIER ON THIS ISSUE"

APA
March 15 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova – APA. Azerbaijan will investigate OSCE
Minsk Group Co-chair Bernard Fassier’s opinions at NATO seminar held
in Yerevan.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists that
he would speak to French co-chair on this issue: "I will speak to
Bernard Fassier on this issue". Note that Bernard Fassier delivered
speech at the seminar of NATO Parliamentary Assembly "Rose Roth":
"The victory of Azerbaijan in the event of renewed war is impossible,
because I personally know about the bravery of the Armenian and
Karabakh Warriors".

"The war will not bring benefits to Azerbaijan, as cause substantial
harm to its financial interests, oil trade. Co-Chair explained that
international investors investing in the economy of Azerbaijan will
not want to have their funds at risk and abandon investment", he said.

RULE OF LAW: RESIGNATION OF TRANSPORT AND EMERGENCY MINISTERS DOES NOT MEAN THE PARTY IS DISSATISFIED WITH THEIR WORK

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.03.2010 13:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Political council of "Rule of Law" has decided
to withdraw from their posts party members – Armenian minister of
transport and communications Gurgen Sargsyan and minister of emergency
situations Mher Shahgeldyan. "These politicians are necessary to
the party", Heghine Bisharyan, chairman of the NA Rule of Law group
commented on the resignation of the ministers.

In this regard, she also added that the resignation of ministers
does not mean the party is dissatisfied with their work. Heghineh
Bisharyan reported, that Gurgen Sargsyan will deal with the economic
bloc of the party, while Shahgeldyan – with political one.

, Turkey
March 14 2010

Turkey not to be silent over Armenia votes, Davutoglu says

The Turkish foreign minister said that nobody could put pressure on Turkey.

Sunday, 14 March 2010 09:46
The Turkish foreign minister said on Saturday that nobody could put
pressure on Turkey.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that if the aim of the
decision of the Swedish parliament was to put pressure on Turkey,
nobody could put pressure on Turkey.

Davutoglu’s remarks came after the Swedish parliament adopted a
resolution on the Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of
1915.

"The decision of the Swedish parliament is a shocking development,"
Davutoglu told foreign reporters in Lapland, Finland.

Davutoglu said in principle, politicians should not decide on
historical matters.

It was unacceptable for those who did not have any knowledge about
history to judge a nation regarding such an issue, Davutoglu said.

"Wherever it is, whether it is in the Swedish parliament or the U.S.
parliament, it is unacceptable", he said.

The Swedish parliament adopted on Thursday the resolution by 131 votes
against 130 votes.

"How come can only one vote decide whether a historical incident is a
‘so-called’ genocide," he asked.

Davutoglu said Turkey would not remain silent to such developments.

Turkey and Armenia were undergoing a normalization process this year,
and it was not wise to have such discussions, he said.

"If this decision is made to satisfy domestic political concerns,
Turkey and such a historical incident should not be misused," he said.

Davutoglu said Turkey would never accept such accusations, and every
one should look at his/her own history.

Turkey strongly rejects the genocide allegations and regards the
events as civil strife in wartime which claimed lives of many Turks
and Armenians.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols on October 10, 2009 to
normalize relations between the two countries. The protocols envisage
the two countries to establish diplomatic ties and open the border
that has been close since 1993. Turkey and Armenia also agreed to take
steps to operate a sub-commission on impartial scientific examination
of the historical records and archive to define existing problems and
formulate recommendations, in which Armenian, Turkish as well as Swiss
and other international experts would take part. However, on January
12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of Armenia declared a decision of
constitutional conformity on the protocols. Turkey thought the fifth
article of Armenian Constitutional Court’s verdict regarding the
protocols was against the target and basis of the protocols.

"Diplomacy"

On Iran’s nuclear program, Davutoglu said Turkey believed the issue
could be solved through diplomatic means and Turkey did not want to
see more sanctions in its regions since the Middle East had been
negatively affected by previous military tensions and sanctions.

Davutoglu said the region needed political stability and cultural co-existence.

"We are against all nuclear weapons wherever they are stationed," he said.

Davutoglu said Turkey wanted a nuclear-free Middle East, and was
against nuclear weapons in the region whether they were stationed in
Israel and Iran.

However, Turkey supported use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,
and every country had the right to use nuclear energy for such
purposes, he said.

Also, Davutoglu said Turkey wanted the European Union (EU) to be more
active in international relations.

Davutoglu said Turkish economy would not be a burden on the EU, on the
contrary, it would give a huge dynamism to the union.

AA

US Department of State: Armenian authorities continued to use
harassment and intrusive application of bureaucratic measures to
intimidate and retaliate against political opponents in 2009

2010-03-13 18:19:00

ArmInfo. On September 16-17, approximately 16 months after its
establishment, the ad hoc parliamentary commission released its
findings on the March 2008 postelection events and 10 resulting
deaths. The report stated that the commission was unable to shed more
light onto the circumstances of the deaths and urged law enforcement
authorities to do more to identify, track down, and prosecute
individuals responsible for the deaths. Relatives of the civilian
victims protested the commission’s findings and demonstrated before
the parliament for a full, objective accounting of the deaths, says
the US Department of State 2009 Human Rights Report: Armenia.

The report blamed authorities, the opposition, and the media alike for
escalating the election-related tensions that preceded the clashes.
The report criticized electronic media for biased coverage in the
period prior to the election, which added to the public’s distrust of
authorities. But the report assigned most of the blame for the violent
unrest on the opposition, accusing presidential candidate and former
president Levon Ter-Petrossian of poisoning the preelection period by
sowing "hostility and intolerance" and planting "doubts about the
legitimacy of the elections" before the campaign began. It also stated
that the postelection protests by Ter-Petrossian supporters
destabilized the country and disrupted public order. The report failed
to shed light onto the circumstances of the deaths of the 10 citizens
killed in the clashes. The opposition reacted harshly to the report’s
findings, accusing authorities of using it to cover up their
responsibility for the violence and fatalities that occurred.

The report also says that the authorities restricted the right of
citizens to freely change their government in mayoral elections in
Yerevan. During the year authorities subjected citizens, particularly
those considered by the government to be political opponents, to
arbitrary arrest, detention, and imprisonment for their political
activities; lengthy pretrial detention also continued to be a problem.
Authorities continued to use harassment and intrusive application of
bureaucratic measures to intimidate and retaliate against political
opponents. Authorities used force to disperse political demonstrations
and constrain citizens seeking to publicize them. Police beat pretrial
detainees and failed to provide due process in some cases. The
National Security Service (NSS) and police acted with impunity in
committing alleged human rights abuses. In spite of renovations and
new construction, prison conditions remained cramped and unhealthy.
Authorities denied citizens the right to a fair trial.

News outlets, especially in the broadcast media, practiced a high
degree of self-censorship, and authorities continued to restrict media
pluralism, including through a moratorium on renewal of broadcasting
licenses. There were multiple attacks against journalists, and the
government rarely identified or prosecuted perpetrators. Authorities
restricted freedom of assembly, rejecting numerous applications filed
by political opponents to hold demonstrations at requested venues, and
often prevented spontaneous assembly by citizens. Corruption remained
widespread, and authorities did not make determined efforts to combat
it, says the report.

news.az, Azerbaijan
March 13 2010

Turkey ‘to continue’ its policy on Caucasus
Sat 13 March 2010 | 08:00 GMT Text size:

‘I assess the recognition of the 1915 events as genocide in the
Swedish parliament as an illogical fact’, said Turkish MP Algan
Hajaloglu.

Deputy of the Grant National Assembly of the Republican People’s Party
and former state minister said political games against Turkey started
in the world after the issue on "Armenian genocide" was put on the
agenda: ‘The decision taken by the Swedish parliament was one of such
games’.

The deputy said that during his visit to Azerbaijan in 1992 he saw the
implications of the Khojaly tragedy with his own eyes.

‘Despite pressure, Turkey will continue its policy in the region being
aware of its responsibility in the Caucasus. Turkey respects the
rights of all peoples of the world. We consider that history must be
studied by historians rather than politicians. History cannot be
judged’.

APA

Siliconindia.com
March 13 2010

11 year old boy buys $44 Million property

By siliconindia news bureau
Friday,12 March 2010, 21:20 hrs

Dubai: An 11-year-old boy from Azerbaijan bought nine waterfront
mansions in Dubai, worth almost $44 million. The price tag is roughly
10,000 years’ worth of salary for the average citizen of Azerbaijan.
But for the preteen, who owns several expensive properties in Dubai,
this seems to be anything but average.

The boy’s name, according to Dubai Land Department records, is Heydar
Aliyev, which happens to be the same name as that of the son of
Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev. The owner’s date of birth,
listed in property records, is also the same as that of Aliyev’s son.
Aliyev’s spokesmen declined to comment on how the President’s son or
his namesake managed to came to own mansions on Palm Jumeirah, a
luxury real estate development popular with multimillionaires.

Ilham Aliyev’s annual salary as president is the equivalent of
$228,000, far short of what is needed to buy even the smallest Palm
property. Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic having many oil and gas
reserves, has long had a reputation for corruption. Apart from
recording nine properties owned by Heydar Aliyev, Dubai’s Land
Department also has files in the names of Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva.
President Aliyev has two daughters with the same names and roughly the
same ages.

r_old_boy_buys_44_Million_property_-nid-66157.html

LENNMARKER: ARMENIA HAS POLITICAL WILL FOR SETTLING KARABAKH CONFLICT

Yerkir
11.03.2010 13:26

Yerevan (Yerkir) – Armenia has political will for settling the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, Goran Lennmarker, the Special Representative of
the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly for Nagorno Karabakh and Georgian
conflicts, said in his address to the 73rd Rose Roth workshop of the
NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Armenia.

He said he hoped Azerbaijan would do the same. He said that the Minsk
Group is the only play-ground for the conflict settlement and "any
attempt to transfer the problem to the UN or the Council of Europe
play-grounds can prolong the solution".

Lennmarker said the solution should be determined in such manner that
all sides could accept it. "I think the conflict solution should
provide security of Armenia and Armenian people. Azerbaijan should
understand that. But Armenia also must understand the position of
Azerbaijan, which consider itself as a victim and defeated side of
the conflict",

"The most important issue is to solve the Karabakh conflict. There
can be a question only about the soonest solution".

NAP: DELAYS IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT CREATE DANGEROUS SITUATION

Trend
March 12 2010
Azerbaijan

Delays in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict create a dangerous situation
and there is a risk that it could lead to great wars, Deputy Executive
Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP), MP Mubariz Gurbanli
, believes.

"All this has forced OSCE to act. Visit of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly President and the OSCE Special Representative for the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem to the region is a result of this intensive
diplomacy," he told to the NAP’s official web site.

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 U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.

There is an increasing intensity in the negotiation process on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "It is not accidental. These all base on
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s policy that has a flexible and
aggressive character. Of course, OSCE, which is required to comply
with mediation in the settlement of the conflict, observed Aliyev’s
recent statement on changing the status quo," he added.

The Azerbaijani representatives support the relevance of this issue
at all OSCE activities. "These visits are important in terms of a
detailed study of the situation in the region in connection with the
conflict by OSCE official," he said.

Recalling the statement of special representative Goran Lennmarker that
"the Karabakh issue should be resolved soon, otherwise this conflict
can lead to large-scale war in the region, Gurbanli said that it is
in the nature of prevention."Breach of peace in the region and the
beginning of the war opposes the OSCE basic principles and in general,
does not correspond to the steps taken towards establishing peace and
security worldwide. The international community should take serious
steps to stop the aggressive policy of Armenia," he noted.

NAP was established by the chairman of the Supreme Majlis of Nakhchivan
Heydar Aliyev in 1992. The current President Ilham Aliyev is the
chairman of the Party which has been ruling for already 17 years.