Author: Harutyunian Christine

GOVERNMENT CONSISTENT IN ESTABLISHMENT OF LEGITIMACY: RA PREMIER

news.am
feb 24 2010
Armenia

Unfortunately there are still businesses reluctant to work legally in
Armenia, however RA Government will be consistent on the matter, RA
Premier Tigran Sargsyan said in the Parliament on Feb. 24, commenting
on situation over gold’s market in Armenia.

"If the business works with breaches, we will register them it and
take the appropriate measures," Sargsyan underlined.

The employees of Armenian gold markets have been protesting near
the Government building within recent days, opposing installation of
cash registers.

2009’S NUMBER OF RECORDED CRIMES INCREASE BY 54,6%

Aysor
Feb 24 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s General Prosecutors has held a collegiate session to
summarize the activities for 2009. Among the participants are
Armenia’s Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian, Deputy Prosecutor
General Mnatsakan Sargsyan, Chief of Police Alik Sargsyan, Secretary of
the National Security Council Artur Bagdasarian, and other officials.

Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian said in his welcoming speech
that he is expecting to hear reports on failures and omissions for
the last year, Aysor’s correspondent reported.

Deputy Prosecutor General of Armenia Mnatsakan Sargsyan said that
2009’s number of recorded crimes increased by 54,6% in comparison
with 2008, reaching 14 339 (while 2008’s number of crimes was 9 271).

Mnatsakan Sargsyan also pointed that number of solved crimes also
increased.

WILL SERJ TANKIAN RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENTALISTS’ APPEAL?

/serj-tankian
02:07 pm | February 22, 2010

Social

Recently an Armenian environmental group addressed a letter to System
of a Down lead vocalist Serj Tankian asking him to look into the
events of Teghut Forest and to author a new song that would expose
environmental problems in Armenia.

In the letter the environmentalists noted that the country’s nature
is jeopardized.

The environmentalists think that the song will become the hymn of
their movement and will encourage others to join their efforts.

The activists think this way they can stop the continuing logging of
trees in the area around what is now being developed as a copper mine.

George Tonikian, representative of Serj Tankian, has sent a return
letter which reads,

You recently had reached out to Serj regarding having him look into
the goings on with the Teghut Forest and supply a statement. He has
done so and you can find it below. I am going to see if we have
a song that we can allow your cause to stream on the website for
non-commercial purposes. I will get back to you later about that,
but in the meanwhile, Serj’s statement is below.

"The destruction of wildlife and environmental havens can no longer
be excused for the sake of progress or the attainment of natural
resources. Civilization walks a tight rope between survival of self
and destruction of all.

Based on our historical past and our current geopolitical reality,
self reliance for food, water, and energy is extremely important. The
destruction of wildlife and the resulting addition to carbons in
the air have created the conditions for global warming that severely
limit our self reliance. Mining is against our combined interest as
a people and nation."

TURKEY IS THE MOST FREQUENTLY CONDEMNED COUNTRY IN THE HISTORY OF THE ECHR

Agos Weekly
Feb 21 2010
Istanbul

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) declared that from its
foundation until the end of 2009, Turkey came first in violation
judgements. Accordingly, 20 percent of all violation judgments
were entered for Turkey among the 47 signatory states. Namely, 2,295
judgments were entered for Turkey. For the same period, 2,021 judgments
were entered for Italy and 862 judgments were entered for Russia.

In 2009, Turkey was again the worst human rights violator, with
356 cases out of a total of 1,625. Russia followed Turkey with 210
judgments against it and then came Romania and Ukraine, with 168 and
126 judgments respectively.

In terms of "right to life," 217 judgments were entered by the ECHR
since 1959, in which the states were directly or indirectly responsible
for a death. Russia led in this category with 115 judgments, while
Turkey came second with 76. Among the remaining 45 states, seven of
the state-related death cases concern Bulgaria and 19 cases concern
other countries.

POLICE ATTACKED MARCH

6903.html
11:42:37 – 20/02/2010

Yesterday February 19 the police hindered the march held by the young
activists of the Armenian National Congress, causing a scuffle.
Vladimir Karapetyan, head of public relations of the Armenian National
Congress, told Lragir.am as the march reached the building of the
Central Electoral Commission, the leader of the Conservative Party
Michael Hairapetyan appealed to the participants to finish the march.
Around the corner of the CEC, on Koryun Street, the red berets
attacked the participants of the march. As a result, six activists,
including the son of the editor of the Haykakan Zhamanak Haik
Gevorgyan, were taken to the police station, and Sargis Ghazaryan was
taken to hospital.

Following this incident, the Armenian National Congress made a
statement condemning the unlawful action of the police, which
assaulted the activists instead of guaranteeing their security.

`Nevertheless, the march of protest, overcoming obstacles and
continuous violence, successfully got to the finish of their march.
Waiting at the finish of the march, the police detained six, Tigran
Arakelyan, Sargis Gevorgyan, Sergey Gasparyan, Varag Nahapetyan,
Vahagn Gevorgyan and Areg Gevorgyan.

Under the heavy burden of foreign political failures, alarmed by the
rising wave of social rebel, the regime is losing self-control and
takes inadequate steps which indicate agony. It tries to create an
atmosphere of intimidation through abject actions to possibly reduce
the number of participants of the national rally to be held on March
1. However, experience shows that it produces the opposite effect.’

Today, Azerbaijan
Feb 20 2010

Igor Chubays: President Ilham Aliyev is a very effective politician

20 February 2010 [15:23] – Today.Az

"President Ilham Aliyev is a very effective politician and Azerbaijan
is a country sustaining positive dynamic changes’, Igor Chubays,
Doctor of Philosophical studies, Head of the Russian studies under
Peoples` Friendship University of Russia,said.

`I often talk to different people, including Azerbaijanis, who have
left the country owing to social motives and now are going to come
back. All of them admit that Azerbaijan is going through considerable
changes’, Chubays said.

Touching upon the current status of the Russian-Azerbaijani relations,
Chubays stated `it is a rare case when relations are mutually
beneficial, stable, steady and, notably, predictable.’

Igor Chubays said that warm relations between the leaders of two
countries positively contribute to the Russian-Azerbaijani
relationships.

Commenting on the role of Russia in settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Chubays said that `the
problem could be solved much more quickly if the Kremlin was more
active’.

/AzerTac/

URL:

ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL LIKELY TO PASS US HOUSE PANEL VOTE

Hurriyet
php?n=armenian-8216genocide8217-bill-likely-to-pas s-in-us-house-panel-vote-2010-02-19
Feb 19 2010
Turkey

A resolution calling for U.S. recognition of World War I-era killings
of Armenians as "genocide" will likely be endorsed in an early March
vote in a U.S. congressional committee, according to analysis of
domestic politics.

Howard Berman, the Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives’
Foreign Affairs Committee, announced early this month that the panel
will vote on the resolution March 4. If the bill passes the committee,
it will go to a final vote on the House floor.

The non-binding resolution would call on President Barack Obama to
ensure that U.S. policy formally refers to the Armenian killings as
"genocide" and to use that term when he delivers his annual message
on the issue in April – something Obama avoided doing last year.

Turkey has been warning that any formal U.S. genocide recognition,
either in Congress or by the administration, would lead to a major
and lasting deterioration in U.S.-Turkish relations.

Similar resolutions passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee in
2000, 2005 and 2007, but never reached a floor vote because of strong
pressure in Turkey’s favor applied by the administrations of former
presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

But this time, the situation may be more dangerous for Turkey,
according an analysis of the lawmakers involved, which shows that
the committee’s present composition is not in Ankara’s favor.

Out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s current 46 members,
23 lawmakers, mostly Democrats, voted for a similar "genocide"
recognition bill in 2007. Fifteen others, mostly Republicans, voted
against it, two declined to vote and six are new members who will
be voting on this matter for the first time. Out of these six new
members, two are cosponsors of the new genocide resolution and will
certainly vote for its endorsement.

Compared to the situation in 2007, when the measure passed with a
26-21 vote, this time 25 lawmakers seem to be inclined to vote for
the resolution and 15 others seem to be inclined to vote against
it. The situation with the remaining six remains unclear.

Political fight

In addition, many Republicans voted against the genocide resolution in
2007 under the influence of the Republican Bush administration. This
time, amid the political fight between the Democratic Obama
administration and the Republicans, some Republicans on the committee
might be tempted to vote for the "genocide" measure just to put Obama
in a difficult position in terms of ties with critical ally Turkey.

Second, Clinton and Bush played the U.S. national security card to
thwart the "genocide" bills of their times, and Obama has thus far
not resorted to this measure at all.

"Instead of following his predecessors Clinton and Bush in using
the national-security argument against the ‘genocide’ recognition,
President Obama last year tied his non-use of the word to a
normalization process between Turkey and Armenia," said Bulent
Alirıza, the director of the Turkey Project at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, D.C..

"As that process is now stalled, Obama is in a difficult position,
which the Armenian diaspora and the Armenian government now seem to
be eager to exploit," Alirıza added.

The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed in October a
set of agreements under which Ankara and Yerevan would set up
normal diplomatic relations and reopen their land border. But the
normalization process is now faltering. The Turkey-Armenia accord
needs to be ratified by the parliaments of the two neighbors before
implementation, but there is no indication of when either nation
would bring the deal to its parliament.

The problem that lies at the root of the issue is the unresolved
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Turkey’s
close friend and ally. Turkey first wants to see progress toward a
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict before opening its border
with Armenia. And the Armenians are hinting no sign of this.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly Armenian-populated enclave inside
Azerbaijan, and parts of Azerbaijan proper have been under Armenian
occupation since a war in the early 1990s. As a result of this war,
Turkey has refused to set up normal diplomatic relations with Yerevan
and has been keeping the land border with Armenia closed since 1993.

‘Murtha factor’

U.S. diplomats are urging the Turkish government to implement the
reconciliation process without any preconditions, saying that in
the absence of this action, "genocide" bills in Congress may be
unstoppable.

This time around, Turkey also lacks the "Murtha factor." In October
2007, when the last "genocide" bill came close to a House floor vote,
Democratic Rep. John Murtha, seen as a very influential spokesman
for the U.S. military and national security community, condemned
the resolution effort. His Oct. 17, 2007, speech was a game changer,
prompting many Democratic lawmakers to withdraw their support from
the bill. Eventually Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a staunch
backer of the bill, had to shelve a floor vote indefinitely.

But Murtha died in early February at the age of 77, so there is no
"Murtha factor" in Turkey’s favor now.

Finally, there is a general perception in Washington that amid
Turkey’s worsening relationship with Israel, Ankara is moving closer
to Iran. "This perception won’t help Turkey in congressional matters,
most notably on this resolution," said another Washington-based
analyst who declined to be named.

If the resolution passes the Foreign Affairs Committee on March 4,
its backers will seek a House floor vote shortly before April 24,
commemorated in the United States as a Remembrance Day for the Armenian
killings of the last century. Some analysts suggest that in this case
the Obama administration may once again revert to the national-security
card. But whether such a move will succeed remains to be seen.

OSCE CIO’S REGIONAL VISIT IS A USUAL PRACTICE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.02.2010 15:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The visit of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev to the South Caucasus
is a normal practice.

"Each OSCE presidency states about its priorities, Kazakhstan named the
Karabakh settlement as one of its priorities, though the conflict is
resolved within the framework of OSCE Minsk Group," Stepan Grigoryan,
head of Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

According to Grigoryan, the visit of the OSCE CiO to the region to
get familiar with positions of conflicting parties is quite normal and
has also a historical context. "Initially, Kazakhstan was interested
in the Karabakh settlement", the expert said.

As Grigoryan mentioned, it is very good that Kazakhstan’s Foreign
Minister met not only with the leadership of the country, but with
representatives of all parliamentary political forces.

The armed conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke
out in 1998, as result of the ethnic cleansing the latter launched
in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought
from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994
(when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most
of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions is
now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are
holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.

The OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organization,
bringing comprehensive and co-operative security to a region that
stretches from Vancouver to Vladivostok. It offers a forum for
political negotiations and decision-making in the fields of early
warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict
rehabilitation, and puts the political will of the participating
States into practice through its unique network of field missions.

Armenia has been the OSCE member state since January 30, 1992.

Kazakhstan assumed chairmanship in the Organization on January 1, 2010.

GYUMRI DAIRY: A WHO’S WHO OF ALEKSANDROV STREET
Yeranuhi Soghoyan

2010/02/15 | 16:02

Over the Years Locals Have Taken Pride in Their Town

At the beginning of the 20th century, Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest
city, was renamed Alexandropol from 1840-1924 in honor of Czar Nicholas
I’s wife. Back then, the main thoroughfare and center of attraction
was Aleksandrov Street, since renamed Abovyan. It stretches from the
neighborhood of Slabodka to Dzori Tagh.

It was an honor and symbol of wealth for residents of Alexandropol to
boast owning a house on the famed street. Well-to-do citizens always
aspired to build their homes on the thoroughfare. Ghunkients Ghunki
Agha, a wealthy resident of the town, built one of his many homes
on the street in 1878. Later on, the building housed the municipal
prosecutor’s offices. During the 1988 earthquake, part of the building
collapsed.

The Drampyans – 1,000 rubles to clean the "Dirty Chai"

Levon Drampyan, a scion of another prominent Alexandropol family,
owned two homes on the street. One was built in 1873 and housed the
People’s Court from 1920 onwards. It had twenty-two rooms, including
cellars, and its collateral value was pegged at 325,000 rubles.

Drampyan owned another house at 206 Abovyan Street with twenty-five
rooms. It was appraised at 52,000 rubles. The building was first
allocated to "AmerKom". It later housed Public School 4 and afterwards,
a music school.

In 1898, the Drampyan brothers contributed 1,000 rubles to clean
the "Dirty Chai", a river flowing through the town. They also made
charitable donations to have the wooden dome and roof of St.

Astvatzatzin-Yot Verk Church (Holy Mother of God-Seven Wounds)
converted to stone. One of the church council members at the time,
amazed by such largesse, exclaimed, ‘May your hearth and home ever
be blessed since you painfully conferred such a large donation’. (The
Armenian verb is "drmpal", hence the family name Drampyan)

There’s a famous legend connected to the Drampyan family. When the
Sourb Amenaprkich Church (Holy Savior) was being built, the local
clergy raised donations throughout the town for the worthy endeavor.

The common folk had the impression that the wealthy members of the
community were stingy and wouldn’t donate. However, when one of the
priests approached the senior member of the Drampyan clan for funds,
to the amazement of all, asked how much had already been raised. He
then directed his wife to bring forth an equal amount. The woman came
back with her apron full of money. When they told Drampyan that they
had heard that the old man had hoarded money throughout his life,
he replied ‘Yes, I have saved up in order to assist such endeavors’.

The first circus before the revolution was located on Aleksandrov
Street. After the establishment of the Soviet Union, the first cinema,
named "October", was built there in 1926.

Hakob Rafayelyan – His Hotel Franysa later becomes city maternity ward

The first maternity ward and drugstore in the town were also opened
on Abovyan Street. Built in 1873, the two-story building later housing
the maternity ward belonged to Hakob Rafayelyan, a wealthy merchant.

During his lifetime, it operated as the "Fransya" hotel.

The building that housed the drugstore was built in 1870 by another
prominent merchant, Khachatour Khalatov. It remains a drugstore
till today

Private homes on Aleksandrov Street were also built by Doctor
Mkhitaryan, the Charkhchyan brothers, Geghamovents and Ara Abadjyan.

The famous composers Nikoghayos Tigranyan and Armen Tigranyan also
lived on Aleksandrov Street.

When Rafayelyan built his magnificent house, the father of Nikoghayos
Tigranyan casually asked what he was up to. "I am decorating the facade
of the house," answered Rafayelyan. "You go ahead and decorate your
house and I’ll do the same to my boy’s heads. We’ll see who’s right,"
countered Tigranyan. In time, the two were proved correct.

Both the magnificent home of the Rafayelyans and the art of the
Tigranyans have been preserved for future generations to enjoy.

St. Amenaprkich and St. Nshan Churches Adorn Abovyan Street Two
prominent churches in Alexandropol are located on Abovyan Street;
St. Amenaprkich and St. Nishan. St. Nishan also called the "Sev Zham"
(Black Church) was built in 1870 under the direction of Vardapet
Ananikyan. It was repaired after being damaged in the 1988 earthquake
and now serves the spiritual needs of the community. At one point,
the Sahakanoush School for Young Ladies operated next to the church.

Work on St. Amenaprkich began in 1852 and lasted till 1873. Local
residents of Gyumri also had a hand in the construction. Construction
funds were raised by the people. It was a man named Manouk, a local
carpenter, who carved and placed the cross atop the church’s dome. In
praise of his contribution, the townsfolk nicknamed him "Ardar Manouk"
(Righteous Manouk). Tadevos Andikyan was responsible for most of the
ornamental work in the church.

An all male parish school also operated next to the church from the
1840’s on. During the Soviet era, the school was used as a symphony
space.

St. Amenaprkich was heavily damaged as a result of the 1988 earthquake
and is now undergoing repairs. The initial funds for the repair work
were donated by the residents of Gyumri, just as they did back when
the church was first built.

Bath houses, arts and crafts and a candy factory

Other notable educational institutions located on Abovyan Street were
the "gymnasium" (academic secondary school) located in the building
housing the gallery of the Aslamazyan sisters and the Abadjyan private
school. Famed pedagogue Ara Abadjyan, the author of many textbooks,
devoted his life to educational affairs and converted his house into
a school.

There were also a number of public bath houses built in the center
of town. The bath house located on Abovyan Street was previously
called the "Central" and was owned by Ter-Martirosyan. The street
also featured the bath house belonging to Gevor Agha.

The street also housed numerous crafts and trades stalls and commercial
houses. Notable examples were the store owned by "Kyastanents" Martin,
the store of "Djermak" Hamo and the "Kantiterski" of the Yeranosov
family. The delectable scents emanating from this candy factory filled
the entire street.

There was a horse drawn carriage stop here as well. The "Godorsky
Club" operated in the building housing the wedding hall and military
and classical music concerts were held there as well as dance
receptions. It was also used as testimonial hall and sessions of the
Duma took place there.

Aleksandrov Street was also noteworthy as a favorite promenade for
locals and young sweethearts. A familiar expression amongst residents
was "Ertank var" (Let’s go down); meaning down to

ANY MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN WILL HAVE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR ENTIRE WORLD

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.02.2010 21:12 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A military strike on Iran would be a big mistake;
the problems linked to Iran’s nuclear program must be resolved only
by diplomatic means, Vladimir Nazarov, deputy secretary of Russia’s
Security Council, told Interfax news agency in an interview.

"Any military action against Iran will explode the situation, will
have extremely negative consequences for the entire world, including
for Russia, which is a neighbor of Iran," he said.

The nuclear program of Iran was launched in the 1950s with the help
of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program. The
support, encouragement and participation of the United States and
Western European governments in Iran’s nuclear program continued
until the 1979 Iranian Revolution that toppled the Shah of Iran.

After the 1979 revolution, the Iranian government temporarily
disbanded elements of the program, and then revived it with less
Western assistance than during the pre-revolution era. Iran’s nuclear
program has included several research sites, a uranium mine, a nuclear
reactor, and uranium processing facilities that include three known
uranium enrichment plants.

Iran’s first nuclear power plant, Bushehr I, was expected to be
operational in 2009. There are no current plans to complete the
Bushehr II reactor, although the construction of 19 nuclear power
plants is envisaged. Iran has announced that it is working on a new
360 MWe nuclear power plant to be located in Darkhovin. Iran has also
indicated that it will seek more medium-sized nuclear power plants
and uranium mines for the future.