Author: Jagharian Tania

ELDR APPEAL TO ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES

lrahos16930.html
15:52:52 – 23/02/2010

Last week, ELDR Vice President Markus Loning (of LI Full Member FDP)
called on Armenia’s government to release the political prisoners
that remain imprisoned for protesting against what they feel were
falsified elections in 2008. In a statement he said that "it is not
acceptable that a member state of the Council of Europe and the
Eastern Partnership and a major recipient of aid from European
tax payers’ money is keeping people in prison for political
reasons." The 2008 presidential elections have been criticised by
international observers. Several organisations have expressed concerns
about the overall political situation in Armenia tilting towards
authoritarianism. However, when confronting a high-level audience in
London, which included LI Secretary General Emil Kirjas and LI Officer
Amanda Sundell, Armenian President Serg Sargsyan preferred to discuss
geopolitics and the relations between Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The Eastern Partnership region will this spring be under special LI
scrutiny, as Bureau members and the Secretariat prepare to attend an
FNF Conference on the issue in Berlin 26-28 February 2010.

THE POSSIBILITY OF WAR IS TOO LITTLE BUT WE SHOULD BE READY

Asyor
feb 22 2010
Armenia

"The possibility of war is not too big but there is danger, however,
and we should be ready for that danger", – said historian Armen
Karapetyan touching upon the possible resumption of the war in Artsakh.

As for the Armenian – Turkish relations he said that we should learn
a lesson from our history instead of saying "let’s sit and hold talks
with the Turks."

"The Turks are perfidious. The say one think but do totally different
thing", – the speaker stressed. He reminded that in 1896 in Van the
Turks gave a guarantee that the Armenians will leave to Persia safely
if they put the arms down, but they were cheated and reaching the
field of Khanasor died.

"Here is a classical example of Turks guarantee. This has been
repeated in our history for many times", – A. Karapetyan stressed
and added that we can bring many examples from the history when the
Turks have acted perfidiously not only with the Armenians but also
with the peoples whom they related.

WPS Agency, Russia
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
February 19, 2010 Friday

A NEW PEACEKEEPER IN SOUTH CAUCASUS;
Intentions of the OSCE Chair were evaluated positively but without optimism

by: Sokhbet Mamedov

WILL KAZAKHSTAN BE ABLE TO MOVE RESOLVING OF CONFLICTS IN THE
POST-SOVIET SPACE FROM THE DEAD POINT?; Chair of the OSCE and Foreign
Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev started his activities on the
European arena from a trip to the South Caucasus. Saudabayev announced
the main goal of Kazakhstan during the period of its chairmanship in
OSCE. This is achievement of progress in resolving of drawn-out
conflicts in the post-Soviet space. There are three of them in the
South Caucasus. After Baku Saudabayev will visit Tbilisi and Yerevan.

Chair of the OSCE and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev
started his activities on the European arena from a trip to the South
Caucasus. Saudabayev announced the main goal of Kazakhstan during the
period of its chairmanship in OSCE. This is achievement of progress in
resolving of drawn-out conflicts in the post-Soviet space. There are
three of them in the South Caucasus. After Baku Saudabayev will visit
Tbilisi and Yerevan.

Saudabayev was received by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Like
it had been announced, the process of resolving of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict was the main topic of negotiations of
Kanat Saudabayev in Baku.

The visit of incumbent Chair of OSCE to Azerbaijan is a meaningful
event by itself. It was not surprising that attention of not only the
public of Azerbaijan but also the key players in the region was
attracted to it. For example, on the eve of this visit Foreign
Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu announced that Kazakhstan as OSCE
Chair should take important steps for resolving of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In his interview to the Anatolian news
agency he said, "We discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh problem with
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and my colleague Kanat
Saudabayev in detail. We are ready to act in cooperation with
Kazakhstan and Turkey expects taking of important steps for solving of
this problem from Astana."

Welcoming the intention of Astana to start working on the problem of
unresolved conflicts, local experts are not convinced of its
capability to fulfill this plan. According to political analyst Fikret
Sadykhov, it is very unlikely that chairmanship of Kazakhstan in OSCE
will have a big influence on resolving of the problem of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Sadykhov says, "It is necessary to bear in mind the
fact that very strong political players that have their own interests
participate in this process. That is why it will be difficult for
Kazakhstan to do this despite its wish to direct resolving of the
conflict to its peaceful settlement.

Along with this, his colleague Rasim Agayev is convinced that now
Kazakhstan has received a change to demonstrate its intermediary
abilities to the international community and to move the process of
resolving of frozen conflicts from the dead point. Time will show if
Kazakhstan succeeds in this.

People in Yerevan and Tbilisi have a similar mood. Welcoming and
respecting the wish of Astana to bring peace to the region, people in
both capitals said that OSCE had no decisive voice in the process of
conflicts resolving.

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, February 16, 2010, p. 6

ME IS NOT ME, THE SIGNATURE IS NOT MINE OR HOW ARMENIA IS GOING TO OPEN THE BORDER WITH TURKEY
Nurani

Today
ytics/62045.html
Feb 19 2010
Azerbaijan

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan keeps on showing external
peacefulness toward "Turkey."

He stated in a rather incoherent speech at London’s Chatham House that
the Zurich protocols have been forwarded to the Armenian parliament for
ratification. Armenian media described in detail how the parliamentary
speaker will launch a commission that will review these protocols.

However, whether Sargsyan was able to secure popularity as a
"peacemaker" still remains an open question. First, Turkey forwarded
the protocols to parliament several months before they did so in
Armenia. And it is up to the independent parliament to ratify them
until Armenia withdraws from Azerbaijan’s occupied lands to include
them in the agenda or not.

Second, Armenia has consistently pointed out that it will consider
the accords only after Turkey ratifies them. So, it remains unclear
whom and of what sending the protocols in the Armenian parliament is
supposed to say. Moreover, statements in the style of "after you,
gentlemen!" are not practiced in developed countries. It can be
decided only in consultations between the president and parliamentary
speaker. Journalists and political scientists can argue that the
country will ratify the accords only after the opposite side does so.

Presidents never make such statements especially from the rostrum of
the Chatham House.

Sargsyan seemed quite funny when he assured that the ratification
of the protocols will face no problems. So, the Armenian leader has
put himself in a trap – now he must either abandon his promises to
"ensure the ratification" and expect a positive verdict from the
Turkish Grand National Assembly, or "push" the ratification in his
own parliament without waiting for Turkey to do so and again to
break his own promise not to ratify the protocols until a positive
verdict is received from Ankara. In short, in the best-case scenario,
the Armenian president will look like an unserious politician giving
conflicting and patently unrealistic promises.

But this is not the main thing. The Armenian government has approved a
law providing for Armenia’s withdrawal from international treaties. No
one doubts that this primarily applies to the Armenian-Turkish
accords. Armenia still threatens that if Turkey drags out time and
does not ratify the protocols at least next week, it will be offended
and withdraw from the process.

You can, of course, speculate about "political will for reconciliation"
and who has it more the other – the Turkish or the Armenian
president. But a fact remains: Ankara has displayed this political will
in full from the outset. But if overcoming the "historical stereotypes"
and "age-old hatred" were the key goals, this problem might actually be
addressed through football matches and protocol smiles. Today, however,
it is clear that obstacles in the negotiation process could hardly be
solved with the help of a festive concoction by Turkey’s First Lady
Hayrunisa Gul and a stadium adorned with Swarovski crystals. Armenia
may try to prove that the Zurich protocols make no single mention of
the Karabakh conflict and the withdrawal of troops from Azerbaijan’s
occupied lands as much as it can, but there is no doubt that these
protocols provide for the recognition of borders and a joint study
into controversial historical events.

Armenia turned out to be absolutely unready for this since in this
case it would have to remove the image of Agri-Dagh from its coat of
arms and reconcile with the fact that "Western Armenia" is eastern
Turkey. And those who participated in a procession to the monument
"to the victims of genocide" every year on April 24 knew that the
"genocide" will not work, and most of the documentary evidence will
turn out to be common and flagrant fakes. Knowing this, they decided
to withdraw from the negotiations loudly slamming the door.

Frankly, these are not new tactics. The Armenian president, who is
also the president of the Armenian Chess Federation, Sargsyan knows
what lies behind the expression "to turn over the board." Though he
knows this, he is unlikely to say it out loud. So, as a rule, they
act when the situation on the board has no way out.

DETENTION OF SARIBEK SUKIASYAN FAILED ATTEMPT OF PROVOCATION BY CERTAIN FORCES IN POWER

ArmInfo
2010-02-18 16:16:00

ArmInfo. Detention of Saribek Sukiasyan, Head of Armeconombank Council,
was a failed attempt of provocation by certain forces in power. As a
result, the authorities found themselves in quite silly situation, as
usually, Savid Shahnazaryan, Armenian National Congress representative,
told media on Thursday.

Nevertheless, commenting on the draft resolution on involvement of
the army into the events of March 1 in Yerevan that was put into
circulation at PACE, Shahnazaryan said that European structures have
finally resolved to view the incidents of March 1 in different way
because of change of the political atmosphere.

On February 12, special forces of the Police rushed into the office
of SIL-Concern and subjected to detention Chairman of the Board of
Armeconombank Saribek Sukiasyan and one of the Conбern employees.

Judging by the official information, the authorities forged the regular
case with respect to the Sukiasyans family. Saribek Sukiasyan is a
blood brother of a well-known businessman and oppositionist Khachatur
Sukiasyan who supported the candidacy of the first President of
Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan at the presidential election in 2008.

After March 1 events, he was put on the wanted list, then he
returned and was amnestied. According to the oppositional mass media
information, S. Sukiasyan thinks that his current prosecution is
nothing else but part of the plan of revenge against him and his
family.

Journalist Kemal GOktaS: Police knew Dink would be killed

armradio.am
17.02.2010 18:14

Kemal Goktas, a correspondent for the Vatan daily in Ankara, said in
an Istanbul court yesterday that the Istanbul Police Department knew
that Turkish-Armenian writer Hrant Dink was to be killed but did not
take any precautions, Today’z Zaman reports.

In a hearing at Istanbul’s 2nd Court of First Instance, Goktas,
who is being tried for revealing secret documents and jeopardizing
the state’s police department, said in his defense that the Trabzon
Police Department had informed the Istanbul Police Department about
the plans for Dink’s murder.

In his book, "Hrant Dink’s Murder — Media, Judiciary and State,"
Goktas had revealed how the Istanbul Police Department ignored warnings
from the Trabzon Police Department about Dink’s murder.

"Then Intelligence Chief Ramazan Akyurek and the Istanbul Police
Department filed a criminal complaint against me for publishing
the document. This document showed how Hrant Dink was going to be
murdered and [proved that] police knew it beforehand. It shows that
a group headed by Yasin Hayal was to kill Dink," Goktas said in his
own defense.

Goktas, who is facing a three-to-five-year prison sentence, also said
Akyurek did not take steps to prevent the murder.

Meanwhile, 19 police officers, including Akyurek, that were charged
with negligence in the investigation into the Dink assassination have
been cleared by a report drafted by Interior Ministry investigators.

FRANCE WILL SUPPORT ARMENIA IN EURO INTEGRATION PROCESS

Aysor
Feb 16 2010
Armenia

The office of the Secretary of RA National Security Council informs
that on February 15 Secretary of RA National Security Council continued
his meetings with the French officials.

On the meeting with the Secretary of State in European Affairs
of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of France Pierre Lelush have been
discussed issues concerning the cooperation with Armenian. The two
have come to an agreement that within the frameworks of the Armenian
– EU cooperation France will support Armenia in implementation of
some reforms. On the meeting have been discussed issues concerning
SouthCaucasian regions.

Arthur Baghdasaryan has met with the current coordinator of
intelligence for President Nicolas Sarkozy, Bernard Bajolet.

KAZAKHSTAN ‘CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC’ IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Tert.am
15:03 ~U 16.02.10

"Without a doubt, we intend to issue a new stimulus in this process.

We are unequivocally convinced that the resolution to the conflict,
first and foremost, is in the hands of the conflicting countries,"
said OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan’s Secretary of State and
Foreign Minister, Kanat Saudabayev, during his visit to Yerevan today.

In Saudabayev’s words, the other participants in the process are
helpers, parties who sincerely wish for and intend to assist in the
peaceful settlement of the conflict. According to the OSCE chair,
Kazakhstan is cautiously optimistic in the issue of resolving this
conflict.

Saudabayev also stressed the importance of withdrawing snipers from
the contact line between the armed forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict area.

The OSCE chair is on visit to the South Caucasus countries this week.

KAZAKHSTAN READY TO CONTRIBUTE TO KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS: SAUDABAYEV

news.am
Feb 15 2010
Armenia

In all respects 2010 inspires optimism for Karabakh conflict
settlement, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Kazakh Secretary of State and
Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev said at the joint press conference
with Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku.

"All the sides should take advantage of the current situation. Success
might be reached if both sides adhere to constructivism," Saudabayev
stated.

He also noted that his regional visit is aimed at studying whole
range of the issue. "There are many threats and challenges in the
world that demand adequate solution and consideration. So-called
unsettled conflicts, including Karabakh issue are urgent. Karabakh
conflict settlement is one of the main priorities of Kazakhstan’s
presidency in OSCE," he added.

"Kazakhstan is ready to work out concrete measures and significantly
contribute to the settlement of the issue. We have held constructive
talks with Elmar Mammadyarov and I intend to meet Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev as well. I will receive advice and recommendations to
be taken as a basis for our future actions," Saudabayev concluded.

GOVERNMENT APPROVES BILL ON INTERNAL AUDIT

ARKA
Feb 11, 2010

YEREVAN, February 11, /ARKA/. The government of Armenia has approved
today a bill on Internal Audit. Finance minister Tigran Davtian said
a law on internal audit was passed by the parliament in 2008, however,
some of its clauses were criticized by international experts.

‘To make our law comply with international standards we have improved
it in accordance with experts’ comments and observations,’ he said.

The minister said the main goal of the bill is to introduce the
system of internal audit and expand the list of organizations which
are subject to internal audit.

In his words, the bill specifies the concept of internal audit and
the competence of bodies, which carry it out

He said internal audit departments at the presidential administration,
parliament, Constitutional Court, government, judicial department
are subordinated to heads of these bodies. The internal audit does
not apply to Audit Chamber of Armenia and Central Bank.

"We have a bill which is 100% complies with international standards,’
Tigran Davtian said.