Author: Jalatian Sonya

Today, Azerbaijan
March 5 2010

Turkish FM calls on U.S., West to say whether they really want
Armenia-Azerbaijan reconciliation- UPDATE

05 March 2010 [16:21] – Today.Az

In his televised speech on March 5, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu urged the United States and West to resolve the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Stability in the South Caucasus can become real only after Armenia
withdraws from Azerbaijan’s occupied lands and Armenia-Turkey and
Armenia-Azerbaijan reconciliation are ensured, CNN-Turk quoted
Davutoglu as saying.

Unilateral reconciliation is impossible, Davutoglu said.

It is difficult to reach a full peace through reconciliation only
between individual countries in the South Caucasus region, the Foreign
Minister explained. In his view, a full peace is possible if only all
existing conflicts are solved.

Davutoglu stressed that not only the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation,
but also the Armenian-Azerbaijani reconciliation must be focus of
attention adding that the United States and West are interested only
in normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

"If we want peace, then why we talk only about the Armenian-Turkish
reconciliation? Why do not we put forward the Armenian-Azerbaijani
reconciliation? Why can not we believe that this can be realized? Why
Turkey is mistaken when it talks about the Armenian-Azerbaijani
reconciliation? Our American and Western friends need to think about
it.’

`The question is clear and open. And our response is clear and open,
too. Does someone want the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation? Yes,
Turkey wants. And now we ask the question: "Do you want the
Armenian-Azerbaijani reconciliation or not?" Let them come out and
say: "We do not want.’ And we’ll know about it. But if they want, let
them do all that it is required,’ the Turkish FM underscored.

Peace depends on a political will. The path is difficult, but this is
not an impossible goal, Davutoglu added.

———–
13:15

Turkey calls on Armenia to open all archives and not to exert pressure
through the U.S. Congress, and negotiate face to face, Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

"The adoption of the resolution on" Armenian genocide" is comical, as
the difference of one vote seems very strange," he added.

U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday adopted 23 votes
to 22 a resolution recognizing the so-called "Armenian genocide".

Armenia claims that the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against
Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Making greater efforts to
promote the issue internationally, Armenians have achieved its
recognition by parliaments of some countries.

Signing the protocols with Armenia, Turkey sought to bequeath to
future generations of peace and stability among nations, but the
adoption of this resolution by the U.S Congress’s Committee shows that
Yerevan does not act openly in this matter, he added.

The minister considers erroneous the view that the adoption of the
resolution could put pressure on Ankara to ratify the Armenian-Turkish
protocols.

"The fact is that Turkey has taken decision on in this issue for ten
days while Armenia has done for four months," he said.

The intervention of a third party, in this case the U.S., in relations
between Armenia and Turkey, complicates the process of reconciliation
between the countries, he said.

The adoption of a resolution recognizing the "Armenian genocide"
indicates that the U.S Congress is very weak in developing a future
political strategy, the Turkish minister said.

/Trend News, Day.Az/

URL:

CONGRESS PRESSES AHEAD WITH MEASURE ON ARMENIA ‘GENOCIDE’

Focus News
March 4 2010
Bulgaria

Washington. The White House said Thursday that it had urged a key
congressional committee not to press ahead with a vote that would
brand as a "genocide" World War I era massacres of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks, AFP reported.

The vote was to go on as scheduled Thursday at a hearing already
underway in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and if approved is
to be sent to the full House.

The spokesman for the White House National Security Council, Mike
Hammer, said in a statement that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
had urged the committee to cancel the vote.

"Secretary Clinton called Chairman (Howard) Berman yesterday and in
that conversation the secretary indicated that further congressional
action could impede progress on normalization of relations," Hammer
said in a statement.

The resolution, which is non-binding, calls on President Barack Obama
to ensure that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the
"genocide" and to label the mass killings as such in his annual
statement on the issue.

TROIKA DIALOG: ARMENIA HAS GOOD DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS BUT IT MUST BE ABLE TO OVERCOME OWN WEAKNESSES AND HARD EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES

ArmInfo
05.03.2010

ArmInfo. The industry of Armenia is undergoing transformation and
modernization in conformity with new realities, Chairman of the
Board of Directors of Troika Dialog Ruben Vardanyan said during a
press-conference today.

This process is not over and there is room for improvement. Vardanyan
hopes that Armenia has overcome the hardest times: decline of key
economy sectors.

As regards IT and tourism development, Vardanyan pointed out the
importance of attracting people ready to spend their money not
only on rest. "You should find correct models. For example, medical
tourism can foster Armenia’s development. Current projects can be
quite attractive for investors. Armenia has good prospects for normal
development, simply, it must be able to overcome its own weaknesses
and hard external circumstances," Vardanyan said. He pointed out that
the possible opening of the Armenian-Turkish border may bring about
serious economic changes.

AZERBAIJANI SENIOR OFFICIAL: KARABAKH ARMENIANS ARE HOSTAGE OF ARMENIAN LEADERSHIP AND FIELD COMMANDERS

Today
s/63005.html
March 3 2010
Azerbaijan

Interview with Chief of the Political Analysis and Information
Department head at the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Elnur
Aslanov.

The first stage of the Justice for Khojaly campaign is over. Is
it possible to sue criminals involved in the genocide against the
Azerbaijani people in the international court in future?

The Khojaly tragedy is a crime for which its perpetrators should be
definitely made criminally responsible. Killing of innocent civilians,
cruel acts against them do not fit the logic of military actions.

Therefore, I think that it is necessary to use all possible legal
and political means to bring the perpetrators of this tragedy to the
International Court of Justice. None of the criminals who committed
these crimes against civilians in Khojaly cannot and should not
be forgiven.

Recently, Yerevan, concerned about Azerbaijan’s statements on the
possibility of military resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
tried to submit a resolution to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
requesting peaceful resolution of the conflict. What are the chances
of adopting such resolution?

It shouldn’t be forgotten that Azerbaijan is an active supporter of the
peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. We have not
occupied by using force, but our lands are occupied. However, Armenia
is aware that each process has its own limit point. We have witnessed
a violation of fundamental principles of international law; territorial
integrity of the state and borders. The rights of over a million people
have been grossly violated. Socio-economic development of the region
has suffered from enormous damage. And all this is a consequence of
Armenian policy, which seeks to realize its own illusory ideas.

Today, Armenia is concerned about the strengthening of
military-political and economic potential of Azerbaijan. At the same
time, the people who live on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh do
not want to be an object of an irrational policy of Armenia.

Armenians of Karabakh seek peace in their own country and want to
be part of the socio-economic development, to take advantage of all
preferences of effective development. But what does Yerevan give them
except tales on "independence?" Nothing. The Armenians of Karabakh are
hostages of Armenian leadership and field commanders in the Karabakh,
as conflict creates conditions for a comfortable existence and
enrichment through the illegal arms and drug trafficking for Armenia.

Azerbaijan also offers to be part of the process of economic
development and infrastructural reforms. While Yerevan is thinking
about saving the image in their own society, thousands of people who
do not want to be out of the realities of human development suffer
in Karabakh. For what they have to endure the hardships of war? For
the ambitious plans of the Armenian government? Yerevan understands
the hopelessness of its own position. Therefore, it tries every way
to secure itself against the foreign policy, and of course domestic
political fiasco.

Any conflict should be resolved peacefully. But it is difficult to
talk about peace when you neighbor is irrational, and for the sake
of its own mercenary interests doesn’t want to accept reality.

On the eve of parliamentary elections, how do you assess the internal
political situation in Azerbaijan? What are the chances of the current
government and opposition in the upcoming elections?

In general, the internal political situation in the country fully
meets the spirit of democratic development. There are parties,
which compete with each other, discuss the possibilities of upcoming
political battles, alliances and blocs. When the electoral process is
close, the situation becomes usually tight. All this is natural, and
even the already familiar. Each election is a movement forward in the
field of democratization. So these elections will not be an exception.

I am sure that democratic and transparent political competition and
elections arising from the desire of voters to vote for the most
worthy candidate wait for all of us.

RAMKAVAR PARTY: THE U.S. CONGRESS UNLIKELY TO ADOPT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.03.2010 18:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ " U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign
Affairs can give a positive opinion over the on the Armenian Genocide
resolution, but I do not think that the U.S. Congress will adopt
it," Harutyun Arakelyan, charman of the Board of Ramkavar Armenian
Democratic Liberal party told a press conference in Yerevan.

According to Harutyunyan, the U.S. is unlikely to go against the huge
investment in the Turkish economy. " At the moment the U.S. uses the
issue of genocide to leverage pressure on Turkey, and nothing depends
on Armenia, " he said.

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic
destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during
and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and
deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to
lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths
reaching 1.5 million.

The date of the onset of the genocide is conventionally held to be
April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities arrested some 250
Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople.

Thereafter, the Ottoman military uprooted Armenians from their homes
and forced them to march for hundreds of miles, depriving them of
food and water, to the desert of what is now Syria.

To date, twenty countries and 44 U.S. states have officially recognized
the events of the period as genocide, and most genocide scholars
and historians accept this view. The Armenian Genocide has been also
recognized by influential media including The New York Times, BBC,
The Washington Post and The Associated Press.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the
Genocide survivors.

TER-PETROSIAN STICKS TO CAUTION ON YEREVAN UNREST ANNIVERSARY
Emil Danielyan

/1971707.html
01.03.2010

Opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian reverted to harsh criticism of
Armenia’s leadership but stood by his cautious strategy of trying to
topple it on Tuesday as thousands of his supporters marked the second
anniversary of the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.

Speaking at the first major rally held by his Armenian National
Congress (HAK) in over five months, Ter-Petrosian assured them that
the administration of President Serzh Sarkisian will sooner or later
resign and call fresh national elections. Frequent anti-government
demonstrations would be counterproductive in this situation, he said.

"However safe the kleptocracy feels and however self-confident it
pretends to be, it will crumble in one day under the burden of a
growing wave of popular upheaval and issues it is inherently unable to
address," he said in a 50-minute speech. "And its leader [Sarkisian]
will be ripped apart by predators from his own entourage."

"Our duty is to be prepared for that day in order minimize the
country’s losses and prevent the state from becoming unmanageable,"
Ter-Petrosian told the crowd before it marched through the city center
to the scene of the vicious clashes between opposition protesters
and security forces that broke out on March 1, 2008.

Ten people died and more than 200 others were injured in the
violence sparked by the February 2008 presidential election in
which Ter-Petrosian was the main opposition candidate. The Armenian
authorities say it was the result of an opposition coup attempt. The
HAK vehemently denies that, saying that the authorities deliberately
used deadly force to crush non-stop demonstrations staged by
Ter-Petrosian in the wake of the disputed ballot.

In his speech, Ter-Petrosian said his opposition alliance has succeeded
in disproving the official theory of the unrest in the eyes of the
domestic public and the international community. He said Sarkisian
and his predecessor Robert Kocharian themselves staged a coup d’etat
after the "rigged" election.

The rally was keenly anticipated by HAK supporters, including those
dissatisfied with Ter-Petrosian’s obvious reluctance to make another
push for power. The former Armenian president indefinitely suspended
regular anti-government protests in September, saying that the HAK
can not topple Sarkisian without the backing of other major political
groups.

In a landmark November speech, Ter-Petrosian expressed his readiness
to recognize Sarkisian’s legitimacy if the latter embarks on sweeping
political reforms and frees all remaining "political prisoners." He
also lambasted nationalist critics of Sarkisian’s conciliatory policy
on Turkey. The Armenian president never responded to the unprecedented
overtures from his most influential political foe.

Ter-Petrosian on Monday renewed his scathing verbal attacks on
the Sarkisian administration, decrying its "criminal essence" and
alleged inability to "solve any problem facing the country." The
authorities, he charged, have "never realized the need to establish an
honest dialogue and national solidarity for confronting the existing
challenges." He also denounced the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement as
a "humiliating process" and blamed Sarkisian for "the prospect of a
disgraceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

The HAK leader went on to defend his cautious strategy against
criticism from more radical opposition elements, saying that holding
rallies too often only "lessens their impact." "Nonetheless, many
stubbornly do not accept this explanation and ignore or find secondary
the daily, arduous and enormous work that the Congress has been doing
since its formation," he complained.

Ter-Petrosian insisted that the HAK has done its best to achieve its
objectives over the past two years. "Let’s not forget that politics
is, first of all, an art of the possible," he said.

One of Ter-Petrosian’s closest associates, Levon Zurabian, likewise
claimed that the Sarkisian administration will eventually have no
option but to call snap presidential and parliamentary elections
because of what he described as its mounting foreign and domestic
policy failures. He said the fact that the authorities again seriously
restricted transport communication between Yerevan and the rest of
the country ahead of the demonstration shows that they are "terrified"
of the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition.

The HAK’s immediate objectives declared at the rally are more modest,
though. In particular, Zurabian announced that the alliance is planning
to launch a class-action lawsuit aimed at reversing a controversial
increase in natural gas prices approved by the authorities last
week. He urged HAK supporters to sign up for the legal action en masse.

It was also announced that the HAK will hold its next major rally on
April 6. Zurabian said it is timed to coincide with an international
human rights conference to be held in Yerevan.

RA MINISTRY OF FINANCE: PURCHASE AND RELEASE PRICES FOR CHEMICALLY PURE METAL FOR MARCH 1-7

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.03.2010 17:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ State depository of precious metals and gemstones
agency at RA Ministry of Finance set the government purchase and
release prices per gram of chemically pure metal (standard bullion)
between March 1 and 7, 2010, press office of the RA Ministry of
Finance reported.

According to the information provided, the set prices are as follows:
Gold: purchase price is AMD 12580.37 (+35.15), release price is AMD
13674.31 (+38.2); Silver: purchase price is AMD 182.95 (+3.84), release
price is AMD 198.86 (+4.17); Platinum: purchase price is AMD 17325.86
(+120.86), release price is AMD 18832.46 (+130.53); Palladium: purchase
price is AMD 4911.82(+54.59), release price is AMD 5338.94 (+59.34).

Can Armenia-Turkey protocols be ratified separately?
A possible soft-exit strategy for rapprochement process
by Hovhannes Nikoghosyan

Published: Tuesday February 23, 2010
icle/2010-02-23-can-armenia-turkey-protocols-be-ra tified-separately&pg=2

Washington – The Armenian-Turkish-Swiss trilateral joint statement
agreed on April 2 and issued on April 22 underscored the commitment by
ruling elites of two nations to normalization of relations by
addressing core issues of misunderstanding.

Despite widespread pessimism over the rapprochement, initialed
protocols were published on September 1, 2009 and the two documents
were signed in Zurich on October 10 2009, with mediation from the
United States.

The protocols have since been sent to parliaments for ratification. In
Armenia they also went through Constitutional Court, which issued a
legal blessing on January 12.

It would seem that all that is needed now is political will to take
the last step in legislatures to ratify the documents. But having gone
all this way, the sides are now discussing exit strategies.

Considering that the Armenian-Turkish process has been driven by a
series of "midnight" decisions, there may well be more such progress
assuming no extraordinary military-political crises occur.

Since the Constitutional Court ruling, Turkey together with her lesser
ally Azerbaijan appear to be diplomatically isolated. Turkish efforts
to link Nagorno Karabakh settlement with the normalization issue have
not been successful. While they recognize the linkage between those
two issues, Armenian officials say that they should be mutually
reinforcing rather than conditioning one another.

In this light, the only counter-argument Turkey can raise in order to
force the United States to back its position is Turkey’s alleged
indispensability as NATO ally in Middle East. (On the other hand, few
remember that Turkish economy is dependent upon World Bank and IMF for
the country’s government to commit any real anti-Western moves.)

Since the beginning of the process parties have been changing their
rhetoric quite often. Turkish side has been harsh by default, but
their deeds not always reflect the actual steps, in a positive sense.

On the contrary, Armenian president Serge Sargsyan’s rhetoric has gone
from positive and optimistic in the beginning, to "if we don’t try we
don’t win"-like justifications more recently. President Sargsyan’s
initiative to amend the legal background for recalling the signature
under the protocols was thought to prepare the exit strategy.

Draft amendments to Armenia’s Law on International Treaties now have
been put on the agenda of the Parliament. A new (draft) Article 38.1
will entitle the president to recall or suspend the signature under
the international treaty practically at any stage of contracting or
ratification.

Nearly simultaneously with the amendments on rescission, the protocols
were also submitted for ratification. Being so close to ratification,
the protocols my remain unratified indefinitely.

Technically, since both president Sargsyan and Turkish leader Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hold majorities in the parliaments, the
ratification process initially was thought to be functional.

But as Mr. Erdogan suggested he could not guarantee a successful
outcome and, moreover, did not expect one unless there was "progress"
on Karabakh talks.

By contrast, the Armenian president has guaranteed a successful vote
if Turkey agreed to ratify first. Most recently, some of the ruling
party MPs even suggested proceeding with ratification before Turkey,
which showed certain disagreement in the ruling party in Yerevan.

But if it does come to ratification, will the protocols be ratified
together, or one-by-one?

When I put this question to Vigen Sargsyan, Armenian president’s
foreign policy aide who recently spoke at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, argued it was not feasible
to proceed with the one protocol in the absence of another. The
protocols are interlinked and their separate ratification would harm
the essence and substance of the agreements, making it impossible to
make further progress.

All the same, that does not necessarily mean that the protocols could
not be considered separately.

In fact, to this day it has not been explained why there are two
protocols instead of one, single, integrated document about the whole
complex of issues.

The protocol on diplomatic relations speaks about exchanging
diplomatic missions and only "the decision to open the common border",
which has no time limits for implementation and is not formulated in a
legally binding manner.

All the sub-commissions and the border opening with specific
timeframes are embodied in the second protocol on development of
relations.

It may well be that the recent Turkish criticism of the Armenian
Constitutional Court’s decision on January 12, charging Armenia with
undermining the spirit of the protocols may be followed by Ankara
moving to ratify only one of the two protocols.

International law, more specifically the Vienna Convention on the Law
of Treaties (1969), foresees no mechanisms (unless mentioned in the
actual texts of treaties) regarding ratification of the signed
agreements in a timely manner, except for the good faith and political
goodwill of the states. And the protocols themselves do not set out
any order for ratification.

The second protocol says that both documents "shall enter into force
on the same day, i.e. on the first day of the first month following
the exchanges of instruments of ratification". Armenia’s
Constitutional Court added its interpretation that "either protocol
cannot acquire legal force or take effect without the other".

Nevertheless, theoretically they can be ratified separately, whenever
the parties have enough political will for each, and only when both
are ratified they can enter into force.

Certainly, the Armenian side’s main interest is to have the border
with Turkey open rather than to establish yet another diplomatic
mission. (Even without diplomatic relations, an Armenian diplomat has
been working in Istanbul via the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
organization.)
But the Armenian side might agree to separation of protocols and thus
preservation of the normalization process should Turkey offer firm
guarantees about a reasonable timeframe for border opening, say before
the end of the first term of Sargsyan presidency in February 2013.

Alternatively, should Turkey fail to ratify the protocols, Armenia
might rescind the protocols postponing ratification until after
Turkish general elections due in 2011, and possibly also after the
next Armenian presidential elections.

PRESS RELEASE
Glendale Public Library
222 East Harvard Street
Glendale CA 91205
Tel: 818-548-2030
Web:

Please join us at the Glendale Public Library Auditorium, for the
presentation of

My Dear Brother: Armenians in Turkey 100 Years Ago

Historic postcards documenting the lives of Armenians throughout the
Ottoman Empire in 1900-1910.

At Glendale Public Library Auditorium, 222 East Harvard Street,

On Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 7pm. Admission is free.

For more information please check the attachment.

Thanks,

Elizabeth Grigorian
Armenian Outreach/Glendale Public Library
[email protected]
(818)548-3288

CHIEF PROSECUTOR VOWS TO PROTEST IF PASHINYAN IS NOT PARDONED

/24/aghvan-hovsepyan
05:59 pm | February 24, 2010

Politics

RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan announced today that an amnesty
for Haykakan Zhamanak daily Editor Nikol Pashinyan would be granted
only after the case had gone through the upper instances and a final
verdict had been reached.

"An amnesty is a statutory requirement but not at this stage. Only
when we have a final verdict and sentence of the Appellate Court or the
Cassation Court, shall an amnesty be granted. If it isn’t granted, the
Prosecutor’s Office will dispute the matter," announced Mr. Hovsepyan.

Remind that a Yerevan court had sentenced Nikol Pashinyan to seven
years’ imprisonment. On February 19 Pashinyan’s advocates took the
case to the Court of Appeals.

In reply to A1+ whether the Prosecutor’s Office had taken any measures
to disclose the events of March 1-2, Mr. Hovsepyan said they had done
everything possible to disclose the criminals. "If you take and study
the pretrial cases you will see that large-scale work has been done
in this direction," said the chief prosecutor.

"We seek public support for the full disclose of the events but so
far we have found no response," he added.