Author: Karabekian Emil

OSCE MISSION CONDUCTS PLAN MONITORING AT CONTACT-LINE OF NKR AND AZERI ARMED FORCES ON NOVEMBER 25

Noyan Tapan
Dec 2, 2009

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 2, NOYAN TAPAN. According to an agreement reached
with the NKR authorities in advance, on November 25, the OSCE mission
held a plan monitoring at the contact line of NKR and Azeri Armed
Forces, near the populated area of Yusifjanli.

OSCE Office Coordinator, Lieutenant-Colonel Imre Palatinus (Hungary)
and Field Assistants of OSCE Chairman-in-Office Irzhi Aberle (Czech
Republic) and Zhaslan Nurtazin (Kazakhstan) conducted the monitoring
from the positions of the NKR Defence Army.

According to the NKR Foreign Ministry Press Service, the monitoring
proceeded according to the schedule. No violations of the cease-fire
regime were fixed during the monitoring.

Representatives of the NKR Foreign Ministry and Defence Ministry
accompanied the monitoring mission on the part of Karabakh.

TAKING EUROPE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

AZG DAILY
02-12-2009

Europe

Europe is not the same place it was 50 years ago, and nor is the rest
of the world.

In a constantly changing, ever more interconnected world, Europe is
grappling with new issues: globalisation, demographic shifts, climate
change, the need for sustainable energy sources and new security
threats. These are the challenges facing Europe in the 21st century.

Borders count for very little in the light of these challenges. The
EU countries cannot meet them alone. But acting as one, Europe can
deliver results and respond to the concerns of the public. For this,
Europe needs to modernise. The EU has recently expanded from 15 to
27 members; it needs effective, coherent tools so it can function
properly and respond to the rapid changes in the world. That means
rethinking some of the ground rules for working together.

The treaty signed in Lisbon on 13 December 2007 sets out to do just
that. When European leaders reached agreement on the new rules,
they were thinking of the political, economic and social changes
going on, and the need to live up to the hopes and expectations of
the European public. The Treaty of Lisbon defines what the EU can
and cannot do, and what means it can use. It alters the structure of
the EU’s institutions and how they work. As a result, the EU is more
democratic and its core values are better served.

This treaty is the result of negotiations between EU member countries
in an intergovernmental conference, in which the Commission and
Parliament were also involved. The treaty was ratified by each of the
EU’s 27 members. It was up to each country to choose the procedure
for ratification, in line with its own national constitution.

The Treaty entered into force on 1 December 2009, in accordance with
its Article 6, Europe.eu reports.

OSCE MINISTERS MEET FOR SECURITY TALKS IN ATHENS

Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 1 2009
Turkey

Foreign policy chiefs from 56 countries hope to agree on a rare
political declaration on common security structure at a two-day
meeting that opened in Athens on Tuesday.

If an agreement can be reached, it would be the first time since 2002
that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has
settled on a common political declaration. "Security in our region
remains a work in progress. The global crisis has affected all our
countries," said Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is also
the country’s foreign minister. "The new dialogue on European security
can be meaningful only insofar as it is tied to concrete progress on
key security challenges," he said.

Greece holds the rotating OSCE chairmanship until January. OSCE
countries have a wide range of security problems to contend with,
including the situation in Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea and Iran,
and the aftermath of Russia’s war with Georgia last year. Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to expand on proposals by
President Dmitry Medvedev for a new European security structure. The
blueprint has met with a wary reception from many western OSCE members.

Russia also urged the United States and NATO to keep it better informed
about their plans for the war in Afghanistan. George A.

Kroll, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian
Affairs, said the OSCE "is a very good venue for the continuation
of the discussions and cooperation the United States and Russia are
doing across a wide agenda of issues."

Papandreou asked those attending to take Turkey and Armenia as an
example for the OSCE. The two countries ended a century of hostility
this year by agreeing to establish diplomatic relations. Ankara
fiercely opposes claims that the mass killing of Armenians during the
final days of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I amounted
to genocide. "The bold decision taken by Turkey and Armenia have not
been easy but they have been important. We must now take this same
spirit of reconciliation to the unresolved conflicts that persist in
the OSCE area," Papandreou said.

Speaking on Monday, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris
Delavekouras said organizers hoped "that by Wednesday afternoon we will
be able to announce real progress on every issue." Several foreign
ministers also planned to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines
of the conference.

WORLD CHAMPION NAZIK AVDALYAN: I JUST DREAMED THOSE MOMENTS LASTED AS LONG AS POSSIBLE

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.11.2009 18:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian athlet Nazik Avdalyan (69 w/c) has become
a world champion, lifting 266 kilograms at the world weightlifting
championships in Goyang (South Korea). Armenian national anthem was
played in her honor in Goyang.

"I cannot describe in words the happiness I felt, I just dreamed
those moments lasted as long as possible," Nazik Avdalyan told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter upon her arrival in Yerevan.

"I was confident in my strength. I wanted to prove to everybody that
I can lift 119 kilograms," the Armenian athlete said.

Nazik Avdalyan is the European champion of 2008, silver medalist of
the European Championship 2009 and now is the world champion.

ARMENIAN YOUTH JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS COMPLETED

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.11.2009 20:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 187 sportsmen from Yerevan and different regions
of Armenia participated in the youth Judo championships of Armenia on
November 28-29. As Tigran Babayan, head coach of the Armenian national
judo youth team told PanARMENIAN.Net, after this tournament wrestlers
will rest, and in early 2010 will start preparing for the new season.

According to Tigran Babayan, following athletes became champions of
Armenia in 2009:

Boys:

w/c 55 Gregory Ivanyan

w/c 60 Gor Haroutunyan

w/c 66 Vaspurakan Lazarian

w/c 73 Hovsep Martirosyan

w/c 81 Mher Tavakalyan

w/c 90 Gore Markaryan

w/c 100 Ike Kirakosyan

w/c 100 Artoush Lazarian

Girls:

w/c 44 Anna Vartanyan

w/c 48 Yerjanik Karapetyan

w/c 57 Asya Lalazanyan.

RA FOREIGN MINISTER EDWARD NALBANDIAN TO VISIT ATHENS ON DECEMBER 1-2

NOYAN TAPAN
NOVEMBER 30, 2009
YEREVAN

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will visit Athens on December
1-2 to take part in the session of the OSCE Ministerial Council.

According to the RA Foreign Ministry Press and Information Department,
within the framework of the visit E. Nalbandian will also have a
number of bilateral meetings.

Poste d GMT 11-29-2009 18:46:43

Turkish Military Planned Attacks on Christians

Senior Turkish military officers had made extensive plans to terrorize
non-Muslims in Turkey. In the large Ergenekon1 scandal recently a
well-planned terrorist operation was revealed. The operation which is
called "Kafes Operasyonu Eylem Plani", in English meaning "the
execution of the cage – operation" was to eliminate the remaining
small group of Christians living in Turkey today.

The plan was revealed when police arrested Levent Bektas, a major in
the Turkish army. The evidence seized reveals more than 27 officers
and senior military officers involved in the conspiracy against
Christians.

In order to identify key persons among the Christians and then kill
them, this terrorist network has broken into a Greek church
congregation compound and stolen computers. The purpose of this was to
access the congregation’s member lists.

"When our office was emptied of computers and files, church members
were very concerned. Since the murder of the monk Santoro, the
journalist Hrant Dink and the brutal murder of three publishing
workers in Malatya, Christians are living in constant fear," said
lawyer Kezban Hatemi, representing the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in
Istanbul.

On November 28, 2007, the Syriac Orthodox monk Daniel Savci in
Turabdin was kidnapped in southeastern Turkey. The monk resides in the
St. Gabriel monastery, which Turkish authorities are trying to
confiscate. A few days later the monk was found beaten. Shortly after,
the police arrested some village guards, a state-sanctioned militia
subordinate to the Turkish army, for the kidnapping. Many people with
insight into the situation interpret the kidnapping as a direct threat
to the remaining Assyrians in Turabdin.

Christians were attacked across the country. To implement the
strategic attacks, the country"s Christian population was mapped out
and 939 key persons from different parts of the country were
identified as potential targets.

The fully detailed operation consists of four phases: preparation,
spreading propaganda, shape opinion and execute.

The newspaper Taraf, which has been able to access the information,
has published several articles about this. On its website
it is described in detail how the plan to attack the
Christians was to be implemented.

Below are some points that constitute the plan"s main lines.

* Christians are mapped
* Famous and wealthy Christian businessmen kidnapped
* Systematic fires and looting of Christian businesses
* The Armenian newspaper AGOS be subjected to several explosions
* Murder patrols executing attacks against selected individuals
* Christian cemeteries subjected to explosions
* Churches and institutions belonging to Christians subjected to explosions
* Put the blame on imaginary militant organizations

>From the late 1980s to the 2000s, thousands of people have been
killed, among them there were also many Christians. The perpetrators
of the killings have never been found. But officially they have been
systematically identified as an organization named "Hizbullah".

A military arsenal provides the network with weapons. The police have,
after following the tracks, at a house search in Poyrazköy outside
Istanbul found a weapon cache to be used in the attacks. Among the
weapons were several items, from C4 explosives to Uzi firearms and
other sophisticated weapons.

According to the newspaper Taraf, major Eren Günay has been arrested
for having provided the attackers with arms and ammunition. According
to the newspaper there are indications that the plan is sanctioned by
the highest Turkish military leadership.

For a long time, Christians houses, property and businesses in the
Christian areas of the cities of Istanbul and Izmir have been labeled,
in order to identify them. MP Sebah Tuncel notified the Turkish
government with a written question last summer. The question addressed
the Ministry of Interior and was about what the government intends to
do against the labeling of Christian properties and about Christians
being identified. Even today, the government has not replied to this
question yet.

As long as the attacks were aimed at Christians and other minority
groups, the Turkish government acted indifferently. Not until the
ruling government party AKP themselves felt threatened they began to
act. In recent years the relationship between the government and the
military has been strained and on several occasions the military has
made attempts to make a coup d"état, without succeeding fully.

By Dikran Ego

1 Ergenekon is a terrorist network that consists of many different
elements, from high military officers to teachers and journalists,
there are many professional groups represented in the network. This
network is also called the "deep state" in Turkey.

© 2009, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use.

Protocols Not to Be Discussed in Turkish Parliament Commission Without
Azeri Approval

By Asbarez Staff
Nov 25th, 2009

ANKARA (APA) – Agreements to normalize relations and open borders
between Armenia and Turkey will not be discussed in the Turkish
Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission without Azerbaijan’s approval,
said a deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the
Azeri Press Agency reported on Wednesday.

`The protocols signed with Armenia will not be discussed in the
parliament’s foreign affairs commission, if anything does not satisfy
Azerbaijan,’ Metin Yilmaz told APA’s Turkey bureau.

`Our President and Prime Minister regularly contact Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev. If Ilham Aliyev says that the problems are
being solved and it is high time for us to take some steps, we will
include these protocols into the agenda of the commission,’ he said,
adding that the issue has already been discussed by Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu and the commission’s chairman.

`Our parliamentarians held discussions in Azerbaijan under the
leadership of the chairman of our commission. We will not take any
steps concerning the protocols unless we reach the stage of solution
satisfying Azerbaijan,’ he said.

`Our main aim is the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from
occupation as soon as possible,’ Yilmaz said, noting that for Turkey,
the main precondition on Armenia is the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan’s favor. `The main stipulation
for us will be Armenia’s releasing the occupied Azerbaijani
territories.’

news.am, Armenia
Nov 28 2009

Serzh Sargsyan: Armenia not behind curtain any longer

15:53 / 11/28/2009Armenia is not behind the curtain any longer, and
the international community has focused its attention on the Armenian
people, RA President and Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) Serzh Sargsyan stated at the RPA’s 12th congress opened today.
`At present Armenia is not a small boat rocking in the waves of
international developments. Rather it is an independent entity
following its way, and it is not all that we wish for,’ the President
said. Serzh Sargsyan added that Armenia has a sufficient potential for
progress.

Speaking of the events that followed last year’s presidential
election, the Armenian said that Armenia would have been able to
oppose the subversive plot if it had had full-fledged mass media,
public and political institutions, strong civil society and highly
professional law-enforcement agencies. `Underdeveloped public and
political institutions, civil society and mass media provoke anger and
destabilize the situation in the country. To prevent recurrences, we
must make a tight fist,’ the President said.

Speaking of the RPA, he stressed that the party has a potential for
playing a leading role in implementing reforms in Armenia. `The RPA is
not taking any steps that run counter to its own programs, honoring
its pledges despite all the problems. The RPA is not changing its
positions every moment, which is standard practice on the political
scene. Our `yes’ is yes and our `no’ is no, and out partners can rely
on us. We are able to listen and accept proposals, we are flexible and
firm,’ stated Serzh Sargsyan. He stressed it is times for reforms
within the party, which will have its impact on society.

`The party’s democratization leads to that of the society. The RPA is
not a one-leader party. It is not Serzh Sargsyan’s party. Serzh
Sargsyan is just a member of this party,’ the President said. He
stressed that the RPA must turn into a public and political leader. He
stated that the party first discusses the most important problems,
which is the most serious test for them. `This concerns the
Armenian-Turkish protocols as well,’ the President said. Serzh
Sargsyan stressed that the RPA does not violate the principle of
plurality of opinions, which is often practiced by other political
forces. `This means that, being in power, the RPA will never pressure
its political opponents,’ stated President Serzh Sargsyan

THEY PROMISE TO LIBERATE NAKHIJEVAN

11/27/heritage
06:16 pm | November 27, 2009

Politics

Hayk Youth and Student Union of Heritage Party today issued a statement
which reads:

The Azerbaijani leadership’s belligerent rhetoric and threats to
resume the war have become more frequent recently. On the eve of
the November 22 Munich meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents, Ilham Aliyev stated that in case the meeting fails again
to produce progress in the Karabakh settlement this time, Azerbaijan
will resort to settling the conflict by military means. On November
25, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said that Azerbaijan
sees no other way of settling the conflict than by military means.

Under these circumstances, we consider it very dangerous that the
serious challenges that the republics of Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia
are facing are ignored, and that those statements are deemed as
propaganda only.

We, the young members of the Heritage party, considering peace as
precious value, and realizing that a war would lead to significant
destruction and loss of lives to the both sides, reject any military
settlement of the conflict, and condemn the Azerbaijani leadership’s
attempts to provoke a war by engaging its own people in a war
hysteria. Nevertheless, we think that the best way to prevent a war
is to be prepared for one. To be ready for a possible resumption of
the war on the Artsakh front, the two Armenian states and societies
should initiate adequate extraordinary actions.

We call on: – The National Assembly to immediately recognize the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic, setting up conditions for recognizing the
NKR by the Armenian government at an appropriate time, as well as
for signing bilateral agreements between the Republic of Armenia and
the NKR in all fields, including the defense and security fields; –
The Armenian cabinet to review the 2010 state budget and, at least,
reinstate defense expenditure of the 2009 budget, as well as increase
significantly the overall size of loans to the NKR; – The Republic
of Armenia and NKR defense ministries:

1. Organize trainings and exercises among the entire adult population
for enhancing civil defense combat skills;

2. Develop a functional plan for the army-civil society cooperation
in war time and present this plan to the public; – The Armenian
Foreign Ministry to send an official note to the Foreign Ministry
of the Russian Federation, that is considered to be Armenia’s ally
and strategic partner in the Collective Security Treaty Organization,
demanding that any military supplies and cooperation under the 2006 and
2008 agreements between Moscow and Baku be discontinued immediately;
– The youth of Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora unite not allow any
unilateral concession in the Artsakh issue, and if needed, defend our
victories with arms; – Youth organizations of the Armenian political
parties to organize meetings to discuss the situation on Artsakh.

All these actions will be helpful even if the Azerbaijani leadership’s
threats to resume the war are only propaganda. Otherwise, if Azerbaijan
unleashes a new war against the NKR and the Republic of Armenia, the
Armenian armed forces will reinstate the previous victories and would
not reserve to self-defense only but will turn to counterattacks and
liberate the Armenia Gardman, including Gandzak, as well as Nakhijevan,
securing new buffer zones for the security of Armenia and Artsakh.