Author: Karabekian Emil

SAFARI INTERNATIONAL REMOVES FROM ITS WEB-SITE ADVERTISEMENT ABOUT HUNTING TOURS IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2010-04-28 18:56:00

ArmInfo. Safari International has removed from its web-site the
advertisement about hunting tours in Armenia.

To remind, for several years already the web-site has been criticized
by Armenian environmentalists for advertising rare animal hunting
in the country. Particularly, it offered hunting bezoar goats and
mouflons for 7,900 EUR and 8,900 EUR, respectively. For 3,500 EUR
one could kill a Caucasian bear. The organizers of the tours promised
result in just 3-5 days.

The Ministry of Environment Protection of Armenia was passive and
did not respond to ecologists’ calls in the press.

And now, after so many years, the advertisement has been removed. But
don’t hurry to be happy: there still are dozens of links all
over internet. One of the links is located on the selfsame site –
internationalhunter.com – and offers bezoar goat hunting opportunities.

To remind, Apr 27 Head of the Specially Protected Territories
Department of the Environment Protection Ministry Aram Aghassyan
supported Safari International. He said that in the last years the
number of bezoar goats in Vayots Dzor region has increased manyfold
due to the active anti-poaching efforts by the local governor, the
manager of the Armenian office of Safari Vardges Matevossyan. "There
have been several cases in the international practice when such
achievements served as a basis for hunting permission," Aghassyan said.

AZERBAIJAN’S DEFENCE MINISTRY STOKES WAR OF WORDS WITH ARMENIA

news.az
April 28 2010
Azerbaijan

The Defence Ministry in Baku has issued a statement talking up
Azerbaijan’s military capacity and accusing the Armenians of running
scared.

It is the latest in a tit-for-tat exchange of comments which began
with a meeting at the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, chaired by
President Aliyev.

‘The well-grounded statements made by Mr President, Supreme
Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev at the meeting of the Defence Ministry
on 23 April, Minister Safar Abiyev’s report to the head of state that
the army is ready to fight and other statements prompted a wide
response not only in the region, but also in the whole world,’ Defence
Ministry spokesman Lt-Col Eldar Sabiroglu said in the statement issued
today.

He described the meeting last Friday as very significant.

‘No doubt the results of the meeting will be seen. If Azerbaijan
starts to liberate the occupied lands, Armenia will inevitably be
defeated. The provision of our army with modern weapons, military
vehicles, the combat spirit of our soldiers, the unanimity of the
president and people create great opportunities for it. The question
may arise: why is the process being delayed?

‘The work done, Azerbaijan’s efforts for the resolution of the
conflict give grounds to say that there is no need to seek a secret
reason for this. The only factor is that our country hoped the
activity of the Minsk Group and other international institutions
towards the peaceful solution to the conflict would produce results.

Azerbaijan did not want bloodshed in the region again. This was the
essence of Mr President’s speech at the meeting. But as has been seen,
Armenia and some known forces impede the realization of our peaceful
policy. Is there any other way in the present circumstances? Of
course, not,’ he said.

The Armenian Defence Ministry said after the 23 April meeting that its
army was more combat-ready than ever. Eldar Sabiroglu dismissed their
response and indirectly accused Armenia of hiding under Russian
protection.

‘If the ministry of the enemy country, which was trying to remind us
with its statement, could refresh its rusty memory and see the truth
without dirty tricks, it would realize who, i.e. which country,
"presented" Azerbaijani land to Armenia during the first
Nagorno-Karabakh war. It seems we need to repeat it. Armenia is not
brave enough to wage war alone. It is encouraged by the forces in
whose shadow it takes refuge.

‘We are probably making ourselves clear. Otherwise [Armenian Defence
Minister] Seyran Ohanyan, who is the killer of children, and others
like him, could not boast of "heroism". The world knows about the
troubles of whales at the bottom of the ocean, but closes its eyes to
the Armenian disease…’

‘The supreme commander-in-chief said the Azerbaijani land had been
occupied for long years with no basis in international law and our
cultural, religious and historic monuments had been destroyed in all
the occupied lands, our mosques ruined and historic exhibits stolen
from our museums by Armenian vandals.

‘The president said we could not endure such cruelty and injustice. We
must ensure that we can liberate our land by force at any time. If we
look at the history of war, we can see one truth. There are occasional
cases in history when a country at war has fired on the holy site of
another country and looted everything in its path. One of these few
dreadful cases is the Armenian vandalism that we faced at the end of
the 20th and start of the 21st century.’

Sabiroglu said the Armenian Defence Ministry’s statement showed that
the Armenians were afraid.

‘Therefore they try to protect themselves by making stupid and false
ideas statements, their domestic situation is bad. I would like to
finish by quoting the chief of the Armenian General Staff, Yuriy
Khachaturov, as reported by News Armenia several days ago. He said:
"If almost an equal number of recruits were called in 2004-2009,
thanks to which we were able to maintain the proper level of staffing,
from 2010 to 2016 we will have problems and the number of conscripts
will decrease." We have not changed a word. But Khachaturov seems to
have stepped back from the problem. Last year the Armenian Defence
Ministry could not staff several military units because of a lack of
conscripts. I think there is no need for comment.’

DEATH OF A SUSPECT AT THE CHARENTSAVAN POLICE DEPARTMENT

Lragir.am
27/04/10
Paris-Yerevan

the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), its member
organisation the Civil Society Institute (CSI), the Armenian Helsinki
Committee and the Foundation against the Violation of Law condemn
the death of Vahan Khalafyan at the Charentsavan Police Department
on April 13, 2010.

On April 13, 24-year-old Vahan Khalafyan was taken to the Charentsavan
Police Department along with three other young men. They were suspected
of stealing clothes worth 1.5 million drams (approximately 2885 EURO)
at the beginning of the month. According to the announcement of the
Head of the Police Alik Sargsyan of April 14, they were they were
taken to the police department at 4:50 p.m. Vahan Khalafyan’s mother
claimed on April 19 that her son had been taken to the police around
10:30 a.m. without any notice.

At around 5:00 p.m., Vahan Khalafyan died at the Charentsavan Police
Department as a result of stab wounds. The Police announced on April
14 that he had committed suicide.

A criminal case was launched on April 13, 2010 by the Kotayk province
Investigation Department according to Article 110, part 1 (causing
somebody to commit suicide) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of
Armenia. On April 23, 2010, Moris Hayrapetyan, Officer of the Criminal
Investigation Department was charged with this article as well as
with Article 309 of the Criminal Code (Exceeding official duties)
and was taken to pre-trial detention.

FIDH, CSI, the Armenian Helsinki Committee and the Foundation against
the Violation of Law express their deep concern about the death of
Vahan Khalafyan. The State should investigate the exact circumstances
of this death and bring those responsible to justice.

This is not the first case of a citizen dying at police department
in Armenia. As previously reported by FIDH and CSI*, on May 12, 2008
Levon Gulyan who had been summoned to the police station as a witness
died in the Police Headquarters of the Republic of Armenia and until
now no one has been found responsible for his death. Moreover, on
February 5, 2010, the Criminal Court of Appeal rejected the appeal
of his legal successors against the decision of the oourt of First
Instance to close the case.

Our organisations are deeply concerned by the seemingly pervasive
culture of impunity for crimes committed by or under the responsibility
of law enforcement bodies in Armenia.

FIDH, CSI, the Armenian Helsinki Committee and the Foundation against
the Violation of Law call the Armenian authorities: To conduct an
immediate and efficient investigation on Vahan Khalafyan’s death; To
ensure that the perpetrators be brought to trial before a competent,
independent and impartial court in accordance with national criminal
law and in strict respect of international human rights principles
and standards; To investigate impartially the responsibility of the
high ranking officials who fail to prevent the repetition of such
cases which therefore contributes to the culture of impunity.

To fully conform with the provisions of the European Convention on the
Prevention of Torture and the UN Convention against Torture and other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ratified by the
Republic of Armenia, which clearly imposes to a State an obligation to
investigate and prosecute allegations of torture and inhuman treatment.

LA CHALEUR DE L’ARMENIE NOIR SUR BLANC – CHATEAUBRIANT
Stephane

armenews
28 avril 2010

REVUE DE PRESSE

D’un periple en Armenie, Marc Girard est revenu avec beaucoup de
souvenirs. Il en a fait un livre.

" Allez en Armenie ! Allez decouvrir ce magnifique pays ! " Ainsi
s’achève l’ouvrage de Marc Girard, co-ecrit avec l’Armenienne Zarouhie
Gasparyan, sorti aux editions Publibook, en mars dernier.

Chaleureuse Armenie est un carnet de voyage. Et plus encore. " J’ai
voulu rendre compte des richesses naturelles, culturelles et humaines
de ce pays. J’ai aussi voulu transmettre au lecteur ce desir d’Armenie
que ce peuple m’a donne. " De son periple d’un mois en septembre 2009,
Marc Girard, aujourd’hui a la retraite, n’en est pas revenu indemne.

D’ailleurs, il n’en est tout simplement pas encore revenu.

" Avec onze autres membres de l’association Accueil paysan
international, basee a Grenoble, nous avons effectue un voyage
solidaire dans une region pauvre de l’Armenie, relate Marc, residant
du Gâvre. L’objectif etait d’aider une association locale qui veut
developper le tourisme la-bas. Nous etions heberges chez l’habitant.

C’est la que j’ai senti toute la chaleur et toute la beaute de ce
pays. " Durant le periple, Marc croise Zarouhie Gasparyan, une
interprète armenienne. Ils echangent sur le pays, sur leur goût
prononce pour l’ecriture. Puis, l’idee d’un ouvrage naît. Un ouvrage
a deux plumes.

" Pendant six mois, nous avons eu un echange intensif de mails.

Parfois, jusqu’a quinze par semaine. " Dans le recit, du vecu,
du ressenti, de l’histoire, de l’analyse aussi. La construction de
l’identite armenienne, la succession des tragedies du XXe siècle
(genocide, seisme, guerre, etc.), le courage d’un peuple qui ne
capitule pas. Tout est evoque avec autant de rigueur que de passion.

Le livre commence a tirer la couverture du succès. Zarouhie Gasparyan
s’envolera pour la France en mai prochain pour un court sejour. Marc
Girard est d’ores et deja attendu pour trois conferences a la capitale
Erevan. Les droits d’auteur seront eux, reverses a un centre pour
jeunes handicapes de Vardemis, une ville situee a la frontière avec
l’Azerbaïdjan.

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS BRINGS CRIES OF PROTEST IN BAKU

news.am
April 26 2010
Armenia

April 26, the trilateral meeting of Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani
religious leaders — Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Patriarch
of Moscow and all Rus Kirill I and Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur
Pashazadeh was held on the sidelines of Religious Leaders World Summit
in Baku.

Karekin II received an unfriendly welcome facing a protest action
in Baku.

The meeting held in Gyulistan Palace behind the closed doors was
not attended by Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II due to
health reasons.

The religious leaders signed a declaration on the basis of a the
meeting, Azerbaijani Trend.az agency reports.

"I think that it is correct and timely initiative of the trilateral
meeting, which was held and crowned with success of signing of a
joint declaration," Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus Kirill I told
the journalists after signing ceremony, Azerbaijani Trend.az agency
reports.

According to him, religious leaders have no political power and cannot
"guide the troops". "However, they have a special opportunity to appeal
to those values that are very close to believers. And the fact that
representatives of different religions met and agreed on many important
issues is an important signal to all believers," Kirill I said.

He also expressed the hope that these signals will contribute
to reconciliation, reduce tension in the region and create a good
atmosphere for political leaders to come to an agreed outcome claiming
full responsibility for the political settlement to the conflict.

TURKISH FM URGES OPENING OF ALL BORDERS IN REGION

armradio.am
26.04.2010 17:17

Turkey’s relationship with Armenia will normalize in the same way as
with other countries, the country’s foreign minister promised Monday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also called for open borders
among all the region’s neighboring countries.

"We’d like all borders to open, so that businesspeople and goods
can freely circulate. We’d like security to reign in the region, not
conflicts; we’d like solutions to frozen conflicts," Davutoglu said
in Parliament, briefing deputies about the relations with Armenia
and the fate of the protocols signed in October 2009 to establish
diplomatic relations, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Davutoglu said the objective remained normalizing Turkish-Armenian
and Azerbaijani-Armenian relations. "The Armenia-Azerbaijan border
will also open just as the Turkey-Armenia border opens… That is
our perspective of peace."

news.am, Armenia
April 24 2010

Sargsyan’s decision `brave’: Lebanese Armenians

12:58 / 04/24/2010Armenian community of Lebanon welcomes President
Sargsyan’s decision to suspend the ratification of Armenia-Turkey
Protocols. Lebanese Armenians hope that the accord would `be dropped
altogether,’ Beirut-based The Daily Star reports. Local
representatives of ARF Dashnaktsutyun and Ramkavar parties say they
opposed the Protocols from the start.

`The suspension is a first step, but the most important thing is to
stop the protocols entirely,’ the source quotes ARF Dashnaktsutyun
member Vera Yacoubian. In his turn, Avedis Dakessian from Ramkavar
party labeleld Sargsyan’s move as `brave.’

According to the source, Armenians are concerned over the expansion of
ties between Turkey and Lebanon. They warn Lebanese government not to
confide in Turkey, saying it should consider `the feelings of the
Armenians living in Lebanon.’

Today, local Armenian community members will gather in Bourj Hammoud
to pay tribute to the memory of Genocide victims. Mourning service
will be held at the Armenian Orthodox Catholicosate in Antelias,
followed by an address of Catholicos Aram I.

NEWS Press (English)
April 22, 2010 Thursday

Turkey : Journalist and writer facing three trials for book about
newspaper editor’s murder

by: Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders hopes the courts will dismiss all three of
the prosecutions brought against Turkish writer and investigative
journalist Nedim Sener for his book about the role of intelligence
failures in the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
and instead make more of an effort to shed light on the Dink murder
itself.

Justice is being delayed in the Dink case while the judicial
authorities devote their energy to secondary charges against
journalists that are completely unjustified. As result of just one
book, entitled "The Dink Murder and the Intelligence Lies," Sener is
facing a possible combined sentence of 32 years in prison in three
trials, one of which began already and another will start on 28 April.

"The charges against Nedim Sener will continue to be premature and
unjustified until the judicial authorities have shed light on all the
circumstances surrounding Hrant Dink’s murder and until the government
and police officials involved in his murder are properly
investigated," Reporters Without Borders said. "We call for the
withdrawal of all the chargers against Sener, who just wanted to end
the impunity that has gone one for three years in the Dink case." The
press freedom organisation also calls for the withdrawal of all
charges against Kemal Göktas, who is facing a possible five-year jail
sentence in connection with his book "Hrant Dink murder: media,
justice and state," in which he looks at the role of the state and the
judicial authorities in Dink’s murder.

Sener has not so far been detained and is trying as best he can to
continue his work as a journalist. Reporters Without Borders hopes
that the verdicts that are issued in the coming days are fair and
unbiased.

Sener is facing a possible eight-year jail term for the charges of
"insulting a state official," "violating the confidentiality of
private correspondence" and "trying to influence the outcome of a
trial" that have been brought against him before an Istanbul criminal
court. These charges relate above all to Sener’s suggestion in his
book that, before Dink’s murder, Ali Fuat Yilmazer, the head of the
general intelligence section of police intelligence, suppressed a
report about threats against Dink instead of circulating it to his
superiors, as required by established procedure.

During a hearing on 15 April, Sener testified in court that he did not
intend in any way to interfere in the judicial investigation into the
Dink murder and that he wrote in his book with the sole intention of
shedding light on the murder.

In the second case against him, Sener will be tried before an Istanbul
court of assizes on charges of "obtaining classified documents" and,
by publishing them, "exposing an official who combats terrorism to the
action of a terrorist organisation." The charges carry a possible
20-year sentence.

In the third case, to be heard before a criminal court in the Istanbul
district of Bakirkoy, Sener is facing a possible four-and-a-half-year
sentence for violating a publication ban.

A Turkish journalist of Armenian origin who advocated reconciliation
between Turks and Armenians, Dink was gunned down on 19 January 2007
on an Istanbul street outside the newspaper he founded and edited,
Agos. His articles called for recognition of the Armenian genocide, a
highly charged issue in Turkey. But despite the tension and despite
receiving repeated threats from far-right groups, Dink always refused
to leave Turkey.

AMERICAN ANALYST SPEAKS OF THE CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN ARMENIAN DIASPORA AND YEREVAN

Today
6563.html
April 22 2010
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interviews Jason Katz, principal of the Tool Shed Group,
a US-based consultancy that advises foreign governments.

How can agreements between Obama and Medvedev in Prague influence
the post-Soviet area and regional problems?

The reduction of nuclear weapons stockpiles of the US and the Russian
Federation is certainly a positive development. It contributes to
the stability of the region, in general, and that of the entire world.

I do have, at least, some hope that this will usher in renewed
US engagement in the region. Far too long has the US abdicated its
Clinton-era promises and successes in the region. One large and overly
ambitious power amongst many others serves the needs and interests
of no one.

The reality is that the US, for the sake of NATO operations in
Afghanistan and global energy diversity and security, needs to take
a more Clintonian position and tack. The US will continue to ignore
the region at its own peril and to its own detriment.

I will only add that I am supremely confused by the Obama
Administration’s decision not to invite Azerbaijan to the proceedings
in Washington DC. The snubbing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and President Obama’s failure to meet with Georgian President
Mikail Saakashvili was also rather bizarre. It makes me wonder who
the Administration perceives as friends.

The Karabakh problem was discussed during the recent visit of
the Turkish prime-minister to US. What do you expect from these
negotiations in this regard?

The fact that Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has made it clear that
the issues of Nagorno Karabakh and the normalization of relations
between Turkey and Armenia are inseparable is a sound move for all
concerned. The two issues are, in fact, inextricably linked and any
delinking of the issues poses the distinct possibility of destabilizing
the entire region.

I believe that Prime Minster Erdogan will make the case while in
the US and I am hopeful that the message will be heard. The Obama
Administration seems to be coming to terms with the gravity of the
issues involved. I am hopeful that we will soon see a commitment by
the Administration to foster a comprehensive approach to solving the
issues at hand.

It seems that there are significant differences in the Armenian
Diaspora’s and Republic of Armenia’s approaches to the Karabakh
problem and relations with Turkey. It’s clear, that the settlement of
the Karabakh problem is good for Armenia, which is in deep crisis. So
how can you explain persistence of Diaspora in this issue?

The agenda of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora are
for the most part different, as odd as that sounds. The Armenian
Diaspora wants no part of rapprochement with Turkey or peace with
Azerbaijan. This is a community that has, unfortunately, lost sight
of the fact that they started out supporting Armenia. Now, it is
preoccupied with the recognition of whatever happened a hundred years
ago and destabilizing the South Caucasus by keeping Azerbaijani lands
under occupation.

Clearly, normalization of relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey is a
prerequisite to Armenia becoming a true independent nation. Whether
the leadership of Armenia is able to broadcast it openly or not,
I believe that they are coming to the realization that bringing
Armenia out of the Third World and into the prosperity of the rest
of the region is directly linked to rapprochement with Turkey and
the return of occupied Azerbaijani territories.

What should be done to prevent negative influence of Armenian Diaspora
on Armenia?

This is a process. The Armenian Diaspora has had ownership of all
the issues associated with the Republic of Armenia for years. It
is only recently that the issues and Armenia as a nation have come
into the light, of course as a result of the increasingly robust
public diplomacy program of Azerbaijan and potential normalization
with Turkey.

Public diplomacy is an educational process. There are those in the
US government who will never see the issues accurately, as they
are tied to their voters. However, there are increasing numbers of
elected officials and policy makers who are not buying the Armenian
Diaspora’s narrative any longer. It takes a concerted effort by all
parties to educate accurately.

U.S. AZERIS NETWORK EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REVEALED WHAT ARMENIANS SHOULD BE EXPECTING

Today
/66425.html
April 22 2010
Azerbaijan

U.S. Azeris Network Executive Director Adil Baguirov spoke out about
the upcoming date of April 24th, and a number of other issues.

Baguirov believes, that Barack Obama once again, will not pronounce
what Armenians are expecting of him.

"President Obama will not use the English (Latin) word, but just
like last year, would probably use the Armenian term "Metz yeghern"
instead. In general, since the Armenian lobby feels this is the only
subject that can energize and mobilize the largest number of the
Armenian diaspora representatives worldwide, they will be pressing
for this issue each and every year, which will create a headache for
all U.S. Presidents, Administrations and Congress", Baguirov said.

Speaking of the Armenian-Turkish relations, Baguirov pointed out,
that the tensions are much lower this year, as are the expectations.

"Unlike last year, where there was a lot of hope and expectations that
Armenian side would behave more rationally and make the right choices,
there are no such expectations this year. For Armenian government
and its lobby in U.S., this issue was never so much about opening
the border (the economic effect of an open land border with Turkey
was calculated to be extremely modest), but about creating problems
for Turkey internationally as well as domestically, within Turkey,"
he said.

"There is no indication that Armenian side is ready to become
a rational actor, and try to genuinely resolve problems, bridge
differences and make peace with Turkey, or Azerbaijan. Another year
of missed opportunities. In the meantime, both Turkey and Azerbaijan
are developing and prospering, while Armenian economy suffered, as
does its demographic situation. Nevertheless, the Turkish government
attempts to do everything it can to achieve the coveted "zero problems"
with all its neighbors. Perhaps Armenian side will be able to make
a step in the right direction, stop blackmailing Turkey and also
withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani lands," Baguirov noted.