Author: Karabekian Emil

RUSSIA BLAMES UZBEKISTAN, ARMENIA FOR DELAY ON RAPID-RESPONSE FORCES

ITAR-TASS
June 3 2009
Russia

Moscow, 3 June: Uzbekistan’s and Armenia’s special positions are
causing a delay in the execution of the agreement on the creation of
the Collective Rapid-Response Forces [KSOR] of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization [CSTO], the CSTO’s Secretary-General Nikolay
Bordyuzha said today after a meeting of the CSTO defence ministers who
studied package of documents which form the legal basis for the KSOR.

"There are several disagreements between six CSTO member states and
Uzbekistan on the functioning of the KSOR," Bordyuzha said.

"Armenia is insisting on more concrete dates for the forces to be
ready," he said.

However, Bordyuzha said: "I am firmly convinced that on 14 June,
directly before the session of the CSTO Collective Security Council,
we will come back to this question and finally prepare the agreement
on the formation of KSOR to be signed by the presidents."

The press secretary of the Russian Defence Ministry, Aleksey Kuznetsov,
told ITAR-TASS today that Russia "is providing an airborne division
and an assault brigade for the force".

"The KSOR is intended to ensure collective security of the CSTO
member states. In addition, they will fight international terrorism,
illegal trafficking of weapons and drugs and trans-border crime,"
Kuznetsov said.

"Decisions to use the KSOR will be made on the basis of the current
situation for every individual case," he said.

Kuzentsov also said that the Russian Defence Ministry has started
working on the formation of single standards in equipping KSOR military
contingents. In view of this, proposals will soon be prepared on
general approaches to ensure operational compatibility of the KSOR, for
instance, on their equipment with weapons, compatible communications,
singe uniform, insignia, etc.

"Today we showed our partners examples of field uniform made in
Russia. We suggested that they could supply with them KSOR military
contingents," Kuznetsov said. [passage omitted]

The president’s aide Sergey Prikhodko explained earlier that the
KSOR, unlike the Collective Rapid-Reaction Forces [KSBR], will be
permanently deployed on Russia and other countries will sent their
forces to Russia. It is expected that the core of the new subsystem
will be Russian military formations capable of resolving new tasks –
the 98th Guard Airborne Division and the 31st Guard Assault Brigade,
which could be later strengthened with forces from the Emergencies
Ministry and probably from the Interior Misitry.

ARMENIAN PROGRAM NEARS 40TH YEAR
By Christine Laubenstein

Watertown TAB & Press
877/Armenian-program-nears-40th-year
June 5 2009
MA

WATERTOWN – On Tuesday, students in Anahid Yacoubian’s Armenian class
translated a document about a memorial ceremony for Alan Hovhaness,
a renowned composer who had Armenian roots.

Yacoubian was pleased with the translation junior Hagop Keshishyan
read aloud.

"That was good," she said. "There weren’t any mistakes, but I probably
have to check the spelling."

As the Armenian language program prepares to mark its 40th anniversary
in the Watertown school district next school year, its teachers hope
that it will continue for many more years.

They said the public school program — which is one of a kind in New
England — is a valuable resource to students of Armenian heritage as
well as other students interested in learning a language and culture
of importance to the town.

"It teaches culture, it teaches history and pride in your ethnicity,"
said Siran Tamakian, who teaches an Armenian class for levels 1 and 2.

An estimated that 30 percent of Watertown residents are Armenian or
of Armenian heritage, said Sharistan Melkonian, chairperson of the
Watertown-based Armenian National Committee of Massachusetts. In the
most recent Census, 8.2 percent of residents claimed Armenian ancestry.

Students in Yacoubian’s class, which consists of levels 3 and 4,
confirm the class is worthwhile.

All of those in attendance Tuesday were brought up speaking Armenian
at home. But they didn’t necessarily learn how to speak it perfectly,
or to read and write it.

"It’s my main language and I want to know how to speak it, and I want
to write it correctly," said sophomore Meghri Ishakian.

Junior Ani Moushigian, president of the school’s Armenian Club,
said she fears she would forget the language without the class.

There are 13 students in Yacoubian’s class, and 15 students in
Tamakian’s class. The number of students taking Armenian is lower
than it was decades ago, with the program no longer at the middle
school level, said Yacoubian, who has taught Armenian in the school
district since the program’s inception and is now semi-retired.

The language used to be taught in the East Junior High and the West
Junior High.

Also, the school district no longer has a bilingual Armenian/English
program that includes social studies instruction, and there hasn’t been
a recent influx of Armenians as was the case in the 1970s, for example.

But the program is still popular enough for it to merit inclusion in
next year’s budget. About the same number of students has signed up
for the two classes for next year as this year.

"We’ve got smaller classes for other courses," said School Committee
Chairperson Tony Paolillo. "As long as we maintain some semblance of
interest in it, we’ll continue to provide it."

But according to Superintendent Steven Hiersche, interest might not
be enough to sustain the program in future years.

"There’s not any intention I see in the future to get rid of the
program, but the reality is if the school’s fiscal state doesn’t get
better, almost anything is on the table [for cuts]," he said.

The program’s main cost is the two teachers’ salaries, he said.

Yacoubian was not asked to return next year in an effort to save
the district some money, he said. Hiersche wasn’t sure how much that
would save. Another reason she, and other semi-retired teachers are
not being asked to return is next year is due to the state retirement
system "clamping down on a lot of opportunities that retirees can do,"
Hiersche said.

Yacoubian said she hopes her replacement will help keep the Armenian
program strong. She emphasized that the Armenian Club is similarly
valuable. It holds bake sales of Armenian food to raise money for
senior scholarships, and introduces students outside the Armenian
classes to Armenian culture.

RRF AGREEMENT DELAYED BECAUSE OF ARMENIA’S AND UZBEKISTAN’S POSITION

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
04.06.2009 22:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ CSTO agreement on creation of Rapid Reaction Forces
(RRF) is delayed because of Armenia’s and Uzbekistan’s position,
CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha stated. According to him, the
delay is caused by special positions of Armenia and Uzbekistan. Armenia
insists on setting more exact time frame for RRF readiness, Interfax
cited Bordyuzha as saying.

A decision on RRF creation was passed on Feb. 4 at SCTO summit
in Moscow.

BEELINE-UNIVERSITY IN ARMENIA INITIATES TRAINING OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO WORK IN SERVICE OFFICES AT PEAK HOURS

ArmInfo
2009-06-04 16:15:00

Beeline-University in Armenia has initiated training of young people
to work in service offices at peak hours, press-secretary of ArmenTel
(Beeline brand) Anush Begloyan said. ‘The young people will be trained
and attracted to work serving clients in sales offices at peak hours’,
– Begloyan added.

‘Beeline University is of great importance for training and raising
qualification of the company personnel, including those which are
giving service to clients. It will help our employees to adapt for
new job conditions and realities of business’, director general of
ArmenTel Igor Klimenko said. The Training-Centre of Beeline got a
status of Beelie University in July 2008.

AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTRY PREPARES VISIT OF AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN PUBLIC REPRESENTATIVES TO KARABAKH: MINISTER

Trend
June 3 2009
Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry is working over the visit of
Azerbaijani and Armenian public representatives to Nagorno-Karabakh.

"There is no concrete agreement on this issue yet. We are still working
on this issue," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told
reporters.

Azerbaijani and Armenian ambassadors to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu and
Armen Smbatyan plan to visit Nagorno-Karabakh soon.

Armenian and Azerbaijani public representatives visited
Nagorno-Karabakh on June 28, 2007 for the last time upon the initiative
of two countries’ ambassadors to Russia.

EX-MAYOR CALLS ON WITNESSES NOT TO COLLABORATE WITH GENERAL PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 15:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ All that happened on May 31 was not elections but a
pre-arranged process of falsifications implemented by the authorities,
former Mayor of Yerevan Vahagn Khachatryan, currently member of
Armenian National Congress (ANC), told a news conference. Ex-Mayor
finds that Armenia should cease the practice of holding elections
in the present-day totalitarian regime. "These were not elections,
but a pre-arranged process of mass falsifications implemented by the
authorities," Vahagn Khachatryan said.

Before the elections opposition had some hopes that at least Yerevan
Municipality would become a legitimate and accomplished structure. But
what happened on May 31, proved the contrary, ex-Mayor finds. "During
elections, ANC and its co-thinkers realized that authorities would
not manage to change," he noted.

When asked by a anARMENIAN.Net correspondent why ANC representatives,
journalists and observers refused to cooperate with General
Prosecutor’s Office, Mr. Khachatryan said he didn’t have faith in state
government bodies, especially Prosecutor’s Office and Police. "I call
on everybody to follow the example of the correspondent of ‘168 Zham’
and observer of Transparency International – Armenia: not to go to
polling stations, exposing their lives to danger." To the question
how the Prosecutor’s Office and Police should work in that case,
Khachatryan said they’d better think about restoring their image and
people’s trust instead of falsifying elections.

ATTEMPT TO DESTROY COTTAGE OF AZERBAIJAN’S AMBASSADOR IN MOSCOW

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.06.2009

The day before at about 04.00 a.m. group of unknown attacked the
cottage of the Ambassador of Russia to Russia Polad Bul Bul Ogli,
located near Baku, at the Nardaran village. Attackers destroyed 25
meters of stone fence and broke trees in the yard, Day.az reports.

Recently Polad Bul Bul Ogli has been bitterly criticized for holding
talks with the Ambassador of Armenia to Russia Armen Smbatyan and on
the visit of Nagorno Karabakh via territory of Armenia.

BAKU’S EFFORTS TO ATTACH RELIGIOUS COLORING TO KARABAKH CONFLICT HAMPER TALKS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.06.2009

/PanARMENIAN. Net/ Baku’s efforts to attach religious coloring to
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict hamper the ongoing peaceful talks,
Armenian senior official said.

"We regret that Azerbaijan’s efforts to cash in on the religious
sentiment led to adoption of anti-Armenian resolutions by the
Organization of Islamic Conference," Edward Nalbandian said during
a joint press conference with his visiting Syrian counterpart Walid
Muallem.

"These resolutions distort the history of the conflict and jeopardize
regional security," he said, adding that Armenian people have
peacefully lived with neighboring Muslim states for centuries.

DEFENSE MINISTRY OF NAGORNY KARABAKH REPUBLIC VALIDATES REPORTS ON AWOL OF TWO SOLDIERS

ArmInfo
2009-06-01 16:10:00

ArmInfo. Defense Ministry of the NKR has confirmed the report on
absence of two soldiers without official leave (AWOL). The NKR DM
press-service told ArmInfo soldiers Ohan Haroutiunyan and Gevorg
Tovmasyan left the army unit of NKR Defense Army without official leave
and occurred in the territory controlled by the Azerbaijani army. An
inquiry into the circumstances of the incident is underway. Both the
soldiers were called up on May 19 2009.

Nagorno Karabakh refutes information about `two servicemen going
across to the Azeri side’
31.05.2009 23:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Defense army of NKR does not have information about
capture of two Armenian soldiers by armed services of Azerbaijan,
Senor Hasratyan, lieutenant colonel and head of the press office
department of the NKR Defense Army, told a PanArmenian.net
reporter. `On May 31 no servicemen were going across to the enemy
side, this a regular lie and misinformation, ‘ Mr.Asratyan said,
adding that on June 1 more complete information will be at his
disposal.
Azerbaijani Trend Agency disseminated information, that allegedly on
May 31 two Armenian soldiers on a voluntary basis went across to Azeri
side and were captured by Azerbaijan’s servicemen in a place called
Gulistan on the territory of Geranboy area.