Author: Karagyozian Lena

GROUP FOUND FACTS ON MARCH 1

LRAGIR.AM
13:30:41 – 27/05/2009

The group, set up to find facts on the murders of March 1, was able
to make tangible revelations at least thanks to the work of the
oppositional representative. The head of the Heritage parliamentary
faction Armen Martirosyan stated on May 27. Dwelling on the situation,
in which the fact-finding group appeared, when the work of the group
has been stopped and the head of the group, the representative of the
Human Rights Defender Vahe Stepanyan stated that he does not want to
work any more because he cannot counterbalance the disagreements of the
governmental and oppositional representatives, Armen Martirosyan thinks
that if the group is formed to study facts so the disagreements appear
because of obstacles for the work. Since the opposition needs facts
and the government has already presented its facts, so according to
Armen Martirosyan, the governmental representatives are the obstacles.

"The oppositional representatives tried to reveal the facts and the
governmental representatives impeded. So the disagreements appeared
here. I think that this is the reason why they are trying to stop
the activities of the fact-finding group. But I reiterate that the
Heritage is going to struggle until the end to make the fact-finding
group resume its work", stated Armen Martirosyan.

He stated that the residence of the president did not answer the
letter of the head of the Heritage board Anahit Bakhshyan. Bashkhyan
appealed to the president to secure the regular work of the group.

Armen Martirosyan reminded that if the group stops working, the
necessity to keep secret its revelations will disappear.

ARMENIA AND TURKEY SHOULD HAVE STARTED NEGOTIATIONS WITH PRECONDITIONS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
26.05.2009 18:29 GMT+04:00

Armenia and Turkey should have started negotiations with preconditions,
if only to gain a better understanding of each others demands,
before launching negotiations and trying to establish diplomatic
relations, RA Democratic Party Leader Aram Sargsyan noted. Dwelling
on Armenian-Turkish ties normalization process, Sargsyan emphasized
that in accordance with the information he received, Turkish and Azeri
special services are conducting a joint work over destabilization of
both courtiers societies, so negotiation process could be retracted if
necessary. According to Aram Sargsyan, Armenian President was trying
to use flexible policy in normalization of Armenian -Turkish ties,
yet, in his opinion, Armenia must a have a firm concept in the issue.

"Turkey can afford situational policy, yet we must have a firm concept
in Armenian-Turkish ties normalization issue," he noted.

Sargsyan also added that Armenia has to make a more extensive use
of additional resources offered by Armenia-Diaspora lobby, as it’s
feared both in Azerbaijan and Turkey.

AZERI, TURKISH LEADERS SAY NO PROGRESS IN KARABAKH TALKS

kish-leaders-jeopardize-karabakh-talks/
May 26th, 2009

DAMASCUS (Combined Sources)-In a move that could undermine efforts
by international mediators to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
the Azerbaijani and Turkish foreign ministers said over the weekend
that Armenia and Azerbaijan have made no progress in resolving the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, sharply contradicting optimistic
statements made by international mediators.

"Despite the development of a new situation in the region, Armenia
has unfortunately begun having a negative influence on the peace
process," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told the
Trend news agency.

"We achieved everything with the previous Armenian administration in
the peace process, but with the current Armenian administration we have
achieved nothing," he said. "As a person leading the negotiations,
I cannot boast that we have made even some progress in outstanding
issues."

Mammadyarov’s Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, had a similar
take on the current state of the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiating
process. "There has been no progress," he told the Anatolia news
agency on Sunday. "It is time to revive this process. Turkey will
continue its efforts."

Turkey, a non-actor in the Minsk Group mediated negotiations, has
been seeking to boost its role in the peace process by threatening
to derail its US-brokered talks with Armenia if a resolution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh favoring its ally Azerbaijan is not reached first.

Davutoglu said that a strong Azerbaijan implies a strong Turkey. "Our
Azerbaijani brothers and sisters should know that, just as in the
past, Turkey will be on the side of Azerbaijan in the future,"
Davutoglu said.

"Turkey and Azerbaijan are not merely friends and neighbors. They
are also strategic partners."

The two ministers spoke in Damascus, Syria where they attended a
high-level meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference
countries. They were due to fly to Baku and hold talks there late
on Monday.

The apparent reversal in official attitude by Ankara and Baku toward
the Karabakh peace process comes a week after the OSCE Minsk Group’s
French co-chair, Bernard Fassier, warned Turkey that its attempts
to link the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with the normalization of its
relations with Armenia could jeopardize the new momentum in the talks
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan explicitly reaffirmed that
linkage during his visit to Azerbaijan on May 13, saying that it is
"impossible" for Turkey to open its border with Armenia unless the
"Occupation of Karabakh" ends.

Those remarks were met with sharp criticism in Armenia, with President
Serzh Sarkisian and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian warning that
Turkey’s posturing could hamper both the Armenian-Azerbaijani, as
well as the Armenian-Turkish negotiations.

Sarkisian has held four face-to-face meetings with Azerbaijan’s
Ilham Aliyev since taking office in April 2008. Their most recent
talks took place in Prague on May 7. According to the U.S., Russian
and French diplomats co-chairing the OSCE, the two leaders further
narrowed their differences over the basic principles of a Karabakh
settlement proposed by the mediating troika.

The mediators’ upbeat statements about chances for the signing of
an Armenian-Azerbaijani framework peace accord have been strongly
denounced by Aliyev’s chief foreign policy aide, Novruz Mammadov. He
has accused them of adopting "double standards" and favoring the
Armenian side out of "Christian solidarity."

Still, the Minsk Group’s U.S. co-chair, Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State Matthew Bryza, insisted on May 15 that Aliyev and Sarkisian did
make "significant progress" in Prague. "Novruz Mammadov has no way to
judge what the outcome of the discussion was because he wasn’t there,"
Bryza told RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani service.

"We have a series, between 10 and 20 basic principles in our Madrid
document, and we have a handful of the 10-12 issues that still need to
be worked out conceptually," he said. "And what I felt during those
negotiations … was that the presidents did in fact work through
the concepts of that handful of basic principles that had not been
agreed. What they didn’t do was agree on the details.

"And that’s the focus of our negotiations right now. To have a
conceptual agreement, but not to agree on the details, is significant
progress."

Bryza and his French and Russian colleagues are due to again visit the
conflict zone this week to prepare for yet another Armenian-Azerbaijani
summit tentatively scheduled for the beginning of next month. They
hope that it will yield a long-awaited breakthrough in the Karabakh
peace process.

THE FIRST CONTEST FOR YOUNG JAZZ PERFORMERS WAS HELD IN YEREVAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
22.05.2009 18:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The first contest for Young Jazz Performers,
"Debut" was held in Yerevan.

Young jazz performers from 13 to 30 qualified for participation.

The contest aimed to discover young talents and help them make their
first step in their artistic careers.

The contest hosted 50 performers, 7 of them made it through to
the finals.

Contest Final was held on May 21 at Chameleon club. Young singer
Martha Kirakosyan became the contest winner. Zina Bekjanyan and Marine
Hakobyan were also granted special awards.

Festival organizers were City FM Radio station, Camelion Club and
Armjazz.net website.

Jury included musical critic Armen Manukyan, Naira Gyurginyan, singer
Anna Mayilyan, City FM Presedent Sargis Mnoyan, composer Martin
Vartazaryan, Chameleon Club Director Gaspar Mkhitaryan.

FROM ADVOCACY TO GIVING: WHY TAKING PART IN THE ANCA ENDOWMENT FUND TELETHON WILL STRENGTHEN THE ARMENIAN CAUSE
By Lara Garibian

dvocacy-to-giving-why-taking-part-in-the-anca-endo wment-fund-telethon-will-strengthen-the-armenian-c ause/
May 22, 2009

On April 22, I was invited to go to Washington D.C. to help lobby
in Congress for the Armenian Genocide. Fifty people from all over
the Unites States gathered together to fulfill one purpose. Our
goal was to visit a long list of congressional offices and speak
to each congressman’s foreign affairs aide and provide them with
the information necessary to cosponsor H. Res. 252, which calls
"upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the
United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity
concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and
genocide documented in the United States record relating to the
Armenian Genocide…" Along with learning what the bill entailed, I
also learned how to intelligently speak against the counter arguments
that would be presented when we met with foreign affairs aides.

For years the Armenian National Committee of America has brought
Armenian-Americans from across the United States together to make known
the truth of history and to give Armenians who ended up immigrating
to the United States as a result of genocide a solid piece of closure
by working to make the world see the atrocities that occurred 94
years ago.

"The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest
and most influential Armenian American grassroots political
organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated
organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the
concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of
issues, such as fostering public awareness in support of a free,
united and independent Armenia, making sure that the U.S. recognizes
the genocide of 1915, to influence and guide U.S. policy on matters
of interest to the Armenian-American community, and to represent the
collective Armenian American viewpoint on matters of public policy,
while serving as liaison between the community and their elected
officials," according to the organization’s Web site anca.org.

To be honest, my family tried to get me involved in such organizations
for a number of years and my response would always be, "Look, it’s not
really my thing. I’ll leave the politics to the politicians." However,
after really having an opportunity in making a difference on such
a strong and influential level, I realized that the ANCA represents
more than just politics.

While we spent days working hard, walking the halls of Congress, and
trying with all our hearts and efforts to make a difference, we were
disappointed to hear President Obama’s failure to honor his pledge
to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. We heard the news literally an
hour before our protest at the Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C.

However, that day something very powerful and symbolic really dawned
on all of us. The work we put in wasn’t only based on political
interest. The fact that we had an organization, which allowed all
of us young Armenians to come together and work towards something
culturally advantageous, really showed me why we have such a proud
core within our blood.

Amid our disappointment, I realized a few things. The first was
that the true core of the ANCA wasn’t about just passing a political
resolution, it was about bringing our people together, to work hand
in hand towards something that would allow our legacy and our heritage
to truly live on. The second was that my disappointment didn’t lie in
President Obama’s lack of acknowledgment. My heart broke for all the
Armenian men, women and youth that had spent years and generations
working toward a strong closure and acceptance. Yet they still faced
the repercussions of denial until this very day. After all the last
stage of genocide is denial and with that kind of adversity against
our people it made me so incredibly proud to see everyone come together
once again and strive hard to keep getting our message across. Thirdly,
I realized we all have a responsibility. We owe it to our ancestors
who sacrificed their lives and lands to hold on to their ethnicity,
culture and religion. We have a responsibility to those who work hard
everyday at making our communities here stay strong and who work
at making sure that year after year we never give up fighting for
what we truly believe in. As I heard Elizabeth Chouldjian once say,
"Mer askayeen bardaganootyoun neh." It is for our future generations,
for our ancestors and for our families who dedicated time, money,
strength, but above all, heart.

I’m sure you are familiar with the writer William Saroyan and his
famous quote about Armenians. He wrote, "I should like to see any
power of the world destroy this race; this small tribe of unimportant
people whose history is ended, whose wars have all been fought and
lost, whose structures have crumbled, whose literature is unread,
whose music is unheard, whose prayers are no longer uttered. Go
ahead, destroy this race. Let us say that it is again 1915 there is
war in the world. Destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send them
from their homes into the desert. Let them have neither bread nor
water. Burn their houses and their churches. See if they will not live
again. See if they will not laugh again. See if you can stop them from
mocking the big ideas of the world. Then see if they will not laugh,
sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world,
see if they will not create a New Armenia." That is exactly what the
Armenian National Committee has done; it has created a new Armenia
for Armenian Americans.

When you take a look at the reality of our daily lives, we see all
the work that piles up on our desk, the daily correspondence we have
to attend to, the children we have to take to school, pick up, help
with homework, etc… We see the situation of our economy and the
pressures that come along with all the responsibility we take on. I
know it is unrealistic to expect everyone to drop everything and get
involved in activism and lobbying efforts; however your efforts are not
in vain. You can make a huge change today by donating to a great cause.

I ask you to please contribute to an organization and a cause that
will be around to nurture and nourish our young Armenian American
adolescents for all the years to come. I ask you to fulfill the
cultural responsibility that has been instilled within us for all
our lives and make sure that we stay involved in whatever way we can
to make sure that our efforts prove fruitful in providing a strong
acceptance and closure for an issue that has impacted our lives on
such an enormous level. Realize that just one bit of effort can really
make a difference in the futures of us all as a minority. Whether
you want to give one major donation or split it in two, please
consider the difference you will be making. I appreciate your time
and consideration of this matter. Your tax-deductible contributions
should be made payable to Armenian National Committee Endowment
Fund. Let’s work together to make this year’s ANCA Endowment Fund
telethon a great success on May 31, 2009!

I would like to leave you with one last quote to think about. William
Saroyan wrote, "A man’s ethnic identity has more to do with a personal
awareness than with geography."

JETHRO TULL ROCKS YEREVAN
Hrant Katarikyan

2009/ 05/22 | 22:57

Culture

Jethro Tull rocked the Karen Demirchyan Sports-Concert Complex tonight
with a two hour set that included songs ranging from the band’s
beginnings in 1968 through its 41 year life as a musical phenomenon
that is hard to define.

Audience favorites like Aqualung and Cross Eyed Mary were interspersed
with golden oldies like Farm on the Freeway and Sweet Dreams. There
were even a few numbers that the band hardly play live at all like
Hymn 43 and Heavy Horses.

Ian Anderson and the lads were in fine form and once again proved they
they could still rock even after 60. I could even see more than a few
in the audience that were soon approaching their "golden years" as
well. However, I wouldn’t advise them to try and copy Ian’s one-legged
acrobatics while playing the flute to a stuttering staccato.

In the second set, Ian was momentarily phased when a young Tull
fan got up on the stage and started to bow down before the prancing
flutist. Security immediately ushered him off, stage left.

The organizers must be congratulated for bringing Tull to Armenia.

Locomotive Breath was the encore piece and by that point the crowd
was up on its feet cheering Ian, Martin and the rest of the band.

It was truly a remarkable performance.

PRESS SERVICE OF ‘NAIRIT PLANT’ CJSC REFUTES INFORMATION ABOUT YESTERDAY’S FIRE

ArmInfo
2009-05-22 12:40:00

ArmInfo. Press service of ‘Nairit’ plant refutes the information
about yesterday’s fire.

‘The information about a new fire disseminated by the news agencies
does not meet the reality’, press service of emphasizes and recalls
that dismantling of constructions and equipment, which damaged during
May 14 explosions and fire at the plant, is underway. ‘The incident,
mentioned in the messages, happened at a distance of 1 km from the
territory of the plant and did not affect the enterprise’s fire
safety’, the press service reports.

However, responding to ArmInfo’s request, the Ministry of Emergency
Situations of Armenia confirmed again that inflammation happened in
the territory of ‘Nairit-2’ CJSC. According to the information of
Armenia’s MES, the fire happened in the workshop on production of
polyethylene. Six fire teams were sent to the site of occurrence,
however, the fire was extinguished buy local efforts.

RALF YIRIKIAN DENIES INFORMATION ON HIS DISMISSAL

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
21.05.2009 20:38 GMT+04:00

Ralf Yirikian, director general of the VivaCell-MTS denies
information on his dismissal. "I am happy to work in my Motherland
and manage such a large staff," Mr. Yirikian told a news conference on
Thursday. According to him, 1200 employees work at the VivaCell-MTS,
and each of them is a breadwinner. Noting that VivaCell-MTS is
socially oriented, Mr.Yirikian informed that 30 employees of their
company are handicapped.

Irrespectively of the world financial and economic crisis, VivaCell-MTS
has not cut jobs, said the director general. Ralf Yirikian assured,
that the company will not implement staff reduction, yet the enterprise
will not recruit new employees by the next year.

STAR HAS INVESTED OVER HALF A MILLION USD IN A MODERN BAKERY

ArmInfo
2009-05-20 19:04:00

ArmInfo. The biggest supermarket network in Armenia, STAR, has
officially inaugurated a modernized bakery.

Director of STAR Vahan Kerobyan said that the opening of the bakery was
preceded by long and thorough consultations with leading Italian and
French bakers. Just like in all of its activities, in baking, too, STAR
seeks to use the best technologies so as to offer a high-quality tasty
product. "We will constantly import the most advanced technologies so
as to constantly improve the quality of our bread," Kerobyan said. He
pointed out that STAR’s bakery was the best bakehouse in Armenia. The
capacity of the bakery is 5-6 tons a day. The company has invested a
total of $550,000 in this project with the equipment provided through
the agency of ACBA Leasing under a five-year contract.

The new bakery will produce not only traditional Armenian but also
the best European and Russian breads. "We will focus on breads that
are not yet widespread in Armenia. Our products will be less caloric
due to special natural and ecologically safe Italian food additives,"
Kerobyan said.

Special attention will be paid to the packing.

Deputy Director General of ACBA Leasing Arsen Bazikyan said that since
2004 his company and STAR have implemented lots of projects for the
purchase of modern technologies and equipment. "Our cooperation with
STAR is very successful as it is one of the few companies realizing
the necessity and the advantages of leasing. The bakery project has
proved that one can successfully renovate its assets due to this
financial instrument," Bazikyan said.

According to the STAR data, the bakery opening project is carried
out in several stages. In particular, a leading specialist of
"Frital" Italian Company, from which the STAR purchased a breadmaking
equipment, was invited for assemblage and testing of the equipment at
the first stage. Another specialist, a leading technologist of the
Scientific Research Development Department of Diamalteria Italiana
Italian Company with over 100 year of experience in development and
production of the European bread, was engaged in the personnel advanced
training. "Jointly with the trained specialists of STAR bakery, we
produced 7 kinds of the European breads which will gradually enter
the menu of the Armenian consumer", a specialist of Diamalteria
Italiana said and emphasized the good abilities and skills of the
Armenian specialists.

WORK OF NEW NUCLEAR ENERGY UNIT CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM CURRENT STAGE IN ARMENIA APPROVED

Noyan Tapan
May 20, 2009

YEREVAN, MAY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. RA President Serzh Sargsyan convened a
National Security Council sitting on May 19, during which the report of
RA Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisian was heard,
steps taken in that direction so far were discussed and approved. Noyan
Tapan was informed about it by the RA President’s Press Office.

Recording the importance of Armenian economy’s medium-term and
long-term development, as well as importance of construction of a new
energy unit in the context of country’s energy security, the Security
Council examined all stages of implementation of the process from
technical-economic elaborations to energy unit’s operation.