FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES MATTHEW BRYZA
15:02 08/08/2009
Panorama.am
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan received the U.S. State
Department Secretary Assistant and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair
Matthew Bryza, MFA PR department reports.
According to the source the recent developments of Artsakh conflict
negotiations have been discussed at the meeting. The sides have also
talked about Armenian-American relations.
EURASIA INSIGHT
ght/articles/eav080709.shtml
GEORGIA: SAAKASHVILI SHOWS STAYING POWER ON ANNIVERSARY OF WAR WITH RUSSIA
A EurasiaNet Photo Story: Molly Corso and Temo Bardzimashvili 8/07/09
War, political instability and economic crisis. Despite it all,
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has endured in office. And a
year after Georgia’s devastating war with Russia, Saakashvili’s
staying power is an image the Georgian government is eager to convey.
In an August 6 interview with Imedi television, Saakashvili stressed
that only individuals who are "absolutely marginalized" blame his
government for the war last August, a conflict that led to huge loss
of territory, created tens of thousands of displaced persons, and made
possible the establishment of Russian checkpoints
just an hour’s drive from Tbilisi.
Critics and some analysts say that Saakashvili has banked on Moscow’s
aggression — and his domestic opponents’ weaknesses — to hold on to
power and to strengthen international support for his administration,
even though there are lingering questions about his role in the 2008
war with Russia.
The government counters that he has prevailed because he possesses an
attribute that appears throughout the entire history of Georgia’s
torturous ties with Russia — staying power. On August 6, the
government detailed its findings on the war’s origins in a new,
40-page report that played on that message. Using military records and
other documents, the report argues the August war was the direct
consequence of two decades of Russian aggression against Georgia.
That message also echoes throughout the official August 7-8
commemoration of the 2008 war, most of which is taking place in Gori,
the Georgian town occupied by Russian forces for nine days last
August.
Rock concerts, photo exhibits on Russia’s "200-year occupation" of
Georgia and on the collapse of the Berlin Wall — along with youth-led
protests against the Russian military presence in breakaway South
Ossetia and Abkhazia — took top billing on August 7. And at 3pm,
Georgians commemorated soldiers killed in the war with a minute of
silence.
Occasionally bizarre elements of street theater also entered the
mix. On the morning of August 7, two store mannequins dressed up as
male soldiers stood guard at a pseudo border post on Tbilisi’s central
Rustaveli Avenue. The post marked the start of an outdoor exhibit that
featured the lists of Georgians arrested during the early days of
Soviet rule and photo overviews from Georgia’s wars in the early 1990s
with breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia and, most recently, Russia.
At parliament, another pair of soldier-mannequins — of unclear
citizenship — were placed moving up the front steps; a lone
mannequin, adorned with an ink-drawn moustache, stood next to one of
two armoured personnel carriers placed outside.
But a serious message stands behind the theater. It is a message that
Saakashvili has repeated over the past year, and successfully used to
deflect public outrage and weaken domestic opposition, according to
analyst Tina Gogheliani. "[He] managed to redirect the aggression that
was toward him — from the opposition and from other groups of society
— toward Russia," she said.
In a televised August 6 meeting with opposition leaders, Saakashvili
stated that the government and its opponents "are united by one thing:
love for the homeland . . . in the face of the enemy."
Opposition leader Davit Usupashvili holds that one of Saakashvili’s
main victories has been his ability to turn the conflict with Russia
to his advantage in the international community. Usupashvili, leader
of the Republican Party, maintains that Saakashvili "blackmails" the
international community into supporting him regardless of his
democratic track record. "Saakashvili is very effective at
blackmailing those governments and leaders and he achieved the
situation when leaders of democratic governments and international
organizations are weighing their words . . . in order to avoid
strengthening Russia’s position," he said.
Gogheliani, a political analyst with the International Center on
Conflict and Negotiation, believes that Saakashvili’s policy of unite
and conquer has worked so well that he has not had to make any real
sacrifices to stay in power.
After months of political protests, he has not fired any major member
of his government, given up control over any ministry or agreed to
early elections. Rather, it has been the government that has called
for dialogue and compromise — moves the opposition terms PR
gestures. In addition, the country’s economy suffered multiple blows
following the war, including the global financial crisis and extended
protests in the capital. Tens of thousands of Georgians displaced by
the war have flooded into Tbilisi and other parts of the country.
Over $4.5 billion in international aid, secured at a donor conference,
has helped soften the economic blows, but the Georgian economy is
still expected to contract as much as 1.5 percent this year, according
to Prime Minister Nika Gilauri. Unemployment is now a
concern. Economist Davit Narmania maintains that roughly 2.5 percent
of Georgia’s official working-age population of roughly 1.9 million
lost their jobs after the war. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive].
Alexander Rondeli, the head of the government-friendly Georgian
Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, says that
Saakashvili’s ability to negotiate all these political landmines is a
testament to his skill as a politician. "There is a fundamental
mistake in the assessment of Saakashvili," Rondeli said, referring to
the widely held opinion that the 41-year-old leader is "unstable and
very impulsive."
"[H]e is a very cold-blooded politician, cold bloodedly calculating
everything," said Rondeli. "He is not taking decisions in just one
moment."
Rondeli maintains that Saakashvili has developed into a more mature
leader during the course of the last, turbulent year. Usupashvili,
however, argues that whatever lessons Saakashvili has learned have
been "wrong."
"He is learning lessons [about] how to do his dirty political job in a
less painful way for him," he noted dryly.
Shalva Pichkhadze, an analyst and outspoken Saakashvili critic, cites
the opposition’s "ineffectiveness" following the 2008 war — not the
president’s political acumen — as the reason why he now has "no
competitors. Said Pichkhadze: "I don’t think anything will hinder him
[from remaining in power until 2013]."
Editor’s Note: Molly Corso is a freelance reporter based in
Tbilisi. Temo Bardzimashvili is a freelance photojournalist also based
in Tbilisi. EurasiaNet’s Caucasus news editor, Elizabeth Owen, added
reporting to this story.
ARMENIA WOULD BE IN A STATE OF WAR SHOULD GEORGIA’S PLAN NOT FAIL IN 2008
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
07.08.2009 16:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Last year’s August events in Georgia showed the true
position of interested parties, politologist Sergey Shakaryants told a
news conference in Yerevan. According to him, Georgian-Russian conflict
played a crucial role for Armenia. "I thought that NKR conflict
settlement will serve a sa precedent to other unacknowledged states
of Transcaucasia, but the opposite happened," Armenian politologist
said, stressing that even unacknowledged states like Abkhazia and
South Ossetia were acknowledged, still, NKR was not.
According to Sergey Shakaryants, Azerbaijan was preparing a war
against Armenia along with Georgia, yet Russia’s actions frustrated
it plans. "Armenia would be in a state of war should Georgia’s plan
not fail in 2008," he said, adding that last year Azerbaijan thrice
attempted attacks on NKR, yet the attempts were frustrated thanks to
NKR forces.
On August 8, during the night and early morning, Georgia launched a
military offensive to surround and capture the capital of separatist
Republic of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali thus breaking the terms of the
1992 ceasefire and crossing into the security zone established therein.
The heavy shelling, which included Georgian rockets being fired into
South Ossetia left parts of the capital city in ruins, causing a
humanitarian crisis.
Russia sent troops across the Georgian border, into South Ossetia. In
five days of fighting, the Russian forces captured the regional
capital Tskhinvali, pushed back Georgian troops, and largely destroyed
Georgia’s military infrastructure using airstrikes deep inside the
smaller country’s territory.
On August 12, Russian President Medvedev said that he had ordered
an end to military operations in Georgia. Later on the same day,
Russian president Medvedev approved a six-point peace plan brokered by
President-in-Office of the European Union, Nicolas Sarkozy, in Moscow;
both sides were to sign it by the 17th.
On August 27, President Medvedev of the Russian Federation signed
two Presidential decrees recognizing the Republic of Abkhazia and
the Republic of South Ossetia as sovereign independent states to
authorize the drafting of treaties of friendship, cooperation and
mutual assistance with the new states.
FIFA RANKING TABLE PUBLISHED: ARMENIAN TEAM OCCUPIES 123RD HORIZONTAL
Panorama.am
16:26 05/08/2009
World ranking table has been published on 5 August by FIFA. Armenian
team yielded its positions and occupies 123 horizontals. Top leaders’
positions remain unchanged with Brazil in the first horizontal,
Spain – the second and Netherlands – the third.
1. Brazil-1642 (points)
2. Spain-1590
3. Netherlands-1379
4. Germany-1195
5. Italy-1181
6. Russia-1161
7. England -1135
8. Argentina-1080
9. France-1059
10. Croatia-1031
19. Ukraine-869
28. Turkey-809
44. Bosnia&Herzegovina-680
56. Latvia-563
59. Lithuania-545
62. Belgium-533
74. Belarus-444
79. Uzbekistan-412
87. Moldova-389
103. Georgia-326
112. Estonia-308
122. Armenia-243
130. Kazakhstan-208
137. Azerbaijan-175
145. Turkmenistan-142
155. Tajikistan-116
160. Kyrgyzstan-102
OSCE MONITORING IN AZERBAIJANI-ARMENIAN CONTACT LINE PASSES WITHOUT INCIDENT
Trend
Aug 4 2009
Azerbaijan
No incident took place at the monitoring, held on contact line between
the Azerbaijani and Armenian Armed Forces, near the Borsunlu village
of the Azerbaijani Goranboy region on Aug.4 , upon mandate of OSCE
Chairman-in-Office, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend News.
Chairman-in-Office Anji Kaspershik and his field assistant Irji Aber
held the monitoring from Azerbaijan.
Field assistants of OSCE Chairman-in-office Imre Palatinus and
Vladimir Chountulov held the monitoring from opposite side of the
contact line of troops recognized as Azerbaijani territory at the
international level.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed
a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia,
France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.
CONSERVATISM OF ARMENIAN MEN OBSTACLE TO TREATMENT OF IMPOTENCE
ArmInfo
2009-08-05 13:22:00
ArmInfo. A two-day seminar "Men’s health from theory to practice"
has got underway in Yerevan. The participants of the seminar are
doctors, who in their everyday activity are involved in diagnosing,
preventing and treating male specific diseases. These are urologists,
andrologists, sexual pathologists, endocrinologists, as well as
doctors of diagnostic-laboratory centers and family doctors.
Juza Chen, MD (Israel), Member of ESSM Executive Committee Head of
Sexual Dysfunction Clinic, Department of Urology, an Israeli urologist,
representative of the European Association of Sexual medicine, says
smoking is one of the key reasons damaging the men’s potency.
In such conservative countries as Armenia, sexual problems are not
discussed openly and unwillingness of men to apply for medical care
is still a relevant problem there. Representatives of the Armenian
Diaspora in Israel display similar unwillingness to voice their sexual
problems, the urologist says. All this leads to progression of the
disease, and inveterate erectile dysfunction.
Men’s health includes solving a variety of medical and
psycho-sociological problems, which are impossible to cover during one
seminar. That’s why the primary goal of the seminar is to promote the
continuous education for specialists. For this purpose, outstanding
experts of this sphere were invited, to share their knowledge and
experience with the Armenian colleagues. They will present modern
methods of diagnosing and treating diseases of genital organs of men,
particularly erectile dysfunction, anhormonia, infertility and other
accompanying diseases.
Special attention will be devoted to the problems of reproductive
function of men, which unfortunately is the "weak link" for the
doctors, as not all diagnostic-laboratory centers use identified and
exacted methods approved by WHO.
These are topics that can be endlessly discussed, but steps should be
taken to immediately act with the aim of solving all these problems
and improving the life quality of men.
The event is organized by "DAAD Alumni Armenia" and the "National
Institute of Health" with the participation of foreign specialists. The
seminar will be over on August 6.
ARMENIA’S STATUS NOT ALLOWS IT TO HAVE ITS OWN OPINION ON DEEPENING RUSSIA-AZERBAIJAN RELATIONS: EXPERT
Today.Az
/54341.html
Aug 3 2009
Azerbaijan
Well-known diplomat and political expert Fikrat Sadigov spoke in an
interview with Day.Az.
Day.Az: How would you comment on one-day working visit to Azerbaijan
by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdukov and its outcome?
Fikrat Sadigov: The visit by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serduukov
should be considered in two ways. First of all, this visit is linked
with strengthening of military and technical relations between
Azerbaijan and Russia. Secondly, of course, this visit is related
to the overall situation in the South Caucasus region, in particular
with the Russian-Georgian relations, as well as the situation in Iran.
Q: Do not you think that Russian Defense Minister’s visit not announced
anywhere before was somewhat sudden?
A: Visits by defense leaders are not always announced. So, now it is
not an official, but working visit by Russian Defense Minister to
Azerbaijan which focused on operational issues related to security
in the South Caucasus region and Russia’s military presence in the
region, the expansion of Russian-Azerbaijani military and technical
cooperation on mutually beneficial terms.
Q: What, in your opinion, will be Armenia’s reaction to enhancing
Russia-Azerbaijan military and technical cooperation?
A: Armenia is Russia’s "outpost" in the Caucasus and its status will
not be changed. in the foreseeable future. But the current leadership
of Russia is well aware that their country can not forever indefinitely
to provide loans to Armenia and to employ ex-presidents of Armenia,
which has long bee turned into a mononational and economically backward
state. Moreover, Azerbaijan both economically and geopolitically is
a very attractive partner engaged in a very sensible and balanced
foreign policy. Moreover, hundreds thousands of Russians still live
in Azerbaijan unlike Armenia and the number of Russian-speaking
population of is greater.
All of this creates a good basis for a comprehensive deepening of
Russian-Azerbaijani relations. Neither Russia nor Azerbaijan should
be interested in what Armenia thinks in this regard. Armenia’s status
does not allow it to have its own opinion about the deepening of
Russia-Azerbaijan relations.
Q: Is Russia defense minister’s working visit to Azerbaijan is linked
with Russian Prime Putin’s visit to Turkey scheduled for August 6
which will focus also on Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
A: I would not say these visits are directly linked. But at
the same time discussing Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict in meetings between top leaders of Russia and Turkey is
inevitable. Moreover, there is now momentum in the settlement of the
conflict. In these circumstances, there is a need to make a final
clarification of a number of challenging and just as important issues
in Russia-Turkey relations with regard to the forthcoming visit to
Turkey by Vladimir Putin and with regard to Russian defense minister’s
visit to Azerbaijan.
EDITORIAL: TRUTH WILL PREVAIL, IF WE PERSIST
-31-editorial-truth-will-prevail-if-we-persist
Jul y 31, 2009
On April 24 President Barack Obama did more than fail to deliver on
his repeated campaign pledges to recognize the Armenian Genocide as
president of the United States. He also delivered a body blow to many
Armenian-Americans’ faith in our collective ability to bring about
positive change through political organizing and action.
We certainly cannot deny that we are disappointed in the president
we helped elect. But we continue to believe profoundly in political
action. "When it comes to Turkey and Armenia, Turkey wins every time,"
our colleagues at the Economist quote a Western official as saying
this week.
We respectfully disagree.
In the confrontation between truth and falsehood, as in any other
grand confrontation, the outcome is not preordained. If good people
work hard and tirelessly, then truth will ultimately prevail.
It is with these sentiments that we greet the action of 81 members
of Congress this week, who wrote to President Obama, urging him to
correct course on Armenia-Turkey relations and the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide.
The members of Congress correctly pointed out that Turkey acted in bad
faith when it pretended to commit to a process of normalizing relations
with Armenia. Having closed the border with Armenia unilaterally 16
years ago, Turkey continues to refuse to open it – even though its
policy of strangling Armenia into concessions over Nagorno-Karabakh
has failed completely.
Turkey seems to believe that keeping the border closed and holding
occasional meetings with Armenian officials will yield a different
desirable result: persuading U.S. officials to hold off indefinitely
on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
The members of Congress quite reasonably point out that the two
issues should be delinked: recognize the Genocide, Mr. Obama, as
you said you would, and take away Turkey’s reason for dragging out
normalization talks.
The letter was initiated by four committed friends of the
Armenian-American community, Representatives Frank Pallone,
Jr. (D.-N.J.), Mark Kirk (R.-Ill.), Adam Schiff (D.-Calif.), and George
Radanovich (D.-Calif.) We should all thank them for their initiative.
Joining the four members of Congress as co-signers were 77 others. If
your representative is among those who signed on to this letter,
please call him or her and say thank you. They deserve our gratitude.
SOUTH CAUCASUS RAILWAY OPENS RAILWAY MUSEUM OF ARMENIA AT YEREVAN CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION
ArmInfo
2009-07-31 13:50:00
ArmInfo. South Caucasus Railway has opened a Railway Museum of Armenia
at the building of Yerevan Central Railway Station. SCR leadership
and veteran-railmen attended the opening ceremony.
"The South Caucasus Railway is an operating structure that serves
the economy of Armenia. In addition, it has over a century-long
history directly connected with the history of Armenia. We think it
very important to know it and preserve our traditions", says Sergey
Haroutiunyan, the SCR chief engineer. The stands in the Museum present
the history of railway communication in Armenia starting from the 19th
century when Tiflis-Aleksandropolis (now Gyumri) railway was built up
to the present day. "The whole exposition and design of the exhibition
hall shows the cooperation of Armenia and Russia which is continued
also at present," he says. The reconstruction of the exhibition hall
took 8 million drams. SCR CJSC is the 100% subsidiary of the Russian
Railway OJSC and the concessionaire of the Armenian Railway CJSC.
AMONG CIS COUNTRIES ARMENIA IS A LEADER IN ATTRACTING INVESTMENTS
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
30.07.2009 17:52 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ More than 70 per cent of agencies to attract
investments are not fully utilize their capacities to attract
investment, results of the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
study testifies. Austrian Business Agency ranks the first in the
survey. Several middle-income countries – in particular, Brazil,
Botswana, Columbia have shown excellent results in attracting
investments.
Among CIS countries Armenia is a leader in attracting
investments. However, foreign investors who turn to state agencies to
make investments in the former Soviet Union countries are likely to
be disappointed: all former Soviet Union countries except Armenia,
Georgia and Azerbaijan were included in the group of "weak" and
"very weak" in respect of showings indicating their interaction with
potential investors.
In fact, the vast majority of countries in the region, government
agencies, responsible for attracting foreign direct investments,
either simply not responded to requests from investors, or turned to
be unavailable.