Author: Kharatian Ani

POST-ELECTORAL SITUATION IN IRAN POSES NO THREAT TO ARMENIAN COMMUNITY

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.06.2009 21:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As national-religious minority, Armenian community
in Iran never interferes in domestic political developments, Norvank
foundation’s deputy director Sevak Sarukhanyan told journalists
on June 17. "Iranian-Armenians do not face any threats. The do not
intend to participate in post-electoral processes as they support
both candidates," the expert stressed.

According to him, both President Ahmadinejad and his rival Mir
Hossein Musavi highly appreciate Armenian community’s role. During
his presidency, Ahmadinejad did his best to assist Armenian community
and even allocated sums from State Budget to for the implementation
of cultural and educational programs, he added.

NAGORNO KARABAKH TO DEVELOP TOURISM

HULIQ
orno-karabakh-develop-tourism
June 17 2009
SC

Tourists who travel to Armenia as an ancient, beautiful and cheap
family vacation destination in South Eastern European corner,also take
the opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful mountainous regions
of the world, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Today, the president of
Nagorno Karabakh Mr. Bako Sahakyan met with the government to discuss
way to develop tourism and recreation industry in the republic and
attrack more tourists from Europe, USA and the Middle East.

The President of Nagorno Karabakh Bako Sahakyan had a working
meeting where issues of tourism development were discussed. As the
press service of the Presidential Administration of Nagorno Karabakh
Republic informs Sergey Shahverdyan, head of the tourism development
bureau of the government, presented a report over the problem. After
that broader discussions were hold.

The President has attached importance to the development of tourism
sector considering it a direction of a strategic significance
for the state. The President instructed to work out and present a
tourism development program which will objectively and thoroughly
reflect the situation as well as the perspectives of the growth in
the sphere. Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan and other officials were
also present at the meeting, reports panorama.am.

As the State Statistic Bureau of Nagorno Karabakh Republic reports, in
2008 the external trade of the republic has increased by 10% and the
export has decreased by 24.1% in comparison with 2007. The import in
its turn has increased by 22 %. In 2008 the trade of Nagorno Karabakh
with CIS states has been 87540.2 billion AMD (Armenian drams) which
is the 93% of the whole commodity circulation of the republic. The
trade with other states amounts 5709.2 billion AMD or the 6.1 %
of the whole commodity circulation, reports Haik Daily.

HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN AND ASHOT GHULYAN PARTICIPATE IN THE OPENING OF ARTSAKH PAINTERS’ EXHIBITION

National Assembly of RA
June 17 2009
Armenia

On June 16 President of the National Assembly of the Republic of
Armenia Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan and President of the National Assembly
of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Mr. Ashot Ghulyan participated at the
opening of the exhibition of the works of Artsakh painters. The heads
of the parliaments of Armenia and Artsakh joined the art lovers, who
gathered in the exhibition hall of the Painters’ Union of Armenia. Then
Mr. H. Abrahamyan and A. Ghulyan went into the exhibition hall and
watched the paintings accompanied by the chairmen of the Painters’
Union of Armenia and Artsakh.

During the visit to the exhibition Minister of Culture Mrs. Hasmik
Poghosyan accompanied Mr. H. Abrahamyan and A. Ghulyan.

ARMENIAN RUBBER PLANT NAIRIT TO SUSPEND PRODUCTION UNTIL AUG 1 FOLLOWING ACCIDENT

Interfax
June 16 2009
Russia

Armenia’s Nairit Plant, the sole producer of chloroprene rubber in
Armenia and the CIS, has announced it is suspending production from
June 12 until August 1, 2009 to make repairs following an accident
at the plant, the company said in a statement.

About $200,000 is needed to eliminate the aftermath of the
accident. This amount does not include materials and equipment at
the plant that will be used to resume production.

Four people were killed and eight injured during an explosion at the
Nairit plant on May 14.

Rhinoville Property Limited, a company set up by Polish Samex, American
Intertex and Russian Evrogaz, owns 90% of Nairit shares. The Armenian
state has 10%.

ULTRANATIONALIST ERGENEKON SUSPECT IS OF ARMENIAN ORIGIN, MAGAZINE REVEALS

Today’s Zaman
o?load=detay&link=178191&bolum=101
June 16 2009
Turkey

Retired Gen. Veli Kucuk, who is known for his ultranationalist
statements, has Armenian roots, the biography magazine Chronicle
has revealed.

In its June edition, the magazine covered the biography of Kucuk, one
of the prime suspects in the case against Ergenekon, a shadowy crime
network that has alleged links within the state and is suspected of
plotting to topple the government. In an article titled "Kucukogullari
and Veli Kucuk," the magazine noted that the village where Kucuk
was born, the village of Turkmen in the western province of Bilecik,
was an Armenian settlement, contrary to what is generally believed.

Kucuk, who was born in Turkmen on May 9, 1944, was the son of a farmer
who had four children. He was named after his brother, who died when
he was a baby.

Referring to records from the Ottoman Empire, the magazine said 85
percent of the residents in the village were of Armenian origin,
but no Armenians reside in the village today.

Examining the tax records of Armenian families in the village, the
magazine analyzed Kucuk’s ethnic roots. The tax records show that
Artin from the Kucukogulları family paid a tax of Kr 30; Minas
from the same family also paid Kr 30. It is not known today what
happened to the Kucukogulları family or the Armenian residents of
Turkmen. There are no documents showing that they left the village
during the Armenian deportation in 1915. After the adoption of the
surname law following the establishment of the Turkish Republic in
1923, some village residents adopted the surname "Kucuk," the magazine
revealed. Veli Kucuk speaks Armenian fluently, the magazine noted.

Kucuk is currently in prison on charges of being a leader of
Ergenekon. Kucuk is also believed to be the founder of JÄ°TEM,
a clandestine and illegal intelligence group inside the gendarmerie
that is believed to have carried out hundreds of unofficial and highly
criminal operations against targets that were deemed by JÄ°TEM leaders
as a threat to Turkey’s national interests for one reason or another.

AZERBAIJANI EMBASSY DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN TARGETS ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF AMERICA

armradio.am
16.06.2009 12:04

The Azerbaijani government responded today to the Armenian National
Committee of America’s (ANCA) reports of an emerging United States
foreign aid policy double standard toward the countries of the Caucasus
countries by circulating a press release bitterly attacking the ANCA
and spreading misinformation about aid levels to the region.

According to a news release placed on the PRNewswire, the Azerbaijani
Embassy set its sights on the ANCA’s recent criticism of the Obama
Administration’s proposed reduction in U.S. assistance to Armenia in
the face of proposed increases for Azerbaijan and Georgia, accusing
the Armenian American grassroots group of misrepresenting aid figures
to the states of the Caucasus.

"Either Azerbaijani Ambassador Yashar Aliyev is out spreading
falsehoods around Capitol Hill or he really needs to brush up on
his fourth grade math skills," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. "These publicly available figures are really rather simple
and should be easy enough for even a schoolchild to easily grasp:
a proposed 38% reduction in U.S. assistance to Armenia in the face
of a 20% increase to Azerbaijan, despite that country’s ongoing
blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh and President Aliyev’s
continued threats of renewed war."

The Azerbaijani Ambassador’s response was to an ANCA Memo to Capitol
Hill, titled "Double Standards: U.S. Aid Policy in the Caucasus,"
released on June 11th, the day after the Millennium Challenge
Corporation effectively suspended a full third of its $235 million
grant to Armenia due to concerns over democratic governance. The
ANCA memo compared the harsh U.S. response to Yerevan’s actions, both
rhetorically and in terms of aid levels, to the increased financial
support that both Azerbaijan and Georgia are set to receive despite
their serious shortcomings in the areas of democracy, corruption,
and governance.

PAET: ARMENIAN RECONCILIATION WITH NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES IN BEST INTEREST OF EUROPEAN SECURITY

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
hiiv_kuup=kuup_2009
June 12 2009
Estonia

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, in Armenia on a visit, stated that it
is in Estonia’s security interests for the conflicts and dissensions
in Lower Karabakh to be resolved. "This includes the resolution of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the normalisation of Armenia-Turkey
relations, and the support of Georgia’s territorial integrity,"
said Paet.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said during his meetings with Armenian
state leaders today that Estonia is interested in developing relations
with Armenia in the political, economic and cultural fields.

Both the Estonian and Armenian foreign ministers expressed hope that
the Estonia-Armenia business forum opened today is an important step
for economic relations. "Estonian businesses have not yet discovered
Armenia and its investment opportunities. Hopefully this business
seminar is a good start for intensifying contacts in the future,"
said Paet in Jerevan while opening the seminar. The Armenian side
expressed a lively interest in Estonia’s e-democracy and information
technology development, as well as in sharing the experiences of
constructing Estonia’s insurance system.

During his official visit in Armenia, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet
talked about Estonia-Armenia relations, Armenia’s relations with the
European Union and NATO, and co-operation within the framework of
European Neighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership in meetings
with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Parliament Speaker Hovik
Abrahamjan, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Economic Minister
Nerses Yeritsian.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet brought up Estonia’s wish for Armenia to
abolish the visa requirement for Estonian citizens. "Estonia would
also like to sign a readmission agreement with Armenia as soon as
possible," Paet noted, adding that Estonia is prepared to abolish
its visa requirement for carriers of Armenian diplomatic passports.

Armenian Economic Minister Nerses Yeritsian, during his meeting with
Foreign Minister Paet, expressed interest in Estonia’s pension system
and informed the foreign minister that Armenia would like to create
a pension pillar programme based on Estonia’s example.

During his meeting with Foreign Minister Nalbandian, Paet said that
Eastern Partnership is a good opportunity for Armenia to grow closer
to the European Union. "I hope that Armenia will use the opportunities
offered by Eastern Partnership in every way possible," said Paet. "We
hope that as a result of Eastern Partnership co-operation, close
economic relations will be created between the target states and
the European Union, and that in the future we will also achieve the
conclusion of a comprehensive free trade agreement," he added.

When talking about co-operation between the two nations, Paet
also mentioned the training opportunities that Estonia offers to
Armenian diplomats. "Young Armenian diplomats participate in the
short-term training on European Union and NATO integration organised
by the Estonian School of Diplomacy. The programme will continue for
another year," Paet noted. "For six years now, Estonia has co-operated
with Sweden to organise trainings for Armenian rescue specialists,"
he added.

Other topics discussed were the region’s security situation, relations
with neighbours, and energy issues. Paet emphasised at the meeting
that Estonia supports the peaceful and constructive resolution of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. "The steps taken between Armenia
and Azerbaijan to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict are encouraging," he stated. While talking about Armenia-NATO
co-operation, Paet noted that Estonia would be happy to see Armenia
participating in the reconstruction of Afghanistan within the framework
of NATO’s ISAF peacekeeping mission.

U.S. URGES NO KARABAKH LINK FOR ARMENIA-TURKEY RELATIONS
by Tatul Hakobyan

o/article/2009-06-10-u-s–urges-no-karabakh-link-f or-armenia-turkey-relations&pg=2
Wednesday June 10, 2009

Turkish-Armenian process "can’t go on forever"
Vote will be "a part" of Karabakh settlement

Yerevan – The newly confirmed U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs, Philip Gordon, announced in Yerevan on
June 9 that there should be no preconditions or linkages "to anything
else" in the process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations. The
U.S. statement came after repeated announcements by Turkey’s Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey would not open its border
or establish diplomatic relations with Armenia so long as Armenian
forces have not been removed from Azerbaijan’s territory.

Speaking at a news conference at the U.S. Embassy, Mr. Gordon said,
"Turkey-Armenia normalization would benefit Turkey, it would benefit
Armenia, and it would benefit the entire region. And because of that,
we do not think it should be linked to anything else."

The State Department in late April called for the normalization
of Armenian-Turkish relations "without preconditions and within
a reasonable timeframe." Asked to elaborate, Mr. Gordon said, "A
reasonable timeframe is a reasonable timeframe. That is not really
for us to say. It means the process can’t be infinite; it can’t go
on forever. But I think both sides do appreciate that they need to
move forward, and I think they are, and I think they will."

As the Armenian Reporter’s Emil Sanamyan reports from Washington,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on June 5, after her
meeting with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, "I have
been very encouraged by the progress that has been made and by the
commitment of the governments involved. Certainly, Turkey and Armenia,
with the assistance of the Swiss government, have committed themselves
to a process of normalization.

We’re well aware that this is difficult. It requires patience and
perseverance. But we have seen no flagging of commitment."

Mrs. Clinton continued, "The minister and I discussed this at
length. He brought me up to date on developments. And we are continuing
to encourage the parties to proceed on the path which they themselves
have set. We are supportive, but it is up to the Turkish and Armenian
governments and people to realize the great opportunity this poses. The
normalization of relations not only continues what I have seen from the
Turkish government, which is a desire to actually solve problems, and I
applaud that, but we think it will bring great benefits to the region."

Mr. Davutoglu, in turn, said, "We are very optimistic. We want to
achieve a prosperous, peaceful Caucasia. And in that sense, we are
fully committed to our normalization process with Armenia."

Visiting the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum in Yerevan

Mr. Gordon, who assumed his office on May 15, made Armenia the first
stop on his first trip to the South Caucasus.

"I have only been in office for two weeks, but it seemed to me that
there are such important and even historic developments going on in
Armenia and the region that I should try to come out here as soon as
possible. I am going to Georgia and Azerbaijan, but I wanted Armenia
to be my first stop. I visited the Genocide Memorial and Museum this
morning," he said.

Armenian-Turkish dialogue, the resolution of the Karabakh conflict,
and U.S.-Armenia bilateral relations were the main issues on which the
assistant secretary focused during his meetings in Yerevan. Mr. Gordon
met Armenia’s president and foreign minister, and representatives of
the opposition and civil society.

"President [Serge] Sargsian and Assistant Secretary Gordon
thoroughly discussed the process of normalization of Armenia-Turkey
relations. Noting that this a historic opportunity and that
normalization stems from the interests of Armenia, Turkey, and
the entire region, Philip Gordon reiterated that the United States
unequivocally supports steps taken in that direction," the Armenian
president’s press service reported.

Some form of vote is possible in Nagorno-Karabakh

During the meeting President Sargsian held with Mr. Gordon, the two
exchanged views on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. According to
the president’s office, Mr. Sargsian presented in brief the history of
the conflict and Yerevan’s position. The Armenian president stressed
once again, "Our country is committed to the peaceful resolution
of the conflict and is ready to continue negotiations based on the
Madrid principles."

At the news conference, a journalist cited statements by Azerbaijan’s
President Ilham Aliyev to the effect that there is no mechanism for
the secession of Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan, and asked whether
a referendum was not a legitimate way of doing so.

Mr. Gordon responded: "Among the principles that need to be taken
into account, self-determination is one, so is territorial integrity,
and so is nonuse of force, and the outcome needs to reflect these
three principles in a balanced way. They are all important. So, yes,
I do think that some form of vote reflecting the will of people will
be an important part of a settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh."

He also said: "My authority concerns 50 countries and three
international organizations. However I should say that in the entire
period of occupying this position, I paid far more attention to issues
of Karabakh conflict settlement and Armenian-Turkish relations."

Yerevan’s municipal elections

Asked about municipal elections held in Yerevan on May 31, Mr. Gordon
said the United States does not consider the polls to have been free
and fair.

"The results were only tallied up a couple of days ago, and so we
don’t have a formal statement or judgment right now. But I have heard
reports of irregularities and problems with the election. It wasn’t
up to the standard that we would like to see," he said.

Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, was present at
Mr. Gordon’s news conference. She said that a report based on the
observations of the embassy’s monitors will be published in the
coming days.

"We saw a number of instances of irregularities, fraud, and
intimidation not only in one or two districts but throughout the city
during voting and also during the count," she said.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
[email protected]
Internet

PRESS RELEASE

June 10, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL DODGES BOXER QUESTION ON AZERBAIJANI
THREATS

— Praises Azerbaijani President for "Good Faith" Efforts

WASHINGTON, DC – A senior State Department nominee, under
questioning from Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) as part of his Senate
confirmation process, avoided her direct question about
Azerbaijan’s pattern of military threats against Nagorno Karabagh,
choosing instead to respond by praising Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev for cooperating in "good faith" with the Nagorno Karabagh
peace process, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).

"Remaining silent on Azerbaijan’s war threats ? particularly when
these warnings of war are raised in such a direct, well-documented,
and public manner before the United States Senate ? only emboldens
leaders in Baku to continue down the path to renewed aggression,"
said Aram Hamparian, ANCA Executive Director. "The unwillingness
of our State Department to publicly confront these open threats is
inconsistent with our role as an honest broker in the Nagorno
Karabagh peace process, and, ultimately, undermines the prospects
for a durable settlement of this conflict."

The nominee, Andrew Shapiro appeared before the panel, which was
chaired by Senator Boxer, on June 3rd, and submitted his written
responses to her questions earlier this week. Shapiro has been
nominated by President Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary of
State for Political-Military affairs at the State Department. He
currently serves as a Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton. Prior to this position, he served for eight years as the
Senior Defense and Foreign Policy Advisor for then-Senator Clinton.

Senator Boxer also asked Shapiro about the Administration’s
proposal to break the longstanding Congressional policy of
maintaining military aid parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Shapiro responded by justifying this recommendation that the
Congress enact an unprecedented tilt in military aid toward Baku by
noting that, unlike Armenia, "Azerbaijan has a large naval and
maritime security component in order to help secure energy transit
routes, and to counter proliferation and drug trafficking on the
Caspian Sea."

The full text of the Boxer-Shapiro written exchange is provided
below.

#####

Questions for the Record Submitted to
Assistant Secretary – Designate Andrew Shapiro by
Senator Barbara Boxer (#1)
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
June 3, 2009

Question:

In October 1992, Congress enacted the FREEDOM Support Act, which
authorizes assistance to the independent states of the former
Soviet Union.

The Act included a restriction on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan
until the President determines, that "the Government of Azerbaijan
is taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other
offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh."

But the 2002 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act included
language giving the President the authority to waive this
restriction if he determines and certifies to Congress that U.S.
assistance to Azerbaijan will, among other things, "not undermine
ongoing efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement between Armenia
and Azerbaijan."

Many of my constituents are concerned that this waiver continues to
be used despite the fact that the Government of Azerbaijani has
repeatedly suggested that violence should be used to resolve the
longstanding conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

In March 2008, Azerbaijani President Aliyev said that his country
was ready to take back Nagorno-Karabakh by force if necessary and
that "we have been buying military machinery, airplanes and
ammunition to be ready to liberate the occupied territories, and we
are ready to do this."

In June 2008 at a military parade, President Aliyev stated that "we
should be ready to liberate our territories by military force at
any moment."

And in an October 2008 speech, President Aliyev pledged to "follow
a policy of a total offensive" against neighboring Armenia in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

I find these statements extremely disconcerting, particularly as
President Obama’s budget calls for an increase from $18.5 million
to $22.1 million in U.S. aid to Azerbaijan.

Do you believe President Aliyev’s comments undermine efforts to
negotiate a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan?

Are you concerned by Azerbaijan’s repeated calls to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by military means? What, if anything,
does this mean for continued U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan?

Answer:

Since November of 2008, there has been an unprecedented diplomatic
effort by the OSCE Minsk Group, of which the United States is a co-
chair, to advance a political settlement of the conflict.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has cooperated in good faith
with all of these efforts. In November 2008, President Aliyev
joined Armenian President Serzh Sargsian and Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev in signing a declaration reaffirming their
commitment to a political settlement of the conflict ? the first
document signed jointly by Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
since 1994. Since then, President Aliyev has met personally with
President Sargsian in Switzerland on the margins of the World
Economic Forum, in Prague at the EU Eastern Partnership Summit, and
in St. Petersburg.

We are committed to working with both sides on the issue of Nagorno
Karabakh to find a peaceful, just, and lasting settlement.
Assistance provided to Armenia and Azerbaijan in the interim will
not undermine ongoing efforts to negotiate a settlement between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, but will instead contribute to shared
security interests like peacekeeping operations, maritime security,
and defense reform and modernization.

Questions for the Record Submitted to
Assistant Secretary – Designate Andrew Shapiro by
Senator Barbara Boxer (#2)
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
June 3, 2009

Question:

In its FY 2010 budget request, the Administration requested $4
million in Foreign Military Financing for Azerbaijan and only $3
million for Armenia. It also requested $900,000 in

International Military Education and Training funding for
Azerbaijan and $450,000 for Armenia.

This appears to break the longstanding congressional policy of
maintaining military aid parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
What is the justification for these aid levels?

Answer:

Military assistance levels for both Armenia and Azerbaijan are
carefully considered to ensure they do not affect the region’s
military balance or undermine efforts for a peaceful settlement in
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Our assistance to Azerbaijan has a large naval and maritime
security component in order to help secure energy transit routes,
and to counter proliferation and drug trafficking on the Caspian
Sea. Military assistance to Armenia does not have a naval
component. The requested military assistance levels for Azerbaijan
recognize this fact.

NEARLY 9 800 SCHOOL LEAVERS OF ARMENIA AND ARTSAKH TAKE UNITED EXAM IN MATHEMATICS ON JUNE 9

NOYAN TAPAN
JUNE 10, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 10, NOYAN TAPAN. 36 examination centers were formed
for the united examination in Mathematics in Armenia and Artsakh,
11 of which are in Yerevan and 3 in NKR. Nearly 9 800 school leavers
took a united exam in that subject on June 9 in Armenia and NKR. RA
Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotian observed the process
of examination at an examination center dislocated at Ashtarak
secondary school N 4.

The World Bank representation led by Juan-Manuel Moreno also visited
Ashtarak to get acquainted with the examination process. The first
stage of the Education Quality and Correspondence credit program
implemented with the WB financing is finishing in Armenia. A Center for
Giving Marks and Testing was also formed within the framework of that
program. According to J.-M. Moreno, though reforms are perceptible in
the general education system of Armenia, nevertheless there is still
much to do. It was mentioned that a credit of 25m USD was provided
to Armenia for financing program’s second stage.