Author: Khoyetsian Rose

‘KEY TO SETTLEMENT IN HANDS OF KARABAKH PEOPLE’: NALBANDIAN

Tert.am
14:45 ~U 18.01.10

It’s impossible to resolve the issue without the direct involvement
of Nagorno-Karabakh residents, said RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Edward Nalbandian in an interview with Aztatutyan ("Freedom") Radio
on Sunday, adding that the absence of Karabakh’s participation in
talks is the reason for the insistence that the settlement process
is being dragged out. "And as we saw, the key to settlement is in
the hands of the Karabakh people.

"The question of status is a question of the Karabakh people’s
decision. Without Karabakh’s participation, settlement is impossible.

The sooner Karabakh participates in these negotiations, the greater
the possibility of settlement.

"There is no meeting with the three presidents in which we don’t
raise this issue," Armenia’s foreign affairs minister concluded.

CARGO TRANSPORTATION ON SOUTH CAUCASUS RAILWAYS GROWS 3.2% IN 2009

Noyan Tapan
Jan 15, 2010

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The data center of South Caucasus
Railways CJSC informs that cargo transportation indices of the company
in 2009 were as follows: imports made 1,328,366 tons, exports –
345,495 tons.

The main import articles were grain products – 467,484 tons, oil
priducts – 363,035 tons, and container traffic – 137,733 tons. Export
indices for 2009 are as follows: cement – 117,319 tons, container
traffic – 82,062 tons, minerals – 79,323 tons, etc.

Domestic cargo transportation volumes grew considerably, amounting to
1,066,317 tons. The main articles of domestic cargo transportation were
non-ferrous metal and sulphur raw materials – 466,430 tons, mineral
building materials – 200,710 tons, mineral industrial raw materials –
156,837 tons, non-ferrous metals – 84,835 tons. The average increase
in cargo transportation made 3.2% in 2009 as compared to 2008. The
commodity turnover program of South Caucasus Railways was executed
by 100% in 2009.

South Caucasus Railways CJSC is a 100% subsidiary of Russian Railways
OJSC. The concession agreement on Armenian Railways’s concessionary
management by South Caucasus Railways CJSC was signed on 13 February
2008. The term of concessionary management is 30 years, with a right
to extend it for 10 years.

TURKEY HAS TO PASS FROM WORDS TO DEEDS IN PROTOCOLS’ RATIFICATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.01.2010 16:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Positive resolution of RA Constitutional Court
(CC) on Armenia-Turkey Protocols signed was expected, as it provided
legal formulation for political assessment of the documents, voiced
earlier by RA President, RPA parliamentary group secretary Eduard
Sharmazanov said.

As he told a news conference in Yerevan, RA CC resolution has
a binding legal force for all Armenian citizen, including the
authorities. "The resolution served as a legal confirmation to the fact
that Armenia-Turkey protocols contain no preconditions, and obligations
stipulated in the documents do not involve the third party."

RPA parliamentary group secretary emphasized that CC resolution is a
positive signal both to Turkey and international community, meaning
that Armenia is ready to fulfill obligations assumed. "It’s now
Turkey’s turn to pass from words to deed, proving itself consistent
in its policy," Sharmazanov noted.

Commenting on reporter’s questions whether RPA considers RA NA’s
introduction of reservations to Protocols, Eduard Sharmazanov noted
that RPA members don’t see it as necessary: protocols contain no
preconditions and are legally formulated, so Armenian community’s
apprehensions have no grounds.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) was founded in 1990 by Ashot
Navasardyan. The ideological basis of the party is the doctrine of
the Armenian political and military leader of the First Republic
of Armenia Garegin Nzhdeh. The birth of the Republican Party is
organically linked with the national liberation struggle in 1988.

Institutional framework for the establishment of the Republican Party
was formed at the beginning of this struggle by the military-political
union "Army of Independence". As a political party it was registered
on 14 May 1991.

The party has made a significant contribution to the work of the
Coordinating Council of volunteer militias, helping to establish the
rule of law and order in the republic, and after the formation of a
regular national army in Armenia Armenian Republican Party declared
about its demilitarization.

In July 2006, the 10th extraordinary congress of the party declared
the Republican Party of Armenia as National Conservative Party.

Chairman of the party up to 1997 was Ashot Navasardyan, between 1997
and 2005 – Andranik Margaryan. At present, the party is headed by
the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

BAKU IS STILL DANGEROUS FOR ITS PEOPLE

Aysor
Jan 14 2010
Armenia

The deputy of the Armenian Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan
answered to the questions of "Armenpress" news agency, concerning
to the Armenian massacres in Baku 20 years ago. Here is the reply
of the Deputy of the Armenian FM, provided by the RA MFA press and
information department.

Question – Mr. Kocharyan, 20 years ago took place mass pogroms
and exiles of Armenians. How would you describe that crime today
considering the occurred situation?

Answer – The events that took place 20 years ago in Baku following the
demands of the Karabakh people to get their self-determination, was
the usual monstrous policy of ethical cleanings adopted by Azerbaijan
from the very beginning.

The result of it was the forcible exile of around 400.000 Armenians,
the military aggression against the self-determined Nagorno Karabakh,
which brought to many humane and material losses.

The fact that Azerbaijan instead of recognizing its fault and having
responsibility for the results of crimes and aggressions committed
by him continues its anti-Armenian hysteria comes to prove that Baku
keeps staying dangerous for its own people and the region too.

‘IF AZERBAIJAN IS READY TO WAR, IT WILL START IT NOT CONSULTING WITH ANYBODY’, – THE NKR DEFENCE MINISTER SAYS

ArmInfo
2010-01-14 18:34:00

ArmInfo. ‘Peace in our region is preserved only thanks to the power of
the NKR Defence Army. This is our most important success, and raising
the fighting capacity of the army we should permanently force the
enemy to talk to us at the negotiating table but not at the battle
field’, – the NKR Defence Minister, General Movses Hakopyan said at
today’s press-conference in Stepanakert.

When commenting on bellicose statements of Baku Movses Hakopyan said:
‘I don’t think the war will start from statements. All the statements
have their purposes including the domestic political ones. We should
listen to such statements, make correct conclusions and take the
relevant measures to clarify originality of the statements, for which
our state and army have the relevant structures. We have to implement
the relevant work for these statements to remain just statements’,
– the minister said and added he treats all the statements seriously.

He also added that if Azerbaijan is ready to war, it will start it
not consulting with anybody. ‘For me as a defence minister the war
may start just now when I am talking to you. For this reason we keep
a big number of people at the front line and have sub-divisions on
duty, which are ready to war. For this reason soldiers of the NKR
Defence Army do not leave the fighting holes at the front line in the
conditions of neither war nor peace for 16 years’, – the minister said.

Asked about the possibility of snipers removal from the front
line,Movses Hakopyan said it did not take place as Azerbaijan did
not want to sign the relevant treaty with commanders of the NKR
Defence Army.

RIGHTS WATCHDOG SAYS ARMENIA ON VERGE OF ‘NOT FREE’

RFE/RL
January 14, 2010

A Freedom House expert says the Armenian government’s lack of respect
for political and civil rights has it extremely close to being declared
"not free," RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reports.

Christopher Walker, Freedom House’s director of studies, told RFE/RL
that Armenia’s rating by his organization for 2009 is "right on the
border between ‘partly free’ and ‘not free.’"

In its latest survey of freedom in countries around the world,
Freedom House on January 12 gave Armenia a "partly free" status.

Walker said that regarding fundamental issues for being democratic,
"we really haven’t seen any meaningful steps forward" from Armenia. He
said one of the key reasons for that is a "very deep relationship
between politics and economics" in the country.

Walker also pointed to the lingering fallout from the February
2008 presidential election and the deadly unrest in Yerevan that
followed it.

As it does annually, the Washington-based Freedom House rated countries
on a seven-point scale for political rights and civil liberties, with
"1" meaning "most free" and "7" being "least free."

Armenia received "6" and "4" in the "political rights" and "civil
liberties" categories, respectively, as it did last year.

The Freedom House report has provoked differing reactions in Armenia.

"Freedom House is taking a bit of an extreme approach toward us,"
Razmik Zohrabian, a deputy chairman of the ruling Republican Party,
told RFE/RL on January 13.

But Aram Manukian, a senior member of the opposition Armenian National
Congress, said the watchdog should have been even more critical of
Armenia’s rights record.

RUSSIAN, ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTERS DISCUSS DEVELOPMENT OF MILITARY COOPERATION

AZG DAILY
15-01-2010

International

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has held a working meeting
with his Armenian counterpart Seyran Ohanyan, the Russian ministry’s
spokeswoman, Irina Kovalchuk told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

"The parties discussed prospects for the development of military
and military-technical cooperation between Russia and Armenia as
well as regional security problems. Moreover, they focused on the
preparation of Armenian servicemen in higher schools of the Russian
Defense Ministry," she said.

"Russian-Armenian relations in the military sector are strategic
partnership," Serdyukov said, according to the source.

ARF ISSUES STATEMENT ON PROTOCOLS COURT RULING

Asbarez
Jan 13th, 2010

YEREVAN (ARF Press Office)-The Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s
governing Bureau on Wednesday issued a statement on the January 11
decision by Armenia’s Constitutional Court to uphold the legality of
the government’s controversial normalization agreements with Turkey.

We present the translated text of the statement.

Fellow compatriots

On January 12, 2010 the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia
examined the constitutionality of the responsibilities undertaken by
the Armenian side according to the signed Armenian-Turkish protocols.

Thus began the process of ratifying the Protocols that endanger out
national interests and contradict the founding principles of our state,
as stipulated in the Constitution.

The ARF had, from the start, rejected the three main points in
the protocols which it considered to be preconditions aiming at:
undermining the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide;
legitimizing the current border between Armenia and Turkey; and linking
the normalization of the relations between Armenia and Turkey with
the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan’s favor.

We were, and still are, convinced that the signed protocols contradict
with Armenia’s constitution to a degree sufficient to provide the
Constitutional Court with valid legal basis to consider the protocols
unconstitutional.

While, unfortunately that didn’t occur, we are convinced that the
mounting resentments expressed in Armenia and the Diaspora against
the protocols is yielding results. First, as the decision reached by
the Constitutional Court also indicates, the signing of the protocols
is the result of the poor performance of Armenia’s Foreign Minister.

Second, the Constitutional Court has indicated that the establishment
of relations with Turkey should be strictly diplomatic in nature,
and has accepted the opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey.

Moreover the Constitutional Court did refer to the expressed concerns
regarding the protocols and has provided enough legal basis for Armenia
to express reservations regarding some of the points in the protocols.

The Constitutional Court specifically passed a decision that the
protocols are considered to be a bilateral agreement between Armenia
and Turkey and that the Republic of Armenia could not speak on behalf
of a third party, in this case Nagorno-Karabakh.

On the issue of the Genocide, any responsibilities that Armenia should
undertake based on the provisions of the protocols can not contradict
the preamble of Armenia’s constitution and the 11th point of Armenia’s
declaration of independence which explicitly mentions that the Republic
of Armenia will support the international recognition of the Genocide
of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and in Western Armenia.

As far as defining the border between Armenia and Turkey is concerned,
the protocols do not have any legal premise to delineate those
boundaries. Hence this is still an open issue, and one that could be
resolved solely based on a future inter-state agreement.

Having the Constitutional Court’s decision, the ARF is convinced that
the decision could diffuse the dangers expressed in the protocols if
at the time of the ratification, the reservations expressed by the
Constitutional Court become an integral part of the ratified protocols.

Fellow compatriots,

We consider that the decision reached by the Constitutional Court is
the successful end product of a struggle that has brought together
the efforts of the ARF, other political and social groups as well as
the whole nation. However the challenge still, lies ahead. We have
to increase our efforts exponentially and force the authorities of
Armenia to bring this process to a conclusion

Our final goal is to normalize Armenian -Turkish relations without
undermining the interests of the nation and the state and specifically
without giving any concessions from the rightful demands of generations
of our people.

Armenian Revolutionary Federation January 12, 2010

POLICE CAPTAIN ARRESTED

armradio.am
12.01.2010 17:04

Within the criminal case initiated in the RA Special Investigation
Service, on January 11, 2009 the senior inspector of RA Police,
Arabkir Division Investigation Department, captain H. Simonyan was
arrested on suspicion of exceeding official authorities.

According to the preliminary investigation information, H. Simonyan
exceeded his official duties and willfully committed illegal actions
in the framework of the materials prepared by the RA Police, Arabkir
division inspector D. Atoyan.

The preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated in SIS
continues and the results will be announced, Press Service of the
Prosecutor General’s Office informs.

ANDREY ARESHEV: ANY CONDITIONS ON TURKEY’S PART OUT OF THE QUESTION

news.am
Jan 12 2010
Armenia

Whatever claims Turkey may lay to playing a more essential role
in dealing with problems in the South Caucasus, the fact is that
it will never resolve any problem without coordinating its actions
with Russia, Andrey Areshev, Deputy Director General of the Strategic
Culture Foundation, told NEWS.am, speaking of Turkish Premier Recep
Erdogan’s visit to Moscow scheduled for January 12.

He said that both bilateral and regional problems are normally
discussed during such visits. The expert believes that the sides will
lay emphasis on energy problems, "various gas and oil pipelines turkey
is most interested in."

As regards RF Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s forthcoming visit to
Armenia, Areshev pointed out everything is quite clear: "Besides
bilateral relations, the sides will, of course, discuss regional
problems, particularly the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with no progress
toward a settlement being observed," the expert said.

Areshev believes that Azerbaijan’s bellicose statements hinder the
peace process within the OSCE Minsk Group. According to him, much
will be talked about the prospects for settling the conflict this
year at the meeting, but the good will repeatedly shown by Russia
and Armenia is not sufficient for the conflict to be settled.

Since Azerbaijan presents the Turkish Premier’s discussions of energy
problems in Moscow as a key to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, Areshev pointed out that any conditions on the part of
Turkey at out of the question.

"Issues of Russian-Turkish energy cooperation are too complicated to
be linked to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Especially as the problem
cannot be resolved of the individual will of either Russia or Turkey,"
Areshev said. He pointed out that no breakthrough should be expected
of the forthcoming meetings.