Author: Khoyetsian Rose

ACNIS HOLDS PRESENTATION ON NAGORNO KARABAKH BY ITALIAN GUEST SCHOLAR

armradio.am
18.12.2009 17:52

The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
convened a special presentation by ACNIS "guest scholar" Luca Guiduzzi
from the University of Turin in Italy. The Italian Ambassador to
Armenia, the Honorable Bruno Scapini, served as the "master of
ceremonies" for the presentation of the scholar’s research from his
recent field work in Nagorno Karabakh.

This research study on Nagorno Karabakh was conducted by Luca Guiduzzi,
a graduate of Anthropology (Masters Degree) from the University of
Turin, and was translated into English by Ms. Ilenia Santin, an Italian
language lecturer at Brusov University. The scholar’s field work in
Karabakh was conducted and completed between August and November 2009,
while Guiduzzi was a visiting "guest scholar" with ACNIS.

After welcoming the participants, ACNIS Director Richard Giragosian
explained that "although the scholar’s findings, research and
conclusion do not necessarily reflect the position of ACNIS or the
Italian Embassy in Armenia, both the scholar’s tenure as a visiting
‘guest scholar’ at the Center and his research contribute to the
deepening of Italian-Armenian relations and help raise public awareness
of the Karabakh issue."

In addition, Giragosian noted, Italian Ambassador Scapini’s
participation in this event "was a reflection of the ambassador’s
broader effort to deepen cooperation between Italy and Armenia and,
in this way, although this event presented the work of a young Italian
scholar, in cooperation with prominent Italian expert on the Caucasus
Dr. Aldo Ferrari, today’s event is also part of a broader effort by
ACNIS to help the Italian Embassy in Yerevan promote intellectual,
academic and analytical cooperation between Armenia and Italy."

Italian Ambassador Scapini then welcomed the participants by expressing
his "appreciation for the efforts of ACNIS in promoting objective
research" and thanked the Center for "having hosted Guiduzzi as
a visiting guest scholar." Ambassador Scapini stated that he was
"actively committed to helping to encourage Italian and Armenian
researchers, scholars and analysts to deepen their ties and cooperation
in pursuit of learning, as the best in the proper and finest historic
Italian tradition."

Following the Ambassador’s comments, Guiduzzi then presented
a summary of his findings, which he defined as "a study of the
socio-anthropological aspects" of Armenian identity in Karabakh.

According to the scholar, the "Soviet legacy was an important factor
as an influence over everyday life in Karabakh" and said that the
"socio-cultural perception of the people of Karabakh was defined
by a self-perception of heroism and sacrifice that is reflected in
historical events."

The Italian scholar then explained that this "historical continuity,
which occurs in celebrations as well as in customs, reflects a
fear of losing this recent historical past that means independence,
self-determination and the political birth of Karabakh." Concluding
his presentation, Guiduzzi said that he "would like to outline a
cultural approach to the negotiations (with Azerbaijan) by suggesting
a long-term preliminary phase aimed at involving both the Armenian
and Azerbaijani civil societies in order to set the basis for an
intercultural, cooperative and interactive dialogue that would turn
the adversarial logic of these peoples into a confrontation on the
economic, political and social levels."

ITALIAN AMBASSADOR BELIEVES CULTURAL COLLABORATION WITH ARMENIA PROSPECTIVE

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.12.2009 20:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Despite Armenia and Italy’s being distant in
geographical and geopolitical sense, the countries are actually very
close, Italian Ambassador to Armenia Bruno Scapini said at round
table discussions organised by Armenian Centre for National and
International Studies (ACNIS).

He stressed the special connection between the countries by history,
also emphasizing the importance of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian’s visit to Italy in the development of bilateral relations.

"Armenian Foreign Minister’s visit to Italy opened a new page the
development of political and economic relations between Armenia and
Italy," he noted, also characterizing cultural collaboration with
Armenia as prospective.

TURKEY WON’T BE ARMENIA’S PARTNER UNLESS IT ACKNOWLEDGES GENOCIDE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.12.2009 14:06 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Head of RPA parliamentary group Galust Sahakyan said
Turkey won’t be Armenia’s partner unless it acknowledges the Genocide.

"The main goal of Armenian-Turkish reconciliation process is not
establishment of partner relations but opening of the border," he
told a news conference on Thursday.

Asked to comment why RA President Serzh Sargsyan never responds
to Turkish officials’ statements, Mr Sahakyan said, "President
Sargsyan has a strong team to promote the idea of Armenian-Turkish
reconciliation and absence of reaction is by no means a sign of
weakness."

At that he emphasized that Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lost
control over his team. "If Erdogan can’t cope with the tasks he is
charged with, he should resign," Mr. Sahakyan said.

VIVACELL-MTS, PTA SIGN AGREEMENT ON SPORTS EVENTS TRANSMISSION

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.12.2009 15:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ VivaCell-MTS and Public Television of Armenia have
signed an agreement on transmission of major world sports events
during the next three years.

In the framework of the broadcast sponsorship agreement, the sport
lovers will have an opportunity to follow the 2010 Winter Olympic Games
(Vancouver, Canada), 2010 World Cup Championship (South Africa),
2010-2011 UEFA Champions League, 2012 Summer Olympic Games (Great
Britain, London), 2012 Europe Football Championship (Ukraine, Poland).

The agreement costs AMD 750 million ($2 million), VivaCell-MTS General
Manager Ralph Yirikyan said.

VivaCell-MTS and Public Television of Armenia have signed an agreement
on transmission of major world sports events during the next three
years.

ARMENIA AND EU TO LAUNCH NEGOTIATIONS ON ARMENIA’S JOINING EUROPEAN UNION’S FREE TRADE REGIME IN 2010

ARKA
DECEMBER 16, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, December 16, /ARKA/. Varos Simonian, head of an Armenian
economy ministry department in charge of cooperation with EU and
international economic cooperation, told ARKA that.

Armenia and EU will launch negotiations on Armenia’s joining European
Union’s deep and free trade regime in 2010.

He said the accession process is to be preceded by enforcement
of serious reforms to bring Armenian government institutions and
legislation in conformity with EU standards.

‘The reforms will raise the population’s living standards, will
increase the degree of domestic market’s protection and will also
promote Armenia’s food security,’ he said, adding that Armenia is
making every effort to fulfill all the assumed commitments.

SERZH SARGSYAN: NAGORNO-KARABAKH PEACE TALKS CAN BE SUCCESSFUL ONLY IF NAGORNO-KARABAKH IS DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS

ArmInfo
2009-12-16 09:14:00

ArmInfo. Everybody must know that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh was
forced to protect its right to freedom in an imposed bloody war and
that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh believes that, on the one hand,
it has managed to restore the historical justice distorted during the
Stalin regime and, on the other, it has guaranteed minimum conditions
for its physical existence, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said
during a meeting with Nagorno-Karabakh MPs today.

"We have repeatedly said that the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks
must result in solutions that would not lead to new instances of
displacement and ethnic cleansing. Such solutions do exist, simply,
people must see them and must be able to tell tales from reality and
fair decisions from feeble efforts. I am sure that time will leave
us no other choice in this matter," Sargsyan said.

"We must realize that the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks can be
successful only if Nagorno-Karabakh is directly involved in this
process. I am sure that leaders will realize their responsibility
for the peaceful and prosperous future of the Caucasian nations and
that the problems existing between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan
will be resolved," Sargsyan said.

ERDOGAN’S GOVERNMENT WAS WRONG IN ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS: FIKRET SADIKHOV

Tert.am
12:11 ~U 16.12.09

"The latest events in Turkey showed that there are serious
contradictions in the policy of this country.

"Erdogan’s government went wrong both in the issue of Kurds and the
Armenian-Turkish Protocols. It was not able to evaluate the real state
of affairs," said Fikret Sadikhov, political scientist and professor at
Western University, commenting on the recent clashes between Kurds and
police in Turkey, in an interview with Azerbaijani news source News.az.

According to the political scientist, he has great doubts about the
ratification of the Turkish-Armenian protocols:

"The votes of the ruling party will not do for the parliament to ratify
these protocols. The support of oppositional parties is needed but
they are extremely negative on these protocols. The ruling party is
also extremely negative on them. Some powers in Turkey thought that
Azerbaijan will not react to these processes, but Azerbaijan took a
firm stance against these protocols, thus raising more powers inside
Turkey against these processes. Thus, it was too early for Armenians
to be happy in connection with signing these protocols."

SERZH SARGSYAN CONFUSING HIS OWN INTERESTS WITH PEOPLE’S INTERESTS: ARMEN AGAYAN

Tert.am
15:09 ~U 16.12.09

"Armenian-Turkish Protocols or ‘Football Diplomacy,’ from the
beginning, would lead to nothing," said political analyst Armen
Aghayan at at press conference in Yerevan today.

According to the analyst, the losses are currently unknown. "In
particular, with the signing of the Protocols, Armenia recognized
Turkey’s hegemony with respect to western Armenia on quite a high
level." In Aghayan’s opinion, if the Armenian-Turkish Protocols are
ratified, the losses will be even greater.

"Even greater endeavours will be demanded from Armenia’s next governing
leadership, to announce the measures taken during these days to be null
and void," noted the analyst, who also pointed out the psychological
losses: "We lived a short life as a winning nation and now we are
already easily adjusting to swallowing our losses."

Asked whether the Armenian president had made a mistake or whether
he knew from the beginning that it would be this way, Aghayan said
that Sargsyan continues to affirm the idea of cohabiting with the
Turkish people, believing that it will bring a great benefit to the
Armenian people. "In reality, it justifies that in a way and it is a
way of confusing his own interests with that of the people’s," he said.

Despite numerous opinions that Sargsyan was persuaded into playing
this complicated game with Turkish diplomacy, Aghayan believes that
the president knew about that from the beginning: "He knew that the
Turks had to talk about Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] and [he] knew how
he was going to respond to them. The Turks knew as well."

The political analyst considers the current Armenian-Turkish process
to be "a joint presentation organized for the people."

AMBASSADOR MARIE YOVANOVITCH TO RECEIVE 2009 DIPLOMACY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD

armradio.am
14.12.2009 14:16

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has recognized US Ambassador to
Armenia Marie L. Yovanovitch as the recipient of the 2009 "Diplomacy
for Human Rights Award."

The annual "Diplomacy for Human Rights Award" recognizes a
U.S. Ambassador who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment
to defending human rights and advancing democratic principles of
government in his or her host country.

In making her selection, Secretary Clinton recognized Ambassador
Yovanovitch’s principled leadership and innovative use of diplomatic
tools in promoting and defending human rights and democracy as an
essential component of the United States’ bilateral relationship
with Armenia.

Secretary Clinton singled out Ambassador Yovanovitch and her embassy
team for their advocacy of due process and transparent investigations
of those arrested after the contentious February 2008 elections,
and for the Ambassador’s efforts to improve the electoral process in
Armenia, while maintaining a positive relationship with the Armenian
Government.

This award has been announced as part of the U.S. government’s efforts
to mark International Human Rights Day on December 10. The award will
be presented early next year.

Upon learning of her selection, the Ambassador said: "While I am
honored to be selected for this award, this award really honors human
rights reformers in Armenia, whether they are in government, civil
society, or the media. As Secretary Clinton stated, ‘human rights and
fundamental freedoms … are the birthright of every human being. They
are the basis of human dignity, and they underpin international peace
and progress.’ As long as I have been a diplomat, I have believed in
these principles, and worked to promote them wherever I have served. I
believe Armenia has made much progress in 18 years, but that there
is still much more work to do on human rights. I want to help with
that process, and I want to do it constructively."

ARMENIA, LATVIA INTERESTED IN DEEPENING BILATERAL TIES

armradio.am
11.12.2009 12:56

Today Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan had a meeting with the President
of Latvia, Valdis Zatlers.

The parties discussed the development of the Armenian-Latvian
relations, the possible directions of cooperation in different spheres.

In this context the interlocutors attached importance to reciprocal
contacts and the establishment of business ties and voiced hope that
the Armenian-Latvian Business Forum in Yerevan would create good
preconditions for the development of trade-economic relations.

The parties prioritized the cooperation in the fields of tourism,
trade, environmental protection, information technologies and
pharmaceutics. They attached importance to cultural contacts,
establishment of ties between higher educational establishments and
scientific institutions, as well as the exchange of experience in
other fields of mutual interest.