Author: Mamian George

SERZH SARGSYAN: ARMENIA GRATEFUL TO RUSSIA

news.am
Jan 14 2010
Armenia

"We are grateful to the Russian Federation for its efforts aimed at
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and improvement of
Armenian-Turkish relations," RA President Serzh Sargsyan stated at his
meeting with RF Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the RA presidential
press office told NEWS.am.

The Russian FM pointed out Moscow appreciates "the high-level strategic
partnership in all the fields of bilateral cooperation."

Lavrov informed the Armenian leader of a detailed discussion of
implementation of bilateral presidential agreements with his Armenian
counterpart Edward Nalbandian.

President Sargsyan and Minister Lavrov exchanged views on problems in
the South Caucasus, particularly the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process
and Armenia-Turkey reconciliation. The Russian FM pointed out that
at his January 13 meeting with Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan
RF Premier Vladimir Putin reaffirmed official Moscow’s position:
the two processes are separate ones. Each of the problems is a
complicated one and they should not be liked to each other. Minister
Lavrov also underlined Russia’s interest in both the settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Armenia-Turkey reconciliation.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF RUSSIA: ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN COOPERATION CORRESPONDS TO THE LEVEL OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

ARKA
Jan 14, 2010

YEREVAN, January 14. /ARKA/. "Armenian-Russian cooperation corresponds
to the level of strategic partnership", said Sergey Lavrov, Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Russia during the press-conference on Wednesday.

"Armenia is our strategic partner and ally and our relations completely
correspond to it. Our presidents frequently meet with each other and
sign agreements on deepening the partnership", he said.

Lavrov was in Armenia on January 13-14. During the meeting with his
Armenian colleague, Lavrov discussed the process of implementation
of agreements signed between the presidents.

Both parties stated that the process goes on successfully. The parties
discussed also mutual trade-economic relations undertaken in the
direction of elimination of crisis consequences. They emphasized the
importance of mutual cooperation of the regions having high potential.

One of the important directions of cooperation is humanitarian
relations which develop through the Board and Fund of NIS humanitarian
cooperation.

"On the basis of Russian Center of science and culture in Yerevan,
last month Center of Russian language was established and this month
Center of innovative technologies will be established. We agreed
that Russian side on behalf of Diplomatic academy of Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Russia and Moscow State University of International
Relations will assist in the establishment of Diplomatic academy of
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia", said the Minister.

The parties also discussed the issues of future representation of
Russia in NIS, particularly preparation for the Board Meeting of NIS
Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 25, 2010. "We discussed issues of
regional security, regulation of Karabakh problem. Russia will assist
in gaining agreement of solving Karabakh problem during negotiations
of both parties", said Lavrov.

He thanked Armenia for the support in reconstruction of the monument to
the memory of 156 officers of Russian army in Gyumri who died during
Russian-Turkish war in 1855 and 1877-1878. Opening of the memorial
will be one of the important events in the frames of celebration of
65th anniversary of victory of World War II in Armenia.

FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA: THE BALL IS ON TURKEY’S SIDE

ArmInfo
2010-01-15 14:10:00

ArmInfo. The process of negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh should not
be linked to the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations, French Ambassador to Armenia Serge Smessow told ArmInfo.

According to him, these processes are different, and now the ball is
on Turkey’s side. He said they hope that a goodwill gesture will allow
to ratify the Protocols in both Turkey and Armenia. The ambassador
added that it is still early to show optimism, however, he said,
the fact that the Constitutional Court approved these Protocols, is
a step forward. S. Smessow said that the Protocol adoption procedure
is simpler in Turkey. He expressed hope that the notorious political
nuances will be overcome by Turkey. According to the ambassador,
they hope that Turkey will be able to overcome these obstacles and
will advance in the process of ratification of the Armenian-Turkish
Protocols.

MINISTER: MAIN TASKS OF GOVERNMENT IN 2010 TO DEVELOP CONCRETE TOOLS TO DIVERSIFY ECONOMY

ARKA
Jan 13, 2010

YEREVAN, January 13. /ARKA/. The main objective of the Government
in 2010 will be to develop specific tools to diversify the economy,
Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan said in an interview with ARKA
News Agency.

According to him, it is clear that 2009 was difficult for the business
and led to policy changes in virtually all businesses.

"However, the Armenian business was able to withstand the crisis, and
with the assistance of the Government managed to take the development
of those enterprises that were in the most risky areas and felt the
most serious impact of global economic crisis to the next stage of
development," Yeritsyan said.

According to the Minister, the year was more difficult for the
business because due to the unpredictability in the world it has
become difficult to plan future programs.

However, Yeritsyan said that business even won from this to some
extent, because it started to closely monitor the situation.

In addition, the benefit was the intensification of the Government in
the process of implementing reforms that are necessary for business
development in 2010.

The minister said that the main objective of the Government in 2010
in this context is to develop specific tools to diversify the economy.

At the same time, he added that there are certain challenges for
the Armenian business in terms of the possible opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border.

"In general, the Government provided the necessary sequential steps
for implementing various programs in this direction, but we should
not jump ahead in this matter," Yeritsyan said.

AZERI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS DENIED ENTRANCE TO BENANIAR

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.01.2010 19:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azeri human rights advocates were denied entrance
to the village of Beniniar, Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, said
human rights activist Saadat Banainarly who was planning a visit to
the village in connection with the recent incident.

The visit, according to her, was cancelled as there was no agreement
with Nakhichevan’s law enforcement bodies. "We can carry out the visit
only in case of obtaining consent from the country’s Foreign Minister,"
she said. Human rights advocates’ visit to the village was coordinated
with Azerbaijan’s Interior Minister Ramil Usubov, APA reported.

On December 27 (Ahsur Day), the local residents of the village came
into a clash with the police. Civilians were reportedly subjected to
violence; some of them were arrested.

RUSSIA INTERESTED IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT, ARMENIAN-TURKISH NORMALIZATION

Panorama.am
17:31 14/01/2010

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the Foreign Minister of
Russia, Sergey Lavrov. Greeting the guest, President Sargsyan noted:
"I should note with appreciation that our strategic partnership
was supplemented with qualitatively new elements in 2009, the high
level of intensive political dialogue was maintained, the economic,
cultural and humanitarian ties reinforced."

President Sargsyan noted that Armenia will continue making efforts
towards deepening of the bilateral cooperation.

"We are grateful to Russia for the great efforts towards
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and the Armenian-Turkish normalization,"
President highlighted.

Sergey Lavrov conveyed the warmest greetings of the Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev to Serzh Sargsyan and said: "He hopes that the
intensive, allied and trustful relations between our countries
will be maintained this year. We also appreciate the level of
strategic partnership between our countries in all spheres of allied
cooperation," Sergey Lavrov said.

The Armenian President and the Russian Foreign Minister discussed the
dynamically developing Armenian-Russian relations, the deepening of
collaboration in the trade-economic and humanitarian spheres.

Serzh Sargsyan and Sergey Lavrov exchanged views on issues of the
wider Caucasus region, particularly the process of settlement of the
Karabakh issue and the normalization of relations between Armenia and
Turkey. The Russian Foreign Minister noted that during yesterday’s
joint press conference with the Turkish Prime Minister, the Head of
Russian Government Vladimir Putin once again presented the position
of official Moscow, emphasizing that the two processes are in no
way linked.

Sergey Lavrov underlined that Russia is interested in both the
normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations and the settlement
of the Karabakh issue.

NIKOL PASHINIAN LOST BY-ELECTIONS TO ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT

Aysor
Jan 11 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s Central Election Commission has issued the results for
by-elections to Armenian Parliament, according to which some 13 380
voters went to the polls.

The report showed that a member of Armenian Party of the National
Unity, Ara Simonian, won the elections after 7622 voters picked him.

Nikol Pashinian, a chief editor of the oppositional Haykakan Zhamanak
newspaper and a defendant in the case of March 1 2008 clashes, lost
with 5023 votes.

The head of the Marxist Party of Armenia David Hakobyan received
299 votes.

ISRAEL SAYS TURKISH PM’S CRITICISMS ENDANGER TIES
By Dan Williams

Vision Insights and New Horizons
.aspx?id=24331
Jan 11 2010

JERUSALEM, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Israel issued a strong condemnation
of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, saying his often
fierce public criticism of its policies could undermine relations.

Turkey, a predominantly Muslim but secular country, is a key ally
of the Jewish state but ties have frayed since the Gaza Strip war a
year ago, which killed some 1,400 Palestinians and drew censure from
Erdogan, head of the Islamist-rooted AK party.

Hosting Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in Ankara, Erdogan
criticised an Israeli air strike that killed three Gazan militants
on Sunday, and suggested Western scrutiny on Iran’s nuclear plans
was unfair given Israel’s assumed atomic arsenal.

"Israel is careful to respect Turkey and seeks continued proper
ties between the countries, but we expect reciprocity," the Israeli
Foreign Ministry said in a statement, calling Erdogan’s remarks an
"unbridled tongue-lashing".

"The State of Israel has the full right to protect its citizens from
the missiles and terror of Hamas and Hezbollah, and the Turks are the
last who can preach morality to the State of Israel and the Israel
Defence Force (military)."

The veiled dig at Turkey’s own military conduct broke with Israel’s
long-standing official reticence on the matter.

An Israeli army general was reprimanded by the top brass in February
for saying in a newspaper interview that Turkey should remember its
past treatment of Kurds, Armenians and Greek Cypriots before weighing
in on behalf of the Palestinians.

Asked about the tenor of the Foreign Ministry statement, an Israeli
diplomat, speaking on condition on anonymity, said it aimed to avert
what Israel saw as Erdogan’s erosion of ties. "We value the Turks
and want them to wake up and realise what their prime minister risks
doing," the diplomat said.

DIPLOMACY AND DRAMA

Erdogan brokered short-lived peace negotiations between Israel
and Syria in 2008, and has voiced umbrage at the current Israeli
government’s refusal to return to the indirect talks.

Some Israeli officials have argued that Erdogan’s remarks on the
Gaza offensive — on one occasion made in a public shouting match
with Israeli President Shimon Peres — and his burgeoning relations
with Iran invalidated him as a mediator.

Yet Israel is also troubled by signs of spreading hostility among
regular Turks.

The Foreign Ministry complained to the Turkish ambassador on Monday
over a Turkish television drama that portrayed Israeli diplomats as
masterminds of a child-abduction ring, calling it anti-Semitic.

There was similar outrage last year over a Turkish series which
featured Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian children.

Israel says it went to war in Gaza to stem Palestinian rocket and
mortar salvoes. A resumption in the cross-border shelling last week
prompted Sunday’s air strike, Israel said. Three members of the
Islamic Jihad militant group were killed.

At his press conference with Hariri, Erdogan questioned Israel’s
justification for the strike.

"Why did you bomb Gaza? What was there? Are you going to say they were
firing rockets again? We are looking into the matter ourselves. Right
now there are no rockets coming from Gaza."

Turning to Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is peaceful
while Western powers see a covert military programme, Erdogan said:
"Those who warn Iran about nuclear weapons, don’t make the same
warning to Israel. Israel has nuclear weapons."

(Writing by Dan Williams; Additional reporting by Ibon Villelabeitia
in Ankara; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

GOVERNING AUTHORITIES IN NO POSITION TO PRESIDE OVER ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROCESS: IGITYAN

Tert.am
18:22 ~U 11.01.10

Pan-Armenian National Movement board member Hovhannes Igityan,
upon Tert.am’s request, provided his opinion of today’s opposition
rally and march organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun). He noted that organizers have chosen the least
effective method of protest, since, according to Igityan, the issue
and the solution lie not in the text of the Protocols or in their
ratification, but in the governing authorities, who are in no condition
to oversee the Armenian-Turkish process.

Continuing, Igityan stated that the protest against the Protocols
should’ve been directed not toward changing a word or a comma in the
Protocols, but to the root of the issue: the country’s democratization,
as well as to the country’s governing rulers who, in his opinion,
are unable to preside over such an important process.

The Pan-Armenian National Movement board member believes that not
only do the country’s current leaders not have the legitamcy accorded
to individuals in such positions (due to the fraudulent elections
of March 1, 2008), but they also do not have sufficient knowledge
of politics. In Igityan’s opinion, Turkey is in a more favourable
position when up against outside forces.

The Macomb Daily , Serving Macomb County

News
Book tells of Armenian struggle

Monday, January 4, 2010
By Chad Selweski, Macomb Daily Staff Writer

A former newspaper editor who spent many late nights working a second
shift pecking away at a manual typewriter in his basement has finally
seen all those pages come to life.

Mitch Kehetian, a longtime Macomb Daily editor, is releasing his first
book, "Giants of the Earth," which tells of the struggles and
persecution of the Armenian people. Kehetian, known equally as a
proud Armenian and sage journalist, said the book project began more
than three decades ago.

"Actually, the 13 chapters were written in the 1970s and early
’80s. And then I just let it sit. I figured I’d present it some day to
my grandchildren as a memoir," Kehetian said.

One of the book’s highlights is a description of the first of
Kehetian’s five trips to his homeland, an eight-day journey in 1969
that ended with a prayer at his aunt’s mountaintop gravesite
overlooking the Euphrates River.

Family members had long encouraged Kehetian to complete the book. The
finished product is dedicated to a cousin, Rev. Vartan Kassabian, a
priest in the Armenian Church, who died suddenly 18 months ago and
never saw the publication he had longed to read.

"Giants of the Earth" recounts Kehetian’s discovery of his heritage in
historical "Turkish-held" Armenia and his search for his father’s
sister, Parancim, who hadn’t been seen since 1947. On this literary
journey, the author shares antique snapshots of Armenia and explores
the country’s history from its early existence 2,000 years ago to the
death and devastation it suffered during the genocide of 1915-23 at
the hands of the Turkish-led OttomanEmpire.

"I want people to know there has been a race of people there for 2,000
years and the genocide was not based on religion. This was not a jihad
by Muslims. This was a systematic plan to eradicate the Armenians and
move them out of the interior area," said Kehetian, 79.

On Capitol Hill, efforts to recognize the genocide victims, estimated
at more than 1 million, have been the subject of contention in
numerous resolutions proposed by the House and Senate. Each time, the
Armenian-American community was overpowered by political pressures
from Turkey, which has consistently disputed the genocide label, and
concerns expressed by the State Department, which views Islamic Turkey
as a key, strategically located U.S. ally.

In Washington, the tensions were so high between the Armenian and
Turkish communities that Kehetian in 1969 stood little chance of
gaining a passport and approval to travel deep into the interior of
the barren, depopulated homeland of his ancestors in Turkish-held
Armenia. The trip was made possible by the behind-the-scenes efforts
of a powerful Polish-American congressman from Detroit’s East Side,
Lucien Nedzi, and Secretary of State William Rogers A copy of an
airgram from Rogers’ office to the American Embassy in Ankara
enlisting its assistance in helping Kehetian in his mission is
included in the memoir. The "limited official use" airgram refers to
"various cities in Eastern Turkey once heavily populated by Armenians"
– and a FYI alert that Kehetian has discovered that "a relative
survived Turkish massacres several decades ago." . The author said
the Armenian-American community, consisting of 1.5 million people, was
dismayed after they supported Barack Obama in 2008. On the observance
of Armenian Memorial Day last April.Obama’s presidential proclamation
referred to the 1915-23 slaughter as a "great calamity," not genocide.
While campaigning for president Obama said he would be a president who
recognizes the massacre of the Armenians as a genocide.

After his retirement in November 2005 after spending more than 50
years in journalism, Kehetian eventually returned to his transcript
and added a prologue and epilogue.

Kehetian wrote the book "newspaper style," not in scholarly
prose. "Giants of the Earth" is not targeted at first generation
Armenian-Americans who know the homeland’s history well, or the second
generation who earned their heritage through word of mouth. The
author’s audience, he hopes, will be the third generation.

"I want that third generation to know what really happened," he said,
"and I want them to understand why the Armenians still seek justice."

Kehetian, a native Detroiter, was president of the Detroit Press Club
and Society of Professional Journalists. He served for 13 years as a
governing board trustee at Central Michigan University. In 2006 Wayne
State University’s Journalism Department honored the former Macomb
Daily editor with its coveted "Lifetime Achievement Award" for
"championing the public’s right to know" for more than 50 years.

EDITOR’S NOTE: "Giants of the Earth," 160 pages, is published by
Publish America.
For information to order, log on to:
l