Author: Nahapetian Boris

WILL POWER FLUCTUATIONS STOP IN MAY?

1 1:28 am | March 24, 2010

Social

Regular and frequent blackouts have become common in Yerevan.

In the previous four-day sitting of the National Assembly, the power
fluctuation disconnected a microphone during the speech of Heritage
Faction Head Stepan Safaryan. It took about ten minutes to recover
the situation.

Natalia Sarjanyan, a spokeswoman for the "Electric Network of Armenia"
CJSC, says eight substations are being refitted in Yerevan to provide
hopeful and flawless supply of electric power. The work will be
completed by May 2010.

"Blackouts are expected in certain districts of the capital connected
with the reconstruction works. In particular, power might be cut off
in the communities of Malatia-Sebastia, Ajapnyak, Shengavit and Nork."

The Company apologizes to its subscribers for inconveniences caused
during the renewal works and asks them to contact them in case of
problems.

Natalia Sarjanyan also added that the Company shoulders responsibly
for the technique damaged in the result of power fluctuations.

"If the technique cannot be repaired or mended, the Company will
provide material compensation," said the company spokeswoman.

Asked whether citizens need to prove that the technique was damaged
by electricity high voltage or fluctuation, Natalia Sarjanyan said,
"They needn’t prove anything as we register both power fluctuations
and cases of high voltage."

PRESIDENT OF THE ARTSAKH REPUBLIC UNDERLINED THE IMPORTANCE OF SPECIAL TREATMENT OF SOCIALLY VULNERABLE STRATA BY THE STATE

Noyan Tapan
March 24, 2010

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN-ARMENIANS TODAY. On 24
March President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan convoked a
consultation dedicated to the issues of financial aid provided to
socially vulnerable groups of citizens in return for services. The
Head of the State underlined the importance of special treatment
of socially vulnerable strata by the state considering it a pivotal
component of social justice.

According to central information department of the office of the NKR
President, Bako Sahakyan gave concrete instructions to the Cabinet
of Ministers in connection with increasing financial aid provided to
the socially vulnerable groups in the nearest time period.

NKR premier Ara Haroutyunyan and other officials partook at the
consultation.

RA PRESIDENT LEAVES FOR SYRIA

news.am
March 22 2010
Armenia

March 22, RA President Serzh Sargsyan is leaving for a three-day
official visit to Syria at the invitation of his Syrian counterpart
Bashar al-Assad.

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Diaspora Minister Hranush
Hakobyan, Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan, Agricultural Minister
Gerasim Alaverdyan, as well as other high officials are on the
delegation.

Sargsyan will meet tête-a-tête with Bashar al-Assad to be followed by
an enlarged meeting. RA President will also meet with Syrian Premier
and Speaker of Parliament.

In honor of Serzh Sargsyan and First Lady Rita Sargsyan official
dinner will be thrown on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
and First Lady Asma al-Assad.

Sargsyan will also deliver speech on "Armenia-Syria cooperation" at
Damascus University. He will also hold meetings with representatives of
Armenian community in Damascus and visit cultural-historical centers
of the city.

Under the auspices of Armenian and Syrian First Ladies, National
Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre after Al. Spendiaryan will present
Aram Khachatourian’s "Spartacus" ballet.

RA President will also visit Aleppo and Deir ez Zor within
the framework of the visit and meet with local authorities and
representatives of Armenian communities.

NEW SCANDAL IN FRANCE WITH TURKISH PUPILS OVER DENYING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Panorama.am
18:42 22/03/2010

Region

New scandals with Turkish pupils denying the Armenian Genocide still
emerge in France, a country where the denial of the genocide is
considered a crime.

In a Strasbourg school pupils performed Charles Aznavour song
commemorating 1915 events "For You, Armenia" at music lesson. Later
the pupils were distributed the lyrics of the song and leaflets with
short information on Armenian Genocide. The only Turkish pupil in the
class Edanur Gedik rejected the fact of the genocide. In response,
the teacher said:

"Turkey wants to get EU membership but it will not be allowed into the
EU as long as it denies the Armenian Genocide," the Turkish pupil’s
father told Zaman.

Remind that a 13-year-old Turkish pupil was suspended from a school
in Nancy, France after insisting that there was no Armenian Genocide
at history lesson in November, 2009, stating: "Even if it did happen,
they deserved it." Though, the pupil apologized eventually.

ARP DEPUTY: THIS IS PRESIDENT’S SECOND MOST IMPORTANT REGIONAL INITIATIVE

Panorama.am
17:59 22/03/2010

Politics

"With this statement of his the Armenian President proved once again
that the Armenian party has constructive position and this is his
second most important initiative to maintain and reinforce peace and
stability in the region," Armenian National Assembly Republican Party
(ARP) deputy Artak Zakaryan told Panorama.am referring to Serzh
Sargsyan’s appeal to Azerbaijan over signing agreement on non-use
of force.

"I think, the international community sees this statement as an
exceptionally important circumstance, taking into account the three
main principles underlying the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh issue:
national self-determination, territorial integrity and the non-use
of force," the deputy said.

According to the ARP deputy, if Azerbaijan accepts the call and proves
its truthfulness to the peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh issue,
this will be viewed as a significant factor in the context of the
resolution of the conflict.

"This proves to be significant for the international community as
well since Azerbaijan continues its policy of speaking the language
of threats," A. Zakaryan said.

Armenian political prisoners complain of physical ill-treatment

2010-03-20 13:15:00

ArmInfo. All the political prisoners arrested during March 1 2008 have
stated that they were treated badly during detention even if they
displayed no resistance, says the report of the Council of Europe
Anti-torture Committee.

On March 19, 2010, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the
Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(CPT) published the report on its ad hoc visit to Armenia in March
2008, together with the response of the Armenian Government. Both
documents have been made public at the request of the Armenian
authorities.

The main purpose of the visit was to examine the treatment of persons
detained in relation to events which followed the Presidential
election of 19 February 2008. In the aftermath of the election, on 1
March 2008, a police operation took place aimed at dispersing
opposition rallies in Yerevan. Dozens of persons were arrested in the
course of and following that operation, hundreds were injured and a
number of persons died.

The delegation carried out individual interviews with most of the
persons remanded in custody on charges related to the post-election
events. Practically all the persons who had been detained on 1 March
2008 alleged that they had been physically ill-treated at the time of
their apprehension, even though they apparently had not offered
resistance. The delegation also received a few allegations of physical
ill-treatment at the time of questioning by the police.

The CPT has recommended that the investigation into the events of 1
March 2008 be conducted in accordance with the criteria of an
effective investigation, and that its results be used to provide
guidance for future police operations in terms of planning, training
and police tactics in crowd-control situations. The visit report also
contains other recommendations aimed at combating ill-treatment by law
enforcement officials, including through strengthening the formal
safeguards against ill-treatment which are offered to persons deprived
of their liberty by the police (i.e. the rights of notification of
custody, access to a lawyer and access to a doctor).

‘VERY DIFFICULT’ FOR IRAN TO BE INVOLVED IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

news.az
March 19 2010
Azerbaijan

Map of Azerbaijan News.Az interviews Emmanuel Karagiannis, senior
consultant and coordinator for the Caspian Energy and Security Forum
at MEC International in London.

What are the prospects for a Karabakh settlement in the near future?

Although there have been indications that the two sides are
moving towards a settlement, one cannot be very optimistic for two
reasons: first, there has recently been a deterioration in relations
between Turkey and Armenia that will affect one way or another the
Azeri-Armenian relationship. Second, there is no consensus within
both Azerbaijan and Armenia regarding what is ‘acceptable’ and what
crosses the line. Therefore, the Armenian and Azeri governments will
have to convince their respective societies about the need for a less
than ideal settlement

The international community officially recognizes Karabakh as part of
Azerbaijan. But is there any threat of Karabakh’s independence from
Azerbaijan after what happened in Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia?

It is highly unlikely that any country, including Russia, will
recognize de jure the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. In particular,
Russia won’t jeopardize its growing energy trade with Baku over this.

How would you estimate the role of Turkey in the settlement? Can it
be positive despite the problems between Turkey and Armenia?

Without doubt, Turkey has a strong role in Transcaucasia but in recent
years its relationship with Russia has reached a high point. Moreover,
Ankara is not considered an honest broker by most Armenians. Yet,
if Turkish-Armenian relations improve considerably, that will
certainly increase dramatically the chances of a settlement in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In the Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan triangle,
each side has its own interest that must be taken into account by
the others.

Iran as well expresses willingness to be involved in the settlement.

What kind of role can Iran play?

At a time of increased tensions between Tehran and the West, it is
very difficult for the Iranian leadership either to launch a diplomatic
initiative or to get involved in the settlement.

Azeri authorities say there will be a new war for Karabakh if the
negotiations with Armenia fail. How likely is a new war in the region?

Although a new war does not seem probable, no one can exclude the
possibility that the Azeri leadership will feel strong pressure
at some point from Azeri society to use military force against the
Karabakh Armenians.

Emmanuel Karagiannis is senior consultant and coordinator for
the Caspian Energy and Security Forum at business consultants MEC
International in London.

Aliyah Fridman News.Az

GUL HAS NOTHING TO TALKS ABOUT WITH OBAMA

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.03.2010 10:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish President Abdullah Gul said he has nothing
to discuss with his US counterpart Barack Obama regarding the Armenian
Genocide.

"We have already discussed everything in detail. We demonstrated good
will in a number of aspects. The situation in the Caucasus is obvious.

What else do I have to discuss," Hurriyet quoted Gul as saying.

The adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution, H.Res.252, by the
US House panel will damage the Armenian-Turkish dialogue, according
to him.

"We are a part of Caucasus and the current situation is disadvantageous
for Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Ankara, for its part, will do
its possible to establish peace in our region," Gul said.

The Armenian Genocide resolution (H.Res. 106) was submitted to the
House of Representatives by Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), on
January 30, 2007, during the 110th United States Congress. It was
a non-binding resolution calling upon the US President to ensure
that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human
rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States
record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes. Upon
its introduction it was referred to United States House Committee
on Foreign Affairs where it passed a 27-21 vote and was sent back
for a full house vote. On October 26, 2007, in a letter addressed
to the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, four key sponsors of the bill,
requested a debate on the bill in full House to be postponed.

Another resolution affirming the U.S. record on the Armenian
Genocide (H.Res.252) was formally introduced in the U.S. House of
Representatives by Reps. Adam Schiff (D.-CA), George Radanovich
(R.-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D.-NJ), and Mark Kirk (R.-Ill) in 2009.

It currently has 137 co-sponsors. On March 4, the resolution was
passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee with a vote 23-22.

RA NA ADOPTS AMENDMENTS TO LAW ON DEFAMATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.03.2010 13:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian National Assembly approved a bill
on introduction of amendments to the RA Civil and Penal Codes. The
amendments will entitle Armenian citizens to go to the law for and
demand disclaimer of any media report insulting his/her dignity,
if the publisher fails to prove the accuracy of information.

As a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent reported from the parliament,
Heritage group voted against the bill, following "the negative
conclusion of the Venice Commission."

Meanwhile, one on the co-authors of the bill, Orinats Yerkir member
Hovhannes Margaryan remarked that the Venice Commission gave a positive
conclusion on the bill but pointed out to a number of drawbacks.

RF PATRIARCH, ARMENIA CATHOLICOS LAY RUSSIA CHURCH IN YEREVAN

Itar-Tass
March 18 2010
Russia

YEREVAN, March 18 (Itar-Tass) — Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Kirill and Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians Garegin
II laid a new Russian Orthodox church in Yerevan – a Church of the
Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

According to him, this church, as well as an Armenian church under
construction in Moscow "symbolizes the long-standing friendship
between the two peoples marked the spirit of fraternal cooperation,
opening new ways and opportunities for the development of cooperation
between our churches."

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill was awarded with the title of
Doctor Emeritus of the Yerevan State University. The awarding ceremony
of the Russian patriarch was held at the major Armenian university on
Thursday. Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin
II was attending the ceremony.