Author: Nahapetian Boris

Sergey Lavrov: Russia actively supports the dialogue between Armenia
and Azerbaijan

armradio.am
22.01.2010 14:46

Russia actively supports the dialogue of Presidents of Azerbaijan and
Armenia, Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

"Regarding the forthcoming meeting of the presidents, we hope that it
will continue the dialogue that took place between Sargsyan and Aliyev
in 2009," he said. "The dialogue was very intense – it has not led to
some dramatic breakthroughs, but has exactly strengthened relations
between the two leaders and allowed them to delve deeper into the
issues to be addressed. We will actively support the continuation of
this dialogue, "Lavrov said at the briefing in Moscow.

January 25, Sochi will host the meeting of the presidents of Armenia,
Russia and Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

news.az, Azerbaijan
Jan 23 2010

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs discussed Karabakh conflict in Astana
Sat 23 January 2010 | 06:03 GMT Text size:

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs The co-chairs` visit to Astana would be an
important step towards settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Bernard
Fassier.

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Robert Bradtke of the United States,
Bernard Fassier of France and Yuri Merzlyakov of Russia on Friday met
in Astana Kazakh foreign minister Kanat Saudabayev.

The co-chairs briefed the minister on the meetings they held in Baku
and Yerevan and their proposals on settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Saudabayev said "we are aware of the history of the conflict and
understand the current situation".

Following the meeting, Bernard Fassier told journalists the co-chairs`
visit to Astana would be an important step towards settling the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Yuri Merzlyakov said next month Kanat Saudabayev will visit the South
Caucasus region.

He expressed confidence that Saudabayev`s visit would contribute to
accelerating the process for agreeing the principles for settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

AzerTaj

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT MEETS CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.01.2010 22:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting with
Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II and Patriarch of
Moscow and All Russia Kirill, prior to the awarding ceremony of the
International Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Christian Nations.

Russian-Armenian ties and inter-confessional relations were in focus,
RIA Novosti reported.

His Holiness Karekin II was born in 1951 in the village of Voskehat,
near Etchmiadzin, and baptized Ktrij Nersissian.

He entered the seminary of Holy Etchmiadzin in 1965, graduating with
honors in 1971. For a year after graduation he taught at the seminary.

He was ordained as a deacon in 1970 and a monk (celibate priest) in
1972, at which time he received the priestly name Karekin. Shortly
thereafter, His Holiness Vasken I (Catholicos of All Armenians,
1956-1994) sent the new priest to Vienna to study theology. In 1975,
Fr. Nersissian moved to Germany, where he studied and graduated
from Bonn University while serving as pastor to the local Armenian
community. Following a brief return to Armenia, he enrolled in
postgraduate studies at the Russian Orthodox Academy in Zagorsk,
Russia, from which he graduated in 1979.

In March 1980, he entered the service of the Araratian Pontifical
Diocese, the Armenian Church’s most populous diocesan jurisdiction,
which incorporates the capital, Yerevan, and the vicinity of the Mother
See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Appointed head of that diocese in June 1983,
he was elevated to the rank of Bishop on October 23rd of that year,
by the hand of His Holiness Vasken I. Catholicos Vasken granted him
the title of Archbishop in November 1992.

During the past decade, Archbishop Nersissian has been a prominent
figure in Armenia’s religious, social, and cultural life. The
charitable missions he has launched have helped his flock in their
struggle to build a free and decent society from the physical ruins of
the 1988 earthquake, and from the spiritual debris of Armenia’s Soviet
period. He has been notable for using technology, especially television
broadcasts, as a tool of evangelism and outreach. Following the death
of Catholicos Vasken I, Archbishop Nersissian was a candidate for the
pontifical throne during the National Ecclesiastical Assembly of April
1995, but conceded victory to His Holiness Karekin Sarkissian, who
thereafter became Catholicos Karekin I (Catholicos of All Armenians,
1995-1999). The latter, being treated for cancer in New York, appointed
Archbishop Nersissian as the Vicar General of Holy Etchmiadzin in
November 1998, in which capacity Nersissian served until the late
Catholicos’ death in June 1999.

He was elected the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians
on October 27, 1999, when more than 450 delegates from Armenian
Church jurisdictions around the world met in a National Ecclesiastical
Assembly at Holy Etchmiadzin, the Church’s Mother See, located in the
Republic of Armenia. His consecration and enthronement followed on
November 4th. As the 132nd in a continuous line of Catholicoi dating
back to the Fourth Century, Catholicos Karekin II presides over the
Supreme Spiritual Council (the Armenian Church’s governing college of
bishops), and is the chief shepherd of the world’s 7 million Armenian
Apostolic Christians.

THE AZERBAIJANI EMBASSY IN CAIRO HAS SENT A NOTE OF PROTEST OVER MAP

armradio.am
22.01.2010 13:02

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Cairo has sent a note of protest to the
Egyptian Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Information, Ministry of
Communication and Technologies because of the publication of the map
of Azerbaijan on the Egyptian information website which fixes Nagorno
Karabakh and Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic as parts of Armenia.

The due statement was made by Azerbaijan’s ambassador in Egypt Faik
Baghirov, Trend News reports.

"The due letter will be sent to this company (Moheet.com)," Baghirov
said.

The article on the Egyptian portal says that the Film Week will
promote strengthening of cultural ties between Azerbaijan and Egypt.

ARMENIA CONSECUTIVE IN DECISION TO RATIFY PROTOCOLS

news.am
Jan 22 2010
Armenia

Armenia is consecutive in its intention to ratify the Protocols and
all statements that CC made certain amendments to the documents are
ridiculous, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at the press
conference in Yerevan.

According to him, after the documents signing in Zurich, the
ratification process was frozen by Turkey. He expressed confidence
that Turks will not look for artificial reasons to protract the
ratification. "I do not think that international community will bear
with intension to shift the whole blame on Armenia," FM stated,
adding that few in Turkey will believe it either. "We hope that
Turkey will ratify the Protocols and stop speaking the language
of preconditions, as well as seek for inexistent links with other
processes," he underlined.

January 12, RA Constitutional Court ruled Armenia-Turkey Protocols
constitutional. Under the decision the Protocols cannot be interpreted
and implemented in the way that RA Constitution or 11th provision of
Armenian Declaration on Independence is violated. The 11th provision
reads: "The Republic of Armenia stands in support of the task of
achieving international recognition of the 1915 Genocide in Ottoman
Turkey and Western Armenia." It drew the indignation of Turkish Foreign
Ministry that blamed Yerevan on violation of the principles stipulated
in the Protocols. Later, Nalbandian had a phone conversation with
his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, however RA Foreign Minster
recommended to learn Davutoglu’s replies from Turkish sources.

ANKARA SEEKS TO JUSTIFY ITSELF IN THE EYES OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.01.2010 17:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ It would be naïve to think that Turkey’s Foreign
Ministry is unaware of the contents of the Armenian Constitution and
Declaration of Independence, said Ashot Avanesyan, the President of
National Congress of Armenians of Ukraine.

"The statement of Turkish Foreign Ministry is nothing but an attempt
to lay its own fault at someone else’s door. Having found itself
in a difficult situation, Ankara seeks to justify itself the eyes
of international community by dragging Armenian authorities into
unnecessary polemics," he said when commenting on Turkish Foreign
Ministry’s statement regarding the RA Constitutional Court’s resolution
on Protocols.

"Turkey will have to reconcile with its own history and together with
Armenia find a way out of historic standstill," Avanesyan concluded,
Analitika.at.ua reports.

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.

Commenting on the decision of the Armenian Constitutional Court, the
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "the decision contains
preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and
spirit of the Protocols."

"The decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these
Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach
cannot be accepted on our part. Turkey, in line with its accustomed
allegiance to its international commitments, maintains its adherence
to the primary provisions of these Protocols.We expect the same
allegiance from the Armenian Government," the Ministry said.

KOCHARYAN MEETS WITH AHMADINEJAD

ArmInfo
2010-01-21 17:56:00

ArmInfo. Ex President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan met with President
of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran today.

Referring to the press service of the Iranian President, the Iranian
mass media quote Kocharyan as saying that Armenia is interested in
developing and strengthening its relations with Iran and that Tehran
and Yerevan have big capacities for enhancing the level of their
regional cooperation.

Ahmadinejad said that Armenia and Iran should take an active part in
the processes that can ensure peace and stability in the region.

Armenian-Iranian relations are of friendly nature and all bilateral
projects must be carried out.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH CRITICIZES ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES YET AGAIN

Tert.am
14:17 ~U 21.01.10

In its 2010 World Report, Human Rights Watch, an independent
organization dedicated to defending and protecting human rights, has
once again criticized the Armenian authorities on numerous counts
including lack of accountability for excessive use of force (with
particular reference to March 2008 events), torture and ill-treatment
of those in custody, intimidation and other tactics during elections,
lack of media freedom and restricting freedom of assembly.

In the aftermath of the violence of March 1-2, 2008, the report,
published yesterday, criticizes Armenian officials for not ensuring
a meaningful investigatio into the excessive use of police force and
for keeping many opposition supporters in custody on dubious charges.

"The clashes resulted in at least 10 deaths, including two security
officials and eight protestors. Soon after the March events, the
police dismissed several top officials, although none was charged
in relation to the violence. Officials claimed to have opened 200
internal inquiries into police conduct, but only four police officers
have been charged in two separate cases for excessive use of force.

"More than 50 civilians were prosecuted in relation to the March
violence, with some sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Although a
June 19, 2009 presidential pardon released many, local human rights
groups maintain that 17 opposition supporters remain imprisoned on
politically motivated charges," reads the report.

Turning its attention to the May 31, 2009 municipal elections, Human
Rights Watch states that despite European observers’ claim that "the
Yerevan City Council elections were "broadly in compliance" with
European standards, "they also documented cases of intimidation of
party proxies and domestic observers by unidentified persons." The
report also names opposition journalists who were attacked and
prevented from accessing polling stations.

In addition, Human Rights Watch states that "authorities continue to
restrict freedom of assembly by frequently denying requests to hold
rallies, usually on technical grounds. Out of 84 opposition requests
for demonstrations and rallies, only 28 were granted. Opposition
parties and some NGOs allege particular difficulties in securing
meeting venues for indoor events."

Human Rights Watch has also said that authorities’ persecution of
human rights defenders increased in the past year.

The 20th annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in
more than 90 countries and territories worldwide.

NIKOL PASHINYAN SENTENCED TO 7 YEARS IN PRISON

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.01.2010 13:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The first instance court of Kentron and Nork
Marash community of Yerevan has found Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper
editor-in-chief Nikol Pashinyan guilty of organization of disorders
under article 225.1 of the RA Criminal Code and sentenced him to 7
years in prison.

At that, judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan acquitted Pashinyan on charges
on violence against a public agent (article 316.1)

Nikol Pashinyan has been he editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak
newspaper since 1999. After March 1-2, 2008 disorders he was wanted
by the police. On July 1, 2009 he yielded himself to authorities
and was detained. On January 10, he ran for parliament from the 10th
constituency but did not succeed.

THEY WERE KILLED BECAUSE OF BEING ARMENIANS, PRIME MINISTER SAYS

Aysor
Jan 19 2010
Armenia

"Our compatriots were killed in the capital of Azerbaijan 20 years ago
for their being Armenians. Paying tribute to victims of those days,
we must stress this: they were killed because of being Armenians,
because of Armenian routes," said Armenia’s Prime Minister Tigran
Sarkisian at today’s action timed to the anniversary of the Baku
Massacres in January 13-19 1990. He added that not only the 20-year-ago
massacres but the official policy of today’s Azerbaijan declares hate
against Armenians.

"Are there any guarantee that new massacres will not happen? History
learns us: the only guarantee for safe living and deciding national
matters is a strong and independent state," said minister.

"We must have a strong state which is able to protect Armenians all
over the world. It’s necessary for national-related matters to have a
strong solidarity, and cooperation, as we can meet mew serious danger
and challenges," said Tigran Sarkisian.