Author: Nahapetian Lilit

RA FOREIGN MINISTER EDWARD NALBANDIAN’S OFFICIAL VISIT TO POLAND AND CZECH REPUBLIC CONTINUES

Noyan Tapan
Feb 18, 2009

WARSAW, FEBRUARY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. On February 17, Polish President
Lech Kaczynski received RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who was
in Poland on an official visit. Referring to Armenian-Polish common
features, L. Kaczynski said that friendship and mutual sympathy between
the two peoples has a history of many centuries and is a good basis for
development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two states.

Problems regarding ensuring peace and stability in the South Caucasian
region were discussed at the meeting. E. Nalbandian presented the
latest developments in the Nagorno Karabakh settlement negotiations
process.

The interlocutors also discussed the process of normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations. In that context L. Kaczynski welcomed
the steps taken by Armenia to normalize the relations.

According to the report of the RA Foreign Ministry Press and
Information Department, the same day E. Nalbandian visited the
parliament of Poland, where he had individual meetings with Polish Sejm
Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski and Senate Chairman Bogdan Borusewicz.

E. Nalbandian attached importance to cooperation of Armenian and
Polish parliaments considering it one of the guarantees of deepening
the friendly relations between the two countries. B. Komorowski, in
his turn, said that Poland pays much attention to the strengthening
of stability and security in the South Caucasus and for that purpose
attaches importance to peaceful settlement of regional problems and
establishment of good-neighborly relations.

E. Nalbandian drew the attention of Polish Sejm Speaker to Azerbaijan’s
attempts to start arms race in the region and its bellicose policy,
which not only hinder the Nagorno Karabakh settlement process, but
also seriously endanger the regional security.

The EU Eastern Partnership proposal and cooperation to be carried
out within that framework were discussed at the meeting with Senate
Chairman Bogdan Borusewicz. Poland is one of the proposal’s co-authors.

E. Nalbandian also visited the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights (ODIHR), where he met with Office Director Janez
Lenarcic. The process of democratic reforms and steps undertaken in
that sphere were discussed at the meeting.

The same day the RA Foreign Minister visited the RA Embassy in Poland,
where he met with the representatives of the Armenian community
of Warsaw.

Concluding his visit to Poland, the RA Foreign Minister left for
Czech Republic.

ODIHR DIRECTOR TO VISIT ARMENIA IN MAY

armradio.am
18.02.2009 12:44

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian visited the OSCE Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and met ODIHR
Director Ambassador Janez Lenarcic to discuss possibilities for
strengthening co-operation with the Armenian authorities in the field
of human rights and democracy.

"We discussed a number of concrete areas where our co-operation with
the Armenian authorities could be further intensified," said Lenarcic.

The ODIHR Director offered assistance in following up on the
recommendations made in ODIHR’s final report on last year’s
presidential election, and in reviewing new legislation in areas such
as freedom of religion and belief.

Lenarcic updated Minister Nalbadian on ODIHR’s ongoing monitoring of
the trials related to the violent clashes that took place in Yerevan
following the February 2008 elections.

As a next step, in early April, ODIHR and the OSCE Centre in Yerevan
are organizing a meeting on ways to strengthen the protection of
the human rights of armed forces personnel, hosted by the Armenian
Defence Ministry.

It was agreed that Lenarcic would visit Yerevan in May for his first
visit to Armenia since taking up his position in July 2008.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S EXPERTS TEAM COMES ON A THREE-DAY VISIT TO ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Feb 17, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. A European Commission’s team
composed of 23 experts and led by Ms Eva Synowiec from the Commission’s
Directorate General for Trade comes on a three-day visit to Armenia
on February 17.

According to the press service of the RA ministry of economy, the
purpose of the visit is to map out a preparatory process for future
possible negotiations of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the
European Union (EU) and Armenia.

During the visit the European experts will have meetings with
representatives of the following Armenian ministries: the ministry
of economy, the ministry of justice, the ministry of health, the
ministry of nature protection, the ministry of agriculture, the
ministry of finance, the ministry of labor and social issues, as
well as the State Revenue Committee, the Central Bank of Armenia,
the State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition, the
Public Services Regulatory Commission, and some departments.

Issues related to technical obstacles to trade, sanitary and
phytosanitary measures, the right of intellectual property, state
procurement, protection of economic competition, sustainable
development (labor and social issues, environmental protection),
etc. will be discussed at the meetings.

Discussions in 12 expert groups are envisaged.

A sitting dedicated to the fact-finding mission of the EU will be
held on February 18, during which the main goals of the fact-finding
mission on EU-Armenian FTA will be presented, while the results of
the work done will be finalized at the February 19 sitting.

Reference: with the aim of examining the opportunity of signing
a EU-Armenia FTA, the CASE independent organization (Poland) has
conducted a feasibility study, based on the results of which CASE
published a report in May 2008 and submitted it to the respective
ministries and departments of Armenia for discussion. As a result,
a package of considerations of the Armenian government has been
presented to the European side.

After studying the package, the European side proposed discussing with
Armenia the opportunities of signing a deep and comprehensive free
trade agreement, which presupposes implementation of institutional
and legislative reforms in Armenia.

ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT HAILS THE COOPERATION WITH IMF

armradio.am
18.02.2009 15:48

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the delegation of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), comprising Executive Director Ah
Backer, Vice-President of the Directorate for Middle East and Central
Asia Lorenzo Peres, Head of the IMF Mission to Armenia Marc Louis
and IMF Permanent Representative in Armenia Nicke Oomes.

During the meeting the President highly appreciated our country’s
cooperation with the IMF and expressed gratitude for the assistance
rendered to Armenia.

President Sargsyan reconfirmed the willingness of the authorities
to take active and practical steps to soften the consequences of the
global financial-economic crisis.

The interlocutors discussed the programs and perspectives of
cooperation between the International Monetary Fund and Armenia under
the conditions of the global crisis.

STUDENTS TO SET AN EXAMPLE

Hurriyet
Feb 17 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – In an attempt to break stereotypes between the countries,
university students have organized a Turkish-Armenian dialogue camp,
held in the central Anatolian city of NevÅ~_ehir.

The camp’s objective was to make acquaintances between Turkish and
Armenian university students to overcome existing prejudices between
the two nations. Eighty university students from Turkey and 20 from
Armenia spent a week in a hotel in Urgup, an important tourism center
of the Cappadocia region, the Dogan news agency reported yesterday.

The project was initiated by the Turkish University Students’
Approaches (Turkiye Universiteleri Ogrenci YaklaÅ~_ımları) and was
also sponsored by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation,
or TESEV, the Helsinki Citizens Assembly and daily Agos.

Ideas for solution

The camp held art workshops, concerts, panel discussions and
meetings. At the end of the camp, participating students released a
joint statement which read, "We are disturbed by the fact that the
Turkish and Armenian communities, which have been living together
for centuries, are alienated and have turned against each other due
to both sides’ polices regarding the 1915 events."

"We believe that relations between these two sister nations should be
founded on the basis of peace and friendship and not on the dilemma
of deportation or genocide. This is only possible by getting together
through projects and campaigns, which we believe will develop quickly
with the active participation of young people," read the statement.

"The dialogue between Turkish and Armenian students will pave the way
for ideas toward a solution. Our dialogue camp will be the first step
in this process," it read.

Meanwhile another step for Turkish-Armenian dialogue came from the
Higher Education Board, or YOK, which issued permission for the
opening of a second Armenian Culture and Literature Faculty, daily
Hurriyet reported.

YOK had earlier approved the opening of such a faculty at NevÅ~_ehir
University. The second faculty will be opened at Erciyes University
in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri.

Deputy Rector of Erciyes University Professor Metin Hulagu said the
faculty will start admissions for the 2009-2010 term if the faculty
could hire academic staff within two months. NevÅ~_ehir University
rector, Professor Fliz Kılıc, had earlier said the Armenian Culture
and Literature Faculty was not operational due to their inability to
find Armenian-speaking academics. Professor Hulagu objected to this
and said: "Did they put an advertisement in the paper or did they
ask YOK for staff? They did not follow the proper procedure."

USA’S OBAMA STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF TURKISH PREMIER’S ROLE IN MIDEAST PEACE

Anadolu Agency
Feb 16 2009
Turkey

ANKARA (A.A) – US President Barack Obama told Turkish Premier Recep
Tayyip Erdogan during a telephone conversation on Monday that Turkey
played an important role for peace in its region.

"I would like to say that your leadership is vital in the Middle East
peace process and America always understands Turkey’s sensitivities,"
Erdogan’s press office quoted Obama as telling the Turkish premier.

Obama also expressed willingness to work with Turkey in many issues
such as maintaining peace in the Middle East, ending PKK terrorism
and relations with Armenia.

Erdogan in return highlighted Turkey’s sensitivities regarding Armenia
and the Middle East, expressing the importance of fair and impartial
stance of the United States to secure that the relations between the
two countries were not damaged.

Armenian Library & Museum of America, Inc.
Mariam Stepanyan Executive Director
65 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472
Phone: 617-926-2562 ext. 3
Fax: 617-926-0175
Web:

ALMA to Hold Exhibit at the Glendale Public Library in California

The Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) will feature a number
of its artifacts in an exhibit at the Glendale Public Library in
California from March 1 through March 31, 2009. The display will
showcase memorabilia relating to the early 20th century silent film
"Ravished Armenia" and women’s accessories.

While many Armenians are active in the film industry today, few are
aware of the earliest Armenian-related film produced in the United
States. An original theatrical poster of this film from 1919, a
published music score that was composed for the movie and still photos/
publicity shots from the film will be among the items put on display.

The exhibit will showcase women’s accessories, such as belts, hats,
shoes and purses, that date to the 19th and 20th centuries. The
artifacts on display are a modest selection from ALMA’s diverse textile
collections, which is one of the largest collections outside of Armenia.
Stored in a climate-controlled environment, ALMA’s textile holdings
include costumes, embroideries, needle laces, religious and woven
textiles, and accessories. These artifacts represent many regions of
historic Armenia and the Diaspora.

ALMA Trustee Caroline Tufenkian of California has arranged for this
exhibit to be displayed in the Glendale Public Library. The Library
address is 222 E. Harvard Street in Glendale, California.

ARE AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES 225 AND 300 FORMAL?

A1+
[08:27 pm] 16 February, 2009

Today the NA working group convened a sitting to discuss the
supplements to Articles 225 and 300 of Armenia’s Criminal Code.

"What is the use of participation once the discussions are formal?" ARF
Dashnaktsutyun MP Artsvik Minasyan shouted behind the closed doors
of room 330. Minasyan’s complaint turned out to be addressed to the
head of the working group David Harutyunyan who sounded content with
the group’s activity.

In fact, their work is very effective. Proposals have been made on
all articles. Mass disorder is clearly defined. The requirements for
participants of mass disorders have toughened," said David Harutyunyan.

Asked why the ARFD deputy complains of the discussions, David
Harutyunyan said, "You had better address the question to him"

"I am displeased with the quality of their work. The working group
fails to carry out key tasks," says Mr. Minasyan.

Articles 225 and 300 find different interpretations in our society. I
mean Article 300 in particular which was once divided into four
sections: usurpation of power, illegal maintenance of power,
government overthrow and breach of territorial integration. Now,
they have subgrouped all these sections.

The most concerning proposals refers to the participant of mass
disorders who has committed no violence or crime but is made
accountable. "The article can have serious consequences. It suggest
that all those who haven’t left the scene in due time may be brought
to justice."

The working group should present its proposals to the NA Speaker. Then
they must be put under consideration in the NA and sent to the Venice
Commission for further study.

NEVSEHIR HOSTS MEETING BETWEEN TURKISH AND ARMENIAN STUDENTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.02.2009 16:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Some 80 Turkish and 20 Armenian students have
gathered for a meeting in Nevsehir Turkish city on the initiative of
the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), Helsinki
Citizens’ Assembly and Agos newspaper, Radikal daily reports.

The meeting participants issued a joint statement which condemns
stirring up enmity among Armenians and Turks.

The initiative also supposes organization of seminars, concerts and
entertainment events to facilitate reconciliation between Armenia
and Turkey.

Presently, Nevsehir University is looking for tutors to establish
the Armenian language chair.

"TASHIR GROUP" REAL ESTATE OWNER

Panorama.am
13:50 16/02/2009

American Forbes published the list of "Owners of Russian commercial
real estate 2008" table where Tashir Group occupies the eights
horizontal.

The group which belongs to Armenian Samvel Karapetyan occupied the
twentieth horizontal previous year. Due to the activities the company
improved its status by twelve points.

Dutch IKEA Company occupies the first horizontal which has 11 trade
centers in Russia. Find the list of top ten below: 1. IKEA 1260 1370

2. ENKA 450 530

3. "Kiev Square" Group 430 450

4. "Krokus" Group 300 457

5. "Diamond" Group 270 430

6. "Bin" Group 270 490

7. PromCommunication Real Estate 170 235

8. Tashir Group 130 278

9. Horus Capital 130 305

10. Forum Properties 110 150