Author: Nalchajian Markos

DAVUTOGLU’S STATEMENTS ARE CLEAR ENOUGH: CALIFORNIA COURIER

news.am
Oct 30 2009
Armenia

October 21, 2009 when Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu submitted Oct. 10
signed Protocols for ratification in the Turkish Parliament, he
meanwhile clearly stated Ankara’s true intensions, Harut Sassounian,
publisher of The California Courier newspaper stated.

Sassounian quotes Turkish FM’s statement: "through ratification we
will create intergovernmental commission on historical facts and
archives studying, thus making Armenia not to interpret historic
facts definitely and unilaterally any more. The Protocols guarantee
our territorial integrity and consequently deprive Armenia of the
opportunity to lay territorial claims. In conclusion, the documents
will contribute to the liberation of Azerbaijani ‘occupied’
territories."

Davutoglu’s statements are clear enough. He does not accidentally
mention three advantageous aspects for Turkey, against which majority
of Armenians strongly protests, Sassounian said.

ALIYEV: "THERE ARE NO COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD TO WORK FRUITFULLY IN POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL SPHERES LIKE TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN"

APA
Oct 28 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received the members
of the foreign relations commission of the Turkish Parliament, press
service of the President told APA.

The head of state emphasized the important significance of the
Turkish delegation’s visit to Azerbaijan and said the mutual visits
were important to receive information about the regional processes
from first sources and to inform the parties.

President Ilham Aliyev said Turkey was first to recognize Azerbaijan’s
independence and both countries have been moving from the same position
since that period. "There are no countries in the world to work
fruitfully in political, economic and cultural spheres like Turkey and
Azerbaijan", said President Aliyev. He mentioned the cultural relations
and said recently the leaders of the Turkic-speaking countries made
very important decisions at their 9th summit in Nakhchivan and welcomed
the Azerbaijan’s initiative to establish TURKSOY Fund.

The head of state emphasized that there is no initiative and project
in the region that could be realized without Azerbaijan-Turkey
cooperation and said these positive tendencies would be developed in
future too. "It will be very useful for our countries and peoples
and for entire region as well". President Ilham Aliyev said crisis
dominated in the world and developments in the region made us be more
communicable with each other because we can lift the misunderstandings
that have an effect on the bilateral relations only by this way.

President Ilham Aliyev mentioned the protocols signed between Turkey
and Armenia and said Azerbaijan didn’t interfere in the domestic
affairs of other countries. The head of state reminded that a part
of Azerbaijani lands is under the Armenian occupation for nearly 20
years. "Armenia pursued the policy of genocide and ethnic cleansing
in those territories. Therefore it should be accepted naturally that
Azerbaijani community is sensitive to the relations with Armenia. The
main concern of Azerbaijan is that Armenia could solve the economic
crisis by the opening of Turkish-Armenian borders and tighten its
position in the negotiations".

President Ilham Aliyev reminded about the statements by the
Turkish president, prime minister and parliament speaker that the
Turkish-Armenian borders will not be opened without the liberation
of Karabakh from the occupation. The president talked about the
following processes and said that Turkey and Azerbaijan had special
relations and every Turkish and Azerbaijani citizen should contribute
to the strengthening of these relations by own work. The President
of Azerbaijan emphasized the importance of communications between
the parliamentarians of both countries. "The intensification of
communications will promote the development of Turkey-Azerbaijan
relations".

Chairman of the Turkish parliament’s foreign relations
commission, member of the parliament from AKP Murat Mercan said the
Azerbaijani-Turkish friendly and brotherhood relations were based on
the historic roots and said the parliamentarians of both countries
established fruitful cooperation at the Council of Europe and other
international organizations. He reminded the period when President
Ilham Aliyev led the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe and added that the joint activity
of Azerbaijani and Turkish deputies played an important role in
recognition of Armenia as an aggressive state by the Council of
Europe. Touching upon the protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia,
Murat Mercan noted that his country understood the sensitiveness of
Azerbaijan in this issue and added that Turkey-Armenia border would
not be opened without the solution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Murat
Mercan stressed the importance of further strengthening of cooperation
between the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Turkey and offered proposal
on meeting of the foreign relations commissions of the parliaments
twice a year. The chief delegate of Turkey expressed his gratitude
to the President of Azerbaijan for the organization of the summit of
the leaders of Turkic-speaking countries in Nakhchivan at high level.

Member of Turkish Parliament’s foreign relations commission, MP
from National Movement Party (MHP) Deniz Bolukbashi stated that the
protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia will not be brought to
the agenda of the Turkish Parliament unless the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict is solved.

President Ilham Aliyev asked the members of the delegation to convey
his best regards to the Turkish President, Prime Minister, Chairman
of the Parliament and Chairman of the National Movement Party. At
the same time, President Ilham Aliyev expressed his personal thanks
for the principal position of the National Movement Party.

President Ilham Aliyev touched upon the significance of relations
between our countries. Speaking about the security issues in the
region, the head of state underlined that Armenia-Azerbaijan and
Turkey-Armenia relations should find their solutions at the same time.

Sharing his views on interparliamentary relations, President Ilham
Aliyev stressed the importance of establishment of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Turkic-Speaking Countries in Baku. According to
him, the summit of the leaders of Turkic-speaking countries in
Nakhchivan – the ancient land of Azerbaijan, decisions and signed
documents there assume great importance from the standpoint of further
strengthening of cooperation between the Turkic-speaking countries. To
the president, common past, history, origin, root and language unite
the Turkic-speaking countries.

The president of Azerbaijan expressed his satisfaction with the
proposal on meeting of the parliamentary delegations twice a year and
added that such meetings could be held not only in the capitals but
also in the regions. Touching upon the cooperation of Azerbaijani
and Turkish delegation in the Council of Europe, the head of state
emphasized that the joint activity of deputies from both countries
played an important role in the discussion of Nagorno Karabakh conflict
in the Parliamentary Assembly of the organization and adoption of
the resolution supporting the just position of Azerbaijan.

The head of state spoke about the activity of Azerbaijan in other
international organizations, including the Organization of Islamic
Conference (OIC) and added that Azerbaijan’s positions considerably
strengthened. Touching upon the importance of strengthening of
cooperation between our countries, the head of state stressed the
significance of continuation of mutual visits of the parliamentary
delegations in the future.

TURKISH AND ARMENIAN RAPPROCHEMENT: HOPE OR HOAX?

New America Media
ticle.html?article_id=7a819723e832076f65932b480def 95e0
Oct 27 2009

The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed an accord in Zurich
on Oct. 10 that reopens the border between the two countries, closed
since 1993, and creates a joint historical commission to determine what
actually happened in 1915. The deal needs parliamentary approval in
both countries, and Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan faces opposition
from the Armenian diaspora. Is the agreement between the two countries
a step forward or a capitulation? Here are two viewpoints from two
academics – one Turkish, one Armenian-American.

There is good reason why most Armenians, not just those in the
Diaspora, are up in arms about the Armenian-Turkish protocol says
Hayg Oshagan, professor of at Wayne State University, Detroit. Read
why he thinks The Turkey-Armenia Agreement Is a Farce.

But others differ. The frozen history between Armenia and Turkey has
begun to thaw with the signing of the protocols in Zurich on Oct. 10,
aiming at initiating diplomatic relations and opening up borders
says Dogu Ergil, in an editorial for Today’s Zaman, a bilingual
Turkish-English weekly. He thinks this accord is a brave step aimed
at Reducing Historical Baggage.

GASPROMBANK LAUNCHES USD 40 MILLION CREDIT LINE FOR ARMROSGAZPROM

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.10.2009 18:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On October 26, 2009m Russian "Gazprombank" OJSC and
ArmRosGasprom CJSC signed an agreement on launching a USD 40 million
credit line.

The credits will be allocated by Areximbank, Gazprombank CJSC’s
daughter company, ArmRosGazprom’s press service reports.

ArmRosGasprom CJSC continues implementation of gas energy projects,
particularly expansion of "Iran-Armenia" gas pipeline and modernization
of the 5 bloc of Hrazdan thermoelectric power plant.

"Singing of agreement is the successive step towards realizing
the banks strategic objective on developing energy-heat complex in
Armenia," says the bank’s release.

In January-September 2009, about AMD 27.8 billion were invested in
the project. In the same period there were public donations in the
amount of AMD 10.3 billion. Over the past years, the total amount of
investment programs comprised USD 700-750 million.

Investment programs are implemented due to private donations as well
as borrowed means. ArmRosGasprom CJSC also cooperates with several
local and foreign financial institutions.

Gazprombank OJSC is one of Russia’s three biggest universal financial
institutions. The third in the list of Central and Eastern European
banks, it provides resources for the key branches of Russian economy,
including gas, oil, nuclear and energy spheres. As of June 30, 2009
the bank’s total capital comprised RUR 156.5 billion, with total
assets making up RAR 855.3 billion.

"Areximbank – Gazprombank Group" CJSC was founded in 1998 with the
purpose of boosting entrepreneurial activities and ensuring financial
flows between Armenia and Russia. Since 2007, it has been a 100%
shareholder of Russian "Gazprombanks" OJSC. As of October 18, 2009 it
had a capital of AMD 9,906,771 thousand, with total assets coprising
AMD 39,545,809 thousand. The company currently has 15 branch offices.

AZERBAIJAN FAIL TO SPREAD MISINFORMATION AT THE BSEC MEETING

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.10.2009 19:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "At the commission meeting of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) in Thessaloniki, during discussion of environmental
issues, the representative of Azerbaijan raised the issue of refugees
and territories. The Armenian side has urged him not to disseminate
misinformation, as Nagorno-Karabakh self-determined as a state in
compliance with all international laws and establish an independent
state, subject to military aggression by Azerbaijan," Gagik Minasyan ,
member of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) parliamentary faction
told a press conference in Yerevan today.

According to Gagik Minasyan, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation
Hajiyev unsuccessfully tried to draw into the debate the Georgian and
Turkish delegates. "We have expressed regret that there are politicians
so far who do not understand the absence of contradiction between the
principles of territorial integrity and national self-determination
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, since the implementation of the
principle of self-determination has nothing to do with the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan," Gagik Minasyan said.

Armenian chess team suffers its first defeat in European Team Championship
25.10.2009 16:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In the 3rd round of 17 European Team Championship
taking place in Novi Sad, Serbia, Armenian chess team suffered its
first defeat, falling behind Serbians by score 1.5:2.5.

The only winner of Armenia’s team was Levon Aronyan. Gabriel Sargsyan
and Arman Pashikyan were beaten by their rivals, while Tigran
Petrosyan ended the match in a draw.

After three rounds, Armenian team earned 4 points, appearing on the
12th position of tournament table.
In the fourth round, Armenian chess players will compete against the
Serbian team.

Armenia (ARM) – Serbia 1 (SRB 1) 1½:2½
Aronian Levon – Ivanisevic Ivan 1 – 0
Sargissian Gabriel – Solak Dragan 0 – 1
Pashikian Arman – Markus Robert 0 – 1
Petrosian Tigran L – Perunovic Milos ½ – ½

Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 22 2009

It is important for Armenia Nagorno-Karabakh conflict talks held on
Madrid principles: deputy FM

Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 22 / Trend News U.Sadikhova /

Armenia and Azerbaijan continue talks on resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Arman
Kirakossian told journalists in Baku on Oct. 22.

"Our presidents have held seven meetings and this is a positive
milestone in the negotiation process. Armenia does not consider this
is non-constructivism. This is a very sensitive milestone to discuss
the principles in the negotiation process and therefore we believe we
are continuing to negotiate with Azerbaijan in a constructive manner,"
Kirakossian said.

Kirakossian is attending a meeting of the Council of Ministers of
Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC) in Baku.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are
currently holding the peace negotiations.

According to Kirakossian, it is important for Armenia that talks on
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict solution are held on Madrid principles.
"The negotiations are very sensitive and the parties must reach a
result and an agreement on the main principles proposed by the
mediators. I believe the implementation of the whole process will
start as soon as the agreement on main principles is achieved," he
said.

NowLebanon, Lebanon
Oct 19 2009

Armenian Anger

By Ana Maria Luca

Sultana, Arshalouys, Elise and Mary only have each other now. The four
grey-haired ladies have no families left and, each day, they sit
together in the lounge of their nursing home in Bourj Hammoud,
watching the news and reminiscing about times past.

But in the last week, since they saw the television report about
Armenia signing an unprecedented accord with Turkey, which features
images of the Armenian president going to a football match with his
Turkish counterpart, Arshalouys has found it difficult to stay calm,
Sultana’s brown eyes have often filled with tears, while Elise stays
silent and Mary sighs more than usual.

They talk one at a time about the killings in the 1915 genocide, when
pregnant women were raped and killed by the Turkish soldiers, young
girls threw themselves in the rivers for fear they would be taken
slaves, men were tortured and cut in half, and boys had their eyes
punctured with needles.

Elise remembers the terribly stark story her mother used to tell her.
`They murdered our entire family. 50 people, all at once. They were
gathered for a celebration in Adana. The Turkish soldiers murdered
them all. My mother was one of the few who weren’t there. So she lived
to come to Lebanon,’ the old women says, trembling, `Many were killed
back then, but much more, died of hunger during the marches through
Syria.’

`Those were massacres,’ Arshalouys says in decisive voice. `It was
genocide. This president deserves the worst for signing the protocol
[agreement] with Turkey. He is not Armenian, we don’t think he is
truly Armenian and our people showed him they don’t agree with this
protocol. We had protests against him here in Beirut.’

The accord on the development of diplomatic relations was signed on
October 10 in Zurich by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and
his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian. Turkey and Armenia are set
to open the border in six weeks and to establish joint economic
committees.

They have had no diplomatic or economic ties since Armenia declared
its independence in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. The
issue of the Armenian genocide has been haunted Turkey’s foreign
relations for at least two decades, especially as the country has
engaged in negotiations over possible membership in the European
Union. And while Ankara has faced significant pressure to admit and
apologize for the Armenian genocide, but it has steadfastly refused to
do so.

However, in July 2008, then-Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said
Turkey was open to normalize relations with Yerevan. Then in
September 2008, Turkish President Abdullah Gul travelled to Armenia to
watch the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier match between the two
countries upon an invitation of the Armenian president.

`I don’t want to go into the way this protocol was agreed upon,’
Lebanese MP and Minister Jean Ogassapian told NOW. `But I can say that
I, personally, don’t agree with it. I can’t agree with this before
Turkey admits it committed genocide. For us, the genocide is a fact,
they need to acknowledge it. Then maybe we can talk about committees
and borders.’

After a round of Swiss-mediated talks, Turkey and Armenia agreed in
August on an accord to establish relations and open their shared
border. Gul invited Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, to watch the
return match in Turkey on October 14, but offered no apology for the
genocide.

Most of the estimated 150,000 Armenians in Lebanon, almost all
descendants of the refugees of 1915, share Ogassapian’s feelings
toward the accord. Many took to the streets and gathered in front of
the Turkish embassy to protest the newly signed document and the
attitude of Sargsyan, who was in Lebanon at the beginning of the month
in order to convince the community that the accord was a step forward.

`We will continue our struggle against it,’ Ogassapian vowed. `We will
use diplomatic and political strings to stop this protocol from being
implemented.’

`The Turks cannot do anything anymore to make things right to us,’
Arshalouys says. `What they did to us is unforgettable. The government
in Armenia should know that. This president went to that game! How
could he? He should know how much we suffered. We were born in exile
and we will die in exile. This is our fate.’

ls.aspx?ID=120989

ARMENIA TOUGHENS PROTECTION OF TRADEMARKS

/ARKA/
OCTOBER 22, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, October 22, /ARKA/. The government of Armenia approved
today a bill on making changes to the Law on Trademarks and to the
Law on Geographic Marks, designed to raise the level of defense of
intellectual property.

A deputy economy minister Vahe Danielian said the changes are expected
to rule out repetition of trademarks or their semblance to the degree
of confusion.

"In the past primary right holders could defend their rights in the
court if their brands were repeated by other companies. Now they
could do so within two months during which they need to inform the
public at large,’ the deputy minister said.

The minister reminded of instances when Armenian businessmen registered
world famous trademarks, regarding them as their property and then
prevented the original brands entrance in Armenia. Now, the deputy
minister said, a trademark can be deposited.

He said also changes were made into the mechanisms of providing
geographic marks, that is the information about the origin of
produces. He said this aspect is not regulated by the current law. The
proposed bill bring the relating law in conformity with the European
standards.

"This means that Armenian trademarks and Armenian products will be
protected across the globe,’ he said. Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian
said the bill had been discussed with some government agencies and
head of enterprises and their comments and recommendations were taken
into account.

USA URGES IRAN TO TAKE URGENT ACTIONS ON URANIUM PROGRAM

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
22.10.2009 11:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a
statement upon International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) presenting
agreement project to Iran, USA, Russia and France, expecting document
ratification by coming Friday.

The agreement stipulates for Russia and France to manufacture enriched
uranium for Iranian nuclear program.

World community is concerned over Iran’s intending to use its project
for nuclear weapons manufacturing, while Iran denies the fact, Radio
Svoboda reported.