Author: Nargizian David

FINANCIAL CONTROL IS BEING IMPROVED

Thu rsday, 21 January 2010

A Cabinet session was held under chairmanship of Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan.

The Government of the Republic of Armenia made changes to the
government decree of June 10, 1999, referred to as "On approval
of procedure to follow in servicing, recording and overseeing
extra-budgetary funds of State and other establishments." The decision
provides for a unified process in the management of budgetary and
extra-budgetary funds and enhanced efficiency in financial management
and oversight.

The Government decided to allocate USD 100.0 thousand-equivalent dram
from its reserve fund to RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to
help the Republic of Haiti to cope with the impact of the devastating
earthquake of January 12, 2010.

The Government made changes to a previous government decree concerning
the 3-year holiday in VAT settlements accorded to NatFood JSC for
import of goods and commodities exceeding the amount of AMD 300mn.

This amendment was made in an effort to improve the draft statute of
JSC. Considering that 5 economic entities have already benefited from
this anti-crisis measure, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan concluded
that the latter has proved successful and, therefore, can be extended
to other entities as well.

SME support continues to be a major focus for the Armenian government.

As the concept of Armenia’s industrialization was endorsed at the
previous Cabinet sitting, the Government went on to approve the 2010
program of State support to small and medium-size enterprises. This
was done in an effort to uplift this priority area which is a pivotal
element of GDP.

The Government approved the manner in which the title to the
water systems serviced by HayJrmoughKoyughi CJSC will be subject
to transfer on a competitive basis, the program of action for
improvement of Armenia’s business environment, the summary report of
the interdepartmental commission on the special complex expertise
conducted for the combined cycle flame unit of Yerevan, according
to which the unit’s design papers comply with Armenian laws and
normative requirements.

The executive further approved: the package of safety standards for
open-cast development of mineral deposits in Armenia, the program
of providing safety zones in the local section of Armenia-Georgia
400 kW overhead transmission line, the manner in which support will
be extended to those persons having applied for repatriation or
asylum in getting entry visas into their countries of origin or third
countries, the results of the international tender on the procurement
of consulting services by the project management board for rural
road section and lifeline road rehabilitation program as financed
by the Asian Bank and the World Bank, under which "Channakhagits"
Institute and "Transnakhagits" Institute have won the tender.

In conclusion, the Government endorsed two bills to be submitted to
the National Assembly for consideration.

OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS HELD DISCUSSION ON UPCOMING HIGH-LEVEL MEETING

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.01.2010 16:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyana has received
Co-Chairs of OSCE Minsk Group, diplomats Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) and
Robert Bradtke (U.S.). Present At the meeting was also representative
of OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Anjey Kasprzyk and RA Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandyan.

The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, now Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)) to encourage a peaceful, negotiated
resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

On 6 December 1994, the Budapest Summit decided to establish a
co-chairmanship for the process.

Implementing the Budapest decision, the Chairman-in-Office issued on
23 March 1995, the mandate for the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Process.

The main objectives of the Minsk Process are as follows: Providing
an appropriate framework for conflict resolution in the way of
assuring the negotiation process supported by the Minsk Group;
Obtaining conclusion by the Parties of an agreement on the cessation
of the armed conflict in order to permit the convening of the Minsk
Conference; Promoting the peace process by deploying OSCE multinational
peacekeeping forces.

The Minsk Process can be considered to be successfully concluded if
the objectives referred to above are fully met.

The Minsk Group is headed by a Co-Chairmanship consisting of France,
Russia and the United States. Furthermore, the Minsk Group also
includes the following participating States: Belarus, Germany, Italy,
Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Turkey as well as Armenia
and Azerbaijan. Current Co-chairmen of the Minsk Group are: Ambassador
Bernard Fassier of France, Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov of the Russian
Federation and Ambassador Robert Bradtke of the United States.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization, formed under the framework
of the Commonwealth of Independent States, serves as a mutual defense
alliance among Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and
Tajikistan. The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May
15, 1992 for five-year term, with the possibility of prolongation. On
December 2, 2004 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted
the Resolution to grant the observer status to the Collective Security
Treaty Organization in the General Assembly of the United Nations. The
goal of the Collective Security Treaty Organization is to strengthen
peace and international and regional security and stability and to
ensure collective protection of independence, territorial integrity
and sovereignty of Member States, in the attainment of which Member
States shall give priority to political methods. On February 4, 2009,
the CSTO leaders approved formation of Collective Rapid Reaction Force
(RRF).

The Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict broke out in 1988 as result of the
ethnic cleansing launched by Azerbaijan in the final years of the
Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since
the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions
of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control
of Nagorno Karabakh defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan have since
been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.

AZERBAIJAN SPREADS MASSIVE ANTI-ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA IN RUSSIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.01.2010 18:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Much has been done around Baku events and many
issues are still in progress, Armenian Genocide Museum director Hayk
Demoyan said.

As he told a news conference in Yerevan, Armenia and Diaspora managed
to voice the truth about Armenian pogroms in Sumgait to international
community, something which wasn’t yet accomplished in the issue of
Armenian pogroms in Baku. "We haven’t yet collected enough eyewitness
evidence and have very few tragedy-related official documents,"
he said.

At the same time he noted that Azerbaijan spreads massive anti-Armenian
propaganda in Russia, selling books which promote hostility towards
Armenians. According to Demoyan, Armenia has to show adequate approach
to the issue.

ARMENIAN PM: 20 YEARS AGO OUR COMPATRIOTS WERE KILLED IN BAKU SOLELY FOR BEING ARMENIANS

ArmInfo
2010-01-19 18:37:00

ArmInfo. Today Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan visited the
Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex to pay tribute to the memory of the
victims of the pogroms of Armenians in Baku.

The press service of the Government of Armenia quotes Sargsyan as
saying that today is the day of memory, the day when one must reflect
and draw conclusions. 20 years ago our compatriots were killed in Baku
solely because they were Armenians and today we must emphasize this
fact when remembering them. Today we must look out for new threats and
challenges so as to prevent new pogroms and persecutions. The lesson
we have learned is the only guarantee that we will be able to solve
our national tasks and will survive as a strong and independent state
capable of protecting its compatriots and citizens all over the world.

We must be united in solving our national tasks as we must realize
that we may face no less serious challenges in the future. The present
policy of the Azeri authorities is based on hatred for Armenians. This
means that we must be vigilant. We must respect the memory of the
victims and must have a clear vision of how to solve our national
tasks. Our key goal is strong, powerful, independent and free Republic
of Armenia.

KEY TO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT IN HANDS OF NKR PEOPLE

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.01.2010 18:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The bellicose statements of Azeri President Ilham
Aliyev in his New Year message, show that Azerbaijan is not ready to
make concessions in 2010 and continues to be a threat to the people
of Karabakh, he Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said.

According to him, these statements and threats cannot impress or
intimidate Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

Commenting on statements made by Aliyev that the Nagorno Karabakh
problem should be resolved only on the basis of territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan, allegedly supported by the international community,
Nalbandian said that the countries co-chairing OSCE Minsk Group on
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, repeat what the official Yerevan says:
the Karabakh conflict should be resolved in line with principles
and norms of international law, in particular, non-use of force or
threat of force, the right to self-determination and territorial
integrity. "It is stated in the Athens Declaration, adopted by OSCE
56 countries," the foreign minister of Armenia said.

According to him, the Azerbaijani leadership is trying to prejudge the
outcome of negotiations and the Karabakh settlement process, that is a
question of status and self-determination of Karabakh. But the question
of Karabakh’s status is an issue to be solved by the people of Nagorno
Karabakh. This is stated in the details of the Madrid document," Edward
Nalbandian said, adding that despite Baku’s statements, the key to
the Karabakh settlement is in hands of the people of Nagorno Karabakh.

The Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic
located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north
and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west. After the Soviet
Union established control over the area, in 1923 it formed the Nagorno
Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the Azerbaijan SSR. In
the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan launched an ethnic
cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that was fought from
1991 to 1994. Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh
and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone)
remain under the control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army. Armenia
and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated by the
OSCE Minsk Group.

The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, now Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)) to encourage a peaceful, negotiated
resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The Helsinki Additional Meeting of the CSCE Council on 24 March 1992,
requested the Chairman-in-Office to convene as soon as possible
a conference on Nagorno Karabakh under the auspices of the CSCE
to provide an ongoing forum for negotiations towards a peaceful
settlement of the crisis on the basis of the principles, commitments
and provisions of the CSCE. The Conference is to take place in Minsk.

Although it has not to this date been possible to hold the conference,
the so-called Minsk Group spearheads the OSCE effort to find a
political solution to this conflict.

On 6 December 1994, the Budapest Summit decided to establish a
co-chairmanship for the process. Implementing the Budapest decision,
the Chairman-in-Office issued on 23 March 1995, the mandate for
the Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Process. The main objectives of the
Minsk Process are as follows: Providing an appropriate framework for
conflict resolution in the way of assuring the negotiation process
supported by the Minsk Group; Obtaining conclusion by the Parties
of an agreement on the cessation of the armed conflict in order to
permit the convening of the Minsk Conference; Promoting the peace
process by deploying OSCE multinational peacekeeping forces.

The Minsk Process can be considered to be successfully concluded
if the objectives referred to above are fully met. The Minsk Group
is headed by a Co-Chairmanship consisting of France, Russia and
the United States. Furthermore, the Minsk Group also includes the
following participating States: Belarus, Germany, Italy, Portugal,
the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Turkey as well as Armenia and
Azerbaijan. Current Co-chairmen of the Minsk Group are: Ambassador
Bernard Fassier of France, Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov of the Russian
Federation and Ambassador Robert Bradtke of the United States.

The Madrid document contains the proposals put forward by the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs on the basic principles of a settlement. The
document was presented to the Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives
at the OSCE summit in the Spanish capital in November 2007.

VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN: CHILDREN MUST UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF SOLIDARY ARMENIANHOOD

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.01.2010 15:28 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ It’s with great delay that we launched activities
to explain what happened in Baku in January 1990. Still, it’s better
late than never, ARF Dashnaktusyun parliamentary group leader Vahan
Hovhannisyan said.

As he stressed upon completion of a meeting with the students of N187
school where he conducted a model lesson on 1990 Armenian pogroms in
Baku, "Children have to understand why we were able to resist 1905
and 1918 Baku pogroms, and failed to resist that of 1990. Children
must understand the power of solidary Armenianhood."

RA Science and Education Minister Armen Ashotyan, for his part, stated
that the initiative gives an opportunity to establish a dialogue
between generations, as children must be informed about the history
of their nation.

20 years ago the Azerbaijani authorities instigated the Armenian
pogroms in Baku. Some 400 Armenians were killed and 200 thousand
were exiled in the period of January 13-19, 1990. The exact number
of those killed was never determined, as no investigation was carried
out into the crimes.

On January 13, a crowd numbering 50 thousand people divided into
groups and started "cleaning" the city of Armenians. On January 17,
the European Parliament called on EU Council of Foreign Ministers
and European Council to protect Armenians and render assistance to
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. On January 18, a group of U.S. Senators
sent a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev to express concerns over the
violence against the Armenian population in Azerbaijan and called
for unification of Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia.

Home Town Life
Jan 17 2010

Entries sought for Armenian contest
January 17, 2010

The Armenian Genocide Committee of Greater Detroit is seeking entries
for the third annual Armenian Genocide Essay competition.

The competition, which is funded by the Hagopian Family Foundation,
recognizes and awards Michigan middle and high school students who
have written a successful essay on the first genocide of the 20th
century, often called `the forgotten genocide.’
Some suggested themes for this essay competition include events which
precipitated the Armenian Genocide and other genocides, actions and/or
responses taken by individuals and governments in response to the
Armenian Genocide and other genocides, and whether the U.S. government
should formally recognize the Armenian Genocide. Complete guidelines
can be found at
Edgar Hagopian, chairman of the Armenian Genocide Committee and
patriarch of the Hagopian Family Foundation, said that he `feels this
project is a critical and vital key to perpetuating the history of the
Armenian people in the minds of students as well as having them learn
that a comprehensive study of the Armenian Genocide will aid and
educate legislators and leaders to avert future tragedies. It is the
youth of our nation that will look back to help not only this country
move forward, but hopefully, one day the world.’
Instructors may submit their student’s essay entries to The Armenian
Genocide Committee at 850 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham, MI 48009, on or
before the deadline of April 8. All entries will be judged by a
committee consisting of members of the metro Detroit Armenian
community, and winners will be formally announced April 15. The awards
will be presented at a 2010 Armenian Genocide Commemoration on or
about April 26.
Awards are:

¢High school students ‘ first place, $500; second place, $250; third place, $100

¢Middle school students ‘ first place, $250, second place, $150, third
place, $100
In addition, each teacher of the student submitting a winning essay
will be given a $100 appreciation award.
For additional information, contact The Armenian Genocide Committee by
calling Edgar Hagopian at (248) 646-7847 or e-mailing
[email protected].

http://www.hometownli fe.com/article/20100117/NEWS20/1170346

World Net Daily WND.com
Jan 16 2010

U.S. interests in oil-rich region threatened
Meddling in Turkish-Armenian disagreements blamed

Posted: January 16, 2010
12:20 am Eastern
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Editor’s Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah’s
G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of
WND. Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95
per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the
complete reports.

The United States is on the verge of damaging its relationship with
Azerbaijan, a development that could have a serious impact on
strategic interests in the Caspian region, an oil-rich area that has
other regional powers vying for influence, according to a report from
Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

Azerbaijan officials are particularly incensed over U.S. insistence on
Turkey and Armenia re-establishing diplomatic relations without first
insisting that Azerbaijan re-establish its hold on an
Armenian-occupied portion of its own territory known as the Karabakh
region.

Their conclusion is that such recognition will make Armenia less
inclined to resolve the long-simmering issue with neighboring
Azerbaijan over which both countries have had occasional military
clashes. The situation now has become even more exacerbated as a
result of the recent Turkish-Armenian diplomatic recognition.

"While the U.S. provides strong moral and financial support to
Armenia, which occupies Azerbaijani lands, we do not see significant
assistance to Azerbaijan on the part of Washington," according to
Novruz Mammadov, who heads the international relations department of
the President’s Executive Office of Azerbaijan.

Mammadov pointed out Azerbaijani lands have been occupied by Armenian
Armed Forces.

"Armenia should withdraw from the occupied lands and shouldn’t
interfere in Azerbaijan’s interior affairs. After that, Azerbaijan may
conduct certain negotiations with the Armenian community in its
territory," Mammadov said.

"The involvement of the Armenian community of Nagorno Karabakh in the
negotiations is possible only after a document is signed between
Azerbaijan and Armenia," Mammadov added. "After that, it is possible
to start negotiations on the condition of the Armenian community, the
return of internally displaced persons and rehabilitation work."

The developments appear to have been instigated in no small measure by
the Russians, who had encouraged Turkey to reopen diplomatic relations
with Armenia after almost a century of conflict between the two
neighboring countries.

The motive, however, appears to have been more suited to meet Russian
self-interest in getting Azerbaijan to look more favorably on
supplying oil to Russian-controlled pipelines and to get involved in
its South Stream pipeline that would help insure Russian control over
oil flowing to Europe.

Until recently, Azerbaijan had favored the Western-backed Nabucco
pipeline construction effort that would have gone through Turkey for
European consumption. But now, that’s about to change. Azerbaijan in
recent weeks has met with Russian officials to offer its vast oil
reserves.

According to regional experts, Azerbaijan became particularly incensed
over the recent appropriation by Congress of $8 million in
humanitarian assistance to Karabakh. Azerbaijani officials claim it
shows favoritism to the Armenian community in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh
region.

PAGE.view&pageId=122104

RUSSIA IS STEPPING UP PRESSURE ON TURKEY, TURKOLOGISTS SAY

Noyan Tapan
Jan 15, 2010

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. With the decision of the
Constitutional Court, Armenia has taken its step, and now it is
Turkey’s turn, Turkologist Artak Shakarian declared at the January
15 press conference. According to him, the visit of Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov to Yerevan showed that Russia is stepping
up pressure on Turkey, and the West will do the same. A. Shakarian
forecast that Turkey in its turn will again raise the issue of
necessity of making progress in the Karabakh problem. As a result,
in his words, the Minsk Group Co-chairs "will meet, decide something
which the Turks will perceive as progress and move forward".

Another Turkologist – Hakob Chakrian expressed an opinion that there
is no need for constant speculation over the problem of relations
between Armenia and Turkey, especially as the protocols have already
been signed. As for the current state of affairs, according to him,
the Turks’ hope that Russia will put pressure on Armenia regarding
the Karabakh problem has not come true. Moreover, as H. Chakrian
underlined, to judge by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s
statements, the Turks themselves have been put under pressure. The
Turkologist said the Armenian-Turkish normalization is just beginning
with these protocols and Armenia should be prepared for further
developments.

He once again called on political forces not to speculate on the
protocols, saying that there are a lot of themes for criticism: the
poor manpower policy, the hard socioeconomic situation, etc. When a
reporter asked him to assess Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian from
the viewpoint of manpower policy, H. Chakrian described him as an
"experienced diplomat of the Soviet school".

SYSTEM OF A DOWN TO REFORM?

Xfm Online
o-reform
Jan 12 2010
UK

The L.A./Armenian me(nt)al mob could be the latest band to bury the
hatchet in 2010 following a Twitter posting by their bassist.

Multi-million selling metallers System Of A Down could be on the
verge of reforming. The news follows a fairly self-explanatory Twitter
posting by bassist Shavo Odadjian that simply said: "Are u guys ready
for System?".

The news would follow a series of underwhelming side projects/solo
ventures by the band’s members. Guitarist Daron Malakian and drummer
John Dolmayan formed Scars On Broadway before abruptly calling the
group to a halt in October 2008.

Singer Serj Tankian fared a little better with solo album ‘Elect The
Dead’ in 2007, but both projects paled in comparison to System’s
commercial clout, with record sales well in excess of 20 million
records.