Author: Nargizian David

ARMECONOMBANK HEAD PREDICTS POSSIBLE DECLINE OF INTEREST RATES IN ARMENIA IN LATE 2009

ArmInfo
2009-01-22 16:40:00

ArmInfo. Interest rates in Armenia will not change within 2009 but
they may suffer insignificant decline in late 2009, Chairman of
Armeconombank Board David Sukiasyan told media Thursday.

He mentioned that the last upwards trend of interests on deposits
and credits has been observed also in world markets. ‘At present we
attract international funds at an interest rate by 2-3 percent higher’,
he said. Sukiasyan highlighted that Armeconombank attracts deposits
at the annual interest of max 9% and may raise interest rates for
the deposits in the national dram.

The recent meeting of the Central Bank Council highlighted that the key
argument of sharp decline of interest rates is the continuing inflation
decline and related risks. CB Council called gradual reduction of rates
the most reasonable. Deposits and credits were up 2-3% to 7% and 18%
respectively in average for the third quarter of 2008. Downwards
trend was continued also in the 4th quarter.

HAVERHILL WRITER’S PHOTOS PAINT VIVID PICTURE OF ARMENIAN COUNTRYSIDE
By Rosemary Ford, [email protected]

Eagle Tribune
Jan 22 2009
MA

He honed his skills as a news reporter and photographer.

Now Haverhill’s Tom Vartabedian has put that sharpness to good use:
on his travels. Northern Essex Community College will present a
photographic exhibit of his works titled "Armenian Village People —
A Country Kaleidoscope."

The show features 30 color photographs from the former Haverhill
Gazette staffer and current columnist (the Gazette is now a sister
paper to The Eagle-Tribune).

Vartabedian captured these 10-by-13 inch images during a trip to
Armenia in 2006. He paid particularly close attention to life in the
outlying regions of this country from which his parents fled during
the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

"I love people," Vartabedian said. "I think the real story of a country
can be shown through the images of its people. The faces tell a story
more than the churches and the statues and that sort of thing.

The exhibit has already received tremendous exposure inside the
Armenian community throughout greater Boston. It was shown at the
Armenian Library and Museum of America in Watertown last year, as
part of a fundraiser for the library and the Armenian Relief Society.

"It’s also been at other, different Armenian venues," Vartabedian
said. "I haven’t really exposed it to the non-Armenian community."

After its run at Northern Essex Community College, the exhibit moves
to North Andover’s Merrimack College in March and the Haverhill Public
Library in April.

Vartabedian is dedicating the project to his mother, Jennie. The
97-year-old is the last survivor of the 1915 Armenian Genocide living
in Haverhill.

"She is carrying a torch," Vartabedian said.

In addition to the exhibit, Vartabedian is also working on publishing
a coffee table book of his photographs.

"That is my ultimate dream, as a legacy to my mother, myself and my
country," he said.

Vartabedian spent 40 years as a writer and photographer for the
Haverhill Gazette before retiring in 2007 with numerous awards from
United Press International, the Associated Press, and the New England
Press Association. His columns on local figures and events continue
to be featured weekly.

He remains active as a judge and speaker at camera clubs along the
North Shore as a master member of the New England Camera Club Council.

Vartabedian said he’s already planning another trip to Armenia
this spring.

IF YOU GO

What: "Armenian Village People — A Country Kaleidoscope"

When: Throughout the month of February

Where: Art Space Gallery of the Bentley Library at Northern Essex
Community College

How: Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A public reception is planned on Thursday,
Feb. 12, from 5 to 8 p.m.

ALL GAMES IN CORUS INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT’S 4TH TOUR END IN A DRAW

Noyan Tapan

Jan 21, 2009

WIJK aan ZEE, JANUARY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. All games in the 4th tour of
the International Chess Tournament being held in the city of Wijk aan
Zee, Holland, ended in a draw. Gata Kamski, Sergey Karyakin, Sergey
Movsisian, Teymur Rajabov, and Yan Smith have gained 2.5 points each
and are in the lead. Levon Aronian shares the 6-9th places with 3
participants with 2 points each.

January 21 is announced a rest day in the tournament. In the 5th tour
L. Aronian will compete with S. Movsisian.

Thomson Reuters
Wed Jan 21, 2009 7:46pm EST
Christians in Turkey
(Reuters) – Turkey is overwhelmingly Muslim but hosts several ancient
Christian communities — dwindling remnants of sizeable populations that
prospered for centuries in the Muslim-led but multi-ethnic, multi-faith
Ottoman Empire.
They include Syriac Christians, Greek Orthodox, Armenians and Catholics.
Modern Turkey was founded as a secular republic by Kemal Mustafa Ataturk on
the empire’s ashes in 1923.
Here are some details about Christians in Turkey:

* SOME HISTORY:
— At the beginning of World War One, Christians still made up 20 percent of
the population. However in May 1915, Ottoman commanders began mass
deportation of Armenians from eastern Turkey thinking they might assist
Russian invaders.
— Thousands were marched from the Anatolian borders toward Syria and
Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Armenians say some 1.5 million died either in
massacres or from starvation or deprivation as they were marched through the
desert. There are some 70,000 Armenians left in Turkey. Turkey says large
numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks were killed during the
violent and chaotic break-up of the Ottoman Empire. The number of Christians
has now fallen to around 100,000 in a total population of more than 70
million.

OTHER POPULATIONS:
— Syriacs number 20,000, the majority living in Istanbul. Syriacs migrated
throughout the 20th century to Europe, fleeing first from persecution by the
new secular republic, and later, from violence between Kurdish separatists
rebels and the Turkish military in the southeast. Syriac Christians speak a
form of Aramaic, the language of Jesus. They are not an officially
designated minority in Turkey like the Greeks or Armenians, so have no
special protection for rights such as private education under the 1923
Treaty of Lausanne’s provisions for non-Muslim minorities.
— Istanbul is the ancient seat of Orthodox Christianity but Greek Orthodox,
who make up 20,000 of the population, often complain of discrimination and
prejudice. Istanbul, the former Constantinople, was capital of the
Greek-speaking Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire for centuries until it
fell to Muslim Ottoman Turks in 1453.
— Turkey’s 30,000 Catholics hope the government will return the St. Paul
church, which was confiscated by the state in 1943, to Christian
worshippers. It is used now as a museum.
— St. Paul, the great evangelizer of the early Christian Church, was born
in Tarsus in modern-day Turkey and Pope Benedict proclaimed 12 months of
events to honor him in June 2008.
— Pope Benedict made a sensitive, fence-mending visit to Turkey in November
2006 after he had sparked protests from the Muslim world with a speech that
Muslims said portrayed Islam as a religion tainted by violence and
irrationality.
— He was praised for visiting Istanbul’s famed Blue Mosque and praying
there facing toward Mecca "like Muslims."

PROPERTY AND THEOLOGICAL DISPUTES
— Under a reform long sought by the European Union that Ankara hopes to
join, Turkey’s parliament approved last year a law aimed at boosting the
property rights of non-Muslim minorities. Turkish authorities have
expropriated millions of dollars worth of property belonging to Christians
or their churches, especially the Greek Orthodox, over the decades. The law
would allow foundations to re-acquire some confiscated properties but not
those sold on to third parties — something that is unlikely to satisfy
Christian communities. The EU has urged Turkey to create a comprehensive
legal framework that allows all religious groups unrestricted freedom to
operate. By law, Syriacs must attend state schools where teaching is in
Turkish, but they can be taught about their own language and religion
outside school hours. Brussels has raised concerns over restrictions on the
training of Christian clergy in Turkey.

ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS:
— Turkey’s Christian community has been targeted in a spate of attacks over
several years, prompting concern among human rights groups and the European
Union.
— The stabbing of an Italian Catholic priest in 2007 highlighted the
attacks. Also in 2007, three Christians were killed at a Bible-publishing
house at the Zirve publishing house in Malatya, a city in the country’s
southeast region.
— Andrea Santoro, another Italian Catholic priest, was shot dead in the
Turkish Black Sea city of Trabzon in 2006.
— Prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was killed in January
2007 in Istanbul by a young nationalist gunman. A prosecutor last month
indicted a colonel for failing to provide protection for Dink, who had
received death threats.

AZERI PRESIDENT AGREES TO MEET WITH ARMENIAN COUNTERPART IN DAVOS

Interfax
Jan 19 2009
Russia

Baku has agreed to the meeting between Azeri President Ilham Aliyev
and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in terms of the Davos forum,
Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov said in
Baku before leaving for Yerevan.

"The main result [of the talks in Baku] is the Azeri agreement to
shortly hold a meeting between the Azeri and Armenian presidents
probably on the sidelines of the Davos economic forum," Merzlyakov
told a briefing in Baku.

"Tomorrow, in Yerevan, we hope to get confirmation from the Armenian
side," he said.

According to Merzlyakov, the co-chairmen are continuing to discuss
with the Azeris and the Armenians the basic principles of the Nagorno-
Karabakh settlement. "It is good that this issue has remained on
the agenda, and it is obvious that in case the meeting between the
presidents takes place it will be dedicated to further elaboration of
some principles, maybe the two presidents will modify the formulations
in the agreements between them," he said.

The U.S. Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza said he
saw that the Azeri president had a great wish to promote the process,
and he [Bryza] hoped he would have similar feelings after meeting
with the Armenian president.

It takes time to build up confidence between the presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan, he said. He said he was calling on the public of both
countries to trust that that their leaders were holding talks in the
interests of their nations and to trust OSCE activity.

The French Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Bernard Facier
said a military way of solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was
inadmissible. "This conflict has no military solution. War does not
exist as a way of solving this conflict. War is suicide," he said.

KAYSERI WANTS TO HOST THE ARMENIA GAME

Hurriyet
Jan 13 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – Hailed as ‘Turkey’s most modern football stadium,’
the Kayseri Kadir Has Stadium prepares for its premiere. While the
stadium is still under construction, the mayor has voiced his will
to see Kayseri host an international game, especially the match
against Armenia.

Hoping to host a grand premiere to celebrate its new ground,
Kayserispor plans to welcome at least one high-profile international
football match at the Kadir Has Stadium, particularly the
Turkey-Armenia game.

With work soon to be completed on the 32,500-capacity Kadir Has
Stadium, Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality and Kayserispor Honorary
Chairman Mehmet Ozhaseki voiced his will to see some important games
in the Central Anatolian city.

Ozhaseki first wanted Kayseri to host Turkey’s crucial World Cup
Qualifying Group 5 game against Spain on April 1, but that was vetoed
by Turkish Football Federation, or TFF, chairman, Mahmut Ozgener.

Visiting the stadium last week, Ozgener said despite the quality of
the stadium, it may not be available in time.

"We have to inform [European football’s governing body] UEFA in advance
about the stadium that we are going to play and cannot change it after
that," said Ozgener. "UEFA will come to make some controls on the
pitch, so picking the Kadir Has Stadium for that match will be a risk.

"When the work is done, the stadium will have top priority for hosting
international games," added Ozgener.

If everything goes to plan, the Kadir Has Stadium’s premiere will be
a friendly between Turkey and New Zealand in June.

Ozhaseki also wants the Armenia game on Oct. 15 to be played in
Kayseri as well. "The world will be watching that game, so the
official premiere will be worthy of Turkey’s most modern stadium,"
said Ozhaseki. "The fact that our president was born in Kayseri will
add another meaning to that day of tolerance."

The first game between the two national teams caused much debate, as
President Abdullah Gul accepted the invitation of Armenian President
Serge Sarkissian to watch the game together in Armenia. Despite the
political problems between the two countries, the game was played in
a peaceful atmosphere, and ended with a 1-0 win to Turkey.

PALESTINIAN DEATH TOLL TOPS 900: GAZA OFFICIAL

AZG Armenian Daily
13/01/2009

Middle East Crisis

Israeli troops fought gun battles with Hamas fighters on Monday,
keeping military pressure on the Islamist group while avoiding all-out
urban warfare that would complicate ongoing diplomatic efforts to
end the Gaza war.

Medical officials said the Palestinian death toll in the offensive
Israel began 17 days ago had risen past 900 and included at least 380
civilians. Israel says three Israeli civilians, hit by Hamas rockets,
and 10 soldiers have died.

Along battle lines in the suburbs of the rubble-strewn city of Gaza,
Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants engaged in more fierce fighting.

Residents and local journalists said Israeli troops and tanks had
taken up positions in open areas, seeking to penetrate guerrilla
defenses in built-up zones that included booby-traps, snipers and
fighters with rocket-propelled grenades.

Among targets hit by air strikes were the homes of more Hamas leaders,
which Israel said contained weapons stores.

But Israeli forces were still holding back from a threatened third
stage of their deadliest assault on Palestinian militants in decades
a push into the city of Gaza and other urban areas to add more punch
to an air campaign and ground offensive.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a candidate for prime minister in
a February 10 election, said the surprise bombing of the Gaza Strip
at the start of operations on December 27 and an armored thrust a
week later "restored Israel’s deterrence."

Morning radio programs in Israel, however, continued to be interrupted
by announcements of "Color Red" alerts, heralding rocket attacks
on towns where residents have only seconds to find shelter before
salvoes hit. Ten rockets landed in the first half of the day, the
army said. No one was hurt.

The Israeli military said its aircraft carried out more than 25
attacks, fewer than on many previous days.

Medical workers said Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians, including
at least five civilians, in Monday’s violence.

The Palestinian death toll since Israel’s "Operation Cast Lead" began
stood at 909, Gaza medical officials said. About 3,600 Palestinians
have been wounded, Reuters reported.

Today.Az, Azerbaijan
Jan 5 2009

Looking forward to 2009 in the Caucasus and beyond

05 January 2009 [09:58] – Today.Az

By Alexander Jackson, Caucasian Review of International Affairs.

2008 was, without doubt, a dramatic year in the Caucasus. The sight of
Russian tanks rolling into South Ossetia is the most obvious example,
but the August war should not obscure the region’s other, less
headline-grabbing developments. The Turkish-Armenian rapprochement,
the slow slide of the North Caucasian republic of Ingushetia into
chaos, and the post-election bloodshed in Yerevan in early March
(amongst others) were all, in different ways, very significant. Will
2009 be so dramatic? Accepting in advance the futility of predictions
` hardly anyone saw the Russia-Georgia war coming in January 2008 `
the Caucasian Review of International Affairs presents a tentative
assessment of the year ahead.

Firstly, and perhaps most unpredictably, Georgia. The security
situation in around Abkhazia and South Ossetia remains volatile `
shootings and ceasefire violations are common. We can expect this
state of affairs to settle down, but certainly not become stable in
any real sense. Russia blocked an extension of the OSCE’s 16 year old
monitoring mission on December 22, insisting that the organisation
must maintain a separate office for the `independent’ region of South
Ossetia. The withdrawal of these monitors, and the possible expulsion
of UN observers after their mandate expires in February, will
undermine the already precarious security situation and make it almost
impossible to verify the military situation in the provinces. In this
context, the resettlement of refugees will remain a distant prospect
for most of the year.

Progress on settling refugees within Georgia itself will hinge largely
on Georgian domestic politics. As previous Caucasus Updates have
noted, President Saakashvili’s position is increasingly precarious in
the face of gathering political opposition. He has recently made
efforts to deflect accusations of authoritarianism, but calls for
early elections are likely to continue. Popular anger, boosted by the
worsening effects of the economic crisis, may manifest itself as
large-scale street protests, raising the spectre of further state
crackdowns and a new cycle of political uncertainty. A change of
government in Tbilisi is a very plausible development in 2009. Amidst
all this, an upcoming security pact with the US is one of the few
reasons for President Saakashvili to be cheerful. However, as David
Kakabadze at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty notes, the pact is
non-binding, and therefore not enormously useful as a shield against
Russia.

The other big question in the Caucasus is Nagorno-Karabakh. The Moscow
Declaration of early November was arguably lacking in concrete
proposals, but it was symbolically significant as the first joint
declaration by the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders since the end of
the conflict in 1994. Peace is still a long way off, but war is fairly
unlikely in 2009. A continuation of the thaw in relations between
Turkey – Azerbaijan’s strongest backer – and Armenia may persuade Baku
to make a deal sooner rather than later, whilst international
commitment remains high and it can secure a relatively beneficial
resolution. To be sure, this thaw is not guaranteed, and in any case
Azerbaijan may simply ignore Turkey’s change in position. Despite the
opportunities provided by renewed world attention, 2009 may well be no
different to 2008, or any other year since 1994. A key factor in any
change will be Armenia’s domestic scene.

Political instability in Yerevan will continue to simmer, exacerbated
by the world recession. The grievances of opposition figures, notably
Levon Ter-Petrosian, will remain. Rapid progress towards any Karabakh
resolution, or a deal with Turkey, deemed too soft by the nationalist
opposition will galvanise public sentiment against the administration
of President Serzh Sarkisian, already on the back foot over the
post-election violence last year and a faltering economy.

As far as pipeline politics are concerned, 2009 should see some
concrete progress finally being made on the Nabucco project to bring
Caspian gas to Europe. The gas row between Ukraine and Russia has
highlighted, yet again, the EU’s vulnerability to Russian energy
policy, which should serve as a wake-up call. However, given that the
hyper-energetic President Sarkozy of France could not push through a
unified approach to Nabucco during his time in the rotating EU
presidency, it is unlikely that Vaclav Klaus ` the abrasive,
Eurosceptic Czech leader and the new EU president from January 1 `
will be able to. The principal obstacle will be enticing Turkmenistan
into formal negotiations on supplying the project. This courtship,
along with ongoing efforts to establish a supply corridor to NATO’s
Afghan operations through Turkmen territory, should make 2009
President Berdimuhammedov’s year, with an unprecedented level of
international attention paid to his country. Broader EU policy towards
the region is likely to remain patchy. The Union’s monitoring mission
in Georgia (EUMM) is due to remain until October 2009, although in
light of their limited access to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, their
ability to keep the peace is strictly limited. A new flare-up of
violence would severely test the commitment of the EU to the ceasefire
in Georgia.

Turkey’s course in 2009 is likely to be similar to 2008: political and
economic deadlock at home, an increasingly successful foreign policy
abroad. In 2009 and 2010 Ankara will sit on the UN Security Council
(with a chairmanship in June 2009), where it is expected to push for
greater dialogue in the Middle East and also, perhaps, the
Caucasus. It will vocally lobby for its Caucasus Stability and
Co-operation Platform (CSCP), a suggested dialogue mechanism which may
be formally signed in early 2009. One should not expect too much from
the Platform. If any progress is made on Karabakh it will be through
the Minsk Group; on Georgia, through the EU and potentially the
US. CSCP’s main role will probably be to institutionalise the
Turkish-Armenian thaw.

However, a diplomatic breakthrough here risks provoking a nationalist
backlash at home, which could feed into the wider struggle between
secularists (represented by the army) and the ruling ex-Islamist AK
Party. Any such backlash would force the government to slow down the
process ` it is entirely conceivable that Turkish-Armenian relations
could fall back into deep freeze in 2009. On the economic front, the
International Monetary Fund is expected to approve a $25 billion loan
to Ankara in early January. This will help to stabilise the economy
somewhat, although the country will remain highly vulnerable to
further financial shocks.

Drawing a tentative conclusion from the above, we can predict a year
of problems (potential disorder in Georgia; rising nationalism in
Armenia and Turkey) and opportunities (Nabucco; Turkey’s CSCP). In
truth such predictions are shots in the dark. Focusing on the core
issues leads one to exclude possibilities which at the time seem
remote and implausible ` state collapse in Central Asia? Secessionism
amongst Iranian Azerbaijanis? A surge in regional terrorism? As is so
often the case, the region’s only certainty is its uncertainty.

/ /

URL:

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

========================================== ======
Monday 5 January 2009
NAGORNO-KARABAKH: REPRESSIVE NEW RELIGION LAW SIGNED

The President of the internationally unrecognised entity of
Nagorno-Karabakh, Bako Sahakyan, has signed a repressive new Religion Law,
Forum 18 News Service has learnt. It comes into force ten days after its
official publication, which is expected to be after the current Christmas
holidays. No officials were available to discuss the new Law, because of
public holidays for Christmas which the Armenian Apostolic Church
celebrates on 6 January 2009. The main restrictions in the new Law are: an
apparent ban on unregistered religious activity; highly restrictive
requirements to gain legal recognition; state censorship of religious
literature; an undefined "monopoly" given to the Armenian Apostolic Church
over preaching and spreading its faith while restricting other faiths to
similarly undefined "rallying their own faithful". Many articles of the Law
are formulated in a way that lacks clarity, making the intended
implementation of the Law uncertain. The Law also does not resolve the
issue of conscientious objection to military service.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH: REPRESSIVE NEW RELIGION LAW SIGNED

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service <;

The repressive new Religion Law in the internationally unrecognised
Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh was signed by the entity’s President Bako
Sahakyan, on 24 December 2008, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. The new
Law – which will shortly come into force – imposes a range of restrictions
on freedom of thought, conscience and belief. "All this reflects the
intention of the authorities to introduce harsh control on the activities
of religious minorities," civil society activist Albert Voskanyan told
Forum 18 from the South Caucasus entity’s capital Stepanakert on 3 January
2009, "and to strengthen the exclusive role of the Armenian Apostolic
Church already proclaimed in Nagorno-Karabakh’s Constitution."

The main restrictions in Karabakh’s new Law are: an apparent ban on
unregistered religious activity; state censorship of religious literature;
the requirement for 100 adult citizens to register a religious community;
an undefined "monopoly" given to the Armenian Apostolic Church over
preaching and spreading its faith while restricting other faiths to
similarly undefined "rallying their own faithful"; and the vague
formulation of restrictions, making the intended implementation of many
articles uncertain (see F18News 4 December 2008
< e_id=1225>).

The new Law – which replaces Karabakh’s 1996 Religion Law – was approved
by Parliament on 26 November and was then sent to President Sahakyan for
signature. It comes into force ten days after its official publication,
which is expected after the 2008/9 Christmas holidays. Much, but not all,
of the new Law is copied word-for-word from Armenia’s Religion Law as
adopted in 1991 and amended in 1997 and 2001 (see F18News 4 December 2008
< e_id=1225>).

No officials were available to discuss the new Religion Law with Forum 18
because of public holidays for Christmas (which the Armenian Apostolic
Church celebrates on 6 January 2009).

Voskanyan, who heads the Stepanakert-based Centre for Civilian
Initiatives, welcomes the fact that "after many years" the new Law allows
religious communities to gain legal status for the first time. "This in
effect gives them the right to life," he told Forum 18 from the capital
Stepanakert on 3 January 2009.

However, Voskanyan believes provisions of the Law create artificial
difficulties to the registration of many religious communities,
particularly Protestants and Jehovah’s Witnesses. "Some won’t be able to
get registration at all because their documents won’t be in line with the
Law," he maintained. He pointed out that many will not be able to find the
necessary 100 adult citizen members required to seek legal status.

"Those without registration will then be told they are functioning
illegally." Voskanyan told Forum 18 he believes the police and secret
police will start to punish those who conduct unregistered religious
activity.

"It is my view that some Protestant organisations won’t want to present
full lists of their believers (first names, surnames, home address and
other information), fearing persecution of their flocks from the state
authorities," Voskanyan added. "People would have a real fear for their
jobs." He said officials are likely to check through the lists of names on
applications, approaching individuals in a way they might find
intimidating.

Voskanyan pointed out that one religious community, the Jehovah’s
Witnesses, has been unable to find anywhere to meet for religious worship.
"Wherever they turn, once the owners find out about their religious
affiliation they become afraid and refuse," he explained. "And the
authorities won’t provide them with a plot to build a prayer house. This
too could prevent them gaining registration as they won’t have an address
to use."

The Jehovah’s Witnesses report that when they met Ashot Sargsyan, the head
of the government’s Department for Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs,
in November 2008, he told them that as long as he is working for the
government they will not get registration. "He said openly he’s a member of
the Armenian Church," they told Forum 18 (see F18News 4 December 2008
< e_id=1225>).

Asatur Nahapetyan, head of Armenia’s Baptist Union, which includes six
member congregations in Karabakh, is more optimistic. "We need to wait and
see how the Law will be implemented, but we see no reason why these
congregations won’t get registration," he told Forum 18 from the Armenian
capital Yerevan on 5 January.

Article 5 of the new Law requires 100 adult citizens for a community to
apply for legal status. As in Armenia, religions must be based on "a
historic holy book", must be "part of the worldwide system of the
contemporary religious community" and "directed to spiritual values". The
government’s Department for Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs has to
give its expert conclusion on a community before registration can be
approved. The Department can also go to court to have an organisation
liquidated, if it violates the Law.

Although the Law does not specifically ban unregistered religious
activity, Article 25 requires all religious organisations to register or
re-register within six months of the new Law coming into force.

In a potentially significant change from the parallel article in Armenia’s
Law, the Karabakh Law removes the specific recognition that registered
religious organisations can hold services "in homes and residences of
citizens" from the list of suitable places as given in Armenia’s Law.

Article 17 – like the corresponding article in the Armenian Law –
specifically gives the Armenian Apostolic Church a "monopoly" of preaching
its faith, building new churches, contributing to the "spiritual
edification of the people" including by teaching in state-run educational
institutions, conducting charitable activity and maintaining permanent
religious representatives in institutions such as hospitals, old people’s
homes, military units and prisons.

One controversial provision in Article 8 – copied from Armenia’s Law –
bans "soul-hunting", a derogatory term in Armenian for seeking converts.

While the extensive rights of the Armenian Church are set out in Article
17, the rights of religious organisations set out in Article 7 are all
inward-looking, with the first right specified as "rallying their own
faithful around them". The article also allows them to train their leaders,
conduct services in their own premises and in state institutions at the
request of residents who belong to the religious community.

In clear contradiction to Article 17’s granting of a "monopoly" to the
Armenian Church, Article 7 allows all of them to conduct charitable
activity.

Karabakh’s new Law gives a place of primacy to the Armenian Church in
Article 6, and only this Church is mentioned in relation to the restitution
of religious property. This is despite the fact that several mosques still
stand – even if badly damaged during fighting in the early 1990s over
Karabakh and in subsequent reprisal attacks – in areas controlled by the
Karabakh authorities. The mosques have been abandoned since the Azeri and
Kurdish populations were driven out during the war.

Another controversial provision comes in Article 22, which is not present
in Armenia’s Religion Law. This Article hands the state "control" over the
production, distribution and import of religious literature and objects.
The Article does not clarify the exact nature of such "control".

A member of the Brotherhood, an evangelical grouping within the Armenian
Apostolic Church which has about a dozen groups in Karabakh, told Forum 18
in December that he expects the government to try to ban any Jehovah’s
Witness, Baha’i, Hare Krishna or Muslim literature. Jehovah’s Witnesses
pointed out to Forum 18 that they have already had problems over religious
literature controls, with literature confiscated from their members in July
2008 as they returned from Armenia (see F18News 4 December 2008
< e_id=1225>).

The new Religion Law does not resolve the issue of an alternative to
Karabakh’s compulsory military service for all young men. One Jehovah’s
Witness, Areg Hovhanesyan, is nearing the end of a four-year sentence
imposed by a court in Stepanakert in February 2005 for refusing military
service on grounds of religious conscience (see F18News 27 March 2008
< e_id=1105>).

Members of religious communities have expressed strong concerns to Forum
18 about the Law. One member of the Armenian Apostolic Church rhetorically
asked Forum 18: "Where’s the freedom?" Another described the Law as "like
rubber," noting that "you can’t see exactly how it’s going to be put into
practice" (see F18News 4 December 2008
< e_id=1225>). (END)

Further coverage of freedom of thought, conscience and belief in
Nagorno-Karabakh is at
< mp;religion=all&country=22>.

A printer-friendly map of the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh is
available at
< s/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=azerba& gt;
within the map titled ‘Azerbaijan’.
(END)

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

EurasiaNet, NY
Jan 5 2009

CAUCASUS: THE EU SEEKS BROADER TIES WITH ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN AND
GEORGIA IN 2009

Lili Di Puppo 1/05/09

Brussels wants to enhance the European Union’s relations with Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia in the coming year. In the absence of solid
membership prospects, the question remains, however, whether the EU’s
ideas about enhanced relations will meet the expectations of leaders
of the three Caucasus states, as well as create a framework that can
improve Brussels’ capabilities to address regional issues.

The EU’s vision for expanded cooperation was contained in a blueprint
document distributed in early December by the European Commission. The
report deals with the three Caucasus states, along with Ukraine,
Belarus and Moldova. The so-called Eastern Partnership Proposal is
expected to be formally adopted during a summit meeting of the EU and
the partner countries in March 2009.

The blueprint envisions expanded free trade and visa
arrangements. Whether these will satisfy all the Caucasus states
remains an open question. This question is particularly relevant for
Georgia after the Georgian-Russian conflict in the summer of
2008. Georgia is the most keen to integrate with Western institutions,
while Russia is steadfastly opposed to such a Westward drift. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The Georgian-Russian crisis served as a catalyst for the partnership
proposal, which was initially presented by Poland and Sweden last
May. Pawel Swieboda, director of the demosEuropa think-tank in Warsaw,
believes that the initiative is "partly aimed to accommodate Georgia’s
expectations, which cannot be realized by quick NATO accession. The
EU’s engagement is meant to fill the gap."

While Tbilisi is sure to welcome stronger economic ties, Georgian
leaders are anxious to bolster security cooperation. Georgian State
Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration, Giorgi Baramidze, says that
"it is important not to overlook the security issues, because without
durable security and stability, it will be extremely difficult to
reach the goals that the Eastern partnership has."

The challenge of promoting stability and security in Georgia through
soft power instruments has long posed a dilemma for the EU. "What you
need if you want to help Georgia is to de-securitize the Eastern
European agenda. Because the more security is on the agenda, the fewer
opportunities for the EU to work with soft power," says Alexander
Duleba, director of the Research Center of the Slovak Foreign Policy
Association.

Another question is whether the partnership will prove an efficient
tool for enhancing EU influence in the region. Duleba explains that
the partnership offer is "a reflection of the very fact that the EU’s
interests in Eastern Europe are of a regional nature." These interests
include energy supplies, developing a trans-European transport
network, protecting the environment and dealing with illegal
migration.

In this light, Russia’s exclusion from the Eastern partnership appears
problematic, Duleba suggested, adding that it will be impossible to
"develop an efficient regional policy framework if Russia is not in
it. Baramidze also remarked that "it is very important that the
Eastern partnership includes issues of conflict resolution, such as
the conflict between Russia and Georgia."

Swieboda said the partnership plan is "mainly about strengthening the
EU’s presence in the neighborhood" — a geopolitical development that
will not be welcomed by Russia. "We have already heard from the
Foreign Ministry that Russia examines with due attention what the
Eastern partnership constitutes. And this is a signal of possible
tension to come," he said.

During a news conference following the release of the proposal,
European Commission president Jos�© Manuel Barroso told
journalists that the EU’s intention is not to build a sphere of
influence. "We don’t want a Cold War, but cool heads," Barroso said.

With the Czech Republic assuming the EU presidency for the first half
of 2009, to be followed by Sweden, "this will be the year of the
Eastern partnership", says Swieboda. Beyond the signal that the EU
wants to reinforce its presence in the Caucasus and Black Sea regions,
the success of the initiative depends on concrete achievements. "The
ground is prepared, but a lot depends on what happens in tangible
terms," Swieboda said.

Editor’s Note: Lili Di Puppo is the editor-in-chief of the online
magazine Caucaz.com and a PhD candidate at the European Viadrina
University (Frankfurt/Oder) in Germany.