Author: Topchian Jane

Report: Iran Preparing to Fire Missiles at Dimona

ails.aspx?id=47798&language=en

29/06/2008

Iran has moved ballistic missiles into launch positions, with Israel’s
Dimona nuclear plant among the possible targets, the London-based Times
newspaper reported Sunday, quoting defense sources. According to the
report, the movement of Shahab-3B missiles, which have an estimated
range of more than 1,250 miles, followed a reported large-scale
exercise earlier this month in which the Israel Air Force flew en masse
over the Mediterranean in an apparent rehearsal for a threatened attack
on Iran’s nuclear installations.

General Mohammad Ali Jafari, chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary
Guards, has issued a new warning against Israel not to attack it,
saying the country is well within range of its missiles, the Iranian
Jam-e Jam newspaper reported on Saturday.
"Israel is completely within the range of the Islamic republic’s
missiles. Our missile power and capability are such that the Zionist
regime, despite all its abilities, cannot confront it," he said.
"There is the possibility that by attacking Iranian nuclear sites the
enemy wants to delay our nuclear activities, but any interruption would
be very short since Iranian scientific ability is different from that
of Syria and Iraq."

SHAVIT: IN CASE SANCTIONS DON’T WORK, WHAT’S LEFT IS MILITARY ACTION
Meanwhile, former Mossad Director Shabtai Shavit has warned that Israel
has only one year to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
In an interview with the British Telegraph newspaper published Sunday,
Shavit said that the "worst-case scenario" is that Iran may have a
nuclear weapon within "somewhere around a year".
"As an intelligence officer working with the worst-case scenario, I can
tell you we should be prepared," he added. "We should do whatever
necessary on the defensive side, on the offensive side, on the public
opinion side for the West, in case sanctions don’t work. What’s left is
a military action."

The former Mossad chief also addressed the possibility that an attack
on Iran would be thwarted if Democratic candidate Barack Obama is
elected US president.
"If (Republican candidate John) McCain gets elected, he could really
easily make a decision to go for it. If it’s Obama: no. My prediction
is that he won’t go for it, at least not in his first term in the White
House," Shavit said.

SEYMOUR HERSH: $400 MILLION IS COST OF COVERT OPERATIONS AGAINST IRAN
Last year, U.S. congressional leaders agreed to President George W.
Bush’s funding request for a major escalation of covert operations
against Iran aimed at destabilizing its leadership, according to a
report in The New Yorker magazine published online on Sunday.

The article by reporter Seymour Hersh centers around a highly
classified Presidential Finding signed by Bush which by U.S. law must
be made known to Democratic and Republican House and Senate leaders and
ranking members of the intelligence committees.

"The Finding was focused on undermining Iran’s nuclear ambitions and
trying to undermine the government through regime change," the article
cited a person familiar with its contents as saying, and involved
"working with opposition groups and passing money."

Hersh has written previously about possible administration plans to go
to war to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, including an
April 2006 article in the New Yorker that suggested regime change in
Iran, whether by diplomatic or military means, was Bush’s ultimate goal.

Funding for the covert escalation, for which Bush requested up to $400
million, was approved by congressional leaders, according to the
article, citing current and former military, intelligence and
congressional sources.

Clandestine operations against Iran are not new. U.S. Special
Operations Forces have been conducting cross border operations from
southern Iraq since last year, the article said.

But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which include
the Central Intelligence Agency, have now been significantly expanded,
the article said, citing current and former officials.

Many of these activities are not specified in the new finding, and some
congressional leaders have had serious questions about their nature, it
said.

Among groups inside Iran benefiting from U.S. support is the Jundallah,
also known as the Iranian People’s Resistance Movement, according to
former CIA officer Robert Baer. Council on Foreign Relations analyst
Vali Nasr described it to Hersh as a vicious organization suspected of
links to Al-Qieda.

The article said U.S. support for the dissident groups could prompt a
violent crackdown by Iran, which could give the Bush administration a
reason to intervene.

None of the Democratic leaders in Congress would comment on the
finding, the article said. The White House, which has repeatedly denied
preparing for military action against Iran, and the CIA also declined
comment.

The United States is leading international efforts to rein in Iran’s
suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons, although Washington
concedes Iran has the right to develop nuclear power for civilian uses.

DIPLOMATIC OFFICE OF SWITZERLAND TO OPEN IN YEREVAN

NOYAN TAPAN

Ju ne 27

Switzerland intends to open a diplomatic office in Armenia, the
Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian announced at the June
27 joint press conference with the Swiss foreign minister Micheline
Calmy-Rey. According to him, the opening of the diplomatic office in
Yerevan will be the first step of founding a representative office.

M. Calmy-Rey said that Armenia is of importance to Switzerland in
terms of its geographic position as it is located at the crossroads
of energy resources. Besides, Armenia has a large Diaspora, including
in the Switzerland.

The Swiss foreign minister pointed out that the two countries cooperate
successfully in such international organizations as the OSCE, the
Council of Europe and the UN. Armenia and Switzerland have a good
legal and contractual basis for bilateral cooperation, in particular,
the agreement on economic cooperation and the agreement on exclusion of
double taxation. The Swiss Development Agency on issues of agriculture
and humanitarian aid functions in Armenia.

M. Camly-Rey stated that Switzerland has serious plans of cooperation
with Armenia in the economic sphere.

E. Nalbandian in his turn said that Armenia attaches importance
to strengthening its cooperation with Switzerland, and bilateral
relations continue to develop quite dynamically. "Since Armenia’s
independence, Switzerland has provided its friendly support to Armenia
in the development, reform and humanitarian directions," the Armenian
foreign minister said.

According to him, the positions of the two countries coincide in a
number of international issues.

In the words of E. Nalbandian, during the meeting with his
Swiss counterpart, the necessity to implement specific steps for
promote economic relations and trade links between two countries
was underlined. The sides spoke about the possibility to ease the
visa regime between Armenia and Switzerland. The Nagorno Karabakh
negotiation process and some problems related to strengthening
stability and security in the region were also dicussed with
M. Calmy-Rey.

WE ARE NOT READY FOR PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN WITH AZERBAIJAN
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on June 26, 2008
Armenia

Not Only In Armenia But Also Outside The Country

As we know in its resolution PACE in fact replicated the formulations
passed in the UN by the efforts of Turkey and Azerbaijan about "swiftly
liberating the occupied territories from Armenian forces". In response
to our questions Political Scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan comments
on Strasburg "process".

"Unfortunately, as the Speaker of NKR Parliament recorded recently,
Europe and the European Structures, mildly speaking, have little
picture of the problems faced by Artsakh and between Artsakh and
Azerbaijan. I have to state that our delegation as well fails to
properly represent the essence of Karabakh conflict and to shift the
settlement process into the legal domain.

Thus, little by little Artsakh issue turns into a territorial
dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Armenian and Azerbaijani
people. Moreover, our diplomacy, our delegates lack good knowledge
of what is happening in Azerbaijan in reality. The conversation is
mainly about the members of PACE delegation.

"What do you mean?"

"I will bring one example. The resolution regarding Azerbaijan runs
that at the moment three journalists are under detention. Whereas,
yesterday, the same day when the issue of Azerbaijan was being
discussed in Strasburg the editor in chief of "Tolishi sado" (Voice
of Talish) Novruzaly Mamedov was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment,
and Responsible Secretary Elman Guliev – to 6 years’ imprisonment. Both
are charged as national traitors.

Which means not only is the freedom of speech suppressed in Azerbaijan,
but also the rights of the native minorities, in this case Talish
people.

Moreover recently 56 detainees have been released by amnesty from
which 5 were journalists. Two cases are at the moment in court, one
has been summoned to the police and severely beaten, at the moment
he is in hospital.

But the members of our delegation never speak about these facts.

Azerbaijani opposition also keeps silent because they are tools in
the hands of the ruling power. Instead of touching upon those issues
our people put forward other statements that has nothing to do with
the main topic and start disputes. That is why I have to say that we
are not ready for ideological and propaganda campaign with Azerbaijan,
not only in Armenia but also outside the country.

ARMENTEL: ARMENIAN INTERNET USERS VISIT LESS THAN 25% OF NATIONAL WEBSITES

ARKA
June 26

Armenian Internet users visit less than 25% of national websites,
Operations Director of ArmenTel closed joint stock company (Beeline
brand) Alexander Birman told journalists. They prefer international
sites, he said.

According to him, the low level of use of the local content is quite
a negative indicator especially when compared with the normal level
ranging from 50% to 90%. For example, about 75% of Georgian Internet
users visit national web resources. In Russia and European countries
national Internet resources are used by 60-70% of the users, he said.

The technologies applied, the content of Internet resources and
people’s insufficient access to the Internet are the main reasons for
low popularity of Armenian sites, Birman said. He said that ArmenTel
launches a campaign on providing wide public access to the Internet,
including to wide-band Internet in big cities.

The company is planning to launch a new product to provide Internet
access in remote villages. It is also developing a product package for
the corporate market to support providers and give them an opportunity
to use ArmenTel’s resources for rapid and high-quality services.

"ArmenTel" closed joint stock company is a daughter enterprise of
"VimpelCom" Russian telecommunication company (Beeline trademark). It
provides services to about 640,000 subscribers of stationary
communication and over 450,000 subscribers of mobile communication.

HEAD OF AZERBAIJAN’S PACE DELEGATION CONCERNED ABOUT CE DOUBLE STANDARDS

Trend News Agency
June 26 2008
Azerbaijan

France, Strasburg, 26 June / Trend corr A. Maharramli/ During PACE
discussions over Resolution on Armenia on 25 June, several deputies
backed extension of the period which was given to the country to admit
recommendations reflected in the document. Parliamentarians said
the period was not enough for Armenia and called on PACE to extend
the term to January 2009. As a result, the Resolution was passed
with several changes and the time given to Armenia was extended to
January 2009. During discussions over the resolution, Azerbaijani
parliamentarians voiced their views on the issue.

During his speech, a member of Azerbaijan’s PACE delegation Rafael
Huseynov informed the MPs of the fact that for 16 years Armenia had
been violating the international law and CE principles and 20% of
Azerbaijani territory is still under occupation of the country. He said
Armenia’s sovereignty is conditional. "Because Armenia is governed by
outer forces. When joining the Council of Europe, Armenia undertook
an obligation to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but did not
fulfil that. On the other hand, Armenia is a hearth of instability
for neighbouring countries. The country is governed by a criminal
regime. Armenia needs creation of a special commission on human rights.

The head of Azerbaijani PACE delegation Samad Seyidov voiced his
perplexity about articles on Azerbaijan which were published on 25
June: "Not only Armenia’s problems must be concerned, but also the
problems persisting in CE. A view was voiced here that our approach
to countries is surrealistic. Although PACE members noted positive
progress in Azerbaijan and passing of election legislation as a result
of cooperation with the Venice Commission, the articles are rather
strict," he said.

Seyidov drew attention of the attendees to double standards
policy. "Human rights are openly infringed in Armenia, there are
political prisoners. But for some reason advancement is mentioned in
the report. That is application of double standards. In the report
on Armenia along with advancements, attention should be paid to
fulfilment of requirements and to the events going on in the country,"
he stressed.

HULIQ (press release), NC
June 20 2008

Azeris Kill Farmer, Turks Arrest Man in 2 Border Incidents

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–Azeri border guards opened fire on a
village in Tavoush province Wednesday afternoon resulting in the death
of an Armenian farmer, reported the Armenian Defense Ministry on
Wednesday.

Levon Petrosyan, 21, was shot while tilling his field in the village
of Chinar. He suffered fatal injuries and died on the way to the
hospital.

The death comes a day after Turkish border guards arrested an Armenian
citizen who had crossed the frontier post at Artashat early Monday
morning, triggering the border’s alarm system.

According to Seiran Shahsuvarian, a spokesperson for the Armenian
Defense Ministry, negotiations for the release of 37-year-old Artashat
resident Arsen Avagian, have begun and are being mediated by the
International Committee of the Red Cross in Armenia.

ISSUE OF ARMENIAN REFUGEES FROM AZERBAIJAN STILL UNSETTLED

DeFacto Agency
June 20 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, 20.06.08. DE FACTO. On June 20 the International Refugee Day
is celebrated in the whole world. As a result of Azeri authorities’
discriminatory policy, pogroms of Armenian population of Soumgait,
Baku and Azerbaijan’s other settlements, hundreds of thousands of
Armenians became refugees. A part of them found shelter in Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh. Despite the fact that the RA and NKR authorities
spare no effort to resolve refugees’ social-economic and housing
problems, the issue of refugees from Azerbaijan still remains urgent
both for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

On the occasion of the Refugee Day, the Network of Civil Society
"Refugees and International Law" circulated a statement. DE FACTO IA
quotes the statement’s full text: "June 20 is the International Refugee
Day. It testifies to the fact that the problem has international
sounding, while civilized humanity deeply realizes the necessity
of lending a helping hand to exiles, who left their homes against
their will. 20 years ago, as a result of joint actions undertaken by
Azerbaijani authorities and criminal elements, over half a million
of Azerbaijan’s Armenians, who were subject to various persecutions,
sustained numerous human losses and lost their property, had to
leave Azerbaijan and become refugees. About 400, 000 refugees found
shelter on the territory of Republic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic. Sincere compassion and practical help of local Armenians
and authorities helped our compatriots from Azerbaijan, who suffered
ultimate privations and passed through the crucible of life, to start
a new life. The international organizations also rendered certain
material assistance to refugees, who settled in Armenia. Meanwhile
refugees, who found shelter in the NKR, have been ignored by the
U. N. and other international structures.

Today we have to state again that the problem of Armenian refugees
from Azerbaijan has not been settled yet. They must receive full
compensation from Republic of Azerbaijan for material and moral loss
they suffered, including reserving property right in respect of the
liberated territories controlled by the NKR. We also consider that
discrimination being displayed by the corresponding structures of
the U. N. in respect of the refugees, who found shelter in the NKR,
contradicts with the international law’s standards.

We urge the authorities of Republic of Armenia to inscribe an item
of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan on the agenda of the talks
proceeding within the OSCE Minsk group frames".

DURING THE HEARINGS ON SOUTH CAUCASUS ISSUES IN THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOTHING NEW WAS SAID

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.06.2008 GMT+04:00

Joe Knollenberg and Frank Pallone announced that Azerbaijan is a
dictatorship, which continues coming up with aggressive announcements
and called the US Administration upon stopping the Azeri war machine.

The changing oil prices and the restless atmosphere in the Great Middle
East, where the USA also includes the countries of South Caucasus,
became the reason of the hearings of the Commission on Foreign
Relations of the US House of Representatives "the Caucasus: frozen
conflicts and blocked borders". However, practically nothing new was
said by the US Secretary of States Assistant on European and Eurasian
Issues Daniel Fried or the Head of the Commission Howard Berman.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "I would like to start with the most important fact;
the Turkish blockade of Armenia, put into action in 1993, continues
till present," with these words opened the session the chairman of
the committee, the Congressman Howard Berman. "This policy hinders the
economic development of Armenia and impedes its business opportunities
with other countries. The blockade of Armenia makes no sense even
from the point of view of Turkish interests; it’s very unlikely that
Ankara’s policy will make the authorities of Yerevan compromise in
the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh. The only political result, which it
has already grown used to, is that Armenia, having no outlet to the
sea, has to look for alliance with its historical enemies of Turkey;
Russia and Iran. In other words, in the Caucasus regional conflicts
are easily transformed into international conflicts. And Armenia is
not an exception,’ said the Congressman Berman.

One of the most important issues is the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh
Conflict regulation. Speaking about a non-optional peaceful regulation,
both Howard Berman and Daniel Fried warned Azerbaijan against its
militarist rhetoric. "Permanent militarist calls reach us from certain
officials of Azerbaijan. We call the Azeri government upon focusing
on the peaceful regulation of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This will be
useful for the regional integration, and will bring to prosperity and
stability in the Caucasian region," said Fried. In his turn, Howard
Berman emphasized that the militarist calls of the Azeri authorities
regarding the resolution of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh cause
serious agitations. "We are also concerned with the growth of the
military budget of Azerbaijan in the expense of oil resources and
violations of the regime of the cease-fire in the zone of Karabakh
conflict in March 2008, which were cause by the provocations from
the Azeri party," said the Congressman.

In his turn, the Congressman Bred Sherman announced during the session:
"We must fight against the continuing blockade of the Armenian
borders by Turkey, which has no justification. The co-chairs of the
Armenian support group in the USA Joe Knollenberg and Frank Pallone
announced that Azerbaijan is a dictatorship, which continues coming
up with aggressive announcements and called the US Administration
upon stopping the Azeri war machine.

Frank Pallone called the USA Administration to take measures for
establishing contacts between the governments of Nagorno-Karabakh and
Azerbaijan, as well as for creating an atmosphere of trust. He also
expressed his concerns about the fact that Azerbaijan puts pressure
on the US State Department, trying to impede the contact between the
USA and Nagorno-Karabakh.

As for the Armenian-Turkish relations, Daniel Fried thinks that the
USA believes that one of the important factors of the resolution of
the problem is opening the blockade of the borders. "The existing
status quo is bad for both parties. Fortunately, this year there is
some noticeable progress: such as opening regular charter flights
Yerevan-Istanbul, as well as to Antalya, bus communication through
Georgia, as well as business opportunities through Georgia are
important to be mentioned among the progresses. All the countries
only gain from the growth and expansion of market relations with
each other, expand their electric systems. The USA also assists the
dialogue and cooperation between the Armenians and Turks by the help
of conferences, meetings and exchange programs.

The reestablishment of the relations between Armenia and Turkey is
a very sensitive issue. Turkey must make it up with the black pages
of its history; mass killings and the deportation of the Armenians
in the Ottoman Empire. This is not easy, just like it is not for
the USA, when it needed time to recognize the black pages of its own
history. In its turn, Armenia must be ready to recognize the borders
and not to assert any territorial claims against the Modern Turkey and
to show constructive approach to the efforts from the Turkish side,"
said Fried.

In the global level, the US policy is quite clear in the region even
without any hearings; they need a complete and uncontrolled access to
the Caspian oil and gas, and that is, the sooner, the better. That
is why Azerbaijan and Ilham Aliyev, who leads the country according
"democratic and Euro-Atlantic values", get so much praise. The truth
is though, that to show that the USA sees and knows everything, Fried
mentioned about the imprisoned journalists and about the pressure on
the political figures. He expressed his confidence, that the elections
of the President of Azerbaijan scheduled for October will be held in
complete accordance with the democratic standards.

However, Howard Berman, reminding about the post-election events in
Armenia and Georgia, mentioned that Azerbaijan, where the authorities
already try to put pressure on the opposition and mass media, may
also find itself in such situation. And the fact that it is definitely
going to happen, one must not have any doubts about. There is also no
need to doubt that the USA will shut its eyes to the mass violations,
like it happened in the elections in Baku in 2003.

This gives rise to the question; if Armenia had oil, would the events
of March 1, 2008 still be judged that harshly? It seems that they
would not.

The American diplomat also mentioned three issues, which are very
important to the USA policy in the region: walking towards freedom and
democracy, security, which includes antiterrorist acts and peaceful
regulation of the conflicts and energy issues. "The first strategic
interest is spreading freedom and democracy from the Black up to the
Caspian Seas. Each South Caucasus country has an important achievement
in this issue, but each of them must still do a lot to recognize that
democracy is not irreversible. We also work with the governments of
Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan for the peaceful regulation of the
conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia, which have
become after the breakdown of the USSR. We also cooperate in the fight
against terrorism and spreading weapons of mass destruction, including
nuclear and bacteriological weapons. And finally, we are certain
that the Euro Atlantic community is interested in quick supply of the
Caspian gas and oil to the world market, regardless the monopolistic
tendencies and geographical location," mentioned Daniel Fried.

AZERBAIJAN’S "TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY" WILL BE SECURED, ALIYEV CLAIMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.06.2008

Azerbaijan’s only problem is non-settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, according to the Azeri President.

"We hold peace talks, but no results have been achieved yet", Ilham
Aliyev said Thursday in his address to the special meeting of Milli
Majlis on dedicated to 90th anniversary of Azerbaijani Parliament.

"Recently UN General Assembly adopted resolution on the situation in
the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and supported Azerbaijan’s
position. The Organization of Islamic Conference, Council of
Europe, OSCE and other international organizations also support
Azerbaijan. Unfortunately there is no result despite all these
efforts. One million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced
persons were deprived of the elementary human rights," Aliyev said.

Azerbaijan would secure its territorial integrity, according to Aliyev.

"Our concession in solution of the problem is granting highest autonomy
to Nagorno Karabakh. The conflict is a threat not only to Azerbaijan,
but to entire region.

Azerbaijan has achieved successes in all spheres and international law
is in our favor. We believe that the problem will find its peaceful
solution," Aliyev said, the Azeri Press Agency reports.

CHAIR, DEAN, RECTOR

KarabakhOpen
19-06-2008 11:29:12

The head of the chair of physics Karen Aramyan and the dean of the
department of physics and mathematics Georgy Sahakyan are candidates
for rector of Artsakh State University.

Recently Georgy Sahakyan has applied to the ministry of education
for suspending the license of Grigor Lusavorich University he runs.