Author: Tumanian Talar

ISTANBUL ARMENIAN HISTORIAN GIVES LECTURE IN USA ON SUBJECT "HUMAN RIGHTS AND WORLD PEACE"

Noyan Tapan
July 13, 2009

WASHINGTON, JULY 13, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Between June 28
to July 7 famous Istanbul Armenian linguist and historian Barsegh
Tooghladjian took part in the scientific and art conference in
Washington held by American Biographical Academy and Biographical
Center, Cambridge, England and gave a lecture on the theme "Human
Rights and World Peace".

According to the Marmara daily, Tooghladjian is often invited to these
conferences and often gives lectures. In 2000 he gave a lecture on the
theme "The Turkish-American Relations in the History" and presented
George Washington’s oil painted portrait painted by talented painter
Erol Sarafian.

Tooghladjian took that portrait to the White House himself and gave
it to USA President Bill Clinton.

This time he took USA Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s oil
painted portrait, which is also painted by Erol Sarafian, and gave
it personally to the Secretary of State.

In Washington Tooghladjian visited Armenian Ambassador to the US
Tatul Margarian and Turkish Ambassador to the US Nabi Shensoy.

ACCORDING TO RPA REPRESENTATIVE, PACKAGE OF CO-CHAIRS’ PROPOSALS IS IN ARMENIAN SIDE’S INTERESTS

Noyan Tapan
July 14, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. RPA’s position in the issue of Nagorno
Karabakh settlement is unchanged: Armenia should never make one-sided
concessions, and Nagorno Karabakh’s status is the main problem. RPA
Spokesperson, RA National Assembly deputy Eduard Sharmazanov stated
on July 14.

Commenting upon the recent statement on Nagorno Karabakh conflict
made by the Presidents of the U.S., Russia, and France, E. Sharmazanov
mentioned that "it is not a coordinated final plan, but only a package
of proposals, which is in Armenian side’s interests." Besides,
according to him, "the Presidents in their statements practically
fixed Nagorno Karabakh’s independence."

He reminded of the three points of principle mentioned by President
Serzh Sargsyan, over which Armenia cannot make a compromise. First,
Nagorno Karabakh cannot be part of Azerbaijan. The second condition
is that Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia should have common land borders
and the third condition is that the security guarantees of Nagorno
Karabakh population and state should be exact. In the opinion of the
RPA Spokesperson, these principles were taken into consideration.

According to E. Sharmazanov, it cannot be considered accidental that
"much hysteria" emerged in Azerbaijan. "It is not accidental that
Azeri analysts spoke exactly, I will cite that "Azerbaijan is losing
Nagorno Karabakh" and "it cannot be part of Azerbaijan," he said.

RUSSIA PLAYS IMPORTANT, POSITIVE ROLE IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT — ALIYEV

ITAR-TASS
July 13 2009
Russia

LONDON, July 13 (Itar-Tass) –The Russian leadership and President
Dmitry Medvedev play an important and positive role in search for
a peaceful solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
over Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev said.

"Russia is interested to resolve the conflict, and we see and
appreciate these efforts," Aliyev said at the Royal Institute of
International Affairs on Monday.

He expressed hope that the approaches formulated in the Moscow
Declaration would be accepted by all parties to the talks, which
should pave the way for the resolution of the conflict in which
"there has been neither peace nor war" over the past 15 years.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began on February 22, 1988, when the
first direct confrontation occurred in the enclave after a big group
of Azeris had marched towards the Armenian-populated town of Askeran,
"wreaking destruction en route." A large number of refugees fled
Armenia and Azerbaijan as violence erupted against the minority
populations in the two countries. In the autumn of 1989, intensified
inter-ethnic conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh prodded the
Soviet government into granting Azerbaijani authorities greater
leeway in controlling the region. On November 29, 1989 direct rule
in Nagorno-Karabakh was ended and Azerbaijan regained control of the
region. However later a joint session of the Armenian parliament and
the top legislative body of Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed the unification
of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.

On December 10, 1991, Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh held a referendum,
boycotted by local Azeris, that approved the creation of an independent
state.

The struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated after both Armenia and
Azerbaijan obtained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By
the end of 1993, the conflict had caused thousands of casualties and
created hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides. An unofficial
ceasefire was reached on May 12, 1994.

Despite the ceasefire, fatalities due to armed conflicts between
Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers continued. As of August, 2008, the
United States, France, and Russia (the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk
Group) were attempting to negotiate a full settlement of the conflict,
proposing a referendum on the status of the area, which culminated
in Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan travelling to Moscow for talks with Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev on 2 November 2008. As a result, the three presidents signed
an agreement that calls for talks on a political settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

SHAMELESS HYPOCRISY WATCH: REJECTING ISRAEL AS A JEWISH STATE (I)

Examiner.com
July 13 2009

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s June 14 speech brought
fresh scrutiny to the idea of Israel as a Jewish state. Netanyahu
accepted that there should be a Palestinian Arab state, but considered
that the Palestinians should also accept that Israel is a Jewish
state. He was immediately denounced as setting unreasonable conditions
and murdering the peace process.

For example, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter criticized the speech
on the basis of the "Jewish state" issue: "My opinion is he raised
many new obstacles to peace that had not existed under previous
prime ministers. . . He demands that the Palestinians and the Arabs
recognise Israel as a Jewish state, although 20% of its citizens here
are not Jews. This is a new demand."

Influential Middle Eastern Studies professor Juan Cole sang the
same tune: "Netanyahu wants the Palestinians to acknowledge that
Israel is a ‘Jewish state.’ I don’t understand this demand. Israel
is not a Jewish state, it is a multi-cultural state, with about
half a million non-Jewish Russians and Ukrainians and 20% of its
population is Arab. . . . If "Jewish" is meant racially, then it is
a particularly shameful demand. It is like demanding either that the
US be recognized as a "Christian" country or as a "white" country."

Much of this sort of criticism of the Israeli desire to live in a
recognizably Jewish state–a country where Hebrew is the dominant
language, Jewish culture is pervasive, and Jews are the majority–is
hypocritical, in at least three ways. Here, we’ll focus on one:
an obsessive, disdainful focus on Israel as the state of the Jewish
people, while ignoring other countries with officially-declared ethnic
identities, or in which citizenship is defined ethnically.

Here are some examples:

The constitution of Afghanistan defines who is an Afghan in detailed
tribal terms in Chapter 1, Article 4: "The nation of Afghanistan is
comprised of the following ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara,
Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pashai, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz,
Qizilbash, Gujur, Brahwui and others."

The preamble of the constitution of Algeria defines "the fundamental
components of its identity which are Islam, Arabity and Amazighity
[referring to the Berbers]."

Armenia has a "law of return" for ethnic Armenians, similar to that of
Israel: "Individuals of Armenian origin shall acquire citizenship of
the Republic of Armenia through a simplified procedure." (Article 14.)

Chapter I, Article 1 of Bahrain’s constitution also declares the
Arabness of the country: "The Kingdom of Bahrain is a fully sovereign,
independent Islamic Arab State whose population is part of the Arab
nation and whose territory is part of the great Arab homeland." Yet
an estimated 46% of Bahrain’s population is non-Arab.

Egypt as well constitutionally defines itself as an Arab country in
Chapter One, Article 1: "The Egyptian people are part of the Arab
nation and work for the realization of its comprehensive unity."

The constitution of Eritrea defines citizenship ethnically: "Any
person born of an Eritrean father or mother is an Eritrean by
birth." (Article 3.)

Citizenship in Germany is based primarily on blood: If your
parents are German, you are German, even if you never lived in
Germany–indeed, even if your family has lived outside of Germany for
many generations. As the German Embassy in the U.S. explains: "As a
general rule, a child born to a German citizen parent automatically
acquires German citizenship at birth through jus sanguinis, regardless
of the place of birth." Yet nearly 10% of Germany’s population is
not ethnically German.

In Title II, Article 11, the constitution of Haiti gives citizenship
to ethnic Haitians: "Any person born of a Haitian father or Haitian
mother who are themselves native-born Haitians and have never renounced
their nationality possesses Haitian nationality at the time of birth."

The same rule applies in Iraq: "Anyone who is born to an Iraqi father
or to an Iraqi mother shall be considered an Iraqi." (Article 18.)

Another Arab country, Jordan, hinges the right of citizenship on
being Arab: "The people of Jordan form a part of the Arab Nation
. . . ." (Constitution, Chapter One, Article 1.)

In Kuwait, more of the same: "The people of Kuwait is a part of the
Arab Nation." (Constitution, Article 1.) However, only about 57%
of the population is Arab.

The preamble of the constitution of Lebanon contains the same ethnic
principle of nationality: "Lebanon is Arab in its identity and in
its association."

The Constitution of Libya in Article 1 enshrines the ethnic
definition of who is a Libyan: "The Libyan people are part of the
Arab nation. Their goal is total Arab unity." Thus, not only are
Libyans defined as Arabs, but they are part of a transnational Arab
ethnic identity.

The island of Madagascar is, under its constitution, the homeland of a
particular ethnic group: "(1) The Malagasy people shall constitute a
Nation organized as a sovereign, secular State. (2) This State shall
be a Republic, unique and indivisible, and shall be named ‘Republic
of Madagascar.’" (Article 1.)

Article 1 of the constitution of Qatar, in common with many other
Arab countries, identifies citizenship with being Arab: "People
of Qatar are part of the Arab nation (ummah)." Yet 60% of Qatar’s
population–the majority!–is non-Arab.

Thus, numerous countries constitutionally define themselves in ethnic
terms. And many, many more which do not, are ethnically-based as a
matter of fact (for example, the Italianness of Italy). In short,
the fact that Israel is an ethnic nation-state merely means that it
is a normal country. And as shown above, the fact that it contains
an ethnic minority is not a stop-the-presses revelation, either.

There is only one country in the world–Israel–where this normal
state of affairs upsets people–enrages them to the point of denying
the legitimacy of the state. The fact that Israel is surrounded by
Arab states that define themselves as ethnically Arab makes this
unreasonable focus even more striking. This blatant use of double
standards to delegitimize the Jewish state is anti-Semitism–whether
thoughtless or deliberate, it’s anti-Semitism.

ANKARA STANDS FOR SOONEST RESOLUTION OF KARABAKH CONFLICT

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
13.07.2009 12:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ankara has welcomed a joint statement by the
co-chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is mediating between Baku and
Yerevan to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Today’s Zaman
reported.

The United States, France and Russia called mutually on Friday for
the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to settle a long-running dispute
over Nagorno Karabakh. In a statement released at the Group of Eight
(G-8) summit in Italy, the three countries, which co-chair the OSCE’s
Minsk Group, said they "affirm our commitment" to efforts by Armenia
and Azerbaijan to finalize "the basic principles for settlement"
of the conflict.

A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry over the weekend
recalled that the OSCE statement said the countries were instructing
their mediators to present to the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
an updated version of a proposed peace outline brought forward in
the Madrid Document of November 2007.

"We urge the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the few
differences remaining between them and finalize their agreement on
these basic principles," the Minsk Group statement said.

"The impression we got up to today is that the principles mentioned
constitute a general framework. The presence of some nuances in the
approaches of the two sides concerning these basic principles should
be considered natural," the ministry said, adding that what matters
is the quick completion of negotiations on these basic principles
in order to reach a peaceful resolution of the dispute which has
continued to be a bleeding wound "for both Azerbaijan and Armenia
and for the South Caucasus region for years."

THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE SEYRAN OHANYAN’S MEETING WITH THE DIASPORA YOUTH

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10.07. 09

On the 10th of July, 2009 in the departmental hall of the RA MoD the
meeting of the Minister of Defence with the members of "Depi Hayk"
("Towards Armenia") foundation took place. Greeting the Diaspora
youth from different countries of the world Seyran Ohanyan briefly
spoke about the history of the creation of the RA armed forces,
singling out the reality that our army was formed in wartime, after
the declaration of Armenia’s independence. Independence – achieved
due to the united will and dedication of Armenians.

After the ceasefire in May, 1994 a new quality army building process
started and in a period of some years it was developed in regards to
the management of the troops, army armaments and staff readiness. As
a result of this we have a efficient and regular army, which is a
guarantee of the security of Armenians. Speaking of the protection
of the Republic of Nagorno Kharabakh, Seyran Ohanyan mentioned that
defence and the existence of modern engineering structures allow to
keep the force balance with Azerbaijan, without the support of a second
party. The Minister of Defence also talked about developing patriotism
in the youth, stating that the values acquired in a course of years
need to be passed to the coming generations in=2 0an appropriate way.

Pointing out the importance of the role of the Diaspora in solving
the issues that our country faces, S. Ohanyan underlined that several
compatriots from the Diaspora took up the holly duty of protecting the
Motherland during the Artsakh war. And today, in peace time, we are
glad that Diaspora youth constantly visits the Motherland. Then the
Minister of Defence answered the questions that bothered the youth,
which, mainly, were about the Armenia-Turkey relations, regional
security and the resolution of the NKR conflict. All the questions
were answered thoroughly.

In the end of the meeting the members of the "Depi Hayk" foundation
thanked for the warm admission hoping that such meetings will be
periodical.

It’s worth mentioning that "Depi Hayk" ("Towards Armenia") foundation
functions since 2004. Today 52 members are registered. In Armenia
they voluntarily accomplish missions in different spheres.

HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN: "CLOSE ALLIED RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA WERE CONSTANTLY HIGHLIGHTED IN ARMENIA"

National Assembly of RA
July 10 2009
Armenia

On July 10 President of RA National Assembly Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan
received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian
Federation to Armenia Mr. Nikolay Pavlov in connection with termination
of his diplomatic mission in Yerevan.

During the talk the Head of the Armenian Parliament expressed his
gratitude to Ambassador Pavlov for close cooperation during last
years. Mr. H. Abrahamyan highly assessed the Ambassador’s work and
stressed that the close allied relations with Russia were constantly
highlighted in Armenia, which had firm historical bases. He expressed
hope that in future the Armenian-Russian cooperation would also
continue its development in political, trade-economic, cultural and
other spheres, for benefit of two friendly peoples. During the talk
the sides highly assessed the existing close contact and cooperation
between the parliaments of Armenia and Russia.

Concluding the conversation Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan wished success
to Ambassador Pavlov in his endeavors and expressed hope that the
Ambassador would continue his friendly relations after terminating
his diplomatic mission, too.

ABDULLAH BIN ZAYED MEETS PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN

WAM – Emirates News Agency
Fri Jul 10, 2009

WAM Azerbaijan, Baku, July 9, 2009 (WAM) — President of Azerbaijan,
Ilham Aliev, received here Wednesday Foreign Minister, H.H. Sheikh
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who conveyed to the Azerbaijani
President greetings from President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan. President Aliev also conveyed through the UAE Foreign Minister
and reciprocatory greetings to the UAE President.

Sheikh Abdullah also met with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Elmar
Mammadyarov. They discussed bilateral relations and ways to boost them
in various fields. They also discussed other issues of mutual interest.

Their discussions touched on the conflict on Nagorno-Karabakh between
Armenia and Azerbaijan. Sheikh Abdullah called for the implementation
of the resolutions related to that issue by UN Security Council and
the Organisation of Islamic conference.

Sheikh Abdullah said the UAE was deeply interested in boosting
bilateral ties with Azerbaijan in various areas, particularly in the
fields of Petrochemical industry and tourism.

He said the UAE will soon open its diplomatic mission in Azerbaijan
to further boost bilateral relations between the two countries.

For his side, the Azerbaijani foreign minister also reiterated his
country’s keen interest in strengthening bilateral ties with the UAE
in all areas, including the exchanging of diplomats. He said the two
countries share common stances on many international issues.

The two ministers also discussed a number of regional and international
issues of mutual interest.

WORK OF ARMENIAN MINISTRIES GENERALLY ASSESSED AS SATISFACTORY

ArmInfo
2009-07-09 14:19:00

The government of Armenia carries out a three-year pilot programme
on enhancement of the state administration efficiency, Head of the
government staff David Sarkisyan said at Thursday briefing.

According to him, the programme assesses the activity of the medium
link of state officials in the Internal Revenue Committee and 16
ministers of the republic. The terms and results of implementation
of the working programmes for a year are checked. Assessments to the
state officials are given upon the results of half a year. The payment
system, including premiums and bonuses depend on efficiency of the
work done. In case the assessment is unsatisfactory, the employee’s
professional usefulness will be brought into a question, D. Sarksiyan
said. These assessments are required for the heads of ministries,
he added. According to him, upon the results of the first half year,
2009, the average assessment of the ministries and departments by
100-point system made up 90- 95, that is a satisfactory indicator.

GRIGOR ARAKELIAN APPOINTED AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY OF RA TO IRI

NOYAN TAPAN
JULY 8, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 8, NOYAN TAPAN. On July 7, RA President Serzh Sargsyan
signed a decree on relieving Karen Nazarian of the post of RA
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Islamic Republic
of Iran.

According to the report of the RA President’s Press Office, by
S. Sargsyan’s another decree of the same day, Grigor Arakelian was
appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of RA to IRI
(residence Tbilisi).

Grigor Arakelian was born on March 14, 1948 in the city of Tabriz,
Iran.

In 1975 he graduated from Yerevan State University Oriental Studies
Faculty Iranology Department.

In 1975-1979 he was sent to Afghanistan on business as an interpreter.

In 1980-1991 he worked at the RA National Academy of Sciences as a
research officer.

In 1992 he was admitted to work at the RA Foreign Ministry. In
1992-1996 he was the Iran Subdivision Head of the RA Foreign Ministry
Near and Middle East Countries Department, in 1996-1999 Adviser of
the RA Embassy in Iran, in 1999-2001 Head of the RA Foreign Ministry
Near and Middle East Countries Department. In 2004 he was appointed
Adviser of the RA Foreign Ministry Staff. In 2007-2009 he worked as
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of RA to Iran.

Grigor Arakelian is a candidate of historical sciences, has the
diplomatic degree of Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary,
masters the Russian, Persian (Dari), Turkish, and English languages.