Author: Varosian Antranik

ICRC REPRESENTATIVES IN AZERBAIJAN MEETS WITH SIX CAPTURED ARMENIAN SOLDIERS

APA
Nov 23 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Kamala Guliyeva – APA. Representatives of the International
Committee of the Red Cross in Azerbaijan visited six captured Armenian
soldiers, ICRC spokeswoman in Baku Gulnaz Guliyeva told APA.

They monitored detention conditions of the captives and talked to
them separately.

Three Armenian soldiers crossed the contact line toward Azerbaijan
in February, 2009, two – in May and one – in July.

Three soldiers of the Armenian army – Grant Markosian, Alik Tevosian
and Arthur Sargsyan crossed contact line toward the Minakhorlu village
of Agjabedi region, Azerbaijan in the night from February 27 to 28 and
entered the territory under the control of Azerbaijani forces. They
explained their action with bad conditions in Armenian army and said
they couldn’t find even a piece of bread.

Other soldiers – Ohan Harutunyan and Gevork Tomasyan, 18 crossed the
contact line to the side of Azerbaijani troops in Goranboy region of
Azerbaijan at about 13.00 on May 31.

Karen Harutunyan, 19 passed to the Azerbaijani side toward Gadabay
region of Azerbaijan on July 15.

KAZBEGI-UPPER LARS CHECKPOINT MAY OPEN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
23.11.2009 20:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "There are prospects for opening Kazbegi-Upper Lars
checkpoint," said Russian Deputy FM/State Secretary Grigory Karasin
in an interview with "Ogonok" Russian magazine. According to him,
discussions held in Yerevan will continue.

Georgia’s Christian-Democratic Party leader Giorgy Targamadze announced
earlier that Georgian-Russian talks over opening the checkpoint are
mediated by Switzerland and Armenia, but the process will last till
the end of year. Delivery of transit freight via this checkpoint is
much safer, Georgian activist finds.

The issue of possible opening of Upper Lars checkpoint was discussed
in Georgian National Security Council’s (NSC) November 13 session
attended by President Mikheil Saakashvili, Government members and
pro-opposition party representatives. Summing up meeting results, NSC
Secretary Eka Tkelashvili said that positive outcome of talks "Will be
to our neighbor’s (Armenia’s) benefit and not create security threats."

REGIONAL SECURITY SYSTEM TO PROMOTE SETTLEMENT OF CONFLICTS IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

news.az
Nov 23 2009
Azerbaijan

News.Az interviews Mehdi Sanaei, Prof. of Tehran University, Director
of Center for Research on Russia, Central Asia & Caucasus.

Iran has repeatedly offered its mediation services in the resolution
of the Karabakh conflict while Baku was skeptical about it as in 1992
the next day after Azerbaijan and Armenia concluded a reconciliation
agreement under Iran’s mediation, Armenian troops attacked and occupied
Shusha. What do you think about it?

I think Iran trusts Azerbaijan. In general, Iran pays great attention
to Azerbaijan and highly appreciates elations with Azerbaijan. But
conflicts are usually very complicated, therefore, it is not easy
to settle them. But the regional security system would be useful for
the settlement of all existing conflicts.

Do you consider it possible to create the regional security system
in conditions when there are conflicts between the regional countries?

This system is really needed for the settlement of conflicts because
20 years showed that such system supported by non-regional countries
failed to settle the problem.

Which system of regional security can be spoken of in our region
where there are three poles-Russian, western and Iranian? How can
these countries unite to create a general security system?

I think along with having differences these countries also have
common interests. If the regional countries are able to distance
from western states for the purpose of settling conflicts and pay
attention to regional security, we will get the best results.

news.az, Azerbaijan
Nov 21 2009

Archil Gegeshidze: I do not foresee lasting Russian presence in our region
Sat 21 November 2009 | 07:56 GMT Text size:

Archil Gegeshidze News.Az interviews Amb. Archil Gegeshidze, Senior
Fellow of Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.

How can you assess the established geopolitical situation in the South
Caucasus region?

The situation is undesirable and there are still too many division
lines. We are yet too far from integration. A small territory has so
many lines, so many walls both inside Georgia and the region ` between
you and Armenia. This is not favorable for our countries that are at
the start of their development. Certainly, some has more resources,
others less, but they are not enough for independent development
without cooperating with other countries in the region. Our location
made us mutually dependent which causes the need for our economic and
other interaction. Thus, the current situation does not promote the
peaceful and rapid development of our region. If once we manage to
jump over our head and overcome the political differences and
disputes, we will be able to settle all the issues of our national and
regional interests effectively and through joint efforts. We have no
regional conscience and regional responsibility. We all work for
ourselves and this is harmful for our future. There are some
possibilities and theoretical ways out of the situation but we lack
pragmatism, lack state vision of the future in decades. This is a
vision that should be a basis for the decisions possibly seeming
tactically unprofitable but capable of bringing more benefits within
decades. We lack all these, therefore, the region is suffering. For
this purpose, the neighbors in our region, including small and big
players, are not ready to let us closer, integrate with those
institutions that they created and that have been the most favorable
ones through outthe history. This is a reality that needs changes.

There are countries in our region that bind their future to the West
and there is a country that is inclined towards Russia. How do you see
the overcoming of barriers in these conditions, as the interests of
Russia and West clash again?

The difference you mentioned is a temporary event. This difference
results from the unsettled Karabakh problem. As soon as it is settled,
Armenia will also draw the due conclusion, because as a nation, it is
more inclined to western values than to those Russia propagates. Thus,
this division line is temporary. Though, I do not know how long it
will last, perhaps, until the Karabakh conflict exists. If the
Turkish-Armenian rapprochement leads to the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict, it will cause changes in Armenia’s course. Thus, in this
regard, I do not foresee the lasting Russian presence in our region.

Considering your opinion, it is possible to say that Russia is not
interested in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict for the purpose
of not surrendering Armenia to the West?

Unlike the conflicts in Georgia, Russia is less involved into the
Karabakh conflict and, therefore, is less interested in its
preservation. It has interest in Karabakh though not so great because
unlike Georgia Armenia’s immediate escape to the west is not at issue
in the case of the Karabakh conflict. Armenia may escape but Russia
also may preserve tools to allow its temporary presence in Armenia.
Georgia escapes in any case. Even after August war of the last year
Georgia has not changed its foreign policy. Therefore, answering your
question, I would say that Russia has less potential to resist
internal and external tendencies that stimulate the outcome, which
means Russia has not so many reserves to resist this process. Georgia
has such reserves but they did not work as Russia initiated war. In
case with Karabakh, Russia will be unable to trigger war: it does not
border either on Karabakh or Armenia and there are no Russian citizens
in Karabakh. This is the main difference. In this regard, Karabakh
problem has more chances to be settled than the conflicts in Georgia.

How do see the settlement of conflicts in Georgia after the August war
and recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by
Russia?

I think nothing will change in the nearest future as Russia is greatly
interested in preservation of the new quo status after the August war.
Only through this will Russia be able to prevent Georgia’s integration
with NATO or NATO’s penetration into the South Caucasus. Economic
sanctions against Georgia did not work, neither did the hopes for the
firth column in Georgia. On the whole, the pro-Russian policy is
unpopular in Georgia. Thus, the overall pro-western vector is based on
public consensus. Russia could stop this process only through this.
Now Russia will long be standing its ground and I do not know how long
this will last. Some of my colleagues consider that in the near future
Russia will have to quit the Caucasus as it will go through the
processes that happened in the Soviet Union. Let’s hope so! I do not
know when happens. Earth revolves on its axes more rapidly for Georgia
than it does for Russia. We cannot wait for changes or for the second
perestroika in Russia. We will have to find a common language with
Abkhazs and South Ossetians as we will have to live together.

This is a long lasting process requiring Georgia’s transformation from
a post-Soviet state into a European country with its mentality and its
institutions. The contrast of the overall development and living
conditions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the rest of Georgia
should be obvious. Moreover, time should pass for Abkhazians to
understand that the proximity to Russia is not profitable for them in
terms of development. If Georgia manages to take practical steps for
institutional integration in EU (I mean closing, but not full
integration), if we manage to conclude a contract of free trade with
the EU within the Eastern Partnership initiative, thus replacing the
lost Russian market with a wider European market, if our citizens are
able to travel to Europe without visas or under simplified visa
regime, this will make Georgia attractive. The Cyprus variant when a
separatist part of the island is now striving to reunification with
the rest part can repeat. This is quite realistic.

Leyla Tagiyeva
News.Az

news.am, Armenia
Nov 21 2009

Turkish schoolboy in France denies Genocide

17:35 / 11/21/2009A Turkish high schooler of a French school, who
refused to write a composition about Armenian Genocide in Ottoman
Empire, reasoning that `Even if it did happen, Armenians deserved it’
had agreed to put that all genocides ever are the result of injustice,
CNNturk informs.

As NEWS.am informed earlier, the law on denial of Armenian Genocide
providing a persecution will be adopted in France. Mustafa Dogan, a
13-year-old Turk, was expelled from a school in Nancy after insisting
that there was no Armenian Genocide, Nov. 18. Dogan’s history teacher
asked a question about the events of 1915 and the `Armenian Genocide’
in a written exam. Having previously argued with the teacher over the
matter, the Turkish schoolboy got angry and wrote, `Even if it did
happen, they deserved it.’

Mehmet Dogan ` Mustafa’s father, accused the principal of racism. `I
wish he hadn’t written `Even if [the genocide] did happen, they
deserved it.’ This made them angry,’ he said.

Later, Today’s Zaman contacted the principal of the Jacques Marquette
secondary school, Francis Vignola and asked to comment on the case.
`Vignola said he supported the sanctions placed on Mustafa Dogan,’ the
source concludes.

ARMEN MARTIROSYAN: RA GOVERNMENT DOESN’T WANT TO STRUGGLE AGAINST OLIGOPOLY

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
20.11.2009 21:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Armenian Premier’s recent statement on importance
of anti- oligopoly struggle is commendable, yet of purely declarative
character, as practice proves," Heritage parliamentary faction
representative Armen Martirosyan said at November 20 parliamentary
briefing.

According to Armen Martirosyan, currently RA government doesn’t want
to struggle against oligopolistic-monopolistic system, nor has enough
will to undertake it.

In her turn, Heritage parliamentary faction secretary Larisa
Alaverdyan characterized Armenia as the only country where shadow
policy is not practiced, as "everyone has idea both of major
businessmen’s and oligarchs’ state of affairs and of non-taxable real
business."

EFFORT.. YEREVAN A LAUGH IRELAND
STEPHEN FINN

The Mirror
November 18, 2009 Wednesday
Ireland

Armenia U-21 4 Ireland U-21 1

DON GIVENS was at a loss to explain this nightmare display by his
Republic of Ireland under-21 side after they were blitzed by Armenia
in Yerevan yesterday.

The Irish have yet to win a game in their UEFA Under-21 Championship
qualifying group but Givens struggled to think of a worse result than
this loss in his 10-year reign.

Armenia had not previously won a game and this victory condemns
Ireland to bottom of Group Two with no wins in six games.

Hat-trick hero Henrikh Mkhitaryan proved too hot to handle for a badly
depleted Irish side missing the likes of Owen Garvan, Sean Scannell,
Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy.

"Disappointing doesn’t put into words how I feel about that
performance. It was unbelievably poor," said the Irish boss afterwards.

Metalurg Donetsk striker Mkhitaryan gave his side the lead on the
half-hour when he was set-up by Hovhannes Goharyan then evaded a
number of Irish defenders before slotting past keeper Shane Redmond.

Mkhitaryan increased the home lead in the 61st minute after a simple
one-two with Malakyan sent him through to fire past Redmond.

Cillian Sheridan gave Ireland hope four minutes later when he climbed
above keeper Edvard Hovhannisyan and headed home from a Seamus
Conneely cross.

Bate Borisov striker Goharyan finished the game off 10 minutes later
after he fired into the top corner following a swift counterattack.

Mkhitaryan made it 4-1 from the penalty spot after Malakyan was taken
down by Oyebanjo in the 81st minute.

DIRECTOR OF GNGO ‘KHOSROV FOREST STATE RESERVE’ MURDERED IN YEREVAN

ArmInfo
2009-11-19 13:37:00

ArmInfo. Director of GNGO "Khosrov Forest State Reserve" Samvel
Shaboyan (born 1958) was murdered approximately at 11:50pm local time
on November 18 in Myasnikyan Str. In Yerevan, the Police press-service
reported. S. Shaboyan’s body with gunshot wounds was delivered to
Artsashat hospital approximately at 01:00am on November 19. The
unknown fired at Shaboyan’s official car Totoya Prado (number plate
007 LL 71) when he was inside and escaped (30 bullet holes in car). A
criminal case has been initiated on the fact of murder. Investigation
is underway.

HANDBOOK FOR EMPLOYERS PRESENTED IN YEREVAN
Lilit Muradyan

"Radiolur"
19.11.2009 13:51

A Handbook for Employees was presented in Yerevan today. The book
has been published by joint efforts of the International Labor
Organization and the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia within
the framework of the Program of fighting trafficking in Armenia,
Georgia and Azerbaijan.

According to the report on forced labor, 12.3 million people in the
world have been subjected to trafficking, among which 9.8 million
have been exploited by private employers.

According to the President of the Union of Employers, Arsen Ghazaryan,
the handbook aims to help prevent trafficking.

"The objective of the manual is to present the problem to the employers
and the public, as well as prevent the outflow of labor force from
Armenia, which endangers the national gene pool and results in the
loss of professional jobs," he said.

According to Philip Hunter, the author of the handbook, "This is a
guidance material and very practical tool addressed specifically to
business actors and to employers of organizations to identify what
forced labor is, what trafficking is, to clarify these issue on the
basis of ILO and other international standards."

AINTAPTSI AND CONGRESS MEMBERS
Hakob Badalyan

Lragir.am
19/11/09

No doubt, bringing the example of Yeghiazar Aintaptsi while turning to
Serge Sargsyan, Levon Ter-Petrosyan put his partners from the Congress
in a very uncomfortable situation especially those who often meet
with journalists. They faced the most difficult problem to explain
the significance of this example to the public. While, the feeling is
created that the Congress leaders themselves did not fully understand
what Levon Ter-Petrosyan meant by that example. Perhaps, this is the
reason why each of them explains this example on their own creating
the impression that they try to explain it first for themselves.

"In the XVII century, there was an ambitious clergyman in Turkey by
the name Yeghiazar Aintaptsi who managed to become the Catholicos
of the Armenians living in Turkey through bribes and breaches posing
to danger the unity of the Armenian Church and Armenian people. So,
the Echmiadzin clergymen held a session and told him, "Brother,
if you want to become a Catholicos, come and become the Catholicos
of All Armenians but do not pose the nation to danger". Yeghiazar
agreed and became the Catholicos of All Armenians and reigned for 10
years. And the danger posed to the Armenian church was prevented. I do
not remember another such a wider and wiser decision in the Armenian
history than the one the Echmiadzin clergymen took. Which is the
reason why Serge Sargsyan thinks the Armenian nation is not able to
express wisdom for national purposes?"

Levon Ter-Petrosyan seems to have expressed the example on
Aintaptsi quite clearly. What Levon Ter-Petrosyan wants to say seems
understandable: the problem is why he says it. While the Congress
leaders try to show only what he says. This means that they did not
understand what Ter-Petrosyan said, let alone understanding why he
said so. The situation is really hard. Ter-Petrosyan in essence said
a new thing, but his team is trying to comment on the new thing in
the old logic saying that the leader has always thought so.

>>From this point, the government treated this scandalous part of Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s speech wisely and does not seem to say anything in
this connection. Maybe the government did not understand the meaning
either. But this seems to be a more reasonable behavior than the
attempts to explain something without having understood. The government
at least understands that Aintaptsi is not what Ter-Petrosyan has
always said. Consequently, old-fashioned answers were not to be given
to these new and not yet understood words. Razmik Zohrabyan tried to
commit the same mistake, but the government realized and prevented
the Zohrabyan syndrome in time and stopped the continuation of the
"dusted" thesis on Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s leaving politics. The
government decided not to voice any version until it has a complete
idea of Aintaptsi’s life and activities.

In this comparison, the nerves of the Congress which has always been
famous for its patience, give way and its leaders seem to compete
who of them will explain better the real aim and sense of Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s speech. No one knows why, they think they understood
it better than the society and they had understood the meaning of
the example before the latter was voiced, before Levon Ter-Petrosyan
wrote his speech.