Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN VISITED GEORGIA

Armradio.am
01.03.2010 10:37

On the first day of his two-day private visit to Georgia,
President Serzh Sargsyan in Batumi met with this counterpart Mikhail
Sahakashvili. The two Presidents discussed issues pertinent to the
further deepening of the Armenian-Georgian friendly relations and
economic cooperation. They also spoke about the ongoing works to open
the Upper Lars border crossing, President’s Press Office reported.

After the meeting, Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Mikhail Sahakashvili
answered questions raised by journalists.

The President of Georgia welcomed this Armenian counterpart and noted
that his country always rejoices at Armenia’s success and is saddened
with Armenia’s problems; Armenia feels the same for Georgia. "I
believe, that these cordial relations and close cooperation are
conditioned not only ours – the Presidents’ personal input, even
though it is important, but first of all they must be credited
to our two nations," President Sahakashvili underlined and added,
"Many Armenians visit this town in summer, and locals welcome them
with pleasure. In addition, many ethnic Armenians live here and there
is also an Armenian church. All ethnic groups coexist peacefully, and
we are very proud of that fact and consider it to be our achievement."

The President of Armenia expressed gratitude for the invitation
and warm welcome and said that he heard a lot about Batumi and is
much impressed with what he has seen on this visit. Serzh Sargsyan
reiterated that Armenia and Georgia enjoy excellent relations and
expressed confidence and it will last forever. "We have lived like
brothers for thousand years and will continue to."

Accompanied by Mikhail Sahakashvili, President Serzh Sargsyan made a
tour of Batumi, observed construction works and investment programs
aimed at the town’s development.

On the second day of the visit President Sargsyan visited the Armenian
Church, where he met with representatives of the Armenian community
of Ajaria.

DAVID HARUTYUNYAN REMOVED FROM OFFICE

6/david-harutyunyan
12:06 pm | February 26, 2010

Official

February 25, RA President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on
releasing David Harutyunyan from the duties of Chairman of the RA
State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC),
RA Presidential Press Service reports.

Mr. Harutyunyan handed in his resignation to the RA President earlier
in the day.

ARMENIA PASSES BILL TO ALLOW VOIDING OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN PROTOCOLS

Radio Free Europe
February 25, 2010

YEREVAN — Armenia’s National Assembly has passed a billthat will
make it easier for Yerevan to abandon two protocols on establishing
diplomatic relations with Turkey, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reports.

The parliament passed on the third and final reading amendments to an
existing law on interstate treaties that would allow the suspension
or termination of international agreements that have been signed by
Armenia before they go into force.

The vote was 70 in favor and four against.

The nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun)
party boycotted the vote.

The amendments now await President Serzh Sarkisian’s signature to
become law.

Sarkisian announced in December his intention to enact these
amendments in response to Turkish leaders’ repeated statements pegging
Ankara’s ratification of the two protocols to a resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

But Sarkisian has made it clear that Yerevan will walk away from the
deal if Ankara fails to ratify it within a "reasonable" time frame.

The parliament overwhelmingly passed the amendments on the first and
second readings on February 23 and 24, respectively.

Opposition Zharangutyun lawmakers said Armenian law and international
conventions signed by Yerevan already allow for the abrogation of
international treaties, and voted against the amendments.

Dashnaktsutyun deputies criticized the amendments during the first
reading.

Dashnaktsutyun deputy Artsvik Minasian argued that not only the
president of the republic, but also the parliament should be empowered
to invalidate international agreements.

Armen Rustamian, another Dashnaktsutyun lawmaker who chairs the
parliament committee on foreign affairs, said on February 23 that the
National Assembly should also be given the right to ratify them with
"reservations."

He denied any contradiction between the Dashnaktsutyun criticism of
the amendments and its deputies’ decision to vote for them.

Sarkisian formally submitted the two Turkish-Armenian protocols to
the parliament for ratification on February 15.

Leaders of the parliament’s pro-presidential majority have repeatedly
stated that the protocols will not be put to a vote before they have
been ratified by the Turkish Parliament.

ACNIS PUBLISHED A BOOK ON ITS 15TH ANNIVERSARY

Aysor
feb 24 2010
Armenia

On the 15th anniversary of Armenian Center for National and
International Studies (ACNIS) came out the book called "ACNIS at 15:
the power of new ideas" which was presented today by the director
of the center Richard Giragosyan, senior expert Manvel Sargsyan and
Armine Ghazaryan.

According to R. Giragosian the book comprises 15 years of its
activities, new ideas are being suggested.

"This book consists of 500 pages. It is a collection of different
articles and analytical works. There are different authors presented
here, new and known ones for Armenia, international experts", –
he said.

According to the expert the publication of the book is significant
especially in this historical period as it is conditioned by the
Armenian – Turkish reconciliation process and the NKR conflict
settlement.

"It also studies the region after the Georgian war in 2008", – the
speaker said presenting the book.

R. Giragosian mentioned that the book reflects all the events and
developments taken place after 1991 in Caucasus, it shortly describes
different information about the region.

According to the speaker the book also presents the future plans
of ACNIS.

ITALY’S PM SILVIO BERLUSCONI INVITED TO VISIT ARMENIA

Panorama.am
17:36 24/02/2010

Politics

Armenia’s Ambassador to Italy Rouben Karapetyan met with Italian
Secretary to the Council of Ministers (Government Undersecretary)
Gianni Letta February 22.

Karapetyan thanked Gianni Letta for warm welcome and said the
RA Government’s interested in the multifaceted development of
Armenia-Italy relations, Armenian MFA press service told Panorama.am.

"Currently there are all premises for Italy to become one of Armenia’s
major partners," he said.

RA Ambassador informed the Italian official of the scheduled visits
and upcoming events in 2010. Karapetyan asked him to extend Italy’s
PM Silvio Berlusconi his Armenian counterpart Tigran Sargsyan’s
invitation to visit Armenia.

Italy signifies the reinforcement of ties with Armenia as well, Letta
highlighted and pledged to give new impetus to the intensification
of cooperation.

TURKISH GENERAL STAFF CHIEF CALLS FOR PATIENCE

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.02.2010 11:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish General Staff Chief, General Ilker Basbug
called on his people for patience.

"The army has recently become a subject of criticism and even
persecution. The malicious attacks forced 7 naval officers to commit
suicide," Gen Basbug said. "Your professional occupation demands a
chivalrous spirit. You should be strong, otherwise you will make your
enemies overjoyed."

"Officers do not complain but resolve problems. I do call on you to
be optimistic and stand ready to perform you duty," he said, Aksam
newspaper reported.

FORMER U.S REPRESENTATIVE TO UN: U.S. WILL NOT TAKE ANY STEPS TO RESOLVE FROZEN CONFLICTS IN POST-SOVIET COUNTRIES

Trend
Feb 23 2010
Azerbaijan

The U.S. will not take any steps to resolve the frozen conflicts in
the post-Soviet countries, former U.S permanent representative to
the United Nations, who is recently serving at American Enterprise
Institute, John R. Bolton, told Trend News.

"If you look at the Obama’s policy towards Russia so far, I think the
U.S will try not to re-open the frozen conflicts, not try to find a
way so that Russia relates to all post soviet countries and sovereign
and independent ones and not even try to solve the conflicts within
their borders of those countries. I know it sounds odd, but I think
this is what the U.S will do".

There are several unresolved territorial conflicts in the territory
of former USSR. The longest one is the conflict between two South
Caucasus countries. It began in 1988, due to territorial claims of
Armenia against Azerbaijan. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory,
including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions are under the
occupation of the Armenian Forces.

Another territorial dispute is the conflict between Georgia and two
Georgian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Mr. Bolton also sows careful optimism on establishing diplomatic
relations between Armenia and Turkey.

"It’s a positive event, but I wouldn’t overstate the potential
implications of it. It is a positive thing to establish a relation
with a country after so many years, but I wouldn’t overstate it that
much. Of course, it’s symbolic," he stated.

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward
Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocols in Zurich Oct. 10.

Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey were broken due
to Armenian claims of an alleged genocide and its occupation of
Azerbaijani lands. Their border closed in 1993.

Renewing the relations between the U.S and Russia affect other
post-Soviet countries, including Georgia and Azerbaijan, expert said.

Bolton pointed out that, "the steps the Obama administration has
been taken were trying to mollify Russia, still didn’t help it –
the relations remain difficult".

KARABAKH SOLUTION WOULD HELP TURKISH-ARMENIAN NORMALIZATION
Aliyah Fridman

news.az
Feb 22 2010
Azerbaijan

Nuh Yilmaz News.Az interviews Nuh Yilmaz, director of the Foundation
for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) in Washington, DC.

What is the current state of the Turkish-Armenian negotiations on
the normalization of relations?

The tension caused by the signing of the protocol agreement is
gradually increasing as the date 24 April approaches [the day that
Armenia commemorates what it calls the genocide]. It is no secret that
the Turkish leadership does not feel positive about House Resolution
252 [on the Armenian genocide]. Even though the normalization process
and the resolution are indirectly connected, House Foreign Committee
Chairman Howard Berman’s call for a vote on the resolution on 4 March
does not help solve any problem, on the contrary, it unnecessarily
complicates the already complex issue. If 4 March and 24 April are
taken as deadlines for the normalization process, I do not think this
will help normalization.

Do you expect the protocols on the normalization of relations to be
ratified by the Armenian and Turkish parliaments?

For the Armenians, after the decision made by the Constitutional Court,
ratifying the protocols is only a formality. However, for Turkey,
it is virtually impossible for any political party or leader to get
the protocols ratified by parliament under these circumstances.

To expect a move from the Turkish leadership would require a gesture
on two fronts: an improvement in the Armenian-Azeri negotiations
on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and a show of goodwill from the US
Administration on HR252. If these do not happen, the Turkish parliament
is not likely to ratify the protocols right now.

Is Turkey strong enough to overcome the pressure from the USA and EU
to open its borders with Armenia?

I do not agree with you that it is about strength. It could be
said that Turkey is under pressure from the different partners who
helped the protocols come into being, but this whole process requires
moves from all sides. As long as Turkey sees its counterparts doing
their part, Turkey certainly will be responsive. Turkey was expecting
certain gains from these protocols. However, now Turkish policymakers,
whether right or wrong, think that the gains they were expecting from
the protocols are nullified because of the Constitutional Court’s
decision. If Turkey is assured that its gains will be guaranteed
somehow, then the process will continue.

Do you believe that the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations and
opening of the borders will expedite settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict?

I do not see these problems as separated and isolated issues.

Normalization certainly would help the whole region relax, take a
deep breath and work toward enrichment on the economic front, but
normalization is not an aim, rather it is an expected outcome; it is
more important how the frozen conflicts and century-old-rivalries will
end or at least become matters of the past. Presently, the reverse
can be said: improvement, if not a solution, on the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue will certainly help the Turkish-Armenian normalization process.

Many experts think that settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
depends on Russia’s good will. Do you agree? If so, what should
Azerbaijan do to ensure a fast resolution of the conflict, considering
that Armenia is Russia’s closest strategic and military ally?

I do not think that any related country moves solely out of good will.

Moreover, I do think that all of the related parties can ruin the
process. Russia is not an exception in having such power. Therefore,
your analysis does partly reflect the situation. All related parties
have expectations. If those expectations are met, then the settlement
will come. For Russia, I think they want to see their strategic ally
breathe after the Georgian war. And also I do believe that they may
welcome the souring of relations between Azeris and Turks, which would
help them achieve their projects in the South Caucasus regarding the
market for energy pipelines. All countries have an interest in the
issue, but if they all agree that stability in the Caucasus helps
their cause, then they will all work for a peaceful settlement.

LIVING ROUGH IN SASUNIK: GRANDMOTHER WASHES SODA BOTTLES TO SURVIVE
Grisha Balasanyan

2 010/02/22 | 16:24

Raises Three Grandchildren in Hut Next to Town Garbage Dump

For the past two years Laura Tadevosyan has been raising her three
young grandchildren next to a smoldering garbage dump in the village
of Sasunik, Aragatzotn Marz.

This is where Carmen Ghahramanyan, the children’s mother, died in
December, 2009.

The cause of death was tuberculosis of the lungs. Laura Tadevosyan
says that the family didn’t have the money for a doctor. When they
finally took her to the hospital, it was too late.

With the intervention of Gayaneh Danielyan, head of the Children’s
Protection Division at the Aragatzotn Regional Authority, the
grandmother has been officially recognized as the children’s legal
guardian.

Family burns garbage to keep warm

When he visited the abandoned hut, Laura came out to greet us. The
elderly woman was covered in soot and her cheeks were swollen from
the cold. The clothes she wore were old and tattered. She spoke in
a straightforward and lucid manner with us and said that the family
had always encountered hardships and that they had now adjusted to
their new situation.

The family owned a one room apartment in the town of Kapan, Syunik
Marz. They used the money to rent and lived in different places until
they wound up here, at the garbage dump.

"My son-in-law is from Masis and he wanted us close by. We sold the
apartment and came to Yerevan with the hope of buying a place here
to live. He got arrested for a robbery. We moved around for a while
and then found ourselves here. We first lived in Ashtarak, but an
acquaintance brought us here," said Mrs.Tadevosyan. "When money falls
into your hands, you get flustered and don’t know how to spend it all.

It was my daughter and her husband that managed the house money. We
spent it all and wound up on the street."

She and the kids live in a metal "tnak" (hut) that is falling apart
and the roof is missing in spots. When we stepped inside, the place
was engulfed in smoke. Soot and grime was everywhere. Even the bed
sheets were blackened by the soot. They had been burning garbage from
the dump, plastic bottles, pieces of wood and shoes, to stay warm.

Grandma Laura – "I’m ashamed to show you how we live"

The face of 14 year-old Arman was a grimy mess. Upon spotting us,
he shied away and cowered in a corner of the hut, throwing a rag over
his head. He didn’t want to be photographed.

The hut consists of two small rooms with two metal beds and a few
chairs.

"We live in a pretty awful state. I’m ashamed to even show you how we
live," Laura said. For the past two years the family has used candle
to light the house.

Mrs. Tadevosyan said they have no relatives in Armenia. They’ve all
moved to Russia. Her son also lives in Russia and she says he sends
money when he can.

Washing bottles for food and clothes

Washing glass bottles is their only source of income. Laura said that
there’s a soda plant in Ashtarak. They get the bottles from the plant
and wash them for 2 drams a bottle. Workers from the plant then come
and collect the bottles.

"I don’t wind up washing many bottles when it’s cold like this. At
best, I can wash 1,500 a day. When the kids are home they help me out
and I can wash more. The girl is just a child but she’s in water the
whole day washing bottles for money. What else can I do?" Laura asks.

She says that the kids also make some extra cash by plucking out
shards of semi-precious metal and other knick-knacks from the garbage.

The grandchildren, 15 year-old Rouzanna, 14 year-old Arman, and 8
year-old Isahak, go the Karin village school. Laura says the kids
are good students and that she helps them out with their lessons. She
doesn’t want them to fall behind in class.

Government promises to help

"The last time my son sent some money, I bought some clothes for the
kids to wear to school. But it wasn’t enough. If I buy some clothes,
there’s not anything left for food. But you need clothes to wear,
right?" Laura said.

The family receives no assistance or pension money. Laura went to
Kapan, where the family is officially registered, to fill out the
required forms to receive assistance for the kids. Officials in
Kapan promised her that, come March, they would forward the benefits
to Ashtarak.

Gayaneh Danielyan, from the Aragatzotn Division of Children’s
Protection, told us that she had spoken with her colleague in Kapan
and that the matter would be taken care of.

"The Aragatzotn Regional Governor gave Laura 20,000 AMD in assistance.

But we are concerned with something else. We have to find a way to get
that family out of that house. It’s an awful mess. The mayor of Sasunik
has found a rental in the village. We’re making preparations to move
them in. This family really is in need of help," said Mrs. Danielyan.

INGO ARMENIA INSURANCE COMPANY INCREASES LIMIT FOR ACCELERATED COMPENSATION TO 400,000 DRAMS

ArmInfo
2010-02-19 14:51:00

ArmInfo. INGO ARMENIA Insurance Company has doubled the limit for
accelerated compensation from 200,000 to 400,000 drams, INGO ARMENIA
press-service told ArmInfo.

In January 2010 almost 30% of CASCO car insurance events the company
compensated on the program of Accelerated Compensation. The number
of unsettled disputes fell over 5 times per year. The limit has been
increased due to the growing demand for accelerated compensation.

The new system of accelerated compensation launched in October 2008
makes it possible for the company to regulate losses not exceeding
the specific limit without involvement of competent agencies (road
police) and additional examinations.

INGO ARMENIA is the sole leader in the insurance market by key
financial figures and in separate segments. In particular, the Ranking
of Insurance Companies prepared by the ArmInfo Financial Information
and Analysis Service ranked the company first for 2009 in the CASCO
segment with 397.5 million drams premiums on 4.5 thousand contracts
and 301.2 million drams compensations on 572 insurance events.