Author: Zakarian Garnik

"LEVON SHANT – 140. CONFERENCE MATERIALS" BOOK PUBLISHED

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.10.2009 16:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Levon Shant – 140. Conference Materials" book was
presented in Yerevan on October 29.

The book is a collection of scientific articles and publications by
participants of last year’s conference dedicated to the 140th birthday
anniversary of Armenian poet, novelist and playwright Levon Shant.

Best 10 arts students were granted Hakob Karapents scholarship.

Levon Shant was born in 1869 as Levon Seghposian. His high
philosophical ideals and his struggle to actualize his ideals and goals
form the essence of his life and literature. Shant’s "The Emperor" and
"The Ancient Gods" are among the most frequently staged works of the
Armenian theater. After the fall of the Republic of Armenia, which
he served as Member of Parliament, Shant concentrated on promoting
the educational and cultural life of the Armenian people.

He was one of the founders of the Hamazkayin Cultural Foundation
and of the Nishan Palandjian Jemaran in Beirut, which he served as
principal until his death in 1951.

G. TSARUKYAN: "WE CAN’T SELL OUR NATION’S FACE"

Aysor
Oct 26 2009
Armenia

"The president and the head of the National Assembly mentioned that, we
are going to settle down relations with Turkey without preconditions",-
Gagik Tsarukyan the head of the "Bargavach Hayastan" political party
said during the briefing in the National Assembly.

G. Tsarukyan assured and even expressed willingness to write and
to sign that "If there is any precondition, we will not accept it,
we will refuse. We can’t sell our nation’s face. We agreed to settle
diplomatic relations and to open the borders, nothing else".

On the question "Why Turkish officials try to introduce the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement as a precondition for the normalization
of Armenian- Turkish relations", G. Tsarukyan noted. "We have already
showed our position. So you must take into consideration what we
are saying. There is no precondition. If there are any preconditions
about Nagorno Karabakh or Armenian Genocide, we will not accept the
protocols",-said the leader of "Bargavach Hayastan".

MEMORIAL TO OCTOBER 27 TERROR ATTACK VICTIMS OPENED IN RA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PARK

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.10.2009 13:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Monument to victims of October 27, 1999 terrorist
attack was opened today in RA National Assembly park. In a speech
delivered at opening ceremony, Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan
mentioned that terrorist act took the lives of such national heroes
as Vazgen Sargsyan, Karen Demirchyan, Ruben Miroyan, Yuri Bakhshyan,
Leonard Petrosyan, Michael Kotanyan, Armenak Armenkyan and Henrik
Abrahamyan. "Our loss is irretrievable, and the past years were not
enough for mitigating the pain and sorrow we suffered. I beg to quote
Armenian President’s words saying ‘Armenian people are unanimous
in their goals. Our future demands that we have a strong and stable
statehood.’ "

In her speech, Rima Demirchyan, Karen Demirchyan’s widow, also
mentioned about the grief that has existed for 10 years. "Monument
opening is a little bit retarded step, but that doesn’t mean memory
about victims is not alive. Today, it is necessary to make all possible
steps for full detection of the crime," Mrs. Demirchyan said.

Opening ceremony was attended by President Serzh Sargsyan, Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan,
Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, as well as Ministers and MPs,
Vazgen Sargsyan’s parents, Karen Demirchyan’s widow, relatives and
friends of victims.

Author of the monument known as "David Wins Goliath" is sculptor
Yervand Kochar.

Vahagn Chakhalyan’s lawyer labels prosecutor’s accusations as ungrounded
24.10.2009 15:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The third court session into the case of Vahagn
Chakhalyan, leader of United Javakhk Democratic Alliance movement did
not differ from the previous ones.

`The session was held in the Georgian language with a poor Armenian
interpretation. Our statements were either interpreted incorrectly or
not interpreted at all,’ Chakhalyan’s lawyer Stepan Voskanyan told
PanARMENIAN.Net.

`The court rejected our request for another interpreter. After that,
Chakhalyan said he will not be present at the trial any longer and was
led out of the court room. His father and brother followed him,’
Voskanyan said.

He also labeled the prosecutor’s accusations as ungrounded and said
that the judge refused to provide more than 10 minutes for concluding
remarks.

The next session is scheduled for October 30.

PRESIDENT’S INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTSAKH PUBLIC TV

Aysor
Oct 23 2009
Armenia

The RA President Serzh Sargsyan during his visit to Nagorno Karabakh
gave an interview with the Artsakh Public TV where he has mentioned
that "In the NKR conflict settlement process solutions can be found
only if the negotiating sides show a realistic approach."

Answering to the observation that some days ago the President of
Azerbaijan once again announced that agreements were reached in
returning the NKR adjacent regions, and as if such agreements had
been reached even years ago and as if the Armenian side setbacks the
negotiations at present, President Sargsyan answered: "I have touched
that question and now I do not have to add any special thing. I just
want to stress for one more time that we approach the whole negotiation
process seriously and with responsibility. There is no more interested
side than the NKR and the people of NKR in these talks. And it is
the NKR that wishes to see this issue solved as soon as possible."

"I am sure that really there are solutions, conscious solutions. They
can be found only in case if the negotiating sides deal with the
present situation realistically and if their expectations are realistic
too. We are looking for long-term solutions, solutions which will
really bring peace and will last for a long time. I don’t think that
it’s correct to come up to such conclusions and such solutions which
may be acceptable for some period but cannot provide the mentioned
long time peace. Of course in any negotiation each of the sides tries
to get the maximal, but I can’t understand when one side tends to
get everything and is conducted with the slogan "everything for
me". In that case the negotiations for that side can seem to be
not so pleasant and the results can not satisfy him, but it’s not
our fault already. Now we are in 21st century, when it’s not easy
to conceal many things, and many people see this situation and not
only we or the negotiating side. When our negotiating counterparts
come to the conclusion that there should be a logical solution, then
those solutions can be reached easily. When they approach the issue
realistically and besides preparing declarations really wish to solve
it, only then it will be solved. Expressing their complains after
the negotiation is not making the final solution closer, just on the
contrary it disturbs the negotiation process, and doubles the mistrust.

I would like to repeat that it’s wrong to cut a part from the
context of the negotiations, be they in the past or at present,
and try to speak about that special part. When they say that not
everything is negotiated if there is no agreement reached concerning
all the points, it’s enough to understand everything. I think that
it will be reasonable if we both, the Armenians and the Azerbaijani,
concentrate all our efforts on the present stage of the negotiations
and not to try to cut a part form the past talks and to present it
to their audience", – the President of Armenia said.

TWENTY-FIVE ANTI-HAIL STATIONS TO BE INSTALLED

/ARKA/
OCTOBER 22, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, October 22, /ARKA/. The government of Armenia has decided
today to increase its spending for 2009 by 250 million Drams, which
will be spent on installment of 25 anti-hail stations in eight
provinces of the country.

Agricultural minister Gerasim Alaveridan said the country’s
agriculture sustains each year $13-$20 million damages caused by
different calamities, half of which by hails. The minister said the
monitoring of the situation and information from provinces show that
virtually all regions of the country suffer from hails.

The minister also said the government of Japan for its part will
provide 250 million Drams for installment of 25 anti-hail stations
in Armavir and Ararat regions which will help protect a total of 3000
hectares of crops. The stations will be assembled in 2010 spring. ($1 –
387.18 Drams).

"NO RIOTS TOOK PLACE ON MARCH 1"

aykakan-zhamanak
07:13 pm | October 21, 2009

Politics

Judge Mnatsakan Martirosian today decided that Prosecutor Koriun
Piloyan should not be removed from the trial of editor-in-chief of
Haykakan Zhamanak daily Nikol Pashinian.

After spending 2,5 hours in the retiring room, Judge Martirosian
dismissed the advocates’ motion for Piloyan’s recusal and explained
to the parties their rights and responsibilities.

Pashinian’s advocate Ervand Varosian thinks no mass disorders took
place on March 1, 2008.

"In the absence of a riot, neither Pashinian, nor anyone else can
be considered the perpetrator of the riot. If Pashinian is charged
under Article 225 of the Criminal Code, the accusation must be deeply
grounded," said the advocate.

Speaking of Article 316 of the Criminal Code, the advocate reminded
that the article was adopted in October 2007. "This article covers
those who have suffered from the actions of police and aims to rid
the police of responsibility," said the lawyer.

Varosian demanded that Judge Martirosian dismiss the criminal
proceedings against Pashinian. The judge ignored the advocate’s
request finding it premature.

The advocates asked for 10 minutes to discuss their further action.

After the recess, the trial was adjourned till October 22.

The advocates had announced earlier that they were not able to work
with their client in jail, since their conversation was being recorded.

WEAKNESS IN TURKEY-AZERBAIJAN RELATIONS WRONG IMAGE: GUL AND ALIYEV

Tert
Oct 21 2009
Armenia

Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
had a phone conversation recently and clarified some misunderstandings
which had come about during a difficult period, reports Turkish news
agency Anadolu Ajansi.

President Gul informed President Aliyev about his talks with U.S.
President Barack Obama and Russian President Dimitriy Medvedev on
efforts to ensure peace and stability in the Caucasus.

The two leaders agreed that any image of weakness in Turkey-Azerbaijan
relations was completely wrong.

BATTLE OF THE FLAGS: FIFA WAS TO BLAME, SAYS ERDOGAN

Tert
Oct 21 2009
Armenia

Turkey considered Azerbaijani flag and territories as holy as Turkey’s,
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, reports
Turkish news agency Anadolu Ajansi.

Commenting on relations with Azerbaijan, Erdogan said he talked to
Azerbaijani parliamentarians and assessed the protocols signed with
Armenia. "I have told them that it is out of the question for Turkey
to take a step against Azerbaijan. Circles of instigation are trying
to mislead public with slanders. Azerbaijani brothers should not
allow them," Erdogan said.

Erdogan said Turkey looked after interests of Azerbaijan and considers
Azerbaijan’s sorrows as its own. "Azerbaijan’s happiness enhances
Turkey’s enthusiasm," he said.

"Nobody should misinterpret Turkey’s sincere efforts and friendly
position. Nobody should try to test Turkey," he noted.

"The progress recorded in Turkish-Azerbaijani relations in our 7-year
AK Party is clear. We did what was necessary," Erdogan said, adding
that it was FIFA’s decision not to allow Azerbaijani flags in the
national Armenia-Turkey football match in Bursa.

NORMALIZATION PROCESS TO START IN CASE ARMENIA FULFILLS OBLIGATIONS, DAVUTOGLU

Anadolu Agency
Oct 21 2009
Turkey

ANKARA (A.A) – 21.10.2009 – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
said on Wednesday that ways to normalization process would be paved
in case Armenia fulfilled its obligations.

Briefing the Parliament on the protocols signed between Turkey
and Armenia, Davutoglu said the protocol in question included the
expression ‘respect to territorial integrity and territorial immunity’.

"Kars and Moscow agreements arrange borders between Turkey and
Armenia. The protocol made references to those agreements," Davutoglu
said.

"Thus, it is also reaffirmed by Armenia that the claims that Turkey
and Armenia have border disputes and Armenia demands territories
do not have any legal validity. Both the Kars Agreement and Moscow
Agreement says Sevres Treaty was not accepted."

Davutoglu said the protocol texts included many provisions regarding on
which principles the relations would be carried out in case relations
were established between Turkey and Armenia.

Davutoglu said there were also provisions pertaining to establishment
of Joint History Commission.