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News, 27 Nov, 2009.
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 October 27 assassins enjoy a break with friends in Nubarashen prison. Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian ordered an inquiry on Thursday after the publication of a revealing prison photograph that shows the editor of a pro-government newspaper in the company of three men serving life sentences for politically motivated murders. The photo, which appeared on the front-page of the pro-opposition daily "Haykakan Zhamanak," shows Artyom Khachatrian, of the "Azatamtutiun" newspaper, and one of his aides drinking coffee and soft drinks with the convicts at Yerevan’s Nubarashen prison. All five men smiled as they had their picture taken by an unknown photographer. Two of them, Derenik Bejanian and Eduard Grigorian, were among the gunmen that had burst into Armenia’s parliament in October 1999, killing its speaker Karen Demirchian, Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian and six other officials. They share their prison cell with Arsen Ardzruni, a former member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation convicted of being a member of a death squad that had allegedly operated in the early 1990s. "Haykakan Zhamanak" called the photograph scandalous, saying that Khachatrian’s joint appearance with the convicted assassins was a serious breach of prison regulations. "What common things do they have to discuss and to do?" it asked in a dig at the editor who is reputed to have close ties to the government. The Ministry of Justice, which oversees Armenia’s prison, said later in the day that Danielian ordered ministry officials to look into the picture and determine whether the Nubarashen administration violated rules regulating visits to prison inmates. "The inquiry will show whether there was a violation," Lana Mshetsian, a ministry spokeswoman, told RFE/RL. Read the full article at http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/1888795.html / Also covered by ARAVOT- 11/27
NKR warns of Azerbaijan's bellicose intentions. HAYOTS ASHKHAR, HAYASTANI HANRAPETUTIUN and HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK (11-26) publish a statement issued by the "National Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh" asserting that the latest developments prove the non-constructive attitude of Azerbaijan. The authors of the statement affirm that Azerbaijan is just prolonging the process as it prepares for a new war. "Under these conditions, the Artsakh parliament views the statements of Azerbaijani high-ranking officials as an expression of a hopeless negotiating party full of dangers for peace settlement. The NKR government has repeatedly warned international organizations about Azerbaijan's aggressive foreign policy, accompanied by regular breaches of the cease-fire on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan. With this statement, the NKR parliament hopes to focus the attention of the OSCE Minsk group, mediator countries' parliaments, OSCE and CoE on these dangerous developments. The NKR parliament proposes that the NKR foreign ministry release this statement at the forthcoming OSCE Ministers' Council session in Athens."
Armenia ready to defend itself. HAYOTS ASHKHAR (11/27) quotes Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian saying that Armenia is not concerned over militant statements of the Azeri president. According to Ohanian, Aliyev's statements are made for domestic consumption and the Armenian army maintains its combat readiness and can fulfill the tasks at hand.
CSTO ready to defend Armenia,... AZG (11/27) touches upon Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s comments on the recent militaristic statements of Azerbaijan. According to the paper, President Medvedev announce on November 25 in Brussels that any foreign aggression against a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member country will be followed by assistance (including military) by all other CSTO member states. The paper notes that, according to the Russian President, an attack on Armenia will mean an attack on the CSTO.
...or will it? A senior lawmaker affiliated with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun) elaborated on his party’s unexpectedly strong criticism of Russia’s growing ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Vahan Hovhannisian said on Wednesday that Moscow’s policies related to the South Caucasus are becoming "very dangerous" for Armenia, its main regional ally. He did elaborate. Hrayr Karapetian, another Dashnaktsutiun leader who heads the Armenian parliament’s Committee on Defense and Security, spoke with alarm about Russia’s deepening military cooperation with Armenia’s two main foes, which he said runs counter to a military alliance binding the two nations. "We have problems with Russia and other allies. Everything is not going smoothly. There are facts showing military cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan contrary to the spirit and letter of the Collective Security Treaty." Karapetian was particularly worried about a plan for joint military activities for next year that was recently signed by the defense ministers of Azerbaijan and Russia. "This makes us wonder, 'What is the difference between us and Azerbaijan?' We are a member of the CSTO, Azerbaijan is not. Is it worth deepening military cooperation with a country whose representatives periodically make bellicose statements?"/ Covered by RFE/RL and all newspapers 11/27
Progress on N-K in Munich? HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK (11-26) quotes an article from Hurriyet which says that progress was actually registered in Munich as Armenia has finally agreed to withdraw its forces from five "occupied" territories. The article also claims that Armenia has also agreed to withdraw its forces from Kelbajar and Lachin, but only after the status of the Lachin corridor is determined.
Armenia and Iran discuss cooperation. Citing Iribnews, AZG and 168 ZHAM (11-26) report that visa regime simplification and visa fee decreases were discussed during a meeting of Armenian and Iranian Foreign Ministry officials in Tehran. The two sides also touched upon development of economic ties, student exchanges, cooperation in law-enforcement, the fight against narcotics, and cooperation between the police of the two countries.
All is well in Armenian-Georgian relations. On November 26, National Security Council Secretary Artur Baghdasarian welcomed the recently appointed Georgian Ambassador to Armenia Grigor Tabatadze. Baghdasaryan and Tabatadze both agreed that Armenian-Georgian relations are anchored on solid ground, and that there are no issues between the two countries that cannot be mutually resolved. The Georgian ambassador reassured Baghdasarian that the Armenian church which collapsed from heavy rains in Tbilisi recently will be reconstructed within a year’s time, and that the issues in Javakhq have the full attention of Georgia’s governing authorities./ AZG, HAYOTS ASHKHAR
Financial support from the EU. AZG (11/26) writes that, at its plenary session, the European Parliament voted 550 for, 56 against, and 60 abstentions, to provide 100 million Euros of macro-financial assistance to Armenia. The daily says that 65 million would take the form of a loan and 35 million would be a grant. If approved by the EU Ministerial Council, the sum will be provided to Armenia in 2010.
President Sargsian in Minsk for EurAsEC. According to HAYOTS ASHKHAR and HAYASTANI HANRAPETUTIUN (11/27), President Sargsian has departed for Minsk to participate in the works of the session of the EurAsEC Inter-State Council. In this organization Armenia has status as an observer.
Armenian and Russian cooperation in disaster relief. The Armenian and Russian ministers of emergency situations signed a memorandum of cooperation in Moscow, according to which the sides highlighted the importance of coordinating activities and collaborative work. The two sides intend to sign agreements on preventing disasters and reducing their consequences, as well as offering assistance during disasters in CSTO member-states and working out a joint approach to rescue work./ HAYOTS ASHKHAR - 11/27
"Democracy Forum" in Armenia? ARAVOT (11-27) writes that former speaker of the People's Party Ruzan Khachatrian met with the head of the Swedish delegation to the Council of Europe Goran Lindblad, who reportedly compared the actions of Armenian authorities to Stalin's methods. He said that Armenia, as well as other post soviet countries, are far from being democratic and continue using Bolshevik methods. That is the supposed reason for Lindblad's opposition to organizing a "Democracy Forum" in Armenia.
All aboard! Two ministers and seven other senior government officials close to Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian have applied for membership in the governing Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), it emerged on Wednesday. Eduard Sharmazanov, the chief HHK spokesman, told RFE/RL (11/26) that Finance Minister Tigran Davtian, Economy Minister Nerses Yeritsian and the other officials will likely be handed membership cards during Saturday’s congress of the party, led by President Sargsian. He said the applicants also include the chief of the prime minister’s staff, one of his advisers and Deputy Finance Minister Vartan Aramian. None of the top officials has given any public explanations of their moves, which were announced shortly after the Prime Minister formally joined the HHK. Their decision to follow suit was described as "natural" by Razmik Zohrabian, a deputy chairman of the HHK. "The officials are on the prime minister’s team," argued Zohrabian. Local observers regard the development as an expression of President Sargsian’s unwavering support for his reformist prime minister. Some have speculated that the head of state is thus sending a clear message to parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamian and other pro-government figures in and outside the HHK who are allegedly trying to undercut the Armenian premier. "You would not be mistaken to believe that if a person has a party affiliation, he complies with the party’s decisions," Zohrabian told RFE/RL. "Today there is a need [for the country’s leadership] to act as a united team. In that sense, the prime minister, and perhaps some ministers, should be party members."
Turks and Armenians talk about gender issues. According to AZG and HAYASTANI HANRAPETUTIUN (11/27), a delegation of Turkish intellectuals and several public organizations working on gender problems visited the Armenian National Assembly on Thursday where they met with female MPs. The sides agreed that such meeting are important and will help activate the Armenian-Turkish dialogue. The Turkish delegation is in Armenia as part of the program "European Integration and Gender problems" of the Urban Development Fund.
To your marks! HAYOTS ASHKHAR (11/27) writes that yesterday was the registration deadline of candidates for the election in the precinct 10. The candidates are non-partisans Hmayak Hovhannisian and Nikol Pashinian, Ara Simonian from National Unity Party, and Davit Hakobian, head of the Armenian Marxist party. HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK (11/26) quotes Hmayak Hovhannisian saying he will withdraw his candidacy in favor of Nikol Pashinian on the eve of the elections.
Mortgage lending support is helping economy. The Armenian authorities insisted on Thursday that a special state fund, set up by earlier this year, is succeeding in facilitating mortgage lending and thereby bolstering a key sector of the national economy. The creation of the National Mortgage Company (NMC) was part of the authorities’ broader efforts to cushion the negative impact of the global credit crunch on Armenia. The NMC is supposed to make housing loans cheaper and more accessible to Armenians by at least partly guaranteeing their repayment to commercial banks. The fund, controlled by the Central Bank of Armenia, currently has an authorized capital of 17 billion drams ($44 million), mostly drawn from a $500 million anti-crisis loan disbursed to Yerevan by Russia’s government. It is expected to receive 20 million euros ($30 million) in additional funding from the German government soon. Read the full article at http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/1888791.html-11/27 |
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