Armenian News
Subject: ANKARA: Gul has first talks w/Medvedev, courtesy meeting w/Sarksyan
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Gül has first talks with Medvedev, `courtesy meeting' with Sarksyan
Gül (C) is seen chatting with his Armenian counterpart, Sarksyan, and Azerbaijani President Aliyev (L). Photo
Weekend festivities in Astana to celebrate the 10th birthday of the Kazakh capital city offered an opportunity for the first bilateral meeting between Turkey's President Abdullah Gül and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev since Medvedev's March election.
Astana was also the venue for a first courtesy meeting between Gül and Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan, elected in February. The three leaders, none of whom have yet concluded their first year in office, attended celebrations for the 10-year anniversary of the world's youngest capital, Astana, which was designated the country's leading city by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. On Saturday Gül and Medvedev held bilateral talks closed to the press on the sidelines of the Astana gathering. "Turkey and Russia are two countries whose relations with each other have been proceeding in regards to neighborhood, friendship and in every way. I believe that all of us will work in cooperation to carry our relations to a further level. As both you and we have this political will, I believe we can carry this out," Gül said, as the two leaders posed for the cameras ahead of their meeting.
Medvedev expressed pleasure over his meeting with Gül and pledged efforts for improving bilateral relations with Turkey. Later in the day, his presidential aide, Sergei Prikhodko, said Medvedev and Gül had agreed to exchange visits and discussed prospects for interaction between the two countries in the fields of investment and tourism.
Prikhodko said Medvedev had invited the Turkish president to make an official visit to Russia, while Gül said he would be glad to see his Russian colleague in his country.
During the meeting, the leaders of the two countries considered possibilities for increasing trade and expanding cooperation to carry out key infrastructure projects. "Abdullah Gül noted Turkish construction companies' great interest in realizing key infrastructure projects in Russia. Turkey showed interest in attracting construction companies to carry out tasks on the [Winter] Olympic Games in Sochi," Prikhodko said.
Also on Saturday Gül spoke briefly with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Sarksyan at the presidential Akorda Palace. Gül walked arm-in-arm with the two leaders for a while. During the walk, Sarksyan started the conversation, saying, "I know Turkish," in Turkish. However Aliyev assisted their conversation, acting as a translator.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Gül called his conversation with Sarksyan and Aliyev a "courtesy meeting." During the conversation he congratulated Sarksyan for his election to the presidency and told him that he had received a formal invitation to visit Yerevan for a football match in September, Gül said. "We are assessing the invitation," Gül briefly told reporters, when asked whether he would accept the invitation. Armenia and Turkey will play against each other in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Sept. 6 in a qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be held in South Africa.
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Gül has first talks with Medvedev, `courtesy meeting' with Sarksyan
Gül (C) is seen chatting with his Armenian counterpart, Sarksyan, and Azerbaijani President Aliyev (L). Photo
Weekend festivities in Astana to celebrate the 10th birthday of the Kazakh capital city offered an opportunity for the first bilateral meeting between Turkey's President Abdullah Gül and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev since Medvedev's March election.
Astana was also the venue for a first courtesy meeting between Gül and Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan, elected in February. The three leaders, none of whom have yet concluded their first year in office, attended celebrations for the 10-year anniversary of the world's youngest capital, Astana, which was designated the country's leading city by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. On Saturday Gül and Medvedev held bilateral talks closed to the press on the sidelines of the Astana gathering. "Turkey and Russia are two countries whose relations with each other have been proceeding in regards to neighborhood, friendship and in every way. I believe that all of us will work in cooperation to carry our relations to a further level. As both you and we have this political will, I believe we can carry this out," Gül said, as the two leaders posed for the cameras ahead of their meeting.
Medvedev expressed pleasure over his meeting with Gül and pledged efforts for improving bilateral relations with Turkey. Later in the day, his presidential aide, Sergei Prikhodko, said Medvedev and Gül had agreed to exchange visits and discussed prospects for interaction between the two countries in the fields of investment and tourism.
Prikhodko said Medvedev had invited the Turkish president to make an official visit to Russia, while Gül said he would be glad to see his Russian colleague in his country.
During the meeting, the leaders of the two countries considered possibilities for increasing trade and expanding cooperation to carry out key infrastructure projects. "Abdullah Gül noted Turkish construction companies' great interest in realizing key infrastructure projects in Russia. Turkey showed interest in attracting construction companies to carry out tasks on the [Winter] Olympic Games in Sochi," Prikhodko said.
Also on Saturday Gül spoke briefly with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Sarksyan at the presidential Akorda Palace. Gül walked arm-in-arm with the two leaders for a while. During the walk, Sarksyan started the conversation, saying, "I know Turkish," in Turkish. However Aliyev assisted their conversation, acting as a translator.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Gül called his conversation with Sarksyan and Aliyev a "courtesy meeting." During the conversation he congratulated Sarksyan for his election to the presidency and told him that he had received a formal invitation to visit Yerevan for a football match in September, Gül said. "We are assessing the invitation," Gül briefly told reporters, when asked whether he would accept the invitation. Armenia and Turkey will play against each other in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Sept. 6 in a qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be held in South Africa.
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07 July 2008, Monday
ARMENIAN MONASTERIES IN IRAN ADDED TO WORLD HERITAGE LIST
Cultural Heritage News Agency
7 July 2008
Tehran
The Armenian Monastic Ensembles in Iran, in the north-east of the country, consists of three monastic ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith Fortified Armenian monasteries in Iran were added to the new sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The Armenian Monastic Ensembles in the north-east of the country, consists of three monastic ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith: St Thaddeus, St Stepanos, and the Chapel of Dzordzor.
Fortified Armenian monasteries in Iran were added to the new sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List on 6 July.
The Armenian Monastic Ensembles in Iran, in the north-east of the country, consists of three monastic ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith: St Thaddeus and St Stepanos and the Chapel of Dzordzor. Theseedifices - the oldest of which, St Thaddeus, dates back to the 7th century - are examples of outstanding universal value of the Armenian architectural and decorative traditions.
They bear testimony to very important interchanges with the other regional cultures, in particular the Byzantine, Orthodox and Persian. Situated on the south-eastern fringe of the main zone of the Armenian cultural space, the monasteries constituted a major centre for the dissemination of that culture into Azerbayjan and Persia. They are the last regional remains of this culture that are still in a satisfactory state of integrity and authenticity. Furthermore, as places of pilgrimage, the monastic ensembles are living witnesses of Armenian religious traditions through the centuries.
This is the fourth cultural site to be added onto UNESCO's World Heritage List since the start of the current session of the World Heritage Committee today. The three properties inscribed earlier today were: Le Morne Cultural Landscape in Mauritius, The Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih) in Saudi Arabia, and the Fujian Tulou in China.
Iran had eight historical sites on the UNESCO list. Pasargadae, Bam and its Cultural Landscape, Tchogha Zanbil, Persepolis, Meidan Emam in Esfahan, Bisotun, Takht-e Soleyman and Soltaniyeh, the mausoleum of Oljaytu. So magnificent Armenian monastic ensembles in Azerbaijan province becomes its ninth inscription on the World Heritage List.
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Armenian Ombudsman Asks For Armed Protection
By Ruzanna Khachatrian
Armenia's embattled human rights obudsman, Armen Harutiunian, has asked the National Security Service (NSS) to assign armed bodyguards to him and members of his family.
In a letter to the NSS Director Gorik Hakobian made public by his press service on Monday, Harutiunian said they need five bogyuards and two vehicles for that purpose. He said one of the requested cars would escort his personal limousine while the other would cater for his family members.
Harutiunian cited a clause in Armenia's law on state human rights defender that entitles him and his closest relatives to armed protection by the state. He did not explain why he needs such
protection now, more than two years after being elected by parliament on the recommendation of then President Robert Kocharian.
`There is no particular reason for my step,' Harutiunian told RFE/RL.
`I just decided to make use of my legal right.'
Harutiunian, who previously advised Kocharian on constitutional law, has been increasingly at odds with the Armenian authorities in recent months over their harsh response to opposition demonstrations sparked by the disputed presidential election of February 19.
The dispute has centered on the use of lethal force against thousands of supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian who barricaded themselves outside the Yerevan mayor's office hours after the break-up of their 10-day sit-in in the city's Liberty Square on March 1. The authorities have defended their actions, saying that security forces that tried to disperse the angry crowd were not only pelted with stones and Molotov cocktails but also came under gunfire.
Harutiunian cast doubt on the credibility of the official theory in an extensive report issued in late April. The report, cited by European Union and Council of Europe officials, said in particular
that the Armenian police have yet to publicize any evidence of the use of firearms by the protesters.
Armenia's Office of the Prosecutor-General and the Ministry of Justice voiced strong objections to the ombudsman's findings in separate reports released in late May. Speaking at special parliamentary hearings on the controversy held in early June, the heads of the two government agencies said that Harutiunian's reportis based on `unfounded' opposition claims and is therefore not objective. The ombudsman rejected the claims.
By Ruzanna Khachatrian
Armenia's embattled human rights obudsman, Armen Harutiunian, has asked the National Security Service (NSS) to assign armed bodyguards to him and members of his family.
In a letter to the NSS Director Gorik Hakobian made public by his press service on Monday, Harutiunian said they need five bogyuards and two vehicles for that purpose. He said one of the requested cars would escort his personal limousine while the other would cater for his family members.
Harutiunian cited a clause in Armenia's law on state human rights defender that entitles him and his closest relatives to armed protection by the state. He did not explain why he needs such
protection now, more than two years after being elected by parliament on the recommendation of then President Robert Kocharian.
`There is no particular reason for my step,' Harutiunian told RFE/RL.
`I just decided to make use of my legal right.'
Harutiunian, who previously advised Kocharian on constitutional law, has been increasingly at odds with the Armenian authorities in recent months over their harsh response to opposition demonstrations sparked by the disputed presidential election of February 19.
The dispute has centered on the use of lethal force against thousands of supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian who barricaded themselves outside the Yerevan mayor's office hours after the break-up of their 10-day sit-in in the city's Liberty Square on March 1. The authorities have defended their actions, saying that security forces that tried to disperse the angry crowd were not only pelted with stones and Molotov cocktails but also came under gunfire.
Harutiunian cast doubt on the credibility of the official theory in an extensive report issued in late April. The report, cited by European Union and Council of Europe officials, said in particular
that the Armenian police have yet to publicize any evidence of the use of firearms by the protesters.
Armenia's Office of the Prosecutor-General and the Ministry of Justice voiced strong objections to the ombudsman's findings in separate reports released in late May. Speaking at special parliamentary hearings on the controversy held in early June, the heads of the two government agencies said that Harutiunian's reportis based on `unfounded' opposition claims and is therefore not objective. The ombudsman rejected the claims.
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Key Armenian Official Sacked
By Karine Kalantarian
The longtime head of an Armenian government agency issuing passports and visas was sacked on Monday less than two weeks after being publicly accused of corruption by Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian.
Colonel Alvina Zakarian, widely thought to be a figure close to President Serzh Sarkisian, headed the Department of Passports and Visas of the Armenian police for more than 15 years.
The agency, better known as OVIR, is also responsible for granting residency permits to foreigners, processing applications for Armenian citizenship and dealing with other immigration-related matters. In recent years it has also been granted the authority to draw up and update Armenia's notoriously inaccurate voter lists.
The police gave no official reason for Zakarian's sacking. The development has been anticipated since a June 26 session of the Armenian government during which Prime Minister Sarkisian called corruption `the number one problem' facing the country and singled out OVIR as one of the most corrupt government agencies.
`We are receiving numerous complaints from both our citizens and [Diaspora] compatriots visiting Armenia,' Sarkisian told ministers.
`Clearly we have a problem in this sphere and that problem is corruption, when a service is provided on behalf of the state but some people set tariffs and extort money. I think the environment there is such that we can't tolerate it.'
`I am asking the chief of the police present proposals about what measures we need to take there in order to quickly improve the quality of services which we provide to our citizens,' he said.
OVIR and its controversial chief have long faced corruption allegations but it was the first time that they were effectively endorsed by a senior government official.
Zakarian has also been a target of frequent opposition attacks ever since her agency officially certified in early 1998 that then Prime Minister Robert Kocharian has permanently resided in Armenia for the previous ten years and can therefore run for president. Kocharian had served as president of Nagorno-Karabakh before moving to Yerevan in 1997. His opponents say he was therefore not eligible to stand in the presidential elections held in 1998 and 2003.
Opposition politicians have also accused OVIR of manipulating voter lists and issuing tens of thousands of fake passports to bribed voters to ensure Serzh Sarkisian's and his Republican Party's victory in Armenia's last presidential and parliamentary elections. Zakarian and other government officials have strongly denied these allegations.
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