Still no progress in Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Although the Minsk Group Co-Chairs often visit this conflict zone of Caucasus and run negotiations, during the last 4-5 months many Armenian soldiers were killed along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh.

Periodical ceasefire violations are committed by Azerbaijani forces. As the violations continue in the conflict zone and there is no progress in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks, Baku goes on with threats of force solution.

Last month during a summit in Kazan City presidents Serzh Sarkisian, Ilham Aliyev and Dmitry Medvedev discussed this issue, but seems negotiations failed.

After the meeting in Kazan Ilham Aliyev was asked by Euronews journalist, "What is Azerbaijan prepared to give in the case of withdrawal of Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh? Is Azerbaijan offering something in return?"

Aliyev, " Actually we don't have to give anything back for something that belonged to us in the first place. Nagorno-Karabakh is a historic land of Azerbaijan and internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan".

Let me remind a piece of history here. Nagorno-Karabakh was first settled by Noah's descendants. In the 5th century ruler Aran was appointed to be the first governor of the territory. Armenian historiography author Movses Khorenatsi name of it Aran the ancestor inhabitants of Artsakh and Utik, the descendant of Sisak, the ancestor and eponym of Syunik and finally the descendant Hayk, the ancestor and eponym of all Armenians.

During the 13-14th centuries the territory was called Kingdom of Artsakh or Khachen. In 1730, after the death of David Bek, the ruler of Artsakh (Karabakh), Turkish tribes managed to dominate most of the territory of Artsakh and in the late 50s they proclaimed the Khanate of Karabakh.

This comes to prove that in 1994 Armenians just liberated Artsakh, which historically belonged to Armenians.

And what is most amazing, is the aggressive and intolerable attitude and behavior of young Azerbaijanis.

The Caucasus Triangle Movie

After a long period of absence I'm back, the cause was my over-business. However during this time a lot of things and ideas were born and stayed in my head.

A few weeks ago I learned about this movie "The Caucasus Triangle", which is a documentary on youth media and democracy in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Director of this documentary is Letizia Gambini and the film was produced in 2011.

http://vimeo.com/23790146

The focus is mainly on Azerbaijan, but it is definitely worth watching.

Starring are Gor Baghdasaryan, Onnik Krikorian, Alexander Arzoumanyan, Robert Arzoumanyan. The film touches such issues as human rights, youth activism, culture and politics of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

I strongly recommend to watch this documentary. Though I would like the director to go deep into problems in these conflict zones.

We Consider the Current Phase of Normalization Exhausted

President Serzh Sargsyan's address on Armenia-Turkey relations on April 22.

"Fellow Armenians;
A year has passed since the Armenian-Turkish-Swiss joint statement on steps to normalize the relations between Armenia and Turkey. During this period, the two Protocols aimed at normalization of the relations have been publicized, discussed in the public domain, and signed. The documents have for quite a lengthy time now been in the parliaments of Armenia and Turkey, awaiting ratification. Armenia has all along demonstrated her commitment to the process of normalization of relations, to the point of including the Protocols in the agenda of the National Assembly. We have made clear to the whole world that our position is nothing but firmly constructive. We have stated that, if Turkey ratified the Protocols, as agreed, without preconditions and in a reasonable timeframe, failure by the Armenian Parliament to ratify them would be precluded.

Now, the time has come to gauge the notion of a “reasonable timeframe” and whether a conduct is “without preconditions.” These criteria were set forth by not only Armenia, but also all the mediators involved in the process, all of our international partners.
For a whole year, Turkey’s senior officials have not spared public statements in the language of preconditions. For a whole year, Turkey has done everything to protract time and fail the process. Hence, our conclusion and position are straightforward:
1. Turkey is not ready to continue the process that was started and to move forward without preconditions in line with the letter of the Protocols.
2. The reasonable timeframes have, in our opinion, elapsed. The Turkish practice of passing the 24th of April at any cost is simply unacceptable.
3. We consider unacceptable the pointless efforts of making the dialogue between Armenia and Turkey an end in itself; from this moment on, we consider the current phase of normalization exhausted.

My Fellow Armenians;
During this period, I have discussed and continue discussing the future of the process launched with Turkey with Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Barack Obama of the United States, Dmitri Medvedev of Russia, as well as our colleagues in a number of European organizations. We are grateful to them for supporting our initiative, encouraging the process, and exerting efforts to secure progress. The matter of the fact is that our partners have urged us to continue the process, rather than to discontinue it.
Out of respect for them, their efforts, and their sincere aspirations, we have decided after consulting our Coalition partners and the National Security Council not to exit the process for the time being, but rather, to suspend the procedure of ratifying the Protocols. We believe this to be in the best interests of our nation.

Armenia shall retain her signature under the Protocols, because we desire to maintain the existing momentum for normalizing relations, because we desire peace. Our political objective of normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey remains valid, and we shall consider moving forward when we are convinced that there is a proper environment in Turkey and there is leadership in Ankara ready to reengage in the normalization process.
While announcing to the world the end of the current phase of the process, which was launched with the September 2008 match between the national football teams of Armenia and Turkey, I express gratitude to President Abdullah Gül of Turkey for political correctness displayed throughout this period and the positive relationship that developed between us.

Fellow Compatriots;
In two days, we will commemorate the 95th anniversary of the first genocide of the 20th century, the remembrance day of the Armenian Genocide. Our struggle for the international recognition of the Genocide continues. If some circles in Turkey attempt to use our candor to our detriment, to manipulate the process to avoid the reality of the 24th of April, they should know all too well that the 24th of April is the day that symbolizes the Armenian Genocide, but in no way shall it mark the time boundary of its international recognition.
We express our gratitude to all the states, organizations, and individuals that support us in deploring and preventing crimes against humanity. We are also grateful to all those Turkish intellectuals that struggle for the restoration of historical justice and share our grief. On this eve of the 95th anniversary, we call upon everyone to remember that the memory of one and a half million innocent victims exterminated under a state-orchestrated program merely for being Armenian continues to pose before mankind the demand for recognition and condemnation.

Fellow Compatriots;
We are stronger today than ever before and stand straight as always. Henceforth, our efforts for a better Armenia, a better region, a better world, and a more solid unity of Armenians worldwide will only multiply. Rest assured that results will be visible all along. God bless us!"

Armenia-Turkey protocols

Armenia-Turkey Protocols signed in Zurich
10.10.2009

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu signed the Protocols envisaging normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations on Saturday. The ceremony took place in presence of Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland Charles Aznavour and Turkey’s Ambassador to Switzerland Oguz Demiral, Slovenia's Foreign Minister, Chair of CoE Committee of Ministers Samuel Zbogar.

Leading figures in the international community have voiced optimism over the signing of two landmark protocols for restoring ties and opening the shared border on Saturday by Armenia and Turkey, with the UN secretary-general urging the parties to swiftly ratify the protocols. The Turkish and Armenian parliaments must now approve the deal, in the face of opposition from nationalists on both sides and an Armenian diaspora which insists that Turkey acknowledge the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I as genocide.
“The secretary-general welcomes the signing today in Zurich of the two protocols aimed at normalizing the relations between Armenia and Turkey,” a statement issued by a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon read. “This historic decision constitutes a milestone toward the establishment of good neighborly relations and the development of bilateral cooperation between both countries. The secretary-general is confident that this development will also contribute to peace, security and stability in the South Caucasus,” the statement said.
In a joint statement, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn called the signing “a courageous and far-sighted step forward.” “The signature of the protocols confirms the desire of both Turkey and Armenia to turn a page and build a new future. This opens new perspectives for the solution of conflicts, notably in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the EU statement said.

The ceremony, scheduled for around 8 p.m. Yerevan time was delayed when the Armenian delegation objected to a statement that the Turkish side wanted to add to the proceedings. It is believed that the statement was intended to link the Nagorno Karabakh settlement to the rapprochement process – a condition the Armenians have objected to from the start of negotiations.

The signing ceremony resumed around 11:15 p.m. Yerevan time (8:15 p.m. in Zurich) at the University of Zurich. Neither side issued a statement following the signing as had initially been planned, an idea apparently scrapped as a consequence of the dispute that led to the signing delay.Against the support came a lashing from the powerful Armenian National Committee of America saying: "The Obama Administration's attempts to force Armenia into one-sided concessions . . . is short-sighted and will, in the long term, create more problems that it serves."

Also on Friday, multiple thousands in Yerevan streets voiced the disdain of political parties at home and other Diaspora organizations – most sympathetic to Armenia’s oldest party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaksutsyun. As they have since the protocols were announced August 31, the Dashnaks led the largest anti-government rally seen since February 2008, when oppositionists crowds swelled daily, prior to further events that led to Armenia’s worst violence on March 1, 2008 when 10 were killed and more than 200 injured in street warfare.Opposition to the protocols has centered on two main concerns believed to be implied in the documents.First: The establishment of a historical commission to debate events of 1915-18 in Ottoman Turkey is widely feared at home as legitimizing Turkey’s claims that the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians has been mischaracterized as “genocide” by the Armenians (and 22 governments that have passed legislation recognizing it), when in fact according to the Turks they, too, suffered at the hands of the Armenians in collateral impact of World War I.Second:

The protocols call for “recognition of territorial integrity” of borders, a condition that has a two-prong impact.
One: It could imply that Armenia must concede its “occupation” of land internationally-recognized as belonging to Azerbaijan around the Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabakh.

Two: It could mean that, by recognizing Turkey’s current border it would negate legal claims currently in debate by Genocide survivors who have called for reparation and indeed for compensation for land they say was stolen from their ancestors in the 1915-18 displacement of Armenians from what is now Turkey.In any case, ink on the pages put these protocols into the machine of diplomatic process that is next to see them ratified or rejected by parliaments of both countries. With ratification expected, the result would mean that within two months borders between Armenia-Turkey would be opened for the first time since Turkey closed them in 1993.

Grozny

This is our new shopping center "Berkat" ("Welfare")

Building in front of "Berkat". It's said, all cultural organizations and main library of Grozny will be transfered here...

Grozny

"Civil" clothes for students

Beginning from the 1st of April the security of the Chechen State University (CSU) checks and control not only presence of headscarves on girls’ heads and their size, but also uniform.

Rumors about clothes for students were heard at the end of last year. Most of students hoped it’s just a rumor but - as it usually happens - “there is no smoke without a fire” and a new shop for students called “Elegant” began its work at the end of March.

A jacket, a vest, a neckties for boys and headscarves for girls and, if a boy doesn’t have proper trousers and a girl – skirt, they can buy them right in the shop. So the total cost of the suit is 5 000 rubles (≈$145), while the average monthly grant of the students is 1000 rubles (≈$30).
“Every best European institutions of higher education has its own uniform, it’s an honor of the institution” – says a pro-rector of the university Kerimov M.

As says the pro-rector an idea to introduce the uniform appeared after some brawl which took place not far from CSU. And though there were students of other institutions mass media spread news that the instigators were students of CSU.

“It often happens that students brawl. But wherever it happens it’s said the initiators were the CSU’s students, though there can be students of the Chechen State Pedagogical Institute or students of Oil institute or anybody else. That’s why we want our students to stand out in a crowd. Also we want to inoculate the youth to wear civil clothes; want make them feel proud for their university” says the pro-rector.

Fashions of the uniform were designed in Moscow and made in Turkey. Also the direction is going to open a tailoring shop right in the “Elegant” so students could take the uniform in their figure if there’s need to do it.

Now the uniform issue is solved – every student wears “civil” clothes and anybody who’ll be caught without it can say “Good bye” to CSU.