ARF Armenia rep tours South and North America

In Argentine, Brazil and Uruguay

BUENOS AIRES - Armenian National Assembly member and Armenian Revolutionary Federation Armenia Executive Council representative Rouben Hakobian visited various South American Armenian communities during the period of May 15-25. Hakobian, who was invited to the continent for various speaking engagements on the occasion of Armenian Independence Day (May 28), was also able to conduct several political and official meetings.

With the cooperation of the ARF-Central Committee of South America representative Roupen Kojayan and ARF San Pablo chapter members, Hakobian met with the San Pablo State Secretary Walter Feldman, with whom he discussed various socio-political issues facing Armenia and the Armenian nation. They also exchanged ideas on economic issues, as well as matters concerning Nagorno-Karabakh and the peace process.

Hakobian visited Uruguay on May 18 and 19, and in Montevideo, along with members of the local Armenian National Committee, met with members of parliament, in particular with the head of the parliament’s International and Foreign Relations Committee Dr. Jose Louis Gajoi, as well as members of the committee Dr. Washington Abdalayi, Dr. Gustavo Pendessi and Dr. Jolanda Ventaquri. During conversations, the committee members declared their support for the Armenian republic.

Upon returning to Argentina on May 20, Hakobian met with former Argentin president Dr. Raul Ricardo Alfonsin. Accompanying Hakobian to the meeting were ARF Bureau member Mario Nalbandian, as well as members of the Armenian National Committee of South America.

In his discussion with Alfonsin, Hakobian conveyed to the leader his concerns of the difficult position Armenia finds itself following the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Lisbon Summit, where Armenia was isolated for its firm stance regarding the Karabakh conflict. Alfonsin asserted that he shares the ARF’s concerns in regards to this issue, and he declared his complete support for the rights of the Armenians, just as he had done in 1987, when he officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, despite the pressures put on the Foreign Ministry by the Turkish government.

At the invitation of Dr. Fernando Mavrette, Hakobian met with the parliament’s International Relations Committee, of which Mavrette is the chair. Mavrette, too, announced his complete support for the Armenian nation’s struggle to attain its rights, and suggested the cultivation of relations between Armenian and Argentin parliamentarians.

Hakobian also met with parliamentarian Dr. Carlos Raymondi, Senator Jose Antonio Romero Ferisi, the head of the Argentine Radical faction Dr. Federico Starani, along with former deputy foreign minister Raul Alconada Sempe, former justice minister Leon Carlos Arslanian, parliamentarian Gijermo Estevez Boeroy, as well as Social Democrat leader Rouben Justinian.

On May 23, Hakobian visited the Cordoba State legislature, and held meetings with assembly members and senators.

Accompanying Hakobian to all the meetings were members of the Armenian National Committee of Argentine, as well as the ARF Central Committee of South America.

In Canada

Hakopian’s next stop was Canada, where during May 26-June 1, he addressed the local Armenian communities in Toronto and Montreal. Hakopian also met with Mr. Sarkis Assadourian and Mrs. Eleni Bakopanos, Members of the Canadian House of Commons, as well as former Defence Minister Mr. David Collonette.

On May 29, Hakopian visited Ottawa accompanied by representatives of the ARF Central Committee of Canada and the Armenian National Committee of Canada. At the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Hakopian met with high-ranking officials. Among the issues discussed were the efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict. The ARF leader stressed the fact that on the issue of Karabakh the Armenian political parties put their differences aside and form a united front, because Karabakh is a matter of national servival for Armenia and the Armenian people.

While in Ottawa, Hakopian also visited the headquarters of the New Democratic Party of Canada and was acquainted with the parliamentary election campaign of the NDP.

In the United States

Visiting Washington D.C. on June 2, Rouben Hakobian began a four-day series of high-level meetings on Nagorno-Karabakh and other regional issues with senior Clinton Administration officials, Members of Congress and leading prominent analysts, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

In each of his meetings, Hakobian stressed that the United States must play a constructive role in the Karabakh peace talks by helping to facilitate direct negotiations between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan. He emphasized that solutions imposed by outside parties cannot lead to a lasting settlement and will, in fact, only contribute to continued instability.

Hakobian pointed to the statement last December in Lisbon by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office as an example of a failed effort to circumvent the negotiation process and impose a predetermined solution on the parties.

Throughout his discussions, Hakobian underscored that there is complete unity among all Armenian political forces in support of Nagorno-Karabakh. Hakobian also addressed a number of other regional and domestic issues, and expressed optimism regarding the future of the democratic movement in Armenia.

Among the Administration figures with whom Hakobian met were officials with the National Security Council and Vice-President Al Gore’s office. At the State Department, Hakobian met with a range of senior officials responsible for US policy toward the New Independent States and the Caucasus region.

During a day of visitations on Capitol Hill, which included a special gathering of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, Hakobian met with, among others, Representatives Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Steve Rothman (D-NJ), who serves on the International Relations Committee, and Joseph Knollenberg (R-Mich.), who serves on the House panel responsible for writing the foreign aid bill.

Hakobian’s briefing to the Armenian Issues Caucus of the US House of Representatives, which was hosted by Caucus Co-chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and John Edward Porter (R-Ill.), focused primarily on Nagorno-Karabakh and related concerns regarding regional stability. After being introduced by Co-Chair Rep. Pallone, he presented a 20-minute outline of the factors which are currently shaping the region and stressed the need for a negotiated resolution of the Karabakh conflict which fully respects Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination within defensible borders. Following this briefing, Hakobian fielded questions for more than an hour from Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), the only Armenian-American in Congress, Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas.), and representatives from more than 20 Congressional offices. Hakobian also held meetings with a number of analysts dealing with the Caucasus region, as well as with leading international affairs think tanks.

Following his Washington visit, Hakopian traveled to Detroit, Chicago, Boston, Providence and New York, where he addressed community gatherings organized by the local chapters of the ARF.

Meeting with Swedish Social Democratic Party reps

STOCKHOLM - On May 28, Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau member Mario Nalbandian and ARF Scandinavian regional representative Sarkis Panossian met with Roger Hallhag, Eastern Europe representative of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.

During the meeting at the national headquarters of the Social Democratic Party, the sides discussed, among other issues, the current socio-political and economic situation in the Caucasus region, specifically matters of concern to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The leaders also exchanged ideas and concerns on the current Karabakh peace-process within the framework of the OSCE-Minsk Group, of which Sweden is a member country, and an active participant in the Karabakh negotiations. The representatives also examined issues of bilateral relations and future cooperation between the two parties.

On the same day, the ARF delegation met with Tone Tingsgard, member of the Swedish Parliament; issues regarding Armenia and Karabakh were addressed. Tingsgard, who has visited Armenia, is familiar with the political and economic situation in the republic.

Meeting with Danish Social Democratic Party reps

COPENHAGEN- On May 29, an Armenian Revolutionary Federation delegation headed by Bureau member Mario Nalbandian and including Sarkis Panossian met with international affairs coordinator of the Danish Social Democratic party Erik Boel.

During the meeting, the current socio-economic and political conditions in the Caucasus, as well as Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh were discussed. The two sides also discussed extending cooperation between the two parties and future considerations and projects.

While in Copenhagen, Nalbandian also participated in the Global Labor Summit organized by the Danish General Workers Union. The summit tackled the issues of globalization and its impact on developing countries, the issues facing newly industrialized nations, obstacles facing changing economies and trade union/political strategies in those countries.

Representatives of political and labor organizations from Denmark, Russia, Lithuania, South Africa, Nicaragua, the US, Canada and others addressed the summit.

Meeting with the US and British Ambassadors to Armenia

YEREVAN - In early April, representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Executive Council of Armenia Roupen Hakopian and Hrair Karapetian met with the newly appointed Great Britain Ambassador to Armenia John Mitchner.

The meeting which took place at the invitation of the ambassador, addressed Armenia-Great Britain relation.

At the request of the ambassador, the ARF representatives presented the party’s view on Armenia’s internal and foreign policy. The meeting concluded with a mutual agreement for open communication and frequent meetings.

Earlier, the US ambassador to Armenia had visited the office of Roupen Hakopian, ARF Executive Council member and member of the Armenian National Assembly, and held a meeting with representatives of the ARF Executive Council of Armenia.

Among the issues discussed was Armenia’s internal political situation.

Russian, Armenian relations discussed

MOSCOW - A conference, organized by the Russian-Armenian Cooperation Fund and the Russian Socio-Political Center Fund, dedicated to Russian-Armenian relations in the context of political realities of the Caucasus, took place on June 17.

Invited and participating in the conference were Russian and Armenian academics, Duma representatives, political figures, as well as officials of the Republic of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

RCPCF Chairman Alexey Salmin opened the seminar. Then, RACF Center Director and ARF representative in Moscow Seyran Baghdasarian introduced the socio-political and economic situation in Armenia.

Russian Federation Foreign Ministry CIS Deputy Director Vitali Litvin and Head of the Russian Duma state delegation on negotiations with Armenia Vsevolod Oleandrov also delivered speeches.

Well-known experts on Caucasian issues such as the Duma President’s Staff Advisors Viacheslav Nikonov and Mark Urnov, President’s Council member Andranik Mihranian, Diasporan Issues and Integration Institute Director Konstantin Zatulin, Constructive, Experimental Center International Fund Chairman Sergei Kurghinian, Duma Self-Government Commission’s Deputy Chairman Sergei Pitrokhin, participated in the seminar.

All those present stressed the necessity of further developing Armenian-Russian relations. In discussing the possible variants of the Karabakh conflict resolution, the sides diverged in opinion.

Oleandrov and Litvin offered the international variant, but independent experts condemned the Russian Foreign Ministry’s point of view, the realization of which would decrease Russia’s interests in the region.

It was stressed that Russia is Armenia’s main strategic partner, but with regards to the economic field, Russia still yields to Iran, Armenia’s basic economic partner. In this regard, representative of Russian Strategic Research Institute Yuri Khromov stressed the necessity for establishing Armenian-Russian financial-industrial groups.

The prospect for Armenia’s membership with the Russia-Belarus Union was also discussed during the seminar. The participants came to the conclusion that despite the long-time friendship between the two nations, the necessary conditions for this unification do not yet exist.

All participants stressed the importance of holding simillar discussions.

ARF reps meet with French Ambassador

YEREVAN - Representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Executive Council of Armenia met with French Ambassador to Armenia Michel Legras, July 24, to discuss issues of importance to Armenians.

ARF representative and National Assembly member Rouben Hakobian and Gagik Mkrtchyan presented the French diplomat with an assessment of Armenia’s internal and economic situation.

The meeting specifically addressed ARF’s position regarding the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the suggestions presented by the co-chairmen of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group.

Recent ARF meetings with German, Russian, & US officials

YEREVAN (“Hayots Ashkhar) -- Armenian Revolutionary Federation Armenia Executive Council members Rouben Hakopian and Roland Sharoian met with Carola Mueller Holtkemper, German Ambassador to Armenia, on August 24, 1997. The sides discussed various issues of concern to Armenia and in particular, they examined recent events surrounding the Minsk Group negotations on the Karabakh conflict.

In addition, the current status of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation activities were discussed and other common interests were probed.

STEPANAKERT (ANIS) —While in Karabakh as observers of the presidential election, a Russian Duma delegation visited the offices of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of Artsakh (Karabakh), on September 1.

The delegation was composed of vice-chairperson of the Committee on CIS Issues Mikhael Vagoulengo; Sergei Boutadzabov; Caucasian Issues Advisor of the Committee on CIS Issues Viktor Goudryavtsev; Director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies Yevgeni Godjogin. They met with ARF Bureau representative Serge Amirkhanian and ARF Central Committee of Karabakh chairman Vachakan Zakarian.

Among the topics discussed were the political developments of the Karabakh conflict, ARF’s role in that process, ARF activities in Karabakh, and other matters of concern related to Nagorno-Karabakh.

In response to Godjogin’s inquiry regarding the possibility of resolving the Karabakh conflict using the Serbian model, Zakarian stressed that the Karabakh issue cannot be solved with force, because the people of Karabakh have earned independence sacrificing their own lives and they will not succumb to extreme measures.

With regards to the Karabakh presidential election, the Russian observers pointed out that it has proceeded democratically and is in cohesion with international standards. They expressed hope that the presidential election will benefit the peace process of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Also present at the meeting were ARF Artsakh office personnel; Nagorno-Karabakh National Assembly Defense, Security, Reconstruction, Rights and Legality Committee Chairperson Lidia Sarkissian; as well as, ARF Bureau representative in Moscow and Russian-Armenian Cooperation Fund President Seyran Baghdassarian, who had accompanied the Russian delegation to Nagorno-Karabakh.

YEREVAN (Yerevan News Agency) — Representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Executive Council of Armenia, the ARF Bureau and the Yerevan News Agency on September 4, met with a team of Russian observers recently in Karabakh to monitor the presidential polls there. This group was accompanied by ARF Bureau representative in Moscow and Russian-Armenian Cooperation Fund President Seyran Baghdassarian.

The Executive Council’s political representative Rouben Hakopian, Executive Council member and “Hayots Ashkhar” editor Gagik Mkrtchyan, ARF Bureau member Martoun Matevossian and Yerevan News Agency director Aghvan Vartanian were on hand to discuss the results of the presidential elections in Karabakh. The Russian delegation, which included Duma members, public and political activists and reporters also discussed the political impact of the said elections, the situation in the region, as well as expansion of Armeno-Russian relations.

Hakopian was later joined by fellow Executive Council member Roland Sharoyan in a meeting with the First Secretary of the US Embassy in Armenia Brady Kissling. The two ARF leaders discussed the peace process involving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armeno-Turkish relations and other mutual issues of interest. The US diplomat was also presented an overview of ARF’s current organizational status in Armenia.

Recently, Hakopian had taken part in two breakfast meetings of opposition party leaders with visiting US Congressmen and Senators.

Meeting of the SI Committee for Central and Eastern Europe

ARF Bureau member Mario Nalbandian participated in the meeting of the Socialist International Committee for Central and Eastern Europe (SICEE), in Rome, on June 27-28.

The meeting, which was hosted by the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) of Italy, discussed an agenda which included the perspectives on the process of integration of the countries of this region in multilateral institutions, received reports on the national situations and decided on its future programme of activities.

In its Rome Declaration, the SICEE states: “The Caucasian Republics, where there are still unresolved conflicts and a difficult transition to democracy which are delaying economic and social development, require the elaboration for a strategy for cooperation.

“The pursuit of a cooperation strategy with the Eurasian nations and the states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is equally important. The international community must extend relations with and opportunities for these countries.”