Month: November 2009

AZERBAIJANIS GO TO ARMENIAN SCHOOL

APA
Nov 4 2009
Azerbaijan

Marneuli. Nizami Mammadzadeh – APA. There is Azerbaijani sector in
the Armenian school in Khojornu village of Marneuli for years.

APA’s Georgia bureau reports that Armenians pupils go to Azerbaijani
secondary school in Tsopi. 50 out of 350 families in Khojornu are
Azerbaijanis. Nine pupils study in Azerbaijani sector of the school.

They are taught by four or five teachers. There are two rooms for the
Azerbaijani pupils in school. Earlier, there were all conditions for
our compatriots to study and 60-70 pupils went to school. The number
of the Azerbaijanis at this school has recently reduced. Azerbaijani
residents of the village moved to Azerbaijan and Russia because of the
unemployment. As there are no necessary conditions to study at school,
some parents take their children to the secondary school in Sadakhli.

There is the tenth form in Azerbaijani sector from this year. After
the pupils finish school, there will be no Azerbaijani sector at
school. Head of Marneuli Education Resources Center Kamandar Ismayilov
told APA that there is no national-ethnic problem in Khojornu school.

"The pupils study normally. We have provided them with the textbooks
brought from Azerbaijan. Armenia sent textbooks for the Armenian
pupils. The main problem is the lack of teachers. We have sent three
teachers to Khojornu school this year. If we can not find teachers
for this school, Azerbaijani sector will be soon closed," he said.

VAN TO BECOME BUSINESS CENTER: HURRIYET

news.am
Nov 4 2009
Armenia

Van, the 7,000-year-old cradle of civilization in eastern Anatolia,
will become a major industrial and commerce center if plans for a free
trade zone on the border between Iran and Turkey come to fruition,"
the Hurriyet daily reads.

The newspaper recalls ancient Armenian city in this frames as a result
of recent Iranian-Turkish initiative on joint project to build an
international free industry and commerce zone.

"Using Iran’s cheap energy and Turkey’s know-how and technology, the
idea is to produce goods in eastern Turkey on the Iranian border and
transfer them to Central Asia and Iraq via a railway along the route
of the historical Silk Road, which extends all the way to Pakistan,"
the source says.

The Hurriyet quotes Van Governor Munir Karaloglu: "Turkey has free
trade zones and industrial zones, but no international free industry
and commerce zone yet. Industrialists from both countries will use a
common area and energy from a foreign country. The customs taxes will
be abolished, although there is no legal groundwork laid out yet. The
biggest handicap for our manufacturers is the cost of energy. If
we succeed in serving our producers with cheap Iranian energy,
a significant economic boom will occur in the region."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

UNITED STATES-ARMENIA JOINT ECONOMIC TASKFORCE

US Department of State
1331.htm
Nov 4 2009

The U.S. Department of State welcomed Nersis Yeritsian, Armenia’s
Minister of Economy, and his delegation for the 18th iteration of the
U.S.-Armenia Joint Economic Taskforce (USATF). During his visit to the
U.S., Minister Yeritsian and his team met with officials from several
agencies in the U.S. Government, including the Department of State,
Department of Treasury, Department of Commerce, and the Office of
the U.S. Trade Representative.

The USATF, established in 2000, has met semi-annually to provide a
forum in which to further cooperation between our two countries,
advance economic and market reforms in Armenia, and discuss
opportunities for U.S. assistance to contribute to Armenia’s long-term
economic development. The task force is an open forum to discuss issues
of concern and interest to both countries. This year’s discussion in
Washington, D.C., co-chaired by Daniel N. Rosenblum, Coordinator for
Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, and Minister Yeritsian, focused
on the following themes: promoting good governance and democracy
development, addressing regional issues, and enhancing the business
climate in Armenia. The resulting action plan, which details the
specific actions each side will take to further our mutual cooperation
on Armenia’s development, includes items from all of these areas.

The U.S. Government and the Government of Armenia concluded an
important agreement on science and technology cooperation as part of
the Task Force’s meetings in Washington, D.C. The Director of the
National Science Foundation, Dr. Arden Bement Jr., joined Minister
Yeritsian in signing a memorandum of understanding that will facilitate
cooperation in numerous areas of mutual interest between the United
States and Armenia, including information technology, intellectual
property, earth sciences, and others.

MAN BEHIND ‘VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR’ IS RAGLAN STALWART
By Alison Sanders

South Wales Argus
2.Man_behind__Video_Killed_the_Radio_Star__is_Ragl an_stalwart/
Nov 4 2009
UK

ALMOST 30 years ago, Geoff Downes scoring a number one hit with ‘Video
Killed the Radio Star’ as one half of the 1970s group The Buggles.

Now, as fellow Buggles member Trevor Horn produces the new Robbie
Williams album and the former Take That singer performed "Video
Killed The Radio Star" at the Electric Proms, Mr Downes is helping
out with the annual Raglan music festival in his home village of the
past 12 years.

He said: "The countryside is absolutely beautiful. I’ve got know a
lot of people here and it’s become home. I don’t envisage leaving.

"The air is fresh, there’s nice people and it’s easy to get to places."

Mr Downes hasn’t turned his back on the rock and roll lifestyle –
he is currently touring with the rock band Asia.

Since reforming the original Asia line-up three years ago, Mr Downes
has toured with Asia non-stop.

He is currently working on a new album with Asia and has his own
recording studio in Monmouthshire.

The musician was last month given the Order of Honour decoration by
the President of Armenia.

Along with the likes of Brian May and members of Pink Floyd and Deep
Purple, he was given the medal as part of the 20th anniversary of
the Rock Aid Armenia project.

This was for their involvement in the 1989 remake of Deep Purple’s
"Smoke On The Water" which raised thousands of pounds for the victims
of the Spitak earthquake in 1988.

Mr Downes said he came from a musical family with his father being
a church organist.

After setting up The Buggles with Trevor Horn, Mr Downes said they
had to "fight tooth and nail" to keep the name.

The Buggles took a rough demo of "Video Killed The Radio Star" to 20
different record companies before one eventually took them on.

Nearly 30 years on, the hit is still gracing the airwaves with Robbie
Williams recently playing the track at the Electronic Proms.

Mr Downes said: "All of the audience were singing along and some of
them weren’t old enough to hear it first time round."

He said he hopes the former Take That star releases it as a single.

Mr Downes is still in contact with Mr Horn and they are considering
reforming The Buggles.

The music business is very different now thanks to shows such as
the X Factor which Mr Downes said are entertaining but a form of
"televised karaoke".

He added: "It is a shame when you hear kids say they want to be on the
X Factor rather than wanting to play the guitar like Jimmy Hendrix."

‘WE HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR ARMENIAN CHURCH IN RUSSIA,’ SAYS MEDVEDEV

Tert
Nov 4 2009
Armenia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent a congratulatory letter to
Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II in honour of
his 10th anniversary in being elected in his position as head of the
Armenian Apostolic Church.

"In Russia, we have great respect for the ancient Armenian church,
which for centuries has upheld the Christian faith. We highly praise
the good relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Armenian
Apostolic Church. They have always played a unique role in solidifying
the friendship and mutual trust between our [two] countries. The
proof of that is the current Armenian church in Moscow and the
construction of an Orthodox church in Armenia. In that, of course,
there is also your personal investment as an authoritive religious
figure, which pays much attention to Armenian-Russian humanitarian
ties," reads the Russian president’s congratulatory letter.

Besides, as Medvedev noted, "You are also making a large contribution
in strengthening the inter-religious dialogue. I am convinced
that your efforts in the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States]
Inter-Religious Council, of which the Armenian Apostolic Church is
a co-founder, will support the establishment of peace and stability
in the South Caucasus."

NAIRIT FACTORY EXPLOSION CASE STILL IN PRE-INVESTIGATION PHASE

Tert
Nov 4 2009
Armenia

The case of the explosion at Nairit factory is still in the
pre-investigation phase and there is no new information on the event
thus far, said Sayat Shirinyan, police colonel and head of Republic
of Armenia police public relations and press department, at today’s
press conference.

Shirinyan did note, however, that a few expert examinations took
place in connection with the case, while some examinations are still
underway. Shirinyan didn’t share other details.

Earlier, the police force had announced that the "human factor" was
the reason for the explosion at Nairit. Asked whether the police force
is of the same opinion today, Shirinyan first responded by saying
that the police force never denies its statements, then added that
they have a few hypotheses and by checking them one after another,
they will arrive at the objective truth.

ARMENIA’S POLICE FORCE AIMS TO RESTORE PEOPLE’S TRUST IN THEM

Tert
Nov 4 2009
Armenia

Over a 9-month period this year, Armenia’s police force, besides
carrying out its main functions, made efforts to restore people’s
trust towards them. It is for that reason that over those nine months,
55 police officers were subjected to disciplinary accountability,
while 633 officers experienced disciplinary punishment, some of whom
were demoted, said head of the Republic of Armenia police public
relations and information department, Sayat Shirinyan, at a press
conference today.

Shirinyan also presented the work carried out by the police over the
nine months, stating once more that the rate of almost all types of
crime increased, but, at the same time, the level of resolving them
increased as well.

Sayat Shirinyan stated that over that period, murder and intentional
homicide cases increased, 931 units of firearms were handed over by
people or confiscated, cases of drug trafficking increased (815 cases),
there were 652 cases of economic crime and 398 cases of bribery. During
nine months of this year, there were 1,409 road traffic accidents,
which caused the death of 232 people and injured 1,065. This indicator
also increased as compared to that of the past year.

NEW ATTACKS BY AZERBAIJANI HACKERS PREDICTED IN ARMENIA

Tert
Nov 4 2009
Armenia

Information war is an ongoing process, where it’s impossible to win,
Helix Consulting Director Aram Mkhitaryan stated today when commenting
on the latest attacks of Azerbaijani and Turkish hackers on Armenian
sites.

According to Mkhitaryan, in order to prevent the attacks, appropriate
actions must be taken. "One must always be ready, and here I place
much importance to the role of qualified specialists working in the
information sector," Mkhitaryan said.

The analyst predicts that the next wave of attacks will take place
at the end of December. According to him, the attacks are conditioned
by the seasonal holidays.

"Hackers attack mainly on Fridays, since in that case, specialists,
in attempting to correct the situation, get to work two days later,"
Mkhitaryan said.

STEPAN SAFARYAN KNOWS ARMENIA’S AND TURKEY’S MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM AIMS

Tert
Nov 4 2009
Armenia

Leader of Heritage Party parliamentary faction Stepan Safaryan
referred to Armenia’s and Turkey’s minimum and maximum aims that,
according to the MP, the two countries are pursuing today.

Thus, according to Safaryan, today Armenia, at the very least,
aims for Turkey to ratify the Protocols soon, by April 24, so that
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia-Turkey processes are separated as soon
as possible. At most, again according to the MP, Armenia’s purpose
is for the U.S. to threaten Turkey if the latter doesn’t ratify
the Protocols; that is, the U.S. Congress passes the resolution on
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey, on the other hand, Safaryan is convinced, at the very least,
aims for ratification of the Protocols in case there is at least
positive dynamics in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh issue, which will
please Azerbaijan. And at most, Turkey wishes to ratify the Protocols
late, so that it manages to settle some issues during that period,
beginning from Nagorno-Karabakh to significant participation in the
Caucasus politics.

RUSSIA WISHES TO SEE GEOPOLITICAL BALANCE IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

Tert
Nov 4 2009
Armenia

Russia’s unchanging principled position on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is based on finding solutions to main issues which are
mutually agreeable for Armenia and Azerbaijan. The conflicting sides
will not be bound to any recipies, however, said Russia’s Deputy
Foreign Minister Georgy Karasin, reports Armenian Russian-language
paper Respublika Armenia ("Republic of Armenia").

Besides, in Karasin’s words, Moscow bases the idea that "the main
responsibility of the final verdict must lie with the Armenians and
Azerbaijanis."

"The solution to the conflict that allows for stability and tranquility
in the Transcaucasus to be re-established will be considered viable,
and the post-conflict period will help maintain geopolitcal balance
here and as a result, the region will not be transfomed into an
international stage of political and military rivalry," concluded
Karasin.