POLICE CHIEF TO FIGHT DEVILS
Panorama.am
16/02/2012
According to Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun, Police Chief Vova Gasparyan
gathered his employees and instructed them to improve their services.
Paper’s sources say the Police Chief spoke rudely, saying in
particular, “I am clean while all of you are devils.”
The paper reminds that Vova Gasparyan, a follower of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, often uses God’s name and some Biblical terms in
his public speeches.
From: Baghdasarian
CIVIC ACTIVISTS TO CONTINUE VIGIL AT MASHTOTS PARK
HETQ
14:38, February 16, 2012
Concerned citizens say they will continue their vigil to stop further
construction of stores at Mashtots Park in downtown Yerevan.
In a press statement, the activists say they walked away from meetings
with Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan and Chief Yerevan Architect Narek
Sargsyan convince that the construction is illegal and based on an
arbitrary decision by the Yerevan Municipality, despite arguments
made to the contrary by city officials.
The activists argue that city officials are backing the interests of
a few businessmen at the expense of the public.
They say that officials were at a loss to explain why stores recently
dismantled along Abovyan Street are being rebuilt in a public green
space.
MURDERED SOLDIERS’ PARENTS ON ARMENIAN MILITARY PROSECUTOR’S HEALTH PROBLEMS
Tert.am
16.02.12
The parents and other relatives of soldiers murdered in the armr hold
regular meetings in front of Armenia’s government on Thursdays.
According to them, the reason for Armenian Military Prosecutor Gevorg
Kostanyan’s health problems is that “his efforts are hindered.”
“How long can he remain patient? I am sure he fell ill because of
this,” the father of Tigran Ohajanyan, who was murdered in the army
in 2008, told Tert.am.
“My son was brutally murdered in the Karcharghyur military unit, but
the investigation has not shown any progress for five years,” he said.
“The investigation depaertment of the Ministry of Defense and the
military prosecutor’s office do not in any way differ from hothouses
for growing melons and gourds,” said a murdered soldier’s father. The
murdered solders’ relatives were holding posters saying “Rigged-suicide
injustice”, “Save our soldiers”.
“Late in November 2009, my son was drafted. On March 15, 2010, they
brought my son. He had been strangled and then hanged,” said Valeri
Muradyan’s mother.
The investigation is going on, but the woman is sure that the persons
concerned are doing their best to cover up the traces. “They claim
he committed suicide, but I know he was murdered.”
From: A. Papazian
CAUCASUS IN GLOBAL SECURITY SYSTEM
by Hrachya Arzumanyan
arminfo
Thursday, February 16, 14:33
“Moskovskie Novosti” (The Moscow News). Assessments and forecasts on
the Karabakh conflict’s resolution given in Alexander Kharmchikhin’s
item “Fight for Karabakh 2.0” do not cover properly the latest
qualitative changes in the international security environment. Experts
prefer speaking about Artsakh and the Artsakh problem within the frames
of the usual and well-studied confrontation of Armenia (represented
by the Republic of Armenia and NKR) and Azerbaijan.
Such approach meets the realities of early 1990s when Russia as the
USSR’s heir had enough weight to prevent any attempts of external
military and political pressure on the conflicting parties. The borders
of the USSR that no longer existed as a political phenomenon were
still real then and restricted the activity of other geopolitical
centers. However, much has changed in the region and in the world
over the past 20 years.
Artsakh has passed the evolutionary path of its statehood that was
quite rich with events. It is a little strange and unusual process
for the external world, indeed, as the NKR was established without
participation of the world community. However, unlike many other
crisis flashpoints, it has proved successful. In the new conditions,
any attempts to ignore Artsakh in the Karabakh process are obviously
unsound.
As for the international context, the 5-day war of August 2008 and
the Arab awakening of 2011 that drew the line under the post-Soviet
period have fundamentally changed the geopolitical landscape. In these
new conditions any military-political scenarios aimed at isolating
the Caucasus from the global processes on the wave of instability
are becoming inadequate and even dangerous.
All the aforementioned can be shown on the example of Azerbaijan’s
foreign policy of the latest time when some parliamentarians raised the
issue of renaming Azerbaijan into Northern Azerbaijan. “The two-third
of Azerbaijan’s territory is part of the present Iran, therefore it
is necessary to rename the Azerbaijani Republic into the Republic of
Northern Azerbaijan,” Gudrat Hasanguliyev, parliamentarian from The
Azerbaijani Popular Front Party, declared lately. “It is rather an
important issue. There are such examples as North Korea and South
Korea, Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus. It would be reasonable
if Azerbaijan as a split country were called Northern Azerbaijan,”
said Siyavush Novruzov, Deputy Executive Secretary of Yeni Azerbaijan
Party. Inherently, Azerbaijan is making territorial claims to its
southern neighbor.
Such behavior of Azerbaijani politicians has become something prosy
for the Armenian party and the entire post-Soviet area. Everyone here
has got used to the language of ultimatums of Azerbaijani politicians
who never care for their phrases or possible consequences of their
statements. In the given case, however, Azerbaijan has exceeded
the bounds of permissible and now crossing the borders of the
post-Soviet space it threatens a country that is in the phase of
serious military-political confrontation with the West.
In this light, Iran will hardly come down to the “psychological
complexes” of the Azerbaijani statehood and will have to take
such statements as well-thought and coordinated political steps,
especially that Iran is reluctant to regard Azerbaijan as a foothold
for destabilization of the situation inside that country. Tehran
has already warned to take adequate measures of counteraction and
even make military attacks if Azerbaijan’s territory is used for
hostilities against Iran.
Thus, the borders of the post-Soviet area in the Caucasus have become
“perforated” and do not rule out force projection. In this light, it
is at least not serious and even irresponsible studying restricted
scenarios of the Armenian-Azerbaijani war. It is obvious that the
military-political situation around Artsakh is an element of a wider
picture.
National interests may become a reason for provocation, indeed,
given the poor-judgment and rashness of political leaders like it
was in 2008, but national interests cannot be a real motive for
military actions.
From: Baghdasarian
NUMBER OF CARDIOVASCULAR PATIENTS IN ARMENIA IS GROWING
arminfo
Thursday, February 16, 15:09
The number of cardiovascular patients in Armenia has grown by 30% in
the last five years, while the mortality rate among such people has
risen by 50%, Director of the Preventive Cardiology Center Parunak
Zelveyan said during a press-conference on Thursday.
He said that such patients are becoming younger.
“40% of all disabled persons in Armenia are people having heart
problems and 70% of the latter are of able-bodied age. If we want to
have a healthy society, we need a state program to fight cardiovascular
diseases,” Zelveyan said.
He said that in Armenia cardiovascular diseases are cured no less
efficiently as in Europe.
“Healthy low cholesterol diet, active lifestyle and optimism are the
key guarantees against heart problems,” Zelveyan said.
HENRI REYNAUD: THE YEAR 1915 IS AN OPEN SORE, WHICH WILL NOT HEAL UP UNTIL THE GENOCIDE DENIAL CAMPAIGN IS STOPPED
by Oksana Musaelyan
arminfo
Thursday, February 16, 14:31
In an interview to ArmInfo, French Ambassador to Armenia Henri Reynaud
comments on the situation around the bill adopted by French Senate
The relations between Armenia and France have reached heights after the
French Senate adopted the bill criminalizing the denial of genocides,
including the Armenian Genocide. How would you assess this event
in general?
The relations between Armenia and France cover a wider context. The
issue of criminalization of the Armenian Genocide denial has already
been discussed after adoption of the relevant bill on 29 Jan 2001,
by which France publicly recognized the Armenian Genocide. By this
decision France wanted to protect its citizens in its territory by
putting an end to the questioning or palliation of the crime of the
genocide, as defined in Article 211-1 of the Criminal Code.
The bill does not mention any historical event or any country. In
general, it aims to protect the insulted memory, and it will be
applied in France only in case of extremely insulting statements. The
bill meets the expectations of a great number of French citizens of
Armenian origin, for whom the year 1915 is an open sore, which will
not heal up until the Genocide denial campaign is stopped.
You are well aware that a group of MPs have laid two actions to the
Constitutional Council of France, which is to give a legal force to
the decision by late February. Various political forces of Armenia
perceived this bill as a crucial stage in the almost 100-year struggle
against the genocide denial. On this occasion, numerous Armenians
expressed their gratitude to France.
What do you think about Ankara’s reaction and threats to introduce
sanctions regarding military, economic and political ties with France?
Turkey is an ally and an important partner of France, and for many
years the sides have fixed essential progress in many spheres. We
have been always cooperating in the matter of development of the
bilateral relations, as well as within NATO or the G8. We exerted
joint efforts aimed at stopping the violence in Syria, establishing
peace and stability in Afghanistan, as well as within the programs on
development of cooperation with the Mediterranean countries. Under the
current circumstances, France comes out for a dialogue with Turkey,
as well as for preserving the way to mutually beneficial cooperation,
since France is the third big foreign investor in Turkey, and the
French companies provide 100,000 job places in Turkey.
What is Paris going to do to consolidate its position in this issue
and to neutralize the negative consequences of the ultimatum of Ankara?
We advocate maintenance of peaceful relations with Turkey. France
has called on the authorities of Turkey to abstain from “strong
counteraction” and to understand that it is necessary to appreciate
the whole depth of the bilateral relations.
What do you think about the accusations of the Azeri ruling parties,
which qualified France’s stance as “biased” and pointed out the
necessity to withdraw France from the OSCE Minsk Group?
Azerbaijan has not made any statements demanding that France should
be excluded from the OSCE Minsk Group. On the contrary, on January 23
in Sochi the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan highly estimated the
intermediary efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries. They
want Russia, the United States and France to continue playing an
active role in the Karabakh peace process until peace and stability
are established in the region.
From: A. Papazian
ARMENIA’S DEFENSE MINISTER PROMISES TO ‘SEE WHAT HE CAN DO’ IN CASE OF KILLED SOLDER MOVED TO IDJEVAN
epress.am
02.16.2012
Gathered outside the Government of Armenia building in Yerevan again
today were activists and family members of young men killed in the army
during peacetime. One of such family members, Tsovinar Nazaryan, sister
of rifle platoon commander Artak Nazaryan, who died on Jul. 27, 2010,
drew attention to the fact that her brother’s case, along with those
of opposition activist Tigran Araqelyan (accused of hooliganism) and
former traffic police chief Margar Ohanyan (accused of embezzlement)
always happen to be assigned on the same days. This fact, coupled with
moving her brother’s case to the northern Armenian city of Idjevan,
has led her to believe that there are directives from state officials
up above. Tsovinar is convinced that all three high-profile court
cases (which frequently are covered by the press) are booked on the
same days so that the media is unable to cover each case in depth
and thus, the public is not informed of serious developments.
Later, Artak Nazaryan’s mother, Hasmik Hovhannisyan, approached
Armenian Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan who left the building
after the regular Thursday government meeting concluded. Following
her were members of the press.
Seeing the reporters, Ohanyan said, “Are you going to follow me all
the way? Let’s go to the Ministry of Defense offices together by foot.
Shall we go, shall we go to the defense ministry together? Let’s go
by foot.”
Hovhannisyan asked the defense minister (pictured below, center
right, with glasses) to move the court sessions of her son’s case
back to Yerevan. The minister pointed out that he has created all
the necessary conditions for the parties to get to Idjevan.
Hovhannisyan said in this sense, she has no objections and for this
she thanks him; nevertheless, according to her, “the trial has to be
brought to Yerevan.” Ohanyan then promised that he will see what he
can do again.
The defense minister continued speaking with several parents of killed
soldiers, while the Epress.am correspondent on the scene noticed
an angry dispute between a man and two women and the protesting
parents nearby.
The man and two women were urging demonstrators not to blame Seyran
Ohanyan as he’s a good man and has done many good things. This
infuriated some of the parents, one of whom shouted, “Who said he’s
a bad man? Everyone is a good person for themselves, what do we care.”
The altercation continued for some time until police and others
gathered outside intervened.
TENSE SITUATION CONTINUES: ACTIVISTS CONTINUE SIT-IN IN PARK, WHILE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ATTEMPT TO RESUME WORK
epress.am
02.16.2012
The numbers of those protesting kiosks construction in the Mashtots
Ave. park (between Aram and Buzand streets) in Yerevan today blossomed
to around 50, after information spread among news media and social
networks alerted the public to an altercation between activists
and police who asked that the plastic sheet they put up for shelter
be removed.
Also arriving on scene to support the activists were Heritage Party
MP Zaruhi Postanjyan and commander of the Shushi battalion during
the Nagorno-Karabakh War and one of the founders of the Sardarapat
movement Jirair Sefilian. Representatives of the Human Rights
Defender’s Officer were also on scene.
As reported by the Epress.am correspondent on site, contractors
attempted to resume work on building the kiosks when activists stopped
them, saying what they’re doing is illegal. To this the contractors
answered that they have the necessary papers to resume construction.
Currently, the activists are waiting for workers to show them these
documents.
Recall, at a meeting with Yerevan mayor Taron Margaryan yesterday,
activists were assured that construction wouldn’t resume until this
matter was discussed by a specially created ad-hoc committee.
A statement issued by local civic group “We are the owners of this
city” states that city hall, in allowing this construction in the park,
has made an arbitrary decision in favor of a handful of property
owners to the detriment of the Yerevan public, and city employees
cannot explain why kiosks dismantled from one public area were moved
to another public area – and green space at that.
“If Yerevan City Hall doesn’t wish to abide by the law then
the citizens standing guard for days in Mashtots park have the
understanding of this law and see no other option than continuing
their sit-in of an indeterminate period until the final liberation
of the park,” reads the statement.
ARMENIA HAS MUCH TO TALK WITH IRAN
Naira Hayrumyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
Published: 15:16:57 – 16/02/2012
The West is going to evident confrontation with Syria and Iran.
The U.S. called the decrees of the Syrian President Bashar Asad on the
to-be-held constitutional referendum ridiculous and Catharine Ashton
said Iran’s agreement on continuation to cooperate with MAGATE is late.
Pentagon openly stated that Israel has not determined yet the terms of
the force attack on Iran, which means that the point is not about the
terms. Relating to Syria, the “civil version” of invasion is chosen:
the League of Arab States and the West proposed the deployment
of peacekeepers, in response, the primarily uncompromising Russia
announced about the possibility of its participation depending on
the mission and composition of peacekeepers.
The region is evidently getting ready for a new war which this time
will not be limited to the borders of only one country. True, judging
by the methodology of the wars in Iraq and Libya, it became evident
that the West has the necessary technologies which don’t allow the war
pass in other countries. This time the situation is different: Iran
has already promised to strike those countries which will strike it.
Syria, which did not join the agreement on the chemical weapon,
hints that it won’t apply it on its territory.
In this connection, the preparation for the undesirable development of
events is underway in the neighboring to Iran Armenia. The Secretary of
the Russian Security Council Patrushev visited Armenia and stated about
the necessity to modernize the Armenian-Iranian border defended by
the Russian troops. Then, the Special Representative of the Secretary
General of NATO Appaturay also visited Armenia, who stated that NATO
is not going to interfere in the strife of Iran with the international
community. A high ranking American officer also visited Armenia and on
these days, Serzh Sargsyan met with the Military Command and discussed
the level of combat readiness of Armenia’s Armed Forces. The Russian
base in Armenia was also brought to readiness.
The deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan
was in Iran and met with the Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar
Salehi who stated that Iran highly assesses its relations with the
friendly Armenia.
Apparently, Armenia decided to discuss with Iran the issue on
Azerbaijan with which Armenia is in war and which Iran blames of
complicity with Israeli special services. Relations between Iran and
Azerbaijan are strained to the limit and Baku is not even trying to
hide its pretensions to Iran’s northern parts. Moreover, there is an
initiative in Baku to rename the republic into Northern Azerbaijan,
underlining that it is only a part of the Great Azerbaijan, and the
Southern part “temporarily” belongs to Iran.
Iran and Armenia have much to talk about on this issue. Moreover,
neither Azerbaijan nor Turkey hides that they can use the stir and
try to annex Karabakh.
From: Baghdasarian
ST. SARKIS CHURCH OF DALLAS MARKS 20 YEARS
By Mary Mukhtarian
February 16, 2012
DALLAS, Texas-On Sat., Feb. 4, the Armenian community of Dallas-Fort
Worth marked the 20th anniversary of the consecration of the St.
Sarkis Armenian Church of Dallas with a banquet at the Hilton Lincoln
Centre Ballroom. Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian presided
over the festivities.
Zovig Koulian, a beloved parishioner, was named this year’s ‘Steward
of the Church’.
Mistress of Ceremonies Maral Aznavourian introduced the evening’s
cultural program, which included performances by young local talent.
Njteh Keleshian sang an affecting “Giligia”; Lucine Dayian skillfully
performed “Erevan Erepouni” on a grand piano; Bedig Bozigian sang
“Hayrenik,” accompanied on piano by Stefan Sarokhanian; and Maggie
Aznavourian and Lena Ohanian recited poetry in Armenian and English,
conveying the pride that all Armenians feel through the words,
“We are. We shall be. And we will multiply.”
The young dancers of St. Sarkis Church then performed “Sardarabad”
and “Vartavar.” Maral Aznavourian thanked Kristina Kheshvadjian, who
had come from California to train the St. Sarkis youth in preparation
for the local ArmeniaFest.
The parish council chair and vice chair, Raffi Ohanian and Dr. Vahe
Dayian, expressed the community’s appreciation for the presence of the
dignitaries. They listed significant parish accomplishments, including
its enrollment of 40 students in the Armenian school, its 50 members
in the ACYOA, and the countless others who make up the St. Sarkis
Sunday School, Women’s Guild, Seniors’ Program, and Social Committee.
Zovig Koulian, a beloved parishioner, was named “Steward of the
Church,” to everyone’s delight. Archbishop Barsamian then paid tribute
to two parishioners who purchased and donated a plot of land for the
future, larger St. Sarkis Church. “It is a joy and pleasure to present
the ‘St. Vartan Award,’ which is given for exemplary leadership in
the Armenian Church, to Mr. and Mrs. Elie and Ella Akilian,” he said.
On behalf of the couple, Elie Akilian thanked the primate and the
community for the honor, and accepted the award on behalf of “all
the kind deeds that people did for us through the years.”
Elie and Ella Akilian were recognized at the Feb. 4 banquet for their
donation to the church.
The Akilians, and their children Natalie and Michael, have long been
supportive members of the community. From humble beginnings in Lebanon,
Elie Akilian became a resident of Dallas in the early 1970’s.
After years of working as an engineer for local electronics companies,
he co-founded, with friend Sam Simonian, Inet Technologies, a
successful telecom company that was eventually sold to industry
giant Tektronix. He later founded the company that produces the
popular Wizard 101 video game, acknowledged as one of the safest,
parent-approved games.
The new church property was purchased in October 2011, out of the
community’s desire to build a church with traditional Armenian
architecture, and spacious enough to include classrooms, sports
facilities, and a hall.
To conclude the evening, Archbishop Barsamian reminisced about the
day 20 years earlier when he consecrated the St. Sarkis Church, and
he praised the parish godfather, Dr. Sarkis Kechejian. He noted that
the Dallas church held a special place in his heart, for it was the
first one he consecrated as a bishop.
On Sun., Feb. 5, he celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St. Sarkis Church,
accompanied by the parish’s deacon-in-charge, Dn. Justin Ajamian.
Diocesan Music Ministry director Maestro Khoren Mekanejian played
the organ and directed the choir.
Following services, the Women’s Guild served a luncheon in Kechejian
Hall, after which the primate and others drove to tour the new 4.5-acre
church property in nearby Hebron.
From: A. Papazian