Month: February 2012

AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTER ENCOURAGES GOOD-NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY

Vestnik Kavkaza
Feb 24 2012
Russia

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in Baku that a
good-neighborhood policy is the best policy for any state, Trend
reports.

Vestnik Kavkaza said that Azerbaijani and Armenian officials and
public figures met in Moscow on February 22, on invitation of Russian
presidential representative for international cultural cooperation
Mikhail Shvydkoy.

Shvydkoy said that the Public Chamber is an important institution
for dialogue of civilizations and people with different opinions.

Azerbaijani Ambassador Polad Bulbuloglu noted that the round-table
conference was not meant for political decisions or any other
variants of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The conflict is a
responsibility of presidents, the OSCE Minsk Group chaired by Russia,
France and the US.

After the meeting at the Russian Public Chamber, negotiations of the
three states will continue at Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Shvydkoy noted that
Azerbaijani and Armenian officials will meet in May 2012.

They may hold a film festival for children and young people. Another
initiative is to mark the 300th anniversary of Sayat-Novy, a poet
writing in Armenian, Azerbaijani and Georgian languages.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TOP DIPLOMATS OF S. KOREA, ARMENIA HOLD TALKS IN SEOUL

Qatar News Agency
February 23, 2012 Thursday 6:26 AM EST

Seoul, February 23 (QNA) – The foreign ministers of South Korea
and Armenia held talks in Seoul Thursday to discuss how to increase
substantive cooperation in economic, trade, development and cultural
exchanges, officials said.

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and his Armenian counterpart Edward
Nalbandian, who arrived in Seoul Wednesday for a two-day visit, also
signed a visa-free agreement for diplomats and government officials,
South Korea’s news agency (Yonhap) reported.

During the talks, Kim and Nalbandian exchanged a wide range of views
on other matters of mutual concern, including the situation on the
Korean Peninsula and in the Caucasus, the ministry said in a statement.

It was the first time in 13 years an Armenian foreign minister has
visited South Korea, officials said.

The visit by Nalbandian will “serve as a significant opportunity to
review the bilateral relationship during the past 20 years since the
establishment of diplomatic relations, and to discuss ways to further
develop ties,” a ministry official said.

This year, South Korea and Armenia mark the 20th anniversary of
establishing diplomatic relations. (QNA)

AZERBAIJANI SNIPER KILLS ARMENIAN SOLDIER: YEREVAN

Agence France Presse
February 23, 2012 Thursday 4:24 PM GMT

An Azerbaijani sniper shot dead an Armenian soldier on the border
between the enemy ex-Soviet states on Thursday, the defence ministry
in Yerevan said.

The 20-year-old soldier, named as Albert Adibekian, died from a
gunshot wound to the head, the ministry said.

“The provocation by snipers from the Azerbaijani armed forces
which resulted in the killing of soldier Adibekian will receive its
response,” defence ministry spokesman Davit Karapetian told AFP.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are locked in a long-running conflict over
the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh, where 22 soldiers were
reportedly killed along the front line amid frequent skirmishes in
2011 — although Thursday’s incident happened a significant distance
away from Karabakh.

Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized Karabakh from Azerbaijan
in a war in the 1990s that left some 30,000 people dead, but despite
years of negotiations since the 1994 ceasefire the two sides have
not signed a final peace deal.

Russian-mediated talks between the enemies last month ended with
promises to speed up the peace process but no public steps towards
signing the ‘basic principles’ roadmap deal which is seen as key to
a future settlement.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly threatened to use force to win back Karabakh
if negotiations fail to yield satisfactory results, but Yerevan has
warned of large-scale retaliation if Baku launches any military action.

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER CONGRATULATES RUSSIANS ON FATHERLAND DEFENDER’S DAY

ITAR-TASS
February 23, 2012 Thursday 11:26 PM GMT+4
Russia

Russia’s national holiday – the Fatherland Defender’s Day – is a good
occasion to emphasize the exclusive role of ally relations between
Russia and Armenia, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said
on Thursday.

On behalf of the Armenian government, he congratulated Russians on
the occasion of the holiday.

“Today’s holiday is an occasion to emphasize the exclusive role of
ally relations between our countries,” he said at a reception at the
Russian embassy. “Strategic partnership between Armenia and Russia
is constantly developing. Year by year, our relations are gaining
new content and are strengthened through new programs and ideas.”

“This holiday is dear to the citizens of Armenia as well, especially
for people of the older generation,” he noted and took the chance to
congratulate “veterans who fought hand in hand with their comrades
from other republics of the former Soviet Union during World War II,
scarifying their lives in a common struggle against Nazism.” “Their
lives will always be an example of real patriotism, courage and
heroism,” he added.

“On the Fatherland Defender’s Day we recall the heroic pages of our
common history,” he said.

Among guests at the Russian embassy there were Armenian Minister of
Defence Seiran Oganyan, chief-of-staff of the Armenian armed forces
Colonel General Yuri Khachaturov, defence minister’s deputies,
top-ranking officers, veterans and representatives from public
movements.

From: Baghdasarian

DEATH SENTENCE FOR PASTOR: SIGN OF IRAN’S RENEWED ANTI-CHRISTIAN CRACKDOWN?

Assyrian International News Agency

AINA Press Release
Feb 23 2012

Iran remains unfazed by widespread protests from the international
community over the execution order against the Christian pastor Youcef
Nadarkhani for renouncing Islam.

Reports from Iran indicate that the repressive regime is aiming at
a renewed crackdown on its Christian population.

Ten Christian converts from Islam were arrested recently during
a church meeting in a residential building, their homes searched
thoroughly and their Bibles confiscated, the Assyrian International
News Agency reported, citing sources in Iran.

Maasis Mosesian, an Armenian Christian and elder at a Church in
Tehran, which is an affiliate of the Assemblies of God, was also
arrested at his workplace and taken to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj,
Farsi Christian News Network reported.

The arrested Christian converts, including a family of three, have
been barred from contacting their relatives or friends and are
detained in an undisclosed location. “The authorities herded the
entire congregation, including children, into two buses that had
been brought specifically for this purpose,” Christian Solidarity
Worldwide said in a press release.

“The majority were interrogated, threatened and eventually released.

However, the church’s senior pastor, Pastor Farhad, remains in
detention,” the statement said.

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has ordered the Emmanuel Protestant
Church and St. Peter’s Evangelical Church, the last two officially
registered churches holding Friday Farsi-language services in Tehran,
to suspend them, according to a Baptist Press report.

The restrictions have had the effect that the authorities desired,
as it cut attendance by half.

Iranian authorities are reportedly pushing employers to fire people
who are Christians or Christian converts.

Christians have alleged that the new government tactic is meant to
scare away people from converting to Christianity. “If I have too many
difficulties in my life, I won’t have time to be involved in church,
and people will see how difficult it is to be a Christian,” an Iranian
Christian who wished to remain anonymous told Compass Direct News.

“This is not a good face for the Christians. The others see and say,
‘Oh, they became Christians and God stopped His blessing to them,'”
he said.

Iran’s anti-Christian Crackdown is believed to be in accordance with
the Islamic principle that the number of non-Muslims need to be kept
under constant check in a predominantly Islamic society.

“The issue has little to do with perceptions of how Christianity might
respond, but rather with the obligation under Islamic doctrine to
put and keep (non-Muslims) in their ‘place’ within Muslim society,”
Clare Lopez, a senior fellow with the Center for Security Policy,
told World Net Daily.

“The forces of Sharia Islam are in the ascendant all over the Middle
East these days and with the new-found sense of empowerment combined
with what is perceived as Western complicity and weakness in the face
of that situation, it is to be expected that all religious minorities,
especially Christians and Jews, increasingly will feel the brutality
of Islamic supremecism,” Clare said.

By Amrutha Gayathri

MAN INJURED IN SCUFFLE AT TURKISH ACADEMIC FAIR IN BEIRUT

The Daily Star

Feb 24 2012
Lebanon

BEIRUT: A group of Armenian Lebanese stormed a Turkish academic fair
at a hotel in Downtown Beirut late Thursday, injuring a man in the
subsequent scuffle, security sources said.

The incident took place at Monroe Hotel late last night when three
men entered the venue and disrupted the proceedings of an academic
fair for Turkish universities, the sources said Friday.

The group began by distributing fliers on human rights but the affair
soon escalated into an altercation between them and the organizers,
leading to the injury of citizen Mazen al-Nabulsi.

The group also vandalized a number of items at the fair.

Security forces intervened and apprehended several people.

A statement by the Tashnag Party Friday said the Turkish organizers
had initiated physical contact.

“A number of Armenian youths and students handed out fliers
denouncing the organizers at the Turkish universities academic fair
at Monroe Hotel, which aims to recruit Lebanese students to Turkish
universities. The Turks present could not suppress their feelings
of being provoked and attacked the Armenian youths and students,
which led to intervention by others,” the statement said.

“Calm returned soon afterward,” it added.

JUST THE FLIGHT’S TOP THREE EUROPEAN SPRING BREAK HOTSPOTS

Just the Flight

Feb 24 2012
UK

1. Sarajevo

For travellers who want a winter break, Sarajevo is ideal. Between 7th
February and 21st March the annual Snow and Snowflakes festival is in
full swing, offering theatre, movies, fine arts, cultural exhibitions
and concerts to enjoy. Meanwhile, the city’s Old Town is an eclectic
mix of Eastern Europe and Middle Eastern cultures and architecture.

2. Bansko

For affordable and alternative ski breaks, Bulgaria’s Bansko is ideal.

Travel time to the slopes from Plovdiv is minimal and there is
still snow available until the middle of May. The resort is one of
the cheapest in the world, yet still offers beautiful mountains and
views to enjoy.

3. Yerevan

In 2012, the Armenian city of Yerevan has been chosen as UNESCO’s
World Book Capital. In addition to the cultural events taking
place throughout the year, the 3,000-year-old Erebuni Fortress is a
must-see. Meanwhile, the Cascades, an Art Deco version of the Hanging
Gardens of Babylon, rise nearly as high as the Empire State Building
and are a stunning spectacle to be seen.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA TO BOYCOTT EUROVISION-2012

The Voice of Russia
Feb 24 2012

Armenia will stay away from this year’s Eurovision song contest to
be held in May in Baku, Azerbaijan.

On Thursday a group of leading Armenian singers sent a pertinent
message to the European Broadcasting Union after an Armenian soldier
had reportedly been killed in a shooting incident on the border
separating the two former Soviet republics.

The authors of the message say they are ready to take part if only
the EBU moves the venue of this year’s event to another country.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN SINGERS WANT TO BOYCOTT BAKU EUROVISION

Vestnik Kavkaza
Feb 24 2012
Russia

A group of Armenian singers has published a message urging the country
to skip the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, News Armenia reports.

Artur Grigoryan, Art Director of the State Song Theater, said that
a group of Dorianz with solo singer Gora Sunjyan is willing to take
part. He emphasized that art should not be confused with politics.

Eurovision is a show, not art, the art director says.

Baku will host the Eurovision Song Contest on May 22-26.

Azerbaijan won the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Dusseldorf, with the
“Running Scared” pop-ballade performed by Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal
(stage name Ell&Nikki).

ARMENIAN SINGERS WANT AZERBAIJAN EUROVISION BOYCOTT

France 24

Feb 24 2012

AFP – A group of Armenian pop singers on Friday launched a campaign
to boycott the 2012 Eurovision song contest which will be hosted by
their country’s bitter enemy Azerbaijan.

“We refuse to appear in a country that is well-known for mass killings
and massacres of Armenians, in a country where anti-Armenian sentiments
have been elevated to the level of state policy,” said the statement
signed by 22 singers including three former Armenian Eurovision
contestants.

They hope to pressure the authorities into pulling out of the European
pop extravaganza in the country with which Armenia fought a war after
the fall of the Soviet Union.

Armenia has applied to take part in the contest, but has yet to
choose a singer to represent the country, according to Eurovision’s
official website.

The influential director of Yerevan’s State Song Theatre, where many
successful Armenian singers have studied, was the first signature on
the boycott petition.

“How can we sing in a country that has caused us so much loss?”

director Artur Grigorian said on Armenian television.

“I think that Eurovision is art, it’s a show, and it’s political,”
he added.

But several liberal Armenian bloggers have questioned the proposed
boycott.

“Theatre of absurdist Eurovision related propaganda continues,”
wrote blogger Mika Artyan on Facebook.

Azerbaijani and Armenian forces fought a war over the disputed region
of Nagorny Karabakh in the 1990s which left some 30,000 people dead,
but despite years of negotiations since a 1994 ceasefire, no final
peace deal has been signed.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly threatened to use force to win back Karabakh
if negotiations fail to yield satisfactory results, but Armenia has
warned of large-scale retaliation against any military action.

Azerbaijani singers Ell and Nikki won Eurovision in Duesseldorf in
May 2011, giving the energy-rich ex-Soviet state the right to host
the high-profile pop contest this year.

The Azerbaijani administration sees Eurovision 2012 as a chance to
boost the international profile of a country until now mainly known
as an energy exporter on the fringe of Europe.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress