Month: February 2012

Interfax, Russia
Feb 17 2012

Armenian economy will grow 4.2% in 2012-2013 – World Bank

YEREVAN. Feb 17

The World Bank predicts that Armenia’s economy will grow 4.2% per year
in 2012-2013 and that inflation will be 4%-4.5%.

That is a base forecast, and could be revisited in conditions of
Eurozone economic crisis, the director of the Bank’s Yerevan offices,
Jean-Michel Happi, told reporters on Friday.

Although the Armenian economy is recovering from the economic crisis
of 2009, it is still not vigorous and is very much susceptible to
shocks from abroad, Happi said. In conditions of post-crisis
export-price decreases, less investment and private transfers, big
Armenian economic growth cannot be counted on, he said

The country needs to increase its GDP and export growth rates to
ensure the stability of state foreign debt, Happi said. After the
crisis, Armenia’s foreign debt increased substantially and is unstable
now, he said. Despite the economic recovery, Armenia has to provide
for the entry of new companies into the market, promote the
improvement of the competitive environment, the development of
exports, and the diversification of sources of economic growth, he
said.

Armenia’s budget for this year reckons GDP growth of 4.2% and
inflation of 4% – plus or minus 1.5 of a percentage point.

The World Bank board of directors has approved to credits for Armenia
totaling $91 million, Happi said.

A credit of $80 will be extended for supporting the country’s state
budget, including $50 million for a 25-year term with a five-year
grace period at 1.25% per annum and $30 million (25 years) with a
ten-year grace period at LIBOR plus a floating margin. These funds are
aimed at increasing the level of state management and the
competitiveness of the private sector, as well as helping the most
vulnerable members of society, Happi said.

The second credit is of $11 million, to be supplied as additional
financing for the country’s social investment fund in order to
continue social programs. This is also a 25-year credit, with a
five-year grace period and extended at a rate of 1.25% per annum.

The World Bank has provided Armenia with credits amounting to $1.597
billion since 1992.

Cf

Mediamax news agency, Armenia
Feb 17 2012

Armenian FM, OSCE chief discuss Karabakh, forthcoming polls

Yerevan, 17 February: OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier
expressed concern over the preservation of tensions on the contact
line between Nagornyy Karabakh and Azerbaijan, highlighting the
importance of creation of an investigation mechanism proposed by the
[OSCE] mediators.

The European official said this in Vienna on 16 February at a meeting
with Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan, Mediamax reports
quoting the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

Edvard Nalbandyan took part in the Ministerial Conference of the Paris
Pact in Vienna, dedicated to the fight against illegal drug turnover
in Afghanistan.

The Armenian foreign minister and the OSCE secretary-general also
discussed the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia.

Edvard Nalbandyan also met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in
Vienna and reaffirmed his invitation for Sergey Lavrov to visit
Yerevan.

From: Baghdasarian

Georgian Daily
Feb 18 2012

South Caucasus nations fear Iran-Israel war

February 18, 2012
The Middle East and the West aren’t the only regions that would be hit
by an Iran-Israel war.

By Nicholas Clayton

TBILISI, Georgia – After two apparent assassination attempts against
Israeli diplomats in the South Caucasus, many fear this fractured and
strategically important region is being pulled into the rising
tensions between the West and Iran.

On Monday, police defused a `magnetic bomb’ attached to a car
belonging to a local driver for the Israeli embassy in Georgia. On the
same day, a bomb exploded on an Israeli embassy vehicle in New Dehli,
India, injuring several, including the Israeli defense attaché’s wife.

The attempted bombing in Georgia came less than three weeks after the
government of neighboring Azerbaijan announced it had arrested three
men who had been recruited and paid to assassinate the Israeli
ambassador to Azerbaijan and later attack a Jewish school in the
country.

Tehran accused Azerbaijan Monday of aiding Israeli intelligence forces
in assassinating Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, an Iranian nuclear scientist
who was also killed by a bomb magnetically attached to his car in
early January. At the time, a top Iranian official told a local
newspaper that “Iran’s reaction will extend beyond the borders and
beyond the region.’

The official added: `None of those who ordered these attacks should
feel safe anywhere.’

All three countries that comprise the South Caucasus – Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Armenia – maintain important relationships with both the
West and Iran. Conflict between these two sides could destabilize the
fragile, but strategically crucial peace in the region.

Azerbaijan: Fears of an Iranian invasion

Azerbaijan is a major supplier of both natural gas and oil for Europe,
and several pipeline projects designed to reduce the EU’s energy
dependence on Russia require Georgian territory and Azerbaijani
resources.

The two countries are also key links in the Northern Distribution
Network, a transit route supplying ISAF forces in Afghanistan. Since
Pakistan closed its borders to NATO air and ground transit in November
2011, this route is now the only means for the alliance to get
personnel and materials in and out of Afghanistan.

Since the revelation of the alleged Iranian assassination plot,
Azerbaijan and Iran have been furiously trading accusations. Tehran
has often threatened Azerbaijan with invasion should it allow Western
countries to use its territory in support of an operation against
Iran.

Georgia: Caught in the middle

Georgian authorities, meanwhile, have been cautious to assess blame in
the foiled bombing in its capital, Tbilisi, although Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly pointed to Iran in the attacks.

Shota Utiashvili, head of the Georgian Interior Ministry’s analytical
department publicly noted the similarities between the descriptions of
the defused bomb and the one used to kill the Iranian scientist, and
said it was designed to target the car’s passengers.

Other top officials have downplayed the link, however, noting that the
bomb was found on the driver’s personal car, not an embassy vehicle.
Furthermore, pro-government TV channels have made little mention of
the incident in domestic news broadcasts.

Georgia has cultivated close ties with Tehran since its brief 2008 war
with Russia, signing a visa-free travel agreement with the Islamic
Republic and opening up greater economic, academic and commercial
links in various agreements with the country.

However, Georgia’s pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has
also placed NATO and EU membership at the forefront of his
foreign-policy agenda, sending as many as 1,700 troops to
Afghanistan’s most violent province in support of the alliance’s war
effort there. Before the war with Russia, Georgia had also deployed
2,000 soldiers in Iraq.

Armenia: Trying to stick close to Iran

The country perhaps most vulnerable to the shifting circumstances is
Armenia, which relies on Iran for crucial political support and as a
route for about one third of its trade. Due to an ongoing territorial
dispute with Azerbaijan, Armenia’s borders with both Azerbaijan and
Turkey have been closed since the early 1990s. It relies on Iran and
Russia – through Georgian territory – for its trade and energy supply.

Analysts in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, worry that a damaged or
preoccupied Iran could reopen its on-again-off-again war with
Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia sent its deputy foreign minister to Iran this week,
`reinforcing’ its relationship with Tehran `for the sake of
maintaining peace and stability,’ according to Armenian state media.

The Russian factor

Meanwhile, Russia has announced it will hold military exercises in the
South Caucasus this year that are unprecedented in scale, involving
not only its units in its own North Caucasus territory, but also
battalions stationed in Armenia and the Georgian breakaway republic of
Abkhazia.

Over the past year, Russian officials have often warned that foreign
intervention in either Syria or Iran could lead to a “wider conflict”
in the region. Viewing the South Caucasus as its traditional buffer
zone against the Middle East, observers say Moscow is now reasserting
its presence in the region.

Stephen Blank, a research professor at the United States Army War
College, told the Asia Times earlier this month that leaders in the
region are now worried they will be pulled into an unpredictable
conflict.

“They are clearly concerned, as are the Russians, about the fact that
they’re being dragged into a contingency outside their area that they
don’t really have anything to say about,” he said.

Source: URL:

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Power Engineering Magazine
Feb 18 2012

Rosatom prepared to finance 50% of new reactor at Armenian NPP –
minister

Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom is prepared to finance 50%
of the cost of a project to build a new generating unit at the
Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, Armenian Energy and Natural Resources
Minister Armen Movsisian said at a press conference on Thursday.

The Russian proposal was discussed in Yerevan last week during a visit
to Armenia by Rosatom head Sergei Kiriyenko, Movsisian said.

At the time, Kiriyenko said Rosatom was prepared to invest 20-25% “and
more,” but that the “main investments will be on the part of Armenia.”

Movsisian also said that Armenia is prepared to consider any other
lucrative proposal for any other investor to participate in the
project.

It was reported earlier that CJSC Metsamorenergoatom, a 50-50
Russian-Armenian joint venture set up to build the new generating
unit, is holding negotiations with foreign investors to involve them
in this project.

Movsisian also said that, according to the law, the government may not
retain a controlling stake in the company that will operate the
generating unit.

“How many percent will belong to who does not play any significant
role. What’s important is that a company registered in Armenia will
operate the unit,” the minister said, adding that the nuclear reactor
with capacity of 1,060 MW is scheduled to be built in 2019-2020.

The existing reactor at the Armenian NPP will undergo a stress test in
2012, the preparations for which were already made last year,
Movsisian said. If the reactor passes the test, Armenia plans to
extend its service live for another ten years.

The Armenian NPP now has one 400 MW generating unit, the intended
service life of which ends in 2016. However, Armenia has already said
that the reactor will only be mothballed after a new one is built.
IAEA experts have also said that the life of the existing reactor can
be extended.

Vp of

Source: Interfax News Agency

Patch.com
Feb 18 2012

Bites Nearby: Armenian Market and Bakery

An Armenian market with a twist or two: an eat-in cafe and its
location off Arsenal Street in Watertown.

What can another Armenian-Middle Eastern market do differently in
Watertown, which already has at least four of them? Two answers: a
location in a different part of town, at 23 Elm St., just off Arsenal
Street and an eat-in cafe serving the classic Armenian savory pies,
pizzas and sandwiches, as well as the region’s famous pastries.

What to eat: Any of the Armenian specialties, especially the lahmajun
(a snack-like, thin-crust pizza with meat but no cheese) and shawarma
(a meat-filled wrap). Although many of the most-popular pies have meat
in them, there are also ones with cheeses, eggplant, spinach and
spices. There’s a soup-of-the-day, such as lentil. The pastries are
worth sampling, too, with their tasty combination of nuts, honey and
flaky pastry.

The vibe: Friendly and busy. On sunny, warm days, you might consider
getting food to take out and eating in one of the nearby large parks
across Arsenal Street or a few blocks away on Arlington Street.

Cool factor no. 1: Since it’s a new establishment, the staff are eager
to please, so you aren not imposing on them by asking what’s a “boreg”
(a cheese-filled savory pastry) or a “maneesh” (a vegetarian-like
pizza with thyme, spices and sesame seed).

Cool factor no. 2: The place is conveniently next door to the
Watertown Mall and across from the Arsenal Mall, on a small side
street and there’s off-street parking too.

Audiophile Audition
Feb 17 2012

ALAN HOVHANESS Works: Armenian Rhapsodies 1-3;

Song of the Sea; Sop. Sax Concerto; Exile Sym. – BMOP/sound
Not Hovhaness at his best, but it’s interesting to hear earlier works
by this incredibly prolific composer.

ALAN HOVHANESS: Armenian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 45; Song of the Sea;
Armenian Rhapsody No. 2, Op. 51; Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and
Strings, Op. 344; Armenian Rhapsody No. 3, Op. 189; Symphony No. 1,
Op. 17 No. 2 `Exile’ – John McDonald, piano / Kenneth Radnofsky,
soprano sax / Boston Modern Orch. Project / Gil Rose – BMOP/sound 1020
[Distr. by Albany], 67:39 ***½:

When a composer has written well over 500 works, one can assume that
there will be some unevenness in his production. Despite the fact that
a number of Alan Hovhaness’s pieces have entered the standard
repertoire and that recording projects turn up interesting,
little-heard music by the composer on a regular basis, Hovhaness’s
production is indeed uneven. Remarkably, those 500 works are just the
tip of the musical iceberg. Hovhaness destroyed many, perhaps hundreds
or even a thousand, of his earliest compositions when he turned his
attention increasingly to Eastern music, including that of India and
Armenia, for which he had a natural sympathy since his father was
Armenian. (Hovhaness was born Alan Scott Vaness Chakmakjian but
changed his name probably to mask his heritage, just as Walter Piston
and Paul Creston changed their Italian surnames at a time in America
when an ethnic name wasn’t a ticket to career success.) Along with his
penchant for Eastern music and its sound world came an increasing
mysticism and inwardness through which Hovhaness hoped to `inspire all
mankind with a new heroism and spiritual nobility.’

Given the destruction of so much of his earliest work, it’s remarkable
that Song of the Sea, a tone poem for piano and strings from 1933,
survived. Maybe Hovhaness had a sentimental attachment to the piece
since he was the soloist in the first performance in Boston that year.
It has few of the individual touches that we associate with the
composer, so unlike the other works on this disc, it has mostly
curiosity value. Not that the remainder of the compositions represent
Hovhaness at his most refined, however. The First Romanian Rhapsody,
with its punchy rhythms and percussion writing, is a winning little
piece though the other two Rhapsodies have less to offer.

It’s fascinating to hear Hovhaness’s First Symphony, one of
sixty-seven from his pen – fascinating especially since it was written
not too many years after Song of the Sea and yet has some of the
hallmarks of Hovhaness’s mature style: the skittering string figures
backed by near-static modal declamations from the brass. It doesn’t
have the sheer memorability of the Second Symphony, Mysterious
Mountain, but at least Hovhaness was on the right track in his Exile
Symphony. The work pays tribute to the victims of the Armenian
Massacre under the Ottoman Turks during World War I. It rises from a
somber opening movement to an epic and triumphant finale. Premiered by
Stokowski in 1943, it was the first of a number of premieres given by
Stokowski, climaxing with Mysterious Mountain, which the conductor
debuted with his Houston Symphony Orchestra in 1955.

The Concerto for Soprano Saxophone is a relatively late work (1980) in
which Hovhaness `harkens back to his earliest musical idiom – that from
the 1930s.’ It’s dominated by one of Hovhaness’s earliest enthusiasms,
for contrapuntal writing, which he employs in a mostly light and
light-textured work that’s conventionally tuneful in the manner of
Song of the Sea. The slow movement, built on dance rhythms, is
especially light-hearted; one critic I’ve read likens the up-tempo
middle section to English music hall fare. The finale, entitled `Let
the Living and Celestial Sing,’ returns to Hovhaness’s more exalted,
mystical style. It’s an odd amalgam of different influences; even the
choice of the soprano saxophone, more associated with the dance hall
than the concert hall, is an odd choice. The sax sounds right for the
slow movement, but in the modal music of the finale, it sounds
strangely out of place, as if Hovhaness is trying, not very
successfully, to turn it into some Middle Eastern folk instrument,
maybe a cross between the mellow duduk and the strident zuma. Or maybe
that’s not his intention at all. At any rate, for me this is far from
Hovhaness’s best.

I’d have to say that none of this music represents the essential
Hovhaness, as interesting as it is to hear some of his earliest
surviving tributes to his Armenian roots. The playing by the dedicated
members of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and saxophonist Kenneth
Radnofsky can’t be faulted, however. They receive pretty good
recordings in two different locales, though the recordings could have
benefited from a bit more depth and transparency. Still, for Hovhaness
enthusiasts and for those curious about the earlier works in his
canon, this is an enterprise worth exploring.

– Lee Passarella

MilAz.org, Azerbaijan
Feb 18 2012

Hillary Clinton: `The US is working in concert with the Minsk Group
partners toward a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between
Armenia and Azerbaijan’

11:11 18-02-2012
“The US will continue to encourage peace, stability, democracy, human
rights, and prosperity in the Caucasus next year”

`Obama Administration is reducing its humanitarian assistance request
by approximately $300 million compared to last year’s appropriation’

Washington. Isabel Levine – APA. “The US will continue to encourage
peace, stability, democracy, human rights, and prosperity in the
Caucasus next year”, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated in FY
2013 International Affairs Executive Budget Summary and Congressional
Budget Justification.

“The US is working in concert with the Minsk Group partners toward a
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan”, said the Secretary, APA’s correspondent reports.

Speaking about other regional conflicts, Secretary Clinton mentioned
that “Georgia continues to deal with the Abkhazia and South Ossetia
conflicts, including the disruptive fallout from the August 2008 war
with Russia, while moving forward on an ambitious political and
economic reform agenda. “The US goal is to support a sovereign, whole,
democratic and prosperous Georgia as a strong partner across a broad
range of security and policy issues, and as a potential model for
democratic change and reform in the region”.

The US also supports rapprochement among all countries in the region,
including between Turkey and Armenia.

The Secretary also underscores that the European Arms Control
Architecture has been at the forefront of Euro-Atlantic efforts to
strengthen stability and security in Europe by updating its arms
control architecture. However unresolved differences with Russia and
“frozen conflicts” in Europe have precluded the start of negotiations
using a unified NATO alliance approach toward a new framework for
conventional arms control in Europe.

Those “frozen conflicts” include those in Transnistria in Moldova,
Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia in
Georgia”, she added.

In the meanwhile, Secretary Clinton mentioned that the Obama
Administration is reducing its humanitarian assistance request by
approximately $300 million compared to last year’s appropriation. “We
plan to reduce overall assistance funding to Europe, Eurasia, and
Central Asia by 18 percent in FY 2013”.

This year, the State Department and USAID budget request totals $51.6
billion. “In the face of multiplying challenges, burgeoning needs, and
increased responsibilities, State and USAID have limited our request
to what is absolutely necessary to achieve our mission. We have
requested a modest increase that is less than the rate of inflation.
To ensure that every dollar we receive is spent wisely, we are also
focused on managing our performance. This request also serves as the
Annual Performance Report for FY 2011 and the Annual Performance Plan
for FY 2013”, she added.

APA, Azerbaijan
Feb 18 2012

French President sends letter to Azerbaijani President

[ 18 Feb 2012 18:58 ]
Ilham Aliyev receives French Minister for Transport and French
President’s Advisor

Baku – APA. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received French
Minister for Transport Thierry Mariani and Diplomatic Advisor to
French President Damien Loras.

Press service of the President told APA that Mariani presented the
letter of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to the Head of State.

French guest expressed confidence in the further development of his
country’s partnership relations with Azerbaijan.

The Head of State thanked for sincere opinions in Sarkozy’s letter on
development of bilateral relations and expressed confidence in further
development of relations. President Aliyev expressed hope in failure
of the law criminalizing the denial of `Armenian genocide’ to become
effective.

They also exchanged view on bilateral relation between Azerbaijan and
France, regional and international issues.

APA, Azerbaijan
Feb 18 2012

Kamal Abdullah: `Armenian community of Nagorno Karabakh fears of
perspectives of meetings with Azerbaijani community’

[ 18 Feb 2012 14:36 ]
Baku. Parvin Abbasov – APA. Armenian community of Nagorno Karabakh
avoids the meeting with Azerbaijani community.

I think they fear of perspectives of these negotiations, because
Armenians saw the current political, economical and moral situation of
Azerbaijan as a result of these relations and while comparing it with
current situation of Armenia they didn’t find an encouraging thing.
That’s why Armenian community avoids the contacts with Azerbaijani
community, member of the Public Union of `Azerbaijani Community of
Nagorno Karabakh’, rector of the Baku Slavic University Kamal Abdullah
told the journalists, APA reports. He said that finally Azerbaijan was
destined to live in neighborhood with them: `That’s why the steps
toward the settlement of relations must be continued. We took the
first step and they must continue it. But they didn’t continue and
unfortunately avoid taking relevant steps.’

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Feb 18 2012

Why `Zionists’ might give me an award

by MUSTAFA AKYOL

You might have heard that there are dozens of journalists in Turkey’s
prisons. For sure, this is a serious problem for Turkish democracy,
and hence I have been critical of the laws and legal mindset that has
caused these detentions. However, for the sake of presenting Turkey
with all its nuances, let me also shed some light on what sort of
`journalism’ we could be talking about here.

The majority of the journalists in jail are supporters of the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and they have been accused of
venerating the PKK’s terrorist actions. Recently, a prison sentence
was given to a headline which read, `Suicide bombing: the road to
Kurdish liberation,’ which would be a crime in some EU states as well.
(Mere sympathy for the PKK, however, should of course be free. But our
illiberal laws disagree.)

The most controversial cases are those of almost a dozen journalists
who are accused of making propaganda on behalf of the would-be juntas
in the Turkish military. And most of these are affiliated with a
popular website called `OdaTV.’
Frankly, I am not an avid reader of OdaTV, but recently one of their
pieces made my day. For it was about no one else but me and had a most
interesting headline: `Why will a Zionist foundation give an award to
Mustafa Akyol in March?’

`The jury will announce its decision in March, but let me tell you in
advance,’ asserted Mehmet Å?ekeroÄ?lu, the writer of the article. `The
award will be given to Mustafa Akyol, who had long been chosen.’

What Mr. Å?ekeroÄ?lu was talking about is the Lioner Gelber Prize, which
is presented annually to the best non-fiction book of the year. I have
been indeed lucky enough to have my book, `Islam without Extremes: A
Muslim Case for Liberty’ (W.W. Norton) as one of the 10 nominees of
this year, along with titles by Henry Kissinger and Francis Fukuyama.
But why Mr. Å?ekeroÄ?lu defined the Canada-based Lioner Gelber
Foundation as `Zionist’ is beyond me. It is probably the result of the
paranoid anti-Semitism that is prevalent in many other `news stories’
of OdaTv.

Yet why in the world would a `Zionist foundation’ reward me? For my
great contributions as a veteran Kibbutznik? Well, Mr. Å?ekeroÄ?lu had
an even better explanation. `In the recent years,’ he wrote, the
`tarikatçı-Zionist media’ had told me, `go on my son, write and
speak.’ (`Tarikatçı’ is someone who is a member of an Islamic sect; so
I was lucky to have both Islamists and `Zionists’ as my mentors.)
These forces had in fact done the same polishing for Orhan Pamuk, who,
according to Mr. Å?ekeroÄ?lu, was rewarded for betraying the Turkish
nation by supporting `the Armenian genocide libel.’

But what was my treason to the Turkish nation? Mr. Å?ekeroÄ?lu wisely explained:

`Mustafa Akyol… is a sworn enemy of socialism, and a defender of
capitalism whose wildness have penetrated into all his senses and
bones… His biggest mission is to convince the poor masses that their
dire conditions are a part of their `fate,’ and not the product of
capitalism… So, there is nothing more normal than a liberal-Zionist
foundation giving an award to Akyol.’

In other words, I was a distributor of the `opium of the people’
(a.k.a. religion), and hence came my bribes from the world’s
capitalist cabals.

Mr. Å?ekeroÄ?lu’s piece went on and on with such demonizing rhetoric, as
many other pieces in OdaTV do. Since I am familiar with such bilge, I
did not take it seriously. Moreover, I am ready to defend the right of
Mr. Å?ekeroÄ?lu and other Oda TV writers to keep on pushing their
ideology ` a toxic blend of socialism, nationalism, secularism and
anti-Semitism. But I would also disagree with anyone who thinks that
this is the type of `journalism’ that Turkey needs to become a saner
country.

February/18/2012