Month: September 2013

STOP LICKING THE OLIGARCHS’ BOOTS

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 12 2013

12 September 2013 – 3:57pm

David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

A mass protest of young people against the police took place in
Yerevan. Human rights activists, social and civil activists demanded
that the head of the police, Vladimir Gasparyan, bring to account
policemen who pressured and beat young activists and insulted women
who participated in protests against the authorities. The participants
in the protest addressed Gasparyan: “Stop licking the oligarchs’
boots!” and “Read the law instead of a prayer.”

Armenian youth have been becoming active since the beginning of last
year, but real force was gained by the movement after the increase
in public transport ticket prices in Yerevan and the beginning of
the construction of an elite 14-storey residential complex, against
which residents of the neighborhood protested. However, Yerevan Mayor
Taron Markaryan has already stated that “the construction matches
all city-planning norms, and it should be built.” According to Mayor,
demands by young people to dismiss the head of the capital transport
department, Henry Navasardyan, and the director of YerevanTrans,
Misak Ambartsumyan, cannot be fulfilled. On August 24 more than 40
activists were arrested.

People are accused of “disobeying the legal demands of the police,”
which are not clear even for policemen. The police cannot explain
what laws have actually been broken by participants of protests. The
only traditional excuse of the police is “we were told and we did it.”

After the cruel beating of one of the activists, journalist Argishti
Kiviryan, by three policemen, a criminal case was initiated against
him for “using force against a representative of power.” The reason
for the initiation was a report by a policeman, according to which the
journalist “insulted him and punched him, sitting in the police car.”

However, there is a video recording on the Armenian internet, which
shows that the policemen beat Kiviryan.

Considering that, the protesters sent a request to the General
Prosecution Service to provide the right to peaceful meetings,
find out and bring to account provocateurs, provide control over
implementation of human rights and initiate criminal cases against
policemen who violate the law. According to the human right activist
Arthur Sakunz, in the context of intensification of civil movements,
the police stopped differentiating between victims of lawlessness and
criminals, and actually defend real criminals. Arrests of activists
are described by Sakunz as “kidnapping”, as the police have no legal
reasons for them.

Civil disobedience to illegal decisions of officials seems quite
legal. Considering the fact that the peaceful protests are not
directed against policemen, the police have to show tolerance and
not use force. All recent events confirm that the threat of using
force against protesting young people is a political decision of the
ruling oligarchic regime. However, the resolve of the young people
to fight for their rights means that even a police baton cannot stop
further development of civil movements and disobedience of the illegal
decisions made by the authorities.

BADGUER – A WINDOW INTO BURJ HAMMOUD

Now.MMedia
Sept 8 2013

The result of a long history

NATHALIE ROSA BUCHER
September 8, 2013

Amid Burj Hammoud’s narrow alleys – lined with shops and workshops,
bustling with pedestrians and children on bicycles, and strung overhead
with Armenian flags, electric wires, and washing lines – Badguèr stands
out like an oasis. Dating back to 1930, this pink house near the Beirut
River is a promotional center for artisans and creativity, the ground
floor of which is home to authentic and delicious Armenian cuisine
comprised of carefully prepared dishes from traditional recipes.

The two-storey house includes exhibition venues, a boutique for
artistic creations and handcrafts, conference and training rooms,
a guest room to host master artisan trainers or for residencies,
and an outdoor terrace. The dining room is spacious and bright with
cozy tables covered with crocheted tablecloths. Rugs are displayed
on the walls and on the right hand side is a piano.

In the room adjacent to the restaurant visitors can watch a film about
Burj Hammoud’s artisans. Upstairs, exquisite Armenian needlework,
crochet creations, knitted slippers and jewelry are on display,
some dating back decades.

The house, which functions like a rhizome, is the brainchild of Arpine
Mangassian, who is known by everyone as Arpi.

“I wanted to create links,” Mangassian says of her motivation in
setting up Badguèr (which means ‘image’ or ‘photograph’ in Armenian.)
“Keeping to ourselves will be a disservice; we need to engage, we
need to open windows, create passages to make people curious [about
Burj Hammoud].”

Badguèr is the result of a long journey. “I had this dream; I knew
that this area had big potential socially, and regarding its artisanal
work. In our culture we used to feel proud of our accomplishments,
including cultural ones. We’ve always been creators and I wanted to
demonstrate this creative output.”

The realization of Mangassian’s dream began in 2009, when she was
invited to take part in in a special edition of the Agenda Culturel
focusing specifically on Burj Hammoud. She began receiving requests to
bring artisans to exhibitions and to do live demonstrations. “After a
series of exhibitions, I was lucky. My uncle gave me a gift and with
that the family could buy and renovate this house.”

Often hiding behind non-descript shop fronts across the Armenian
neighborhood are jewelers, hat and bag makers, tailors, shoemakers,
ceramicists, medal carvers, blacksmiths, locksmiths, and setters. The
area also abounds in repair shops. “If something’s broken, people
tend to say: ‘go to Burj Hammoud, they can fix it,'” Houry Ellezian,
a friend of Mangassian said. “We became famous for fixing things. We
never threw anything away, always kept stuff. We were the early
recyclers.”

Once a wetland, Burj Hammoud’s history as neighborhood dates back to
the 1920s, when it became the stopping point for Armenian refugees
who had managed to survive the genocide and escape its Turkish
perpetrators. Mangassian’s 92-year old father Noubar was born in
Aleppo, after his mother crossed deserts and plains on foot for
seven-months until reaching the Syrian border. A fixture at Badguèr,
Mangassian senior showed NOW a painting he made as a young man ofMother
Armenia, which is now on display in the restaurant area.

Carole Corm writes in her book Beirut: A guide to the city that “Burj
Hammoud would become the refugees’ enduring home with two-, three-and
four-story buildings, planned on a linear grid, gradually replacing
tents and wooden barracks…Armenian newspapers, social clubs,
schools and political parties developed over the span of a generation.

Bustling with activity, it is the industrial heart of the capital.”

The tour Mangassian and Ellezian gave NOW first stopped at the
Aprahamian Factory, which was established 60 years ago, supplying
local stores and exporting quality leather shoes to Africa and the
Gulf. Ellezian had bought shoes for her son’s prom there.

Vahe Mitilian, grandson of Lido Shoes’ founder, showed NOW a room
filled with leather swatches, prototypes and tools, where the latest
winter production was lined up. “So many pieces have to come together,”
Mitilian explained, opening a tinted glass cabinet filled with a range
of silver-studded high heels posing next to vertiginous stilettos
in leather and artificial materials. “Designing a new shoe is a
long process.”

Nearby a few men, each seated at their workstation, engaged in various
stages of this undertaking. Mitilian’s uncle Viken popped his head
through the door holding an 18cm stiletto: “The shoe will carry the
body and the body will carry the rest,” he said.

Next up was a visit to the goldsmith Kevork Kazanjian, who as the
teenage son of a diamond setter was sent to do an apprenticeship
with well-known Armenian goldsmith Busant Shublakian. Kazanjian
now sells his creations to shops in Lebanon, and works for private
clients at home and abroad. He displayed some finely crafted pendants
with precious stones inset as well as an antique gold ring on his
office desk.

Mangassian vividly recalls how as children she and her brother would
marvel at the giant cinema poster on display at Beirut’s Rivoli Cinema,
without fail signed ‘Havarian,’ making the two feel proud.

During Lebanese cinema’s golden age, the three Havarian brothers used
to paint large, unique posters for theaters all over Lebanon. Yervant
Havarian’s eyes lit up when talking about a 40x10m poster he painted
in his small workshop for a James Bond movie, which once complete was
mounted on the Concorde Centre in Verdun. “It is due to this poster
that they had the best box offices sales ever. It hasn’t been topped
until today,” he said. “I loved my job and did it with passion and
I loved the cinema.” Havarian now primarily paints religious oil
paintings for churches.

Mangassian currently serves as head of architecture and urban planning
for the Burj Hammoud’s municipality. In her office is a painting
carrying the dedication: “For Arpi, who carries her name well and
illuminates the whole of Burj Hammoud.” Arpi means ‘sun’ in Armenian.

Mangassian sees her role as an intermediary. “The aim of Badguèr is
to make their work known and connect the artisans with people who
will appreciate their artisanship.”

Badguèr is window into a world of highly skilled artisans, who gave
their families a new life in Lebanon while preserving skills passed
down by their fathers and forefathers. It is bound to change the way
visitors look at a story infused with trauma, resilience, creativity,
and spirit.

Beyond that, it also offers insight into Armenian culture, which to
Mangassian is a component of that rich Lebanese culture in which she
firmly believes.

For more information call 01 240 214 or 03 652 235 or consult Badguèr’s
Facebook page.

ARMENIAN POWER GANG MEMBERS PLEAD GUILTY IN LA

RAPSI, Russia
Sept 12 2013

MOSCOW, September 12 (RAPSI) – Eight individuals with such nicknames
as “Thick Neck” and – appropriately – “Guilty” pleaded guilty Tuesday
to charges connected with the activities of the so-called “Armenian
Power” gang in Los Angeles, California, the US Department of Justice
(DOJ) announced Wednesday.

The eight defendants were included alongside some 62 others to be
charged in a 140-count indictment with a range of offenses related
to the activities of the criminal enterprise, including among other
things drug trafficking and illegal firearms possession.

The eight individuals that pleaded guilty included four members and
associates of the gang, and four other individuals, according to
the statement.

29 of the 70 defendants were charged with participation in the
Armenian Power RICO Conspiracy. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations (RICO) Act, which essentially prohibits racketeering
in interstate and foreign business enterprises, aims to eradicate
organized crime.

According to the DOJ statement, “The RICO conspiracy charge alleges
a host of illegal activities, many of which involved sophisticated
fraudulent schemes of identity theft, bank fraud, credit card skimming,
manufacturing counterfeit checks and laundering criminal proceeds,
often electronically.”

Karo “Guilty” Yerkanyan, Arman “Thick Neck” Tangabekyan, Artur “Cham”
Pembejian, and Raymond “Rye” Tarverdyan were among the 29 charged
that pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy Tuesday.

The DOJ statement noted that, “In addition [to the RICO conspiracy
charge], defendants were involved in a variety of violent crimes,
such as extortion, kidnapping and firearms offenses.”

Beyond racketeering conspiracy, Guilty pleaded similarly to charges
of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to possess and
intent to distribute marijuana, as well as a felon-in-possession of
a firearm charge.

Thick Neck additionally pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated
identity theft.

Rye supplemented his racketeering conspiracy plea with one of bank
fraud, and Cham pleaded guilty only to racketeering conspiracy.

Four other individuals pleaded guilty to charges ranging from
aggravated identity theft to bank fraud.

The DOJ statement cites court documents in explaining that the
Armenian Power gang was formed in the Los Angeles district of East
Hollywood in the 1980s. It has been categorized as a street gang
under state law and is thought to have a membership of upwards of
250 documented members. The statement goes on to explain: “According
to court documents, Armenian Power members and associates regularly
carry out violent criminal acts, including murders, attempted murders,
kidnappings, robberies, extortions, and witness intimidation in order
to enrich its members and associates and preserve and enhance the
power of the criminal enterprise.”

From: Baghdasarian

YUGOSLAVIA, IRAQ, LIBYA, SYRIA, THEN KARABAKH

PRAVDA, Russia
Sept 12 2013

12.09.2013
Sergei Vasilenkov

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh started over 25 years ago. A truce
has been signed, but the root cause of the conflict has not been
resolved. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that it involved
not only Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also other influential countries
in the region, each pursuing its own goals. The United States decided
to assist in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been conflicting over the Nagorno-Karabakh
since February of 1988. It was then that the Nagorno-Karabakh
Autonomous Region has decided to withdraw from the Azerbaijani SSR. In
September of 1991 in the center of Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) was formed. Baku considered it illegal and abolished
the autonomy of Karabakh that existed in the Soviet years.

An armed conflict broke out that lasted until May of 1994 when the
parties have signed a ceasefire agreement. This has led to a loss
of control over Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan and, partially or
completely, seven surrounding areas.

Since that time, negotiations for a peaceful settlement of the
conflict have been ongoing. Azerbaijan seeks to preserve its
territorial integrity and protects the interests of Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh. However, in addition to these countries, other,
more powerful forces, are taking part in the conflict, with the main
ones being Russia and the United States. These players have opposing
views on the resolution of the conflict.

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Barack Obama believes that now it is the best time to establish
peace in the region “in the compromise that was reached during the
negotiations.” This message was sent to Azerbaijani President Aliyev by
a new co-chair of the Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh from the United
States, James Warlick. Warlick is currently in Baku with a visit.

Obama stressed that he supported James Warlick. He said that his
recent appointment was a strong indicator of the unique and strong
commitment of the U.S. to promote a peaceful settlement of the conflict
in Nagorno-Karabakh. He also believes that Warlick’s vast diplomatic
experience coupled with the desire of the Government of Azerbaijan
to achieve progress in the settlement will give new stimulus to the
work of the co-chairs.

Obama’s message stated that the co-chairs shall conduct a direct
dialogue with Armenia to find a way out of the current impasse in
the negotiations. The United States along with France and Russia
are co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group that performs mediation in the
settlement of this conflict.

Political scientist Rasim Musabekov, deputy of Milli ME~Yclis,
National Assembly of Azerbaijan, and Andrey Kazantsev, director of
the Institute of International Studies, MGIMO, saw two major reasons
for Obama’s decisive words about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Musabekov believes that in this way the United States is signaling
that they plan to divert the Russian initiative in the negotiation
process. “The negotiations have been stalled for over two years,
they have been almost non-existent. This situation causes concern
in the United States, and the U.S. officials have repeatedly talked
about this, and the Americans are even frustrated with Russia in
this regard. This is understandable, because for the last five years
Russia has been the main player in this process. At the initiative of
the then Russian President Medvedev meetings of presidents were held,
but then the progress has stalled,” Musabekov stressed.

“The United States stepped back a little and gave the first role to
the Russian Federation, but there have been no specific results. It
is not ruled out that the U.S. could significantly step up its role
in the co-chairmanship. This may be precisely the reason behind the
American president’s message, but we would be able to speak more
about the reasons only on the basis of further steps of the U.S. and
the new co-chair,” said Musabekov.

Kazantsev suggested that this way the United States is trying to
put pressure on Armenia that last week turned its integration vector
towards Russia. “I did not see anything new in Obama’s message. The
U.S. position within the Minsk Group has always boiled down to a
peaceful settlement and promotion of a dialogue. However, it has always
remained at the level of big statements. The U.S. did not want to
spend real resources on this dialogue, for example, provide financial
assistance to refugees or arrange meetings. The Russian side has been
always doing it. Perhaps Obama will try doing it, too,” Kazantsev said.

“The West faced an unexpected situation with Armenia. Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan outplayed everyone by deciding to enter the
Customs Union. This fact has shocked the EU that was planning to sign
the Association Agreement with Armenia. Now the U.S. has decided to
indirectly influence the situation,” Kazantsev explained.

It would seem that the United States and Karabakh are very far apart.

Why do the Americans need this unrecognized republic and stalled
conflict? But things are not that simple, and in global politics a
small region at the right moment can play a very important role for
the global players. The United States has plans for the territory
of Karabakh.

The Committee on Foreign Appropriations of the United States in July
of this year approved the provision of aid to Nagorno-Karabakh in
2014. Earlier the committee suggested the government to significantly
reduce the external assistance expenses in 2014. The amount of aid has
been reduced for many countries, but not Nagorno-Karabakh. According
to the Committee’s Executive Director Aram Hamparian, the U.S.

financial aid contributes to “promoting the interests of the United
States in the strategic region.”

The question arises – why are the Americans funding the
Nagorno-Karabakh but have always refused to take any serious action
to resolve the conflict in the region?

The answer was provided by the director of the Institute of Social
and Political Studies of the Black Sea and Caspian Region Vladimir
Zakharov. He believes that the U.S. is not going to settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict because they want to use the territory of
the unrecognized republic in an attack on Iran.

“The United States cannot give up the idea of launching a war with
Iran. To do that, the Americans need to have territories in close
proximity to Iran reachable by the American aircraft,” said Zakharov.

Azerbaijan, according to Zakharov, is not suitable for the role
of a springboard for U.S. aircraft because Tehran warned of the
possibility of retaliation against the republic if it provides active
military aid to the U.S.” The Americans need to keep its satellite
intact. Karabakh is a great temporary strip for commencing military
action,” said Zakharov.

He noted that the United States once again has a policy of double
standards. It is allegedly trying to resolve the conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh, but at the same time pursues its own selfish goals.

Zakharov is convinced that the “American” theme is precisely the
obstacle to the resumption of the negotiation process.

His assumption is confirmed by the fact that the U.S. has requested
the UN’s agreement on the deployment of U.S. peacekeepers in
Nagorno-Karabakh for the second time. So far the UN has not given a
positive response.

Deployment of the American peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh is an
integral part of the plan to invade Iran. U.S. troops withdrawn
from Afghanistan will be stationed in Azerbaijan. A U.S. war with
Iran could start with large-scale operations of Azerbaijan troops
in Nagorno-Karabakh. After that the U.S. forces will enter the
Nagorno-Karabakh with a peacekeeping mission. Then these “peacekeepers”
will take part in the military campaign against Iran.

No one in the United States is going to really solve the conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh, because all they need is a territory for a military
base. It is a simple but at the same time cunning plan.

Pravda.Ru

From: A. Papazian

AN ARMENIAN SKETCHBOOK BY VASILY GROSSMAN: FAR FROM HIS BELOVED MOSCOW, REFLECTING ON THE BEST AND WORST OF HUMANITY

New Statesman
Sept 12 2013

As he connects with Armenian peasants, we are reminded that this ill,
suffering man, far from home, is one of the great writers of his time.

By David Herman

In February 1961, KGB officers raided Vasily Grossman’s apartment.

They were looking for his unpublished novel Life and Fate. They seized
the manuscript, his notes and even the ribbon from his typewriter. But
friends had already taken a copy away. It was smuggled to the west
and is now widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of 20thcentury
literature.

After the raid, Grossman went to Armenia for two months. It is not
altogether clear why. He was in the early stages of cancer and his
marriage was in trouble. He had a commission to translate an Armenian
novel into Russian and presumably he wanted to get away from Moscow.

His account of his time there was published posthumously in 1965 in
censored form. A complete version is now available for the first time
in translation.

An Armenian Sketchbook shows Grossman at the end of his life, far from
his beloved Moscow, reflecting on the best and worst of humanity. One
of the first things that strikes himin Armenia’s capital, Yerevan,
is the huge statue of Stalin. “No matter where you are in the city,”
he writes, “you can clearly see the titanic bronze marshal.” It is
a monument to “the merciless builder of a great and terrible state”.

Grossman was writing during the Khrushchev thaw and he is able to
discuss crimes such as the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust,
but also the Gulag.

He encounters an old Armenian whose father “was buried in Siberia,
nobody knows where”. Later, he meets “a sweet, asthmatic old man” who
was sent to a Siberian camp for 19 years. He then relates his aunt’s
life story. “Her husband, an economist, was arrested for no reason
in 1937 and died in Kolyma.” Her son, Volodya, “was arrested and then
killed in prison by his interrogator”. This is the dark background to
Grossman’s extraordinary travelogue. He writes beautifully about the
ancient churches and monasteries, the harsh landscapes, the peasant
food. He is fascinated by “the spirit of paganism” that lives on in the
tiny hillside villages, “in drunken songs and stories from the past”.

Grossman starts by reflecting on how different everything is. He
reflects on national types. What are Armenians like? He notes how bleak
the landscape appears. Then he goes into a small village hut and sees
a stove and suddenly he realises that this stove is like every other
stove he has seen all over the Soviet Union. He is 3,000 kilometres
from Moscow and yet he is “back in village Russia”: “Here in Armenia,
I witnessed the extraordinary steadfastness of the Russian stove,
the Russian hut, the Russian porch . . .”

Then Grossman listens to the peasants and realises how much he has in
common with them as they talk about “love for other people, right and
wrong, good and evil, faith and lack of faith”. It is not just that
Grossman the translator and bespectacled Jewish outsider is at home
with these people. He also connects through the values at the heart of
his writing. Here, close to Mount Ararat, are people who believe in the
very things that animate his novels – decency, compassion, humanity.

An Armenian Sketchbook ends with a village wedding. Amid the remote,
“stony desolation”, the author feels at home. When a villager proposes
a toast to the Jews killed by the Nazis Grossman is tremendously
moved. The outsider feels that he belongs. As he connects with these
peasants, his writing comes to life and we are reminded that this ill,
suffering man, far from home, is one of the great writers of his time,
and that these values are at the heart of his greatness.

EXPERTS DISCUSS ARMENIA’S CHOICE OF CUSTOMS UNION

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 12 2013

12 September 2013 – 1:21pm

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in Russia ten days ago
that Armenia will join the Customs Union. Russian and Armenian
experts gathered to discuss the choice between the Customs Union
and development of integration within the framework of the Eastern
Partnership. A summit will be organized for the latter in Vilnius in
November 2013.

Alexander Skakov, coordinator of the working group of the Center for
Studies of Central Asia, Caucasus, Ural-Volga of the Institute for
Oriental Studies of the RAS, said that both choices lacked road maps
and there were no visible prospects for appearance of any.

Vyacheslav Kovalenko, Russian Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Ambassador to Georgia and Armenia (2009-2013), Director for regional
programs of the Institute for Caspian Cooperation, emphasized that both
sides had political will and there were no obstacles for development of
a road map in Russia. He noted that Russia needed to integrate Armenia
with regions and small business to boost the agricultural reform.

Kovalenko said that many Armenians were living in Russia’s South
and will most likely study in Yerevan, a city suitable for opening a
branch of the MSU. Armenia has only 100 centers offering free lessons
of the Russian language.

Alexander Markarov, Director of the Armenian branch of the Institute
of CIS States, said that joining the Customs Union would strengthen
economic and military cooperation with Armenia. Russia is the main
investor in Armenia. Small and medium business would get benefits. The
humanitarian field of Armenia would benefit from the MSU branch.

Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of the Institute for the Caucasus, said
that the decision to join the Customs Union was political. He noted
the role of Russian business in Armenia and popularity of the Russian
language, but he reminded that there were still problems with Georgia.

Skakov said that restoration of railway communications were a matter
of recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. They are
more likely to be recognized by Brussels than Georgia. Skakov noted
another project: the road from Vladikavkaz to Tbilisi to bypass the
two breakaway republics.

Iskandaryan emphasized that Armenia will need to make the choice in
autumn. Armenia cooperated with the US, Iran, Georgia and Russia and
could not step over the security problem.

ARMENIAN CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISTS ATTACKED: HRW

Focus News, Bulgaria
Sept 12 2013

12 September 2013 | 13:17 | FOCUS News Agency

Yerevan. At least five Armenian civil society activists have been
attacked by unidentified assailants while taking part in recent
protests in the capital Yerevan, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday,
AFP reported.

“A spate of violent attacks against peaceful protesters appears to be
a concerted effort to intimidate activists and should be effectively
investigated,” the New York-based rights group said in a statement.

Two prominent civil society activists were hospitalised last week
after taking part in a protest in Yerevan against Armenian President
Serzh Sarkisian’s decision to join a Russian-led customs union,
the rights group said.

Three youth activists were also attacked in two separate incidents
on August 25 and September 4 after participating in demonstrations
at a municipal building in Yerevan, the statement said.

In a report released last month, Amnesty International said that
activists and journalists in the ex-Soviet state face harassment and
intimidation for questioning mainstream views in the Caucasus nation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITALIAN APPAREL LABELS MAY LAUNCH PRODUCTION IN ARMENIA

Fibre2fashion.com
Sept 12 2013

September 12, 2013 (Armenia)

Italian high-fashion apparel labels such as Versace, Prada, Armani
and Moschino may launch apparel production in the Armenian state of
Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR), following a meeting with the prime
minister, Mr. Arayik Harutyunyan.

The Italian companies are expected to become part of a textile
industry complex in Artsakh region, for which the building of the
former Gharmetakskombinat textile enterprise is being reconstructed.

The new industrial sites will be provided to the Italian companies,
which have proposed setting up of production facilities in the
Armenian state.

The prime minister said this is the first cooperation of NKR with
famous brands and it is one of the most important projects for Artsakh
in the field of light industry.

>From January to July 2013, Armenia produced 1,409 million pairs
of knitted garments and hosiery, showing a rise of 37.7 percent
year-on-year.

Textiles sector was one of the 11 sectors identified by the Armenian
Government in December 2011, as a part of its export-oriented
industrial policy. Subsequently, in 2012, Italian lingerie brand La
Perla invested in Armenia.

PASADENA TO COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915 WITH MONUMENT IN MEMORIAL PARK

The Tribune
Sept 12 2013

PASADENA, California – Pasadena will commemorate the Armenian genocide
of 1915 with a monument in Memorial Park.

The Los Angeles Times reports () the City Council
unanimously approved a design for the memorial, which will include
a stone water basin straddled by a tripod of three columns.

A single drop of water will fall from the highest point every three
seconds, with each “teardrop” representing one life lost.

The nonprofit Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee is raising
funds to erect the monument before the centennial observance of the
genocide in April 2015.

Organizers say Pasadena is a fitting home for the tribute because
the city was the first in Southern California to embrace Armenian
immigrants before and after the genocide.

The memorial was designed by Catherine Menard, a student at the Art
Center College of Design.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL APPROVED BY PASADENA CITY COUNCIL

89.3 KPCC, CA
Sept 11 2013

Bianca Ramirez

The Pasadena City Council has approved the city’s first Armenian
Genocide monument. The Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee
is behind the project, which will be built at Memorial Park.

Bill Paparian, chairman of the board of directors for the nonprofit
organization, described the future memorial.

“The memorial will have a scaffold. And the scaffold will straddle
a large bowl, which will have inscribed in it the symbol for eternity.

And from the top of the tripod, every 21 seconds a drop of water
will drop representing a tear for each life lost. Over the course
of a year, there will be one-and-a-half million tears that will fall
into the pool,” Paparian said.

He said that construction crews will break ground on the monument on
April 24, 2014. It’s set to open to the public on the same date in
2015 – to mark the 100th anniversary of the slaying of 1.5 million
Armenians under the Ottoman Empire.