Month: September 2013

ARMENIA IS VERY IMPRESSIVE – OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALIST FIGURE SKATER STEPHANE LAMBIEL
By Shushanik Hakobyan

September 3, 2013

YEREVAN. – Of course I had heard about Armenia. You have a lot of
famous people such as Andre Agassi, Charles Aznavour, and Cher.

Swiss figure skater, two-time World Champion and 2006 Olympic silver
medalist Stephane Lambiel stated the abovementioned during a briefing
with news reporters.

At present, Lambiel works with Japanese figure skaters as
choreographer.

“I am very excited and impressed. I am here [in Armenia] for the first
time, but I can say that I love this country. [Capital city Yerevan]
is a very beautiful city with an interesting architecture. Everyone
is very positive. Now that I have visited Armenia, I want to come
back again later,” Lambiel said.

To note, the Japanese national figure skating team had decided to
train in Armenia for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which will be held in
Sochi, Russia.

Four Japanese figure skaters are currently carrying out tentative
trainings at Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex in Yerevan.

They will spend six days in Armenia and get familiar with the
conditions and the ice.

Ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the entire Japanese national
figure skating team will arrive in Armenia.

Photo by NEWS.am Sport

NEWS.am Sport

VLADIMIR PUTIN: ARMENIA’S INTEGRATION WITH EURASIAN STRUCTURES WILL GIVE A STRONG IMPULSE TO MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL COOPERATION

by Elita Babayan

ARMINFO
Tuesday, September 3, 19:51

Armenia’s integration with Eurasian structures will give a strong
impulse to mutually beneficial cooperation, Russian President Vladimir
Putin said after his meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
in Moscow on Tuesday.

He said that the meeting was very constructive and reflected the
nature of the Armenian-Russian strategic partnership. “We have
discussed all the key issues, with priority given to economic ties.

Russia is Armenia’s key trade and economic partner. Last year our trade
turnover grew by 22% to more than $1.2bln. In Jan-May 2013 it rose by
13%. Russian investments in Armenia have exceeded $3bln. This is almost
half of all foreign investments made in the Armenian economy. There are
almost 1,300 Russian companies in Armenia or about 25% of all foreign
companies working in the country. They cover a wide range of fields:
gas, nuclear and hydro energy, transport, telecoms, finances. Among
our biggest projects are Gazprom’s participation in the construction
of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, the activities of Inter RAO UES to
restore the Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade, Rosatom’s plans to extend the life
of Armenian Nuclear Power Plant by 10 years,” Putin said.

He said that Russian Railways is planning to invest almost 15bln
RUR in Armenian railroads, while Vneshtorgbank and Gazprombank are
committed to enlarge their activities in the banking sector.

“We are ready to develop our cooperation in culture, science and
education. We have Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University plus
six branches of Russian universities, with over 2,000 students,”
Putin said.

He said that during the meeting he and Sargsyan also discussed the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

PUTIN: RUSSIAN RAILWAYS MAY INVEST ABOUT 15 BILLION RUBLES IN DEVELOPMENT OF ARMENIA’S RAILROADS

YEREVAN, September 3. /ARKA/. Russian Railways may invest about
15 billion rubles in development of Armenia’s railroads, Russian
President Vladimir Putin told journalists today after he met with
his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan, in Moscow.

“Russian Railways is thought to invest about 15
billion rubles in development of the Armenian
railway network,” he said. —0—- – See more at:

PAK SHOUKA ACTIVISTS: ‘WE WILL NOT BE DISSUADED BY TERROR TACTICS OF ALEKSANYAN LED CAMP’

12:16, September 3, 2013

Activists who are intent on stopping what they call the illegal
desecration of Yerevan’s Pak Shouka (Closed Market), say they
will not be dissuaded by the aggressive behaviour and outright
assaults perpetrated against them by those who have been staging
counter-demonstrations in favour of converting the landmark into a
commercial supermarket.

The activists opposed to the construction at the market, in a public
statement issued today, have called on the police to ensure their
safety in the future, blaming them for allowing the opposite camp to
commit physical violence and psychological intimidation tactics.

They argue that MP Samvel Aleksanyan, the owner of the market, by
organizing a crowd of so-called “supporters” of what he is doing,
is seeking to divert the public attention from the wider issue.

The “Liberate the Landmark from the Oligarch” civic movement says that
the police failed to protect the rights of peaceful assembly of those
attending the protests on August 31 and September 1 near the market.

The organization says that the public’s demands regarding the site
remain the same, namely that the owner of the market, MP Samvel
Aleksanyan, should provide compensation, as prescribed by law, for
the damage already caused and that the structure be returned to its
original condition.

In addition, the civic movement says that Aleksanyan be stripped of
the right to use the site for commercial purposes until the above
demands are met.

The movement concludes by declaring that they are planning a new
round of protests soon.

S. GRIGORIAN: TURKEY RESORTS TO OBVIOUS PROVOCATIONS IN SYRIAN ISSUE

Wednesday,
September
04

The current situation in Syria is far from a conflict resolution
and prospects for resolution are rather unreal, Sargis Grigorian,
an Arabist, said at a meeting with reporters today.

“The United States and France are guided by information of their
intelligence services. In my opinion, these developments are directed
not only against Syria. There are interested forces which want the
balance of forces in the region to change. This conflict may degenerate
into an ethnic and religious confrontation,” Grigorian said.

In his words, in the Syrian issue, Turkey resorts to obvious
provocations. He added that Turkey’s statements are even more
belligerent than those of the U.S.

03.09.2013, 20:11

Aysor.am

CONTRACT SERVICEMAN DIES SUDDENLY IN ARMENIA

Wednesday,
September
04

Contract serviceman Alik Janvelian died suddenly today, on September 3,
on a frontline position, following workout exercises on the horizontal
bar, Aysor.am was informed by Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman
Artsrun Hovhannisian.

Details of the incident have not been given yet.

03.09.2013, 19:26

Aysor.am

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARF’S HOVANNESIAN CLARIFIES AMBASSADORSHIP RUMORS

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

ARF Parliamentary faction leader and Bureau member Vahan Hovannesian

ARF leader confirms that he has been approached to represent Armenia
in a diplomatic capacity

YEREVAN-Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau member and leader of
the party’s parliamentary bloc Vahan Hovannesian on Tuesday confirmed
that he has been approached by the Sarkisian Administration to
represent Armenia as an ambassador.

In an interview with Yerkir.am Hovanessian responded to questions,
which aimed to quell rampant rumors in the Armenian media, including
speculation by some outlets that Hovannesian’s reported appointment
is signaling a shift in the party’s political posturing and its role
as an opposition party.

Reports in the Armenian media suggested that Hovannesian is being
eyed for the ambassadorship of Germany. While Hovanessian did not
confirm the destination of his appointment but said, “Yes. I have
received an offer to represent Armenia.”

“The offer was made directly to me and not to the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation,” explained Hovannesian, adding that the
suggestion does not aim to establish a new agreement with the party,
nor does it aim to advance cooperation with the ARF.

“I repeat, the offer has been made to me and I have agreed. Naturally,
I have presented this issue to the party, which has also given its
blessing,” said Hovanessian.

The ARF leader said that administration’s offer to him stemmed from
his years of experience in foreign policy where he has led the Armenian
parliamentary delegation to EeuroNest and his current co-chairmanship
of the same body. Hovanessian has also led active roles in Armenia’s
delegation to the NATO Partnership for Peace Program and the European
Union’s Eastern Partnership Program.

“I would like to stress that during the last three years, given
Armenia’s integration talks with Europe, the activities in the sphere
of EuroNest have become a daily diplomatic effort,” said Hovannesian.

“Despite the extremely non-conducive environment created by
representatives of GUAM countries, our delegation has registered
significant successes.”

Hovanessian also explained that offer is a practical one and does
not signal a change in his political views, which have been clearly
articulated during his tenure as a member of parliament.

“I am certain the person making this offer is well-aware of my
positions and posturing,” said Hovanessian who called media reports
that allege a shift in the ARF’s policy “wrong” and “deliberate,
in order to confuse the public.”

Hovannesian was asked about his and the ARF’s very public
disagreements with the administration, specifically as it related to
the Armenia-Turkey protocols and the party’s call for Foreign Minister
Eduard Nalbandian’s resignation.

Hovanessian explained that the disagreements remain not only on the
matter of the protocols but also on other fronts, including a proposal
to sign a memorandum of understanding on military cooperation between
Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

“The work of an ARF leader in the diplomatic arena in no way deters
the party,” explained Hovanessian, adding that the work of a diplomat,
under ethical mandates, assumes a level of restrictions, which is
very normal.

AZERBAIJAN IS THE LAST BY PRESS FREEDOM INDEX IN REGION

18:35 03/09/2013 ” ECONOMY

In the framework of the project “Monitoring of speech freedom in
Eastern Region of the European Neighborhood Policy”, Azerbaijan has
taken the last place by press freedom index in the region. This was
publicized by journalistic organization “Yeni Nasil.”

According to the Azerbaijani news agency “Turan”, the index is based
on expert surveys, in which were included by human rights activists,
sociologists, public figures and journalists who have five years of
experience in their fields and are not represented in state agencies
and political organizations. The survey was conducted in June 22-25.

The article notes that the situation on the block of “Politics” was
determined based on eight criteria. In the block “Practice” the rating
is given on 37 criteria, including murders, beatings, abductions,
detentions, harassment and blackmailing of the media members, etc.

Situation in broadcasting block was evaluated according to 5 criteria:
independence of public and private broadcasters, the role of the
regulatory body, pluralism in the air, the concept of the transition
to digital broadcasting.

Assessment in the field of Internet and the new media is also given by
5 criteria: rules restricting the freedom of the Internet, the presence
of regulatory bodies, the persecution of bloggers and active users
of social networks, monopolies in the field of Internet services,
limitation of the access to information sources on the Internet,
terms of Internet usage.

The final index was compiled by adding up the points in the blocks.

Index 1 was the lowest one and included scores from 0 to 250, index
7 was the highest one (from 1360 to 1650).

As a result, Georgia has got 1,222 points, Moldova has got 1111,
Armenia – 912, Ukraine – 797, Azerbaijan – 523 and Belorussia –
414 points.

Source: Panorama.am

HAYK BABUKHANYAN SAYS ARMENIA SHOULD NOT SIGN ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT WITH EU

16:33 03/09/2013 ” POLITICS

Armenia should not sign the Association Agreement with the European
Union, member of the RPA parliamentary faction, leader of the
Constitutional Law Union Hayk Babukhanyan told a news conference
in Yerevan.

“Firstly, our value system is opposed to Europe’s pseudo-European
values. In the respect of security policy, there are no two opinions
that Armenia should maintain the security guarantees provided by its
alliance with Russia. The third factor is economic. We saw the study
of Ecorys – which is the partner of the European Union – showing that
agriculture and farmery will be liquidated in Armenia, forcing about
1 million people to emigrate,” Babukhanyan said.

Source: Panorama.am

From: A. Papazian

WHEN THE FORMULA OF LIFE OF THE HEROES BECOME OUR FORMULA OF LIFE…

18:25 03.09.2013

Alisa Gevorgyan
“Radiolur”

The 5th and 6th volumes of the “Formula of life” were presented at
the Library after Avetik Isahakyan. The author of the book is Gohar
Martikyan, mother of a killed freedom fighter. She said the seventh
volume of the book is also ready and will be published if there
are sponsors.

The program “Formula of life” has aired on Public Radio of Armenia
for many years. The topic of the program inspires hope, pride and
optimism. Author of the program Gohar Martikyan presents the life
and the history of feats of the freedom fighters, who perished in
the Atsakh liberation movement, and relives her pain with every story.

Gohar Martikyan’s son, sergeant Ashot Chakhoyan, was the first victim
from the special regiment.

“We’ll definitely have the Armenia all of us dreams about, if the
history of feats of these heroes and the formula of their life becomes
the formula of life of any of us,” Gohar Martikyan says.