Month: September 2013

WatertownDailyTimes.com, MA
Sept 21 2013

St. John’s in Massena to celebrate Armenian National Day on Sunday

By BOB BECKSTEAD
JOHNSON NEWSPAPERS

MASSENA – St. John’s Episcopal Church is putting out the welcome mat
Sunday for anyone who wants to learn about Armenian history.

The congregation will celebrate Armenian National Day at 2 p.m. in the
parish hall with a film, `The Armenian Genocide,’ along with personal
stories from some of Massena’s Armenian citizens.

The Rev. Elizabeth Papazoglakis, church rector, said it’s an
opportunity for others to learn about the rich heritage of Massena’s
Armenian community.

`We invited all the Armenian people that were on our roll,’ she said.
`We invited them to invite the Armenian people in the community and
anybody else in the community who would like to hear the Armenian
story. We’re asking people to come together and learn their story. If
they’re people of Armenian descent, they can come and share their
story. It’s just a gathering to honor them.’

The 2006 film `The Armenian Genocide’ is a 60-minute documentary
produced by PBS. It explores the Ottoman Empire killings of more than
1 million Armenians during World War I and features never-before-seen
historical footage of the events and key players.

`They use real clips with historians telling the story of what’s gone
on,’ the Rev. Mrs. Papazoglakis said. `Their stories have not been
told. When you hear `holocaust,’ you hear Jews. Yes, that was a
horrific story that began in 1915.’

Genocide Remembrance Day is held April 24, but `it was more conducive
on our calendars to honor this in September,’ the rector said.

She said that when she and her husband, the Rev. Tom Papazoglakis,
arrived at St. John’s earlier this year, they found a tapestry that
had been a gift to the church from Armenians who worshipped there.

`We were very interested in learning their stories,’ she said.

On Sunday, everyone will have an opportunity to hear those stories.
Refreshments will be served during the event.

`It’s really important to keep these stories alive and have an
appreciation for the citizens that live among us. We need to make sure
people know what other people are capable of doing,’ the Rev. Mrs.
Papazoglakis said. `If you don’t know what happened in the past, you
can’t conceive that it’s happening again.’

Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
Sept 21 2013

Russian leaders don’t deal in soft power

Published: September 20, 2013
By ANNE APPLEBAUM

LONDON — “Right makes might — not the other way around,” President
Obama said in the Rose Garden a few weeks ago. We all know what he
meant: In this age of soft power, great countries can win friends not
through the use of brute force but through their books and movies,
their sophisticated economies, their technological innovations and,
above all, through their attractive and inspiring national ideals.

Maybe that’s true, some of the time. But for those who find soft power
difficult to wield, hard power is still available. Indeed, in the same
week that the American president made his Rose Garden speech, events
on the other side of the globe were proving that might certainly can
make right. Even while the world’s attention was fixed on
Russian-American diplomacy in Syria, back home the Russian president,
Vladimir Putin, was pulling off a much quieter but potentially more
significant diplomatic coup. After three years of intensive
negotiations, Armenia, Russia’s neighbor, had been on the brink of
signing an association agreement, including a comprehensive trade
deal, with the European Union. But on Sept. 3 — right in the middle
of the Syria crisis — the Armenian government abruptly declared that
it would drop the whole project. Rather than aligning itself with the
world’s largest free-trade zone and some of the world’s most
sophisticated democracies, Armenia decided to stick with Russia,
Belarus and Kazakhstan and opted to join the Eurasian Customs Union.

No one pretends that Armenia was attracted by Russia’s soft power. By
way of explanation, President Serge Sarkisian has said that Armenia
depends on Russia for its security and that Armenia has a large
diaspora living in Russia. This sounds odd: Most security alliances,
NATO included, do not require their members to join a customs union,
and the presence of immigrants in one country doesn’t usually affect
trade policy in another. But Armenia has been made anxious in recent
weeks by Russian diplomatic overtures to Azerbaijan, Armenia’s main
rival, as well as by anti-immigrant rhetoric from Russian officials.
The Armenians took the hint: If they signed the trade deal with
Europe, Russia might sell more arms to their rival and expel the
Armenians who live in Russia.

The Armenians were no doubt watching Russian moves elsewhere in their
immediate neighborhood, where a distinct pattern is emerging. On Sept.
11, Russia banned the import of Moldovan wine on the grounds that it
is a “health hazard.” Ukrainian chocolates have suffered the same
fate. Another old tactic, the use of gas pricing and supply as a tool
of political influence, is being resurrected in Ukraine. In essence —
and I’m summarizing here — the Russians have let the Ukrainians
understand that if they drop their own negotiations with Europe and
join the Eurasian Customs Union, the price of gas they import from
Russia could drop by more than half.

It’s an excellent offer, so much so that — examined objectively — it
seems extraordinary that the Ukrainians have not accepted it already.
But Ukraine is still deliberating, and has been for some time. Even
its most Russophilic politicians know that the decision represents not
a short-term financial decision but a long-term civilizational choice,
between the relatively open markets and open politics of Europe and
the close world of the former Soviet Union. One Armenian opposition
politician explained the consequences of his country’s decision to
choose Russia over Europe like this: “Armenia, by choosing the customs
union instead of agreements with the EU, will remain a country of
oligarchs and monopolies just like Russia.”

Yet when examined objectively, it seems extraordinary that the
Russians want their neighbors to make that kind of choice, too. Surely
it is in Russia’s own interests to share borders with countries that
have broad international contacts, faster economic growth, access to
Western markets and, therefore, wealthier domestic consumers who could
buy Russian goods. Surely it is in Russia’s interests, in the long
term, to have similar access to Western markets itself. There’s no
reason to think that if Europe did manage to craft association
agreements with Armenia, Ukraine and Moldova, a similar arrangement
with Russia would not eventually follow.

The explanation is as straightforward as it is sad: Russia’s ruling
elite, led by Putin, does not act in Russia’s interests. Russian
elites act in their own interests. At the moment, they are convinced
that economic nationalism and the language of neo-imperialism will win
them popular support, and possibly private profits. I wonder how long
the rest of the Russians will put up with it.

European Voice
Sept 21 2013

Soft power, of the bullying sort

By Edward Lucas – 12.09.2013 / 04:05 CET

You have a free choice between Russia and the EU, the Kremlin is
telling its neighbours, but only so long as you choose us

Russia is trying to win control of its neighbourhood. But just as in
the row over NATO expansion, its tactics may backfire. This time, the
argument is over whether six ex-Soviet countries – Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – have the right to
determine their own future. Will they join the Russian-led Eurasian
Customs Union, or choose the European Union, which offers free trade,
close political ties, and even, eventually (just possibly, perhaps,
sometime in the future) membership?

The details are tricky. For authoritarian-minded elites, the Russian
way of running things has its advantages: you control the media, lock
up the opposition, and manipulate the economy to please your
supporters. The EU’s demands for open political and economic
competition look threatening. Jam tomorrow in exchange for the promise
of painful changes is less attractive than caviar today with few
strings attached.

In Belarus, the EU option is not even on the table. For all their
mutual loathing, more unites than divides Vladimir Putin and Alexander
Lukashenko. Azerbaijan, awash with oil and gas money, cares little for
Western strictures, and deals with them through lavish hospitality and
occasional arm-twisting (brilliantly documented by my friend Gerald
Knaus of the European Stability Initiative, in his pamphlet `Caviar
diplomacy’, available at bit.ly/caviar-diplomacy).

That leaves three small countries and a big one. Russia has scored a
victory, seemingly, with Armenia, threatening to leave it at
Azerbaijan’s mercy in any conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Officials in
Yerevan are covered with bruises, but singing Russia’s song through
gritted teeth. Georgia has shown signs of wobbling, but the prime
minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, says he is determined to go ahead with
the European choice.

Moldova, the keenest European, is facing a Russian onslaught. `I hope you

won’t freeze,’ said Russia’s deputy prime minister, Dmitry Ragozin,
pithily, raising the threat of a gas cut-off. The Kremlin has already
banned Moldovan wine exports. Ukraine, the biggest country and the
greatest prize, has also suffered a series of trade embargos and other
difficulties.

In the short term, these threats may have an effect. But they do
nothing for Russia’s image as a friendly, responsible regional power.
Even the most dim-witted post-Soviet leader (Ukraine’s Viktor
Yanukovych leaps to mind) can see the Kremlin’s line: you have a free
choice, but only so long as you choose us.

The EU, by contrast, may be annoying, bureaucratic, inefficient,
patronising, riddled with double standards and slow moving – but it
does not bully its neighbours. Countries that displease it get
showered with delegations and jargon. They do not face
Brussels-sponsored separatist movements, energy sanctions, or savage
attacks on `EU state television’.

The other big effect of Russia’s policy is in the EU itself. Many
peaceable folk in Europe hate the idea of being in a geopolitical
competition with the Kremlin. European neighbourhood policy should be
a win-win, they argue, with greater trade, better infrastructure and
closer integration benefiting everyone.

That is a touching notion. But the Kremlin’s snarling behaviour is
making even the blandest bureaucrats in Brussels change their
worldview. You may believe power politics is deplorably old-fashioned.
But when someone is practising it against your neighbours, you can no
longer believe that it is extinct or redundant.

Remember NATO expansion to the countries of the former Soviet empire?
This was a tentative and distant goal – until Russia started trying to
block it. That stoked the applicants’ feeling of urgency, and made it
morally impossible for existing members to block membership for
countries which so evidently needed it. Now Russia is making the same
mistake again. For a judo expert, Putin seems awfully clumsy.

Edward Lucas edits the international section of The Economist.

Interfax, Russia
September 20, 2013 Friday 10:42 AM MSK

EBRD welcomes Armenia’s decision to join Russia-led Customs Union

YEREVAN. Sept 20

Armenia could genuinely benefit from joining the Customs Union of
Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, including because of a possible
reduction in prices for Russian natural gas, the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development’s regional director for the South
Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus, Bruno Balvanero said at a press
conference on Thursday.

He said Customs Union countries have the same tariff on natural gas,
and this is one of the privileges of membership in this organization.
This will have a positive impact on the Armenian economy and help curb
inflation, Balvanero said.

However, it is still early to talk about the specific economic
benefits of joining, since the country has just made the decision and
only begun negotiations, he added.

The price of Russian gas in Armenia rose to $270 per 1,000 cubic
meters on April 1, 2013 from $180 earlier.

Balvanero also said that the new head of the EBRD’s Yerevan office
will be Mark Davis, a former executive director at Goldman Sachs from
2010 to 2012 and Morgan Stanley from 2007 to 2010.

Davis told reporters that the EBRD’s priorities in Armenia will remain
infrastructure projects, agriculture, stimulating exports, energy,
industry, as well as the banking sector, where there is a lot of work
to do.

The EBRD has provided more than 656 million euros in financing for 120
projects in Armenia. In 2012, the bank signed agreements for another
15 programs totalling 94 million euros.

Vp ak

Interfax, Russia
September 20, 2013 Friday 1:37 PM MSK

Armenia places $700 mln in 7-yr notes at 6%

YEREVAN. Sept 20

Armenia has placed a debut $700 million in seven-year Eurobonds
yielding 6% to maturity, the country’s Finance Ministry told Interfax.

Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, HSBC Bank Plc and JP Morgan
Securities Plc underwrote the issue.

The government said earlier that the debut Eurobond issue would be
$500 million and would mature in 10 years.

Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan has said the proceeds from the bond
issue would go towards financing low-cost private-sector loans and to
service a 15-year $500-million stabilization loan that Russia issued
Armenia with in 2009 at LIBOR+3% with a five-year grace period on
principal debt.

US Fed News
September 20, 2013 Friday 2:25 PM EST

WIPO PUBLISHES PATENT OF MEKHAK GABRIELYAN FOR “CYLINDER-MAKING
APPARATUS” (ARMENIAN INVENTORS)

GENEVA

GENEVA, Sept. 20 — Publication No. WO/2013/134795 was published on Sept. 19.

Title of the invention: “CYLINDER-MAKING APPARATUS.” Applicants:
Mekhak Gabrielyan (AM). Inventors: Mekhak Gabrielyan (AM), Husik
Margaryan (AM), Rafayel Asaturyan (AM) and Valeri Simonyan (AM).
According to the abstract* posted by the World Intellectual Property
Organization: “An apparatus for producing pressure cylinders is
disclosed, comprising a support (1), loading (2), compression (3),
roll bending (4) and ejection (5) mechanisms successively set on the
support (1), a heating unit (6)in the form of a circular inductor, an
electronic control system (8) for performance management and a second
heating unit (7) for maintaining the workpiece temperature during the
shaping of a cylinder. The loading mechanism (2) comprises a frame (9)
and a sliding mechanism (10) moveably attached to the frame (9), the
sliding mechanism (10) has a drive (11, 12). The compression mechanism
(3) comprises a five-jaw chuck (22) with compressing jaws (23)
operated through a wedge-shaped mechanism (20). The roll bending
mechanism (4) has a shaping device (28) fixed onto a block (27)
rocking against the workpiece and mounted on the support (1) of the
apparatus.

The productivity and reliability of a device for producing pressure
cylinders are enhanced while the manufacturing costs are reduced.” The
patent was filed on March 7 under Application No. PCT/AM2013/000002.
*For further information, including images, charts and tables, please
visit:

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijan
September 20, 2013 Friday

Hafiz Hajiyev during TV Debates Threatened Opposition Leaders with Death

Baku/20.09.13/Turan : The next televised debate of presidential
candidates in public television in the evening on September 19 was
marred by the scandal provoked by the head of the party Modern Musavat
Hafiz Hajiyev.

He attacked with dirty insults the candidate from the National Council
of Democratic Forces ( NCDF) Jamil Gasanli and his family , as well as
other leaders of the opposition.

In particular, Hajiyev called NCDF “council of traitors.”

Hajiyev accused the leader of the Popular Front Party Ali Kerimli of
“having poisoned Elchibey (the late leader of the Popular Front Party
and ex -president).” He also accused the leader of Musavat Isa Gambar
of evading his son from military service and “churning youths of the
way.”

Hajiyev accused opposition leaders ” of aiding the Armenians ” and
obstruction of the Karabakh resolution .

Next Hajiyev argued that the opposition is “servant to ” foreign
forces for the sake of revolution.

Pointing out that the daughter of Gasanli is married to an Englishman,
Hajiyev accused him of destructive activities in Azerbaijan on their (
the British ) orders.

After the speech by Hajiyev , a number of candidates , and in
particular, the leader of the Democratic Party Sardar Jalaloglu and
the head of the United Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan Gudret
Gasanguliev declared inadmissibility of invasion into privacy.

In his speech before Gasanli announced that on September 22 in support
of him a rally will be held at the stadium in the Yasamal district (
near the metro station ” Inshaatchilar “). He also said that he came
into the studio with documents refuting the accusations against him of
deceiving doctors to obtain early retirement. In particular, he said
that his illness was confirmed by eye doctors of the Institute of
Ophthalmology named after Zarifa Aliyeva.

Next Gasanli focused on large-scale corruption in the government of Azerbaijan.

Thus, the elimination of the consequences of the floods in the Kura
and in the earthquake zone Zagatala 1 billion 69 million manats was
spent and the problems of the population are still not resolved. In
Turkey, for the elimination of the consequences of a devastating
earthquake in the Van province (in a much larger scale) only 392
million USD was used.

Next Gasanli pointed to the illegality of Aliyev’s nomination for a
third term. According to him, when Aliyev swore allegiance to the
Constitution, it provided for a limited stay of one person that could
be elected president for two terms of office.

Therefore, the constitutional amendments adopted in 2009 through a
referendum are not related to Aliyev.

He also demanded the promulgation by Ilham Aliyev as a candidate of a
presidential declaration on his income and the income of his wife, as
is customary in democratic states. ” I am the only candidate who not
only introduced a declaration on my income, but also the income of my
wife,” said Gasanli.

Gasanli also accused Aliyev of violating the law and the conduct of
the election campaign before the start of it. With that Gasanli
demanded cancellation of the registration of Ilham Aliyev as a
candidate for the presidency.

However, he asked the representative of Aliyev, deputy head of the
party New Azerbaijan (YAP ) Ali Akhmedov, to also provide a
documentary explanation of the villas of the family members of the
President in Dubai and their companies in the offshore.

Next Gasanli’s speech was interrupted by Hajiyev, who jumped up,
continuing to insult the opposition.

He threatened the opposition with violence and expulsion from the
country , in case of his victory.

Hajiyev again put the blame on Gasanli that his daughter is married to
an Englishman .

In response Gasanli said that if it is “all the blame” that his
daughter is married to an Englishman, the daughters of President Ilham
Aliyev take out the wealth of the country abroad.

In response Hajiyev threw a bottle at Gasanli. After that Hajiyev was
taken out of the hall by security officers of public television.

The authorized representative of Aliyev, deputy chairman of the party
New Azerbaijan Ali Akhmedov began blaming Gasanli for “unworthy
behavior at countless times.”

In response Gasanli said that dishonest and immoral is the government
itself, including NAP and Ilham Aliyev, who are corrupted most of all.

Next Gasanli recalled the words of one of the founders of NAP Sirus
Tebrizli that NAP degenerated into a party of ” faceless robbers .”

Gasanli required to recover the time he spent on the parry of the
attacks against him by Hajiyev.

The leader of the debates refused to do it, and offered to submit all
the complaints to the CEC.

In protest against the violation of his rights Gasanli left the studio.

Note that Hajiyev practically during all the parliamentary and
presidential elections provoked similar scandals .

Most of the other candidates used the airtime to attack the National
Council and Gasanli. -06D–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TendersInfo
September 20, 2013 Friday

Armenia : US$ 43 million USAID aim to GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA

Armenia is to receive financial assistance of US$ 43 million from the
United States Agency for International Development.
This was announced by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia
Tigran Sargsyan during the course of the session of the Government on
September 19.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan said,
Yesterday I had a meeting with the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Ambassador of the United Stated to the Republic of Armenia and we have
discussed all the issues regarding the new agreement with the United
States Agency for International Development. We shall receive
financial assistance of USD 43 million. We must be able to sign the
agreement by the end of the current month.
Ltd.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 21 2013

Baku urges Ankara not to repeat 2009 ‘mistake’

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News
Serkan Demirtaþ

The chief of the foreign relations department of the Azerbaijani
Presidency urges Ankara not to repeat the 2009 ‘mistake’ of attempting
to open borders with Armenia before the country withdraws from
occupied lands

A senior Azeri official has urged Turkey not to repeat the 2009
“mistake” of attempting to open borders with Armenia before the
country withdraws from occupied Azeri lands, underlining that they are
suspicious of similar efforts to revive the stalled process between
Ankara and Yerevan.

“There are such attempts [for the revival of the Ankara-Yerevan
process] these days. I am hopeful and sure that the Turkish leadership
will not take steps contrary to the will of Azerbaijan and the
Azerbaijani people,” Novroz Mammadov, chief of the foreign relations
department of the Azerbaijani Presidency, told the Hürriyet Daily News
in an interview on Sept. 19.

Without further elaborating on what these attempts were, Mammadov said
he was talking about “possibilities” rather than concrete moves.
Approached by the Daily News, Turkish diplomatic sources said there
were no intentions for the revival of the reconciliation process and
that Turkey’s position vis-à-vis the Nagorno-Karabkh issue had not
changed.

“A step was taken in 2009. An agreement was signed between Turkey and
Armenia under the monitoring of six foreign ministers. It was not
possible to implement this agreement because it was unfair,” he said.
“We do not want it to occur a second time.”

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in 2009 but neither side
succeed in bringing them before their Parliament for ratification and
implementation. Turkey stopped the process because of a fierce
reaction from Azerbaijan, 20 percent of whose territory is still under
the occupation of Armenian troops.

“We are grateful for Turkey’s support to Azerbaijan with regard to the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem. We are regretful because of the failure of
the international community’s efforts to resolve the problem since the
early 1990s,” he said.

President Ýlham Aliyev’s adviser underlined that Baku was not in fact
against Turkey opening its borders with Armenia but that such a move
should follow a step taken by Yerevan with regard to Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Turkey sealed its borders and cut diplomatic ties with Armenia after
this country occupied our territories and the U.N. Security Council’s
resolution on this occupation. We’ll have no objection to Turkey if it
says it will move forward with Armenia on condition of ending this
occupation,” Mammadov said, in reference to the withdrawal of Armenian
troops from the regions surrounding Karabakh.

There are seven regions occupied and, as the Madrid Principles
recommends, a gradual withdrawal process from such regions would allow
Baku and Yerevan to start political talks for future steps.

“Withdrawal from even three regions would allow the opening of the
Turkish-Armenian border and the beginning of Azerbaijan-Armenia
relations,” he said.

TANAP a historic deal

Since 2009, Turkey and Azerbaijan have boosted economic, energy and
political relations. The most important achievement was the signing of
the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline Project (TANAP), aiming to carry Azeri
gas to Europe via Turkey.

“Our relations have entered into a new historic phase. The two
countries have proven that they can initiate such projects together
and take advantage of it,” Mammadov said.

Recalling that Turkey and Azerbaijan were already connected via the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural
gas pipeline, Mammadov said the accomplishment of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway would add another chain to this strong
connection.

“TANAP is the joint project of our two countries. Some other countries
have also joined but this project is a success of our countries. Our
brotherly relations have arrived at such a point that we can carry out
such big projects,” he said.

TANAP will likely cost $7 billion and is expected to send 6 billion
cubic meters (CBM) of gas to Turkey and 10 billion cbm to Europe by
2018.

$17 billion Azeri investment

The Azeri diplomat forecast that total Azeri investment into Turkey
would reach around $17 billion by 2020, which would make Baku the
biggest foreign investing country in Turkey. So far, the State Oil
Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has initiated the Petkim
Star Refinery, the Petkim Container Port, the Step Power Plant and the
TANAP project. TANAP will be followed by the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline
(TAP) project to carry Azeri natural gas to Greece and Italy.

“These projects will make our relations much more important and will
give an additional impetus to our ties,” he said.

September/21/2013

From: Baghdasarian

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Sept 21 2013

Ambassador: Turkey will prevent Armenia’s holding of 100th anniversary
of so-called `Armenian genocide’

21 September 2013

Turkey will take all necessary measures to prevent activities in
connection with the 100th anniversary of the so-called ‘Armenian
genocide’ to be held by Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora, Turkish
Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ismail Alper Joshgun told media today.

He was commenting on the activities that Armenia might hold in 2015 in
connection with 100th anniversary of the so-called ‘Armenian
genocide’.

“Earlier, Armenians voiced far-fetched claims and such claims can be
expected in the future,” the ambassador added.

“Turkey will celebrate the centenary of the Battle of Canakkale in two
years,” he said.

He stressed that Armenia’s state ideology is based on falsification of
the 1915 events.

“I hope that all historical events will be considered from the point
of view of archival material, as Turkey and Azerbaijan proposed,” he
said.

21 September 2013

From: A. Papazian