Author: Andres-Papazian

VAHAN SHIRKHANYAN: AZERBAIJAN’S NON-PERMANENT SEAT AT UNSC TO CHANGE NOTHING

Panorama
Oct 27 2011
Armenia

Status quo preservation in Karabakh conflict and establishment of
Armenian-Turkish relations are only possible if Turkey recognizes the
Armenian Genocide and compensates the Genocide, and Armenia further
strengthens allied relations with Russia – these are the three
important vectors of Armenia’s foreign policy, member of the Social
Democrat Hunchakian Party Vahan Shirkhanyan told reporters in Yerevan.

Regarding Azerbaijan’s election as non-permanent member of UNSC,
Shirkhanyan said, it will change nothing because status quo is
preserved by the big powers.

From: A. Papazian

VISIT OF ARMENIA’S HIGH RANKED REPRESENTATIVE TO ISRAEL KEPT SECRET

news.am
Oct 28 2011
Armenia

TEL AVIV. – The governments of Armenia and Israel are nervous because
of the disclosure of the information about Armenia’s high ranked
representative’s visit to Tel-Aviv. The deputy editor of IzRus.co.il
Alexander Goldenstein informed the reporter of Armenian News-NEWS.am.

According to him that information is top secret.

“The only thing that can be stated today is the fact that the
information is top secret. Who exactly will visit Israel, whom he
will meet, and what they will discuss – all that is kept secret,”
Goldenstein mentioned.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier the portal IzRus spread
information about Armenian high ranked representative’s visit to
Israel. According to the agency, the aim of the visit is to discuss
questions of strategic cooperation. The discussions may be on military
issues.

It is important to mention that Armenian and Israeli government
officials refuse to give any comments on that issue.

From: A. Papazian

Serj Tankian calls to ‘Give Water-Give Life’ to Karabakh people

news.am
Oct 27 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Famous musician of Armenian origin, System of a Down
soloist Serj Tankian called everyone to participate in Telephone
Marathon-2011. ‘Give Water-Give Life’ message aims to collect money
to support projects on water supply for Karabakh people.

“We helped more than 26,000 Karabakh [Artsakh] people to have drinking
water. Thanks to it, more than 33,000 acres were irrigated. We should
not stop. We should do everything to make sure that each Karabakh
citizen has water. We can do it together,” the message reads.

The 14th International Telephone Marathon of Hayastan foundation will
be on air at 08.00 a.m.-08.00 p.m. on November 24 this year.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA MAY OPEN BRANCH OF LOMONOSOV MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY

Tert.am
27.10.11

Armenia’s Ministry of Education and Science may open the Armenian
branch of Lomonosov Moscow State University, according to the website
of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry.

The issue was discussed by Armenia’s Minister of Education and Science
Armen Ashotyan and his Russian counterpart Andrei Fursenko at a meeting
within Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan’s recent visit to Moscow.

Ashotyan and Fursenko discussed other education-related issues,
particularly, the possibility of practical projects with CIS countries
in the sphere of public, primary, mid-professional education, higher
and post-higher education.

They also referred to teaching of the Armenian language in
Russian-Armenian communities, as well as teaching of the Russian
language in Armenia.

Ashotyan and Fursenko also spoke about the signing of the new
inter-governmental agreement of Armenian-Russian (Slavonic) University.

They decided to expand and enhance cooperation in the sphere of
education by creating working groups in an attempt to solve the
existing problems as soon as possible, as well as to organize study
visits to Russia’s regional universities.

From: A. Papazian

DIRECTOR OF ARMENIAN CENTRE FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: TODAY THERE IS NO MAN IN ARMENIA WHO BELIEVES THAT FORMATION OF LEGITIMATE POWER VIA THE ELECTIONS IS POSSIBLE

arminfo
Thursday, October 27, 17:54

Today there is no man in Armenia who believes that formation of the
legitimate power via the elections is possible, Director of Armenian
Centre for National and International Studies [ACNIS], Manvel Sargsyan,
said over today’s discussion in ACNIS.

The next parliamentary election will be held in Armenia in 2012 and
the presidential ones in 2013.

“It is clear to everybody, and everybody confess it, including the
authorities. In the conditions of impossibility of holding of free
and normal elections, absence of free judges and courts, the activity
of the political parties in the republic loses sense. For this reason,
we may make conclusion that the politicized part of our society follows
the political parties only with one purpose – to take personally for
themselves as many dividends as possible”, – he said.

In this context, the sense of activity of the political parties in
Armenia is to provide the negotiating process with the authorities with
a purpose to have a place under the sun, he said and added that nobody
in Armenia believes it is possible to reach political goals through the
political ways. Sargsyan emphasized that two factors unite all these
parties: the attempts to find sponsors in abroad and the attempts to
involve wide layers of society in their plans. “It is done only with a
goal to force the authorities to display adaptableness when negotiating
with these groups of people. So, all this activity has nothing in
common with the interests of the society”, – Sargsyan concluded.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT (ANPP) IS READY TO PROLONGATION OF OPERATING LIFE AT LEAST FOR 10 YEARS

arminfo
Thursday, October 27, 18:02

Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) is ready to prolongation of
the operating life at least for 10 years, chief engineer of ANPP,
Movses Vardanyan, said during the youth seminar “Nuclear commonwealth:
heritage, partnership, development”.

He also added that several Russian nuclear power plants also prolonged
the operating life and Armenia is ready to adopt this experience.

“The project operating life of ANPP expires in 2016, but the plant is
going to develop the programme on prolongation of the operating life at
least for 10 years”, – Vardanyan said and added that Armenia is going
to build a new nuclear power unit on the basis of the functioning one.

He also added that ANPP, which has not been functioning since 11
September 2011 because of the preventive repair and refueling with
fresh nuclear fuel, will join the energy system of the country on
Friday, 28 October.

From: A. Papazian

ARAB SPRING HEROES AWARDED WITH SAKHAROV PRIZE FOR FREEDOM OF THOUGHT

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 27, 2011 – 18:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Five Arab Spring activists have won the European
Parliament’s Sakharov prize for freedom of thought.

The laureates include Mohamed Bouazizi of Tunisia, whose death in
January helped to kickstart the Arab Spring. He set himself alight
last December in protest at his treatment by the authorities under
the rule of deposed President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

The prize, named after Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov,
carries an award of 50,000 euros.

Other laureates included Egypt’s Asmaa Mahfouz, a founder of the
6 April youth movement; Libyan dissident Ahmed al-Zubair Ahmed
al-Senussi; and two Syrians who are part of the current uprising in
their country, lawyer Razan Zeitouneh and cartoonist Ali Farzat.

Ms Mahfouz’s online call to freedom, viewed by hundreds of thousands
of people, helped inspire the protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square which
led to the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

She was arrested on charges of defaming the military rulers who took
power following Mr Mubarak’s departure, but the charges were later
dropped after protests.

Mr Senussi spent 31 years in prison for opposing Muammar Gaddafi.

Mr Zeitouneh is one of the leaders of the committees behind the
uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. Mr Farzat is a renowned
Syrian cartoonist who was badly beaten by security forces in August,
in an assault which broke both his hands.

The Sakharov prize has been awarded by the European Parliament since
1988 to individuals or organisations that have made a significant
contribution to the struggle for human rights and democracy.

Past winners include South Africa’s first black president, Nelson
Mandela, and former UN chief Kofi Annan, BBC reported.

From: A. Papazian

MP: IDEA OF ESTABLISHMENT OF EURASIAN UNION QUITE PROMISING FOR ARMENIA

/ARKA/
OCTOBER 27, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, October 27. /ARKA/. The idea of establishment of a Eurasian
union is quite promising for Armenia, especially in economic
cooperation area, Artak Zakaryan, an MP from the ruling Republican
Party of Armenia, said Thursday at a news conference.

In early October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in its article
written for Izvestiya newspaper that Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan’s
Customs Union that is being established now and the common economic
space will constitute a basis for Eurasian Union, which won’t be a new
Soviet Union or substitute to CIS, but will be a link between Europe
and Asia and Pacific region with close coordination of economic and
monetary policy.

Responding to those people who fear that Armenia’s participation
in these projects might affect its activity within the European
Union’s new neighborhood policy and Eastern Partnership Program, the
lawmaker stressed that Armenia is singled out for its multiple-view
and balanced foreign policy, which, unlike other country’s policies,
has never been built on controversies.

“Armenia, taking into account its geographical location, the blockage,
conflict, problems with energy import and the necessity to ensure
security, is always seeking any cooperation,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

KOCHARYAN’S RETURN WOULD BE ‘DISASTER’ SAYS VAHAN SHIRKHANYAN

Tert.am
27.10.11

The return of former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan to office
would be a disaster for the country, Vahan Shirkhanyan from the Social
Democrat Hunchakian Party has said.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday Shirkhanyan said that the Prosperous
Armenia party will not be that unreasonable as to help Kocharyan to
come to office.

“Robert Kocharyan’s return to presidency will be a disaster for the
Armenian nation,” said he, adding that the party that will help this
happen will lose its credits completely.

“… Because Kocharyan simply devastated this country during the ten
years [in office] psychologically, economically and politically,”
explained Shirkhanyan.

Further, he said that Armenians should follow Argentine’s example
and delete Kocharyan’s name from the list of presidents.

“Armenia should do that towards Kocharyan,” said he, adding that
Kocharyan established what he called a “bourgeois system” that clearly
defined who should pay taxes and to whom.

“Its remnants exists today too,” Shirkhanyan added.

From: A. Papazian

RICHARD GIRAGOSIAN: ARMENIA IN AN ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION IN THE EYES OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Anna Balyan

“Radiolur”
27.10.2011 15:19

Armenia is now in a beneficial position in the eyes of the
international community as regards the Armenian-Turkish relations and
the Karabakh settlement process, Director of the Regional Research
Center Richard Giragosian told a press conference today.

According to him, Turkey upset the process of Armenian Turkish
reconciliation, and Azerbaijan prevented the progress at the Kazan
meeting.

“Because of the failure in Kazan, Azerbaijan failed to meet the
expectations of both Russian President Medvedev and the Minsk Group.

This has put the Armenian foreign policy in a stronger position
regarding Nagorno Karabakh,” Giragosian said, adding that “the
challenge for the Armenian government is to maintain and exploit this
strategic advantage.”

“For this reason the Armenian foreign policy needs to continue to be
more active than reactive,” he added.

On these days Giragosian is trying to contribute to the establishment
of Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish dialogue. He participated
in a conference on the topic in Washington, and is going to attend
another forum in Istanbul.

Speaking about the Armenian-Turkish relations, Richard Giragosyan
stated: “Armenia was very quick to offer humanitarian assistance
to Turkey. It was interesting that initially Turkey refused all
international aid except from Azerbaijan. It also demonstrates that
Armenia is ready and quite willing to be a statesman in this process,
but, to be honest, Armenia can do little, because we all are waiting
for Turkey to move.”

From: A. Papazian