Author: Andres-Papazian

HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN MET WITH ALI LARJANI IN BERN

AZG DAILY
19-10-2011

Iranian Parliament speaker Ali Larijani and Speaker of Armenian
National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan on Monday called for development
of relations between the two countries.

The two Speakers made the remark in a meeting held on the sidelines
of the 125th Assembly of Inter-parliamentary Union underway in Bern,
Switzerland, IRNA reported on October 17.

Parliamentary delegations from more than 120 member states have
attended the IPU meeting in the Swiss city on October 16-20.

“Iran is ready for expansion of relations with Armenia,” Larijani
underlined.

The Armenian parliament speaker welcomed development of cooperation
with Tehran especially in the field of trade and economy.

Abrahamyan discussed with Larijani latest developments in Karabakh
as well.

Speaker of Armenian National Assembly supported Iran’s right for
acquiring peaceful nuclear energy and criticized the negative
propaganda of certain countries on Syria developments.

According to the source, relations between Armenia and the Islamic
Republic of Iran remain extremely cordial and both Armenia and Iran
are strategic partners in the region. Armenia and Iran enjoy cultural
and historical ties that go back thousands of years. There are no
border disputes between the two countries and the Christian Armenian
minority in Iran enjoys official recognition.

Iran and Armenia would also cooperate in the field of energy security
which lowers Armenia’s dependence on Russia. The cooperation would
lead in the future to supply Iranian gas to Europe through Georgia
and the Black Sea.

From: A. Papazian

EBRD BOARD DIRECTORS VISIT ARMENIA

/ARKA/
October 18, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, October 18. / ARKA /. A delegation from the EBRD’s Board of
Directors, which represents the Bank’s shareholders, will visit Armenia
from October 17-21, EBRD Yerevan Office said in a statement today.

The visit is part of a regular series of consultations that enable
EBRD Board Directors to obtain current information on developments in
the countries where the Bank is active. Representatives of the EBRD
Board on this visit include: Jerome Baconin, France; Kurt Bayer,
Austria/Israel/Cyprus/Malta/Kazakhstan/Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Ole Blondal, Denmark/Ireland/Lithuania Gianluca Grandi, Italy; Ole
Hovland, Norway/Finland/Latvia; Herbert Junk, Germany Jan Maas,
Netherlands/Mongolia/FYR Macedonia;Pedro Moriyon, Spain/Mexico
During the visit, the EBRD Board Directors will meet Serzh Sargsyan,
President of the Republic of Armenia; Tigran Sargsyan, Prime Minister
of the Republic of Armenia; Tigran Davtyan, Minister of the Economy
of the Republic of Armenia; Arthur Javadyan, Chairman of the Central
Bank of Armenia and other senior government officials.

The EBRD delegation will also hold meetings with members of the
business and diplomatic communities, opposition political parties,
civil society organisations and representatives of international
financial institutions in the country. The Directors will visit the
capital, Yerevan, as well as the cities of Abovyan and Sevan.

The purpose of the consultation visit is to enable the Directors
to better understand the priorities for the local economy and the
expected role of the EBRD in Armenia in the context of the forthcoming
new country strategy for 2012-15.

On Wednesday, October 19 at 17:00 Ashot Yerkat Hall at Marriott
Armenia Hotel will host a press conference on the visit of the EBRD
delegation. The press conference will include head of the EBRD Office
in Yerevan Valeriu Razlog; EBRD Director for Austria, Israel, Malta,
Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina Kurt Beyer.

The EBRD began operations in Armenia in 1992. To date, it has invested
in more than 100 projects and has provided finance totalling more
than ~@450 million.

From: A. Papazian

MARTIAL ARTS: ARMENIAN JUNIOR SAMBO FIGHTERS WIN MEDALS AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

18.10.11 | 11:03

The team of Armenian unarmed self-defense fighters has returned
home from the World Junior Championships with a good haul of medals,
including one gold, one silver and five bronzes.

The competitions in sambo, a hand-to-hand fighting system popular in
former Soviet and Eastern Bloc countries, were held in Riga, Latvia,
on October 13-16.

According to the Sambo Federation of Armenia (), Grigor
Mkhitaryan (w/c 48kg) repeated his 2010 success to win another world
title. The only silver medal was won by Tigran Kirakosyan (w/c 52kg).

Among the five bronze medalists were: Maxim Manukyan (w/c 48kg),
Karen Tonoyan (w/c 62kg), Mher Karapetyan (w/c 82kg), Rafik Manukyan
(w/c 65kg), as well as Roza Khachatryan (w/c 52kg).

From: A. Papazian

POLITICAL OPTIMISM: AZERI PRESIDENT CONFIDENT OF VICTORY IN KARABAKH AS ARMENIA POPULATION DWINDLES

News | 18.10.11 | 11:48

Political optimism: Azeri president confident of victory in Karabakh
as Armenia population dwindles

Photo:

Ilham Aliyev

In an official speech on the 20th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s
independence President Ilham Aliyev stressed that Baku continues
to increase its military spending, which, he said, was natural in
conditions of the existing Karabakh problem.

“The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored, the UN
resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh must be fulfilled, and refugees and
internally displaced persons should return to their homes. I have no
doubt that everything will be just that,” said Aliyev on October 17.

The Azeri leader said that in accordance with the task he set a few
years ago, today Azerbaijan’s military budget exceeds Armenia’s total
budget by $500 million. of Armenia. He stressed the superiority of
Azerbaijan over Armenia in all spheres.

“One of the reasons for my optimism is connected with the demographic
situation in the region. The population of Azerbaijan grows every
year, and we have over 9.1 million citizens. The population of Armenia
decreases from year to year… The most important thing is that the
people of Azerbaijan will never accept this situation and will ensure
the existence of Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan,”
said Aliyev.

Authorities in Armenia, while expressing their concern to the
international community over Azerbaijan’s military buildup, have
routinely dismissed Baku’s military superiority in the Karabakh
conflict zone. Officials in Yerevan and Stepanakert maintain that
Karabakh Armenian forces are capable of repulsing any possible attack
from Azerbaijan. At the same time, the Armenian leadership has denied
any significant decrease in the strength of the population despite
concerns voiced by different local public groups regarding continuing
emigration from the country.

From: A. Papazian

BRITISH AMBASSADORS IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS WELCOME UN RESOLUTION ON OLYMPIC TRUCE

Noyan Tapan
18.10.2011

British Ambassadors in the South Caucasus have welcomed adoption ofa
UN Resolution on the Olympic Truce entitled “Building a peaceful and
better world through sport and the Olympic ideal”. The resolution
was tabled at the UN General Assembly by the UK, as hosts of the
London 2012 Olympic Games. The resolution was adopted in New York on
17 October by consensus. For the first time the resolution has been
sponsored by all 193 UN member states, including Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia.

Ambassadors Peter Bateman in Baku and Charles Lonsdale in Yerevan and
Charge d’Affaires Doug McMillan in Tbilisi issued a joint statement
saying: “We welcome this resolution – and the fact that it was adopted
unanimously. The UK has worked for many years to support peacebuilding
and conflict resolution in the South Caucasus. We hope that the ideals
the resolution represents can be converted into concrete steps for
peace in the region.”

In ancient Greece the Olympic Games marked a period of peace
when competitors and others could travel safely to take part. The
International Olympic Committee revived the idea in 1992 to use sports
as a means to promote the Olympic ideals and to support peacebuilding
and conflict resolution efforts. Similar resolutions have been passed
before each Summer and Winter Games. The resolution focuses not just
on respecting a truce around the period of the Olympic and Paralympic
Games next summer but also on wider efforts to use sport to promote
peaceful settlements for conflicts around the world, and achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals.

Details of the Olympic Truce concept can be found on
the website of the International Olympic Committee:

The text of the resolution in all UN languages can be found at

From: A. Papazian

FRANCE SUPPORTS MINSK GROUP FOR SETTLING NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Vestnik Kavkaza
Oct 17 2011

There are no conflicts without solutions, French Plenipotentiary
Ambassador to Armenia Henri Reynaud said, News.am reports.

The French diplomat says that settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict goes within the OSCE Minsk Group. France and the EU support
the format. A dialogue needs to be renewed in the near future. French
President Nikolas Sarkozy says that there is nothing than being idle.

The ambassador reminded about the president’s mentioning the example of
France and Germany. The EU was formed after the war, both the French
and Germans offered each other help. Solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is the only way for prosperity, economic growth and dialogue
in the region, Reynaud said.Concerning construction of the wall by
Azerbaijan at the Armenian border, the ambassador said that there is
new need for a dialogue. The region’s future requires open borders,
dialogues and cooperation.

From: A. Papazian

THIRD LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST ARMENIAN DAILY IN OCTOBER

Tert.am
22:31 17.10.11

A scientific-research center has lodged a complaint against the
Armenian daily Zhoghovurd (People) – the third such case launched
against the paper in October.

Benik Harutyunyan, Director of Spa Treatment and Physical Medicine
Research Centre of the Republic of Armenia, demands 2 million Armenian
drams (approx. $5330) in moral compensation for an article he claims
discredits him.

Harutyunyan also demands 244,000 drams (approx. $650) to cover lawyer
and court services.

In the article, Nune Serobyan, a US citizen and a business partner
of Benik Harutyunyan, accused him of not returning around $218,000
of her private money used in the joint business.

Two other lawsuits against Zhoghovurd are pending trial.

The daily is facing a total of 5,244,000 drams (approx. $14,180)
in compensation if it loses the case in all the three trials.

From: A. Papazian

SARKOZY DETERMINED TO CONTINUE GENOCIDE RECOGNITION CAMPAIGN

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 17, 2011 – 20:05 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – French President Nicolas Sarkozy thanked his Armenian
counterpart Serzh Sargsyan for a welcome expended during his October
6-7 visit to Yerevan.

As Mr. Sarkozy noted in his letter, “deeply impressed after the
visit to Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial, I’d like to reiterate
determination to continue Genocide recognition campaign until the
descendants of Genocide perpetrators recognize the 1915 massacres.”

Mr. Sarkozy expressed gratitude to Genocide survivors’ contribution to
France, noting that the warm welcome shown to him by Armenian people
at Yerevan’s Square of France is a life proof of age-long friendship
between the two countries.

From: A. Papazian

EXPERTS UNCONVINCED ABOUT VAN GOGH’S SUICIDE STORY

Tert.am
17:55 17.10.11

Experts at the Van Gogh Museum say they remain unconvinced by evidence
in a new book that says the 19th century Dutch artist was accidentally
shot by two teenagers and did not die from self-inflicted wounds,
The Associated Press reported.

The biography published this week of Vincent van Gogh by Steven
Naifeh and Gregory White Smith says the artist, who suffered chronic
depression, claimed to have shot himself to protect the boys, and that
“he was covering up his own murder.” He died two days later.

Leo Jansen, the museum curator and editor of Van Gogh’s letters, said
the biography, “Van Gogh, A Life,” is a “great book.” But experts
“cannot yet agree” with the authors’ conclusions about the painter’s
death.

Jansen said Monday the book revives enough unanswered questions to
warrant another look.

From: A. Papazian

FRENCH VOTERS CHOOSE SARKOZY’S SOCIALIST OPPONENT

YERKIR.AM
17:10 – 17.10.2011

French Socialist MP Francois Hollande has been crowned favourite
for next year’s presidential election, winning the left’s primary to
choose a challenger for Nicolas Sarkozy.

The centre-right incumbent is expected to stand for re-election, but
all recent opinion polls show him on course to lose to any left-wing
challenger, and Hollande’s victory will serve as a springboard for
his campaign.

The vote was France’s first US-style open primary – any voter who said
he or she supports the ideals of the left could vote – and the huge
turnout, estimated at 2.8 million, was hailed by Socialist leaders
as a boost for the battle ahead.

“Tonight, we rally behind our candidate,” Socialist leader Martine
Aubry declared after conceding defeat, preparing to welcome her
erstwhile opponent to Socialist Party headquarters to celebrate his
victory and make a speech designed to reunite and motivate activists.

Segolene Royal, who is both Hollande’s former partner and the
Socialist’s defeated candidate in the 2007 election, said the win was
both an “undeniable advance” and showed supporters’ “very strong trust”
in the victor.

Hollande had the backing of the four defeated first-round candidates
and entered the run-off as favourite, but Aubry mounted a tough
fightback, branding him a soft centrist without the steel to defeat
Sarkozy.

Aubry, 61, the former labour minister who gave France its 35-hour
working week, also attacked Hollande’s lack of executive experience.

From: A. Papazian