Author: Andres-Papazian

Isn’t SIS Vice Chief an Official?

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 12:51:54 – 24/09/2011

Yesterday, the Police of Armenia issued a statement relating to the
neutralization of the gang in Yerevan. It was noted in the end of the
statement that the information that there are officials’ sons among
the ones detained is not true.

In turn, the statement of the Prosecutor General’s office ran that the
son of the deputy Head of the Special Investigation, along with
others, was detained within the action to clarify the belonging of a
number of cars.

The statements of both the Police and the Prosecutor’s office were
issued very late. Usually, when such action is done, both departments
rush to issue official messages. This delay assured the citizens that
there are sons of officials in the gang, so the force structures think
how to formulate this circumstance.

The Armenian press reported today that the police found notebooks in
one of the houses ranted by the gang which contained names of present
and former officials, who have recently been assaulted. Money, safes,
jewelries were stolen from their houses. This means, the gang was
quite informed.

It is interesting that yesterday names of officials of the force
structures were given.

From: A. Papazian

Panorama, Armenia
Sept 24 2011

Serzh Sargsyan: our mission has been and is international recognition
of Karabakh

`For Armenia and its people, and I’m sure for Armenians all over the
world the peaceful resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh is an issue of top
priority. Regretfully, we don’t have breakthrough here,’ Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan said in his speech in New York.

`It’s almost 20 years Artsakh is enjoying its independence and doesn’t
deserve a lower status than it has today,’ said President Sargsyan.

President ensured that the independence of Karabakh, the right of its
people’s self-determination cannot be put under question. President
stated that mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, negotiations
are held with Azerbaijan.

`I wouldn’t call the negotiations inefficient but from another point
of view Kazan has been the best example, where Azerbaijan displayed
its destructive policy. Our mission is and has been the international
recognition of Karabakh, including the recognition by Azerbaijan.
Unilateral concessions are out of discussion. Until Azerbaijan is
committed to armed threats, development of armenophobia, it will be
difficult to speak about any advancement. We should acknowledge that
Armenia hasn’t recognized the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh because
Armenia has been trying to materialize outcome in the negotiations.’

President stressed that any adventure of Azerbaijan, any operation out
of OSCE Minsk Group format will speed up the recognition of the
Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia.

From: A. Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Sept 24 2011

Armenia’s mobile phone operators deny news on leaking of private information

September 24, 2011 | 15:49

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s mobile phone operators have denied news on
leakage of their subscribers’ private information. We learned of this
news from the publications in the press, Armentel Company’s press
secretary Anush Beghluyan and Orange Armenia Company’s press secretary
Lilit Lazarian told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

`Beeline [operator] subscribers’ personal information is highly
protected, and they are not posted on the web. The chance of a leakage
is ruled out in our country,’ Anush Beghluyan stated.

In Lilit Lazarian’s words, protection level of the companies excludes
leakage of information. The Police Force has not yet provided to the
operators any information attesting to leakage.

VivaCell-MTS Company’s statement on this matter specifically reads:
`Our databases are protected, with necessary means, against possible
hacker attacks. By way of an investigation, the law enforcement will
ascertain as to which information had become accessible and how.’

Alluding to Samvel Hovsepyan, Head of the Armenian Police Force’s
Department on Fight Against Organized Crime, Armenian press had
published news on leakage of information from personal databases.

From: A. Papazian

Los Angeles Mayor congratulates Armenia on independence anniversary

September 24, 2011 – 13:18 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a
statement on the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence, Asbarez
reports.

The statement says:

`Armenian National Day is a historic and joyful day for Armenian
people here in Los Angeles and around the world. On behalf of the City
of Los Angeles, I congratulate Armenia on 20 years of independence and
of enjoying the fruits of living freely.

As home to the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia, Los
Angeles is honored to be a sister city to Armenia’s capital, Yerevan.

Our City’s Armenian population has a proud, rich and enduring
heritage. We are grateful for the lasting contributions this community
has made to the economic and cultural growth of Los Angeles.

I extend my best wishes to everyone celebrating this momentous
anniversary of Armenian independence.’

From: A. Papazian

Mammadyarov’s statement is `old news’ – expert

September 24, 2011 – 14:38 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Deputy Director of Caucasus Institute, political
analyst Sergey Minasyan commented on the recent statement of
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister.

At his recent New York-hosted meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs for Karabakh settlement, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov noted that `Armenia rejected the renewed Madrid
principles, thus risking to undermine the process of peace
negotiations.’

`Azeri FM’s statement is `old news’ in negotiation process. Much has
changed since,’ the expert told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
`Mammadyarov could just as well remind the co-chairs about suggestions
made in the 90s or, for example, the Key West Agreement.’

The expert characterized Azeri statement as ill-founded, noting that
the recent proposals at Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan presidential meeting
in Kazan were undermined through the fault of Baku.

From: A. Papazian

Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak

24.09.2011 | 11:20 | | Noyan Tapan | Press release

(Noyan Tapan – 24.09.2011)

On Sunday, September 25, Armenian Churches worldwide will celebrate
the Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak-an occasion that is unique to the
Armenian Church. In the 7th century, a monk named Totig received a
vision of a brilliant cross descending from Mount Varak (in historic
Armenia) and coming to rest on the monastery at the mountain’s foot.
Totig raced to where the vision had led him, and there found a
miraculous Christian relic: a fragment of the True Cross of Jesus
Christ!

How had it gotten there? The relic had been brought to Armenia by St.
Hripsime, in the late 3rd century, during her flight to find refuge
from the persecutions of pagan Rome. When St. Hripsime was martyred by
King Drtad, the hiding place of the cross was forgotten-and the holy
relic had languished in its secret place for nearly 300 years, before
being found again by the monk Totig.

To commemorate this discovery, the Catholicos of the time, St. Nersess
the Builder, established a feast day. And the Holy Cross became a
relic of great power in Armenia, moving from Varak to Sebastia and
finally to Van, where it still could be seen by pilgrims-until the
time of the Genocide.

Western Diocese of the Armenian Church,

Burbank, CA

From: A. Papazian

The fight for Caspian gas
2011-09-25
by Amanda Paul

Some two weeks ago the European Commission announced that the European
Council had given the green light for it to act as negotiator for
talks between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the construction of a
Trans-Caspian-Pipeline (TCP).

The pipeline, once built, would transport significant amounts of gas
from Turkmenistan across the Caspian to Azerbaijan and then on to
European markets.

If successful it would strike a significant blow to Moscow, as its
near monopoly over the EU gas market would crumble in front of its
eyes, while its highly ambitious South Stream project, which is little
more than a political project, would be dead.

Such a development would also open the way for the mammoth
Western-backed Nabucco natural gas pipeline. Nabucco aims to bring
some 31 bcm of natural gas from the Caspian region to Central Europe,
across Turkey.

The realization of the TCP could also help Ukraine. With South Stream
dead and gas flowing westwards from the Caspian, bypassing Russia,
Ukraine would find itself with a much stronger hand to negotiate gas
prices and transit terms with the Russians.

Not surprisingly, the Russians are far from happy, claiming in a
statement released by the Foreign Ministry that the EU should `not
meddle’ in Russia’s backyard and that the EU is totally ignoring the
legal, environmental and geopolitical situation of the Caspian.
Perhaps somebody should remind the Russians that while we know of a
homeland policy and a foreign policy, there is no such thing as a
`near neighborhood’ policy. However, one can expect that Russia will
do whatever it can to stop an agreement being reached. Azerbaijan has
not surprisingly been rather quiet on the issue, rather saying it is
ready to be a transit state but it is up to Turkmenistan and the EU to
resolve all the relevant legal issues. The last thing Azerbaijan will
want is a confrontation with Moscow, not least because of the
significant role Russia plays in the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia, Russia’s closet ally in the
region. And of course it is not just Russia who is worried. Iran is
also opposed to this pipeline. The Iranians still believe that soon
the West is going to see that they cannot be successful in their
energy diversification projects without Iranian gas.

While life would certainly be easier if the EU were able to access
this gas, the current political situation over Iran’s nuclear program
does not allow this. Problems with Tehran are not desirable. For most
of 2011 relations between the two have been quite tense, hitting a
particularly `hot’ moment in August when Baku put Movsum Samedov, the
leader of the openly pro-Iranian Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (IPA), on
trial for anti-government activity. This resulted in the chief of
staff of the Iranian Army, General Hassan Firouzabadi, making some
unpleasant comments about the Aliyev leadership. Given that Iran is
home to some 20 million Azerbaijanis, increased tensions and
instability within this community could have serious implications for
Baku.

Furthermore, while the EU is focused on getting things `sorted’ in the
Caspian, there is another element which could negatively affect plans,
namely Turkey. Turkey, which aspires to be the world’s biggest energy
hub, is playing hardball with Azerbaijan. In 2009 Azerbaijan requested
a review of gas export prices and transit terms. Negotiations should
have finished some time ago but there is still no agreement on transit
fees. Turkey wants it indexed to gas prices, which Azerbaijan is not
happy about.

I can remember being at conference over a year ago on EU energy
security when Turkey was told not to overplay its hand. Ankara has
always been confident that it represents the only route for Caspian
gas to Europe without going via Russia. A crucial meeting is due to
take place between the two sides at the end of this month. A failure
to reach an agreement risks delaying (again) the development and sale
of gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field which is currently due to
go on-line in 2017. This would be disastrous for the three EU
competing projects (Nabucco, Trans-Adriatic-Pipeline, and ITGI). Not
surprisingly, Baku has been getting fed up and has in the meantime
been quietly working on alternative options to get its gas to the
European market.

Azerbaijan’s best alternative is the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romanian
Interconnector (AGRI). Indeed it is the only route that allows the
direct delivery of Azerbaijani gas to the EU market without either
Turkey or Russia, although it would be more expensive. It would take
the form of a pipeline to the Georgian town of Kulevi, where it would
be transformed into Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and shipped to Romania
to a re-gasification plant. Not surprisingly, Ukraine is also keen to
get in on this project and Kyiv has been having serious discussions
with Baku on LNG imports with a terminal to be built in Odessa.

With Russia, the EU and Turkey battling it out and Azerbaijan holding
the pot of gold, the coming weeks are certainly going to be exciting.

From: A. Papazian

Armenia Considers Changing Adoption Procedures Amid Allegations Of Corruption

September 25, 2011 – 8:17am, by Emil Danielyan

Armenia

A EurasiaNet Partner Post from: RFE/RL

YEREVAN — The Armenian government is considering changes in its rules
and procedures for international adoptions in an effort to stamp out
alleged corrupt practices.

Proposals drawn up by Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian’s staff aim to
increase the transparency of the process and reduce the role of
obscure local middlemen working for Western adoption agencies.

The proposed changes also aim to make it easier for Armenian families
to adopt or act as foster parents.

Sarkisian’s staff is proposing that an existing database of all
Armenian children available for adoption be posted on the Internet so
it is available to all prospective parents.

They also called for the creation of a separate database of
prospective parents, which would facilitate direct online contact with
the relevant Armenian authorities in the initial stages of the
adoption process.

`The root cause of this problem is a lack of transparency, and we must
do something about it,’ a senior government official told RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service.

The proposals are currently being discussed by an interagency
commission, headed by Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasian.

Shadowy Middlemen

It will decide in the coming months whether it will be necessary to
amend Armenia’s Family Code, which would require parliamentary
approval, or to simply change existing procedures, which could be
enacted by the government without legislative action.

Under the existing rules, the Armenian Ministry of Labor and Social
Issues draws up and keeps a national registry of children available
for domestic and foreign adoption.

The list is supposed to be accessible to all prospective adoptive
parents. But in practice, even government agencies say they have
trouble accessing information about the children listed on the
registry.

The registry’s opacity has made it possible for shadowy middlemen
operating between foreign adoption agencies and Armenian officials to
collect thousands of dollars in fees — or “gifts” — to facilitate
adoptions.

The proposed changes followed a report by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service in
April exposing such practices.

Specifically, the report cited a sample contract signed by one
U.S. agency, Hopscotch Adoptions, based in High Point, North Carolina,
which assists Americans wishing to adopt Armenian and Georgian
children.

The contract, offered to a potential client in the United States in
2007, explained that almost $5,000 of more than $30,000 charged by
Hopscotch for every adoption would be spent on `gifts to foreign
service providers and government functionaries performing ministerial
tasks as an offer of thanks for prompt service.’

It claimed that such gifts are common in Armenia and Georgia and do
not violate U.S. law.

`It is customary [in Armenia and Georgia] to provide a nominal gift to
a government functionary who, for instance, prepares a passport,
notarizes a document or places a seal after the service is provided,”
the contract read. “The custom stems from the economic reality that a
service provider or entry-level civil servant earns less than $75 a
week — hardly enough to feed a family.’

Boosting Numbers Of Local Foster Parents

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, Hopscotch Adoptions’
founder, Robin Sizemore, did not deny the authenticity of the sample
contract.

But in an email to RFE/RL, she wrote that “in Armenia and in any other
country that prohibits gifts or gratuities, no gifts or gratuities are
distributed or permitted.’

She did not explain why such gifts and gratuities were included in the
sample contract.

Officials at the Armenian Ministry of Justice as well as
anticorruption campaigners in Yerevan say such payments amount to
bribes and are therefore illegal in Armenia.

A sample agreement offered by another U.S. agency, Adopt Abroad, based
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, listed `gifts and gratuities’ among its
fees at least until last April. Adopt Abroad did not respond to
requests for comment.

Government sources say that, following the RFE/RL report, Prime
Minister Sarkisian instructed his government to revise the country’s
adoption rules.

Moreover, none of the Yerevan-based adoption brokers is known to be
officially licensed or registered with tax authorities.

The government is also seeking to curb foreign adoptions by
reinvigorating

a 2004 program which pays local families to act as foster parents.
The government hopes the new online database will help increase the
number of Armenians seeking to become foster parents and also increase
payments, which are currently about $250 a month per child.

Thus far, the program has had only limited success, with only 24
children currently placed with foster care providers.

According to the Ministry of Labor and Social affairs, 61 Armenian
children were adopted by foreigners in
2010.

From: A. Papazian

AZERBAIJANI BELLIGERENT RHETORIC AND WAR THREATS INTENSIFIED – ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AT UN

news.am
Sept 23 2011
Armenia

NEW YORK. – The time has come for seriously considering the exercise
of the people’s right to self-determination in the 21st century. We
are today witnessing new cases of the exercise of this inalienable
right, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan stated at the UN 66th session

“I would like to congratulate the newly-elected 193rd member of the
United Nations Organization, the Republic of South Sudan. Its path to
having a place in this August hall has been long and difficult, but the
people of South Sudan, through the free expression of will, exercised
their right to live sovereignty and independently, thus crossing the
path that many of the UN member states present here today have crossed.

The people of Nagorno-Karabakh made the same choice two decades ago
by exercising their right to self-determination, by withstanding the
war unleashed by Azerbaijan, and surviving bloodshed to earn their
right to live in freedom.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement talks are continuing with
the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. We are grateful to
the co-chair countries and their leaders for their mediation efforts.

However, the mediators cannot reach an agreement in place of the
negotiating parties.

Azerbaijan’s utter unwillingness to reach an agreement and its
“everything or war” position have stalled progress in the peace talks.

Despite the expectations and the high-level advice from the
international community, Azerbaijan took yet another step back during
the last meeting in Kazan by rejecting the previously elaborated
arrangement and trying, in fact, to break down the negotiation process.

Baku has turned armenophobia into state propaganda, at a level that
is far beyond dangerous. It is not only our assessment; the alarm
has also been sounded by international structures specializing in
combating racism and intolerance. Even more dangerously, armenophobic
ideas are spread among the young Azerbaijani generation, imperiling
the future of peaceful coexistence.

By denying and destroying all that is Armenian, Baku stubbornly
continues to disseminate false accusations against Armenia,
Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Armenians at all levels everywhere, including
here, within the framework of the UN. The Azerbaijani propaganda
machine continues regularly to overwhelm the international community
and the domestic audience with horrendous lies about the so-called
“Armenian brutality” and the killings of children. These stories are
fabricated and disseminated using a trite yet painful logic, whereby
their authors believe that some people out there will rise to the bait
of this black PR against Armenia, and it will thus serve a purpose.

In recent years, owing to the efforts of the Minsk Group co-chair
countries, particularly the direct mediation by the President of the
Russian Federation, a number of documents have been signed, including
the Meindorf, Astrakhan, and Sochi Declarations, which have stressed
the need to strengthen the confidence-building measures between the
parties. The signature of the President of Azerbaijan also stands on
those documents.

Azerbaijan, however, continues to turn down the repeated proposals
by the international community concerning agreement on the non-use
of force and strengthening the confidence-building measures.

Moreover, the belligerent rhetoric and war threats uttered by
Azerbaijan have intensified and ceasefire violations have grown more
frequent, continuing to deprive of life innocent civilians. All of
this is orchestrated from the highest state level.

The dangerous rise in manifestations of armenophobia not only fails to
contribute to an atmosphere of trust in the region, but also leads to
questions about Azerbaijan’s understanding of the goals of the United
Nations to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one
another as good neighbors. Aspiring for membership in the Security
Council of the UN with such an understanding is impermissible and
even dangerous.

From: A. Papazian

GEOPOLITICAL PARADE

WPS Agency
Sept 22 2011
Russia

Source: Novye Izvestia, No 170, September 22, 2011, p. 2
by Gaik Karapetjan
[translated from Russian]

RUSSIAN SERVICEMEN PARTICIPATED IN THE ARMENIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY
MILITARY PARADE; Yerevan used the Independence Day military parade
to send a message to Baku, Azerbaijan.

General public in Yerevan was somewhat perplexed to see Russian
servicemen participating in the Independence Day parade side by
side with the Armenian military. The Armenian authorities said
that there was nothing in it to act so surprised about. Some
Armenian patriots screamed of vile encroachment on national
sovereignty. Experts attributed this development to deterioration of
the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

That servicemen of the Russian 102nd Military Base in Gyumri would
also participate in the military parade had never been announced in
advance. The Armenians therefore were stunned to see the Russians
participating in the parade and Defense Minister Sejran Ogenesjan
greeting them in Russian.

Razmik Zograbjan, deputy of the parliamentary faction of the ruling
Republican Party, said at the press conference afterwards that the
Russians’ participation in the parade had been a political gesture.

“We have a treaty with Russia regarding security of the Armenian
state borders. There is nothing wrong therefore with the Russians
taking part in the military parade.” Journalists got the message.

Deterioration of the relations with Azerbaijan is the talk of the
day in Armenia. The Azerbaijani-Armenian negotiations came to a halt.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev missed the CIS summit and a
meeting with his Armenian opposite number Serj Sargsjan in Dushanbe
in early September. It is logical therefore that the Armenians used
the Independence Day parade to remind Azerbaijan of their military
might – and of its ally.

The Armenian opposition used social networks to organize a protest
rally not long before the parade. Twelve (!) people turned up, headed
by Levon Barsegjan of the journalistic club Asparez from Gyumri. The
protesters wielded posters “Armenia is not Russia” and “No foreigners
in our military parade”.

From: A. Papazian