Author: Andres-Papazian

INDUSTRY INDEXES ENCOURAGING – ARMENIAN MINISTER

news.am
June 24 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN.- Armenia’s overall economic development is rather positive,
with economic activity index making 9.9% this May.

Referring to the publication of the National Statistical Service,
Economy Minister Tigran Davtyan noted that progress in the industrial
sector is encouraging. Industrial sector registering 10-12% growth
has become the driving force of Armenia’s economy.

Minister Davtyan stressed that growth was registered in nearly all
fields, not only in mining industry, as majority would think.

According to Davtyan by the end of this year Armenia will reach and
will probably exceed 4.6% economic growth index required by 2011
State Budget.

Davtyan noted that the government has abandoned the principles
of traditional economic policy, providing assistance to specific
enterprises.

From: A. Papazian

GOLDEN APRICOT FESTIVAL’S “KORIZ(STONE)” NOMINATION GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG DIRECTORS

ARMENPRESS
JUNE 24, 2011
YEREVAN

The 8th Golden Apricot Film Festival of Yerevan has a nomination. 135
applications were presented for the new “Koriz(Stone)” competition
of short films. 25 participants from 18 countries were selected. The
chair of the jury is Thierry Lenouvel (France).

Vardan Hakobyan, organizer of the cultural program, said today at a
news conference that the festival gives the young an opportunity to
realize their ideas and be free to choose their films. He noted that
this is a very good opportunity for young film directors to create
interesting films with a small budget. “In all the presented films
there are some shortcomings, but there is an interesting film language,
through which actions are told,” Vardan Hakobyan said.

As to the selection of the nomination’s title, Gagik Ghazare, organizer
of the competition program, says every apricot has a stone, so the
Golden Apricot should have its “Stone”.

From: A. Papazian

RWANDAN WOMAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR MASTERMINDING GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 24, 2011 – 14:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The UN court for Rwanda on Friday, June 24, sentenced
the first woman to be charged with genocide and incitement to rape
before an international court, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, to life in
prison, presiding judge William Hussein Sekule said.

Nyiramasuhuko was found guilty on 7 of the 11 genocide charges she
faced, including conspiracy to commit genocide, genocide and “rape
as a crime against humanity.”

Her son Arsene Shalom Ntahobali, one of five co-accused, was also
sentenced to life, Reuters reported.

From: A. Papazian

ARF HOLDS 31ST GENERAL MEETING

Aysor.am
Friday,June 24

ARF Dashnaktsutyun holds its 31st General Meeting in Yerevan. Besides
ARF members, the meeting also hosts delegates from other political
forces, particularly, leader of the Democratic Party of Armenia,
Aram Sargsyan, head of the Heritage Party, Raffi Hovannisian, member
of Heritage, Armen Martirosyan, representatives of public circles.

From: A. Papazian

THE VICTORY AT THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR WAS SIGNIFICANT FOR THE ARMENIAN PEOPLE
Laura Grigorian

Friday, 24 June 2011 05:54

70 years ago, on June 22, 4:00 am, without declaring war, fascist
Germany perfidiously attacked the USSR.

Armenian soldiers also fought heroically at all the fronts of the war.

320.000 Armenians from Armenia, 50.000 from Nagorno Karabakh,
and 200.000 from other UnionRepublics were called up. Over 100.000
Armenian soldiers fought at the allied armies. The total number of
Armenian soldiers and officers made 671.000, 367.000 of which perished.

Commander of one of the 10 fronts was an Armenian – Hovhannes
Baghramian; three Armenians were commanders of armies, six – commanders
of corps, 26 – commanders of divisions, 100 – commanders of brigades
and regiments.

Following is an interview with Chairman of the NKR Union of War and
Labor Veterans Sergey Barseghian:

– Mr. Barseghian 70 years ago the Great Patriotic War started, in
which the Artsakh people also participated. Let’s recall the day and
the Armenian people’s contribution to the achievement of the victory.

– In 1939, the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany.

But, this stayed fixed only on the paper. On June 22, 1941, 4:00 am,
fascist Germany, without declaring war, perfidiously attacked the
Soviet Union. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people started.

Germany prepared for the war long ago, creating a powerful army, and
had great successes just from the first days of the war. Yet in 1939,
starting the World War II, Nazi Germany occupied almost the whole
Europe. It continued the war with Great Britain and aspired to achieve
the world supremacy. It planned to conduct a Blitzkrieg against the
USSR, or to finish it in undertime, eliminating it as a state.

Actually, the Stalingrad Battle (February 1942) determined the
fate of the Soviet Union: the armed forces led by Field Marshal Von
Paulius underwent capitulation here, which became pivotal for the
Red Army. 22 German Generals, over 300.000 soldiers and officers were
taken prisoner. Later, about 7 or 8 great victories were also won –
up to Berlin, to hoisting the flag of the Soviet Union over Reichstag.

Together with many nations within the former Soviet Union, the Armenian
people rose for defending our common Motherland from the enemy’s
aggression. Armenians were notable at the Great Patriotic War for
their feats and heroic deeds. The Karabakh people gave 4 Marshals,
3 Vice-Admirals, 26 Generals and about 1000 other high-ranking
officers. 105.000 Armenians, including 35.000 from Karabakh, were
awarded with Soviet and foreign orders and medals. 27 Armenians,
including 7 from Karabakh, became holders of all the three degrees of
‘Glory’ order. By the way, holders of three degrees of ‘Glory’ order
are considered heroes. 11.600 fighters, including 106 Armenians,
were awarded to the hero title. Two Armenians were awarded to the
hero title twice. I should note that among the Transcaucasia nations
only Armenians had twofold heroes.

– Mr. Barseghian, the Artsakh War was, surely, our war and entire
Artsakh rose for the defense of the homeland. Our freedom fighters
mainly joined the military activities voluntarily. Were there many
volunteers at the World War II?

– During the Great Patriotic War, military registration and enlistment
offices called up all the men and sent to war. But, I should note
that there were also many volunteers that time. I mean specifically
volunteers from Artsakh. That war was also considered sacred.

Generally, 61 states, with 1,7 billion residents, participated in
the World War II. Armenians sent 6 national divisions to the war. The
89th Armenian Taman Division reached Berlin from the Caucasus…

– Recently, some young people have expressed their opinion that the
participation of Karabakhians in the Great Patriotic War was for
nothing… What did Armenians gain from that war?

– I have also heard similar expressions, which are revolting. I’ll
suggest an episode, and let those people make a corresponding
conclusion. According to the plan of Nazi Germany, the USSR territory
had to be divided into several parts after its capture. One of them
was called “Caucasus”. And Turkey, which signed a friendship agreement
with Nazi Germany on the eve of the war, actually, supported it. It
deployed 26 divisions on its borders, threatening the USSR. The latter
was forced to keep some of its forces on the border, while they were
extremely needed at the front. Turkey waited for the outcome of the
Stalingrad battle for attacking the USSR. The victory of the Soviet
Army here prevented Turkey’s possible aggression, which was a great
danger for the Armenian people.

It was a strategic-political and diplomatic victory that the USSR
wasn’t left alone in the war against fascism. The USA, Great Britain,
France, and other countries cooperated with the USSR for struggling
jointly against fascism. An anti-fascist grouping of allied states
was formed.

From: A. Papazian

NOBEL PRIZE IS NOT MORE THAN ARMENIA
HAKOB BADALYAN

11:52:34 – 24/06/2011

Dwelling on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue, most people
note the unacceptability of compromise as it makes a war inevitable.

Hence, the opinion is shaped that those who support the return of
territories want peace and development of regional integration while
those who disagree to the return of the territories want a war.

Mildly speaking, this is wrong, if not a device intended for a
political campaign. Consequently, this perception should be uprooted
from the consciousness of the Armenian society. Dwelling on concessions
does not mean being peaceful, liberal, pragmatic, sober-minded, and
modern-thinking, just like as denying concessions does not stand for
being romantic, daredevil, nationalist or narrow-minded.

Moreover, this separation indicates narrow-mindedness. In reality,
peacefulness, broadmindedness, modern thinking and pragmatism have
quite different measurements which are necessary to be rooted in the
society instead of the comparison of how much each side cedes. This
separation leads the Armenian society nowhere, it merely narrows the
ability to understand the global processes to a point that it starts
threatening the national security.

In addition, when assessing freethinking, broadmindedness, liberalism,
pragmatism, and modern thinking, the foreign partners of Armenia should
be guided by global measurements rather than the readiness of a force
or an individual to make concessions in the Karabakh issue. And most
probably, the foreign partners of Armenia assess everything this way,
otherwise they would have forced Armenia to make concessions a long
time ago.

So, what is the evidence that disagreeing to concessions does not
imply being an adventurer, romantic, and a supporter of war? The
arguments are the following: if we do not make concessions, we
provoke Azerbaijan to launch a war. And considering Azerbaijan’s
economy is more developed than the Armenian economy, the supporters
of concessions say a war would cause not only a humanitarian disaster
but also defeat and loss of everything.

Generally, if we are a state, we have nothing to discuss, if it
is necessary, we need to fight in the war. As humans, it is very
difficult to imagine this because it is easy to speak but as soon as
one tries to individualize what one says, one can see how tragic a war
can be. However, we are a state, which implies a military function,
readiness for wars.

For its part, this means the presence of relevant resources. Among
other factors, the liberated territories are an important component
of this basis. The liberated territories are a moral, political,
economic and strategic resource.

No country is able to waive the war threat by pushing away a huge
system of resources of key significance in a possible war, the
significance of which is evident to the society, and especially to
the rival.

They can say this dispute consists in this system and the war threat
stems from it. Armenia wants to keep the status quo, which infuriates
Azerbaijan. In other words, by returning the territories we will have
no more war threats. Consequently, we will have no lack of resources
in case of a war.

Firstly, what is the guarantee that Azerbaijan’s fury will ease? It
may even intensify in the course of years. We should know the “cost”
of international guarantees. We have witnessed lots of examples that
military actions easily bypass all kinds of international guarantees
if the geopolitical interest requires that.

Secondly, the South Caucasus is a complicated geopolitical knot. The
region has internal and adjacent problematic centers which if
generated will trigger a chain reaction. The people who think that
the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue will settle the issue
of peace for Armenia are mistaken. The issue of peace in the South
Caucasus can be settled only if all the regional, adjacent and global
actors reach a fundamental solution to all their problems. This is
impossible at least in the upcoming decade.

Losing a huge system of weighted resources of resistance, Armenia will
render itself a “weak link” or a “weaker link” in the geopolitical
chain.

It is clear that regional integration is very important and desirable
for the South Caucasus, and it is, of course, important for Armenia
to make efforts to contribute to integration. But it is strange to to
contribute by sacrificing an important part of one’s security. Maybe,
this contribution will merit diplomatic appraisals or even a Nobel
Prize but all that is highly superficial, while in deep the world
will merely understand that all the issues of the South Caucasus can
be solved at the expense of Armenia because it is always ready to help.

For decades and centuries, several status quos have been maintained
in the South Caucasus at the expense of Armenia, its interests and
resources. Isn’t it enough? Isn’t it time to set up status quos based
on Armenia’s interests?

From: A. Papazian

ILHAM ALIYEV: TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF THE COUNTRIES AND SELF-GOVERNANCE OF THE PEOPLE – THESE PRINCIPLES ARE NOT CONFLICTING

arminfo
Friday, June 24, 14:10

“The personal involvement of Russian President Medvedev helps us come
closer to a settlement”, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in
his interview with Euronews.

“Therefore, our expectations are optimistic and we think that if the
Armenian side shows a constructive approach and finds the political
will to make important steps forward, the conflict can be resolved
very soon. As far as the negotiation process is concerned, the basic
principles which were offered by mediators to both sides are in line
with internationally recognized principles, which are territorial
integrity of the countries and self-governance of the people. These
two principles are not conflicting, they are both important, and both
of them can be provided in the peace agreement”, he said.

When asked what concessions Azerbaijan is ready to make, Aliyev said:
“Actually, we do not have to give anything back for something that
belonged to us in the first place. Nagorno-Karabakh is a historic land
of Azerbaijan and internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan”.

From: A. Papazian

HRAZDAN FACES THE PROSPECT OF A NEW ‘ORE MINING DISASTER’

arminfo
Friday, June 24, 14:16

While people of Hrazdan were struggling to ban the extraction of
Hrazdan iron mine, information appeared in the press that only 15
km far away from the city of Hrazdan an enrichment plant of gold
extraction and tailings dump would we built and that the plant
construction project had gone through expertise long ago, EcoLur
reports.

Hrazdan is famous for its polluted air basin. In Hrazdan the maximum
concentration of cement dust STK caused by only the Cement factory
emissions can exceed 6-8 times. Besides the Cement factory the Hrazdan
TTP functions in Hruzdan, they intend to open the iron mine in the
city centre and now the gold extraction plant and tailings dump are
initiated. And the plant construction project states that one of the
favourable factors of creating the new plant is “the great ecological
potential of the territory”.

The plant is going to recycle the gold containing ore in Lusajur mine.

The ore extraction license belongs to “Paramount gold mining” Ltd.

100 thousand ore will be recycled per year. The workshops of scrapping
and grinding will be placed outside.

According to the project the whole territory of the enrichment plant
and tailings dump is 4.6 ha. “The tails belong to not dangerous class,
aren’t flammable, explosive and dissolving”, states the project,
consequently the fee is “0.0 dram”.

Among the pollutants of the atmosphere are dust, sulfur dioxide and
carbon monoxide.

The demand for fresh water in the plant will be 63.180 m3.

From: A. Papazian

ARF World Congress Convenes

Friday, June 24th, 2011

ARF Bureau chairman Hrant Markarian speaks at World Congress opening cermony

YEREVAN – Delegates, leaders and guests from around the world gathered
at the Armenian government’s auditorium for the kick off of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s 31st World Congress, which is the
party’s highest decision-making assembly.

During the opening session of the World Congress, which was attended
by representatives of different political parties and government
officials, ARF Bureau chairman Hrant Markarian made a presentation, in
which he assessed the state of the Republic and the party.

In highlighting important events of the past three years, which was
the last time the World Congress was held, Markarian pointed to the
inadequacies of the Armenian government in dealing with such
significant issues as the Armenia-Turkey protocols, the global
economic downturn and the general socio-economic situation in Armenia.

His message of `the ARF is the party of the future,’ was also
highlighted by Markarian’s discussion of the ARF’s approach to
fundamental issues in Armenia and his explanation that the ARF,
through working with the people will create an atmosphere whereby the
leadership of the country will be of the people.

Markarian said that the party’s declaration for the imperative for
regime change in Armenia, and hinges on the active involvement of all
facets of Armenian life and the people.

Asbarez will have more coverage of the opening ceremony of the World
Congress next week.

From: A. Papazian

Edward Nalbandian: Azerbaijan was not ready to accept the final
version of the Basic Principles

armradio.am
25.06.2011 12:29

`The President of the Republic had stated in Strasbourg that it would
be possible to expect positive results, progress in Kazan if
Azerbaijan did not propose new amendments.

Yet, the Kazan summit didn’t achieve a breakthrough, because
Azerbaijan was not ready to accept the final version of the Basic
Principles proposed by the three Co-Chairs,’ Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian said, commenting on the results of the Kazan
meeting.

‘In Deauville the Co-Chair countries had urged the Presidents to come
to an agreement in Kazan. President Obama in his phone conversations
with the Presidents had made the same call. The President of France
Sarkozy had sent messages to the Presidents, as well.

Despite it the Azerbaijani side proposed approximately a dozen of
amendments, and that is the reason why the Kazan meeting did not prove
to be a breakthrough,’ the Minister stated.

‘In any case, I think the meeting was useful in the sense that the
detailed discussions continued. And the important point is that
President Medvedev, who made a great input in this process during the
last three years, expressed willingness to continue his efforts
towards according the principles and achieving a final agreement over
them.

This was already the 12th meeting between the parties during the last
three years. But during this last year Azerbaijan has, in fact,
repeated this scenario of coming up with new amendments and proposals
at least four times. This is the reality.

Nonetheless, we will continue the negotiations, because there is no
other way for the settlement. It is possible to solve the conflict
only through peaceful means and negotiations,’ Minister Nalbandian
concluded.

From: A. Papazian