Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMENIAN VILLAGERS UNHAPPY WITH TURKISH TOMATOES

Hurriyet
May 9 2011
Turkey

Armenian tomatoes producers say imports from Turkey destroys their
local production. Hurriyet photo

A recent reaction by Armenian tomato producers to exports from Turkey
was right, still the complaints did not require a halt in imports and
exports between the two countries, said Armenian Deputy Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Samvel Kalstyan.

As their products remained unsold, tomato producers in Armania held
a protest last Friday in the Republic Square in Yerevan, the capital
city, calling for a ban on tomatoes imported from Turkey.

Even though border gates between Armenia and Turkey are closed,
businesspeople from both countries continue trading via Georgia.

Due to continental climate in the country, producers in Armenia are
not able to plant sufficient amount of tomatoes. Tomatoes are raised
only in greenhouses there.

Speaking to the Hurriyet Daily News, Armenian Deputy Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Samvel Kalstyan said he found the
reaction of Armenian people right. “Still, the situation does not
require a halt in imports and exports between the two countries.”

Kalstyan said the Georgian government imposed a quota for potatoes
and grapes imported from Armenia last year. “But this situation does
not require a halt in imports and exports. Imports and exports can be
continued with some measures and regulations, without making producers
aggrieved,” Kalstyan told the Daily News.

Gagik Makaryan, chairman of the Republican Union of Employers of
Armenia, who has close relations with businesspeople from Turkey since
2008, told the Daily News that reactions of Armenian producers are
right. “First of all, the priority should be in Armenian producers. If
not the production capacity in the country may be damaged.”

“Just like other countries, Turkey also imposes taxes and quota to
its imports to not to damage its domestic market. This is normal.

Otherwise, producers may be aggrieved and this causes inequality,”
Makaryan said.

Farmers can obtain 70 to 80 kilograms tomatoes from one square meter
land in Europe and Turkey, said Professor Antreas Melikyan from the
Agrarian University in Yerevan. “But in Armenia, the production per
one square meter is 20 kilograms,” Melikyan told the Daily News. “Due
to difficulties and problems caused by the climate, villagers should
be supported by the government.”

From: A. Papazian

FATHER OF 11 CHILDREN AND WAR VETERAN RECEIVES TWO APARTMENTS

news.am
May 9 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Large family of Karabakh war veteran received two apartments
in Armenia’s capital under decree of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

Mayor of Yerevan Karen Karapetyan handed Gagik Hovhannisyan, father
of 11 children, two apartments in the capital.

“Let our children live in peace and become respectable citizens of
our country. We all are obliged to you, participants of Karabakh and
Great Patriotic wars,” Mayor said.

Gagik Hovhannisyan noted that in the battlefield he swore that would
have 12 sons in commemoration of 12 killed friends. He has seven
sons now.

Karen Karapetyan also handed presents to veteran’s children.

From: A. Papazian

SERJ TANKIAN SQUEEZES IN SYSTEM OF A DOWN REUNION SHOW AT SHORELINE
By: Tom Lanham

San Francisco Examiner

May 9 2011

When Armenian/American rocker Serj Tankian recently read the news
that the world’s most ancient sandal, dated at 5,500 years old, had
been unearthed in Armenia, “That made me laugh, really hard,” he says.

“And I thought ‘Yeah! This is why Armenians are in the shoe business!’
And my dad was in the shoe business, most of his life, too. But now,
of course, everything’s made in China. …”

Tankian can’t help it – he sees everything through a sharp
geopolitical lens, like the score he just composed for Steven
Sater’s new Aeschylus-inspired musical “Prometheus Bound” (with a
Shirley-Manson-sung single, “The Hunger,” already available at iTunes).

“We were given the tools of fire, we started our civilization, and
here we are – look at what we’ve done with it,” sighs the ardent
follower of James Lovelock’s Gaia Theory. “And according to Greek
legend, Prometheus was punished for giving us that fire. Maybe now
we know why – we have become the disease.”

Ostensibly, Tankian should be on the road promoting his second
symphonic solo set, “Imperfect Harmonies,” and its followup EP
“Imperfect Remixes.” Or perhaps stumping for Axis Of Justice, the
socially conscious nonprofit he formed with Rage Against The Machine’s
Tom Morello. Instead, fans will find him at Shoreline Amphitheatre
in Mountain View this Sunday, fronting his recently-reunited aggro
outfit System Of A Down, who temporarily regrouped for some European
festivals but decided to keep right on touring. Tankian barely had
enough time to do a handful of book readings, from his latest poetry
anthology “Glaring Through Oblivion.”

All of his work stemming from his basic tenet that “we’ve created our
own post-agrarian world which is unsupported by science, as far as our
rationale of how we’ll be able to live on this planet in the way that
we do. So now we’re just trying to find ways to avoid the inevitable.

And they’re not there.”

From: A. Papazian

U.S. AMBASSADOR IN BAKU TO HELP MEDIATORS?

news.am
Armenia
May 9 2011

U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza intends to spare no
effort to assist mediators in their work on basic principles on
Karabakh conflict.

In an interview with 1news.az he said that his mission is to back work
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. Bryza believes the presidents will
complete work on basic principles.

Asked whether regional conflicts will be resolved Bryza said that it
is a geopolitical issue adding he can be responsible only for his task.

The Karabakh peace process is built on three basic principles of
international law: right of nations to self-determination, territorial
integrity and non-use of force. All these principles were set during
the OSCE Helsinki Summit.

Armenian lobby opposed Bryza~Rs appointment as ambassador due to his
pro-Azerbaijani lobbying in U.S.

From: A. Papazian

VICTORY DAY PARADES HELD ACROSS FORMER SOVIET UNION

Monsters and Critics

May 9 2011

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (centre left) and Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin (centre right) watch the Victory Day parade at the Red
Square in Moscow, Russia 09 May 2011. Russian people celebrate the
Victory over Nazi Germany in the WWII on May 09. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

Moscow – Russia and other former Soviet republics marked the 66th
anniversary of World War II victory over Germany with military parades
and memorial services.

Soldiers marched across Moscow’s Red Square on Monday, following
a minute of silence for the victims of the war and the sounding of
bells from the Kremlin’s Spassky Tower.

The hour-long ceremony saw a march past by about 20,000 soldiers and
flag-bearers in serried ranks, with guests of honour looking on.

‘I congratulate you for our great victory. We are obliged to remember
the cost at which it was won – health and strength to our veterans,
who defended our motherland,’ said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
in a speech.

More than 100 combat vehicles rumbled across the Red Square’s
cobblestones, most of them top-of-the-line Russian army equipment such
as T-90 tanks, Buk-M anti-aircraft rockets, Smerch rocket artillery
and Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The Russian air force successfully employed a Soviet-era tactic to
guarantee good weather for the parade by sending planes to bomb clouds
to the north of Moscow with silver pellets and cement powder, which
caused them to rain and disperse before reaching the Russian capital.

More than half a dozen bomber aircraft participated in the operation,
which cost some 4.3 million dollars, according to news reports.

Smaller victory parades took place in cities across Russia’s
eight times zones from the Pacific Ocean port city Vladivostok to
Kaliningrad, a Baltic Sea port that was known as the German city
Koenigsberg until Soviet conquest in 1945.

Most former Soviet republics, now nations independent of the Kremlin,
also held memorial services. A parade in the Ukrainian capital Kiev
featured a mix of marching infantry units and school bands, followed
by blasts from ceremonial cannon.

‘The victory over Nazism – this is our collective holiday which unites
the people of Ukraine with all peoples of the world,’ said Ukrainian
President Viktor Yanukovych in a speech. ‘For us, May 9 is a holy day.’

A fistfight broke out in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv when
about 30 Ukrainian nationalists clashed with pro-Russian marchers
celebrating the Victory Day. One man was shot in the leg by an air
pellet pistol, but no arrests were reported.

In Yerevan, the capital of the Caucasian state Armenia, Russian and
Armenian soldiers laid flowers next to an eternal flame memorial
honouring war dead.

Although most citizens of the former Soviet Union consider the war
against Germany to have been a just one, some non-Russian nationalists
consider Soviet liberation of their regions during the latter phases
of the conflict the beginning of years of Russian occupation.

An estimated 8.7 million Soviet soldiers and 18-20 million Soviet
civilians died as a result of Germany’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet
Union. The conflict is still known as the ‘Great Patriotic War’
in most former Soviet republics.

From: A. Papazian

SERZH SARGSYAN CONGRATULATES DMITRY MEDVEDEV, VLADIMIR PUTIN

Panorama
May 9 2011
Armenia

President Serzh Sargsyan sent congratulatory messages to Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the
occasion of the 66th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War,
President’s press office said.

In his congratulatory message to Dmitry Medvedev, Serzh Sargsyan noted
that the Armenian-Russian strategic allied relations will serve for
the prosperity of the two countries, will boost peace and security
in the South Caucasus. S. Sargsyan wished Medvedev good health,
success and the Russian people – peace and well-being.

In his letter to Vladimir Putin, the Armenian President said that May
9 remains a symbol of bravery and heroism of the winner generation,
as the victory saved the world from Fascism and gave millions of
people freedom and possibility of living in their native land.

From: A. Papazian

KARABAKH CONFLICT ONE OF OSCE PA PRIORITIES – ORGANIZATION’S HEAD

news.am
May 9 2011
Armenia

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and situation in the Caucasus is one
of the key issues on OSCE PA agenda, president of OSCE parliamentary
assembly Petros Efthymiou said in an interview with Azerbaijani APA
news agency.

He stressed that the OSCE Minsk Group has been working to facilitate
dialogue on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for almost a decade, while
courage and political will from all sides is needed to take the steps
necessary to reach a lasting resolution.

“The main role of the Parliamentary Assembly is to help build
confidence through parliamentary dialogue. At its best, an improved
relationship at this level can help forge better relationships at
the government level,” he told APA.

Efthymiou noted that keeping Karabakah peace process and situation
in the Caucasus high on the OSCE agenda is background for his visit
to the South Caucasus.

“As you know, the former Special Representative Goran Lennmarker
left politics, and now I seek to follow the situation as closely as
possible in my capacity as President of the Assembly,” he added.

From: A. Papazian

OPPOSITION TO GAIN SEATS IN NEXT PARLIAMENT – ARMENIAN SPEAKER

news.am
May 9 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenian Parliament Speaker welcomes cooperation with the
opposition, in particular the Armenian National Congress (ANC).

“If they are ready, we are also ready to cooperate as it is in the
interests of state. I have already offered to turn the platform of
the parliament into a platform for discussion and criticism. We should
discuss each problem and reform in the National Assembly. If there is a
reasonable point of view the authorities are always ready to listen,
regardless of who it is voiced by,” Abrahamyan told journalists
on Monday.

Speaking of early elections, Abrahamyan noted any earl elections
discredit the country. “There is no need for early elections, as
there is only a year left for the next elections. It is a short
period of time and both the opposition and the authorities should
better prepare for it,” he added.

Armenian Speaker said the electoral code is being amended and they
are trying to discuss opposition’s proposals as well. “For us, it is
important that the electoral code should be accepted by all political
forces,” he stressed.

Abrahamyan forecasted that the ANC will gain seats in the National
Assembly after parliamentary election, noting that number of seats
depends on people’s will.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIANS SEE EU AS IMPORTANT PARTNER, POLL FINDS

ENPI Info Centre

May 9 2011

Almost three quarters of Armenians see the European Union as an
important partner, with most also having a positive image of the EU.

More and more Armenians also feel that the EU promotes good governance
and peace and stability in the country. These were just some of the
findings to emerge in the third in a series of polls carried out at
six-month intervals between December 2009 and November 2010. The
results are part of the EU-funded Opinion Polling and Research
(OPPOL) project, funded under the 2007-2010 European Neighbourhood and
Partnership Instrument (ENPI) regional information and communication
programme.

The three waves of opinion polls summarize the outcomes of
400 interviews with members of the general public in Armenia,
and are designed to generate better information about awareness,
understanding and perception of the EU and the role it plays in the
partner countries. The final poll also sought to identify evolving
perceptions of the EU.

Among other findings, the latest poll found that more and more
Armenians identify fighting corruption as a key challenge for the
country, overtaking ensuring healthy economic growth. The poll also
suggests that Armenians are also becoming less worried about security
and defence.(ENPI Info Centre)

From: A. Papazian

WE ALWAYS HAVE TO RELY ON OURSELVES – ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

news.am
May 9 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – The veterans deserve more decent living conditions,
said Armenian Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan on Monday during
celebrations of the Victory Day.

“The Government puts every effort to ensure decent life of the [WW II]
veterans, however, the financial resources are not sufficient,” said
Hovik Abrahamyan. “The spirit of Victory becomes materialized after
speaking to the veterans, people who fought and survived the war.”

Abrahamyan stressed the most important facet in the concept of victory
is the unity of the state and people.

“We always have to rely on ourselves, boosting the economy and
reinforcing the army,” he added.

On May 9 Armenia marks Victory Day, Liberation of Shushi in Karabakh,
and the Day of Karabakh Defense Army.

From: A. Papazian