Author: Andres-Papazian

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Nov 22 2014

The impact of midterm elections upon Turkey and the Turkish community

ALÄ° ÇINAR

The impact of U.S. midterm elections is still under discussion. While
Democrats are in sorrow and bewilderment, the victorious rejoicing of
the Republicans continues in every state. It has also been suggested
that with this success, the Republicans will be even more motivated
for the year 2016.

The Republicans will be represented in the Senate with 52 seats to the
Democrats’ 45, while the former will also hold 243 congressional seats
to the Democrats’ 178.

But what do the midterm elections mean for Turkey and the
Turkish-American community?

Many sectors in Turkey state that it is a good sign that the
Republicans have won a majority in the Senate and Congress. U.S.
Speaker of the House John Boehner said both during a visit to Turkey
and in meetings with representatives of the Turkish-American community
that they would not bring the so-called Armenian Genocide bill to the
agenda in 2015.

When we look at the Senate, Robert Menendez, the chairman of the
American Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, will leave his seat to
Senator Bob Corker, who is a friend to Turks, in January. The grade
given to Senator Bob Corker in the report card issued by the Armenian
umbrella organization ANCA is a C, and he has never previously
supported any drafts that were against Turkish interests.

Another point to mention is the issue of the Middle East. One of the
most important Republican senators, John McCain, and many of his
colleagues have made statements supporting the opinions and strategies
of Turkey regarding Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The Republicans are
also stating that they will be applying pressure for a sharper and
stronger strategy due to the unclear strategy of President Barack
Obama on the subjects of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) and Syria.

However, I must also say this: It is also being said that the
Republicans are closer to Israel and the tension in Turkish-Israeli
relations will cause a backlash in Washington.

If we look at the midterm elections from the perspective of the
Turkish-American Community, we can see that in many states where
interest was very high, campaigning was conducted for candidates that
are friends of Turkey.

Indeed, I cannot move on without saying that Turkish lobbying
activities have improved in the last five years and that the number of
members in the Turkish Caucus Group in the American Congress has
increased to 148. Even if this number has fallen to 130 as a result of
those who retired after the elections, or failed to win back their
seats, endeavors are already underway for this number to be increased
to 150 in the 2015 term.

As Turkish-American leaders begin to send letters of congratulations
to candidates re-elected to local and federal administrations
following the midterm elections, we can say that visits for new
members to join the Turkish Friendship group will begin after
mid-January.

2015 will be a busy year for Turkish-American relations. Whatever the
case may be, Turkey and the U.S. shares common interests in many
issues, and it would be wrong to expect that there would be a serious
crisis due to the delicate balance with whichever party gains the
majority vote.

In this sense, let’s not forget that the Turkish-American community
will continue to be in a close relationship with both parties’
representatives and that they will work even more seriously to prevent
any unpleasant surprises.

*Ali Çınar is the president of the Turkish-American Leadership Council.

November/22/2014

From: A. Papazian

Azerbaijan Sabotages Canadian Websites

November 19, 2014

The websites of several Armenian-Canadian organizations were hacked
on Nov. 16 and Azerbaijani propaganda was placed on the sites, reports
the Armenian National Committee of Canada. Among the sites attacked
were the “Horizon” weekly and the ANCC website. The latter has called
on Canadian, provincial and regional governments to strongly condemn
such heinous and racist acts.

“We need the Canadian governmental actors to publicly condemn these
acts as they are becoming more and more frequent. This is not the
first time that Armenian-Canadian websites have been violated by Azeri
and Turkish hackers,” said Dr. Girair Basmajian, president of the
ANCC. “Other similar violent incidents took place in 2008, where
members of Armenian youth organizations were threatened with sword and
blood by Turkish and Turkic ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves.”

The ANCC said the latest attack is “all the more troubling as it took
place only days after the Nov. 12 brutal shooting of an unarmed
helicopter in Nagorno Karabakh Republic, killing all three Armenians
on board. “This is yet another example of Azerbaijan violating the
peace treaty of 1994,” added Dr. Basmajian.

“On the eve of the Centennial of the Genocide of the Armenians, it is
appalling that more violence is being directed against Armenians. We
seem to be witnessing an escalation of violence here on Canadian soil
as well,” said the president of ANCC.

The ANCC also pointed out that after “last spring’s dangerous action
by Ottawa police in allowing provocative Turkish protestors to
confront and disrupt the Armenian community’s annual Genocide
commemoration events by celebrating and dancing with loud music, we
are particularly concerned that Canada be proactive in not tolerating
or encouraging confrontation. Armenian Genocide deniers should not be
given permission by Ottawa Police to silence a peaceful commemoration
event.”

As a country advocating peace and human rights Canada should step up,
take action and prevent any escalation of violence, said the ANCC.

From: A. Papazian

Armenia’s banks have opportunity to expand their customer base in regions

by Gayane Isahakyan

ARMINFO
Saturday, November 22, 16:18

Armenian banks have an opportunity to expand their customer base in
the regions overwhelmingly due to potential customers in peasant
farms, say the results of a public opinion poll conducted by the
Economic Development and Research Center (EDRC) at the request of the
USAID as part of The Finance for Economic Development (FED) project.
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and peasant farms
throughout Armenia were polled.

According to report recently published as part of the FED, 61.5% of
the polled peasant farms have no bank accounts, 38.5% have bank
accounts, including 68.2% have one account, 22.7% have 2 accounts and
only 9.1% have 3 and more bank accounts.

Nearly all the polled MSME that are legal entities use financial
services: 32.9% use 5 and more financial services, 28.8% – 2 services,
20.5% – 4 services, 11% -3 services and 6.8% use only one financial
service.

As for the polled private businesspersons, only 4.7% of them do not
use financial services, while 28.7% use 2 financial services, 19.1% –
3 services, 17.1% – one service, 8% – 4 services, 5 and more services
are not used by private entrepreneurs.

82.2% of the MSME – legal entities use financial services to pay
taxes, 60.3% make cash withdrawals, 58.9% buy goods and services,
50.7% pay for loans, 49.3% sell goods and services, 45.2% – pay for
communal and telecommunications service, and 13.7% – make salary
payments. 43.9% of the total private businesspersons have bank loans,
39.4% use banks service to pay taxes, 31.9% – to make cash-outs, 21.5%
– to pay for communal and communication services, 19.1% – to buy goods
and services, 8.4% to sell goods and services, while no private
businesspersons use bank services to pay salaries. 66% of the total
polled MSMEs (legal entities and privates) have never taken bank loans
as felt no need in it.
Meanwhile, 46% of the total MSMEs did not taken loans as they had no
such opportunity or habit, another 10.3% of the polled MSMEs say their
partners or employees are against loans, 9.5% complain of complicated
nature of financial services, 8.9% say tariffs and interests on loans
are high and impracticable, while 6.2% do not trust in banks.
The survey revealed that the overwhelming majority of the polled
peasant farms (73.3%) do not need bank loans, 40.3% more farms have
had no opportunity or has no habit to take a loan. 6.8% of them do not
trust in banks, 5% complain of high bank tariffs and commission fees,
2.3% say the financial services are complicate, while 0.3% do not take
loans a their partners or employees are against. The survey results
revealed the weak points of banks when it comes to deposit base in the
regions. Thus, 75.4% of the polled MSMEs say they have free funds or
savings to deposit with banks, 21.5% complain of too low interests on
deposits, 27.7% say they have had no opportunity or habit to deposit
funds, while 58.1% do not need deposits, amid 26.9% do not trust in
banks.

65.5% of the polled peasant farms have no deposits with banks for lack
of free funds or savings, 26% say banks are not reliable, 14.8% do not
need deposits, 3.8% have no opportunity or habit to deposit funds with
banks, and only 1.3% say the interests on deposits are low.

Meanwhile, 38% of peasant farms have debts, 26.5% have banks loans,
11.5% have loans at credit organizations, 6.75% take money from
pawnshops, 4.5% borrowed funds from privates. 69.3% of the peasant
farms having debts took loans in a bank, 30.1% in a credit company,
17.6% from a pawn, and 11.8% borrowed from a private.
Only 58.7% of MSMEs using bank services are satisfied with them, 6.3%
are very much satisfied, 31.9% are not satisfied, with 2.5% of them
are extremely discontented at their cooperation with banks.

From: A. Papazian

Azerbaijani delegate was deprived of the seat for organizing the Batumi scandal

November 22 2014

“It is important that at least in this situation, the Azerbaijani
delegation acts with specific denial that they do not share the
approaches and estimates of this newspaper, and do not agree that the
information published in the newspaper meet the reality”, such opinion
was expressed by Armenia’s National Coordinator Boris Navasardyan, in
the conversation with Aravot.am, referring to the sixth annual session
of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum held in Batumi (the
Armenian delegation has already elected a new coordinator, Michael
Hovhannisyan, which will soon be announced during the conference).
Note that during the conference, one of the Azerbaijani delegation
members, Selim Babayev, created a scandal, after which the Azerbaijani
press reported that it contained a disinformation. Today, the Steering
Committee of the Forum acted on this matter. According to the
announcement, Selim Babayev, is dismissed from the working group and
deprived of his mandate, in other words, he can no longer participate
in decision-making process, nor be invited to any work of the Forum
during this year. Mr. Navasardyan informed that there has been no
denial by Azerbaijani delegation until now, and “we can interpret this
as an identical approach from the perspective of the delegation and
the author of the article.” Boris Navasardyan deemed the statement by
the governing body appropriate and said, “The Steering Committee
should be able to protect the reputation of the Forum, as this
announcement contained disinformation about the Forum, as well as,
allegedly, Georgian President has not attended the Forum because of
this exhibition and that the exhibition was not agreed upon in
advance.” In this respect, Mr. Navasardyan presented some
clarifications. “It was well predicted, initially it was a part of the
agenda of the Forum. The exhibition is organized by the Czech “People
in need” organization, and the information that allegedly this
organization is pro-Armenia had no grounds by the author of the
article to include in the material, nor even in the statement of the
Azerbaijani Ambassador to the Czech Republic. This organization
probably works the least in Armenia.” Boris Navasardyan also
highlighted the fact that the media disseminating such misinformation
was invited to cover especially the Forum and the recommendation for
the media was made by the Azerbaijani National Coordinator. Hence,
according to Navasardyan, “So, anything that is written in the
newspaper, to some extent, the guarantor is also responsible for it.
In this regard, some of the opinions that the publication of the
newspaper has nothing to do with approaches of the Azerbaijani
delegation are not convincing.” Among the many unsubstantiated
accusations and distortion of facts, the aforementioned Azerbaijani
news publication presents also allegedly Boris Navasardyan is standing
behind all of this. Boris Navasardyan considered this a traditional
style of Azerbaijan and said, “If a criticism from anywhere is voiced
against Azerbaijan, and it sounds from different international
instances, and since the Azerbaijani side does not admit this
criticism and make fairly aggressive statements, they should find some
explanation as to why. The easiest and short explanation, which they
do not believe either is that all of that was organized by Armenians.
The exhibition is taking place within the Forum and the national
coordinator was Boris Navasardyan, so all of that was organized by
him. If the CE is criticizing, then it is Armenians, if the OSCE is
criticizing, then Armenians are lobbying, if the US government, then
Armenians are behind it. Unfortunately, it has extended to the Forum,
too.” Boris Navasardyan pointed out one more important circumstance.
The article, in addition to the rest of the lies, says that the
Azerbaijani delegation has boycotted the Forum. In that case, it had
no right to participate in all procedures planned by the Forum: to
vote for the members of Steering Committee. But since they have voted,
they should announce that the information in the article is
misinformation, otherwise, in the meantime, when there was a procedure
to vote, they cast doubt on it, and put the legitimacy of all
procedures into question. The Azerbaijani side should declare firmly
and publicly that they had not boycotted.”

Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
Read more at:

From: A. Papazian

Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situation Holds Drills at Mingechaur Reservoir

Lragir.am
Politics – 21 November 2014, 20:34

MoD Met With U.S. Ambassador To Discuss Destiny of Bodies of Helicopter Crew

Razm.info reported that the special risk service of the Azerbaijani
ministry of emergency situations held a tactical drill of preemption
of sabotages near Mingechaur reservoir, the Azerbaijani APA News
Agency informed on November 21.

It is stated that the drills were led by Major General Meherrim
Hassanov, the first deputy head of the special risk service of the
Azerbaijani ministry of emergency situations.

During the drill the units of the service surrounded the part of the
reservoir where factor of risk exists afterwards dog trainers started
work, detecting the bomb set near the reservoir. Then the mine
clearance defused the bomb after moving it to a safe place.

From: A. Papazian

Armenian Assembly of America News
1334 G Street, N.W., Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20005
Tel: (202) 393-3434
Fax: (202) 638-4904
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

Congress, Armenian Assembly Condemn Azerbaijan Downing of Armenian
Helicopter in Karabakh

By Taniel Koushakjian (@Taniel_Shant)
AAANews Blog
November 20, 2014

On November 12th, an Azerbaijani military unit stationed near the official
Line of Contact (LOC) shot down an unarmed Nagorno Karabakh (NK) army
helicopter killing all three servicemen aboard. News of the incident was
first reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation and soon went viral
across the Internet.

“The [Armenian] Assembly strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s blatant cease-fire
violation and calls upon the Administration and Congress to take strong
action to ensure the safety and security of Artsakh’s citizens,” stated
Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny moments after reports reached
Washington.

CONGRESS CONDEMNS AZERBAIJANI ATTACK

The blatant attack on Nagorno Karabakh brought swift rebuke from all over
the world including from Members of the U.S. Congress.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) was quick to
strongly condemn the attack. `The downing of an Armenian helicopter today
is an indefensible aggressive action that threatens to undermine the
fragile ceasefire and plunge the region back into violence,’ he said.
`Azerbaijan must immediately cease all such attacks and provocations and
commit to concrete progress in the Minsk Group talks,’ Chairman Royce said.

Since a cease-fire was signed in 1994, the Republic of Armenia has sought a
peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict through the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group,
co-chaired by the United States, Russia, and France. Both sides are
technically, and legally, still at war with cross-border sniper fire
occurring daily. However, 2014 has claimed more lives than the last twenty
years. This past August, Azerbaijan sent several armed battalions across
the LOC and attempted to penetrate different NK defense positions, the
largest military offensive in the region in decades. Like the August
assault, Azerbaijan’s downing of the NK helicopter was the first such
incident since the 1991-1994 NK War. It appears that Azerbaijan’s
aggressive tactics, which significantly impact negotiations, have reached a
new level of urgency that requires a strong and unequivocal response.

Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) likewise condemned
the incident. `I am outraged and saddened by the Azerbaijani attack on the
Nagorno Karabakh helicopter engaged in a training flight,’ he said. `This
is another instance of aggression by the Azerbaijani government towards
Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia and represents an escalation in their violent
actions that continue to have a destabilizing impact on the region.’

Congressman Pallone, who has travelled to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh on
several occasions and knows the region and its people very well, called on
the White House to step forward. `There is no longer any question that
President Obama must take action to discourage Azerbaijan from pursuing
such violent aggression and to demonstrate our commitment to peace and
stability,’ he said. `I encourage President Obama to formally condemn this
deadly attack.’

Furthermore, Rep. Pallone called for the `cessation of any military
assistance to Azerbaijan and the strengthening of section 907 of the
FREEDOM Support Act, which restricts aid to Azerbaijan based on its
aggression toward Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia. It is time for both the
President and Congress to ensure that U.S. law once again holds Azerbaijan
accountable for its violent actions,’ he stated. `The families of those who
were killed and all of Nagorno Karabakh’s citizens remain in my thoughts
and prayers,’ Pallone stated.

Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), a rising voice in the Armenian Caucus, also
expressed her dismay at Azerbaijani behavior. `I am deeply troubled by the
latest evidence of Azerbaijan’s continued aggression with their attack on
an apparently unarmed helicopter,’ she said. `The people in
Nagorno-Karabakh deserve and desire peace, but Azerbaijan’s disregard for
the 1994 cease fire threatens both sides with conflict.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), a steadfast defender of NK, rightfully recognized
the need for Azerbaijan to be held `accountable for engaging in violence
and not in peaceful negotiations,’ via his Twitter account. Given the
events of this year, and the recent death of three Karabakh pilots, if the
international community, particularly the OSCE, United States, and United
Kingdom, do not directly address Azerbaijani intransigence at the
negotiating table and condemn this military act, then the likelihood of
renewed war in the South Caucasus will near certainty.

STATE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE FALLS SHORT

The incident also caught the attention of the international press corps, as
questions regarding the attack were raised during the State Department
Daily Press Briefing on November 13. Unfortunately, State Department
Spokeswoman Jen Psaki’s response fell short of condemning the attack. `I
don’t have any analysis of the exact events on the ground,’ Psaki said to a
reporter’s question. `We’ve seen the same reports.
There are obviously
comments and claims from both sides, but I don’t have any analysis
beyond
that.’

The reporter continued to seek clarification, stating, `Azerbaijan
shooting an Armenian vessel, then it’s pretty clear which party is
violating the ceasefire.’

Psaki responded, stating `We understand there are views by both sides, but
I don’t have any comment from the U.S. Government on it.’

When a helicopter is shot down and three people are killed it is
difficult to accept that knowledgeable people choose to interpret
these facts as simply `views’ shared by `both sides.’ The
spokeswoman’s frustration at her inability to speak openly about a
blatant attack against an American ally clearly surfaced when
presented with what is referred to in political parlance as a `smoking
gun.’

Available online at:

From: A. Papazian

L’USINE ARMENIENNE NAIRIT PEUT REPONDRE A LA MOITIE DE LA DEMANDE RUSSE POUR LE CAOUTCHOUC CHLOROPRENE

ARMENIE

L’usine chimique Nairit situee dans la banlieue d’Erevan est en
mesure de repondre a 50% de la demande de la Russie pour le caoutchouc
chloroprène, qui est d’environ de 25000 a 30000 tonnes, selon Vazgen
Safaryan, le president de l’Union des producteurs interieurs de
matières premières.

> a declare Safaryan.

Safaryan a egalement exhorte les autorites a faire le bilan de toutes
les ressources internes et d’identifier la gamme de produits que
l’Armenie peut vendre en Russie en raison de la tension croissante
entre Moscou et l’Occident.

Nairit etait la seule usine dans l’Union sovietique a produire du
caoutchouc chloroprène. L’usine a ete fermee en 1989 pour des raisons
environnementales et a repris une exploitation partiellement en 1992.

En 2006, 90% des actions de Nairit ont ete vendus a British Rainoville
Property Limited pour 40 millions de $. Les 10% restants appartiennent
au gouvernement armenien.

À la fin de Decembre 2013, Rosneft, Pirelli Tyre Armenie et
Rosneft-Armenie ont signe un memorandum pour fabriquer du caoutchouc
butadiène-styrène.

vendredi 21 novembre 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

KARABAGH : LES MEDIATEURS APPELLENT L’AZERBAIDJAN A FOURNIR UN ACCES AU SITE DE L’HELICOPTERE ARMENIEN ABATTU

KARABAGH

Les mediateurs internationaux ont exhorte a l’Azerbaïdjan a laisser un
accès a la partie armenienne pour se rendre a l’epave d’un helicoptère
de l’armee armenienne qui a ete abattu près de Haut-Karabagh la
semaine dernière.

En raison de l’intensite des tirs du côte azerbaïdjanais les Armeniens
n’ont pas ete en mesure de recuperer les corps des trois pilotes qui
sont presumes morts après l’incident du 12 Novembre.

Les co-presidents americain, russe et francais du Groupe de Minsk de
l’OSCE, les Ambassadeurs James Warlick, Igor Popov et Pierre Andrieu,
ont publie une declaration a Washington mercredi, disant qu’ils

From: A. Papazian

MIXED SIGNALS: ARTSAKH DEFENSE ARMY CLAIMS IT CONTROLS HELICOPTER CRASH AREA

11:10, November 21, 2014

Despite the fact that Armenian forces have yet been unable to retrieve
the remains of the three crew members of an Armenian helicopter shown
down by Azerbaijan on November 12 along the Karabakh Line of Contact,
the Artsakh Defense Army (ADA) issued a statement today that the
crash site and the entire border remains under its control.

Ever since the downing of the helicopter, which was participating in
Armenian military exercises, Armenian and Artsakh military officials
have claimed that they cannot approach the crash site due to constant
firing by Azerbaijani forces.

In its statement, the ADA says it is taking all necessary steps to
prevent Azerbaijani forces from approaching the downed helicopter.

The ADA says that Azerbaijani violations of the ceasefire have
increased of late, especially in the region where the helicopter was
shot down.

From: A. Papazian

PROTESTING ARMENIAN ACTIVIST CALLS FOR OSCE SANCTIONS AGAINST AZERBAIJAN

12:23 * 20.11.14

The Heritage party activist, who has been on a hunger-strike outside
the OSCE Office since Monday, is calling for the organization’s strong
efforts towards enforcing sanctions against Azerbaijan.

David Sanasaryan urges the member states of the Minsk Group to take
active steps to facilitate the Armenian side’s access to the crash
site of the downed MI-24 helicopter.

“A journalist called me today and said the Minsk Group co-chairs had
issued a statement calling upon Azerbaijan to allow the recovery of
the guys’ [crewmembers’] bodies. Their statement is praiseworthy;
that’s what I expected, but if they have no trust in Azerbaijan,
I address my call to the co-chairs of the Minsk Group and their
countries’ presidents for taking active steps to put an end to
Azerbaijan’s cowardly and beastly behavior,” he said.

The OSCE ambassador on Wednesday approached the protesting activist
to say that Vienna is now very seriously considering the issue.

Heritage party’s leader Raffi Hovhannisyan and other opposition
members visit Sanasaryan every day to express their solidarity.

From: A. Papazian