Author: Andres-Papazian

STRASBOURG ORCHESTRA PLAYED NATIONAL ANTHEM OF AZERBAIJAN AS FUNERAL MARCH

15:46 18/11/2014 >> SOCIETY

On November 17 a video was posted in the YouTube under the title
“Strasbourg orchestra played the Azerbaijani anthem just like
a funeral.”

“On 13th of November 2014, during the ceremony of passing the
chairmanship in Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe from
Azerbaijan to Belgium Strasbourg orchestra played the Azerbaijani
anthem just like a funeral march,” read the comments of the author
of the video.

Yesterday, in the front of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Belgium a
protest was held. As the Azerbaijani news agency “Turan” reports, the
representatives of the international organizations demanded to release
the arrested political prisoners and human rights activists. They
were holding the portraits of the arrested human rights activists:
Leyla Yunus, Rasul Jafarov, Intigam Aliyev the publication read.

From: A. Papazian

ECONOMIC INACTIVENESS RESULTED IN DECLINE OF ARMENIA’S COMPETITIVENESS LEVEL – HRANT BAGRATYAN

15:30 / 17.11.2014

Nyut.am conducted an interview with the economist, ANC faction MP
Hrant Bagratyan over Armenia’s membership to the EEU, the preparation
activities.

– Mr Bagratyan are enough steps being undertaken to smooth and reduce
the risks Armenia faces?

– I find it difficult to give assessment regarding satisfactory
degree. I suppose and I partially know that a big number of contracts,
laws and decisions are being prepared.

– The authorities say that new markets have opened for Armenia. How
realistic is it?

– Principally, yes, wider opportunities for economic contacts are
opened with Russia. But we also face loss of opportunities relating to
third countries. Nevertheless, the privileges given to the Armenian
government are enough to bring the losses to minimum in the first
period.

– If previously it was being spoke about the economic growth in our
country, there are no such talks currently and the existing business
is gradually declining with even mining sphere not being attractive
due to the reduction of prices in the international market. In your
opinion, which is the way out?

– The issue is more complicated than it can seem from the
first glance. As of the moment we are registering reduction in
the competitive sphere. The reduction of economic activity and
aggressiveness during the recent years resulted in the decline of
our country’s competitiveness.

– Can the three political forces make changes?

– It is difficult to say.

– In your opinion will the implementation of 12-point demands become
a formula for saving Armenia?

– These are political-economic demands. Naturally as usual, there is
a need of serious economic programs.

– Do you consider the possibility of joining these demands of the
three forces at some stage?

– In some of them yes, in some no.

Nyut.am

From: A. Papazian

DEPUTY DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHETHER THE BENEFITS OF PREGNANT WOMEN WILL BE REDUCED OR NOT

13:14 | November 18,2014 | Politics

OEK Deputy Hovhannes Margaryan isn’t pleased with the new changes in
“Temporary disability” law.

Today he announced at the NA extraordinary session that the law is full
of contradictions and doesn’t solve the main problem, “Pregnant women
demand not to give benefits to unemployed women at their expense. Now
I want to understand whether their benefits will be reduced or not,
I think that they will be reduced. It is obvious that the social
condition of pregnant women will get worse.”

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Asatryan announced that
question must have been given during public discussions of the law,
“What you present has no connection with this law draft. The real
employee will be given a benefit relevant to her salary and the
unemployed- within the limits of state capability in order to exclude
money extortion.”

By the way, these changes will be operated in 2016 and it will be
followed during the coming year how it influences. The Minister also
noted that there are 400 employers in the republic, who have woman
employees with a base salary of 1 million, there are 40 thousand
such women.

From: A. Papazian

NEW UAV SPECIALISTS ARRIVE IN RUSSIAN BASE IN ARMENIA

Tuesday 18 November 2014 10:14
Photo: Press service of the Russian military base

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Within the scheduled rotation of draftees,
specialists of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) arrived in the Russian
base in Armenia.

“The UAV calculations of the Russian military base in South Military
District in Republic of Armenia are meant for the interests of the
reconnaissance party, targeting and correcting of the artillery and
mortar firing at the conventional rival during tactical exercises
and kilometers-long marches in cross-country in mountainous areas”,
the press service of the Russian military base reports.

From: A. Papazian

Haykakan Zhamanak: New war will destroy Azerbaijan, Artsakh official says

12:17 15/11/2014 >> DAILY PRESS

“The possibility of resumption of large-scale hostilities can never be
ruled out, but there are some grounds to assert that such a turn of
events is unlikely because our enemy knows what will happen in that
case,” David Babayan, spokesman for Nagorno-Karabakh President, told
Haykakan Zhamanak.

“This will lead to the destruction of Azerbaijan. Second, this is not
beneficial to the world powers. The statements of the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs, Russian Foreign Ministry, OSCE and other organizations are
evidence of this. I think such a turn of events is unlikely,” Babayan
said.

Source: Panorama.am

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIE
Le Catholicos de tous les Arméniens a reçu le Ministre russe de la Santé

Le 8 Novembre, au Saint-Siège d’Etchmiadzin, Sa Sainteté Karékine II,
Patriarche suprême et Catholicos de tous les Arméniens ; a reçu Mme
Veronica Skvortsova ; Ministre de la Santé de la Fédération de Russie,
et sa délégation. Elle était accompagnée par M. Armen Mouradyan,
ministre arménien de la Santé. La réunion a été également suivie par
Son Eminence l’Archevêque Nathan Hovhannisyan ; Directeur du
Département des relations et du protocole externe du Saint-Siège.

Lors de la réunion Sa Sainteté a exprimé sa satisfaction pour les
relations chaleureuses et amicales entre les deux pays et les nations,
et pour l’élargissement de la coopération. Sa Sainteté a exprimé sa
satisfaction personnelle aux ministres russes et arméniens de la santé
et à leurs fonctionnaires, pour la collaboration fructueuse ; mettant
en évidence tous les programmes et les efforts dans le secteur de la
santé mises en oeuvre et entrepris pour le bénéfice de la population.

Le Catholicos de Tous les Arméniens a également présenté les activités
et programmes mis en oeuvre par l’Eglise apostolique arménienne dans le
secteur de la santé.

La Ministre Skvortsova a exprimé sa gratitude pour l’accueil
chaleureux au Saint-Siège d’Etchmiadzin, abordant également les
perspectives nouvelles de coopération.

Lors de la réunion, le Catholicos de Tous les Arméniens a adressé ses
bénédictions et sa gratitude au pédiatre bien connu le Dr Leonid
Roshali, qui était dans la délégation, pour le service utile qu’il a
apporté aux Arméniens après le tremblement de terre dévastateur de
1988.

Sa Sainteté a souhaité que Dieu supporte tous les médecins dans leur
mission humanitaire.

dimanche 16 novembre 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

States News Service
November 14, 2014 Friday

REP. CHU CONDEMNS AZERBAIJAN FOR ATTACK ON ARMENIAN HELICOPTER

WASHINGTON, DC

The following information was released by the office of California
Rep. Judy Chu:

Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27) condemned Azerbaijan for a November
12th attack on an unarmed Armenian helicopter that claimed three
lives. Rep. Chu released the following statement:

“I am deeply troubled by the latest evidence of Azerbaijan’s continued
aggression with their attack on an apparently unarmed helicopter. The
people in Nagorno-Karabakh deserve and desire peace, but Azerbaijan’s
disregard for the 1994 cease fire threatens both sides with conflict.”

From: A. Papazian

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Nov 15 2014

Opposition warns Turkish government of WWI lessons

Answering a question from a journalist about reports claiming U.S.
President Barack Obama has changed his strategy on Syria to prioritize
the removal of Bashar al-Assad, to aid in the fight against the
Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet
DavutoÄ?lu said on Nov. 14 that this would be the `correct thing to
do,’ adding that it is something the Turkish government has long
demanded. DavutoÄ?lu also said he would raise the issue with Obama when
they meet during the G-20 conferences in Brisbane, Australia.

But by that time, perhaps because of a mistake by one of DavutoÄ?lu’s
advisors, the CNN report that was cited by a number of pro-government
media outlets had already been denied by U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck
Hagel and the White House. They said there had been no change of focus
in the anti-ISIL fight in the U.S.’s strategy.

This could be a new example used to build criticism against
DavutoÄ?lu’s Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) government for
getting too involved in the Syrian civil war, which has devastated the
country since 2011. On Nov. 13, military talks between Turkish and
American officials in Ankara resulted in an agreement suggesting that
Turkey would train some 2,000 members of the rebel Free Syrian Army
(FSA) in Turkey. The FSA was established three years ago with the aim
of toppling al-Assad, before the emergence of radical Islamist groups
like al-Nusra and ISIL.

In another words, Turkey agreed as a NATO country to give training to
rebel forces of a neighboring country on its own soil, whereas the
U.S. will train mostly Kurdish rebel forces not in its own territory,
but in the territory of another of Turkey’s neighbors, Iraq. In the
past, Ankara used to rightfully criticize Syria and Iraq for hosting
the leadership and militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK), which has been carrying out cross-border attacks in Turkey
since 1984.

This last example shows how the political perspectives and balances in
the region have been dramatically changing in line with the security
atmosphere.

At almost the same time as DavutoÄ?lu was speaking to Turkish reporters
in Brisbane, Kemal KılıçdaroÄ?lu, the leader of the main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP), was giving the opening speech of a
conference in Istanbul titled `The 100th Anniversary of World War I.’

`Those who are bringing the whole Middle East and our country to the
brink of war seemingly lack the wisdom to draw lessons from history,’
KılıçdaroÄ?lu said, adding that Turkey must `remain loyal to the
peace-oriented foreign policy of Turkish Republic’s history.’

He elaborated that with the perspective and lessons drawn from World
War I, the Turkish government of the time managed to keep the young
and weak Republic away from the damage of World War II by staying out
of it. The CHP leader suggested that the government should stick to
the principles Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish
Republic, who coined the phrase: `Peace at home, Peace in the World.’

Turkey entered WWI on Germany’s side not as a matter of national
interest, but more, according to many historians, as the result of an
adventurist nostalgia in the days of the failing Turkish empire of the
Ottoman Dynasty, pushed by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress
(ITP) and its leader Enver Pasha.

Despite the heroic resistance shown in Gallipoli in 1915, for example,
or the resistance in Kut, Iraq in 1916 against invading forces, the
Ottoman army lost the war, together with the Germans, leaving tragic
pages behind, including the forced deportation of native Armenians by
the ITP government in 1915, which led to massacres. Following a
humiliating armistice in 1918 that marked the invasion and occupation
of Turkey by Greek, British, French, Italian and Armenian armies, (the
Russians had withdrawn after the 1917 revolution), a War of
Independence was started by Atatürk. The victory brought about a
regime change, and the Republic was established in 1923.

November/15/2014

From: A. Papazian

Armenian oligarch MP’s company to export meat to Russia?

Zhamanak
09:03, 15.11.2014

YEREVAN. – The Armenian and the Russian state agencies have reached an
agreement and, as a result, the Armenian meat products will be sold in
the Russian market from now on, Zhamanak daily reported.

“It is noteworthy [, however,] that Natali Pharm LLC, which belongs to
RPA NA [i.e., ruling Republican Party of Armenia National Assembly]
businessman MP Samvel Aleksanyan, is also on the list of companies
that have been authorized to export [meat products to Russia].

“To note, the Government of Armenia had just recently issued a license
to Samvel Aleksanyan’s Natali Pharm, to import [to] and sell medical
and psychotropic drugs [in Armenia]. And if there was logic in issuing
a license in this case, this logic is missing in the abovementioned
case.

“It is at least incomprehensible how a company that imports medication
and [medical] drugs can export meat products,” Zhamanak wrote.

From: A. Papazian

ErdoÄ?an says America was discovered by Muslims, not Columbus

November 15, 2014 – 20:33 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – America was discovered by Muslims, not by
Christopher Columbus, Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has
claimed, vowing to build a mosque “on that hill” in Cuba if the
authorities of the Caribbean nation grant the permit, Hurriyet Daily
News reports.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the first Latin American Muslim
leaders summit in Istanbul on Saturday, Nov 15, ErdoÄ?an slammed
colonialism before referring to a controversial claim about the
discovery of the Americas.

“Muslim sailors had arrived in the shores of America in 1178. In his
diaries, Christopher Columbus referred to the presence of a mosque on
top of a mountain in Cuba,” ErdoÄ?an said, claiming the diary is a
proof that “the religion of Islam was widespread” when the first
European explorer discovered the New World in 1492.

Dr. Youssef Mroueh of the As-Sunnah Foundation of America had
publicized the claim about a pre-Columbian mosque in Cuba. In 1996, he
wrote that “Columbus admitted in his papers that on Oct 21, 1492,
while his ship was sailing near Gibara on the north-east coast of
Cuba, he saw a mosque on top of a beautiful mountain.”

Some Muslim scholars aside, the same diary entry is widely understood
as a metaphoric reference to a protuberance on the summit of a
mountain that resembles a mosque’s dome or minaret. Moreover, although
the first “widespread” habitation of the Americas is dated around
16,500`13,000 years ago, a pre-Columbian ruin of an Islamic structure
has yet to be discovered, HDN says.

From: A. Papazian