Author: Andres-Papazian

HAYPOST TO PAY FIRST PENSIONS ON JANUARY 4-5 IN 2011

Tert.am
29.12.10

Retirement benefits for December 2010 will be paid from January 4 to
5 next year, Armenia’s Minister of Labor and Social Issues Arthur
Grigoryan said, following the signing of an agreement between the
ministry and Haypost.

Based on the agreement, as of now the retirement benefits in Yerevan
will be paid in cash through Haypost too.

The move follows a government decision to dissolve the state service
of the payment of social benefits, which was in charge of paying the
social and retirement benefits in Yerevan.

In provinces the retirement and social benefits are paid through
Haypost already.

Speaking to journalists after the signing of the agreement, Grigoryan
said that from next year on pensions will be paid in two ways –
in cash and non-cash.

The payment in cash will be made by Haypost, while the non-cash
payments will be made through the banks that will sign agreements
with the ministry.

Paying the retirements benefits through Haypost, according to
Grigoryan, will eliminate corruption that was widespread previously.

He also assured the journalists that Haypost will make the payments in
due time and will also send notes to Yerevan residents, sending them
the addresses of the post offices that will deliver services to them.

Grigoryan further said that some of the employees of the state service
of the payment of social benefits (about 300) will receive a relevant
training and will be employed by Haypost.

From: A. Papazian

NKR PRESIDENT PARTAKES IN THE MEETING OF THE DEFENSE ARMY’S MILITARY COUNCIL

armradio.am
29.12.2010 15:51

On 29 December President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan
partook at the meeting of the Defense Army’s Military Council convoked
to sum up the activities of the army in 2010.

In his speech the President touched upon the process of army building,
noted the achievements and issues present in the armed forces and
gave concrete instructions to the defense minister and the supreme
command staff of the army.

From: A. Papazian

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Watch our latest videos on YouTube here:

THE CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA RECEIVES A XVTH CENTURY ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT

Mr. Zareh Shahinian, a resident of Toronto (Canada) donated a fifteenth
century illuminated manuscript of a hymnal to the Catholicosate of Cilicia.
Very Rev. Meghrik the priest of St. Mary the Mother of God Church in
Toronto, had brought the manuscript to give it personally to His Holiness
Aram I in Antelias.

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View the photo here:

*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

From: A. Papazian

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Watch our latest videos on YouTube here:

“WE SHOULD EMPHASIZE OUR COMMONALITIES AND LEARN TO RESPECT OUR DIFFERENCES”
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I

A group of twenty journalists representing different media agencies in Iran,
met with His Holiness Aram I at his office. During the interview, Catholicos
Aram I stated: “Christian-Muslim dialogue should have practical expressions
and consequences. What is the purpose of theological dialogues, when, for
example, in Iraq Christians are dying, and in other places they are
persecuted or discriminated against as minorities? All these are happening
because of rising fundamentalism. Based on these realities, I would insist
that the ultimate purpose of any Christian-Muslim dialogue should be to
learn about one another, accept each other as we are, and respect our
differences. No group has the right to impose its understanding of truth,
its faith, its beliefs or values upon another group. Instead, we should
emphasize our commonalities and learn to respect our differences.”

Referring to the Christian presence and witness in the Middle East, His
Holiness Aram I said: “Christianity has existed in this region even before
Islam. Christians are part of Middle East history, cultures and
civilizations because they have contributed to their formation and
development”. Then, speaking of Armenians in Iran, he said: “For many
centuries, Armenians have been living in Iran and contributing to the
development of Iranian society with their specific Armenian Christian and
cultural values”. His Holiness concluded his remarks reminding that “The
challenge today is to build community through cooperation and mutual
understanding.”

##
View the photo here:

*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

From: A. Papazian

Dimanche 26 Décembre 2010

‘Nor Haratch’ lance un supplément hebdomadaire en français

‘Nor Haratch’ s’efforce de poursuivre la route tracée par le
légendaire ‘Haratch’ (1). Légendaire car après plus de 80 ans
de parution, ‘Haratch’ était le seul quotidien de France
entièrement rédigé en arménien. Malgré cette
légende, ce n’était pas le journal le plus lu, loin de là, et
l’érosion de son lectorat le fit mourir à petit feu, jusqu’à
son ultime numéro le 30 mai 2009.

1925-2009 encadrent donc la vie d’un quotidien porté par une
lignée père-fille au caractère lui aussi légendaire :
Arpik Missakian était célèbre pour sa rudesse, surtout quand
elle défendait sa façon de mener le journal. En tant que
directrice elle avait toujours affirmé qu’elle ne préparerait
pas la succession du journal fondé par son père. Le quotidien
était donc voué à mourir s’il ne continuait pas avec elle.

Si la démarche semblait consternante, on se garda bien de le dire
publiquement, notamment par respect pour le véritable exploit
qu’était la survie de ce quotidien (voir l’omerta que
dénonçait France-Arménie à ce propos).

Cette fin prévisible de ‘Haratch’ avait pourtant grandement
remué le microcosme arménien, suscitant des réactions
passionnées bien au-delà du petit cercle de ses lecteurs, et
faisant couler beaucoup d’encre dans les médias
arméniens. Même si on rechignait à l’admettre, cette
disparition illustrait douloureusement l’agonie de la culture
arménophone en France.

C’est dans ce climat de stupéfaction paradoxale que ‘Nor Haratch’ a
prit naissance. Après un appel public des « Amis de ‘Haratch’
», le premier numéro de ‘Nor Haratch’ paraissait le 27 octobre
2009, quatre mois après le dernier de ‘Haratch’.

Le rythme quotidien n’a pu être égalé d’emblée,
mais en commençant avec deux parutions par semaine ‘Nor Haratch’
demeurait une performance, car de fait il n’y avait pas plus
fréquent en France.

Malgré les difficultés, ‘Nor Haratch’ paraît
aujourd’hui 3 fois chaque semaine depuis 2010, et ambitionne toujours
de contribuer à créer le `vécu collectif (¦) qui manque le
plus aux Arméniens des pays occidentaux’. Sans traduction ce sont
les termes même de ‘Nor Haratch’.

Aussi étrange que cela puisse paraître vu le contexte de
sa naissance, le journal vient en effet de lancer un supplément
hebdomadaire en français, et s’en explique en première page de
ce supplément inauguratif. ‘Nor Haratch’ considère que pour
`favoriser l’arménophonie’, la presse arménienne doit aussi
considérer et toucher le public `non arménophone’ mais
néanmoins `prêt à recevoir cet héritage’.

Une fois par semaine, le samedi, ce supplément présentera
donc en français certains des sujets traités en
arménien. ‘Nor Haratch’ espère ainsi familiariser un nouveau
lectorat à son contenu, très emprunt de quotidien vu son rythme.

En prenant en compte une réalité difficile à accepter
mais bien réelle, ‘Nor Haratch’ franchit peut-être un pas
salutaire, puisqu’il faut bien tenter quelque chose… ou
peut-être pas si l’on considère que c’est déjà trop tard.

L’effort a au moins le mérite d’exister pour cette culture en
déclin qui cherche ses nouveaux repères, et pour tous ceux qui
aimeraient mieux la connaître.

Aujourd’hui entre les informations générales du monde et de
France, les anecdotes quotidiennes, les analyses ou même les
romans publiés en feuilleton (2) qu’on prend plaisir à
découvrir tous les deux jours (si la neige et le gel ne
ralentissent pas votre facteur !), ‘Nor Haratch’ oeuvre bel et bien
à bâtir une connaissance intime de tout ce qui concerne un
pays et ses ressortissants à travers le monde.

En tant que source d’informations originales, il est seulement
dommage que ce soit si rare.

(1) Haratch (Õ…Õ¡Õ¼Õ¡Õ»), signifie « en avant ».
Nor (Õ¶Õ¸Ö), signifiant « nouveau », Nor Haratch se comprend comme
le « nouveau (journal) Haratch »

(2) En ce moment, Nor Haratch publie en feuilleton un roman de
Vazken Chouchanian, un écrivain contemporain de Chahan Chahnour
(auteur phare de Haratch). Chouchanian partageait avec Chahnour une
conception innovante de la littérature arménienne, liée au
mouvement du nouveau roman qui naissait parallèlement en France
à leur époque.
Pour les plus curieux, voir ici le récit bien instructif, en
français, du voyage de Jean-Paul Sartre et de Simone de Beauvoir en
Arménie soviétique, par Alexander Toptchian, un auteur
arménien qui les avait rencontré alors.

Par Jilda Hacikoglu –
Publié dans : Presse arménienne

From: A. Papazian

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
December 24, 2010 Friday

BRIEF: Azerbaijani parliament urges U.S. Senate to approve nomination
of ambassador to Azerbaijan

BYLINE: T.Hajiyev, Trend News Agency, Baku, Azerbaijan

Dec. 24–The Azerbaijani Parliament called on the U.S. Senate to
approve the nomination of new ambassador to Azerbaijan.

“We stand for that the Senate approved the nomination of new
ambassador to Azerbaijan,” Parliamentary Vice Speaker Bahar Muradova
told journalists on Friday.

She said although the delay in appointing the head of the American
diplomatic mission is a negative factor, it will not have a severe
impact on the relations between the two countries.

The post of U.S. Ambassador in Baku has been vacant since the previous
ambassador, Anne Derse, left it due to completion of her diplomatic
mission, in July 2009.

President Barack Obama nominated Matthew Bryza, who served as U.S.
co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as
ambassador to Azerbaijan.

From: A. Papazian

news.az, Azerbaijan
Dec 25 2010

Iranian MP: `Iran supports Azerbaijan’s just position on Karabakh problem’
Sat 25 December 2010 05:31 GMT | 7:31 Local Time

MP Kazem Jalali noted that his country attached great importance to
the enhancement of interparliamentary relations with Caspian littoral
states.

`During our meeting with Chairman of Milli Majlis (Parliament) Ogtay
Asadov, we conducted productive discussions over further deepening of
economic, political, cultural and interparliamentary relations’,
Spokesman for foreign policy and national security commission of
Iranian parliament, MP Kazem Jalali said.

He noted that his country attached great importance to the enhancement
of interparliamentary relations with Caspian littoral states.
According to him, Speaker of Iran’s parliament Ali Larijani will visit
Azerbaijan in January at the invitation of Ogtay Asadov and added that
the aforesaid issues will be in the focus of attention during the
visit. Expressing satisfaction with Iran-Azerbaijan relations, Kazem
Jalali stated that his country was very concerned over the protracted
Nagorno Karabagh conflict. To him, Iran supports Azerbaijan’s just
position on Karabakh problem.

Speaker of Iran’s parliament to visit Azerbaijan

Spokesman for foreign policy and national security commission of
Iranian parliament, MP Kazem Jalali met with speaker of the
Azerbaijani parliament Ogtay Asadov.

Kazem Jalali told journalists that he handed the letter of the speaker
of Iran’s parliament Ali Larijani to Ogtay Asadov.

Kazem Jalali said Ogtay Asadov invited Ali Larijani to Azerbaijan and
offered to establish parliamentary assembly of the five Caspian
states.

Iranian parliamentarian said Ali Larijani will visit Azerbaijan in January.

APA

From: A. Papazian

For Whom the Bell Tolls?!

2010-12-24 16:55:00

ArmInfo. A “Nemo” dolphinarium was opened in Yerevan today.

During the opening ceremony a brass band played Gazmanov’s song
“Moscow: Bells are Tolling.” So, for whom are the bells tolling? For
dolphins, environmentalists say.

A group of greens held a protest action in front of the dolphinarium
today. Head of the Birds Lovers Center NGO Silva Adamyan says that in
captivity dolphins live less than when free. “In Costa Rica, Great
Britain and some US states they are beginning to close dolphinariums.
Experts say that in captivity dolphins are prone to stress and can be
very dangerous. There have even been cases of dolphins killing people.
Despite this fact, “Nemo”‘s commercial says that they will also
provide dolphin-therapy for children,” says Adamyan.

For the water to look blue they generally add chlorine. As a result,
dolphins go blind within some six months. “The activities of “Nerium,”
the Ukrainian company that has brought dolphins for “Nemo,” have been
declared illegal in Ukraine. Our Ukrainian colleagues share our
concerns for the dolphins and are going to hold a protest action in
Kyiv Dec 27,” says Adamyan.

From: A. Papazian

National Assembly approved State budget bill 2011

NKR Government Information and
Public Relations Department

December 23, 2010

Today, the 31 deputies of the NKR NA unanimously voted for the state
budget bill 2011.
At the session vice premier, minister of finance Spartak Tevosyan
noted that after summarizing all the feedbacks, on-budget expenditures
amounted AMD 64 billion, 714 milliard, 200 thousand. 60% of budget
fund will be directed toward social programs. At the end of the debate
on the 2011 State budget bill Prime Minister Ara Haroutyunyan has made
final remarks. It runs:
Honorable President of National Assembly,

Dear Members of Parliament,
The NKR Government presented to your approval FY 2011 State budget
bill which proceeds from 2011-2013 expenditure program. On July 28,
2010 the NKR Government adopted the program of government activities,
which was approved by the National Assembly. According to the program,
the Government assumed responsibilities the main objectives of which
are as follows;
. GDP growth by 9%
. High level of state revenue collection
. Marked growth in house building process
. Increase in financing program on social welfare system
. Increase in state expenditure financing program in the sphere
of public healthcare
. End the housing program of the perished soldiers’ families, etc.
For ensuring increase in GDP, we shall continue supporting small
and medium-size enterprises, which will underpin the employment rate.
Programs realized by the Artsakh investment fund will greatly
assist this process.
Production of building materials, power engineering will ensure
increase in industry. In 2010 two small hydro plants with 2 MW output
have been exploited and four ones will have been exploited in 2011 all
in all with 18 MW output.
I’d like to introduce a concept in power engineering – bioenergetics,
which is now studied by the Government. It is also referred to as
restoration energy; Artsakh has rich resources of it. It will allow us
solve the heating problem entirely within few years, regardless the
gas cost increase, and by this resolving the problem of unemployment
as well.
I am sure that agriculture also will guarantee increase in GDP.
The number of cattle head is increased, favourable conditions have
been created for spring and perennial plants cultivation. Increase in
production volume in agriculture will stop the price raise and may
settle the most urgent problem of the Republic in 2010.
By the assignment of the NKR President the public healthcare
system will be under close attention of the Government. Within one or
two years the construction of all the medical complexes will be
finished (regional hospitals, maternity hospital, republican
hospital). The hospitals will be upgraded with modern equipments. We
must increase wages of medical persons, raise the level of
professional training of the doctors.
Reforms will be continued in education sphere; all the important
programs will be financed. Considerable achievements have been
recorded in the spheres of culture and sport. New cultural and art
establishments, play areas and sports hall will be founded.
Programs of infrastructure development will be continuous as well.
Dear members of parliament one of the key problems of the FY 2011
will be the housing program of the perished soldiers’ families; about
100 families will get dwelling in 2011. It was one of the main
problems of the President’s pre-election campaign.
Food safety and energy independence are key targets of the
Government. In 2011 we ought to make serious steps in the development
of state governing and self-governing system. It is necessary to
introduce electronic management system, raise professional standards
of the officials. Only modern system of management may ensure the
fulfillment of the aforementioned programs and only due to the modern
institutes of management we may effectively raise the level of State’s
development.
The Government takes target measures to strengthen defense and
safeguards of the Artsakh Republic.
We expect success in the sphere of foreign policy. I think that
with the joint efforts of the RA and the Diaspora we may achieve the
NKR recognition.
Dear colleagues, I would like to express my gratitude to the
participants of the discussion. The Executive will continue to
cooperate with the NA actively both in carrying out the budget program
and other programs in full.
Thank you.

From: A. Papazian

Chorrord Inqnishkanutyun: Most probable expenses for New Year

12:33 – 25.12.10

The paper says it has conducted a poll to find out how much Yerevan
residents are planning to spend for New Year celebrations. One hundred
Yerevan residents were interviewed by phone.

Thirty-three per cent of the respondents said they are planning to
spend up to 100,000 drams (approx. $280), and 27% said they would
spend 100,000-150,000 drams.

Ten percent of the respondents said they are going to allocate about
150,000-250,000 drams for the purpose, while these expenses will make
250,000-350,000 drams with 7%.

Only 3% said they would spend 350,000 drams (approx. $1,000) or more.

Three per cent said they have not yet made any New Year shopping,
while 7% said they could not respond to the question.

Further, the paper says it is surprising that most of the respondents
(47%) said they will spend more than 100,000 drams despite increased
prices of food.

Tert.am

From: A. Papazian