Author: Andres-Papazian

Collegium Meeting Devoted to the Defence Reforms

22.10.10

On the 22nd of October, 2010 in the ARM MoD a collegium meeting took
place devoted to the process of the defence reforms, the present
issues and the ways of solving them.
In his opening speech ARM MoD Seyran Ohanyan stated that the aim of
the ARM Defence Reforms is to create a more flexible and modern
defence system based on the basic principles of democracy for civil
control and defence planning and management, which will meet the
modern military demands. Meanwhile, the ARM Minister of Defence
underlined the importance of strengthening the strategic resistance
system in order to continue the peace imposing policy by the ARM AF.
Seyran Ohanyan also talked about the necessity of improving the public
awareness mechanisms on defence policy.
During the collegium meeting ARM First Deputy Minister Davit Tonoyan
made a main speech, presenting the outcomes of the present phase of
the defence reforms and the future work. In order to assure a
long-term development for the ARM AF Mr. Tonoyan emphasized the
necessity of the reforms in the military education sector.
In his speech Chief of the ARM AF Strategic Planning Department
Colonel G. Tavaratsyan touched upon the issues of the AF troop
structure reforms and operative reaction capacity development, stating
the work to be done in the near future.
During the meeting representatives of a number of other sectors also
made speeches, and an exchange of ideas was carried out. Summing up
the outcomes of the meeting Seyran Ohanyan gave an overall positive
evaluation to the work done in the previous phase of the defence
reforms, and the heads of the ARM MoD and AF GS relevant structures
were given orders and directions to put the main emphasize on staff
policy and planning, programming and budgeting system in order to
properly continue the defence reforms.

RA MoD Department of Information and Public Affairs

From: A. Papazian

Israeli Defense Company to Upgrade Azerbaijan’s T-72 Battle Tanks

[ 2010/10/23 | 11:04 ]
region
Elbit Systems wins $56 million modernization contract

Rashad Suleymanov of the Azeri-Press Agency (APA) quoted military
sources reporting that the Israeli company and Azerbaijan’s Ministry
of Defense Industry (MDI) had reached an agreement on the upgrade of
the Army’s Russian-built MBTs.

The contract, which was announced by Elbit Systems on October 4, 2010,
will provide Azerbaijan’s T-72s with state-of-the-art battle
management systems as well as observation and surveillance systems.

According to the Israeli company, the modernization program has a
total value of $56 million and will be completed within two years.

Neither Elbit Systems nor Azerbaijani officials provided further
details on the contract, such as the number of tanks to be upgraded.
Azerbaijan operates a fleet of some 180 T-72 main battle tanks, of
which 62, reportedly, were purchased from Russia in 2009.

According to APA, Elbit Systems was recently selected over
Turkish-based ASELSAN to carry out the modernization project. Both
companies had simultaneously tested the systems offered in their
respective bids for the multi-million dollar program on several tanks
of the Azerbaijani Army in Nakhijevan, an autonomous region in
south-western Azerbaijan.

The company already works with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense
Industry (MDI) in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Furthermore, APA reported in September 2009 that the MDI decided to
co-operate with Turkish and Israeli defense companies in the joint
production of armored combat vehicles, including tracked fighting
vehicles, bridge-layers and armored trucks assembled on surplus
vehicle chassis.

Azerbaijan’s finance minister has recently announced that the country
will spend $3.287 billion on defense next year, making it one of the
priorities in the 2011 state budget. According to AzerNews, this
financial boost doubles the defense budget to a total of 18.9 per cent
of the overall state budget in comparison to 2010. Nearly half the
budget, reportedly, will be spent to modernize the Azerbaijani Armed
Forces.

P.S. – Federmann Enterprises Ltd, a privately-owned company organized
under the laws of Israel, owns 45.4% of Elbit’s outstanding shares.

From: A. Papazian

SCPEC presents a three-year strategy for improvement of the
competition atmosphere
22.10.2010 18:07

Lilit Muradyan
“Radiolur”

The State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition
(SCPEC) today presented a three-year strategic program of improvement
of the competition atmosphere in the country.

`The competition atmosphere in our country needs to be improved, and
this should be done through implementation of fundamental structural
changes rather than short-term programs,’ SCPEC Chairman Artak
Shaboyan told reporters.

The SCPEC Chairman pointed to the five directions, which are necessary
for the implementation of the three-year strategy. These include
legislative reforms, raise of efficiency of resource management,
improvement of the institutional capacities of the Commission,
expansion of international cooperation, propaganda and raise of
awareness.

The package of legislative amendments has already been worked out and
discussed with all interested parties, and has been submitted to the
Government.

From: A. Papazian

Salt Lake Tribune, UT
Oct 21 2010

Campaign to oust judge coming to West Valley City

By pamela manson
The Salt Lake Tribune

A man who is urging voters to remove Justice Court Judge Keith Stoney
from the bench in Saratoga Springs has expanded his campaign to West
Valley City, where the judge also sits.

Edward Peltekian, who was prosecuted in Saratoga Springs after his dog
got loose from his property, has set up a political action committee
called Vote No on Judge Stoney. He wants citizens in Utah and Salt
Lake counties to vote in the Nov. 2 general election against retaining
the judge.

To that end, Peltekian has planned a rally Saturday in Saratoga
Springs and another Tuesday in West Valley City to call for Stoney’s
ouster. He organized a previous demonstration in September in Saratoga
Springs.

Peltekian, who claims Stoney violates the civil rights of defendants
who appear in his court, said, `I like to fight for what’s right.’

Stoney has denied Peltekian’s allegations.

Peltekian said he and members of his family were charged last year
with misdemeanor counts of allowing a dog to run loose and not having
registration, offenses he said should have been classified as
administrative code violations instead.

Charges were dropped against Peltekian but the city then filed the
charges against his son and his sister. In addition, Peltekian’s wife
was ordered by Stoney, who presided over the case, to spend a night in
jail for contempt of court after she used her cell phone to record one
of the hearings.

The sister was sentenced to six months’ probation in March in a deal
that will erase the conviction from her records. The son pleaded
guilty to two misdemeanors and was placed on 12 months’ probation and
fined $1,000.

Stoney – who was elected this year by his fellow justice court judges
to the Utah Judicial Council, which sets policy for state courts –
could not be reached for comment Thursday. He told The Salt Lake
Tribune earlier this month that `the system was more than fair’ to
those calling for his ouster at the September demonstration.

The first report from the Vote No on Judge Stoney political action
committee is due Tuesday. Peltekian declined Thursday to say how much
money the PAC has.

From: A. Papazian

RUSSIA ARMS AZERBAIJAN

Lragir.am
20 Oct 2010

Rosoboronexport reports that last year Russia sold to Azerbaijan 9
pieces of 2S7, 203, 2 mm Peony self-propelled artillery system which
according to the agreement were brought to Azerbaijan within 2009
March-December. Earlier, in 2008, Russia had already sold three pieces
of the same systems to Azerbaijan.

The aforementioned system is considered the strongest in the world.
The system can reach the target at a distance of 50 km. The system
moves at a speed of 50 km/h.

Political scientist Mubariz Ahmedoglu told Novosti-Azerbaijan that
Peony, unlike S 300 is an attacking weapon and its acquirement means
that Azerbaijan is getting ready for a war.

There are two types of Peonies – initial and modified. It is not known
which type Azerbaijan bought.

From: A. Papazian

Reader recommendation: Zeitoun
Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

By Bernice Youtz, Tacoma, Wash. / October 18, 2010

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers is a book that every American should read.
First, it is a page-turner, and second, it is true, about an American
citizen and businessman, a Muslim originally from Syria, during the
Katrina crisis in New Orleans. Zeitoun’s wife had taken the children
to safety; he remained to look after their property, paddled about the
flooded area in his canoe, rescued several people, fed some abandoned
dogs, then – without provocation – was arrested and held incommunicado
for many days. We would like to think it could not happen in America,
but it did, and with the current fervor over Islam, we need to read
this book. It is a true story. When I learned that the author and the
family were devoting profits to a small foundation dedicated to legal
justice, I bought another copy and am passing it around.

From: A. Papazian

La Nouvelle République du Centre Ouest
19 octobre 2010 mardi
Edition INDRE ET LOIRE

Famille arménienne : à l’hôtel à Tours jusqu’à la fin octobre

Une solution provisoire a été trouvée pour la famille arménienne qui a
passé une nuit dans une cage d’escalier au début du mois. Des parents
d’élèves et des enseignants de l’école Michelet, à Tours, avaient
donné de l’argent pour qu’elle dorme à l’hôtel jusqu’au mercredi 13
octobre.

« Pendant ce temps, écrit le Réseau éducation sans frontière, des
contacts ont pu être pris avec des élus, qui ont effectué un certain
nombre de démarches pour que cette famille ne soit plus à la rue. Ces
démarches viennent d’aboutir provisoirement : la famille reste à
l’hôtel jusqu’à la fin du mois d’octobre. Nous nous réjouissons de ce
que, une fois encore, des citoyens de notre ville aient manifesté leur
inquiétude de voir perdurer une situation inacceptable, tout en
permettant, par leurs dons, que pendant une semaine la famille soit
hébergée ».

From: A. Papazian

La Croix
Mercredi 20 Octobre 2010

Mgr Grégoire Ghabroyan, évêque de Sainte-Croix de Paris des arméniens
catholiques : « La laïcité positive est incompréhensible dans les pays
musulmans »;

Le synode pour le Moyen-Orient. Entretien;

Pour l’évêque arménien de Paris, interrogé lundi par « La Croix »,
Radio Vatican et l’OEuvre d’Orient, beaucoup de catholiques arméniens
de la diaspora perdent leurs valeurs spirituelles au contact d’une
société sécularisée et laïcisée

par MOUNIER Frédéric; BONNEL Olivier

Quelle est la situation de l’Église arménienne en France ?

Mgr Grégoire GHabRoYan : Les Arméniens sont arrivés en France depuis
1920. Ils étaient issus de toutes les communautés, apostolique,
catholique, évangéliques. La France compte aujourd’hui de 400 000 à
500 000 Arméniens, dont 30 000 catholiques, répartis en région
parisienne, en Rhône-Alpes et sur la Côte d’Azur. Quatre prêtres
desservent nos six paroisses.

Les fidèles se sont-ils « latinisés » au contact de l’Église catholique latine ?

Bien qu’ils soient parfaitement intégrés dans la société française,
cette « latinisation » constituerait à leurs yeux une trahison.
Beaucoup, malheureusement, perdent leurs valeurs spirituelles au
contact d’une société sécularisée et laïcisée, et abandonnent
également leur culture et leur histoire.

Le Synode réclame l’extension de la juridiction des patriarches hors
de leur territoire patriarcal. Qu’en pensez-vous ?

Cette revendication a déjà été soumise à Paul VI et à Jean-Paul II.
Aux États-Unis, les évêques de rite oriental font partie de la
Conférence des évêques. D’après le code de droit canonique occidental,
chaque évêque est invité à créer une structure pour subvenir aux
besoins spirituels des émigrés dans son pays. Quand leur nombre
devient important, la Conférence épiscopale peut accepter, en accord
avec le Saint-Siège, la nomination d’un évêque et la création d’une
éparchie ou d’un diocèse.

Quel est le lien des chrétiens arméniens de France avec leur pays d’origine ?

Leur identité nationale est très forte : ils sont d’abord arméniens
avant d’être catholiques. Nous restons très attachés à notre histoire,
à notre culture. Jean-Paul II m’avait dit : « Dites-leur de rester
arméniens pour rester chrétiens. »

Quel est votre regard sur le concept de « laïcité positive » qui
semble être suspecté d’athéisme par certains des pères synodaux ?
La laïcité positive est une trouvaille tout à fait française. Elle n’a
cours ni en Espagne ni en Italie. Employer cette notion dans des pays
musulmans est tout à fait incompréhensible.

RECUEILLI PAR

From: A. Papazian

Azerbaijan lifts simplified visa regime with Turkey: Ankara is shocked

17:48 – 19.10.10

While Turkey and Azerbaijan are holding talks to lift the visa regime
bilaterally, Baku has already decided to lift the current simplified
visa regime with Turkey, reports Turkish news website Internathaber.

This means that from now on Turkish citizens instead of getting their
visas at an Azerbaijani airport upon arrival will have before visiting
Azerbaijan obtain the visas at Azerbaijan’s embassy in Turkey.

Other Turkish sources mention that Baku’s move has sent shockwaves in
Turkey and may negatively affect the relations between the two
`brother’ states.

Tert.am

From: A. Papazian

Bulgaria demands $20b in compensation from Turkey

12:51 – 19.10.10

Turkey must pay compensation to the heirs of the Bulgarians that left
the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, Bulgarian State Minister
Bozhidar Dimitrov has said, reports Turkish TRT TV Channel.

`Turkey must pay compensation to the heirs of 800,000 Bulgarian
emigrants for their property,’ he has said, adding that almost half of
the Ottoman archives is at their hands.

According to Dimitrov, the compensation that Turkey must pay, makes a
total of $20billion USD.

He has also said that it is the amount for which Bulgaria will back
Turkey’s EU membersip.

Tert.am

From: A. Papazian