Author: Andres-Papazian

Trend, Azerbaijan
Aug 2 2014

Leyla Yunusova carry out activity contrary to Azerbaijan’s national interests

Baku, Azerbaijan, July 31
By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:

While carrying out activity contrary to the national interests of
Azerbaijan, Leyla Yunusova created a false world public opinion about
the country, president of the National NGO Forum Rauf Zeyni told Trend
on July 31.

He was commenting on the arrest of the director of the Institute for
Peace and Democracy, Leyla Yunusova.

Zeyni stressed that the head of each organization, each
non-governmental organization and in general each person is
responsible for their own actions.

“Leyla Yunusova and her entourage conveyed biased information to the
world public, introduced the people to the world community whose
crimes were proven, as political prisoners, disseminated false
information about Azerbaijan, cooperated with the Armenians,” he
added.

“All except Armenians, Leyla Yunusova and her entourage supported
holding “Eurovision” song contest in Azerbaijan,” he said.

“Leyla Yunusova and her entourage gained support of some international
organizations, which even began to believe that Azerbaijan really has
such a situation as Leyla Yunusova says,” he added.

“I believe that law enforcement bodies are investigating these issues
objectively,” he said.

“The Azerbaijani government has created all the conditions for
conducting independent investigation,” he said. “These conditions were
created for the world public to know the truth. Leyla Yunusova’s
activity will be assessed under the law.”

Leyla Yunusova was accused under articles 274, 178.3.2, 192.2.2,
213.2.2, 320.1 and 320.2, Arif Yunusov – under Articles 274 and
178.3.2 of the Criminal Code, according to the report.

In a joint statement of the Prosecutor General’s Office and the
Ministry of National Security, defendants Leyla Yunusova and Arif
Yunusov’s rights for legal aid, lawyer’s services, envisaged by the
criminal procedural legislation were ensured. Their rights will be
protected by their own lawyers.

A criminal procedure law was not violated during the investigation,
the report underlines.

Taking into account the fact that Leyla Yunusova tried to leave the
country, not to testify without a valid reason and illegally pressured
Matanat Azizova and others questioned as witnesses in the case, a
preventive measure in the form of arrest was chosen for Leyla Yunusova
upon a decision of the Nasimi district court. Taking into account Arif
Yunusov’s health, a preventive measure in the form of law enforcement
surveillance was chosen for him.

Leyla Yunusova and her husband Arif Yunusov were arrested by law
enforcement bodies of Azerbaijan on Wednesday.

Leyla Yunusova and her husband Arif Yunusov were repeatedly summoned
as witnesses to testify in a criminal case, considered in the Heinous
Crime Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office of
Azerbaijan. But they deliberately did not appear to testify, the
Prosecutor General’s Office reported earlier.

Leyla Yunusova with her husband Arif Yunusov intended to leave the
country on April 28, trying to evade investigation. This attempt was
prevented.

From: A. Papazian

MMATorch
Aug 2 2014

Manny Gamburyan dropping to bantamweight, meets Cody Gibson at UFC 178
in Las Vegas

Aug 2, 2014 – 10:40:49 AM

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Manny Gamburyan will become one of the few fighters to compete in
three different weight classes in the UFC this September, as he’s
dropping to bantamweight to fight Cody Gibson at UFC 178.

The UFC announced the fight on Friday.

Gamburyan has been competing under the Zuffa banner sine 2007, when he
entered the UFC out of a fairly stacked Ultimate Fighter season 5. The
Armenian lost to Nate Diaz in the Finals of that season, picked up two
straight wins after that, and lost two in row from there to send him
to the featherweight division.

At the time, the UFC hadn’t brought in the 145 lb. field, so Gamburyan
shifted to sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting, where he won
three straight to earn a shot at Champ Jose Aldo.

After losing that fight – the final WEC Featherweight Title bout – the
division was brought into the UFC. While he would lose two more fights
in a row, the UFC kept him on, and he defeated Michihiro Omigawa and
Cole Miller a year apart, though the Miller fight brought about some
controversy.

This latest drop comes after losses in two more fights for Gamburyan.
The first, in December to Dennis Siver, was overturned to a no contest
when Siver tested positive for HCG. The second came against Nik Lentz
in May, and was a one-sided decision in Lentz’s favor.

He’ll try to reinvent himself at 135 lbs. against Gibson, who had a
bit of controversy himself in his last outing. After a loss to
Aljamain Sterling in February in his UFC debut, Gibson took on Johnny
Bedford, and scored a TKO win in what many felt was a very quick and
unjust stoppage. Regardless, it goes down as a win for the
26-year-old, who will try to make it two in a row in the UFC on Sept.
27.

UFC 178 will be headlined by the Light Heavyweight Championship bout
between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.

From: A. Papazian

Kuwait News Agency
Aug 2 2014

US calls on Armenia, Azerbaijan to cease hostilities

02/08/2014 | 09:01 AM | World News

WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (KUNA) — Following the deaths of 8 Azeri soldiers
on Friday along the Armenian border, the US said it is “concerned
about the escalation of violence” around the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh
region.

Armenian-backed separatists seized the area from Azerbaijan in the
1990s during a bloody conflict. There has been a ceasefire in place
since 1994.

“We extend our condolences to the families of those killed or injured
and call on the sides to take immediate action to reduce tensions and
respect the cease-fire,” said State Department Deputy Spokesperson
Marie Harf.

“There can be no military solution to the conflict. Retaliation and
further violence will only make it more difficult to bring about a
peaceful settlement.” She added the US “urges the Presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan to meet at the earliest opportunity to resume
dialogue on key issues,” and called on the two countries “to accept
the proposal from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) Chairman-in-Office to enter into negotiations which can
lead to the conclusion of a peace agreement.” Harf further assured all
parties that the US is committed to the Minsk Group process, which is
also chaired by France and Russia, and is “ready to help efforts to
bring about a lasting settlement.”

From: A. Papazian

It is time for international community to sober Azerbaijani
leadership: Edward Nalbandian

20:48, 2 August, 2014

YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Armenia Edward Nalbadian answered the question of
“Armenpress” news agency: “How would you comment on the recent
numerous violations of ceasefire and attempts of subversive intrusion
by Azerbaijan?”

“We strongly condemn the provocative actions of recent days on the
Line of Contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan and on the
border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which resulted in the loss of
many lives and sharply raised the tension. We express our deepest
condolences to the families and relatives of the victims of the
Azerbaijani attacks.

Baku continues to grossly violate the ceasefire agreements from May,
1994 and February, 1995, ignore the calls of the Heads of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chair countries to refrain from provocative actions and
from the escalation of the situation, and the appeals of the
international community that through the use of force the conflict can
not be resolved , and that only through negotiations stability and
peace can be achieved. The recurrent adventurism of Baku pursues an
aim to undermine the negotiation process.

Being the initiator and instigator of the provocations, Azerbaijan is
trying to put their responsibility on the other sides. However, it is
obvious that by rejecting the proposals of the international community
on the establishment of a mechanism of investigation of incidents,
Azerbaijan is assuming the whole responsibility for the ceasefire
violations. It is high time for the international community to sober
the Azerbaijani leadership which has lost the sense of reality and is
going against the value-system of the international community.

Together with the Co-Chair countries Armenia will take the necessary
steps for halting the provocative acts, for the stabilization of the
situation, for continuation of the negotiation process aimed at the
settlement of the conflict exclusively through peaceful means”- said
the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Edward
Nalbadian.

From: A. Papazian

Asian Development Bank approves $37 million loan for Armenia

YEREVAN, August 1. / ARKA /. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has
approved a $37 million loan for Armenia to help it rehabiliate its
electricity transmission system. The loan will be granted from ADB’s
special concessional fund.

“The loan is designed to help Armenia make a major overhaul of its
electricity transmission system inherited from the Soviet era,
including the expansion of the management and sharing of data and
modernization of two high-voltage substations,” the Manila-based bank
said in a statement.

The project is supposed to reduce losses in transmission lines, to
increase the capacity of substations and improve the quality and
reliability of power supply in urban and rural communities, which, in
turn, is beneficial in both economic and social aspects.

The aim of the ADB is to reduce poverty in Asia and the Far East
through the inclusive growth of the economy, sustainable development
and regional integration.

ADB, created in 1966, includes 67 states. In 2013, ADB assistance
totaled $21 billion, including co-financing of $6.6 billion.-0-

– See more at:

From: A. Papazian

“Stepanakert is allowed to join the nationwide rejection.” Armen Aghayan

August 2 2014

The political scientist about the recent statement of NKR Prime
Minister and Armenia’s Foreign Department being a Department of
Russia’s Foreign Ministry So far, Stepanakert was claiming that they
had not officially received the documents containing the Madrid called
principles, consequently, they could not make comment. In the
meantime, at the Q&A with the social network users, last week, the
Nagorno-Karabakh Prime Minister, Ara Harutyunyan, stated, “Of course,
the Madrid principles are unacceptable for us. What we hear, we have
heard from the newspapers, media, and the statements by the
representatives of co-chair countries, and I do not think that if
Artsakh is a side of the talks, it will hold discussions on this
issue, and (…) when in the end, such document will be submitted to
Artsakh, Artsakh people, and the government, it can get any positive
response.” Since the last decade, this appears to be the first such
statement voiced by Stepanakert. To the question of Aravot that under
the current geopolitical situation, what such position by official
Stepanakert means in the event when the Madrid principles appeared to
be acceptable negotiation provisions for the official Yerevan,
“Hayazn” party Board member, Armen Aghayan said at the semi-secret
format of the talks enables to refrain from the necessity to answer
the difficult questions for some time. This was in all the rounds, at
all recommendations by the co-chairs. The public mainly learned about
them through ad hoc international outflows, whose were aimed at
checking the response of political forces, civil society, and directly
conflict-related groups. And every time, when the response was rough
denial, our respective officials pretended not to know what is the
matter about. And even in the case of becoming evident, the entities
negotiating on behalf of Armenia have never rejected the anti-Armenian
solutions. “Yerevan has periodically used Stepanakert for voicing
comparatively tough and negative statements. I think that we have the
same picture with regard to the Madrid principles. As long as they
were discussed, Stepanakert was to be silent, and when the public
rejection is obvious, and the next document has lost its relevance,
Stepanakert is allowed to join the nationwide rejection. And Yerevan,
in all cases, continues to stay in its role of agreeing to everything.
This may seem a smart diplomacy for some people, but in reality, this
is a children’s game, which does not have any external importance but
an internal campaign,” said our interlocutor, adding, “Particularly,
the following prime minister’s idea that “when Artsakh becomes a
negotiating party, and Artsakh is presented such an offer, then it
will not be discussed, and will be rejected” is only for internal use,
since Artsakh can never be a negotiating party. Such a thing is simply
impossible and there is no sense. Such statements are just an attempt
to divert our and especially Artsakh people’s attention from the
consistent defeatist policy of the Yerevan authorities, including the
preliminary agreements give to the Madrid and other similar
solutions.” To the question of whether it is due to Armenia’s foreign
ministry official silence about the NKR Prime Minister’s statement,
our interlocutor said, “Armenia has no foreign policy, and what we
consider to be an official department reminds of a local department of
the Foreign Ministers, recently, more of a Russian Foreign Ministry.
Naturally, it should be silent, and it’s better to be silent. When it
speaks, it should definitely speak of an anti-Armenian initiative.
It’d better keep silent.” To our question of what ratio can such
position of NKR change in the settlement of the issue under this
geopolitical situation, the political scientist countered that
actually there is no and cannot be an NKR position, because there is
no such an independent and sovereign entity. “Stepanakert says what is
instructed, or at least is not prohibited from Yerevan. Therefore, it
does not change any ratio. The ratio changes the collective position
of the Armenian people, which is common both in Artsakh and in the
capital of overall Armenian state and in other regions. It does not
tolerate, and generally does not discuss any possibility of
territorial concessions. And the Madrid principles is not the first
document that the Armenian people throw into the bin of negotiation
process.” The efforts of the French side to arrange the meeting of
presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev in Paris came to naught.
Now, the United States has taken on the initiative. What does the
French defeat prompt? Speaking about the questions whether the United
States will be successful, or what the expected meeting of the leaders
will produce, and whether it can be a turning point under this
geopolitical situation, Armen Aghayan noted that in the opinion of
many experts, the activeness of France was an attempt to take on the
initiative from Russia, which now probably will be continued by the
United States. “We need to understand that no one has time and
willingness now to be engaged in merely Artsakh problems. Just in the
background of developments in Ukraine, some noticed that Russia is
selling excessive amount of weapons to Baku, simultaneously
dissipating security promises to Yerevan. It could be a preparation of
entering armed forces to the region by Russia. Today, it is simply
unacceptable for the West. Moscow, Paris and Washington always share
the same opinion on version for the Karabakh settlement. Even under
this same opinion, they have never been so interested to compel such a
shameful defeat from Armenians. Instead, disagreements have arisen
between them, when it comes to the fact of whose troops should be
stationed in the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. In fact, the attempts by
Paris and Washington to activate the negotiation processes pursue the
goal to seize the trump card of the war from Russia’s hands.” In this
context, Armen Aghayan believes that we should not expect any
significant turning point. According to our interlocutor, the MG is
unable to generate mutually acceptable solution, at least because the
war actually has been left unfinished.

NELLY GRIGORYAN
Read more at:

From: A. Papazian

Armenia’s Defense Ministry responds to Stepan Demirtchyan Sport and
Concert Complex’s charges

by Karina Manukyan

ARMINFO
Saturday, August 2, 11:18

Armenia’s Defense Ministry has responded to the Stepan Demirtchyan
Sport and Concert Complex’s charges that it owes the complex some
60mln AMD for an event held in its territory.

The Ministry says that this figure is overstated: one-day rent in the
complex is 1,713,508 AMD, the Ministry has paid it 29,951,561 AMD,
including electricity, water and gas bills. The Ministry adds that
after its reconstruction the complex promised the government that
within the next 10 years it will give its territory for free to as may
as five events a year (with a total length of no more than 12 days).

“So, we are not responsible for the company’s losses,” the Ministry says.

Meanwhile, the Government keeps trying to sell the complex for
19.350bln AMD or $46.8mln. It has organized five electronic auctions
since May 29 but has failed to sell the facility. Earlier the
government said that the complex owed it 10.2bln AMD.

The complex was built in 1983. Its total area is 46,335 sq m. It
burned down in 1987 and was restored by BAMO from Russia.

From: A. Papazian

Events in Nagorno-Karabakh Violate Ceasefire Agreements – Russian
Foreign Ministry

Nagorno-Karabakh Area

(c) RIA Novosti. Ilya Pitalev
16:12 02/08/2014

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Multimedia

Nagorno-Karabakh deserves more attention from US and EU

MOSCOW, August 2 (RIA Novosti) – Recent escalation of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which led to numerous casualties, is a
serious violation of ceasefire agreements, a spokesperson for the
Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry “extends its most sincere condolences to
the families of the victims” and “considers the events of the past few
days a serious violation of ceasefire agreements and declared
intention to find a political settlement of the conflict.”

“Further escalation is unacceptable. We urge all the warring sides to
exercise restraint, give up the use of force and take urgent measures
aimed at destabilizing the situation,” Maria Zakharova, the deputy
director of the ministry’s information and press department, said in a
statement.

Tensions along the contact line of Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijan
have been running high over the past few days.

On July 31, the army of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
announced that two of its soldiers had died in armed clashes with
Azeri troops. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry in its turn said that the
country’s army had lost nine troops.

The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute flared up in 1988, when the
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region with predominantly ethnic Armenian
population announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet
Socialist Republic.

In September 1991, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed. Baku
called the move illegal.

The armed conflict which erupted soon after had claimed the lives of
up to 30,000 before a ceasefire was established in 1994. Since 1992,
the OSCE Minsk Group and its co-chairs Russia, France and the United
States have been negotiating a lasting and peaceful settlement of the
conflict.

Armenia insists on international recognition of Nagorno-Karabah’s
right to self-determination, whereas Azerbaijan demands support for
its territorial integrity.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIE-EMIGRATION
112 000 citoyens arméniens auraient émigré au premier semestre selon
le journal >

Le journal arménien > (Peuple) écrit

From: A. Papazian

Ministry Of Foreign Affairs – Artsakh

Thu, Jul 24th, 2014

Independent Republic Committed To Peace And Stability

Karen Mirzoyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic is
working hard at promoting an international recognition of the
country’s independence, peaceful settlement of the conflict between
Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh, attracting the foreign investments to
the NKR economy, as well as promoting along with the strengthening of
Artsakh-Armenia-Diaspora cooperation. Karen Mirzoyan, Minister,
discusses the republic’s foreign policy priorities.

European Times: What are the current priorities for the ministry?

Karen Mirzoyan: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic was established on July 23, 1993.

Our current main goal is to achieve the settlement of the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh. The restoration of a
full-fledged negotiation format with immediate and direct
participation of the NKR in all its phases is very important: the
absence of one of the main parties to the conflict at the negotiation
table makes it difficult to achieve any real progress.

The efforts of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs are aimed also at
reinstating the positive tendencies towards the recognition of the
NKR.

Another key goal is to maintain good bilateral relations with other
countries, especially those with Armenian Diaspora.

European Times: How has Nagorno Karabakh recovered from the war to
position itself as an investment target?

Karen Mirzoyan: The Nagorno Karabakh economy was totally destroyed
during the war and we started its restoration from zero.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Karabakh people, as well as to
the support of our compatriots outside, the NKR economy gradually
began to restore and now it has strong potential for investments.
Nagorno Karabakh has drawn major foreign investment in mining
industry, ICT and agriculture.

The investors are attracted by our skilled working force and open,
liberal investment environment.

European Times: What are some of your current infrastructure projects?

Karen Mirzoyan: We are building now strategically important highway,
connecting the town of Martakert in Karabakh with the town of Vardenis
in Armenia, which should be completed by the end of next year.

The rehabilitation of Stepanakert airport will also offer additional
investment attractions and give a strong impetus for the tourism
development in the country.

European Times: What do you want potential investors and visitors to
know about Nagorno Karabakh?

Karen Mirzoyan: Karabakh is not only the name of the country. It is
also the name of the people, living there, people who struggled for
their freedom and independence.

Some say that Nagorno Karabakh is where Europe ends; we say it is
where Europe begins.

From: A. Papazian