Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMENIAN CHURCH IN TBILISI IN SPECIALISTS’ HIGHLIGHT

Aysor
Aug 2 2010
Armenia

A delegation of Armenia’s Ministry of Culture, headed by Deputy
Minister Arev Samuelian, will travel to Georgia on August 5 to discuss
with Georgian specialists issues of restoration and designing of
Armenian Church of St. Gevorg Mugnetsots in Tbilisi, country’s capital.

Armenian Ministry of Culture has recently informed the National Agency
for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage of Georgia that preparation
works are being conducting in territory of St. Gevorg Mugnetsots Church
in order to learn the situation to design church’s restoration project.

Acting chief of the Agency Zurab Miminoshvili assured that the
works are led by experienced architect-restorer Shalva Melikidze. At
the current moment, some works ended and works on learning of the
engineering and geological conditions of the church’s foundation
are underway.

A spokeswoman to Armenian Ministry of Culture, Gayane Durgarian, told
Aysor that the group of Armenian specialists will stay in Georgia
for conducting the further works.

“The Armenian specialists will stay in Georgia as long as it is
necessary; they will discuss all the issues related to the project,
at the place,” she stressed.

When asked whether it is possible to restore St. Gevorg Mugnetsots
Church ignoring the Armenian architectural traditions, following
the statement made by Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander
Nalbandov, who said that “all churches in controversy, which are
located in the country, are Georgian, not Armenian,” Mrs Durgarian
said: “Don’t nip on ahead, let the experts answer.”

From: A. Papazian

GM LEVON ARONIAN TO PARTICIPATE IN CHESS MASTERS CHAMPS

Aysor
Aug 2 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s Grand Master Levon Aronian will participate in the Chess
Masters championship to take place in Shanghai from September 3 to 8.

Aronian will play against Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Alexei Shirov
(Spain) and Wang Hao (China), according to the report by Armchess.am.

Championship’s two winners along with Viswanathan Anand (India) and
Magnus Carlsen (Norway) will participate in the final stage of Chess
Masters Championship, which will take place in Spanish Bilbao from
October 9 to 15.

From: A. Papazian

ANALYST SEES GROWING EU SUPPORT FOR AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

news.az
Aug 2 2010
Azerbaijan

Borut Grgic News.Az interviews Borut Grgic, founder of the
trans-Caspian initiative at the EPC in Brussels, and Institute for
Strategic Studies in Slovenia.

Azerbaijan has started negotiations with the EU on an association
agreement. Could this process weaken Azerbaijan and its neighbours’
dependence on Russia?

Azerbaijan has always had a multiple-vector foreign policy in order
to endure no significant dependence on any single external actor.

Strengthening of relations with the EU is not a zero sum equation.

Neither party sees it this way. Rather, with the EU accession talks
progressing, Azerbaijan will have more room to press for even deeper
cooperation with Russia, and other regional players, most notably
Turkey.

Do you share the opinion that the Russian-Georgian war scared the West
and now the US and NATO prefer not to anger the Russians by active
military and other contacts with Georgia and other Russian neighbours?

I don’t agree. Obama’s policy toward the region is still in the
making. I would say that Washington under the new administration
simply had other priorities. Now, we are seeing a new convergence
between Washington and the region, including Azerbaijan. US policy
towards Russia is a separate issue. NATO never had a political vision
for this region – in terms of a coherent view on membership.

The security sphere is one of the areas of EU-Azerbaijani cooperation
in the association agreement. Do you think that Europe is really able
to strengthen security in the South Caucasus?

Yes, especially if we can deploy a mission to Nagorno-Karabakh to help
secure the end deal, and help monitor the terms of this end agreement.

Do you see any parallels between the UN International Court decision
on Kosovo and Armenia’s attempts to justify occupation of Azerbaijani
land?

No. The legal opinion of the ICJ in the case of Kosovo is a unique
experience. After all, the court stated an opinion on a question
pertaining to the legality of the declaration of independence by
Kosovo. It said nothing about the political principles behind this
declaration.

What is the common European view on settling the Karabakh problem? Do
the sympathies of European states lie more with the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan or the right to self-determination of the
Armenians, who already have their own independent state?

I would say Europe doesn’t have a clear end goal in mind, which
probably is the reason why we remain a weak actor in this conflict
resolution. But even here, things are changing. I would say a number
of important events recently took place that show EU support for
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity; most notable was the passing of
the resolution on this issue by the EU Parliament earlier this year.

From: A. Papazian

V. PETROSYAN: CULTURE AND PATRIOTISM

Aysor
Aug 2 2010
Armenia

“Culture’s role is very important to snap out depression from the
life of today’s youth. The youth is in a deep depression worldwide,
though present-day youth lives rather well-off life,” actor, producer
Vardan Petrosyan told a press conference.

According to the actor, today society prioritizes material values
worldwide, therefore culture can be an important instrument to draw
society’s attention to non-material values.

Petrosyan considers that cultural events need to be organized in the
army to instill patriotism among the youth.

From: A. Papazian

PRESENT-DAY CULTURAL LIFE MUCH MORE ACTIVE THAN IN 1995

Aysor
Aug 2 2010
Armenia

“Present-day cultural life is much more active than in 1995-96 –
classical music events, festivals, just anything you can imagine,”
actor, producer Vardan Petrosyan told reporters.

Asked whether today’s cultural life meets the demands of Armenian
spectators the actor said that they should ask this question the
very spectators. Meanwhile he said that culture should address
topical issues, while it doesn’t, therefore society is indifferent
to the theater. “The theater should find the link between the art
and society,” the speaker said.

From: A. Papazian

FM: AZERBAIJAN FAILS TO JOIN UN CONVENTION
Hajiyev

Trend
Aug 2 2010
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan fails to join the UN Cluster Munitions Convention now, the
Foreign Ministry arms control department specialist Elchin Huseynli
said during a round-table-meeting organized by the public association
“Azerbaijani campaign against mines”.

“Azerbaijani territories – Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding
regions are under occupation. Therefore, Azerbaijan can not join
the UN Cluster Munitions Convention now. Azerbaijan supports the
convention. But the country has to avoid joining this convention
till its territory is under occupation. At the same time, Azerbaijan
welcomes the initiatives in this direction, ” Huseynli said.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the complete elimination
of cluster munitions is one of the biggest challenges of the world
community in XXI century. He said that since 2007 Azerbaijan has
been participating as an observer in all conferences within the
Oslo process.

“Azerbaijan takes the humanitarian principles of disarmament as a
basis. Our country has joined the Nuclear Weapons Convention and
other similar documents”, Huseynli said.

The UN Cluster Munitions Convention entered into force August 1,
this year, chairman of the public association “Azerbaijani campaign
against landmines” Hafiz Safihanov said.

Safihanov said that cluster weapons were created and used during the
Korean War. A coalition was formed against cluster weapons in 2003.

The international community has begun to work to ban such weapons at
the initiative of the Norwegian government.

Cluster munitions were banned at the talks in Oslo, Norway in 2007.

Earlier, Commissioner of the European Council for Human Rights Thomas
Hammarberg, has called for Azerbaijan’s and Armenia’s joining the
convention banning cluster munitions.

From: A. Papazian

INFORMATION PANELS FEATURE ANCIENT ARMENIAN CAPITALS ANI AND DVIN

Aysor
Aug 2 2010
Armenia

VivaCell-MTS continues supporting projects aimed at raising awareness
of Armenian historical and cultural monuments, its press office
announced Monday.

It said that multilingual information panels for the ancient Armenian
capitals of Ani and Dvin were installed in Haikadzor village, Shirak
region. Besides, new information panel was installed at Gusanagiugh.

These panels are a part of AMAP’s new Travel Trail “Armenia’s Kings,
Queens and Princes”. This Discovery Trail will allow tourists to
learn of Armenia’s ancient and remarkable dynasties of rulers. This
is AMAP’s sixth presentation in 2010 and continues the creation of
Discovery Trails for Armenia. Popular in other countries, Discovery
Trails combine monuments and destinations into day tours and themes.

>>From where the panels were installed, in the distance one can see the
outline of a great city, in its day one of the richest in the world.

Much of Ani is now gone, the once mighty city of 100 thousand ruined
by the desuetude of time and invasions by Byzantine, Turk and Mongol
forces. But 1000 years ago, Ani was probably the most important and
largest city in the world, a fulcrum for the Silk Road and seat of
power for the Bagratuni dynasty of kings.

“The continuous support provided by VivaCell-MTS to AMAP reflects
once again our belief. Our history is our valuable treasure, and we
are obliged to educate our children how and why we have to value and
preserve it. Today, with marking this new site we are adding a new
milestone on how better to cherish and highlight our heroic history.

For each of us doing our job at our workplace and supporting our
families is not enough – what’s equally important is paying tribute
to the past by instilling in our children true values for which the
great Armenians who are standing behind and watching us have fought
for,”- VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian said.

Sponsors of AMAP’s projects are Armenia’s Leading Mobile Operator
VivaCell-MTS, the Honorary Consul for Italy in Giumri, the US
Ambassadors Cultural Fund, the Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs
and USAID/CAPS.

From: A. Papazian

THE NKR MFA LIBRARY IS SUPPLEMENTED WITH THE BOOK ‘ARTSAKH’

Azat Artsakh Daily,
30 July 2010
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]

The scientific library of the NKR MFA has received as a gift the
Russian version of the book ‘Artsakh’ by bishop Makar Barkhudaryants
published in Science publishing office in St. Petersburg. The edition
was prepared by Bella and Vahe Grigorians, the translator from the
Armenian language is Nelson Alexanian. All the nuances and author’s
terminology are preserved within the translation. First, the book was
published in Armenian in 1895 in Baku. It is of exceptional historical
and source study significance. Historian, ethnographer, teacher,
religious figure, native of Artsakh Makar Barkhudariants provided
corresponding information on the natural resources, flora, fauna,
and demography of the region, described its historical monuments,
collected and decoded the inscriptions on the gravestones, church- and
monastery walls. The book was repeatedly used in scientific researches,
served as a guide-book in further descriptions of Artsakh, and has
been a unique work so far providing a full idea of the material and
spiritual culture of the region. The Russian translation of the book
is dedicated to the memory of the soldiers and civilians deceased for
the freedom and independence of Karabakh-Artsakh. The translation of
the book, which is intended for local history specialists, historians,
theologians, statesmen, and common readers, allowed to increase the
number of people wishing to get true information on Artsakh. The book
is distributed in authoritative scientific institutions and libraries
in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

From: A. Papazian

ROBERT FISK: ISRAEL HAS CREPT INTO THE EU WITHOUT ANYONE NOTICING
Abbas Momani

Saturday, 31 July 2010
Middle East

Israeli troops clash with Palestinians protesting against last year’s
Gaza offensive

enlarge

The death of five Israeli servicemen in a helicopter crash in Romania
this week raised scarcely a headline.

There was a Nato-Israeli exercise in progress. Well, that’s OK then.

Now imagine the death of five Hamas fighters in a helicopter crash
in Romania this week. We’d still be investigating this extraordinary
phenomenon. Now mark you, I’m not comparing Israel and Hamas. Israel is
the country that justifiably slaughtered more than 1,300 Palestinians
in Gaza 19 months ago – more than 300 of them children – while the
vicious, blood-sucking and terrorist Hamas killed 13 Israelis (three
of them soldiers who actually shot each other by mistake).

But there is one parallel. Judge Richard Goldstone, the eminent
Jewish South African judge, decided in his 575-page UN inquiry into
the Gaza bloodbath that both sides had committed war crimes – he was,
of course, quite rightly called “evil” by all kinds of justifiably
outraged supporters of Israel in the US, his excellent report rejected
by seven EU governments – and so a question presents itself. What is
Nato doing when it plays war games with an army accused of war crimes?

Or, more to the point, what on earth is the EU doing when it
cosies up to the Israelis? In a remarkable, detailed – if slightly
over-infuriated – book to be published in November, the indefatigable
David Cronin is going to present a microscopic analysis of “our”
relations with Israel. I have just finished reading the manuscript. It
leaves me breathless. As he says in his preface, “Israel has developed
such strong political and economic ties to the EU over the past decade
that it has become a member state of the union in all but name.”

Indeed, it was Javier Solana, the grubby top dog of the EU’s foreign
policy (formerly Nato secretary general), who actually said last
year that “Israel, allow me to say, is a member of the European Union
without being a member of the institution”.

Pardon me? Did we know this? Did we vote for this? Who allowed this
to happen? Does David Cameron – now so forcefully marketing Turkish
entry to the EU – agree with this? Probably yes, since he goes on
calling himself a “friend of Israel” after that country produced
an excellent set of forged British passports for its murderers in
Dubai. As Cronin says, “the EU’s cowardice towards Israel is in stark
contrast to the robust position it has taken when major atrocities
have occurred in other conflicts”. After the Russia-Georgia war in
2008, for example, the EU tasked an independent mission to find out
if international law had been flouted, and demanded an international
inquiry into human rights abuses after Sri Lanka’s war against the
Tamil Tigers. Cronin does not duck Europe’s responsibility for the
Jewish Holocaust and agrees that there will always be a “moral duty”
on our governments to ensure it never happens again – though I did
notice that Cameron forgot to mention the 1915 Armenian Holocaust
when he was sucking up to the Turks this week.

But that’s not quite the point. In 1999, Britain’s arms sales to
Israel – a country occupying the West Bank (and Gaza, too) and
building illegal colonies for Jews and Jews only on Arab land –
were worth £11.5m; within two years, this had almost doubled to £22.5m.

This included small arms, grenade-making kits and equipment for
fighter jets and tanks. There were a few refusals after Israel used
modified Centurion tanks against the Palestinians in 2002, but in
2006, the year in which Israel slaughtered another 1,300 Lebanese,
almost all of them civilians, in another crusade against Hizbollah’s
“world terror”, Britain granted over 200 weapons licences.

Some British equipment, of course, heads for Israel via the US. In
2002, Britain gave “head-up displays” manufactured by BAE Systems for
Lockheed Martin which promptly installed them in F-16 fighter-bombers
destined for Israel. The EU did not object. In the same year, it
should be added, the British admitted to training 13 members of the
Israeli military. US planes transporting weapons to Israel at the
time of the 2006 Lebanon war were refuelled at British airports (and,
alas, it appears at Irish airports too). In the first three months
of 2008, we gave licenses for another £20m of weapons for Israel –
just in time for Israel’s onslaught on Gaza. Apache helicopters
used against Palestinians, says Cronin, contain parts made by SPS
Aerostructures in Nottinghamshire, Smiths Industries in Cheltenham,
Page Aerospace in Middlesex and Meggit Avionics in Hampshire.

Need I go on? Israel, by the way, has been praised for its “logistics”
help to Nato in Afghanistan – where we are annually killing even more
Afghans than the Israelis usually kill Palestinians – which is not
surprising since Israel military boss Gabi Ashkenazi has visited Nato
headquarters in Brussels to argue for closer ties with Nato. And Cronin
convincingly argues an extraordinary – almost obscenely beautiful –
financial arrangement in “Palestine”. The EU funds millions of pounds’
worth of projects in Gaza. These are regularly destroyed by Israel’s
American-made weaponry. So it goes like this.

European taxpayers fork out for the projects. US taxpayers fork out
for the weapons which Israel uses to destroy them. Then EU taxpayers
fork out for the whole lot to be rebuilt. And then US taxpayers…

Well, you’ve got the point. Israel, by the way, already has an
“individual co-operation programme” with Nato, locking Israel into
Nato’s computer networks.

All in all, it’s good to have such a stout ally as Israel on our side,
even if its army is a rabble and some of its men war criminals. Come to
that, why don’t we ask Hizbollah to join Nato as well – just imagine
how its guerrilla tactics would benefit our chaps in Helmand.

And since Israel’s Apache helicopters often kill Lebanese civilians –
a whole ambulance of women and children in 1996, for example, blown
to pieces by a Boeing Hellfire AGM 114C air-to-ground missile – let’s
hope the Lebanese can still send a friendly greeting to the people
of Nottinghamshire, Middlesex, Hampshire and, of course, Cheltenham.

From: A. Papazian

AZERI DELEGATION ATTEMPTS TO PRESS THROUGH KARABAKH RESOLUTION IN NATO PA

PanARMENIAN.Net
August 2, 2010 – 19:48 AMT 14:48 GMT

During a bilateral meeting with the NATO PA leadership, including
Chairman of the NATO PA Political Committee Karl Lamers, in Riga, the
Azerbaijani delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly suggested
that the PA drafts a resolution but not a comprehensive and detailed
report on Nagorno Karabakh.

The Azerbaijani delegation members wanted the document to be later
discussed either by a NATO PA committee or Parliamentary Assembly,
a NATO PA official told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter on condition of
anonymity. However, there is no formal decision on which committee or
body will draft the document or when it will be done and discussed,
the source said.

From: A. Papazian