Author: Andres-Papazian

V. SOGHOMONYAN: MEETING OF ROBERT KOCHARYAN AND HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN HELD

Friday,
May
30

Victor Soghomonyan – the head of the office of second Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan – confirmed information about a meeting
between R. Kocharyan and Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.

“Yes, there was a meeting,” he told the correspondent of Aysor.am.

Soghomonyan added he was not present at the meeting and cannot give
any details.

‘Haykakan Zhamanak’ newspaper wrote today about the meeting, noting
that neither the government nor the second president’s office
officially confirmed the information.

TODAY, 12:56

Aysor.am

From: A. Papazian

NO DOCUMENTS CAN BE SIGNED WITH ARMENIA IN THE CURRENT SITUATION, AHMET DAVUTOGLU SAYS

by Marianna Lazarian

Friday, May 30, 12:32

No documents, including in the field of energy, can be signed with
Armenia in the current situation, Foreign Minister of Turkey Ahmet
Davutoglu said in response to the question by Sezgin Tanr?kulu,
the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman,
according to Ermenihaber.

The Turkish minister said cooperation with Armenia in the field of
energy will be promising only after “the Armed Forces of Armenia are
withdrawn from the Azerbaijani territories.”

Then Armenia will get an opportunity to involve in regional projects,
Davutoglu said. He emphasized that Ankara does not impose embargo
on Armenia, as the latter carries out freight activity with third
countries via the territory of Turkey, charter flights operate between
the two countries and the Armenian citizens are issued visas to visit
the neighbor country.

The minister recalled his meeting with Edward Nalbandian in Yerevan
last December on sidelines of the BSEC Summit, stressing that no
agreements were signed then.

From: A. Papazian

CHINA, ARMENIA INTERESTED IN JOINT MAJOR PROJECTS – FOREIGN MINISTRY

YEREVAN, May 30. /ARKA/. China and Armenia are interested and willing
to implement a number of bilateral projects, Armenia’s deputy minister
of foreign affairs Sergey Manasaryan said.

Armenia is currently negotiating over possible involvement of Chinese
companies in infrastructure projects of strategic importance to
Armenia, on construction of motor and rail roads in particular,
the deputy minister said in the parliament.

The Chinese side intends to implement a complete reconstruction
and re-equipping at Public TV of Armenia. It is a huge project,
Manasaryan said.

The deputy minister also said the Chinese party is keen on expanding
its involvement in Armenia’s IT, and efforts are made in this
direction.

“We expect a response from the Chine side on another big project
– creating a Chinese school in Armenia that will be of regional
importance’, the deputy minister said.

It is difficult to say what level of Armenia’s involvement in bilateral
relations will be satisfactory, bearing in mind China’s potential,
Manasaryan said. The cooperation is developing, he said.

In 2013 Chinese foreign trade amounted to 4.16 trillion dollars,
an increase of 7.6% compared to the year before. Chinese exports
rose by 7.9% to 2.21 trillion dollars in 2013; imports grew by 7.3%
to 1.95 trillion dollars. -0–

– See more at:

From: A. Papazian

ARTSAKH DEFENSE ARMY SAYS NUMBER OF CASUALTIES NEVER CONCEALED

May 30, 2014 – 17:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The defense army of the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh)
Republic has refuted yet another lie of the Azerbaijani propaganda
claiming that the Armenian party “conceals the number of casualties.”

“We always report about the incidents that take place in our army.

Hiding data is our rival’s work style, which is applied to avoid
public indignation,” the NKR army’s press office said.

An Armenian soldier was killed in Azeri sabotage attempt in the
southern direction of the line of contact on the night of May 28. On
spotting the rival, the NKR army units acted to repel the attack, with
2 dead and 1 injured on Azeri side. The NKR defense army serviceman,
corporal Erik Gasparyan, 19, died in action.

The real number of casualties in the Azeri armed forces is almost
twice higher than that mentioned in official statistical data, the
NKR army said.

Not to seem proofless, the Karabakh defense army presented the list
of the Azerbaijani servicemen who were killed in non-combat incidents,
as result of harassment, lack of restraint and corruption.

According to Doctrina Azeri military research, most of deaths in
the Azeri army was caused by suicides and injuries inflicted by the
soldiers themselves.

From: A. Papazian

LITERATURE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE TRANSLATED AND SPREAD THROUGHOUT WORLD

15:31, 30 May, 2014

YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS. The publishing activity towards the100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be intensified.

The process will be carried out in three directions. This was stated
by the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Armenia Nerses
Ter-Vardanyan in his interview with the journalists.

“In the books published in 2015 the topic of the Armenian
Genocide will be a separate direction. We will have three types of
publications. Firstly, different books on the Armenian Genocide will be
translated from Armenian into other languages, and special attention
will be paid to the publications of foreign publishing houses. The
Ministry will support the foreign publishers. Secondly, various books
will be translated from other languages into Armenian, and emphasis
will be put especially on fiction. Besides, during the year, we are
planning to republish the works on the Genocide, which seem to have
become classical” – reports “Armenpress”, citing the Deputy Minister.

The President of the Writers’ Union of Armenia Edward Militonyan is
sure that we should mark the 100th anniversary with various events,
and the latter must be presentable. “This is a way of preaching our
pain and loss” – noted Militonyan.

From: A. Papazian

PROSECUTOR GENERAL’S ANNOUNCEMENT TROUBLESOME FOR JOURNALISTS

HUMAN RIGHTS | 30.05.14 | 12:44

GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

An announcement from the Prosecutor General’s office has created
concern among media and raised accusations of stifling freedom
of speech.

Last week it was announced that unauthorized publication of preliminary
investigation information could result in penalties up to a year in
jail for the offender.

Armenian attorney general, clarifying the prosecution’s warning about
publication of preliminary investigation data being penalized, where
human rights activists and media organizations saw a threat, tried to
dissipate journalist communities’ concerns, saying that the warning
is firstly directed to the subject having spread the information.

The Freedom of Information Center of Armenia (FOICA) reflected on
the General Prosecution’s announcement, in its turn expressing its
concern and considering the announcement problematic. The center said
such a law restricts freedom of the press.

On Thursday at a briefing with journalists Attorney General Gevorg
Kostanyan assured journalists that they are not targeted, but rather
the source of any investigation leaks.

“If the journalist doesn’t reveal the source of information, that’s
the journalist’s right. If however s/he does, it is again the
journalist’s right. Nevertheless, the subject of the criminal case
is not the media or the journalist, rather the one who, being a part
of investigation, possessed information,” said the attorney general
adding that if the journalist uses his/her right and doesn’t reveal
the information source, another procedure is designed upon the law,
when the journalist will be required to reveal the source in instances
of grave or specifically grave criminal cases.

The President of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Speech (CPFS),
Ashot Melikyan tells ArmeniaNow that the Prosecution needs to police
itself rather than threaten journalists.

“They could have prepared a circular and reminded (agents) in their
system that protecting secrecy in the preliminary investigation is
their duty and if they don’t they will be charged. A good question
would be, if you did not aim to direct your words to journalists and
media, why would you speak about it so publicly,” says Melikyan.

From: A. Papazian

EUROPEAN UNION TO PROVIDE ARMENIA WITH 25 MILLION EURO ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT AGRICULTURE

YEREVAN, May 30. / ARKA /. The European Union will provide Armenia
with a 25 million euro assistance to support agricultural development,
John Barker, an attache on agricultural programs at the EU Delegation
to Armenia, said today.

Speaking at a workshop in Yerevan titled From Stability to Development,
he said 20 million euros will be given to the Armenian government
to replenish its budget, and he remaining 5 million will be used to
assist farmers.

Barker also said that the first 6 million tranche ill be provided
to the Armenian government this year, the second – in the amount of
7 million – in 2015, and the third – worth 7 million euros Armenia
will get in 2016.

He noted that part of the money will be used on the development and
implementation of a sustainable development strategy for rural areas
for the period from 2015 to 2025 . Barker said the use of the funds
will be monitored tightly over the next three years.

According to him, the majority of Armenian farmers have the potential
for development, however, they are experiencing some difficulties in
its implementation , and this is why they need serious assistance.

Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan stressed the importance of the
development of agriculture in terms of economic growth. He assured that
the government will make every effort to encourage and assist farmers.

Head of the EU Delegation , Ambassador Traian Hristea, stressed
that the EU will continue to assist Armenia in achieving sustainable
agricultural development.

According to official figures, the EU’s financial assistance to
Armenia in 2013 amounted to approximately 35-40 million euros.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN MFA: LOUISIANA RESOLUTION ANOTHER STEP TO BRING AZERBAIJANI ORGANIZERS OF ETHNIC CLEANSING TO JUSTICE

May 30, 2014 | 11:45

YEREVAN. – The resolution adoptedby the Louisiana State Senate is
another step on the way to bringing the organizers and perpetrators
of ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh,
including organizers of Khojalu events, to justice, spokesperson for
Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

“It is important to bring to justice those who are still not punished
and live in Azerbaijan freely, perhaps planning a new crime,” Tigran
Balayan toldArmenian News-NEWS.am.

As reported earlier, the Louisiana State Senate unanimously adopted
a resolution, condemning Azerbaijani pogroms against its Armenian
citizens and called on the U.S. government to press Baku to bring
the perpetrators to justice.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: A. Papazian

MP: ARMENIAN PRESIDENT DID NOT ACT AS STATE LEADER DURING ASTANA MEETING

May 30, 2014 | 12:43

YEREVAN. – An Armenian MP said president of Armenia did not act as a
state leader during the meeting of Eurasian Economic Council in Astana.

Aram Manukyan, secretary of ANC parliamentary group, slammed Serzh
Sargsyan’s behavior during the summit.

“I saw the confident stance of other leaders. It was seen in their
intonation, their confident bearing. I felt embarrassed that my country
has a leader who does not feel he is leading. He does not feel as a
person leading people standing behind him. I think this is the right
moment for Sargsyan to resign,” Manukyan told reporters on Friday.

The treaty on establishment of Eurasian Economic Union was signed by
the leaders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in Astana on Thursday.

President Serzh Sargsyan participated in the meeting of Supreme
Eurasian Economic Council and offered to sign a treaty on Armenia’s
accession till June 15, 2014.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: A. Papazian

FORBES: ARMENIA-BASED COMPANY CREATING A PRESENTATION PLATFORM THAT COULD KILL POWERPOINT

13:13 30.05.20140
Armenia, Forbes, IT

“Entrepreneurship can come from all places. And just as Skype launched
Estonia into the forefront of technological start-up innovation,
a new company based primarily in Armenia hopes to bring the Caucasus
start-up scene into the global spot-light,” Freddie Dawson writes in
an article published by Forbes.

If it succeeds in doing so, it could spell an end to Powerpoint:
nobody’s favorite presentation tool. The company – Voiceboard – is
creating a presentation platform that incorporates different voice
recognition platforms and Microsoft’s Kinect – the technology used
for body motion control of Xbox games – to give presenters the ability
to control presentations through vocal commands and gestures.

Currently Voiceboard is expanding its Armenian office and just starting
to offer a demo product to customers. It signed up its first customer
in March and hopes to have the first edition out in June.

Initially the product will only have voice control features with
gestures to be added in at a later date.

The company has grown significantly in a short period of time in
order to get to this point. It has grown from four under-employed
engineers brainstorming in a living-room to a company with offices
in Bulgaria and Armenia, as well as a separate entity in the USA.

“We were sitting in my living room with a whiteboard thinking about
getting into IT consultancy and brainstorming,” says Nigel Sharp,
co-founder of Lionsharp, the company behind Voiceboard. “We thought:
‘It’s so annoying to have to get up from sofa and write something and
then the board would get filled up and we’d have to take a picture of
it, wipe it clean and start again. Wouldn’t it be great if we could
just control everything from here digitally?'”

Development started and the start-up secured a series of
opportunities. First it won a competition, organized in conjunction
with Microsoft’s Armenian Innovation Center – to go work in a business
accelerator in Bulgaria called Eleven. The company then got a chance
to demonstrate its presentation tools at TEDx – a popular series
of lectures on science and technology. The start-up also had some
success at the Microsoft Imagine Cup – an international innovation
competition for technology.

“TEDx is a fantastic platform to get the word out. We did our first
ever presentation there and were getting phone calls from investors
from a week after that,” he says. “A month later and we had concrete
offers on the table.”

Sharp attributes some of the success the country had to the start-up
scene in Armenia. “I found that young Armenians are ready to do a
bit more to choose their opportunities,” says Sharp. “My co-founders
are 20-21 and they’re throwing away a job that has a salary to come
found a start-up.”

Although Sharp worries about the potential geo-political situation
of Armenia, he remains confident in both his economy and the wider
opportunities available in Armenia.

“But there is huge potential. Collaborative entrepreneurship should
be happening here,” he adds. “Guys with good ideas and management
skills should be bringing those into Armenia. There are plenty of
good ideas but they need backing, organization, which is not always
a strong point.”

If Voiceboard can revolutionize business presentations in much the
same way Skype changed international online communication, it would
put Armenia on the map and could start a flood of investors searching
for the next big technological solution.

From: A. Papazian