Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMENIA ANNOUNCED AN INCREASE IN ITS ARMS ACQUISITIONS

Armenia announced a dramatic increase in arms acquisitions in recent
years, saying they intended to offset the continued massive military
buildup of Azerbaijan.

“Over the past three years, we have acquired as many weapons as we
did in the previous 20 years,” said Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
during a visit to a military unit in Nagorno Karabakh.

“In this sense, rest assured that we will never allow the military
balance is disturbed. We will maintain this balance, “he said to the
soldiers in the Armenian government website.

Tigran Sargsyan gave few details of these acquisitions. He said, in
an apparent reference to Russia, “strategic partners” help Armenia
to remain in the arms race with Azerbaijan’s oil-rich part of the
Organization of the Collective Security Treaty.

There were other indications of deliveries of Russian weapons to
Armenia, mostly made free, which would be intensified lately. Armenian
parliamentary pro-government claimed in May that no less than 120
Russian planes carrying weapons to Armenia during the last year alone.

The commander of the Karabakh Armenian army, General Movses Hakobyan,
has even talked about large-scale acquisitions of weapons at the
end of July. Movses Hakobyan said that arms shipments were so large
that the Karabakh army is struggling to save the new weapons and the
construction of a new deposit for this purpose.

In particular, the Karabakh Armenians are known to have created a new
tank brigade last year. Some defense analysts in Yerevan believe it
is armed with about 100 tanks.

Azerbaijan had begun to receive in June a similar number of tanks and
many other offensive weapons made in Russia with an estimated value of
$ 1 billion. President Ilham Aliyev said last month that “the volume
of military-technical cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan is
estimated at $ 4 billion and it tends to increase.” According to the
Moscow newspaper “Vedomosti”, the figure cited by Aliyev is “the sum
of all contracts and partly executed since 2010.”

Saturday, September 7, 2013, Stephane © armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

SYRIE/ETATS-UNIS : UN FAUX AIR DE DEJA-VU PAR LAURENT LEYLEKIAN

REVUE DE PRESSE

Dans son allocution, le President des Etats-Unis adjure le Congrès
avec insistance : “Je sais a partir de preuves irrefutables venant
de representants responsables de nombreux peuples luttant pour le
retablissement de l’independance et de la paix que le gouvernement des
Etats-Unis est attendu avec une confiance extraordinaire et je crois
qu’il ne ferait rien de moins que porter un coup d’arret aux processus
remplis d’espoir de la civilisation si nous refusions la demande nous
enjoignant a nous faire les amis utiles et les conseillers de ce peuple
qu’on nous a formellement et dûment demande de guider et d’assister”.

Mais nous ne sommes pas en 2013 et ce n’est pas de la Syrie dont il
est question. Nous sommes le 24 mai 1920 et le president americain
sollicite alors son Congrès pour un mandat sur l’Armenie. Ce president
n’est pas le 44ème du nom, Barack Obama, mais Woodrow Wilson, le 28ème,
qui, comme l’actuel locataire de la Maison Blanche, etait un Democrate
et en etait alors a son second mandat.

POUR LIRE LA SUITE CLIQUER SUR LE LIEN

samedi 7 septembre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

OFFICIAL: NAGORNO-KARABAKH ARMENIANS TO BE FULL-FLEDGED CITIZENS OF AZERBAIJAN AFTER CONFLICT IS RESOLVED

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 6 2013

6 September 2013, 17:14 (GMT+05:00)
By Sara Rajabova

After return of the Armenian-occupied territories of Azerbaijan and
the displaced persons’ comeback to their native land, the Armenians
of Nagorno-Karabakh will become full-fledged citizens of Azerbaijan,
chairman of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Diaspora
Nazim Ibrahimov has said.

At a press conference on the results of a high-level meeting of the
Nizami Ganjavi International Center and the Club of Madrid, Ibrahimov
said that for this to be possible, first of all, the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict must be resolved.

“We are witnessing the creation in Azerbaijan of a society which many
countries would like to create,” the Committee head said.

According to Ibrahimov, along with other issues, political conflicts,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, were discussed in the framework
of the mentioned meeting.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made
territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early
1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed
forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions.

“Azerbaijan is ready to grant Nagorno-Karabakh the highest level of
autonomy that exists in the world. This even caused a surprise of the
guests who gathered at the event. What else can the Armenians expect?”

Ibrahimov said.

The Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC) and the Club de
Madrid have held a High Level Preparatory Meeting for the “Shared
Societies Forum 2014”, which will take place in Baku next year. The
event, supported by the State Committee for Work with Diaspora, is
attended by former heads of state and government of Latvia, Finland,
the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and officials of influential international
organizations.

The two-day meeting debated preparations for the forthcoming Forum
and also discussed settlement of the conflicts in the South Caucasus,
close involvement of women in social life, intercultural and interfaith
dialogue, and other issues.

From: A. Papazian

FOREIGN MINISTRY: BELARUS IN FAVOR OF CUSTOMS UNION ENLARGEMENT

Belarusian Telegraph Agency, Belarus
Sept 6 2013

05.09.2013 18:07

MINSK, 5 September (BelTA) – Belarus welcomes a possibility of the
Customs Union enlargement, Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of
Belarus Andrei Savinykh told BelTA when asked about Belarus’ attitude
to Armenia’s plans to join the Customs Union and take part in the
formation of the Eurasian Economic Union.

“The Customs Union is an important regional association which role
will keep growing over time. The potential of this association might
also increase by means of new members that have trade and economic
contacts with the participants of the Customs Union. This trend is
welcome,” Andrei Savinykh said.

President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan announced Armenia’s
decision to join the Customs Union and take part in the formation of
the Eurasian Economic Union.

From: A. Papazian

OBAMA, KERRY, AND MCCAIN HAVE A ‘MODERATE’ PROBLEM IN SYRIA

Canada Free Press
Sept 6 2013

Either they aren’t moderates, or ‘moderate’ has a frightening new
definition…

The Syrian rebels are moderates. That’s the message from those who want
the US to involve itself in the Syrian civil war. Be it from Obama,
John McCain, or John Kerry, the message is the same. Those who seek to
portray the Syrian rebellion as a radical movement are just out to hurt
the President politically. They’ve said this over, and over, again.

…But it’s not working. No one is buying the myth of the
middle-of-the-road Syrian rebellion – and why should they?

Two days ago, we saw the video where rebels down a Syrian plane. They
immediately start shouting “Alahu Ackbar” in celebration. This,
according to John McCain was no different than a Christian saying
“thank God, thank God.” It’s practically a sign of their moderate
views.

“Of course they’re Muslims but they are moderates. I guarantee you they
are moderates,” McCain said. “I know them, and I’ve been with them.”

Well, sure. Of course they are. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly
doesn’t possess John McCain’s extraordinary level of understanding,
compassion, and global awareness.

Who cares that Armenian news outlets are reporting that the rebels
are attacking Christian villages, burning churches, and kidnapping
or killing the faithful? These are all clear signs of their moderate
positions.

The St. Gevorg church in Aleppo’s Armenian-populated district of
Nor Kyugh was set ablaze on Monday, reported Tert.am, quoting a
representative of the local Armenian prelacy. Speaking to the online
paper, the spokesman, Zhirayr Reisian, confirmed that the church
had become a target of rebels and that it had almost been reduced to
ashes. Reisian also said that the Mesrobian Armenian School adjacent
to the church has been seriously damaged, too. Earlier on Monday a
blast near an Armenian district of Syrian capital Damascus reportedly
killed 10 people and wounded around 50. Armenians were feared to
be among both dead and wounded. Later Reisian told state-run agency
Armenpress that a group of 10 Christians, including seven Armenians,
was kidnapped near Aleppo. About four dozen Syrian Armenians have
reportedly been killed since the start of the conflict in Syria in
March 2011. Hundreds of an estimated 80,000 Syrian Armenian, mostly
concentrated in Aleppo, have taken refuge in Armenia since fighting
between government and opposition forces reached the city last July.

Heck, maybe the rebels just despise all religions equally. They’re
probably secular atheists or something. It’s not like they’re the
favored party of the Muslim Brotherhood. No one is running around the
country threatening those who refuse to embrace Sharia Law. We don’t
have any video of such actions, do we? They’re moderates after all.

>From The Blaze:

The video, originally posted by the nongovernmental watchdog Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights, shows 30 members of the Syrian PKK,
also known as the Kurdistan Worker’s Party being held hostage by
the armed gunmen. The group of PKK members is seen sitting on the
Persian rugged floor of an empty room, while a member of the Muslim
Brotherhood fighters tells them that they must “practice the real
Islam and follow Sharia law” or face the “consequences.”

The men identified themselves as members of the Muslim Brotherhood
and they spoke in a distinct classic Arabic with an Egyptian accent,
an Arabic translator, who viewed the video, told TheBlaze.

Strangely enough, the Kurdish rebels were forced to sign a contract
and were told that if they prayed with the Muslim Brotherhood, turned
over all their weapons and refrained from fighting for a full year
they would not be harmed.

“If you don’t do this, you know the consequences?” warned a man with
a strong Egyptian accent. The Kurdish men sat quietly, listening.

Hmmmm… OK, well Secretary of State Kerry did admit that as many as
20% of the 100,000 Syrian Rebels could be considered radical. But
hey, that’s no big deal, right? Clearly, the moderates are in the
vast majority and – as Kerry points out – the minority isn’t really
worth our concern.

Someone should tell that to the New York Times, because they seem to
think “moderate” Syrian forces are carrying out mass executions of
Syrian prisoners:

The prisoners, seven in all, were captured Syrian soldiers. Five
were trussed, their backs marked with red welts. They kept their
faces pressed to the dirt as the rebels’ commander recited a bitter
revolutionary verse.

“For fifty years, they are companions to corruption,” he said. “We
swear to the Lord of the Throne, that this is our oath: We will
take revenge.”

The moment the poem ended, the commander, known as “the Uncle,”
fired a bullet into the back of the first prisoner’s head. His gunmen
followed suit, promptly killing all the men at their feet.

This scene, documented in a video smuggled out of Syria a few days
ago by a former rebel who grew disgusted by the killings, offers
a dark insight into how many rebels have adopted some of the same
brutal and ruthless tactics as the regime they are trying to overthrow.

We’re sure the administration is unfazed because, after all, war is
hell. Executing the soldiers of a brutal thug like Assad is just par
for the course. Unpleasant maybe, but that’s the way it goes. It’s
not like these moderates are harming civilians who choose to stand
against them. They’re not a bunch of ruthless baby-killers, are they?

>From the Centre for Global Research:

Al-Qaeda linked terrorists in Syria have beheaded all 24 Syrian
passengers traveling from Tartus to Ras al-Ain in northeast of Syria,
among them a mother and a 40-days old infant.

Gunmen from the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Levant stopped
the bus on the road in Talkalakh and killed everyone before setting
the bus on fire.

According to media reports, the attack was carried out because the
passengers who were from three different villages in Ras al-Ain,
supported anti-terrorist Kurdish groups which were formed recently
to defend Kurdish population against anti-Syria terrorists.

Bodies of a mother and her 40-days infant were also seen among the
dead, which were recognized by their relatives.

This simply must be incorrect. This can’t be happening. The Obama
administration, along with staunch GOP members like McCain, has
guaranteed that the people we seek to help in Syria are poor,
downtrodden, souls who just seek peace and tolerance.

As Kerry puts it:

“The opposition has increasingly become more defined by its
moderation, more defined by the breadth of its membership and more
defined by its adherence to some, you know, democratic process and
to an all-inclusive, minority-protecting constitution, which will be
broad-based and secular with respect to the future of Syria.”

See? Everything’s fine! These are simply peaceful factions who
are incapable of self-defense.They’ve got the John Kerry stamp of
approval. Coming to their aid is a moral imperative of the first
order. Surely, traditionally left-leaning news outlets like Reuters
understand that the “moderate” movement in Syria is growing in power
with – as Kerry puts it – “each passing day.”

Uh-oh. From Reuters:

Secretary of State John Kerry’s public assertions that moderate
Syrian opposition groups are growing in influence appear to be at
odds with estimates by U.S. and European intelligence sources and
nongovernmental experts, who say Islamic extremists remain by far
the fiercest and best-organized rebel elements.

“And the opposition is getting stronger by the day,” Kerry told the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

U.S. and allied intelligence sources and private experts on the Syrian
conflict suggest that assessment is optimistic.

While the radical Islamists among the rebels may not be numerically
superior to more moderate fighters, they say, Islamist groups like the
al Qaeda-aligned Nusra Front are better organized, armed and trained.

Hmmmm. …The administration has even managed to lose Reuters. That’s
not a good sign.

Here’s the problem: Obama, Kerry, and McCain’s Claims of widespread
“moderation” in Syria simply don’t pass the smell test. If they’re
going to sell their war to the American people – not to mention the
rest of the world – they’re going to have to be able to show that
the people who will benefit from US military action are deserving of
our involvement.

As news from the region continues to pile up, it’s becoming clear
that they have a long way to go.

From: A. Papazian

EDITORIAL: NO US ATTACKS ON SYRIA

Friday, September 6th, 2013

ANCA opposes US strikes against Syria

As President Barack Obama prepares to address the nation, once again,
on his intention to attack Syria, Armenian-Americans must unequivocally
oppose the administration’s plans to engage in yet another war in
the Middle East, keeping in mind the definitive impact such an attack
will have on the Syrian-Armenian community.

The tactic adopted by the Obama Administration to convince the American
people of the righteousness of an attack on Syria is reminiscent of
when President George W. Bush wanted to secure-at all costs-approval
to attack Iraq in 2003, heralding claims of the existence of weapons
of mass destruction and Iraq’s role in the 9/11 attacks, all of which
proved to be false.

The cost of attacking Syria is high. Although the US claims it plans
to strike Syria’s military and alleged chemical weapons targets, the
loss of civilian life is imminent. The Christian minority population,
which includes the large Syrian-Armenian community, will be directly
in harm’s way.

Throughout the Syrian conflict, the Armenian community there
has weathered enormous losses and continues to live in unbearable
conditions, while steadfastly defending the cities and neighborhoods
that are populated by Armenians, especially in Aleppo.

Syria has immense significance to the entire Armenian nation,
not only as a safe-haven for survivors of the Armenian Genocide,
but also as a crossroads of civilizations. Before the crisis began,
the present-day Syrian-Armenian community was an integral part of
Syria’s development and contribution by Armenians to civil society
propelled a safe and secure existence for the community.

The Obama administration is out to teach a lesson to Syria and
to assert its role as a superpower. However, in this case, its
calculations are simply wrong, because, in its rabid effort to topple
the current regime, the US is aiding and abetting groups whose ultimate
intentions are to destroy America and cause harm to American interests.

If Obama’s intentions are to punish those who have caused the loss of
so many civilian lives, especially after the alleged chemical weapons
attacks late last month, perhaps it could take a moment to look inward
and assess the volume of casualties caused by US-led drone attacks
across the world. To whom is the US accountable for these atrocities?

According to media reports, the majority of Americans are opposed
to US intervention, in any form, in the Syrian conflict. If Congress
is truly representative of the popular will, then it will oppose the
proposed US strikes against Syria.

Earlier this week, the Armenian National Committee of America launched
a campaign to make Armenian-American opposition to the Syria attacks
known to members of Congress. Take a moment to voice your opposition
to US airstrikes.

The proposed US airstrikes against Syria will not resolve the ongoing
crisis in that country, nor will they benefit the international
community. From our perspective, they will further deteriorate the
conditions for our Armenian brothers and sisters in Syria. Let us
collectively oppose US airstrikes on Syria.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN NGO UNVEILS REPORT ON MILLIONAIRE MPS

16:36 06.09.13

A recent NGO monitoring of the National Assembly has focused on the
millionaire legislators and their income.

The report, which the Mandate NGO unveiled earlier on Friday, has
revealed that 20 of the 131 parliament members are USD millionaires,
with Samvel Alexanyan of the ruling Republican faction being the
second after Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia
party (PAP).

The findings are based on the declarations of income which the
parliament member submitted to the Central Election Commission ahead
of the parliamentary election last year. The list reveals that the
richest parliamentary faction is the PAP whose lawmakers (36 people)
declared a total of $98.1 million income in 2012.

The Republican comes the next. The members of the ruling political
faction appear to own a total of $35.7 million.

The third is the opposition Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashanksutyun. The small faction, composed only five
representatives, declared a total of $537.677 last year.

The Rule of Law faction is the fourth, with the total income of its
six lawmakers being equivalent to $234.565 as of 2012. The seven
members of the opposition Armenian National Congress declared a total
of $169,275 income in the same period.

The last is the opposition Heritage party faction. Its five parliament
members own a total income equivalent to $118.800.

Twenty lawmakers thus appear to be millionaires in US Dollars.

Four on the top five list are representatives of the PAP faction (Gagik
Tsarukyan, Vahan Karapetyan, Gurgen Arsenyan and Grigory Margaryan).

Twenty-one lawmakers have not declared any income at all. Of them, 12
are members of the Republican, and four – of the Prosperous Armenia
faction; three are affiliated with the Heritage faction and another
two – with the opposition Armenian National Congress.

From: A. Papazian

ACCELERATED SURRENDER OF STATEHOOD

The Armenian foreign ministry has issued a press release on the
meeting of the Armenian foreign minister and Commissioner Fule.

Nalbandyan said that Armenia wishes to develop close partnership
as much as it is appropriate for the EU and so that it would not
contradict Armenia’s membership to the Customs Union.

This press release is unique for its concreteness and precise wording.

Usually the MFA’s messages are deprived of concreteness. Moreover,
this time it also came in Russian translation.

There is information that texts on this issue are already written
in Moscow to fasten the MFA and not let it flee. According to the
same situation, the text of Serzh Sargsyan’s declaration to join the
Customs Union was also written in Moscow at the last moment.

Apparently, Russia accelerated and unlike the EU it is not willing to
negotiate for 3.5 years. Yesterday the “pack of wolves”, the Republican
Party unanimously approved Serzh Sargsyan’s decision. The RPA has a
sufficient majority in parliament to accelerate ratification.

Moscow may have fixed the date of ratification – November 29. This
day is symbolic. In 1920, on this day, the Red Army and the Armenian
fifth column destroyed the Armenian statehood. Besides, this day was
fixed for the initialing of the Association Agreement with the EU.

>From now on all the texts will be written in Moscow. Russians do
not fancy spending time or observing ethics, especially in the case
of Armenians.

15:44 06/09/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

From: A. Papazian

‘TSARUKIAN ALWAYS SPOKE WARMLY ABOUT ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS’

Friday,
September
06

Armenian Foreign Ministry officials conducting negotiations did not
present any information about the processes relating to the Customs
Union and the European Union so no one can say what will happen in the
National Assembly when a document about Armenia’s joining the Customs
Union is submitted there. Secretary of Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK)
parliamentary faction Ms. Naira Zohrabian expressed such an opinion
during a talk with the correspondent of Aysor.am.

“Only when the political forces receive information, comments can
be made about how parties, in particular BHK, will vote in the
parliament. When officials provide us with clear information (and
not assumptions, forecasts or good wishes) about those processes,
then we will state about our position,” Naira Zohrabian said.

She noted that when a political decision is made, when the Russian
president declares that Armenia made a political decision, the
parliamentary majority of the National Assembly will vote unanimously
for whatever is submitted to the NA.

“In this case, it was important that the matter be discussed with
political forces before adoption of the political decision,” N.

Zohrabian said.

As regards the statements made by BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian about
Armenian-Russian relations, Naira Zohrabian said that Tsarukian has
always spoken warmly about relations with Russia, regardless of the
decision taken in Moscow on September 3.

TODAY, 15:40

Aysor.am

From: A. Papazian

TURKISH WRITERS BECOME POPULAR IN ARMENIAN ARTS AND CULTURE SCENE

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 6 2013

ISTANBUL – Hurriyet Daily News
by Vercihan Ziflioglu

With the current Translation and Publication Grant Program of Turkey
(TEDA) project, the Armenian translation of Turkish literary works
has become popular

Turkish literature is currently very popular in Armenia. Most of
the prestigious publishing houses and also the small bookstore at
famous Opera Square in Yerevan contain many books by Orhan Pamuk and
Elif Å~^afak.

Books by Turkish authors are published by the Antares publishing
house, with exclusive covers. Speaking to the Hurriyet Daily News,
Antares Publishing CEO and Chairman of Board Armen Martirosyan said
Pamuk and Å~^afak’s books had been translated into Armenian after an
agreement made with their Turkish publishers.

Martirosyan said they were supported by the Translation and Publication
Grant Program of Turkey (TEDA) project and their cooperation was
supported by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry.

The basis of TEDA is subvention granted for the translation and
printing of distinguished works by celebrated authors, as specified
in the Directions and Application form by the ministry.

The purpose of TEDA is to merge the Turkish cultural, artistic and
literary spirit with intellectual circles abroad, and to orient people
to the sources of Turkish culture, art and literature.

Martirosyan said there were other books that would be translated. This
doesn’t just involve Turkish works, he added, as Armenian works will
also be translated into Turkish.

He said both Pamuk and Å~^afak had been invited to Armenia as part
of the Yerevan 2012 World Book Capital project, but did not reply.

“We considered inviting them because we think cultural dialogue is
very important,” Martirosyan said.

He added that when someone deals with Armenians this person attracts
a lot of attention in the world, and this was particularly true as
Pamuk and Å~^afak touched on issues related to genocide.

About the TEDA project

With the translation support program launched by TEDA, Turkish writers
have spread their influence and fame across the world.

The support began in 2005 and started with 39 works. Among the authors
whose works have been translated, Orhan Pamuk, Orhan Kemal and Ahmet
Hamdi Tanpınar are the most read writers of Turkish literature.

According to TEDA, Turkish culture, arts and literature have
contributed to universal culture and science, notably through the
literary products that flowered in various geographies in different
languages and in different styles throughout history. Both the
effects of Anatolian, Mediterranean and Mesopotamian civilizations,
and the cultural interrelations established both with Eastern and
Western societies, have strongly influenced Turkey’s rich cultural,
artistic and literary heritage.

September/06/2013

From: A. Papazian