Author: Andres-Papazian

Cooperation of Armenia and Artsakh Armies Was Discussed

In the framework of cooperation of the armed forces of two Armenian
republics the RA Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan conducted a
meeting of the board adjunct to the RA Ministry of Defense in
Stepanakert on July 20.

In his opening remarks Minister Ohanyan stated that the military board
meeting in Stepanakert is exceptional in terms of not only the choice
of place but also sharing of experience and deepening cooperation
between the armed forces of the two Armenian republics. Seiran Ohanyan
briefed on the geopolitical and regional developments, emphasized the
need for reinforcement and continuous improvement of processes in the
defense system.

The meeting was addressed by the deputy chiefs of staff Haikaz
Baghmanyan and Levon Mnatsakanyan, commanders and deputies of army
corpses and formations, other officials who made presentations on the
state of combat capability and discipline in the armed forces,
achievements and shortcomings, as well as field training capacities
and the ways of their improvement.

During the board meeting the ordinance of the minister of defense was
published. Accordingly, several distinguished conscripts were awarded
with parchments, ministry medals and valuable gifts.

Closing the board meeting and summing up facts and conclusions voiced
in presentations and remarks, Minister Ohanyan underlined shortcomings
reported during the past six months and the need for their immediately
elimination, gave relevant instructions and recommendations. Seiran
Ohanyan emphasized the need for reinforcement of activities relating
to combat readiness, as well as corrects and targeted activities aimed
at preventing incidents, the MoD informs.

22:32 20/07/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

From: A. Papazian

HAUT KARABAGH
Découverte d’armes dans des villages près de Mardakert et Askéran

`458

A.Mnatsakanian, un habitant du village d’Aratchatsor près de Mardakert
(République du Haut Karabagh) a découvert une quantité importante
d’armes. Aussitôt alertés par la découverte, les services de déminages
se sont dirigés vers Aratchatsor pour découvrir et neutraliser un obus
de 120 mm, des balles de 30 mm utilisées par les blindés et 7 grenades
anti-char. Au village d’Asdghachén dans la région d’Askéran, un autre
habitant, A. Asryan découvrait également une quantité importante de
munitions et de bombe à fragmentation.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 21 juillet 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

THE POLICEMAN SEIZED THE PICTURE OF SERZH SARGSYAN AND CRUMPLED IT

July 19 2013

Today, at the acquittal request of ANC activitst, the traditional
piquet of congressmen was hot and active. During the action in front
of the Prosecutor’s Office, when participants were holding the posters
saying “Sargis, we are with you”, “Liberty to Tigran Arakelyan” and
other writings, all of a sudden one of the police officers decided
to do a favor to President Serzh Sargsyan. He suddenly seized the
poster with the portrait of Serzh Sargsyan, , crumpled in his hands
and ran away. This made the crowd angry, who began to chant, “Shame,
shame, Serzhik, leave”, “Struggle, struggle until the end of Serzh.”

According to the secretary of ANC faction Aram Manukyan, “People
like Vardanik, instead of being at the court, beat people. And they
are protected. They will be receiving posts. Still price rises,
these monopolies, as long as they are going to be with them, they are
thieves and the only solution will be you, the people. No-one else will
do. The policeman will always grovel, the policeman will always steal a
picture and a man. He will never stand next to justice and righteous,
next to the law. It is going to be. If there is a place that they
will force, it’s going to be us. Aren’t we better than Brazilians,
aren’t we better than Turks, aren’t we better than Kirgiz, aren’t
we better than Georgians. What has happened to us? Those who are
too strong with their money, and stubbornness, the more they are the
faster they will come to end, believe me. The strengthening of this
monopoly, the establishment of an authoritarian regime, the creation
of this inhuman regime accelerates the beginning of their destruction,
making it closer.”

Hripsimeh JEBEJYAN

Read more at:

From: A. Papazian

CHORRORD INKNISHKHANUTYUN: SYUNIK’S NEW GOVERNOR LEAVES SPEECHLESS AFTER FIRST REGIONAL COUNCIL MEETING

10:21 20/07/2013 ” DAILY PRESS

The first meeting of regional council took place at Syunik regional
administration on July 18, presided over by Syunik’s new governor
Vahe Hakobyan, Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun reports.

Sisian mayor, member of Prosperous Armenia Aghasi Hakobjanyan reminded
the newly appointed governor that he has many duties in the province,
including those concerning drinking and irrigation water.

The paper’s sources say that not yet completely familiarized with
his duties, Hakobyan did not oppose Sisian mayor who was pointing
out his duties, but left without saying a word.

Source: Panorama.am

From: A. Papazian

LA PRODUCTION INDUSTRIELLE AU HAUT-KARABAGH AU PREMIER TRIMESTRE EST EN SURTENSION

KARABAGH

La production industrielle dans la Republique du Haut-Karabagh (NKR)
entre janvier et mars 2013 s’elevait en prix courants a environ 9,6
milliards de drams, selon le Service national des statistiques de la
RHK. Ce chiffre represente une hausse de 97,2 pour cent par rapport
a l’annee precedente.

L’industrie minière representait 24,2% de la production totale, le
secteur de la transformation 38,2% et la production et distribution
d’electricite, de gaz et d’eau pour 37,6%.

Entre janvier et mars 2013 la production de biens de consommation a
atteint environ 2,6 milliards de drams, en hausse de 15% par rapport
a la meme periode de 2012. Les ventes de produits industriels finis au
cours du premier trimestre de cette annee s’elèvaient a 9,7 milliards
de drams en prix courants.

samedi 20 juillet 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

SYRIA ARMY GAINS CONTROL OVER ALEPPO’S AL-RASHEDIN DISTRICT

Foreign-backed militants run for shelter during clashes with Syrian
Army forces in the northern city of Aleppo. (File photo)

Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:32PM GMT

LAST UPDATE
The Syrian Army has gained full control over al-Rashedin District
in the northern city of Aleppo following fresh advances in the
strategic city.

Syrian soldiers seized al-Rashedin on Friday after fierce fighting with
foreign-backed Takfiri militants across Aleppo, where they destroyed
a hideout used by militants for rigging vehicles with explosives.

Army units killed a large number of terrorists near al-Ashrafieh,
al-Sheikh Maksoud and al-Khalidieh districts and destroyed large
caches of weapons and ammunitions used by the militants.

Elsewhere, Syrian troops targeted several militant headquarters in
the western city of Homs and the southwestern city of Dara’a, just
north of the border with Jordan, killing and wounding a number of them.

Meanwhile, a commander of the notorious al-Nusra Front was killed
during infighting between terrorist gangs in Barzeh, near the Syrian
capital.

Fierce clashes continue between Kurdish fighters and Takfiri militants
who accuse most Islamic sects of being infidels.

The fighting is mostly focused on towns and villages near the
flashpoint town of Ras al-Ayn, which was recently seized by Kurdish
fighters.

More than 40 people have been killed since the clashes erupted
on Tuesday.

Syria has been experiencing deadly unrest since 2011. Many people
including large numbers of security and army personnel have been
killed in the violence, which has forced millions of others to flee
their homes.

Damascus says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country,
and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are
foreign nationals.

The Syrian government says the West and its regional allies —
especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the
militants.

MRS/SS

From: A. Papazian

IRAN, TURKEY & HOLOCAUST DENIAL

The Jewish Week
July 19 2013

07/19/2013 – 09:26
Douglas Bloomfield

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has described Holocaust denial as one of the
proudest achievements of his eight years as president of Iran. That’s
because he was willing to “bring up…a taboo topic that no one in
the West allowed to be heard,” he told Fars News Agency, and which,
he boasted, brought him worldwide popularity.

With Ahmadinejad leaving office August 3, the man most likely
to succeed him as the most outspoken anti-Semitic world leader is
Turkey’s volatile prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. There may be
competition for the title, but so far he’s the frontrunner.

Erdogan is also a Holocaust denier, but of another stripe – this
one involving the genocide of the Armenians nearly a century ago by
the Turks.

The Ottoman government’s systematic extermination of the Armenian
minority – complete with extermination camps and the deportation of
women, children, the elderly and infirm on death marches — killed
between 600,000 and 1.8 million and drove many more out of their
historic homeland.

“[O]ther minority groups were similarly targeted for extermination
by the Ottoman government, and their treatment is considered by
many historians to be part of the same genocidal policy,” according
to Wikipedia. “The word ‘genocide’ was coined in order to describe
these events.”

When Armenian-Americans would periodically try to get the Congress to
pass resolutions commemorating the genocide, the Turkish government
would swing into action not only with denials but with threats. Many
of those threats over the years have been aimed at Turkish Jews
and the Israeli government. Sympathetic Jewish members of Congress
consistently sponsor the resolutions, which are often introduced by
lawmakers with large Armenian-American constituencies.

Whenever a resolution started picking up sponsors, the Turks would
send in their designated hitters. A favorite tactic was to pressure
the Israeli government to make the Jewish sponsors back off lest there
be repercussions for Israeli-Turkish relations. During the years I
was the legislative director at the American-Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC), every time an Armenian genocide resolution was
introduced on Capitol Hill I would get at least two phone calls.

The first was from a prominent Jewish lawyer in Washington on the
Turkish payroll warning of the dire consequences for Israel and Turkish
Jewry should the legislation, which was merely commemorative and had
no legal implications, pass. The second was from a senior Israeli
diplomat at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. Unlike the lawyer,
he was almost apologetic, as he explained the hypersensitivity of
the Turks and the threats they were making to relations between the
two countries.

I assume the Turks, their lawyer and the Israelis took the same message
to the Hill because the resolutions never went anywhere. More recently
when Turkish-Israeli relations plunged, there was talk of reviving
the Armenian genocide resolutions but that was apparently dropped
over concern that it would only make a bad situation worse.

In Ahmadinejad and Erdogan’s shared hatred of Jews and Israel is
their enthusiastic embrace of two notorious anti-Israeli terrorist
organizations: Ahmadinejad especially prefers Hizbollah and Erdogan
is a fervent backer of Hamas. Iran has supplied weapons, funds and
training for both.

Another shared trait: Erdogan has called Zionism a crime against
humanity, accused Israel of killing “hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians” and compared Zionism to Naziism.

For more about Erdogan’s attitudes toward Israel and Jews, read my
Washington Watch column, “Is Erdogan the new Ahmadinejad.”

From: A. Papazian

MOSCOW WORRIED ABOUT ARMENIAN OUTCRY

Armenialiberty.org
July 19 2013

Emil Danielyan
19.07.2013

Russia’s government signaled concerns on Friday about the possible
impact on Russian-Armenian relations of an uproar in Yerevan sparked
by the controversial treatment of an Armenian man prosecuted for a
deadly traffic accident near Moscow.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin met the Armenian
ambassador in Moscow, Oleg Yesayan, to discuss the fallout from last
week’s collision of a heavy truck and a public bus that left 18 people
dead and more than 30 others wounded.

The truck was driven by, Hrachya Harutiunian, an Armenian migrant
worker. He was arrested and charged with causing multiple deaths
through violating traffic rules.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Yesayan offered “sincere
condolences” in connection with the bus crash at the meeting. “It
was confirmed from the Russian side that there will be a thorough and
objective investigation into that case, which will certainly respect
the legal rights of the accused,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Mutual concerns were expressed regarding ongoing undignified attempts
to exploit that tragedy for inflaming sentiments running counter
to the spirit of Russian-Armenian friendship,” the statement added
without giving further details.

It was a clear reference to the furious reaction in Armenia to
what many people there see as Harutiunian’s degrading treatment by
Russian law-enforcement bodies and a xenophobic coverage of the case
by the Russian media. A visibly shocked Harutiunian was made to wear
a woman’s hospital robe when he appeared before a Moscow court on
Monday. Russian state television emphasized his nationality in its
reports on the tragedy.

The driver’s wretched appearance led to a barrage of criticism from
Armenian state officials, opposition and civic figures and especially
the media. Some media commentators accused the Russian government of
deliberately humiliating the Armenian citizen.

The Russian TV images also triggered angry protests outside
the Russian Embassy in Yerevan. The embassy on Wednesday accused
“certain individuals” of exploiting the affair to whip up anti-Russian
sentiment in Armenia. It insisted that the fatal crash had “no ethnic
implications” but stopped short of criticizing Harutiunian’s televised
treatment.

Switzerland — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin
answers questions after a press conference after the ninth session
of the Caucasus talks to settle the Russia-Georgia conflict at the
European headquarters of the UN in Geneva,Switzerland — Russian
Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin answers questions after a
press conference after the ninth session of the Caucasus talks to
settle the Russia-Georgia conflict at the European headquarters of
the UN in Geneva,

Switzerland — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin
answers questions after a press conference after the ninth session
of the Caucasus talks to settle the Russia-Georgia conflict at the
European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, According to a spokesman
for the Armenian Embassy in Moscow, Russian officials have assured
embassy officials that their handling of the arrested suspect was an
unintentional “result of haste.”

However, a report in the “Moskovsky Komsomolets” daily on Friday
suggests that the Moscow police are unrepentant about their actions.

Citing unnamed police sources, the paper said the Russian investigators
consider the scandal the result of a “ploy” by Harutiunian’s
lawyers. It said they think that the lawyers “might have deliberately
not brought him new clothes so that he appears before the court in
a miserable way that will cause pity.”

One of the lawyers, Aleksandr Meltsev, said on Thursday that the
defense team would have promptly provided Harutiunian with appropriate
attire in hospital if it had been asked to. “We would have brought
him new clothes in half an hour,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.

Meanwhile, Armenia’s state human rights ombudsman, Karen Andreasian,
announced that he will travel to Moscow on Sunday to meet with the
arrested driver, his lawyers and “a number of officials dealing with
the matter.” Earlier this week, Andreasian condemned Harutiunian’s
ill-treatment and asked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Lukin,
to help ensure the due process of law in the investigation.

Russia already faced unusually strong criticism in Armenia after
it emerged last month that it has begun delivering $1 billion worth
of offensive weapons to Azerbaijan. The Armenian media, opposition
politicians and pundits accused Moscow of betraying its sole regional
ally. Top Russian security officials dismissed these accusations
when they visited Yerevan later in June. The Armenian government,
for its part, refrained from publicly deploring the Russian arms
supplies to Baku.

Russia’s traditionally close relationship with Armenia is further
called into question by signs that Moscow is unhappy with Yerevan’s
reluctance to join a Russian-led Eurasian Union of ex-Soviet states
and its plans to sign an “association agreement” with the European
Union. Vyacheslav Kovalenko, until recently Russia’s ambassador to
Armenia, warned of serious damage to bilateral ties earlier this
month. Konstantin Zatulin, a prominent Russian pundit and former
parliamentarian close to the Kremlin, likewise criticized “the
disdainful attitude to the Eurasian integration project in Armenia”
on July 16.

Still, Sergey Markedonov, a respected Russian analyst, downplayed the
significance of these developments. In an interview with the Yerevan
daily “Haykakan Zhamanak” published on Thursday, Markedonov blamed
the “very inadequate behavior” of the Armenian and Russian media for
the fallout from the Moscow bus crash. “I don’t think that it will
somehow affect Russian-Armenian relations,” he said.

Markedonov, who is a visiting fellow at the Washington-based Center for
Strategic and International Studies, also argued that neither President
Vladimir Putin nor any other Russian leader has publicly disapproved
of Armenia’s European integration drive. “Russia needs Armenia,
and Armenia needs Russia,” he said. “The two have mutual interests.”

From: A. Papazian

SITRONICS TO HELP OPEN FIRST FREE ECONOMIC ZONE IN ARMENIA; $10 MLN INVESTED

Interfax, Russia
July 18, 2013 Thursday

Yerevan

The first free economic zone in Armenia will be launched on August 1,
2013, Economy Minister Vagram Ananesyan said at a government session
on Thursday.

The free economic zone is being created on the basis of the Yerevan
mathematical machines scientific research institute (YerNIIMM) and
CJSC RAO Mars. Sitronics Armenia, a subsidiary of Russian Sitronics
(RTS; SITR), the designated organizer of the zone, has already invested
$10 million in the project.

The economic zone will host companies in the electronics, precision
engineering, pharmaceuticals, biotech, IT, alternative energy and
telecommunications sectors.

The Armenian government approved formation of the zone on February 2,
2012, which was also when Sitronics Armenia was selected as organizer.

Sitronics, a Sistema (RTS: AFKS) company, formed Sitronics Armenia
in September 2009. Ownership of the Mars and YerNIIMM concerns was
transferred to Russia in 2003 in a debt settlement deal.

Jh ak

From: A. Papazian

REFUGEE STORY: HOW MY FAMILY MADE IT

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (AUSTRALIA)
July 19, 2013 Friday
First Edition

With cash hidden in a chicken, my family became refugees

by Charlotte Akopian

What does a refugee look like? I believe there is a distinct image
people have in their minds which is generally unjustified. I would
never have guessed that my father was a refugee. To me he is your
average (ethnic) Joe Blow. Does this mean all refugees are tall,
tanned with dark hair and dark eyes? That’s the stereotype, isn’t it?

The Oxford Dictionary states that a refugee is “a person who has been
forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution
or natural disaster”. To me, a refugee is a person who is courageous
enough to leave their old life for a chance to be free in a new one.

My paternal family are Christian Armenians who were living in
a Muslim country. My father’s sole intent to escape was fear of
religious persecution, as Christians were no longer welcome. His
family escaped from Iran for the chance to succeed in a new life in
Australia, a welcoming multicultural society. I couldn’t imagine
leaving my life in Australia behind. Luckily for me, and for you,
we live in a society where we are able to voice our own opinion,
to vote for who we want, to follow our own religion. For my father,
and for many, this wasn’t the case.

At the age of 16, my father, Ara, fled Iran with his younger brother
Aris and mother Eliz. His eldest brother was studying in London and
was told not to return to Iran but to meet his father in Australia;
they would soon all reunite. That was the plan. What my grandmother,
father and uncle did not plan on was becoming refugees in Thailand.

It began a day like any other. Ara and Aris had their breakfast of
yoghurt and honey before walking to school with their grandmother.

Halfway there they heard a piercing, loud sound. Planes began to
flood the sky, lower and lower until a bomb fell. They waited for the
planes to pass before running home, fearing death all the way. Ara
and Aris were told to pack small bags. The adults spoke of how Iran
was not ready for the Iraqi attack and how they must flee. The boys
moved to their holiday house, which was close to the Iraqi border,
without their grandmother.

The following week, Ara and Aris were woken at 3am by their mother who
took a shirt and a pair of pants each inside a backpack with a canteen
to share, and a chicken. The cooked chicken was stuffed with family
jewels and $US6000. Nobody would ever think to search the chicken.

They were to drive across the border that night. They met neighbours at
a park down the road where they dressed Eliz in a burqa to disguise her
as the neighbour’s second wife. Ara and Aris were to take a different
route across the border. For four hours they were passengers of two
“tour guides” on motorbikes. When the trails ended they were given a
machete to cut their way through. This is the only way to travel from
Iran to Pakistan avoiding border control. They camped for two nights
and continued walking for three days until they were reunited with
their mother in a secluded village in Pakistan, where were offered
India or Thailand as places to seek refuge.

They flew to Thailand, giving $US50,000 to their guides as promised.

They went to apply for a tourist visa for Australia, believing it
was as simple as one form and a maximum three-week wait. However,
they were given no choice but to opt for refugee status and apply
for permanent residency. They may be in Thailand for a while.

As the chicken money began to deplete, the boys were forced to find
jobs. Ara and Aris became guides for Iranian tourists. After six
months, they moved into their own apartment.

After three years in Thailand, and listening to their mother cry
herself to sleep every night, they finally received their letter of
acceptance from the Australian embassy.

The organisation Council of Churches loaned enough money for three
plane tickets to Australia and a bit extra to start a new life. It was
tough adjusting to life in Australia, especially because they found
it difficult to find jobs and live as affluently as they had in Iran.

My dad paid $100 every month until the loan was paid off.

I discovered this information due to a school project, and will use it
to educate people about the experiences of refugees. I believe I am
an activist; I support the rights for refugees coming to Australia,
because if it were without the generous “open door” policy that
Australia has, I would not be standing here today.

By denying refugee status and the right to asylum for the boat arrivals
to Australia, we are violating the United Nations Human Rights code.

Charlotte Akopian is a year 11 student. This is her speech to the
University of Western Sydney 4D national conference.

From: A. Papazian