Author: Andres-Papazian

NATIONAL ARCHIVES TO CLARIFY AMOUNT OF MATERIAL LOSS OF THE PEOPLE DURING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

13:09, 18 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 18, ARMENPRESS. The National Archives of Armenia
plan to hold a number of events advancing the 100th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide. As reports “Armenpress” the Director
of the National Archives Amatuni Virabyan stated that they are
going to create an electronic data base of the Armenian Genocide
victims. The Archives have already recorded over 10 thousand names,
but the total number considerably will reach 150-200 thousand. Also
the National Archives plan to clarify the amount of material loss of
the people during the Armenian Genocide. There are 29,000 documents
with corresponding information. Among other things Amatuni Virabyan
noted: “Notwithstanding we should not focus only on 2015. We should
work every day.”

From: A. Papazian

Armenian publishers participate in World Book Fair in UK

April 17, 2013 | 14:32

The World Book Fair officially opened in London on Monday, and
several publishers from Armenia and the Armenian diaspora likewise
are participating at the event.

The Armenian stand also officially opened on the same day, during
which Ara Margaryan, Armenia’s Charge d’Affaires in London, delivered
remarks.

The World Book Fair will be open until Wednesday.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: A. Papazian

PAPERS WILL NOT HELP OR SCANDALOUS PRECEDENT

The police made an interesting statement on Nerses Nazaryan’s
dismissal. It becomes known from this statement that the high-ranking
police official was dismissed because he ran businesses which affected
negatively the state of law enforcement, his own performance and the
performance of the garrison of Yerevan.

Once Nerses Nazaryan confessed publicly that the owner of the
Moskvichka chain of grocery stores is his son. Nazaryan is also known
to have a building material business.

However, as the chief of police Vova Gasparyan told Lragir.am
yesterday, no business is registered in the general’s name. His family
members may have businesses but it is their business, and they have
the right from the Constitution, he said.

In other words, as Serzh Sargsyan had told in answer to a reporter’s
question on Republican MPs who run businesses, everything is fine with
their papers. But in fact, papers did not save Nazaryan. Although,
interestingly, everything was fine with papers on the eve but today the
police opposes Nerses Nazaryan’s papers with a paper. The police stated
against serving at the police and running businesses at the same time.

This is a strange but interesting precedent. It is interesting because
“papers” can be used for something else.

By the way, interestingly, along with the statement of the police
a new civic action made a statement listing corrupt officials and
demanding their dismissal.

It will be at least strange if it is a matter of principle for the
police to be against officials who run businesses, whereas for the
public administration it is not. Now hardly anyone in this system
has more powerful papers than those of Nersik Nazaryan.

It is not important whether Nazaryan was dismissed for running
businesses or because the police used this opportunity to prevent
a bigger scandal. The precedent is important, especially the one
supported by an official statement because so far no official has
been dismissed for running a business or even on an excuse covering
up the real reason.

Ostensibly, Nerses Nazaryan should not be the only one, either in
the police or in the public administration in general. In addition,
the Constitution prohibits officials to run a business, which supposes
responsibility.

Nazaryan’s example shows that “papers” are not a hindrance. In
addition, no paper can be stronger than the Constitution.

Hakob Badalyan 17:25 17/04/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

From: A. Papazian

PROFESSOR MAHE: “ARMENIANS NEED TO SYNTHESIZE THE TRADITIONAL WITH THE MODERN”
Liana Sayadyan

15:01, April 18, 2013
Professor Jean-Pierre Mahe was on hand yesterday at the French Embassy
in Yerevan to present his new work, Histoire de l’Armenie.

He co-wrote the book with his wife Annie Mahe.

Professor Mahe, a French Orientalist, philologist and historian of the
Caucasus, specializing in Armenian studies, is in Armenia to attend
ceremonies concluding the celebration of Yerevan as the International
Book Capital.

“Armenia is a country at the crossroads of the great civilizations
of the Middle East and Indian Ocean. To understand the reality
of this country, whose boundaries have been so different, to show
the continuity of its culture that has been nourished from foreign
influences, to present this nation’s personality that is to be found
in the four corners of the world, these were the challenges of the
book,” noted Professor Mahe.

Professor Mahe first visited Armenia in 1975 to do research on
his thesis and spent two years sifting through the archives of the
Matenadaran. He’s been coming back ever since.

“If Mashtots could have seen the Armenia of today, he wouldn’t be
disappointed,” says the professor. “On the contrary, I can just
imagine his pride when he saw the Matenadaran.

Professor Mahe said that Armenian studies continue to be of interest
to foreigners and that Armenian studies departments exist in most of
the larger universities in Europe.

“Armenia is the door to the history of world civilization. It’s
impossible to study the civilization of any country or nation without
referring to Armenian sources,” the historian noted.

Those attending the book launching asked Professor Mahe how Armenians
could best preserve their identity in the current era of globalization.

“I believe that Armenians must follow the Japanese model of
synthesizing the traditional with the modern. Armenia should not
follow the example of Eurtopean countries where the link between the
individual and families is broken. In the case of Armenia, this won’t
work,” argued Professor Mahe.

From: A. Papazian

ISSUE OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION WILL NEVER BE RAISED IN THE GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT
Gita Elibekyan

“Radiolur”
15:22 18.04.2013

The Armenian Genocide issue will never be raised in the Georgian
Parliament, representatives of the current and former authorities
of Georgia have declared in response to the appeal of the Armenian
organizations to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Representative of the Parliamentary majority, member of the Republican
Party Levan Berdzenishvili said: “Georgia and the Georgian nation will
never left room for reprimand. Even when those events were taking
place, we were behaving like a good neighbour and a decent nation
would behave. We gave shelter to Armenians, thus expressing our
attitude. From the political point of view demanding more is unfair.”

The MP said the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is unlikely and
added he does not know any Georgian party that would ever do that.

“We respect all that happened, we share the pain of our neighbouring
nation, and April 24 is as painful a day to me as it is to any
Armenian. However, I believe the issue of recognition of the Armenian
Genocide will not be raised either today or any time in the future.

This demand is unfair, as its realization is impossible,” he said.

Representative of the parliamentary minority Shota Malashkhia said this
issue between Armenia and Turkey should be solved through dialogue,
noting, at the same time, that “today Georgia does not have enough
weight to prove the issue.”

“We also have a number of problems, half a million refugees and
others, and if some day we have the weight and influence in the
region to consider issues of 1915, and if I’m alive by that time,
we’ll continue the discussions on the issue,” he stated.

From: A. Papazian

LOS ANGELES TIMES REFERRED TO MATTHEW KARANIAN AND HIS “ARMENIA AND KARABAKH” GUIDEBOOK

15:05, 18 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 18, ARMENPRESS: The Los Angeles Times, a leading
source of news on Southern California, has published an article
about Matthew Karanian and his self-published guidebook, “Armenia
and Karabakh.” As reports Armenpress “Armenia and Karabakh” has just
gone into a third edition. It’s based on more than a dozen visits to
the country, including a residency from 2002 to 2006. The photographs
are by Karanian and Robert Kurkjian. On his first visit to Armenia,
Karanian recalls, the capital, Yerevan, was without electricity for
most of every day. But the rugged beauty and depth of culture, he said,
“just turned my life upside down,” yielding a stronger sense of ethnic
identity and uncovering lost family history.

Now Karanian lives and practices law in Pasadena but makes yearly
visits to the old country. Every year, he says, he sees better roads,
more motorists willing to stop for pedestrians and more global brands,
though no McDonald’s yet.

In a two-part interview in early April (first in person and then
online), Karanian took on 10 questions.

How many Americans visited Armenia last year?

Not enough. That’s why I published the book. There were about 850,000
tourist visas issued for Armenia in 2012. More than half, maybe up
to 70%, were issued to Diasporan Armenians. And for the past several
years, roughly 15% of all tourist visas were issued to Americans.

What will I find on the sidewalks in the center of Yerevan?

There are so many sidewalk cafes in central Yerevan, sometimes it
seems you can’t go for a walk without falling into one. But it’s a
seasonal thing. In the winter the only thing on the sidewalk is snow.

From: A. Papazian

HAYPOST LAUNCHES NEW CALL CENTER

Haypost has launched its new Call Center intending to increase the
level of the service and customer interactions at all levels.

The Call center is equipped with the latest technologies which allow
handling multiple calls simultaneously. Interactive Voice Response
(IVR) integration ensures distribution of calls by divisions.

Additionally, call recording enables monitoring the quality of the
service.

For that purpose, Haypost has increased the number of the Call Center
staff which was trained to meet the high-quality service requirements.

Adopting customer service professional approach and customer-driven
quality Haypost Trust Management makes one step further on the path of
modernizing and transforming the Armenian national postal operator
into one of the leaders in the sector.

“Haypost” CJSC

“Haypost Trust Management” B.V.

13:34 18/04/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

From: A. Papazian

IS THE DISMISSAL OF THE YEREVAN POLICE CHIEF RELATED TO THE EVENTS OF APRIL 9?

April 17 2013

One day ago, Nerses Nazaryan, Yerevan’s chief of police, was dismissed
and Colonel Ashot Karapetyan, the head of the Police General Department
of Criminal Investigation, was appointed to the office instead of
him. The press interpreted the dismissal of the Yerevan police chief
as being related to the events of April 9 and stated that N. Nazaryan
had wanted to take radical steps, because of which Chief of Police
Vova Gasparyan had stood by Raffi Hovhannisyan. As if the dismissal of
the Yerevan police chief was the beginning of reforms in the police
system. However, found out during a conversation with
human rights advocates that there was no such intention and that
version was groundless. Human rights advocate Artak Zeynalyan said in
this regard: “It is absolutely inessential what versions there are,
whether they correspond to the reality or not. It is important what
the real reason for the dismissal is, whether it is a punishment, what
it is. However, nothing like that has been stated, so what is formally
stated is the reality. His dismissal has nothing to do with the events
of April 9. The reason for the dismissal is not clear to me. If it had
been related to those events, there would have been an investigation,
a decision, by which he would have been held accountable. However,
there is no such thing; therefore, no one has been held accountable
for the events of April 9. And the procedure that exists in the police
doesn’t prevent the same attitude and actions in the future in any
way; that is why there should be a criminal investigation.” As to
the assumptions that it had been no accident that Vova Gasparyan had
stood by Raffi Hovhannisyan and that N. Nazaryan had been inclined
to take radical steps, Mr. Zeynalyan said: “Those are rumors or just
speculation.” Vardan Harutyunyan, a human rights advocate and the
manager of the Rights and Freedom Center, doesn’t link N. Nazaryan’s
dismissal with April 9 either. He added: “I don’t have information as
to who is replaced for what. I don’t think that any police official
can take actions on his own. All their actions, plans are elaborated
at 26 Baghramyan Street, and the police just carry them out. They are
all guided by one plan. As to whom they dismiss, it is their own back
room, their explanations and struggles; frankly speaking, I don’t even
want to go into it.” Let us mention that after our conversation with
human rights advocates, the police released a statement, which stated
regarding Nerses Nazaryan’s dismissal: “It is just good business and
is fully in line with the logic of reforms and personnel policy of
the police. It is important for the police to rule out the combination
of service and entrepreneurship, as it were, the merger with certain
social strata, which is unavoidable in case of working in one place
for a long time and has a negative impact on the operational situation
and results of official activities. In this case, our research shows
that the efficiency of the Yerevan city garrison’s work has reduced,
which is unacceptable; one should take immediate measures to fix the
situation.” Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN DRIED FRUIT PRODUCERS TO IMPROVE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

12:05, April 18, 2013

The USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness
(EDMC) Project and the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development
National Center (SME DNC) held a presentation for over 70 Armenian
dried fruit producers on April 18, 2013. Organized within the framework
of the ‘Support to Dried Fruit Production’ initiative by SME DNC and
the EDMC Project, the presentation focused on modern technologies and
quality standards in dried fruit and vegetable production. It brought
together dried fruit producers from Yerevan, Ararat, Armavir, Kotayk,
Syunik, and Tavush, as well as representatives of SME DNC, CARD,
World Vision Armenia, and other members of the Agricultural Alliance.

“Dried fruit and vegetable production in Armenia has great potential
for increased sales and exports, given that producers commit to
enhancing post-harvest processing practices and match the products’
quality with international standards,” noted Executive Director of
SME DNC Varazdat Karapetyan in his opening remarks. “On our side,
SME DNC and its local and international partners are committed to
supporting Armenian dried fruit producers to advance this sub-sector
in the coming years to become export-ready.”

Prior to the presentation, from March 12 to April 18, EDMC and
SME DNC worked together to address a number of issues related to
dried fruit production. Together with SME DNC specialists, EDMC
International Consultant Ruggero Malossi, with his over 25 years of
experience in the field of the production, processing, and packaging
of food and beverages, worked to pre-qualify local producers for the
adoption of international quality standards, trained 17 dried fruit
specialists as trainers, developed business and technology models,
as well as a set of prerequisites and standards to market access
with practical recommendations, compiled a manual on dried fruit
production, and delivered recommendations on the establishment of a
fruit-drying knowledge center. The event concluded with a certificate
award ceremony for the participants of the Training of Trainers,
who plan to deliver their newly acquired knowledge and skills to a
wider number of dried fruit producers throughout Armenia.

As part of the larger initiative to support Armenian dried fruit
producers, the parties plan to finalize and disseminate the manual,
as well as to collaborate on the establishment of the knowledge center.

In addition, trained producers will qualify to apply for SME loans at
SME DNC for the amount of up to 5mln Armenian drams with a 10 percent
annual interest rate.

From: A. Papazian

WASHINGTON DEMENT UN VOYAGE DE HAGEL EN TURQUIE EN AVRIL

Le Pentagone a dementi que le secretaire americain a la Defense,
Chuck Hagel, effectuerait fin avril une visite en Turquie, comme
l’avait affirme auparavant un responsable turc.

“Meme si le secretaire Hagel entend se rendre en Turquie, un allie
important des Etats-Unis, dès qu’une date pourra etre trouvee,
il n’envisage pas d’y aller ce mois-ci”, a dit George Little,
porte-parole du Pentagone.

Chuck Hagel doit se rendre en Israël du 21 au 23 avril pour evoquer
les questions regionales – notamment le conflit en Syrie. Selon un
responsable turc, il devrait egalement aborder au cours de cette visite
dans l’Etat hebreu la cooperation militaire entre la Turquie et Israël.

Les relations israelo-turques ont subi un net refroidissement après
la mort en mai 2010 de neuf militants turcs tues en Mediterranee par
les forces israeliennes a bord d’un navire qui tentait de briser le
blocus de la bande de Gaza.

jeudi 18 avril 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian