Military Expert: Baku Resorts To Blackmail

MILITARY EXPERT: BAKU RESORTS TO BLACKMAIL

Panorama.am
03/10/2012

Baku will not permit “illegal operation” of Artsakh airport – this
is what Azerbaijani Turan news agency concluded from the statement
of Azerbaijani Defense Minister Eldar Sabiroglu.

Panorama.am has interviewed military expert Gagik Karapetyan on
the topic.

Asked what could be viewed as “illegal operation,” the expert said,
“Artsakh airport has received an official license, which testifies
to two things: first, the airport meets international standards and
second, it has the right to begin to receive and send planes. From
this point of view, referring to international norms is absolutely
unintelligible.”

NKR Defense Army keeps the situation under control, the expert said,
and Azerbaijan cannot damage Stepanakert airport, “let alone passenger
planes.”

“Azerbaijan’s useless and unintelligible steps will only work against
Azerbaijan itself. No aggression against Artsakh will go unpunished,”
Karapetyan noted, adding that Baku’s threats contain “elements of
blackmail.”

From: A. Papazian

German Ambassador To Carefully Follow Armenia’s Former Fm Case

GERMAN AMBASSADOR TO CAREFULLY FOLLOW ARMENIA’S FORMER FM CASE

news.am
October 03, 2012 | 13:39

YEREVAN. – Germany’s newly-appointed Ambassador to Armenia, Reiner
Morell, intends to carefully follow the case concerning The Civilitas
Foundation founder, former FM, and Prosperous Armenia Party MP Vartan
Oskanian. The Ambassador himself stated this during a press conference
on Wednesday.

The diplomat noted that he is informed of this case and that the
Prosecutor General’s Office must find out whether or not Oskanian
had made a mistake. But at the same he recalled the principle of
“presumption of innocence.” “Vartan Oskanian must be able to present
his arguments and explanations,” the Ambassador noted.

Morell also noted that the ensuing reaction is definitely linked with
the person of Oskanian, since he still is “an important person within
the society.”

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, the National Assembly on
Tuesday voted-by 64 ballots for, six against, and with one invalid
vote-in favor of Prosecutor General’s petition to include Vartan
Oskanian as a defendant in a criminal lawsuit. A total of 71 MPs
participated in the voting.

To note, on May 25 the National Security Service (NSS) Department of
Investigation filed a criminal lawsuit on charges of money laundering
with respect to The Civilitas Foundation.

The NSS Press Center had informed that an investigation is underway
in connection with selling the 100-percent shares of the Huntsman
Building Products Company for around $2 million, but not informing
Armenia’s tax authorities about this business deal; not using for
charitable purposes $1,135,000 of that amount envisioned for charity;
transferring this amount to the bank accounts opened under the names
of the Civilitas Foundation’s founder Vartan Oskanian, and of the
Foundation’s Board of Trustees member Tigran Karapetyan; and using
some of this amount for private purposes.

In addition, as per the NSS Press Center, The Civilitas Foundation
had not presented a report on the $2 million allocated for charitable
purposes. In his turn, Vartan Oskanian considers the charges to be
politically motivated.

The Civilitas Foundation was founded in 2008 by Vartan Oskanian. After
joining Prosperous Armenia Party ahead of the May 6 parliamentary
elections, however, Oskanian gave up his post as the Foundation
Chairman.

From: A. Papazian

Premier Sargsyan Learns On Corruption Cases In The Sphere Of Social

PREMIER SARGSYAN LEARNS ON CORRUPTION CASES IN THE SPHERE OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS

Society | 03.10.12 | 14:08

Another scandal seems to be brewing in the social affairs sphere,
with the Armenian prime- minister calling a special meeting at the
ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to address “the terrible facts
that exist in the sphere of issuing a disability status.”

As Armenian PM Tigran Sargsyan said that Service of Control at the
prime- minister’s office has revealed the “awful facts”- in particular,
that annually, some 65,000-70,000 people in Armenia who undergo a
medical-social examination, are asked for money for providing the
disability status.

“I wonder how you did not know about what is going on. Why did you
keep silence? Now, when a there is a fight against corruption, this
is discovered in the public services sector. I demand the immediate
dismissal of the head of the services and making personnel changes,”
the PM stressed.

The PM noted there is corruption everywhere in this sphere of social
affairs, and even though there are some exceptions, the exception
proves the rule.

From: A. Papazian

http://armenianow.com/society/40218/prime_minister_sargsyan_meeting_social_affairs

Djivan Gasparyan & Hossein Alizedeh, Barbican, London

DJIVAN GASPARYAN & HOSSEIN ALIZEDEH, BARBICAN, LONDON
By David Honigmann

FT

September 30, 2012 10:54 pm

The duduk, the double-reeded Armenian oboe, has become synonymous
with Djivan Gasparyan, who has played it for Stalin and Kennedy;
with Sting and Lionel Richie; and now, in his mid-eighties, at the
Barbican. Ten years ago, Gasparyan made a celebrated appearance in
Tehran with the Persian classical musician Hossein Alizâdeh, and it
was a coup for the Barbican to secure a repeat performance.

Alizâdeh won a standing ovation from the Iranian half of the audience
simply for walking on. Cross-legged on a carpet with his setar, he
played phrases and their own echoes, ornamenting his ornamentations
until the instrument sang stories within stories, all while Pejman
Hadidi tapped his fingertips on his tombak and flicked his nails as
if striking a match.

It was the kind of slow trance that could have lasted for 20 minutes or
three hours; it was nearly an hour before he yielded to Gasparyan, who
entered to his own ovation from his own countrymen. He led a quartet
of duduks, including one bass version that he had invented himself;
and also including his grandson, also named Djivan. At first, Gasparyan
senior played melancholy melodies over a slow drone from the others:
when the bass shifted down a third, the difference felt seismic. The
ratio of air to jig was about five to one, but at the end of a tune
the quartet would sometimes break into a polyphonic dance.

Gasparyan junior took some lead parts, with impossibly-fast trills
that sounded like a button accordion. At times, the quartet’s music
sighed like 1930s crooners; then the melodies sheered into dissonances
that sounded continents away from European music.

Following Alizâdeh’s lead, the quartet played a couple of songs
too many, so it was two hours into the concert before Armenians and
Iranians shared a stage. Alizâdeh bulked out his band with a fiddle
player and two women, one with a qanun, the other singing. The three
younger dudukahars joined him, first interposing solos and then (when
audible) weaving around the voice’s call-and-response with Alizâdeh’s
shurangiz and the qanun. ‘Torkaman’ had yelping vocals and a deep
drumbeat, while the duduks breathed clouds of unease. Gasparyan senior
returned, not to play but to sing with the timbre of the duduk. A
five-beat Armenian folk song gathered both halves of the audience in
applause from the first note.

From: A. Papazian

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/68580382-0977-11e2-a5a9-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz282GIE8Fn
www.barbican.org

"the Charges Against Oskanian May Be Dropped And Someone Else May Be

“THE CHARGES AGAINST OSKANIAN MAY BE DROPPED AND SOMEONE ELSE MAY BE CHARGED,” GALUST SAHAKYAN SAYS

October 1, 2012 22:03

“You know what, this is not a court, where one side accuses, the
other side defends or doesn’t defend itself. This is just the National
Assembly, which I think should decide whether it allows involving Mr.
Oskanian in the whole investigation process as an accused.

The rest is the business of the attorney’s office and the court. As
for all those arguments put forward by Mr. Oskanian, no one of
us has said that he accuses Mr. Oskanian. The application itself
doesn’t mention that. It mentions that there are accusations and an
investigation should be conducted,” Galust Sahakyan, the leader of
the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) parliamentary group said about
the application to withdraw Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) MP Vartan
Oskanian’s immunity during a conversation with today.

We asked to clarify whether he would personally vote in favor, he
replied, “It is a secret ballot, but I can tell you about the principle
– at the end of the day, one cannot leave that issue suspended. The
applicant says that you are guilty; the defendant says that he is not
guilty. The society doesn’t expect that. The accuser must be able
to completely substantiate his accusation and the accused should
try to say that he is actually honest. The charges against Oskanian
may be dropped at the end of the investigation and someone else may
be charged.”

In response to our observation that Vartan Oskanian was deeply
offended by this attitude of the government and our question whether
it was appropriate, Galust Sahakyan didn’t say anything. Instead,
he recalled the following, “By the way, let me say that those who
urge today not to withdraw the immunity have said for years that
the parliamentary immunity should be voided. Today proved it cannot
be voided.” In response to a question whether those who made fiery
speeches today might stand by Oskanian during the vote, he said,
“It doesn’t matter whether they will or will not stand. The matter
is that the Constitution rightfully provides for the MP’s immunity,
in order that there are no misunderstandings in such cases.”

Hripsime JEBEJYAN

From: A. Papazian

http://www.aravot.am/en/2012/10/01/115455/
www.aravot.am

Persecution Against Oskanian Started After Pap Refused To Join Coali

PERSECUTION AGAINST OSKANIAN STARTED AFTER PAP REFUSED TO JOIN COALITION, ANALYST SAYS

tert.am
03.10.12

Persecution against Armenia’s former foreign minister Vartan Oskanian
started after Prosperous Armenia party decided against forming
coalition with the ruling Republican party, political analyst Yervand
Bozoyan told the reporters on Wednesday.

“Such absurdity was not registered in Armenia for a long time. It is a
political issue and should not be discussed from legal point of view,”
he said.

The political analyst stressed that the authorities are trying to
withdraw Oskanian from the Prosperous Armenia party, but fail to do
it. Bozoyan said the time proves PAP being opposition party, unlike
claims of many.

“Oskanian’s fate depends on the behavior of the people. If we stay
passive, Oskanian may even be gunned down. If they have managed to
fabricate a case against Oskanian, they can do it with each of us,”
Bozoyan claimed.

The analyst expressed conviction that if persecutions against Oskanian
continue, the latter’s rating will go up.

“If the authorities want to make a presidential candidate of him,
I would say that Oskanian will have such a rating that he will bring
him big success,” the expert said.

To show that what happens is not a persecution against Oskanian,
the authorities may do the same against the Republican party members
which they have already started.

“It is a shame to accuse a minister who served 10 years of money
laundering. Instead of making use of the disgraceful fact of
glorification of Azerbaijani murderer Safarov, we showed that we are
a sloppy state,” Bozoyan said.

From: A. Papazian

New Scandal Brews In Armenia’s Social Security Sector

NEW SCANDAL BREWS IN ARMENIA’S SOCIAL SECURITY SECTOR

news.am
October 03, 2012 | 11:33

YEREVAN. – The Labor and Social Affairs Ministry’s consultation meeting
is concerning the terrible facts that exist in the domain of issuing
a disability status, Armenian PM Tigran Sargsyan stated during this
consultation on Wednesday.

In his words, the Prime Ministerial Service of Control has surfaced
awful facts, according to which 65,000-70,000 people in Armenia undergo
a medical-social examination every year, and money is demanded from
them for the issuance of a disability status.

“Now, when a there is a fight against corruption, this is discovered
in the public services sector. I [hereby] demand the immediate
dismissal of the head of the services and making personnel changes,”
the PM stressed.

Also, Tigran Sargsyan noted that there is corruption everywhere in
this domain and even though there are some exceptions, the exception
proves the rule.

From: A. Papazian

Karvachar Declaration

KARVACHAR DECLARATION

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 12:08:46 – 03/10/2012

In recent years, discussions have been taking place in the liberated
town of Karvachar by numerous people who pursue the development of
the Armenian statehood, resulting in the following fundamental and
irreversible frame of principles outlined below.

A. Sovereignty

A sovereign and independent national statehood is the ultimate form
of national self-or

ganization and the only guarantee of the longevity of the Armenian
people. The inclusion of Armenia into any federal, confederate,
neo-imperialistic, supranational and/or super state structure that
restricts national sovereignty is unconditionally rejected.

B. Possession of the Motherland

The Armenians, represented by the national statehood, have the
timeless, inalienable and absolute right to possess Armenia’s national
territory in its entirety.

Accordingly:

– The current Armenian national-and-state borders, including the
entire liberated territory of Artsakh, are totally inviolable and
non-negotiable.

– Any encroachment refusing the imperative of liquidation of legal,
political and territorial consequences of the Genocide, as well as
consideration of illegal Armenian-Turkish demarcation line as a state
border is rejected.

C. The Armenian Language

The Armenian language in Armenia, as the sole state language, has
the absolute supremacy. Any encroachment on the absolute status
of the Armenian language in areas of state governing, education,
official clerical work and all other areas of public importance is
utterly rejected.

D. Constitutional Order

An obligatory pre-condition for the formation of the Armenian state
is the establishment and strict observance of constitutional law and
order based on national consensus and deliberate and free expression
of popular will. Any encroachment on equality of citizens established
by the constitutional order is completely rejected.

21.09.2012, Karvachar

From: A. Papazian

http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/society27593.html

Les Producteurs De Vin Pret A Acheter 165 000 Tonnes De Raisins

LES PRODUCTEURS DE VIN PRET A ACHETER 165 000 TONNES DE RAISINS
Stephane

armenews.com
mercredi 3 octobre 2012

Les producteurs de vin en Armenie se sont engage a acheter 165,000
tonnes de raisins contre 129000 tonnes l’an dernier a declare le
vice-ministre de l’agriculture, Robert Makarian. Il a dit qu’au 27
septembre ils ont achete 80000 tonnes contre 35500 tonnes un an plus
tôt a la mâme date.

Selon la projection du ministère de l’agriculture, la production de
raisin cette annee pourrait s’elever a 240 000 tonnes metriques contre
229000 tonnes l’annee dernière. Cette annee, le prix d’achat est de
120 a 130 drams pour un kg soit 10 drams de plus que l’annee dernière.

Il a aussi dit que les fabriques de conserves ont achete cette annee
5 100 tonnes de peches, cinq fois plus qu’en 2011 grâce a la haute
production.

Les exportations de peche ont aussi augmente 4 fois a 905 tonnes.

From: A. Papazian

Armenews Change

ARMENEWS CHANGE
Ara

armenews.com
mercredi 3 octobre 2012

Dans le fond, il s’agit toujours de la meme question : Le peuple
armenien parviendra-t-il ou non a prendre son destin en main ? Si ce
defi concerne tous les membres de la nation, il touche en particulier
sa presse, secteur privilegie s’il en est de l’epanouissement
democratique. Nouvelles d’Armenie n’y echappe pas. D’où une remise
en cause regulière de ses acquis qui s’est traduite dernièrement, en
septembre, par une nouvelle mouture du magazine, avec une maquette
renovee, des rubriques supplementaires et une volonte affirmee de
traiter l’actualite en profondeur. D’où aussi une nouvelle formule
de son site internet, armenews.com, dont l’importance ne cesse de
grandir au fil des annees, et qui devient desormais en partie payant,
de facon a pouvoir subvenir a ses besoins et favoriser ainsi sa montee
en puissance.

De quoi s’agit-il ? Non pas de faire payer aux lecteurs les infos au
quotidien, qui resteront a quelques exceptions près en accès libre a
leur parution, et ce pendant une semaine. Mais de leur permettre de
prendre leur part dans le developpement d’armenews.com dont le coût est
actuellement assume par le magazine papier. Nous avions tente il y a
un an la solution des dons. Mais ils se sont averes insuffisants pour
combler le deficit du site. Il a donc fallu se resoudre a proposer
une autre formule, qui ne ferme par pour autant la porte au plus
grand nombre, a l’instar des sites payants comme mediapart.

Le modèle economique pour lequel nous avons opte s’inspire de celui du
Monde ou de Liberation, bien qu’il laissera en realite beaucoup plus
de place a la gratuite que ces derniers. La partie payante concernera
essentiellement les archives au-dela de 7 jours (a l’exception des
documents historiques). Il ne s’agit pas de penaliser le lecteur, mais
de le rappeler a ses responsabilites. Cette initiative qui pourrait
apparaître comme desagreable (bien que le montant de l’abonnement sera
minime : 3 euros par mois) vient souligner que comme toute entreprise
de presse armenews.com doit pouvoir compter sur ses usagers pour
assurer dans les meilleures conditions sa vocation : celle d’un site
d’information en flux continu, lequel est aussi devenu une vitrine
et un baromètre en temps reel de la communaute.

Ces nouveaux changements etaient-ils bien necessaires ? Cela ne fait
aucun doute. Dans le domaine du journalisme plus encore que dans tout
autre, l’independance financière interfère sur la liberte. Alors
meme qu’un bihebdomadaire comme Achkhar a dû jeter l’eponge avant
les vacances, faute d’argent, on voit ici ou la des forces exogènes
s’agiter pour investir le terrain mediatique, sensible s’il en
est, puisqu’il touche a l’opinion et donc au pouvoir… Face a des
defis plus ou moins en cours d’execution, qu’ils soient sur le Net,
où qu’ils se parent des plus beaux atours de ce que peux toujours
offrir l’imprimerie – a condition qu’on y mette de gros moyens –
il appartient a la presse authentiquement issue de la communaute
armenienne de France, sortie de ses entrailles, partie prenante de
tous ses combats, de se surpasser et d’anticiper.

Au nombre de ses atouts figure sa transparence, tiree de son ancrage
francais, la où les velleites de raids emanant de l’exterieur ne
presentent le plus souvent qu’opacite quant a leurs commanditaires
reels. Vient ensuite la rigueur de l’information et la distance
critique, qui se distinguent des tentatives de propagandes devoyees
qu’on trouve sur le Net, ou de certains produits anesthesiants en
preparation, dont l’ambition se limite a flatter le narcissisme
patriotique de leurs lecteurs. S’ajoute enfin a ces facteurs de
confiance, la garantie d’independance qu’offre l’autonomie financière.

Pour etre credible, celle-ci doit reposer principalement sur le nombre,
la grande masse des usagers, auquel ne peuvent se substituer la pub
ou le mecenat, aussi indispensables soient-ils.

De France-Armenie qui fetera cette annee ses 30 ans (bon anniversaire
!) a Nouvelles d’Armenie Magazine qui celebrera, quant a lui, ses 20
ans en avril 2013 (qui l’eut dit ?), en passant par de plus anciens
confrères comme Azad magazine et tant d’autres (Nor Haratch et feu
Achkhar), la presse armenienne de France reussit en general a tenir
son rang. Elle se montre, pour la plupart de ses titres, digne du
contrat de confiance qui la lie a ses lecteurs.

À quelque encablures d’echeances importantes, que ce soit du côte de
l’Armenie avec la prochaine echeance presidentielle, ou avec l’horizon
2015, on n’aura plus que jamais besoin de ses services, qu’elle
veut naturellement bons et loyaux. Il appartient a la communaute de
ses lecteurs de les lui garantir. Pour une presse independante et
de qualite.

Ara Toranian armenews.com mercredi 3 octobre 2012

From: A. Papazian