Author: Andres-Papazian

LE FIGARO: USA WAS WELL AWARE OF USSR’S ROLE IN KATIN EVENTS

2012-09-11 12:07:36

The United States was aware that the order of massacre of the 22,000
Polish officers and prisoners of war in 1940 has been given by Stalin
and not German nationalists. However, according to documents released
yesterday, the U.S. has preferred to keep its relations with the
Soviet Union’s according to its strategy.

The published documents prove, that Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s
government’s high rank officials have concealed the fact of USSSR’s
participation in the massacre, in order to maintain the alliance
with the latter, which would allow the Americans to gain victory
over Germany and Japan. In addition, this alliance had to mitigate
the tension between the countries during the Cold War.

Documents have proved, that Stalin’s secret police have shot the
22,000 Polish officers and other prisoners of war in the April and
May of 1940, mainly in the forest of Katin. Its goal was to stop the
resistance of Polish military elite and the intelligentsia.

From: A. Papazian

IRANIAN WEBSITE: IF AZERBAIJAN LIFTS VISA REGIME FOR TURKEY, IRAN WILL CLOSE NAKHICHEVAN BORDER

Panorama.am
11/09/2012

If Azerbaijan lifts visa regime for Turkey, not for Iran, Iran
will block Azerbaijan’s communication with Nakhichevan through its
territory, says an article published on Arannews.ir.

It is reported that the meeting of Azerbaijan-Turkey High Level
Strategic Cooperation Council in Izmir, presided over by Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressed Azerbaijan’s lifting
visa requirements for Turkey, among other issues.

“In consideration of the probability of the resumption of war between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan will have to communicate with
Nakhichevan through the territory of Iran,” says the article.

From: A. Papazian

SENIOR YEREVAN PROSECUTOR BEING INVESTIGATED ON CHARGES OF TAKING $9,000 BRIBE

HETQ
18:06, September 10, 2012

Based on the September 6 decision of the Prosecutor General of Armenia,
a criminal case was initiated against a citizen for falsifying
documents, swindling a significant amount of money by using them,
and bribing the senior prosecutor of the Arabkir and Qanaqer-Zeytun
administrative districts.

The preliminary investigation of the case was assigned to the Special
Investigation Service of the Republic of Armenia.

A study of the case materials received from the General Division of
the Criminal Investigation revealed that on 8 May, 2012, M. Apoyan
had submitted a previously falsified certificate of the right to the
ownership of the house and the evaluation reference of the same house
to the credit organization and hypothecating the house in the name
of his acquaintance had received a credit of 4.400 000 AMD and had
swindled by cheating.

Days later on 31 May M. Apoyan had submitted a state register
certificate of rights to another house, the evaluation reference and
other necessary documents to the same credit organization.

Hypothecating it in the name of another acquaintance of his, he had
received a credit of 43.000 USD and swindled. On 31 August the same
person had tried to get a credit of 40.000 USD from the same credit
organization in the same way in the name of another acquaintance of
his, but he couldn’t finish the bargain for the reasons irrespective
of his will.

On 6 September the consultant of the credit organization N. Zaqaryan
had reported about M. Apoyan’s getting credit of 4.400.000 AMD and
43.000 USD accordingly using false documents and seizing them. On
the base of the report during the preparation of materials M. Apoyan
gad given an explanation that in order not to process appropriately
the submitted report of N. Zaqaryan, the senior prosecutor of the
prosecutor’s office of Arabkir and Qanaqer-Zeytun administrative
districts Kh. Baghdasaryan had demanded and received a bribe.

On the same day, a criminal case was initiated and sent to the
the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Armenia to
implement the investigation by the decision of the Prosecutor General
of the Republic of Armenia according to the materials received from
the General Division of the Criminal Investigation of the Republic
of Armenia.

As a result of operative investigative measures thorough evidence is
obtained on how the senior prosecutor of the prosecutor’s office of
Arabkir and Qanaqer-Zeytun administrative districts Kh. Baghdasaryan
through their mutual acquaintance A. Ghukasyan had demanded and
received a bribe of significant amount 9.000 USD for not processing
the swindling of significant amount using false documents by M. Apoyan
and the report received from the consultant of the credit organization.

According to the obtained evidence the preliminary investigation body
made decisions on involving Kh. Baghdasaryan, A. Ghukasyan and M.

Apoyan as defendants of the criminal case for receiving a significant
amount of bribe, mediating for bribe and committing swindling of
significant amount by cheating, attempt of swindling and giving bribe.

Prosecutor General’s Office of RoA reports that the preliminary
investigation in the Special Investigation Service of the Republic
of Armenia is going on.

From: A. Papazian

NA ADOPTS NEW RULES OF PROCEDURE

01:00 pm | Today | Politics

The National Assembly of the 5th convocation adopted today the bill
on additions and amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the NA in the
first reading, with 97 votes in favor, 4 against, and 3 abstentions.

ARF deputy Armen Rustamyan declared in advance that their faction
would vote against the bill since their proposals were not discussed
and accepted prior to the second reading.

Besides, the ARF faction voted against the bill to adopt the draft
law on consumer’s cooperation in the second reading and completely,
but the National Assembly passed the bill by the majority of votes.

Three bills previously submitted and discussed were also put to the
vote. All of the them were passed.

The NA had to discontinue its work for a moment: something was wrong
with the loudspeakers in the parliament and the voices of deputies
were inaudible.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA EDGES RUSSIAN TO CLAIM OLYMPIAD GOLD IN CHESS

Washington Times
Sept 11 2012

By David R. Sands

The Little Country That Could did it again as tiny Armenia on Sunday
won its third gold medal in the past four years, nipping mighty Russia
on tiebreaks after the two chess powerhouses finished 9-1-1 at the
40th biennial Olympiad in Istanbul.

Armenian GM Levon Aronian proved stalwart again on Board 1, but it was
fellow GMSergei Movsesian who provided the critical point in Sunday’s
final round in the 2½-1½ win over Hungary to clinch the gold medal.

The Chinese men, who could have captured their country’s first gold
medal ever, instead took a 3-1 pounding at the hands of Ukraine, with
veteran Ukrainian star Vassily Ivanchuk scoring a 28-move brilliancy
over Chinese top board Wang Hao to extinguish China’s hopes.

The U.S. team – GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Gata Kamsky, Alex Onischuk,
Varuzhan Akobian and team rookie Ray Robson – fell just short of the
bronze medal claimed by the Ukrainians, but the Americans had a big
role in the final standings. Paced by wins from Nakamura and Kamsky,
the U.S. handed Russia its only loss of the tournament in Round 9,
but then lost a heartbreaker to China 2½-1½ in the penultimate round
when Onischuk could not hold a drawn ending.

The Russian women scored a mild upset to take the gold over favored
China, using a 4-0 wipeout of Kazakhstan in the final round to
vault to the top of the podium. The American women finished in a
tie for seventh, hurt by disappointing losses to Vietnam and bronze
medal-winning Ukraine, though U.S. No. 2 seed IM Irina Krush scored
8½-1½ in her 10 games for one of the best individual performances of
the event.

It’s long, but Nakamura’s amazing win over Russian former world
champion Vladimir Kramnik was one of the most talked about games from
the Olympiad. After a pretty sleepy opening, Kramnik plays the early
maneuvering of the middle game with uncharacteristic sloppiness,
perhaps putting too much faith in the exchange sacrifice 27. Nd2
Rxc5!? 28. dxc5 Qc8 29. Nd2 Qxc5 to hold the balance. But Black really
gets into trouble after 31. h5 g5? 32. h6! Bxh6 33. Qh5 Bg7 (Kg7?? 34.

Ng4 wins on the spot) 34. Qxg5 Nc6 35. Ng4, and Black is scrambling
to cover up.

The queen trade only underscores White’s material advantage, but
Kramnik finds ingenious ways to complicate matters with 37. … a5 38.

axb5 Bxb5 39. Rxa7 d3 40. Rxe7 d2 41. Rd1 Be2, and even though White’s
a rook up, he still has to be careful. The tension only mounts when
Black’s e- and f-pawns start rolling down the board.

Nakamura makes it harder than it has to be with 53. Ra5 f4 54. Kf1?!,
when 54. Rg5+ Kh7 55. Rxg3 fxg3 56. c7, simplifying down to a bishop
and knight endgame mate, would have ended things prosaically. Instead,
White has to find a remarkable resource, giving up his last pawn to
underpromote to a knight, producing a highly unusual ending: 60. Rxe7
Kxe7 (see diagram) 61. c7! e2 62. c8=N+ Kf6 63. Kxe2, and White will
slowly but surely collect the rest of Black pawns.

In the final position, after 80. Nh4, Black can’t prevent mate in
the corner after 80. … Bc7 81. Nxf3+ Kh1 Nf2 mate.

–

Congratulations to FM James Schuyler, who successfully defended his
Virginia state title at the 76th Closed State Championship in Glen
Allen the weekend of Sept. 1-3.

Schuyler tied with expert Justin Burgess, a former state amateur
champ, at 5-1, taking home the champion’s plaque on the basis of
superior tiebreaks.

Schuyler become the first Virginia champion to win back-to-back
championships since Daniel Miller won three consecutive times from
2003 through 2005.

Finishing in tie for third a half-point back were masters Macon Shibut,
Eric Most and Adithya Balasubramanian.

Class B player Gerard Wasserbauer claimed the Under-1800 Virginia
Amateur title on tiebreaks over William Stoots and Shreya Shetty,
all at 5-1. After a first-round loss, Shetty, rated just 1460, reeled
off five straight wins to claim both the Top C prize and the award
for top female finisher in the section. Congrats to all.

From: A. Papazian

CD REVIEW: IAN GILLAN TONY IOMMI – WHOCARES

Blinded By Sound
September 10, 2012 Monday 1:06 PM EST

In 2011, Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan reunited with his old Black
Sabbath band mate, Tony Iommi, to record a charity single to
benefit a music school in Armenia that was destroyed in the 1988
earthquake that devastated the region. The pair recruited a number
of A-list musicians for the lead track, “Out Of My Mind,” including
Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain on drums, Jason Newsted on bass and
the late Jon Lord on keyboards. That track, along with its B-side,
“Holy Water,” is included in the two-CD compilation album, WhoCares,
the profits of which will further aid the charity.

The album features the WhoCares single, along with rare or
underappreciated tracks from both Gillan and Iommi’s illustrious
careers. “Out Of My Mind” leads off disc one and shows that nearly 30
years later, the pair’s chemistry on record is unmistakable. The song
has a swampy intro, before pummeling the listener with its heavy riff.

It’s a fine track and one that makes the listener wish they’d record
another album together.

Up next is “Zero The Hero,” from the sole album Gillan recorded with
Black Sabbath, Born Again. The song begins abruptly, as it is missing
its intro from the album, “The Dark,” but it is as menacing a riff as
Iommi has ever written. Original Sabbath drummer, Bill Ward, adds a
plodding drum beat serving to make the track even heavier. The song
may be the pinnacle of this short-lived partnership.

“Trashed,” another track originally from Born Again, but rerecorded
by Gillan with Iommi and Deep Purple’s Ian Paice and Roger Glover
for 2007’s Gillan’s Inn, follows. An up-tempo rocker, the new version
differs little from the 1983 original, save for better production on
the 2007 version. “Slip Away” is one of two previously unreleased
Iommi tracks featuring Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals. Originally
intended for their Fused project, the song features a massive riff and
Hughes’ soulful vocals. “Don’t Hold Me Back,” from Gillan’s Toolbox
album is a fine pop song with a great vocal from Gillan, who really
pushes his upper register on the chorus.

Disc one closes with a meeting of rock gods. Ronnie James Dio joins
Deep Purple on stage, along with the London Symphony Orchestra,
for a rousing rendition of “Smoke On The Water.” The two legendary
singers sound great together, breathing new life into a song we’ve
all heard 1,000 times before.

Disc two leads off with “Holy Water,” the other new song from the
WhoCares project. A ballad, the song showcases a fine, if restrained,
vocal from Gillan and a tasteful solo from Iommi. “Anno Mundi,”
from Sabbath’s album Tyr, features Tony Martin on lead vocals. While
the intro recalls “Children Of The Sea,” the song veers off into a
different, equally powerful territory, with a fine riff and vocal
performance from Martin.

“Hole In My Vest” is a track rare enough that the original tapes
no longer exist. The B-side to “Nothing But The Best,” the version
presented here came from a needle drop of the original 12-inch vinyl.

It is great slice of 80s pop music, with all the production that comes
with that. Gillan showcases his love for the great Little Richard on
“Can’t Believe You Wanna Leave Me,” featuring Dr. John on piano. Both
men turn in astounding performances worthy of its composer on this
rollicking track.

Good music for a good cause – that’s the basis of what Gillan and
Iommi were trying to achieve with the WhoCares single. Expanding the
concept to a two-CD set with rare tracks makes Ian Gillan Tony Iommi
WhoCares a no-brainer for fans of either artist.

From: A. Papazian

BULGARIA CONFIDENT, BUT WARY OF ARMENIA AHEAD OF WC QUALIFIER

Novinite
Sept 11 2012
Bulgaria

Bulgaria can keep up its solid performance in Tuesday’s clash against
Armenia, four days after a combative 2-2 draw against Italy in their
opening World Cup qualifier, coach Lyuboslav Penev said.

Still he warned it would be a grave mistake to underestimate the
opponent, which he described as “a serious team, but not a mystery”
for him.

“The result is good when it translates into points. I am sure, I am
convinced that we will win if we play as mobilized as in the match
against Italy,” Penev said hours before the start of the game at 9
pm at the national stadium Vassil Levski in Sofia.

“It didn’t happen against Italy and I have to accept we only got
a point.”

Te former Valencia and Atletico Madrid striker, who took over the
team after it failed to qualify for Euro 2012, said he strives to
build a new team, featuring new players, playing in a different style.

“I am happy with their play, but I am sure that they can do much
better and have huge potential,” the coach added.

European Championship runner-up Italy was held to a 2-2 draw by
Bulgaria in its opening World Cup qualifier Friday despite two goals
from Pablo Osvaldo on Friday.

A rare mistake by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon allowed Stanislav
Manolev to put Bulgaria in front on the half-hour mark, not long
after the Italian had pulled off a stunning stop.

However, Osvaldo scored his first international goals to give Italy
a 2-1 halftime lead. But Georgi Milanov leveled for Bulgaria in the
66th minute.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA AND LEBANON, HAND IN HAND
By Chirine Lahoud

The Daily Star
Sept 12 2012
Lebanon

BEIRUT: Burj Hammoud’s Hamazkayin Lucy Tutunjian Art Gallery was
founded in 2009 as a platform for Armenian and Lebanese art and
cultural production. Since then the space has exhibited works by many
artists from both communities.

HLTAG has chosen Wadi Abu Jmeel’s Villa Zein as the venue for its
latest collective exhibition, “Lipanan” (“Lebanon” in Armenian),
featuring paintings and sculptures by such artists as Raffi Tokatlian,
Hrair, Charles Khoury, Arthur K. and Mireille Goguikian, to name but
a few.

Here onlookers will find a large selection of work, ranging from
abstraction to surrealism.

Based on their titles, “Charles Aznavour” and “Pavarotti,” two mixed
media-on-canvas works by Haroutiun K. Nicolian (aka Arthur K.), are
tributes to the Armenian-born French vocalist and the Italian tenor.

Both works bear respectful renderings of each performer. Viewers
will also find bits that don’t bear much relation to either Aznavour
or Pavarotti.

The upper part of the collage-like “Charles Aznavour” (100×65 cm) is
a still from Peter Webber’s film “Girl with Pearl Earring” (inspired
by Vermeer’s painting). To one side of it is a fragment of a woman’s
photo. To the other is the phrase “Human Rights,” written in Latin
capitals against a parchment-shaded background.

Immediately below a photo of Aznavour in concert, a shard of red-tinted
sheet music bears an unknown tune. Alongside is a photo of a stallion,
in blue.

“Pavarotti” includes a photo of a black man with large white stripes
painted on his chest. Nearby is a shred of a document apparently
dealing with Armenian history. The link between these images and
Pavarotti is vague.

An interesting palette accentuates the decorative value of Arthur K.’s
work. From red, to blue, black and gold, these works are attractive
to the eye. Although dark hues are omnipresent, the artist’s works
radiate light.

“Awakening” – a bronze sculpture by Raffi Tokatlian – is astonishing
both for its dimensions (190x55x242 cm) and its symbolism.

The apparently female figure is blindfolded. Her body is formed from
bronze strips, resembling folds of clothing. Most interesting is the
contrast between the light – almost ethereal – aspect these strips
lend the body and the bronze head’s weight.

Arev Petrosyan’s mixed-media work “Emotions” (140x92cm) finds gold and
silver leaves painted on organic glass. This work includes several
red and black blotches, which seem to emerge from the ground. These
could be representations of roses or poppies, with odd-looking mouths.

Jacqueline Ohanian’s “Messengers of Peace” (mixed-media, 105x105cm)
is also highly symbolic. The work combines warm hues – oranges,
yellows and hints of red – with white.

The white bits are evidently doves (peace) or perhaps a single dove in
movement. Above the dove motif are depictions of two (or more) peoples’
heads. One figure gazes down, as if following the bird’s movement.

There is no obviously programmatic meaning to be ascribed to Ohanian’s
depiction of peace and its messengers. The artist’s design intention
appears decorative.

Hamazkayin Lucy Tutunjian Art Gallery’s “Lipanan” is up at Wadi
Abu Jmeel’s Villa Zein until Sept. 16. For more information, please
call 01-241-262.

From: A. Papazian

NAGORNO-KARABAKH RECEIVED A CHANCE FOR RECOGNITION

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 10, 2012 Monday

Source: Izvestia (Moscow issue), September 07, 2012, p. 5
by Yury Matsarsky

THE PARLIAMENT OF ARMENIA WILL HEAR A BILL THAT DECLARES THE
UNRECOGNIZED REPUBLIC INDEPENDENT; Submission of a bill on recognition
of independence of Nagorno-Karabakh to the parliament of Armenia became
a response of politicians to liberation of Ramil Safarov sentenced to
a lifelong sentence for murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Markaryan
in Azerbaijan.

Submission of a bill on recognition of independence of Nagorno-Karabakh
to the parliament of Armenia became a response of politicians to
liberation of Ramil Safarov sentenced to a lifelong sentence for
murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Markaryan in Azerbaijan.

The leader of parliamentary faction Heritage that submitted the bill
to the parliament of Armenia reported:

– The latest events had to demonstrate to the world that people of
Nagorno-Karabakh could not live in Azerbaijan. Time has come again
to raise an issue of recognition of independence of the republic.

Speaking about the “latest events,” the parliament member meant not
only liberation of Safarov extradited from Hungary to Azerbaijan
right after his arrival but also his greeting as a national hero.

In Armenia where even in official documents Azerbaijan is often called
simply “enemy” liberation of Safarov caused a wave of indignation and
provoked conversations about the soonest recognition of the region
between which armed conflicts appeared between the neighboring
countries frequently again.

The head of the faction that includes only five of the 131 of the
parliament members says:

– In reality, the matter of de jure recognition of independence of
Nagorno-Karabakh (de facto the republic has been independent for a
long time) has been on agenda of the parliament of Armenia since 1992.

However, the parliamentary majority declined this bill many times.

Many of those who have voted against the bill then are very
sorry that they have done this now. I hope that this time we will
manage to persuade the majority that it is necessary to recognize
Nagorno-Karabakh.

However, the idea of recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh does not
find support even in the region now. Thus, David Babayan, head
of the main information department of the staff of the President
of Nagorno-Karabakh, distributed a statement in which he pointed
out that passing of this bill would be untimely and would provide
a pretext for the international community to accuse Armenia of
“non-constructive approach.”

Babayan explained his stance:

– Independence should be recognized by other countries, for instance,
by Hungary that has got engaged into a criminal deal with Azerbaijan
and has done a disgraceful deed towards Armenia. In this case this will
be considered atonement for the sins and will not look unprecedented.

Nonetheless, the document will be debated.

[Translated from Russian]

From: A. Papazian

LUXEMBOURG PLEDGES TO HELP ARMENIA BUILD CLOSER TIES WITH EUROPEAN UNION

/ARKA/
September 11, 2012
YERVAN

YEREVAN, September 11. /ARKA/. The visiting foreign minister of
Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, pledged today his country’s assistance
to Armenia to help it build closer ties with the European Union.

Speaking at a joint briefing with his Armenian opposite number, Edward
Nalbandian, Mr.Asselborn said Luxembourg will do everything possible to
help Armenia overcome all obstacles on the way to European integration.

“I have come to a country which I do not know well, but I know
that Armenia is not very lucky in geopolitical terms. With full
responsibility I say that Luxembourg will do everything to help Armenia
to overcome all the obstacles on the road to European integration,”
he said.

He said Luxemburg president is set to pay official visit to Armenia
soon. “At present, our country does not have sufficient financial
and human resources to open an embassy in Armenia, but we strive to
strengthen our relations with your country,” he added.

On his side Edward Nalbandian said Armenia emphasizes development of
comprehensive mutual cooperation with an EU founding country. ‘Your
visit was a good opportunity to discuss our future steps,’ he said.

According to him, the sides discussed in detail a long string of
questions on strengthening political dialogue, expansion of the legal
framework, deepening cooperation in international organizations and
a number of other issues.

The ministers also discussed regional and international issues. During
the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the Middle East developments.

Luxembourg foreign minister is scheduled to have a meeting with
Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan and prime minister Tigran Sargsyan.

From: A. Papazian