Author: Andres-Papazian

Interfax, Russia
March 30 2012

Presidential election in breakaway Karabakh ‘provocation’ – Azeri minister

BAKU. March 30

The presidential election held in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh is an
attempt by the Armenian authorities to disrupt talks over the peaceful
resolution of the Karabakh problem, Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman
Elman Abdullayev said.

“This is a provocation by the Armenian government, aimed at
consolidating the status quo and not contributing in any way to the
advancement of the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict,” Abdullayev told Interfax.

“Such actions are aimed at disrupting the negotiating process,” he said.

Armenia’s plans to hold elections in Nagorno-Karabakh, which has not
been recognized by any country, thwart efforts to establish peace and
stability in the region, the diplomat said.

The Karabakh presidential election is due on July 19, Armenian media
outlets said.

From: A. Papazian

100 JAVAKHK ARMENIANS REGISTERED IN ONE APARTMENT

Panorama.am
31/03/2012

Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun touches upon the fact that 100 Javakhk
Armenians are registered in one apartment. The daily asked police for
comments. The police explained that double citizenship is not banned
by Armenian law, so Armenians can be brought from Georgia, Russia
and any other country, registered in a vacant apartment and given a
passport and the possibility to participate in the elections. These
people can face problems in Georgia, says the daily.

From: A. Papazian

L’AN DERNIER 11 362 TOURISTES ONT VISITE LE HAUT KARABAGH
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 31 mars 2012

11 362 touristes ont visite le Haut Karabagh l’an dernier,
en augmentation de plus de 3 000 par rapport a 2010. Le tourisme
connaît ainsi une croissance très forte au Haut Karabagh. En 2011 la
majeure partie de ces touristes venaient de Russie, des Etats-Unis,
de France, d’Iran, du Canada, d’Allemagne, d’Ukraine, de Malaisie,
du Bengladesh, du Cambodge, du Gabon, du Kenya, de Côte d’Ivoire,
de la Republique d’Afrique du Sud, de Cuba, de Singapour, de Chine,
d’Indonesie ainsi que de dizaines d’autres pays. Les monastères ou
eglisent demeurent parmi le centre d’interet de ce tourisme. Ainsi les
monastères de Gantzassar (13e siècle), Amras (4e siècle), Dadivank (4e
siècle) sont les plus visites. Tout comme le site de la ville antique
de Dikranakert (1er siècle avant J.-C.), la caverne d’Azokh et les
anciens forts armeniens. La nature luxuriente, et l’environnement
exceptionnel du territoire du Haut Karabagh ainsi que sa cuisine
traditionnelle attirent egalement de nombreux touristes.

From: A. Papazian

L’ARMENIE PARTICIPERA AUX CHAMPIONNATS D’EUROPE DE GYMNASTIQUE A MONTPELLIER
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 31 mars 2012

Pour la première fois de l’histoire, l’Armenie participera aux
Championnats d’Europe de gymnastique avec des formations complètes.

Les equipes d’Armenie prendront part a partir du 19 mai a Montpellier
aux championnats d’Europe de gymnastique. Pour les seniors, Arthur
Davdian, Vahan Vartanian, Vahakn Stepanian, Haroutioun Merdinian et
Vahakn Davdian representeront l’Armenie, tandis que l’equipe d’Armenie
juniors sera composee d’Armen Petrossian, Aram Movsissian et Vicken
Khatchatrian.

From: A. Papazian

LA CHANSON ARMENIENNE ” VAY-VAY ” DE RAZMIK AMYAN, COPIEE PAR LES AZERIS
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 31 mars 2012

Les Azeris ont copie la chanson ” Vay-Vay ” d’une des vedettes de la
chanson armenienne Razmik Amyan. C’est Armin Movsissian, le producteur
de Razmig Amyan qui l’affirme sur le site news.am. Il informe que
Farid Dadashov et Ali Aliev (…encore un Aliev, decidement !)
diffusent depuis plusieurs jours en azeri ” Vay-Vay ” sur You Tube.

Razmik Amyan avait chante pour la première fois ” Vay-Vay l’ete 2011.

Mais Razmik Amyan n’a effectue pour l’heure aucune demarche juridique
pour retablir ses droits. Le chanteur armenien a toutefois confie ”
on dit que les Armeniens copient les chansons des Azeris, mais les
preuves sont la pour prouver le contraire ! “.

From: A. Papazian

HOW TO LIFT 3,500 TONS

Jon Khachaturian began his career putting offshore oil rigs in place.

Now he pulls them back out

Strong Platform Jack Thompson Before Ivan hit in 2004, hurricanes were
rarely able to knock over any of the thousands of aging oil platforms
in the Gulf of Mexico. A rig can withstand an 80-foot wave. But Ivan
brought 100-foot peaks. So did Katrina and Rita. In the past seven
years, the region’s fiercest recorded hurricanes have torn down more
than 200 rigs.

Even as a young engineer designing these platforms in the late 1970s,
Jon Khachaturian saw it coming. The principles of designing them were
fairly simple: Keep the rig broad enough to remain stable and tall
enough to keep waves off the deck, because water on the deck will bend
the platform right over. But, Khachaturian says, the industry standards
for wave resistance were inadequate. “We were designing for what was
considered the 100-year storm. I remember asking, ‘How do we know what
a 100-year storm is? They’ve only been keeping records for 60 years.’ ”

Khachaturian went from designing rigs to designing ways to move them
around. In 1981, after inventing a way to pick up an entire drilling
platform from a single point using steel beams, he started his first
company, Versabar. He was 26. Now, after 20 years, he holds 50 patents,
employs 700 people in the Gulf region-and has changed his focus once
again. Versabar still specializes in oil-rig installation, but it is
also branching into another line: pulling wrecked oil platforms out
of the ocean and bringing them to shore.

A drilling company cannot simply plug and abandon a derelict rig. The
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management requires such platforms to be
salvaged, and quickly. Any rig in U.S. territorial waters that becomes
inoperable or runs out of oil must be removed within five years. And
the life span of the average rig is no more than 25.

Until Khachaturian got into the business, salvage and removal was not
just expensive, it was dangerous. Divers at depths of up to 500 feet
had to hack the rigs into pieces small enough to be removed using
conventional derricks. A gas pocket ignites, a diver exceeds his
time limit, or a section of the rig falls in an unexpected direction
when it’s cut free, and somebody dies. (A massive manta ray once
incapacitated a diver hundreds of feet down.) Those jobs take months.

So Khachaturian built the VB10000, a 25-story arched truss on top
of two 72-by-300-foot barges [see “Monster Crane,” page 63]. The
VB10000 can pull out an entire rig in a day, at one fourth the cost
of a traditional salvage job.

In the past year, Khachaturian’s monster has removed 30 platforms
and salvaged roughly 70 in pieces. Another 25 sunken rigs are on the
to-do list. And Khachaturian isn’t convinced that we’ve even seen a
100-year storm yet. There are approximately 7,000 rigs operating in
the Gulf of Mexico. They will all be retired eventually-if nature
doesn’t get to them first.-Stephen Zacks .

From: A. Papazian

MICHELINE CALMY-REY HONOREE PAR L’ARMENIE

Tribune de Geneve

26 mars 2012
Suisse

L’ancienne presidente de la Confederation a recu le 13 mars la
medaille d’honneur de la Republique d’Armenie, l’une des plus hautes
distinctions du pays.

Micheline Calmy-Rey a ete honoree par l’Armenie. L’ancienne presidente
de la Confederation a recu le 13 mars la medaille d’honneur de la
Republique d’Armenie, l’une des plus hautes distinctions du pays,
a-t-on appris dimanche.

Cette medaille lui a ete remise par le chef de la diplomatie armenienne
Edouard Nalbandian lors d’une ceremonie a Genève, indique le ministère
des affaires etrangères armenien sur son site Internet.

Plusieurs politiciens suisses, dont le maire de Genève Pierre Maudet,
et des representants de la communaute armenienne en Suisse ont assiste
a la ceremonie.

Erevan a ainsi tenu a souligner l’action de Mme Calmy-Rey dans le
developpement des relations bilaterales armeno-suisses, mais aussi
le rôle qu’elle a joue dans le processus de reconciliation entre
l’Armenie et la Turquie, a indique dimanche a l’ats le president de
l’Association Suisse-Armenie (ASA), Sarkis Shahinian, confirmant une
information de la “NZZ am Sonntag”.

En octobre 2009, Erevan et Ankara avaient signe a Zurich, en presence
de Mme Calmy-Rey et de son homologue americaine Hillary Clinton,
des accords historiques pour mettre fin a des decennies d’hostilite,
etablir des relations diplomatiques et ouvrir leur frontière. Mais
ce processus est depuis lors bloque.

From: A. Papazian

FRENCH INTELLIGENCE REPORT LABELS TURKS AS THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY

Today’s Zaman
March 30 2012
Turkey

A report prepared by the Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence
(DCRI) about Turkish foundations that earlier this year organized a
march to protest a French bill that would criminalize denial of 1915
killings of Armenians as genocide indicates that Turks are a threat
to public safety in France, Today’s Zaman has learned.

Thousands of Turks from across Europe marched through the French
capital in January denouncing the French bill that would make it a
crime to deny that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly
a century ago was genocide.

The bill strained Turkish-French ties to a great extent. France
formally recognized the 1915 killings as genocide in 2001 but provided
no penalty for anyone refuting that.

The DCRI said in its report, which was recently leaked to the press,
that the Turkish community in the country is a big, organized
community, in some cases receiving financial support from other
countries, which poses a threat to the safety of all French citizens,
particularly those of Armenian ancestry.

The report further claimed that the Turkish foundations that took
part in the march in Paris in January acted in line with orders
from the Turkish government. “Turkish foundations are directly and
easily mobilized by Turkish intelligence services. Our sources in
Ankara confirm that this operation [march] was organized by Turkish
intelligence upon orders from the Turkish government.”

Pro-Turkish website administered by French intelligence The report
has also revealed that a news website, , which is
popular among young Turks in the country, is administered by a French
person who works for the French intelligence service.

The news website has a policy of opposing the Armenian claims of
genocide.

“This website is officially administered by one of our esteemed
intelligence officials. Upon our order our employee has gone against
the education in history he received and lobbies in favor of the
Turks. His education in history strengthens his ties with the Turks.

He is now serving as an intern at a nationalist think tank in Ankara.

Thanks to his efforts, we learn the working principles of our Turkish
colleagues and their attitude toward opponents in France — mainly
Armenians and Kurds,” says the report.

Sources told Today’s Zaman on condition of anonymity that the
intelligence official in question is historian and researcher Maxime
Gauin, who has written books against Armenian claims of genocide. He
is currently an intern at the International Strategic Research
Organization (USAK) in Ankara. Gauin earlier won a compensation
case he filed against Movses Nisanyan, a member of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, who had accused him of being a collaborator
of the “genocide.”

The report also notes that the person who administers the
website provides regular intelligence to Israeli
intelligence services about Azerbaijan’s Iran policy due to an
agreement between France and Israel about intelligence sharing.

According to the report, Radio MIT was established by three French
citizens of Turkish origin, broadcasts in Turkish in Lyon, has ties
with the French Turkish Federation and receives financial support
from Turkey.

How did the report leak to the press?

The 19-page report was posted on Calameo, a French multilingual online
service for document publishing and sharing, as a PDF file on March
16. It was later posted on the Facebook page of Radio MIT. It was
found out that the person who posted the report on Calameo resides in
the United States and used the code name “ogunsamast.” Ogun Samast,
a Turkish-ultranationalist youth, was the killer of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, who was murdered in 2007. Administrators of
Radio MIT refute the claims in the report; however, they had to close
down the radio’s Facebook page due to debates. Sources told Today’s
Zaman that the report is authentic. The report has a fourth level of
confidentiality, which is restricted distribution.

From: A. Papazian

BULGARIA’S PM BORISOV TO PAY VISITS TO GEORGIA, ARMENIA

Novinite

March 30 2012
Bulgaria

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is heading on official
visits to Georgia and Armenia on April 1-3, 2012, the government
press service announced.

Borisov’s visit to the Southern Caucasus states is to be realized
at the invitation of the Prime Ministers of Georgia and Armenia,
Nikoloz Gilauri and Tigran Sargsyan.

Borisov will be accompanied in Tbilisi and Yerevan by Bulgarian
Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski, Labor Minister Totyu Mladenov,
and Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Naydenov.

On April 1-2, Borisov will meet with his Georgian counterpart Gilauri
and with the Georgian Patriarch Iliya II.

Bulgaria and Georgia will sign agreements on education, classified
information exchange, and a readmission protocol.

In Yerevan, Bulgaria’s Borisov will be welcomed by PM Sargsyan and
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, the head of the Armenian Parliament
Samvel Nikoyan, and Armenian Patriach Garegin II.

Bulgaria and Georgia will sign agreements on education and labor and
social affairs.

From: A. Papazian

DO NOT CUT TREES – ARMENIAN MINISTER (PHOTO)

NEWS.am
March 30, 2012 | 22:53

VANADZOR. – Last year the number of illegal deforestation in Armenia’s
Lori region reached to unprecedented numbers, Armenia’s Minister of
Agriculture Sergo Karapetyan announced at Lori Regions administration
on Friday.

“This is a very high rate. There is no other region in the country
where deforestation rates are so high. Serious work must be conducted
towards that issue,” the minister said.

The minster called to think about the state and not cut trees.

The minster also informed that much deforestation happened when
Armenian National Movement party was ruling and every effort must be
contributed in order to recover forests.

He announced that foresters and community heads in Lori Region must
seriously work in order to preserve the forests.

From: A. Papazian