Author: Babajanian Karo

PRICE OF BREAD INCREASES IN GYUMRI. IS YEREVAN NEXT? ASKS PAPER

epress.am
02.29.2012

The increase in the price of flour in Armenia is due to the 25%
increase in the price of wheat in the global market, State Commission
for the Protection of Economic Competition of the Republic of Armenia
press secretary Gayane Sahakyan told local daily Haykakan Jamanak
(“Armenian Times”).

According to the Commission’s findings, the price of flour in Armenia
rose by an average of 9% – particularly in the country’s second-largest
city, Gyumri, which has led to an increase in the price of bread.

Though the bread market is not among the markets the Commission
monitored, the Commission hopes that it will be possible to prevent an
escalation in the cost of bread elsewhere on account of wheat and flour
acquired and accumulated ahead of the growth of global market prices.

Nevertheless, the newspaper concludes, if the prices of wheat and
flour increase, the price of bread undoubtedly will too. The only
question that remains is when.

MARSEILLE MAYOR SAYS GENOCIDE DENIAL IS INTOLERABLE

news.am
February 29, 2012 | 13:39

Mayor of Marseille Jean-Claude Gaudin said he shares disappointment
of the Armenian community regarding the recent decision of France’s
Constitutional Council, Maritima INFOS reports.

In his statement, he stressed that “denial is intolerable and I am
confident that we must struggle against it.”

“I agree with the Armenian community and I am pleased that the
President had asked the government to prepare a new text, which will
take into account the decision of the Constitutional Council,” he said.

French President Nikolas Sarkozy assigned the Government to elaborate
new bill on genocides, taking into account the decision of the
Constitutional Council on banning law criminalizing denial of
genocides, including the Armenian Genocide.

FRENCH RULING NO END TO PROCESS – ANALYST

Tert.am
29.02.12

The French Constitutional Court’s ruling to declare the bill penalizing
the denial of genocides unconstitutional is unlikely to put an end
to the process, according to an Armenian analyst.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Karen Bekaryan, the president of
the local NGO European Integratgion, said the developments worldwide
might have caused the French lawmakers to adopt such a ruling.

“Today, the European community is a little bit critical of security
and human rights related issues,” he explained.

Another reason, according to the expert, is the political period
in France.

“If France were not in the run-up to a [presidential] election, the
issue might have received a greater attention that would cause the
existing element of anxiety to vanish,” he said.

Bekaryan noted further that the ruling is not be a tragedy for him
likewise the passage of bill by the French Senate was not a victory.

On January 23, the French Senate passed the bill with a vote of 127 in
favor and 86 against (the draft applies to all the crimes of genocide
recognized by the French Republic. Apart from the Armenian Genocide,
France has also recognized the Jewish Holocaust, whose denial has
been criminalized in the country). If enacted, the bill would impose
a one-year prison sentence and a fine of ~@45,000 on anyone publicly
denying the Armenian Genocide.

YERKIR: GENOCIDE MUSEUM DIRECTOR TO DEFEND THESIS IN RUSSIAN?

Tert.am
28.02.12

The paper says it has learned from sources that the director
of Genocide Museum, Hayk Demoyan, is going to defend a doctoral
dissertation at the National Academy’s Institute of History.

Citing Gevorg Yaztchyan, a historian, it says the meeting language
will be Russian.

“Should that happen, I will resign from the professional board 004,
forgetting about the the PhD candidate’s degree, and will throw
all kinds of certificates to their faces,” the scholar was quoted
as saying.

Speaking to the paper, Demoyan characterized the above statement
as disinformation.

“Yes, the thesis is in Russian because that’s not prohibited by the
law, but the documentation is written in Armenian and the language
of tomorrow’s [defense] will be Armenians,” he told the paper.

OVER 60 U.S. REPRESENTATIVES PRESS CLINTON TO DISAVOW DISMISSAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE “AS A MATTER FOR HISTORICAL DEBATE”

armradio.am
28.02.2012 11:10

The lead authors of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.304, Adam
Schiff (D-CA) and Robert Dold (R-IL), today sent a letter, co-signed by
59 of their House colleagues, calling on Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton to renounce her recent public mischaracterization of the
Armenian Genocide as a “historical debate,” reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA).

In their letter to Secretary Clinton, the signatories noted that
her, “historically inaccurate description of the Armenian Genocide
as an open question, in addition to the offense it represents to
Armenian Americans and other victims of genocide, provides American
encouragement to the Republic of Turkey in its shameful campaign of
denial.” They also reminded the Secretary that in 2006 she joined with
President Obama – then a U.S. Senator – in writing a letter explaining
to President Bush that the Armenian Genocide was a “systematic and
deliberate campaign of genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in
1915. . . The victims of the Genocide deserve our remembrance and
their rightful place in history. . . .It is in the best interests
of our nation and the entire global community to remember the past
and learn from these crimes against humanity to ensure that they are
never repeated.”

The Congressional letter also quoted then Senator Clinton’s public
statement in 2008 when, as a Senator and candidate for the presidency,
she affirmed that: “The horrible events perpetrated by the Ottoman
Empire against Armenians constitute a clear case of genocide,” and that
“our common morality and our nation’s credibility as a voice for human
rights challenge us to ensure that the Armenian Genocide be recognized
and remembered by the Congress and the President of the United States.”

“We want to thank Congressmen Schiff and Dold and each and every
one of the signatories of this Congressional letter for calling on
Secretary Clinton to step back from her historically inaccurate and
deeply offensive assertion that the Armenian Genocide is a matter for
historical debate,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We
remain hopeful that the Secretary, after having allowed this false
statement to remain on the record for more than a month, will –
in response to this Congressional letter and the Armenian American
community’s growing outrage – finally recognize and, to the extent
possible, seek to reverse the impact of this sad episode in undermining
the advancement of U.S. interests, compromising the promotion of
American values, and hindering the diplomatic work of the Department
of State.”

Secretary Clinton is scheduled to testify and answer questions before
four separate U.S. House and Senate panels this coming week. The ANCA
has called on legislators serving on these committees to question her
about her offensive “historical debate” comments, on and the full range
of other issues of special importance to Armenian American voters.

L’AZERBAIDJAN CHERCHE A CACHER SES CRIMES SOUS LE COUVERT DE KHODJALOU
Stephane

armenews.com
mardi 28 fevrier 2012

En faussant les faits historiques l’Azerbaïdjan tente de se presenter
comme une victime. L’Azerbaïdjan tente de dissimuler ses propres crimes
a Sumgayit, Bakou et d’autres regions de la population armenienne sous
le couvert de Khodjalou. En realite Khodjalou etait la provocation
de l’Azerbaïdjan contre le Front populaire Mutalibov, dont le regime
Aliyev tente de faire usage d’aujourd’hui.

“Il est necessaire de deposer une plainte contre l’Azerbaïdjan pour
diffusion de fausses informations concernant les evenements Khodjalou.

De nombreux faits prouvent que le massacre de la population pacifique a
ete mis en ~uvre par le Front national d’Azerbaïdjan sur un territoire
contrôle par la partie azerbaïdjanaise ” a declare le politologue
Alexander Manasyan lors d’une conference de presse.

“Les forces du Karabakh ont informe Bakou de la preparation des
actions militaires pour liberer Khodjalou et ont demande a transferer
la population pacifique a travers le couloir humanitaire.

L’Azerbaïdjan a eu une chance de prendre la population de suite,
et le President a ensuite demande de le faire, ce qui n’est jamais
arrive “, a ajoute Manasyan.

Le journaliste tchèque Dana Mazalova a visite le site le lendemain.

Les Azeris l’avait prise pour voir “les cadavres de ceux sauvagement
assassines par les Armeniens “. Le journaliste tchèque l’ecrivit plus
tard a cet egard : ” Qui d’autre aurait pu le faire, sauf les troupes
azeries, lorsque le territoire etait sous leur contrôle ?”

Dans le cadre des 20 ans de l’evènement l’Azerbaïdjan essaye d’induire
en erreur la communaute internationale en inondant internet avec
des photos des cadavres d’Azerbaïdjanais, qui auraient ete tues par
les Armeniens.

L’AZERBAIJAN ACHETE POUR $1,6 MILLIARD D’ARMES A ISRAEL
Jean Eckian

armenews.com
mardi 28 fevrier 2012

Qu’on ne s’y trompe pas, l’accord de vente d’armes Israëliennes a
l’Azerbaïdjan n’aura d’autres buts que d’attaquer l’Armenie a plus
ou moins long terme dans l’objectif de recuperer le Haut-Karabakh.

Cette vente, sans precedent, comprend des drones anti-aeriens et des
systèmes de defense anti-missiles. De fait Israël devient la seule
source d’approvisionnement en armes pour l’Azerbaïdjan qui ne peut en
obtenir ni des Etats Unis ni d’Europe, reticents dans la mesure où
Bakou pourrait recourir a la guerre pour reprendre l’Artsakh. Merci
Israël…

Par le passe, Israël a toujours entretenu des relations strategiques
“amicales “avec la Turquie, jusqu’au jour du clash de Davos entre
Shimon Peres et Recep Tayyp Erdogan, puis avec l’affaire du Mavi
Marmara. C’est a compter de cet incident qu’israël a mis dans la
balance l’hypothetique reconnaissance du genocide des Armeniens. On
a ainsi assiste a divers rebondissements contradictoires ces derniers
mois.

En mai 2011, Advigor Lieberman, Ministre des Affaires etrangères
d’Israël, avait declare qu’il n’y avait aucune chance que la Knesset
reconnaisse le genocide armenien. Puis en septembre il annoncait un
rapprochement avec l’Armenie. En premier lieu, par la reconnaissance
du genocide armenien dans l’Empire ottoman ; voulant en cela punir la
Turquie de son arrogance. Mais c’etait sans compter sur la pugnacite
de son Vice-ministre Danny Ayalon fervent soutien a l’Azerbaïdjan,
et qui dira fin novembre 2011 : ” la Knesset ne reconnaîtra pas le
genocide armenien. Ceux qui ont l’intention d’y parvenir, n’ont pas
la moindre chance. Nous ne pouvons pas endommager nos relations avec
l’Azerbaïdjan, notre partenaire strategique majeur dans le monde
musulman, en raison de questions controversees sur des evenements
datant d’un siècle. “.

Et “bizarrement”, au mois de janvier 2012, Advigor Lieberman
revenait sur ses declarations en indiquant que la question
vieille de 100 ans est une question devant etre decidee “par des
historiens, pas des politiciens.” Quinze jours plus tard, le ministre
intervenant sur la RTVI, disait : “Pas un seul pays, sauf la France
a legislativement reconnu le genocide armenien. Nous n’avons aucune
intention d’interferer. De nos jours, les evenements historiques se
transforment en conflit politique. Par consequent, je ne pense pas
qu’Israël doit intervenir. ” La preference ira donc vers un conflit
arme entre l’Armenie et l’Azerbaïdjan, plutôt qu’une discorde politique
avec le riche Azerbaïdjan.

Ainsi le courageux President de la Knesset, Reuven Rivlin, dû
remiser dans les cartons le dossier poussiereux de la question de
la reconnaissance du genocide des Armeniens. En consequence de quoi
l’accord de vente d’armes a l’Azerbaîdjan pu se conclure pour la
somme colossale de 1,6 milliard de dollars.

Le Groupe de Minsk de l’OSCE doit se rendre a Erevan debut mars. Igor
Popov (Russie), Robert Bradtke (Etats-Unis) et Jacques Faure (France)
devraient rencontrer le President Sarkissian et Edward Nalbandian,
ministre des Affaires etrangères, pour discuter de nouvelles mesures
visant a resoudre le conflit opposant l’Armenie a l’Azerbaïdjan sur
la question du Haut-Karabakh.

Le froid durable qui s’est installe dans les relations entre Israël
et la Turquie, n’a donc manifestement pas affecte les relations entre
Israël et l’Azerbaïdjan, Etat ” frère ” de la Turquie au sud Caucase.

Les toutes dernières tentatives de l’Occident en vue de negocier
avec l’Iran les termes d’un accord sur la fin de son programme
nucleaire militaire n’ont guère porte de fruits et Israël, a defaut
de pouvoir compter sur son allie turc, courtise l’Azerbaïdjan a coups
de technologie militaire dont est si friand l’Etat du Sud Caucase,
en delicatesse avec l’Iran avec lequel il partage pourtant un Islam
d’obediance chiite.

Fort des devises que lui rapporte la manne petrolière, le regime du
president Aliev est desireux avant tout de moderniser son armee dans
le but presque declare de reconquerir le Karabagh et Israël peut lui en
fournir les moyens, notamment avec ces fameux, drones, dont un specimen
avait ete abattu en septembre 2011 par les forces armees du Karabagh.

Depuis mars 2011, une societe mixte israelo-azerie se charge
d’assembler en Azerbaïdjan les pièces de ces drones israeliens dont la
plupart sont destines a equiper l’armee azerie. En septembre 2011,
Azeris et Israeliens avaient evoque la possibilite de lancer la
construction commune de drones de combat, equipes de missiles.

ARMENIA IN FOCUS
Thomas Michalakos

Sportsnet.ca

Feb 27 2012
Canada

When you think of budding football nations, Armenia would not make
the cut.

Since gaining independence after the split-up of the Soviet Union
in 1992, the Highlanders have never qualified for a major tournament
and are normally considered a stepping stone for the more established
national teams in UEFA. Most consider them as an easy three points,
lumped in with similar minnows such as San Marino, Andorra, Moldova
and Liechtenstein.

But the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign resulted in a major change of
fortune, with Armenia becoming the predator instead of the prey and
coming within 90 minutes of making history.

With Canada set to play Armenia in Cyprus Wednesday in a friendly,
most people are unaware of the Canucks’ latest opponents. Here is a
rough guide on what you need to know about Armenian football and who
to watch out for when the two countries meet.

History

In just under 20 years, Armenia has made significant strides to gain
respectability in the world of football. Their lowest FIFA ranking was
159 (June 1994), but now the tiny nation of just over three million
inhabitants are 41st in the world and 25th in Europe, their best ever
seeding in their short history.

Development has not been easy, especially prior to 1991 when the
domestic league fell under the Soviet football pyramid and was
nothing more than a regional tournament. Some of the country’s best
even suited up for the USSR. After the collapse of communism, the
Armenian Football Federation was formed and they immediately created
their own identity by setting up a Premier League, First Division
and domestic cup competition (Independence Cup) in 1992.

Currently the top tier consists of eight teams and the second tier
has nine, although all the clubs in the lower division are reserve
sides from the Premiership. FC Pyunik is the most decorated club in
Armenian football with 13 league titles, five Independence Cups and
eight Armenian Supercups. They are also the most popular club in the
country and boast an incredible list of graduates — most of the top
players in Armenia have come through their youth set-up.

However last year saw a new team lift the title for the first time
in ten seasons, with Ulisses FC being crowned champions. No club
has ever made it to the group stages of a European competition,
a statistic that might soon change.

Qualification Results

First International Match: Armenia vs. Moldova (0-0) in Yerevan

1996 European Cup Qualifying: last place in their group, beat Macedonia
in Skopje for their only victory. Conceded seventeen times and only
scored five goals in 10 matches. Almost earned a result in Seville
against Spain, but lost on a second-half penalty.

1998 World Cup Qualifying: finished in fourth place ahead of Northern
Ireland and Albania, but 12 points back of a birth to the finals.

Started the group stage with a morale-boosting goalless draw at home
to Portugal, and recorded a 3-0 victory over the last-place Albanians
towards the end of qualifying.

2000 European Cup Qualifying: finished second from bottom, with both
wins coming against last-place Andorra. Best result in defeat came
against France, losing 3-2 at the Hrazdan Stadium after taking the
early lead.

2002 World Cup Qualifying: another last place finish, ending without
a win and five draws in 10 matches. Best result came in 1-1 draw at
home to eventual group winners Poland, and lost a heartbreaker to
Ukraine 3-2 after being taking a two-goal lead at home.

2004 European Cup Qualifying: beat Northern Ireland twice to finish
ahead of them in the group, fourth from five teams and ten points
off a playoff spot that included eventual cup winners Greece

2006 World Cup Qualifying: both wins came against lowly Andorra,
which kept them from finishing at the foot of the group. Terrible
defensively, conceding 25 goals in twelve matches, most in their
history at a major tournament. Almost produced a shocking result in
Yerevan against group winners Netherlands, but a second-half goal by
Ruud van Nistelrooy ruined a good overall performance.

2008 European Cup Qualifying: UEFA decided to cancel both legs versus
Azerbaijan, leaving both teams with only 12 matches played instead of
14. Finished second-last in group, but recorded back-to-back victories
against Kazakhstan and Poland, before tying Portugal at home. Despite
positive results, four goals scored came in those three matches.

2010 World Cup Qualifying: Another disappointing finish, dead last
in group with a single victory against Belgium at home. The result
was followed by an impressive performance versus Spain, coming from
behind before losing 2-1 from a second-half penalty by Juan Mata. Only
six goals scored in 10 matches.

2012 European Cup Qualifying: best result yet, finishing third and
missing a playoff spot by four points. Won five matches from 10,
leading group with 22 goals scored. Beat Slovakia in both legs,
recording their best ever result with a 4-0 victory in Zilina. Loss
on final day ended Cinderella run. Armenia scored two goals in the
match, however one was an own goal by Valeri Aleksanyan which gave
Ireland the 2-1 win.

Players to Watch

Gevorg Ghazaryan (Metalurh Donetsk): plays as an attacking midfielder
or a striker and earned first international cap in 2007. He has scored
six goals in 23 matches for the national team, five of them coming
in 2012 qualifying, and is one of Armenia’s main goal threats.

Marcos Pizzelli (FC Kuban Krasnodar): Brazilian by birth, the attacking
midfielder made his debut for the national side in 2008 after gaining
citizenship, scoring five goals in 18 matches — four of them coming
from the recent qualifying campaign. He spent five seasons in the
Armenian top flight, winning three scoring titles with 75 goals in
total. Possesses the skill to also create chances for teammates and
is one of the team’s main threats in the offensive zone.

Yura Movsisyan (FC Krasnodar): played in the MLS for Real Salt Lake
between 2007 and 2009. The forward led the team with five assists in
qualifying, and is not afraid to pull the trigger if given a chance
on goal, adding four goals in the process.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Shakhtar Donetsk): by far the best player on the
pitch for Armenia. The midfielder was purchased for 7.5 million Euros
from his former employers Metalurh Donetsk last year, and made his
Champions League debut this season. Netted eight times in 27 matches
for the national team, six of those strikes came in qualification
for the team lead. Only three goals shy of Armenia’s all-time leader
Arthur Petrosyan

Sargis Hovsepyan (FC Pyunik): the 39-year-old defender is national
team captain and leads by example at the back. He has accumulated 125
international caps in 20 years of service, becoming Armenia’s all-time
leader. Over 300 appearances with FC Puynik, achieved legendary
status in his country for being one of their most decorated players,
winning nine Armenian Premiership titles and four Independence Cups.

Roman Berezovsky (Dynamo Moscow): considered one of the country’s best
goalkeepers of all-time, with 69 international caps under his belt.

Most of career spent in Russia with Zenit St. Petersburg and FC Khimki,
racking up 300 appearances in total for both clubs. Earned four clean
sheets in 2012 Euro qualifying, helping Armenia concede the fewest
amount of goals in a single tournament — their best defensive result
with only 10 goals allowed in as many matches.

——————————————————————————–
International friendlies: Watch England-Netherlands live on Sportsnet,
Germany-France live on Sportsnet World and Italy-USA live on Sportsnet
ONE starting at 2:30pm ET on February 29.

——————————————————————————–

The Manager

Vardan Minasyan officially took over as full-time manager in February
2010, and has guided the team through their recent turnaround. Only 38
years old, his professional playing career was short-lived and ended
in 2003, spending most of that time with FC Pyunik as a midfielder.

Minasyan has earned the trust of his players by producing results
and has developed a solid foundation that will continue to improve
through time. Armenia plays an attacking brand of football (4-3-3)
under their new manager, but his players are well drilled on keeping
things tight in the defensive end.

The Final Verdict

This will be a great test for Canada, as Armenia sits 30 places
above them in the FIFA rankings and hold a higher seed than all
three opponents the Canucks will face in the third round of CONCACAF
qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.

Thomas Michalakos is a former associate producer with Sportsnet’s
Soccercentral and writes the weekly blog Soccerholic365. Follow Thomas
on Twitter.

ARMENIAN MPS DISCUSS BILL ON STATE OF EMERGENCY

Vestnik Kavkaza
Feb 27 2012
Russia

The Armenian parliament has approved discussions of the bill on a
state of emergency, News Armenia reports.

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan proposed Chairman of Parliament
Samvel Nikoyan to update the bill, which was approved in the first
reading on February 9. The bill says that a state of emergency should
only be imposed in case of a threat to the Constitution or attempts
to organize a coup.

A state of emergency may come into force in cases of military
rebellions, mass disorders, terrorism, occupation or blockade of
facilities, operation of illegal armed formations, ethnic, racial,
religious conflicts, resulting in violence or threats to lives.

Attempts to pass the bill were made in twice in 2007, but the
initiative was halted due to disagreements.

AZERBAIJAN DISCUSSES FRENCH ROLE IN MINSK GROUP AT OSCE PA

Vestnik Kavkaza
Feb 27 2012
Russia

Azerbaijan has raised discussions of France’s role as a co-chair
of the Minsk Group at the 11th session of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly, Azerbaijani Vice Speaker of Parliament Bakhar Muradova said,
Trend reports.

The Azerbaijani delegation in Vienna also discussed the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, taking into account the recently-passed bill
on criminalization of denial of genocide in France. A French official
said that the bill was passed for all massacres and bloodshed. It
has not come into force and is being considered by the Constitutional
Council.