Author: Babajanian Karo

ARMENIA FIRST IN REGION IN WINNING US GREEN CARDS

news.am, Armenia
Oct 13 2011

YEREVAN. – A total of 1,200 entrants from Armenia have won US Green
Card Lottery 2011.

And in the 2012 Lottery, the number of winners from Armenia is close
to one thousand, US Consul to Armenia Robert Farquhar stated, during a
press conference on Thursday, adding that with this indicator Armenia
is the clear leader in the region.

Farquhar also informed that in 2011 the number of Green Card Lottery
winners was around 700 in Georgia, and 350 in Azerbaijan. Also,
2,400 people became Green Card winners in Russia.

Green Card Lottery 2013 started on October 4 and it continues until
November 5. Every year around 55 thousand Green Cards are played in
this lottery, RFE/RL reported.

AZERBAIJAN WILL NOT CHANGE FORMAT OF OSCE MINSK GROUP TO RESOLVE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Vestnik Kavkaza
Oct 13 2011

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov told the Ukrainian
paper Dyen that they are not planning to change the format of the
OSCE Minsk Group in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azimov said that a change of format could be an option for some other
conflict. The OSCE Minsk Group operates according to the Helsinki
Act of 1975. USA, France and Russia are co-chairs of the group and
permanent members of the UN Security Council. Resolutions of the
UN Security Council passed in 1993 demand liberation of occupied
territories, return of refugees and realization of other measures.

Officials of Armenia and Azerbaijan may take part in the work of the
group. Speculations around Azerbaijan’s avoiding negotiations are
false, the deputy minister concludes.

AZERBAIJANI INTERIOR MINISTER VISITS YEREVAN

AZG DAILY
14-10-2011

The Council of Interior Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) will start its two-day meeting in Yerevan today to discuss
joint efforts to combat transnational crime in the loose grouping of
11 ex-Soviet states, including both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Officials say the meeting will focus on the implementation of CIS
agreements to that effect. The interior ministers and CIS Executive
Secretary Sergei Lebedev, who will also attend the meeting, are also
scheduled to meet with President Serzh Sargsian.

Azerbaijani Interior Minister Ramil Usubov is also in Yerevan to
participate in the meeting.

TURK ART DIRECTOR:WE NEED TO CLAIM OUR PAST IF WE WANT TO MOVE ON

Aysor.am
13.10.2011, 18:25

“Unfortunately, we are a society without a memory and we need to
claim our past if we want to modernize,” said AyÅ~_enil Å~^amlıoglu,
Istanbul Municipal Theater’s general art director who has staged
Hagop Baronyan’s “Eastern Dentist”.

In the interview given to Turkish “Hurriyet Daily News” AyÅ~_enil
Å~^amlıoglu said that the Armenians are the foundation of Turkish
theater and it is impossible to eradicate Armenian artists from
Turkish theater.

“We need to claim our past if we want to modernize. Unfortunately, we
are a society without a memory; we ignored people who had been living
on this soil for thousands of years due to ideological reasons. It is
impossible for us to eradicate Armenian artists from Turkish theater,”
AyÅ~_enil Å~^amlıoglu said.

AZERBAIJAN’S INTERIOR MINISTER ARRIVING IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 13, 2011 – 15:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijan’s Interior Minister is to arrive in
Armenia.

Colonel-general Ramil Usubov is expected to take part in the session
of the Interior Ministers of the CIS member states to be held in
Yerevan from October 13 to 15, news.az reported quoting the ministry’s
press service.

The Ministers will focus on ways to combat organized crime throughout
the CIS.

ARMENIAN GREEN CARD WINNERS TOP NEIGHBORS IN REGION

Tert.am
18:18 ~U 13.10.11

Some 1,200 Armenian citizens have been declared winners of the United
States 2011 Green Card Lottery, and another 1,000 have been issued the
diversity immigrant visas for 2012, the US Consul to Armenia has said.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Robert Farquhar told the Armenian
service of RFE/RL that Armenia tops the neighboring countries with
the number of its green card winners.

He said 700 residents of Georgia and 350 residents of Azerbaijan won
green cards in 2011. As for Russia, the diplomat said 2,400 citizens
of that country have become winners of diversity visas this year.

The 2013 Green Card Lottery was launched on October 4 and will last
through November 5. Every year the program offers 55,000 visas to
the resident of eligible countries.

Farquhar said the lottery is organized for the countries with low
emigration records. In the meantime he noted that the citizens of
states whose emigration rate exceeded 55,000 in the past five years
are not eligible to apply for diversity visas.

PALESTINIANS TO APPLY FOR FULL MEMBERSHIP IN UN AGENCIES

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 13, 2011 – 17:19 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Palestinians will apply for full membership
of as many United Nations agencies as possible as part of push to
advance their national interests, an official said.

According to Reuters, the plan is likely to generate more criticism
from the United States, which has pledged to veto a Palestinian request
last month for full membership of the United Nations, if it comes to
a vote in the Security Council.

The Palestinians have been preparing their drive for membership of
the U.N. agencies over the past two years as part of a plan to get
ready for statehood, said Omar Awadallah, who heads the UN department
at the foreign ministry.

“Our policy is now toward gaining membership of all international
organizations, and specialized organizations of the United Nations as
a full member,” he told Reuters in an interview. “We are not looking
for confrontation, we are looking to secure our rights,” he said.

The plan advanced last week with a Palestinian application for
full membership of the Paris-based UN cultural body UNESCO. The
organization’s board decided to put the application to a vote in a
general assembly meeting later this month.

Opposed by the United States, it was the Palestinians’ first
application for full membership of a UN agency since President Mahmoud
Abbas asked the United Nations in New York to admit Palestine as a
full member state on September 23.

HAYPOST OPENS POSTAL OFFICE IN AJAPNYAK

ARMENPRESS
15:40, 13 October, 2011

The final stage of “Haypost Marathon 2011” is in its final stage.

Almost every day official reopening of one postal office takes place.

On October 13 official reopening of 0038 postal office (Shinararneri
str. 10) took place.

Head of Adjapnyak Municipality Staff Ashot Mikayelyan, management of
“Haypost Trust Management” and “Haypost” CJSC as well as inhabitants
partook in the ceremony. After congratulations to the inhabitants, Mr.

Mikayelyan stressed the comfortable conditions of the post office.

In his turn “Haypost” CJSC acting CEO Haik Avagyan reminded that not
only the program of post offices renovating is implementing but also
a thorough program of improving the quality of services of postal
offices is started.”.

By “Haypost marathon 2011” Program it is envisaged to reopen 50 postal
offices not only in Yerevan, but also in marzes in Armenia.

By the Program of Haypost Trust Management it is planned to increase
the number of renovated post offices up to 250 for the next 5 years,
and to augment the services-including commercial ones- specific to
nowadays postal operators.

ARMENIA’S STATE YOUTH ORCHESTRA TO GIVE CONCERT IN YEREVAN

ARMENPRESS
15:58, 13 October, 2011

Concert of Armenia’s State Youth Orchestra will take place October
15 at Aram Khachatryan concert hall. With it the orchestra will
conclude the events of dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s
independence.

Speaking to reporters today art director and chief conductor of the
orchestra Sergey Smbatyan said they are looking forward to the concert
as they did not have concert program in Armenia for three months. He
also underlined the circumstance that on that day a number of Armenian
musicians living abroad will perform for the Armenian audience.

BBC: AZERBAIJAN PAID TO FIX 2012 OLYMPIC BOXING MEDALS

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 13, 2011 – 13:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – BBC Newsnight has uncovered evidence of secret
payments of millions of dollars from Azerbaijan to international
boxing organization World Series Boxing (WSB).

According to the report, whistleblowers say that WSB’s chief claimed
the money was in return for a guarantee that Azerbaijani fighters
would win two boxing gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics.

The boxing organizer at the Olympics, AIBA, admits an Azeri national
paid $9m (£5.9m) to one of their competitions. But they deny any deal
to fix medals. Lawyers for the International Amateur Boxing Association
(AIBA) told the BBC that any such allegation was “preposterous and
utterly untrue”.

That view was backed by AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, who told
Newsnight that the claims were “totally untrue and ludicrous”, adding
that “WSB is conducted in a totally transparent way”.

However, he said that AIBA had a zero tolerance policy on corruption
and that he would conduct an immediate investigation into the
allegations.

Whistleblowers say a senior WSB member said gold medals had been
promised. Whistleblowers from inside boxing approached Newsnight with
allegations about the Chief Operating Officer of the AIBA’s World
Series Boxing (WSB), Ivan Khodabakhsh.

WSB had run into financial difficulties in America and was in need
of funding.

The insiders said Mr Khodabakhsh told them that a secret deal had been
done to secure funding from Azerbaijan in return for manipulation of
the Olympic boxing tournament to guarantee gold medals for Azerbaijani
fighters.

One insider told Newsnight: “Ivan boasted to a few of us that there
was no need to worry about World Series Boxing having the coin to
pay its bills. As long as the Azeris got their medals, WSB would have
the cash.”

Another said that Mr Khodabakhsh came in and said: “We are safe now –
Azerbaijan came in – we have to give them medals for that.”

“He was talking about gold medals in London in return for millions
of dollars of secret payments,” the insider added. “Medals are being
sold so blatantly it’s amazing.”

But Mr Khodabakhsh told Newsnight that claims that there was any deal
with Azerbaijan were “an absolute lie”.

“I deny that I have offered anyone two gold medals or have any
understanding that anybody else has offered two gold medals to
Azerbaijan,” he added.

AIBA has previously claimed that the money for WSB America came from
a private Swiss company, but documents obtained by Newsnight show
communications between Mr Khodabakhsh, AIBA executive director Ho
Kim and Azerbaijan’s Minister for Emergency Situations Kamaladdin
Heydarov about an investment agreement for a $10m loan.

These include an e-mail from Mr Khodabakhsh to the ministry in
Azerbaijan with the following request: “Please transfer the investment
money soonest possible to the WSB America account.”