Author: Babajanian Karo

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING TO BE SOLD TO HOTEL CHAIN?

epress.am
09.23.2011

Armenian authorities intend to sell the buildings that house the RA
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the RA Ministry of Economy, as well
as the Noyan Tapan (“Noah’s Ark”) stationary supply and book store,
according to local daily Joghovurd (“People” or “Nation”).

Citing well-informed sources, Joghovurd reports that the buildings in
Yerevan’s Republic Square will be sold to the Kempinski luxury hotel
group. There is even talk of the initial value of the complex being
$500 million USD.

The practicalities of the deal haven’t yet been discussed because
the authorities haven’t decided yet to where the ministries currently
housed in these buildings will be relocated.

Head of the State Property Management Department of the Armenian
Government Arman Sahakyan, speaking to the paper, however, refuted
these claims, saying such an issue wasn’t discussed and the authorities
have no such intentions.

LA TURQUIE CRITIQUE LA PROPOSITION SARKOZY A LA PALESTINE
[email protected]

armenews.com
samedi 24 septembre 2011

TURQUIE

Le vice-Premier ministre turc, Bulent Arinc, a rejete jeudi la
proposition faite a l’ONU par le president francais d’un statut
intermediaire pour les Palestiniens, la comparant a l’opposition de
Nicolas Sarkozy a l’entree de la Turquie dans l’UE.

Ces derniers temps, concernant la reconnaissance d’un Etat palestinien,
“il semble que certains pays ont change leurs idees, en raison de
l’influence d’Israël”, a deplore Bulent Arinc lors d’une rencontre
avec des journalistes europeens.

“Ce qu’a dit Sarkozy a propos de la Palestine est comparable a ce qu’il
a dit a propos de la Turquie, quand il a propose qu’elle ne soit pas
un membre a part entière de l’Union europeenne”, a commente M. Arinc.

La France et l’Allemagne veulent proposer un “partenariat privilegie”
a la Turquie en lieu et place d’une pleine adhesion a l’UE, a-t-il
rappele : “C’est une erreur, alors que la Turquie est un partenaire
priviligie de l’UE depuis tant d’annees” et a toujours refuse ce
statut au cours de ces negociations d’adhesion avec les 27.

“J’espère que la proposition de la Palestine de devenir un membre a
part entière (de l’ONU) sera acceptee par le Conseil” de securite,
a-t-il ajoute.

Mercredi a la tribune de l’ONU, le president francais Nicolas Sarkozy
a largement repris les options discutees en coulisses par l’UE, en
proposant que les Palestiniens et les Israeliens s’entendent sur un
calendrier serre de negociations, tout en plaidant pour un statut
“intermediaire (…) d’Etat observateur” a l’ONU pour la Palestine.

A l’ONU, le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a estime de
son côte qu’il etait “necessaire de faire pression sur Israël pour
faire la paix” avec les Palestiniens.

ARMENIA WILL HAVE AZERBAIJANOLOGISTS

news.am
Sept 23 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – A new Master’s degree course, entitled “Key Issues of the
History of Azerbaijan,” will be taught at the Faculty of Oriental
Studies of Yerevan State University (YSU), YSU Student Department
Head Mihran Hakobyan stated, Yerkir daily writes.

‘”We are trying to prepare Azerbaijanologists, since today we do not
have specialists carrying out in-depth studies on Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is that state with which we have a conflict.

Considering that Baku State University has an Armenology chair, it is
time for us to likewise have normal Azerbaijanologist specialists,’
Hakobyan said,” Yerkir writes.

IRISH FOOTBALL SQUAD TO FACE ANDORRA AND ARMENIA

Sports News
Sept 23 2011
Ireland

Sports News 24/7Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has
announced a twenty seven man squad to face Andorra on October 7 and
Armenia on October11.

There are no real surprises with James McCarthy always looking likely
to feature in the senior sqaud this time. Kevin Kilbane comes back from
injury and Jon Walters gets the nod ahead of Newcastle’s Leon Best.

Making the announcement, the Republic of Ireland manager said,
“It is vital that we keep focused as we reach our final two games of
this campaign. We will approach them one game at a time. It is also
important for us to concentrate on our own results, rather than what is
happening in the group. We do not underestimate any of our opponents.”

To see the Republic of Ireland Squad, click on

MP: TURKEY HAS CLEAR POSITION ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Trend
Sept 23 2011
Azerbaijan

Turkey’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is clear and constant
in its support of Azerbaijan, Mustafa Kabakci, Turkish MP from the
ruling Justice and Development Party, told journalists on Friday.

“Turkey has always been against injustice and trying to fight against
it, whether in the Caucasus, the Middle East or elsewhere,” said
Kabakci, who is also Turkey-Azerbaijan friendship group chairman.

He stressed that the Turkish authorities have at every turn raised
the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in various international organizations.

The illegal occupation of the Azerbaijani territories that has lasted
for years must end, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said,
addressing the UN General Assembly session on Thursday.

“It is unacceptable that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue remains
unresolved,” he said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding
regions.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ALI HASANOV: “ARMENIA’S CAPITAL IRAVAN WAS A HISTORIC CITY OF AZERBAIJAN”

APA
Sept 23 2011
Azerbaijan

Baku. Parvin Abbasov – APA. “The capital of current Republic of
Armenia, Iravan was a historic city of Azerbaijan”, chairman of the
Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, Deputy Prime
Minister Ali Hasanov said.

He said current Republic of Armenia was founded in the historic lands
of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani people were deported from their historic lands in the
different periods of the history, said Hasanov and emphasized that
USSR troops helped Armenia to occupy 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands.

IRAN’S FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES ARMENIAN NATIONAL DAY

Islamic Republic News Agency website
Sept 21 2011
Tehran

Tehran, 21 September: First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi
cabled a message on Wednesday [21 September] to Armenian Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan, to congratulate him on the Independence Day
of the Republic of Armenia. “Herewith, I congratulate you and the
great people of Armenia on the occasion and I wish the two states’
struggle would lead to ever growing mutual ties in all regional and
international fields,” he said.

Rahimi said that the historical and cultural commonalities of the
two countries shape the valuable backbone to extend the mutual ties.

AZERBAIJAN DEMANDS CLOSING ARMENIAN ATOMIC ENERGY STATION

Azerbaijan demands that MAGATE take steps to close the atomic energy
station in Metsamor. This is what President of the National Academy
of Sciences of Azerbaijan Mahmud Kerimov told Azeri presses. Kerimov
is heading the Azeri delegation participating in the 55th sitting of
the MAGATE General Forum in Vienna on September 19-23.

“The atomic energy station in Metsamor must be shut down because it
presents a danger to the entire region,” said Kerimov.

He also mentioned that Armenia had been demanded to monitor the atomic
energy station along with experts from neighboring countries several
times, “but Armenia opposed this proposal”.

Let us mention that Turkey has also presented demands to European
and international organizations for the termination of the station’s
activities.

MAGATE monitors the Armenian atomic energy’s station from time to
time. The last monitoring was held in May by the OSART Commission’s
working group sponsored by MAGATE. Based on the Commission’s
examinations, the Ignalia and Kozlodu atomic stations in Lithuania
and Bulgaria were closed down.

After monitoring the atomic energy station in Metsamor, OSART mission
head Gabor Vamos had announced that the mission hadn’t noticed
anything unusual.

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVE KEEPS ALL DOCUMENTS OF INDEPENDENT ARMENIA EXCEPT FOR THE ORIGINAL DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Sona Hakobyan

“Radiolur”
22.09.2011 18:37

More than 30 mln documents have been gathered at the Armenian National
Archive ever since 1991. All documents related to the referendum have
been preserved, Director of the National Archive Amatuni Virabyan
told a press conference today. Only the original Declaration of
Independence signed by Levon Ter-Petrosyan has not been preserved.

“The Archive is a living organization, its documents and files must
be used. The National Archive has no problem in this regard: there
are a lot of readers and researchers,” the Director said.

According to Virabyan, there were certain difficulties in 1990s
because of the energy crisis. Nevertheless, most of the documents of
the Soviet period have been collected, only 5% has been lost.

All in all, today the National Archive keeps about 300 thousand files.

As for the accessibility of the archive materials, Amatuni Virabyan
said there are no secret documents except for the ones meant for
restricted use.

DIASPORA ADMIRES THE MIGHT OF ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 22, 2011 – 17:54 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Representatives of Armenian Organizations of
Diaspora, attending the 1st Pan-Armenian Forum, were present at
Yerevan-hosted military parade dedicated to 20th anniversary of
Armenia’s independence.

As the representatives of the organizations noted later, “Diaspora
admires the might of the armed forces of Armenia”.

On September 21, Yerevan hosted a grandiose military parade dedicated
to 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. The festive Republic
Square gathered huge masses, exultantly greeting marching soldiers
of Armenian, Artsakh and Russian armies and a vast range of defense
weaponry demonstrated.

SU-25 jet aircrafts, leaving colored streaks in the sky as they flew
by, as well as Mi-24, Mi-2 helicopter gunships were welcomed with
special enthusiasm. Those gathered were impressed by defence weaponry
demonstrated: 9ë72 Elbrus vehicle complex, 9K79-1 Tochka-U tactical
missile system, S-125 Pechora, K11 Krug and Osa surface-to-air missile
systems, GAZ-2975 Tigr high-mobility military vehicles, T-72 tanks,
heavy artillery, self-propelled howitzers, anti-tank missiles; Krunk
Armenian-made international standard missile drones were demonstrated.

The parade was led by the chief of the General Staff of the Armed
Forces, Colonel-General Yuri Khachaturov with Armenian Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanyan at reviewing stand.