Author: Babajanian Karo

ACTION FOR THE SUPPORT OF ARMENIA TODAY COORDINATOR ARGISHTI KIVIRYAN HELD NEAR BUILDING OF ARMENIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE
by Ashot Safaryan

ARMINFO
Friday, August 30, 17:32

An action for the support of ARMENIA Today Coordinator Argishti
Kiviryan was held near the building of Armenian Prosecutor General’s
Office on Friday. Argishti Kiviryan was summoned to the Special
Investigation Service for questioning on Aug 30. The demonstrators were
holing posters saying “Argishti, we support you!”, “Armenia needs no
prisoners”, “Keep your hands off Argishti Kiviryan”, as well as the
photos of Kiviryan severely beaten by the police.

Kiviryan says that the Investigation Service considers him a witness,
while the decision on institution of the criminal case mentions him as
a person who has committed violence against the police. “They should
have summoned me as the aggrieved party, but their goal is to summon
me as a defendant”, says Kiviryan.

To recall, Kiviryan was severely beaten Aug 24 evening during the
action of protest against construction of a high-class apartment
building in Komitas Street.

Kiviryan says that he is ready to identify those who beat him. The
information about the beating of Kiviryan and the relevant photos
were posted on Facebook at midnight. According to the information, the
police hindered provision of emergency medical services to Kiviryan. A
criminal case has been instituted under Article 316 of the Armenian
Criminal Code (violence against officials).

Earlier this week Kiviryan told ArmInfo’s correspondent that the
criminal case had been instituted under an absolutely different
“scenario”. He is sure that that his detention, beating and the
following processes were aimed at isolating him and causing an
atmosphere of fear in the public. Kiviryan connects the police’s
actions with his journalistic and public activities.

ACTIVISTS PREPARE TO STORM INDOOR MARKET
by Karina Manukyan

ARMINFO
Friday, August 30, 17:30

The civil movement “Let’s save the monument from the oligarch” is
going to intensify the fight for maintenance of the Indoor Market.

Ani Kochar, an activist of the movement, said at today’s press
conference that on August 31 the activists will start peaceful actions
in front of the Indoor Market and will constantly control the situation
to prevent any attempts to continue the construction and repair in
the Market. She does not rule out that the tension around the Market
may escalate, because there may be provokers and corrupt “activists”.

Kochar pointed at the Armenian Culture Ministry’s repeated statements
about the illegal construction in the area of the Indoor Market.

Despite these statements, the construction was continued and almost
completed. According to the media reports, the Indoor Market will
open in mid September as an ordinary supermarket.

Activist Sarhat Petrosyan, in turn, pointed at the Convention for the
Protection of the Architectural Heritage. According to the Convention
and to the current legislation of Armenia, the state has the right to
deprive the owner of the property rights in case the latter damages
the monument.

The Civic Movement “Let’s save the monument from the oligarch” has
recently been set up in defense of the Indoor Market. Architect Sashur
Kalashyan, activist Yeghia Nersisyan, analyst Garegin Chugaszyan,
singer Artur Ispiryan and many other well-known people are among
the members of the movement. The owner of the indoor market is
oligarch-parliamentarian Samvel Aleksanyan.

The Indoor Market was built in 1952 by Armenian architect Grigory
Aghababyan’s project and has been considered one of the symbols
of the Armenian capital since then. The repair inside the building
has damaged the original exterior of the building. In early June,
the municipality promised that the constructions erected inside the
building would be demolished and the original appearance would be
restored. However, these constructions have not been dismantled.

YASHAR JAFARLI: INTERVIEW WITH INJIGHULYAN WAS SHOWN FOR DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION IN AZERBAIJAN

16:13 30/08/2013 ” REGION

Footage of a captured Armenian soldier shown on Azerbaijani has
provoked fury in his Armenia, where the feeling is that he was coerced
into giving a TV interview, Idrak Abbasov and Vahe Harutyunyan write
in site of Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR).

Armenian officials say Private Hakob Injighulyan, 22, got lost and
strayed over the border into Azerbaijan on the night of August 7-8.

Deputy foreign minister Shavarsh Khocharyan told reporters that the
soldier crossed the front line by accident because his sight was poor.

He also noted that the Azerbaijani side deliberately was delaying
access to the prisoner when this was requested by the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“It’s now clear why Azerbaijani officials didn’t grant permission for
ICRC representatives to see the Armenian prisoner. They were preparing
him for the interview,” he said. “Azerbaijan is clearly trying to cause
problems for Injighulyan in his home country, although the Armenian
authorities have already announced that he will not be subjected to
a legal investigation when he comes home.”

According to the material ICRC staff eventually got to see Injighulyan
on August 20, and passed a letter from the soldier to his family,
in which he wrote that he was being well treated.

That did little to reassure the likes of Larisa Alaverdyan, a
well-known human rights activist, who wrote an open letter accusing
Azerbaijan of breaching the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment
of prisoners-of-war.

“If Armenia and Azerbaijan are not at war, they are not at peace,
either. An uneasy truce has been in place since 1994, when an end to
open hostilities in the Nagorny Karabakh conflict was negotiated.

Since then, Karabakh has had its own Armenian administration while
Azerbaijan continues to press its claim to reclaim the area,” the
material says.

Armen Badalyan, an analyst with the Centre for Political Studies in
Yerevan, recalled the case of Manvel Saribekyan, an Armenian captured
inside Azerbaijan in 2010. Who according to authorities in Baku later
had committed suicide. Azerbaijani officials accused him of being on
a sabotage mission. The Armenian authorities said Saribekyan was a
local shepherd whose only mission was to find some stray animals. When
his body was returned to Yerevan, prosecutors said it showed signs
of beatings.

Yashar Jafarli, a retired lieutenant-colonel in the Azerbaijan army,
argued that the interview with Injighulyan had been shown for domestic
consumption in Azerbaijan, to counter public anger into the frequent
death of conscripts. The idea, he said, was to show people that the
Armenian army was even worse.

“You mustn’t forget what kind of pressure these young men are under
when they speak,” he added. “Both Azerbaijan and Armenia are taking
part in this information war,” Jafarli noted.

The authors of the article note that, the head of Armenian Apostolic
Church, Catholicos Karekin II, wrote to the official leader of
Azerbaijan’s Muslim majority, Allahshukur Pashazade, asking him to
intervene on Injighulyan’s behalf. Pashazade has yet to respond.

Earlier MoD NKR reported that on the night of August 8th, at about
03.00, the citizen of the Republic of Armenia Hakob Gevorg Injighulyan,
born in 1991, had lost his bearings on the terrain and inadvertently
crossed the Line of Contact. He was subsequently found in the area
of protection of Azerbaijani troops and captured by the latter.

Source: Panorama.am

SYRIAN EMBASSY IN YEREVAN ANNOUNCES SYRIAN AUTHORITIES DID NOT USE CHEMICAL WEAPONS AGAINST ITS PEOPLE

18:38, 30 August, 2013

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS: Syrian government did not use
chemical weapons against its people and will never implement such step
taking into consideration moral, legal, political and humanitarian
aspects. “Armenpress” reports that about this is mentioned in circular
note of Syrian embassy in Armenia directed to representatives of
Armenia media. In the note is mentioned that the only side using
chemical weapons are armed terrorist groups.

Syria demands to judge the terrorists who used chemical weapons and
their supporters. The country called the sides blaming Syrian army
in using chemical weapons to introduce evidences on that occasion.

“The aggression aggravation by USA, Great Britain, France and
their allies against Syria, speaking with threats and making urgent
conclusions in case of absence of evidences of using chemical weapons
by Syrian government have the aim to undermine the UN mission’s
work. Any aggression against Syria will damage UN, its statue,
credibility and role. Using of force against Syria by Western
countries in support of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar brings back
the colonial logic and so threatens the security and independence of
developing countries. It creates the necessity of joining internal
and international positions for preventing western aggressive plans,”
is mentioned in the circular note.

The situation was aggravated in Syria on August 21 when media informed
about using chemical weapons in suburbs of Damascus.

According to preliminary information 600 people were killed in result
of attack. According to other sources numbers of dead people reached
1300. After the incident the governmental forces and opposition
announced about their non-participation in using chemical weapons
blaming each other in it. USA increased its military presence around
Syria activating the discussion of military intervention scenario.

RUSSIA’S NEW BOMBER TO BE ARMED WITH HYPERSONIC WEAPONS: SOURCE

August 30, 2013 – 17:23 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russia’s next generation long-range bomber PAK-DA
will be armed with hypersonic weapons, a Defense Ministry source told
RIA Novosti, the news agency reported.

“PAK-DA will be equipped with all advanced types of precision guided
weapons, including hypersonic,” the source said, adding that the
bomber itself will be subsonic.

Earlier this week, Boris Obnosov, general director of the Tactical
Missile Systems Corporation, revealed that Russia has developed
a hypersonic missile. However, he added that although it has been
developed, it can only make seconds-long flights.

In September 2012, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin,
whose brief covers the defense industry, announced plans to merge
the Tactical Missile Corporation and NPO Mashinostroyenie.

Lt. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, commander of the Russian Air Force
Long-Range Aviation, previously said the first PAK-DA bombers will
enter service by 2020.

In August 2012, Rogozin told the Rossiya 24 TV network “I think we
need to go down the route of hypersonic technology and we are moving
in that direction and not falling behind the Americans.”

Newspaper: Armenian authorities are ready to make concessions in
matter of Vano Siradeghyan’s return to Armenia

by Ashot Safaryan
Saturday, August 31, 17:37

The rumors about ex-Interior Minister of Armenia Vano Siradeghyan’s
return have recently become more active in Armenia, Hraparak newspaper
says.

The source says that the circles close to the authorities have
discussed this issue suggesting that the authorities are ready to make
concessions provided Siradeghyan returns and goes to jail for some
time. “The trial will be resumed and impartial investigation will be
conducted”, says the newspaper.

To recall, Siradeghyan is charged with organizing a number of murders
and attempted murders from 1992 to 1994. Following the resignation of
the first President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan in 1998, the
investigation of the murders intensified and the defendants claimed
that all the murders and attempted murders had been committed by
Siradeghyan’s instruction. In 2000 Siradeghyan fled Armenia and has
been internationally wanted since then.

Syrian Opposition Vows to Join Ranks with Assad if US Attacks Syria

Sat Aug 31, 2013 6:24

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Syrian opposition figure warned Washington that
all its interests in the region will be attacked by battalions of
suicide bombers formed by the Syrian opposition forces if it dares to
attack Syria, stressing that homeland is more important to the
dissidents than opposition to the government.

“Although, we are among the Syrian government’s opposition forces, we
assume our homeland’s interests to be more important than any other
interest and therefore, we have formed a number of battalions to
conduct suicide operations and target the US interests in the
Middle-East,” Secretary-General of al-Shabab Party Mahir Marhaj told
FNA on Saturday.

He blasted the US and its allies’ warmongering policies and threats,
and said, “We in al-Shabab party are highly prepared to confront any
war against Syria.”

Marhaj warned the White House against the consequences of war in
Syria, and said even a limited western invasion of the country will
turn into an open and unlimited war with unforeseen consequences when
Damascus gives back its crushing response.

The White House has signaled that Obama is still open to launching a
`limited’ strike against Syria after reports alleged that Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad’s government was responsible for a chemical
gas attack that left hundreds of Syrians, including children, dead.
The Syrian government has strongly rejected the accusation.

But within Syria, opposition to foreign-backed military attack on
Syria has grown. This can help end the Syrian crisis in a shorter
time, military analysts say.

The daily crimes committed by the foreign-backed militant groups have
pushed many in the opposition to distant themselves from the
dissidents and join ranks with the Damascus government.

In one of such cases, more than 8,000 Syrian people tired of terrorist
attacks gathered in Ibrahim Hanano square in Idlib in January to voice
their hatred for terrorists and renew their support for the Syrian
government and army as government troops made major advancements in
various parts of the country.

Also in January, in Homs, people in various districts, including
Shaare’ Al-Hazareh, Wadi Al-Dahab, Akramatel Jadidah, Hayezzahra and
Armen marched in support of President Assad and the Syrian Army and
asked for the exit of terrorists and armed groups from different parts
of Homs.

Turkish politician makes cynical comparison with Armenian lobby

August 31, 2013 | 14:40

Leader of `The Great Union Party’, a Turkish far-right Islamist party,
in a cynical manner compared the work of Turkish match-fixing lobby
with the efforts of the Armenian lobby.

Mustafa Destici regrets over UEFA decision, adding that Turkish
match-fixing lobby is stronger than the Armenian lobby, Haberyurdum
reported.

`Turkish match-fixing lobby achieved adoption of two bills in the
parliament, whereas Armenian lobby has been struggling for years for
adoption of a bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide,’ Destici said.

According to the UEFA decision, Fenerbahce was excluded from
participating in the next two UEFA club competitions for which they
would qualify.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Impossible to resume fights between Armenia and Syria at the moment –
Syrian Airlines

August 31, 2013 | 15:10

YEREVAN. – There is no possibility to resume flights between Armenia
and Syria at the moment, head of Yerevan office Susanna Hovhannisyan
told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

She recalled that the Yerevan-Qamishli flight planned for August 28
was not operated.

Hovhannisyan said 64 people expressed willingness to fly from Yerevan
to Qamishli and then to Damascus, but the flight has not been included
in booking system.

The previous Damscus- Qamishli-Yerevan flights were operated on April
16 and July 5. The flights between Armenia and Syria have been
suspended since then.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

FLORIDA DID NOT ACCEPT ANY RESOLUTION ON AGHDAM EVENTS

13:14 30/08/2013 ” REGION

Some Azerbaijani media has disseminated materials titled “The State
of Florida has recognized the genocide in Khojalu” which contains
undisguised disinformation. Thus, the site ANS-Press, for example,
with reference to the State Committee for Work with Diaspora of
Azerbaijan reports that” resolution on the recognition of Khojalu
genocide was adopted, which was prepared by Defni Campbell a member
of the House of Representatives of the State of Florida.”

On February 26, 1992, during the war in Karabakh, around 200 to 300
people (according to Human Right Watch, and 600 according to the
version propagated by the Azerbaijani version) were killed under
unascertained circumstances near the city of Aghdam. They have been
deliberately withheld by the Azerbaijani authorities in the midst of
the military actions. Population of the village of Khojalu, which was a
firing point shooting at the blockaded Stepanakert (among five others)
was kept in the village for months by force and was not evacuated
by the authorities of Azerbaijan deliberately, in order to use them
as human shields later. Residents of Khojalu, who left the village
by the humanitarian corridor that the self-defense forces of NKR had
left open, freely passed more than 10 km and reached the Aghdam city
controlled by the Azerbaijani troops. Later, not far from the positions
of the Azerbaijani troops, bodies of the villagers were found. The
exact death toll remains unknown as the official Baku publishes data
contradicting each other. Parliamentary Commission investigating the
tragic death of the civilians at Aghdam city was dissolved by the
order of Heydar Aliyev, and the evidences are kept in secret.

Let’s return back to Florida, where the state House of Representatives
simply was not able to adopt a resolution, because it was in holiday
at the moment. Thus, the Azerbaijani public is misinformed either by
the abovementioned state agency, or by the media. Just a look at the
document, a copy of which is so diligently replicated in Azerbaijan, is
enough to become sure: this is a request of only one of the members of
the House – Defni Campbell. There is nothing noted about a resolution,
which was voted by the members of the House.

Meanwhile, it is worth to get to know Defni Campbell, who has decided
to defend the interests of the Azerbaijani propaganda. Besides the
fact that in the past her assistant was caught on stealing, the member
of the House is also famous for lobbying the pro-Turkish resolutions.

If you carefully study her “law-creating past” which is depicted
on the website of the House of Representatives of Florida, you will
notice that the resolution initiated by her either did not gain the
required number of votes, or have been “buried” in the relevant core
committees. In fact, only those documents where Campbell had just
joined by her signature and had published were accepted.

Source: Panorama.am