Author: Babajanian Karo

Hartford Courant
Oct 5 2012

Papazian Inaugurated As SCSU’s 11th President

Joe Musante, Southern Connecticut State University

New Haven

7:10 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2012

Mary A. Papazian will seek to ensure that her university is a highly
significant player in the higher education landscape of Connecticut
and the region, and will prepare students for a knowledge-based
economy in the years ahead.

“Public universities like Southern must lead the way in showing that
what we can accomplish here is vitally important to the future of our
society,” Papazian said. “We must make it clear to the public, to the
business community, and to the political establishment that investing
in an institution like Southern is not only an investment in the
students who attend the university, but also by extension, it is an
investment in the whole community and – and this isn’t overstating it
– in the very future of America.”

Papazian outlined her vision for SCSU during her inauguration last
Friday, held at the university’s Lyman Center for the Performing Arts.
She is the 11th president of the school in its storied 119-year
history.

She is the second woman to become president at Southern, following
Cheryl J. Norton, who served from 2004 to 2010. She is also the first
Armenian-American woman to lead a U.S. university, according to the
Armenian Weekly.

Lewis J. Robinson Jr., chairman of the state Board of Regents for
Higher Education, presided over the ceremony and administered the
investiture charge to Papazian. Other speakers included Lt. Gov. Nancy
Wyman, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3), New Haven Mayor John DeStefano
Jr. and Hamden Mayor Scott P. Jackson.

Papazian, 53, is an accomplished scholar, particularly with regard to
British literature. She has studied and written about John Donne, a
metaphysical English poet from the late 16th and early 17th century.
Among her other interests are Armenian history and culture. She and
her husband, Dennis Papazian, have two daughters, Ani and Marie. They
reside in Woodbridge.

“Together, we will work to ensure that Southern continues to develop
into an outstanding, comprehensive, public university of significant
value to the local community, the state that supports us, and indeed,
our nation at large,” Papazian said. “This is a university where we
strive to give the students every opportunity to acquire a first-class
education with a global vision in an enlightened, compassionate,
supportive and diverse environment…Together we will work to make
Southern the most successful university in its class.”

Wyman expressed confidence in Papazian’s leadership ability, calling
her dedicated, hardworking and innovative. “I have no doubt this is
just the beginning of a great era for (SCSU),” Wyman said.

Papazian expressed her desire for Southern to increase its number of
out-of-state and international students. She said not only does that
help the university financially, but it enriches the social and
education experiences of Connecticut students.

And while much of her message focused on Southern’s role in the public
and its commitment to students, she also shared a glimpse into her
management style. “This I pledge: I will have an open administration.
I will provide equitable treatment for all, and I will fulfill without
fail all official and unofficial responsibilities.”

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The Voice of Russia
Oct 5 2012

Myth of Israeli bases in Azerbaijan

Avigdor Eskin

The Israeli-Azerbaijani alliance continues to make the headlines
although details of relations between the two states are shrouded in
mystery. This is not an alliance against Armenia, which to this day
holds on to territories captured during the war with Azerbaijan.
Israel and Azerbaijan cooperation against Arab radicals and Iran
serves no purpose other than internal security.
However, there is recent evidence of a somewhat chilled atmosphere in
Armenian-Israeli relations resulting from frequent accusations in
Yerevan of a Zionist involvement in serious crimes committed in 1915.
Israelis consider this to be blood libel. There is a certain dislike
in Baku towards Arab radicals, who trained Armenian rebels at Lebanese
PLO camps. At the same time Azerbaijan has close relationships with
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Arab countries that encourage “Muslim
brothers.” Azerbaijan’s attitude to Iran is one of anxiety and
vigilance. There are twenty million Azerbaijanis in Iran who are
deprived of basic rights. But even all these circumstances fail to
offer a satisfactory explanation for the unexpected phenomenon of an
Israel-Azerbaijan alliance.

But there’s also ample evidence that the alliance is real, including a
recent transaction involving the sale of 1.6 billion dollars’ worth of
Israeli weapons to Azerbaijan, including the delivery of a significant
number of Israeli drones. A mutual flow of intelligence continues
uninterrupted, which may explain the Azerbaijani authorities’ success
in fighting against terrorism. But at the same time Baku has yet to
open an office in Israel, it wants to avoid offending its Muslim and
Arab partners.

The exotic alliance was again in the news in recent days after the
news agency “Reuters” revealed there was speculation that Israel had a
military base in Azerbaijan to be used in the event of a raid on
Iran’s nuclear facilities. It may surprise some to see journalism
display such a short memory, the same rumours of an Israeli airbase
were published back in March by the American magazine, “Foreign
policy”; the article attributed anonymous but `high-ranking’ sources.
Six months on and there’s still no confirmation of the story but that
did not stop “Reuters” excited revelation of the `sensational’ news.
Israeli military analyst, Ron Ben-Yishai, wrote back then that the
U.S. administration was engaged in a campaign of deliberate
`misinformation’ designed to discredit Israel’s various military
options.

His colleague, Alex Fishman wrote in more detail: “To get to
Azerbaijan our Air Force needs to cross the skies of Turkey and Iraq,
Saudi Arabia and Syria. Along the way are Georgia and Armenia. One
single publication, such as this (Foreign Policy), could inflame not
only Tehran and Baku but also other countries, which would realize
that they were being drawn into someone else’s “showdown”. But even if
we can remove the restriction on crossing other countries’ airspace,
questions still remain: will this shorten the distance to the target,
does it justify the probable complications with other states? There is
no single answer to these questions. When it comes to attacking
targets in Tehran, Azerbaijan, of course, has a geographical
advantage. When it comes to facilities in southern Iran, the distance
does not justify this adventure, ” said Fishman.

Political analyst, David Adelman, said that Israel could find no
suitable bases on Azerbaijani soil: “With our modern means of
surveillance, we would have got evidence of the use of a base in
Azerbaijan. But it does not exist. The idea of use by Israel of an
abandoned military airbase just looks absurd. After all, a modern air
base is not only the asphalt, but also a complex integrated system of
electronics, control, monitoring, surveillance and protection. Such a
base in Azerbaijan does not exist today. ”

Adelman became an adviser to Prime Minister Olmert, just in time for
the operation to destroy a Syrian nuclear reactor, six years ago. He
is certain that Israel is able to put an end to the Iranian nuclear
program, but there are other scenarios: “Iran’s currency has been
devalued through the year by eighty percent. There has been rioting in
Tehran. It is possible that Israel’s surgical strike will not be
necessary’.

EurasiaNet.org, NY
Oct 5 2012

Armenia Accepts Russian Veto On Foreign Military Cooperation

October 5, 2012 – 8:12am, by Joshua Kucera

Armenia has ratified a protocol that would allow Russia a veto over
any foreign military installations in its country, but not without
some grumbling. An agreement reached last year by the Collective
Security Treaty Organization allows any CSTO member to have a say in
whether another member can host a foreign military base. This week,
Armenia’s parliament ratified that agreement, but with some lawmakers
complaining that it infringed on the country’s sovereignty, and the
parliament’s second-largest bloc abstaining from the vote, reports
ArmeniaNow:

On October 4, the Parliament ratified the Protocol on the Location of
Military Installations in Collective Security Treaty Organization
(OSCE) Member Countries that was signed still in December 2011 and
under which Armenia is not entitled to host military forces or other
infrastructure of other states without the permission of the CSTO…

Opposition Heritage faction MP Alexander Arzumanyan, who represents
the Free Democrats party and served as Armenia’s minister of foreign
affairs in the 1990s, said during the debate in the National Assembly
that the Protocol limits Armenia’s sovereign rights and humiliates the
nation’s dignity. In the end, only five lawmakers in the 131-member
body, including Arzumanyan, voted against the ratification. The second
largest faction in the Armenian parliament, Prosperous Armenia [which
holds 37 seats], opted out of the vote.

In addition to Armenia, the CSTO includes Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, but is dominated by Russia. It doesn’t
seem likely that Armenia would host any other country’s military, but
it is nevertheless a pretty extraordinary abdication of sovereignty.
Armenia, though, a relatively democratic country in the CSTO (not a
high standard in this club) is in a somewhat unique position to have
some public debate on it, even if the protocol was eventually passed.

Reuters
Oct 5 2012

Factbox: Nagorno-Karabakh – disputed by Azerbaijan, Armenia

(Reuters) – Armenia’s President Serzh Sarksyan accused Azerbaijan on
Friday of threatening a new war over the disputed region of
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Here is a look at the background to the conflict the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

* The status of Nagorno-Karabakh or “mountainous Karabakh”, has been
disputed since the end of World War One, when Armenia and Azerbaijan
became independent from the Russian empire. Soviet rule was imposed in
the South Caucasus in 1923, and predominantly Armenian-populated
Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous region within the Azeri Soviet
republic.

* In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities demanded to be transferred
to the Armenian republic. The region declared independence in late
1991, after tensions between Azeris and Armenians living there erupted
into war with the break-up of the Soviet Union and independence for
Armenia and Azerbaijan.

* Ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia, drove back Azeri forces
and took control of seven districts of Azerbaijan adjacent to
Nagorno-Karabakh. About 30,000 people were killed in fighting and
hundreds of thousands, mostly Azeris, were driven from their homes. A
ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but sporadic violence still
flares along Azerbaijan’s border with Armenia and a line of contact
with Nagorno-Karabakh.

* In December 2006, a referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh approved a new
pro-independence constitution by a huge majority. Azerbaijan has
declared the referendum illegal under international law. The region
runs its own affairs with the backing of Armenia, but has no
international recognition as an independent state.

* In November 2008 Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and his Azeri
counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, pledged to intensify efforts toward a
resolution. Russia, France and the United States have led years of
mediation under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe. Baku and Yerevan failed to agree at talks in
June 2011 and the angry rhetoric between them has worsened since then.
The two have accused each other of triggering recent cross-border
clashes prompting worries of a resumption of fighting in the region
criss-crossed by energy pipelines to Europe.

* Armenia pulled out of the Eurovision song contest which was hosted
by Azerbaijan in May 2012, underscoring tensions. New clashes resulted
in nine deaths in June.

* Last August, Azerbaijan pardoned and freed a soldier convicted of
killing an Armenian soldier with an axe in Budapest, drawing furious
protests from Armenia. Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with
Hungary for sending Ramil Safarov back to Azerbaijan after he had
served eight years of a life sentence for the murder.

Sources: Reuters/

(Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit and Matt Robinson)

PACE or Serzh Sargsyan? Where is solution?

08:06 pm | October 05, 2012 | Politics

The Court of Appeals is due to examine on Oct. 11 the appeal of the
four jailed activists of the opposition Armenian National Congress
(HAK).

Members and supporters of the opposition alliance today gathered
outside the prosecutor’s office, urging the authorities to acquit the
HAK activists.

“We express our support for the boys who are involved in the
disgraceful proceedings as defendants,” said Eva Tovamsyan, a
participant of the protest action.

The HAK activists were taken into custody after an August 9, 2011,
standoff with police officers in a Yerevan park and were immediately
charged with hooliganism against a representative of law-enforcement
body.

Though they do not pin hopes on the appellate court, they should first
exhaust the domestic appeal system before applying to the European
Court of Human Rights.

“Courts in Armenia are not independent. They serve the interests of
the authorities returning illegal verdicts. They cannot oppose the
Sargsyan administration,” said defendant Sargis Gevorgyan.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recently
defined the term of “political prisoner” which should be taken into
account in political processes by the Council of Europe. The group
says even the move does not instill hopes in them.

“We can only achieve tangible results under public pressure, in the
result of consistent struggle,” said HAK member Areg Gevorgyan.

The jailed activists believe that they will be acquitted only when
Serzh Sargsyan and his regime are overthrown.

No military solution to Karabakh conflict, Bulgaria’s ex-president warns

October 5, 2012 – 17:21 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – An attempt to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
by the use of force will reignite it, Bulgarian ex-President said,
according to Trend News.

“I hope that the conflict will be resolved soon,” Zhelyu Zhelev told
media in Baku. “Negotiations within the OSCE Minsk Group must
continue. It is necessary to use the experience of other countries.”

As he noted, the Karabakh conflict has long been on the international agenda.

“When a president, I often negotiated the peaceful settlement of the
conflict with Azerbaijanis and Armenians. Guns and violence won’t give
a lasting solution to the issue, with the conflict apt to break out
again with the same arguments and emotions. I’m not sure when the
conflict will be resolved, but the OSCE Minsk Group is necessary. It
is essential to use the expertise of other countries which had a
similar experience,” Zhelev said.

Armenian FM, EU Ambassadors hail the progress in relations

armradio.am
18:22 05.10.2012

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a working dinner with
the Ambassadors of the EU member states accredited in Yerevan and the
Head of the EU delegation to Armenia.

During the meeting the interlocutors exchanged views on Armenia-EU
relations, the negotiations under way and the programs implemented
within that framework.

The parties referred to the issues of formation of the Association
agenda and hailed the progress achieved in Armenia-EU relations.

During the meeting reference was made to the continuation of the
process of settlement of the Artsakh issue, as well as a wide range of
regional and international issues.

Armenian and Turkish businessmen to discuss issue of establishment air
communication between Yerevan and Van

arminfo
Friday, October 5, 17:51

Over the 4th joint business-conference, that kicked off on 5 October
in Yerevan, Armenian and Turkish businessmen will discuss the issue of
establishment of air communication between Yerevan and Van, chairman
of Organization of Young Businessmen of Van, Kadri Salas, told
journalists in Yerevan today.

“The programme of opening direct Van-Yerevan flights and back is still
frozen because of the political reason”, – he said. For his part, a
representative of the Kurdish tourist organization “Ayalis” from Van,
Sayid Binet, added he was displeased with the fact that the
participants in the conference were forced to fly for 5 hours through
Istanbul to Armenia, whereas only an hour is needed for Van-Yerevan
direct flight. He hopes that participants in the business conference
will manage to find the compromising solutions which will serve like a
pushing point for opening of the Turkish-Armenian state border.

The 4th Armenian-Turkish two-day business conference kicked off in
Yerevan on October 5. The event organizer is the UIEA with the support
of USAID, Eurasian Partnership Foundation, and International Center
for Human Development. The Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation
(BST), Marshal Foundation, is co-financing the event. Over 50 Turkish
businessmen from Eastern regions of Turkey are invited to the
conference.

Karabakh has new Deputy FM

news.am
October 05, 2012 | 16:47

STEPANAKERT. – Felix Khachatryan has been designated Deputy Minister
of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).

NKR President Bako Sahakyan on Friday signed a decree on appointing
Felix Khachatryan to the office of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Central Information Department of
the Office of the NKR President informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

GREEK LANGUAGE AND CULTURE CENTER TO OPEN AT YEREVAN STATE LINGUISTIC UNIVERSITY

armradio.am
13:27 04.10.2012

On October 8 the Yerevan State Linguistic University after Bryusov
will festively open “The Greek Language and Culture Center” aimed
at spreading Greek culture values and the Greek language, fostering
Armenian and Greek relations.

Vasiliki Dicopoulou, Charge d’Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Greece
to the Republic of Armenia will be present at the opening ceremony.

At the end of the event the film “Greeks in Armenia” presented by
Professor Marine Mkhitaryan, will be shown in Armenian.