Author: Babajanian Karo

SAFAROV CASE IS A BIG BLOW TO NEGOTIATION PROCESS: BAKO SAHAKYAN

2012-09-11 22:24:47

On September 11, the President of the Republic of Artsakh Bako
Sahakyan has received the personal representative of OSCE current
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

A number of issues related to the situation on the contact-line
between RNK and Azerbaijani armed forces, to the negotiation process
of the settlement of Azeri-Karabagh conflict have been discussed in
the meeting.

Bako Sahakyan has especially referred to the fact of recent extraditing
to Azerbaijan and releasing the criminal who insidiously axed the
Armenian officer. According to Artsakh president, such a crime is a
big blow to the negotiation process and to the mediation mission of
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen.

500 YEARS OF ARMENIAN PRINTING CELEBRATED IN THE US
by Lilly Torosyan

September 11, 2012

Special Issue: Celebrating 500 Years of Armenian Printing
The Armenian Weekly, Sept. 1, 2012
(Download article in PDF)

“To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of
understanding” (Proverbs 1:2). These were the first words translated
into Armenian upon the creation of the Armenian alphabet in the early
5th century by St. Mesrob Mashdots. This year marks UNESCO’s selection
of Yerevan as the World Book Capital of 2012, corresponding with the
500thanniversary of the first printed book in Armenian. The Library of
Congress in Washington, D.C. has inaugurated an exhibition-which runs
from April 19 to September 26-that features 76 items from Armenian
print throughout the centuries.

A scene from the Library of Congress exhibit Curator Dr. Levon Avdoyan
authored the 100-page illustrated catalogue titled “To Know Wisdom
and Instruction: 500 Years of Armenian Printing,” which describes
the items on display at the Library of Congress. He stresses that
although the celebration of the anniversary is important, its main
goal is to illustrate the ancient literary tradition of the Armenian
people. “We did not plan a beautiful exhibit, although there is
plenty of beauty in it. We designed the exhibition to educate in a
non-didactic way about all aspects of that tradition-including its
musical extension.” The presentation, he added, “was fashioned to
showcase the growth of the Armenian-language collections from some
7,000 items in 1992 to an estimated 45,000 today.”

The exhibition at the Library of Congress, through its various books,
poems, and maps, represents large elements of Armenian history and
culture since the 14th century. Avdoyan’s dedication to the exhibition
has been instrumental in both its inception and continuation over the
past several months. Two smaller exhibitions in the Greater Boston area
also celebrated the 500th anniversary of Armenian printing this year.

Harvard University, with the assistance of several Armenian
organizations such as the National Association for Armenian Studies
and Research (NAASR) and the Armenian Cultural Foundation (ACF),
held its own exhibit in April featuring the first Armenian printed
book, Urbatagirk(“Book of Fridays”) by Jacob the Sinner. The director
of NAASR, Marc Mamigonian, considers the exhibition both celebratory
and educational. “The primary mission of the exhibition was to educate
Harvard students who might otherwise be unaware of Armenian history and
culture. Thus, the exhibition covered a lot of ground in a relatively
succinct manner. I think the celebratory aspect of the exhibition is
implied-we did not set out to make this a ‘hooray for the Armenians’
exhibition, but the texts and materials included testify to a book
culture of which Armenians can be proud.”

An item from the Library of Congress exhibit As the principle organizer
of the event, Prof. James Russell of Harvard University reached out
to Armenian groups in the area, as well as his colleagues at Boston
University and Tufts for cooperation. This milestone is an opportunity
for Armenians and non-Armenians to appreciate the antiquity and
perseverance of the Armenian alphabet, he says.

“The Armenian alphabet was essential to the survival of the Armenian
language, culture, and tradition. I think this story of cultural
survival against unbelievable odds should be of interest to any
person aware that cultural diversity is as vital as biodiversity,
not only to the quality of life, but to life itself,” notes Russell,
who holds the Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies. He is very pleased
with the popularity of the Harvard exhibit, and hopes for similar
presentations that raise interest in the culture of Armenian print.

Shortly after the conclusion of the exhibit at Harvard, another opened
at the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) in Watertown,
featuring a larger collection of books on display, which will be shown
through November 30. This exhibition focuses on similar aspects of
the occasion, such as the creation of the Armenian alphabet, and the
subsequent development of Armenian printing over the centuries. Many
questions are addressed about Armenian history and the legacy of
the manuscripts.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a day-long symposium at ALMA
on Sat., Sept. 15.

Another exhibit will be opened in Michigan. on Oct. 18 with a keynote
lecture by Levon Avdoyan. The exhibit is jointly organized by the
Armenian Research Center-Dearborn and the Alex Manoogian Museum at
the St John’s Armenian Church in Southfield, Mich. The first leg
of the exhibit will be in the Mardigian Library at University of
Michigan-Dearborn (Oct. 18 to mid-November), after which the exhibit
will move to the Manoogian Museum (Dec. 11 to early January).

ARMENIA’S DEFENSE MINISTER RECEIVES COMMANDER OF BUNDESWEHR OPERATIONS COMMAND

tert.am
11.09.12

Armenia’s Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan received on Tuesday with
Lieutenant-General Rainer Glatz, Commander of Bundeswehr Operations
Command.

Minister Ohanyan welcomed the delegation and said Armenia appreciates
cooperation with German armed forces as part of NATO ISAF mission.

“For two and a half years, Armenian servicemen have successfully
performed their duties in Afghanistan, in cooperation with German
servicemen and their counterparts from other countries. This formula
for success is based on Armenian-German friendly relations,” the
minister said.

Ohanyan noted that Armenia plans to continue its involvement in ISAF
on the same scale next year. He presented the Armenian armed forces’
experience in international peace-making operations.

Lieutenant-General Rainer Glatz thanked the Armenian defense minister
for a warm reception and made a high appraisal of Armenia’s involvement
in the mission in Afghanistan. He said that Armenian servicemen are
reliable professionals.

Lieutenant-General Rainer Glatz was also received by Chief of Joint
Staff, RA Armed Forces, Colonel-General Yuri Khachaturov.

BILL PASSES IN PARLIAMENT DESPITE ARF’S RESERVATIONS
Grisha Balasanyan

hetq
12:25, September 11, 2012

Minutes ago, Armenia’s National Assembly got down to work

105 legislators registered but some encountered technical difficulties
and had to request assistance before being able to sign in.

A bill on amending the procedural code of the National Assembly
passed after the first reading by a vote of 97 in favor, 4 against
and 3 abstentions.

The law envisages giving opposition members the opportunity to
participate in the activities of all the standing committees.

Before the vote, ARF MP Armen Roustamyan declared that his party
would be voting against the bill and demanded that it be debated first.

Roustamyan stated that the ARF would vote in favor if its suggestions
were incorporated in the bill.

MEDIEVAL ARMENIAN ART NOT ONLY TO ADMIRE BUT ALSO TO BE USED

hetq
19:06, September 11, 2012

One of the most prominent examples of Armenian medieval masters’
creative skill and imagination is the ornamental script.

Armenian masters have transformed the letters of our alphabet from
mere symbolic units into miniature masterpieces of ornamental art,
which vividly reflect our national, cultural and spiritual values. And
today these masterpieces of art are available to us thanks to the
recently published book “Armenian Ornamental Script”.

The authors of the book, designer Armen Kyurkchyan and photographer
Hrair Hawk Khatcheryan, have collected in this book letters from
museums, archives and libraries across the world.

The author of the book Armen Kyurkchyan says that Armenian ornamental
script, various in its style, color solutions, and image forms,
shows the great love that Armenians have for the letter. We can find
standard geometric letters and intricately interwoven letters – the
evidence of an emerging calligraphy. We find letters that blossom
into flowers or take flight into birds or find higher life, with a
sudden burst of imagination, in human forms.

It is notable that Armenian illuminated manuscripts were decorated
not only by highly skilled masters and professionals, but also by
monks – sometimes even by their young students. These illustrations
have their own charm. They are very simple, almost naïve, in their
ingenious sincerity.

The book has its CD, which includes all the letters in the book,
in digital form. Now it will be already possible not only to admire
Armenian ornamental script, but also to apply it in various creative
purposes.

But the main purpose of the authors is to preserve Armenian medieval
ornamental script with the help of digitalization and to pass it to
the coming generations. Thanks to digitalization Armenian medieval
ornamental script is now available for everyone and everywhere.

Armenian Ornamental Script is the authors’ second book. Their first
book was Armenian Ornamental Art, which was the result of 10 years
hard work. In the CD of the book there are more than 1000 digitized
pictures and their original photos.

These two books not only present Armenian medieval ornamental art
and ornamental script, but also remind us where we come from.

AZERBAIJANI IDEOLOGICAL EMPTINESS WAS FILLED WITH SAFAROV’S HEROISM

ARMENPRESS
11 September, 2012
YEREVA

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS: Azerbaijan and its society have
been in ideological vacuum, in an emptiness which needed to be filled
and was filled with Safarov’s ,,valor “. This was declared by Sargis
Asatryan, expert on Azerbaijan, during the conference on September 11.

,, Proclaiming Safarov as a hero was directed to their own internal
issues, to distract the attention of Azerbaijani people from them”
reports Armenpress citing Asatryan. None of the Islamic countries
condemned the actions of Azerbaijan, moreover Pakistani Ambassador
to Azerbaijan declared that Safarov is the hero of Islamic world.

,,In other words this was another action against Armenia. We may
say for sure that terrorism has been legalized in Azerbaijan” said
Sargis Grigoryan.

Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with Hungary on August 31 when
life-sentenced perpetrator Ramil Safarov was extradited and pardoned
in Azerbaijani. Safarov hacked to death Armenian serviceman Gurgen
Margaryan during NATO’s training courses in Budapest on February 19,
2004. Azerbaijan has deceived Hungary and broken its written promise to
keep the murderer in prison after Safarov’s extradition to Azerbaijan.

Besides being freed Safarov has been provided with an apartment,
passport and proclaimed as a hero.

USA URGES AZERBAIJAN TO MEET COMMITMENTS THAT THEY REPORTEDLY MADE TO THE HUNGARIANS IN ADVANCE OF SAFAROV’S RELEASE

arminfo
Tuesday, September 11, 13:52

USA urges Azerbaijan to meet commitments that they reportedly made
to the Hungarians in advance of Safarov’s release, Victoria Nuland,
U.S. Department of State, Spokesperson, said at Daily Press Briefing
on September 10.

“We, as you know, issued a statement about this after the Hungarians
released him back to Azerbaijan, and we have been in touch with the
Azerbaijanis and urging them to meet commitments that they reportedly
made to the Hungarians in advance of the release.”

“We have some concerns, as we said at the beginning, about that issue
in particular,” she said.

To recall, the leadership of Azerbaijan assured Budapest in the written
form that after extradition to Azerbaijan Ramil Safarov will continue
serving his sentence. Nevertheless, Safarov, who was sentenced to
life in prison by the Hungarian court for murdering Armenian officer
Gurgen Margaryan, was pardoned and promoted to higher rank by the
President of Azerbaijan.

MISCONDUCT OF DRIVERS MAY LEAD TO GROWTH IN MOTOR THIRD PARTY LIABILITY INSURANCE TARIFFS IN ARMENIA

arminfo
Tuesday, September 11, 17:47

The misconduct of the drivers and the attempted fraud may lead to
growth in motor third party liability insurance (MTPL) tariffs in
Armenia, Head of INGO Armenia insurance company, Levon Altunyan, said
at a press conference in Yerevan. He said that the MTPL profitability
is very low for the insurers. He added that the criticism of some
politicians saying that the insurance companies obtain excessive profit
is ungrounded and unprofessional, because these conclusions are made
on the basis of the primitive ratio of the MTPL payments against the
premiums collected, without talking into account the general operating
and administrative costs for serving the insurable events.

Altunyan said that the voluntary types of insurance in the portfolio of
INGO Armenia constitute more than half of the premiums collected, and
the annual growth of premiums from the voluntary types of insurance
is about 25%. “These figures demonstrate the company’s financial
stability in the long-term outlook”, Altunyan said.

According to the Ranking of Insurance Companies of Armenia by the
Agency of Rating Marketing Information, over the first half of 2012 7
insurance companies of Armenia collected premiums worth 23.8 bln AMD,
of them 10.1 bln AMD being MTPL premiums. The insurance payments of
the Armenian insurers amounted to 6 bln AMD, of them 4.2 bln AMD being
MTPL payments. INGO Armenia is in the lead by the volume of premiums
collected over the first half of 2012 (almost 1/3rd of the premiums
collected by the insurers).

To recall, INGO Armenia entered the Armenian insurance market in 1997.

It is licensed to provide 15 classes of non-life insurance. The
company is a full member of the international INGO Group and has one
of the widest agent networks. By the end of the first half of 2012
the company’s assets exceeded 10 bln AMD.

In early July 2012 the merger of INGO Armenia and Cascade Insurance
was over, and Cascade Insurance stopped its existence.

ARMENIA RATIFIES AGREEMENT ON FREE TRADE ZONE IN THE FORMER SOVIET
Alexey Panov

RIA Novosti
11/09/2012

Armenia’s parliament ratified on Tuesday by 97 votes in favor, two
against and seven abstentions, the agreement on the creation of a
free trade zone within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Thus, the Transcaucasian country joined Russia, Belarus and Ukraine,
the three countries that ratified the document so far.

The agreement to establish a free trade area was signed last year
by eight of the former Soviet republics. Besides the four mentioned
countries are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan.

The agreement, which hereafter may also accede Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan
and Uzbekistan, is to establish the conditions necessary for the full
and effective functioning of a free trade zone within the CIS.

In addition, the document should encourage better integration between
Member States on the basis of the rules laid down by the World Trade
Organization, which Russia joined last August.

ARMENIA RATIFICA ACUERDO SOBRE ZONA DE LIBRE COMERCIO EN EL ESPACIO POSTSOVIETICO
Aleksei Panov

RIA Novosti
11/09/2012Erevan

El Parlamento de Armenia ratifico este martes, por 97 votes a favor,
dos en contra y siete abstenciones, el acuerdo sobre la creacion de
una zona de libre comercio en el marco de la Comunidad de Estados
Independientes (CEI).

De esta forma, el país transcaucasico se sumo a Rusia, Bielorrusia
y Ucrania, los tres países que ratificaron el documento hasta ahora.

El acuerdo para crear una zona de libre comercio fue suscrito el año
pasado por ocho de las antiguas repúblicas sovieticas. Ademas de las
cuatro naciones mencionadas, son Kazajstan, Kirguizistan, Moldavia
y Tayikistan.

El convenio, al que en adelante podrían adherirse tambien Azerbaiyan,
Turkmenia y Uzbekistan, tiene por objetivo establecer las condiciones
necesarias para el funcionamiento pleno y eficaz de una zona de libre
comercio en el marco de la CEI.

Ademas, el documento debera favorecer una mayor integracion entre
los Estados miembro sobre la base de las normas previstas por la
Organizacion Mundial del Comercio, a la que Rusia se incorporo el
pasado mes de agosto.