Author: Babajanian Karo

States News Service
June 18, 2012 Monday

FRANCE, US AND RUSSIA ISSUE JOINT STATEMENT ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH G20
SUMMIT/NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT – JOINT STATEMENT BY FRAN OIS
HOLLANDE, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES, AND VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA

Los Cabos

The following information was released by the French Embassy in the
United Kingdom:

We, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries –
France, the Russian Federation and the United States of America – are
united in our resolute commitment to a peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The parties to the conflict should not
further delay making the important decisions necessary to reach a
lasting and peaceful settlement. We regret that the presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia did not take the decisive steps that our
countries called for in the joint statement at Deauville on 26 May
2011. Nevertheless, the progress that has been achieved should provide
the momentum to complete work on the framework for a comprehensive
peace.

We call upon the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to fulfill the
commitment in their 23 January 2012 joint statement at Sochi to
“accelerate” reaching agreement on the Basic Principles for a
Settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. As evidence of their
political will, they should refrain from maximalist positions in the
negotiations, respect the 1994 ceasefire agreement and abstain from
hostile rhetoric that increases tension. We urge the leaders to be
guided by the principles of the Helsinki Final Act – particularly
those relating to the non-use of force or the threat of force,
territorial integrity, and equal rights and self-determination of
peoples – and the elements of a settlement outlined in our countries’
statements at L’Aquila in 2009 and Muskoka in 2010.
Military force will not resolve the conflict and would only prolong
the suffering and hardships endured by the peoples of the region for
too long. Only a peaceful, negotiated settlement can allow the entire
region to move beyond the status quo toward a secure and prosperous
future.

Our countries will continue to work closely with the sides, and we
call upon them to make full use of the assistance of the Minsk Group
Co-Chairs as mediators. However, peace will depend ultimately upon the
parties’ willingness to seek an agreement based on mutual
understanding, rather than one-sided advantage, and a shared vision of
the benefits that peace will bring to all their peoples and to future
generations./.

IMF ALLOCATES $50.7 MILLION LOAN TO ARMENIA FOR “SOLID GROWTH”

APA
June 22 2012
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA-ECONOMICS. The International Monetary Fund offered a
cautiously positive economic outlook for Armenia as it announced the
release of $50.7 million in fresh loan tranches to the authorities
in Yerevan on Monday, APA reports.

The two installments are part of a three-year lending program for the
country worth $404 million that was launched by the IMF in June 2010.

Their disbursement raised to almost $270 million the total amount of
low-interest funds allocated to the Armenian government and Central
Bank under that scheme.

In a written statement, the IMF praised the Armenian authorities for
adhering to macroeconomic policies favored by the Washington-based
fund. It said that they have translated into “solid growth” and
falling inflation.

“The outlook for 2012 and the medium-term is positive, but not without
risks, particularly stemming from Europe and affecting Armenia via
Russia,” read the statement. “Growth picked up to 4.6 percent in 2011,
but is expected to moderate to just below 4 percent in 2012.”

The IMF also praised the authorities for slashing the state budget
deficit last year and planning to keep it under control in 2012. “The
authorities plan to implement further business environment and tax
and pension reform measures,” added the fund. “Together with enhanced
exchange rate flexibility, these actions should improve productivity
and support growth and diversification of exports.”

COALITION PARTNERS FALL OUT IN ARMENIA
By Diana Markosyan

Institute for War and Peace Reporting IWPR
IWPR Caucasus Reporting, Issue 647
June 22 2012
UK

Leading politician questioned by security service after his party
walks away from new governing coalition.

The most dramatic event since the May 6 election in Armenia is not
the formation of a new parliament, but the prosecution of a former
foreign minister immediately after his party decided to leave the
governing coalition.

On May 25, Armenia’s National Security Service launched a criminal
case into alleged money laundering by Vartan Oskanian at the Civilitas
Foundation, a charitable organisation which he set up after leaving
the foreign ministry in 2008.

Oskanian, who served as foreign minister for a decade, won a seat
for the Prosperous Armenia party in the May polls.

The allegations relate to the sale of a company called Huntsman
Building Products for two million US dollars. Oskanian is accused of
not paying tax on the deal, misusing some of the money, failing to
submit the correct documents to the taxation service, and ignoring
the wishes of business partners who wanted 1.1 million dollars of
the proceeds to go to charity.

Oskanian denies the allegations against him, and says the case was
“ordered politically”.

“I want to say this – the words ‘money laundering’, ‘Oskanian’ and
‘Huntsman’ do not belong in the same sentence,” he said.

Prior to the May election, Prosperous Armenia was in coalition with
President Serzh Sargsyan’s Republicans and the Rule of Law party,
although relations were not always smooth.

On May 24, it announced it would not be joining a new governing
coalition and a day later, the criminal case was opened.

Eduard Sharmazanov, deputy speaker of parliament and the main spokesman
for the Republican Party, denied that the case was in any way connected
with Oskanian and his party moving into opposition.

“The time for political orders and repression in Armenia is a thing
of the past. A democratic state is being built based on the principles
of liberty,” he said.

That did not convince those observers who were struck by the timing
of the case.

“If Oskanian had not gone into politics, I don’t think anyone would
have remembered Civilitas,” Yervand Bozoyan, a political analyst and
head of the Dialogue think-tank, said.

Some saw a connection with the presidential election scheduled for
February 2013, and suggested that the incumbent Sargsyan would be
keen to see off any challenge from his predecessor Robert Kocharyan
by neutralising his allies.

“In the current political situation, Prosperous Armenia is certain to
play a major role in the presidential election,” Avetik Ishkhanyan,
head of the Helsinki Committee of Armenia, said. “Judging by the
party’s behaviour, it seemed to be planning to use Oskanian and –
and with his help – to bring Kocharyan back.”

After the 2007 parliamentary election, Prosperous Armenia announced
it would not nominate anyone for the presidential polls the following
year, and backed Sargsyan instead.

The recent election gives it the second-largest number of seats in
parliament – 37 compared with the Republicans’ 69.

Despite the longstanding coalition agreement, Prosperous Armenia began
carving out a space for itself in the run-up to the May election, and
even set up a joint election centre with the three opposition parties.

The National Security Service has summoned Oskanian for questioning,
but only as a witness, since his parliamentary seat gives him immunity
from prosecution.

His lawyer Tigran Atanesyan told IWPR he had seen the case
documentation but could not comment on specifics.

“There is no legal basis to make an accusation about any form
of illegal activity, or to conduct a legal investigation into Mr
Oskanian,” he said, adding “there may well be other motives”.

Oskanian has been updating his Facebook page regularly with information
on the case.

“I’m receiving notes from people on Facebook, by email and by phone.

They all say the same thing – don’t give up, and continue the fight,”
he said in one of his Facebook postings. “I realise this fight is
not just mine, but that of the whole of society. I also understand
that it could be a long, hard fight. ”

The head of the National Security Service, Gorik Hakobyan, denied
there was any political motivation behind the investigation.

“By making all this noise, Vartan Oskanian is trying to distract public
attention from the main issues of the case and to present himself as
the victim of a political witchhunt,” the security chief said.

Oskanian is not the first former foreign minister to be accused of
money-laundering in Armenia. Alexander Arzumanyan held the post for
two years until President LevonTer-Petrosyan resigned in 1998.

Arzumanyan moved into opposition politics, and a criminal case was
opened against him in 2007.

“They talked about money-laundering at that time only because
Arzumanyan was an opposition politician, and there were order to
punish him,” Vardan Harutyunyan, chairman of the Centre for Rights
and Freedoms, commented.

Nor is Oskanian’s case the only new one involving Prosperous Armenia.

Investigators have been looking into the finances of the municipal
administration of Aramus, a town in the Kotayk region, home to
Prosperous Armenia’s founder Gagik Tsarukyan, a wealthy businessman.

The mayor of Aramus is a member of the party.

Diana Markosyan is a correspondent for A1+ television in Armenia.

HEAD OF HELSINKI CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY – VANADZOR: MAY 6 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA WERE NOT FAIR OR TRANSPARENT

arminfo
Friday, June 22, 20:16

The electoral processes and elections are not over right after the
election day, they demand permanent and consistent attention, Artur
Sakunts, human rights activist and Chairman of the Helsinki Citizens’
Assembly -Vanadzor (HCAV), said at a press conference on Friday. He
presented the finding of the monitoring conducted by the HCAV Office
in 64 electoral districts in Yerevan, Vanadzor, Gyumri, Ijevan,
as well as in the communities Vahagn and Lernapat of Lori region.

“The May 6 parliamentary elections were not fair or transparent. The
election results do not satisfy the voters’ expectations. After the
elections, the voters’ distrust and disappointment in the electoral
process increased”, he said. Sakunts said that empty envelopes were
found in the ballot boxes during the vote count, which once again
proves that the elections were not transparent. He also pointed out
that the mechanism of carousel voting was launched.

In the meantime, Sakunts said that, in general, the observers qualified
the work of the district electoral commissions as good.

YEREVAN LAUNCHES ‘DISASTER RISK REDUCTION IN ARMENIA’ PROGRAM

news.am
June 22, 2012 | 17:40

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s capital city will officially launch ‘Disaster Risk
Reduction in Armenia’ program on June 25. It is implemented by the
Red Cross Armenia, Oxfam, UNICEF and Save the Children organizations
in cooperation with the Armenian Ministries of Emergency Situations
and Education.

The program is a regional initiative and is financed by the European
Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, Disaster Preparedness
ECHO (DIPECHO) programme.

The organizations cooperate with Disaster Risk Reduction national
platform, ministries of Emergency Situations, Education, Labor and
Social Affairs and Territorial Administration, as well as local
self-governmental agencies and schools.

FROM BAKU TO HARTFORD: REMEMBERING EDUARD POGOSIANTS
by Lilly Torosyan

June 22, 2012

The story of Eduard Pogosiants starts in Baku, Azerbaijan, a city that
was once home to Armenians, Russians, and Jews alike, in addition
to Azeris. Eduard was one of many who fled the country at the start
of the anti-Armenian pogroms. He was a man who believed that hard
work and independence could defy adversity. This philosophy guided
him through a rough childhood, service in World War II, and later,
the challenges of maintaining his Christian faith in Communist Baku,
and then creating a successful life in Armenia, only to be uprooted
shortly after to start anew in the United States at an elderly age.

Anna and Eduard Pogosiants In August 1989, Eduard Pogosiants and
his wife of 57 years, Anna, began to seek a new life in Abovyan,
Armenia. Their daughter, Lorina, had already relocated there with her
husband and child only a few months before. Initially, the Pogosiants
were hesitant to leave.

Eduard’s companions at work, ethnic Azeris, had urged him to flee the
country immediately; otherwise, they warned, death was imminent. The
Sumgait pogrom of February 1988 shocked Eduard, and he finally realized
he had no choice but to escape Azerbaijan.

Life in Armenia was tranquil. On the whole, people were friendly and
approachable. However, there were instances of discrimination, which
at times got in the way of simple activities such as grocery shopping.

The Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan spoke a dialect that closely
resembled a mixture of Armenian, Russian, and Azerbaijani, making it
easier for the locals to detect where they were from. This did not,
however, prevent many refugees from finding jobs. Eduard worked at the
management sector of a construction company, a position he previously
held in Baku. Life was stable, probably the most it had ever been
for him. Shortly after, from Jan. 12-21, 1990, there were a series of
violent anti-Armenian attacks in Baku, led by the Azerbaijani Popular
Front Party, which left hundreds dead and even more injured. Eduard
knew for certain that he had made the right decision in leaving.

Eduard’s earlier years

The eldest of three sons, Eduard ran away from home at the tender
age of 14 to fight in World War II. His relationship with his mother
grew strained as she feared his actions would negatively influence
his brothers. During the war, Eduard was in charge of driving the
military trucks at the frontline of battle. His tour of duty took him
to Russia, but he was soon injured and required a hospital stay. After
recuperating, he returned to the war effort, this time in Iran,
driving food trucks to Azerbaijan and on to the military front lines.

Despite fighting for the Soviets, he received recognition for his
service years later by the United States, and was awarded a World
War II certificate by the state of Connecticut. Nevertheless, he
never acquired any veteran benefits because the hospital he stayed
in was bombed shortly after, and all of his military documents were
destroyed. “[Eduard] became bitter about this. He never wanted to
talk about it,” his daughter would tell the Weekly.

Following his time with the military, Eduard went back to Vechernya
Shkola (“Night School” in Russian) in Baku to obtain his high school
degree. Working simultaneously as a personal chauffeur to members of
the local Communist party committee, it took him almost five years to
graduate. He later graduated from the Azerbaijan Polytechnic Institute
with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.

According to Lorina, life under Communism presented its challenges.

Eduard could never reveal that his aunt had secretly baptized him
in his youth, for fear that he wouldn’t be allowed to work in the
country again. “It was very hard for him because he wanted to go to
church, but he could not risk losing his job and getting his license
taken away,” said Lorina. She witnessed the anti-religious sentiment
first-hand in the 1970’s: “There was a girl in my university who was
thrown out because she wore a cross necklace and the Muslim history
teacher was the head of the local Communist party.” Instances like
these were seldom the exception, and only escalated throughout the
1980’s and early 1990’s.

Life in the US

In January 1995, 70-year-old Eduard and his wife followed their
daughter, this time to the shores of America. He was not deterred
by his age, nor the language barrier. He worked for seven years
as a janitor at a local private school, where he was loved and
well-respected by everyone. He sadly passed away on June 1, 2012. He
is remembered as a caring father and grandfather, a devoted Christian,
a faithful friend, a war hero, and a hands-on “man’s man” who could
fix anything. “He was always active” says Lorina. “He was jarbig
[clever] and restless.”

He was a proud Armenian who never lost sight of his roots and always
gave back to his community. His involvement in the Armenian Church was
extraordinary, through frequent attendance, membership in the Men’s
Club, and unrelenting compassion toward his fellow parishioners. He
found solace in the local Armenian and Jewish communities, as they
reminded him of his youth in Baku.

When asked about the most important life lesson that she learned
from her father, Lorina became teary-eyed. “He taught me hard work,
independence, and [the importance of] self-reliance.” Eduard’s
resilience and ability to adapt to new situations was an inspiration
to his children. These are the qualities that Lorina says she will
remember most about him, and she will live by his example for the
rest of her life.

This piece was written in memoriam of Eduard Pogosiants, a dear family
friend and avid churchgoer at St. George Armenian Apostolic Church
in Hartford, Conn.

QUESTIONING OF FORMER ARMENIAN FM DID NOT TAKE PLACE

news.am
June 22, 2012 | 16:57

YEREVAN.- The interrogation of former Armenian Foreign Minister member
of Prosperous Armenia Party Vartan Oskanian was not conducted.

The questioning had to take place at Armenia’s National Security
Service (NSS) on Friday.

Talking to the reporters in parliament, Oskanian said the interrogation
was postponed to next week, the precise date is unclear.

As reported earlier, NSS launched a criminal case on charges of
money laundering which also involved the Civilitas Foundation founder
Vartan Oskanian.

The case opened on May 24 followed Prosperous Armenia Party’s refusal
to join the ruling coalition.

“It was apparent from the content of NSS’ statement issued yesterday
that I am being questioned as a suspect and not as a witness along the
lines of criminal case that is launched. Considering this, I decided
to use my constitutional right and not to testify,” Oskanian wrote
on his Facebook account after being summoned to NSS.

POSTCARD FROM ARMENIA: SHOPPING LIKE A LOCAL, AND “SHNORHAKALUTYUN, FRANCE!”
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN

ArmeniaNow
22.06.12 | 11:09

By Sigrid Lupieri
ArmeniaNow correspondent

A man wearing khaki shorts and sunglasses was blocking my way. In the
cramped space between the meat deli and the shelves of neatly stacked
lavash, or soft paper-thin layers of fresh bread, my half-full shopping
cart and I came to an abrupt halt. A woman next to the khaki-clad
man was arguing with a harried-looking shop assistant.

“We would like Diet Pepsi,” she told the sales clerk in English.

The assistant hesitated before picking out two bottles of an
amber-colored liquid. He held them, arms outstretched, in an almost
supplicant gesture.

“No. No. No. Diet Pepsi,” the woman insisted.

I edged my cart around the couple. Tourists, I thought, shaking
my head.

Three weeks into my stay in Yerevan, I felt I was starting to blend
in. I consumed copious amounts of cherries and apricots and heartily
agreed with Armenians that their fresh and fragrant fruit is the best
in the world. And I no longer checked the weather outside my window
in the mornings-I already knew it was going to be sunny. And hot.

But most of all, whenever the opportunity arose, I stood and gazed at
Mount Ararat’s ghostly presence looming over the horizon. An Armenian
friend told me the snow-capped peak looked different every day. Though
my natural cynicism led me to scoff at such sentimentality, I couldn’t
help but feel a twinge, one evening, as I watched the imposing mountain
slowly transition into twilight shadows of faded blues and purples.

After someone stopped me in the street and spoke Armenian to
me-presumably asking for directions-I decided it was time to put my
Armenian-ness to the test. If I could get through an entire grocery
shopping expedition without appearing as a foreigner, I figured I
could call myself reasonably well-adjusted. Shopping list in hand,
I found myself at the Star Supermarket a block away from my apartment.

I stepped out of the summer heat into the cool interior of the store
and claimed one of the Lilliputian shopping carts-so tiny you have
to bend over to reach the handlebar. I strode confidently toward the
produce section and picked out several shiny, ripe tomatoes beneath
the watchful eye of the shop assistant hovering but a few inches away.

According to a colleague of mine, if you choose only the nicest fruit,
you may be charged extra. Hesitant to challenge such an advantageous
marketing strategy, I glanced at the salesperson and blindly scooped
several generous handfuls of glossy, blood-red cherries into a bag.

The shop assistant stared vacantly into space. So far so good,
I thought.

I headed over to the fridge and stocked up on Okroshka, a mixture of
tart yogurt and cool cucumbers with a hint of fresh mint-perfect for
a hot summer day. I turned to the three now familiar shapes of salty,
tangy cheese: stick-form, string-form and tied-in-a-bow-form. It
had taken my Italian-trained mind some time to figure out that the
packages of slender strings of cheese, twisted like delicate birds’
nests, were not vacuum packed pasta. Today I opted for bow-form. My
cart was filling up.

I sped past the minuscule deli, fearful of ordering three pounds of
marinated chicken gizzards by mistake, and came to a standstill before
the shelves of household items. A middle-aged woman stooped in front of
the single row of detergents and took up the entire width of the aisle.

I waited. “Excuse me” would have rapidly brought my undercover
operation to an end. I racked my brains trying to remember the
Armenian equivalent from my practical “Eastern Armenian Dictionary
and Phrasebook”. But all I came up with was a jumble of vowels and
consonants which I was fairly certain didn’t amount to anything
intelligible.

I shifted my weight. The woman continued examining the detergent
options in front of her-all three of them. I cleared my throat.

No reaction.

I cleared my throat again, this time increasing the volume. The woman
started and looked up at me. I smiled apologetically, a hand resting
on my throat as if affected by a severe case of laryngitis.

“Merci,” I croaked as she stepped aside with a look of alarm. I
thanked the French for their generous linguistic loan which allows me
to say “thank you” without actually having to pronounce the Armenian
tongue-twister shnorhakalutyun.

I squeezed past the woman, managing not to capsize the precariously
balanced bottles of unidentified cleaning products and dexterously
navigated my way toward the cash register.

The dark-haired woman at the register mumbled “Barev.”

“Hello,” I translated mentally and regaled her with a mute smile.

I stacked my items vertically onto the miniature conveyor belt. When
I finished perching the last tomato at the very top of my produce
pyramid-which I considered a stroke of architectural genius-the woman
at the register looked up at me.

“Blah, blah, blah, STAR,” she mumbled. “Blah, blah, blah, CARD?”

I took this to be “Do you have a Star loyalty card?” I shook my head
and smiled some more. The woman hesitated and turned back to scanning
the fruits and vegetables. The final total appeared on the screen. I
placed a wad of cash onto the plastic tray above the register.

This is going rather well, I thought as the woman handed me the change.

“Mumble, mumble STAR,” the woman said.

I froze. Was that a question?

The silence stretched between us as my mind scrambled for possible
linguistic clues. And then it hit me. She must have said “Thank you
for shopping at Star,” I decided.

I gave her my most dazzling smile. “Merci” I said as I collected my
grocery bags. I quietly congratulated myself on my entirely successful
shopping experience. Three weeks in Armenia and I was officially
starting to feel at home.

As I turned to leave, the woman at the register regarded me with a
bemused smile.

“You’re welcome,” she said in English.

“Good-bye!” she called after me.

I headed out the door and back into the scorching sunlight.

Chicago-based journalist Sigrid Lupieri is spending her summer in
Armenia and will periodically be sharing her impressions.

S. FREIZER: THERE IS A WEAK CONTROL OF THE CEASE-FIRE LINE BY AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA AND ALMOST NO INTERNATIONAL MONITORING

Sabine Freizer, director of the Europe Program of the International
Crisis Group spoke about Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and expressed her
troubles over the issue. According to her there is a risk of war in
the region. Azerbaijani media inform about this.

“Clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia that killed at least ten
soldiers this month risk escalating into all out war in a region”,
she underlined.

As the international experts added there is a weak control of the
cease-fire line by Azerbaijan and Armenia and almost no international
monitoring: “Large-scale hostilities can break out accidentally,
as a result of tit-for-tat responses by the sides”.

Frezier considers that neither Azerbaijan nor Armenia plans an all-out
military offensive in the short term: “If large-scale hostilities
resume, it will be a protracted war as neither side has a huge
advantage over the other. “It is also unclear how Russia and Turkey
will respond. They may be drawn in due to security guarantees they
have provided”.

THE EXPERT ON ARABIC STUDIES SUGGESTS PREVENTING SYRIAN ARMENIANS EMIGRATION

ARMENPRESS
22 June, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 22, ARMENPRESS: Both through the official and unofficial
channels Armenia should demonstrate it stands next to Armenian
community in Syria. Hayk Kocharyan , expert on Arabic studies had a
briefing with the journalists on June 22, Armenpress reports.

“We will not be able to assure our presence in Middle East in the case
Syrian Armenians emigrate, reportedly we shall step up efforts Syrian
Armenian emigration would not be started. Besides for centuries they
are living in Syria, have their lifestyle, culture and consider Syria
their motherland” the expert noticed.

Kofi Annan plan enabled avoiding the complexity of the process, yet
the process showed the program did not work. By November up to the
launch of U.S. presidential election campaign, Syrian authorities
will use that period for the consolidation of their positions. In
interlocutor’s opinion, in the context of regional development the
country actually stands on the threshold of civil war. There is
authority, which tries to prevent the actions of the opposition,
split it, yet it is not clear who is the opposition.