Author: Badalian Vardan

Armenia needs to fully engage in forming regional, global agenda –
President Serzh Sargsyan

news.am
March 10, 2012 | 13:13

YEREVAN. – Logic-based continuity, clarity, and proactiveness are
characteristic of Armenia’s foreign policy, Armenian President and the
ruling coalition’s Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Board Chairman
Serzh Sargsyan stated in his address at RPA’s congress on Saturday.

He noted that Armenia has always been an accountable and a predictable
member of the international community. `[But] The changes in our
complex region can occur rapidly. So, we are enhancing our abilities
to adapt and respond to these new challenges and opportunities.
Furthermore, you yourself must also contribute to forming of the
regional and global agenda,’ Sargsyan said, and added that official
Yerevan’s initiative to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey
was such example.

`Musical Armenia’: Young Musicians to Perform at Carnegie Hall

March 8, 2012

By Lucy Ishkanian

NEW YORK – An exceptional musical evening will take place at Weill
Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York on Fri., March 30 at 8 p.m.,
featuring two talented young Armenian musicians, Marta Bagratuni,
cellist, and Hayk Arsenyan, pianist-composer.

Marta Bagratuni
This cultural evening is being presented by `Musical Armenia,’ the
concert series project under the auspices of the Armenian Prelacy in
New York City. It began in 1982 with the purpose of introducing
talented young Armenian musicians to the public, as well as
encouraging the performance of music by Armenian composers.

The impressive roster of `Musical Armenia’ artists presented annually
over the last 30 years includes pianist Sergei Babayan, baritone
Rodion Pogossov, cellist Suren Bagratuni, soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian,
cellist Ani Aznavoorian, and violinist Catherine Manoukian.

Marta Bagratuni, the daughter of the renowned cellist Suren Bagratuni,
gave her first performance on cello at the age of 5, had her
international debut at 8, and her orchestral and recital debuts at 12.
Since then, she has become a versatile recitalist across five
continents, performing a diverse repertoire of solo, chamber, and
orchestral works. In 2010, Bagratuni graduated magna cum laude from
the University of Michigan and is currently pursuing a master’s degree
in cello and voice performance. She made her operatic debut in
September 2011 with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. Her `Musical
Armenia’ program will include works by Vahe Sharafyan and Adam
Khudoyan.

Pianist-composer Hayk Arsenyan, a native of Armenia, is a laureate of
international piano and composition competitions. He made his
orchestral debut at the age of 17 with Radio France Symphony and was
awarded a platinum medal by the city of Paris. He has appeared in
recitals in the United States, Armenia, Russia, Europe, and the Middle
East. In 2007, Arsenyan received the Professional Studies Performance
Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music. He holds a master’s
degree from the Gnessin Music Academy in Moscow, and a doctor of
musical arts degree in piano performance and pedagogy from the
University of Iowa. He is currently on the faculty at New York’s
University’s Tisch School of the Arts. His program for the concert
will feature `Visionary Landscapes’ by composer Alan Hovaness.

Tickets for the concert ($25) are available at the Carnegie Hall box
office or through the Prelacy office (by calling (212) 689-7810).
Musicians interested in participating in next year’s `Musical Armenia’
concert can apply for consideration by contacting the Prelacy.

Turkish Education Ministry launches probe into book that insults Armenians

armradio.am
10.03.2012 14:47

Turkish Education Minister Ömer Dinçer has said the Ministry has
launched a probe against a controversial book distributed by the
education directorate among high schools in Istanbul’s Kartal
district, which include slurs and insults against Armenians, as well
as some Turkish writers and journalists, the Hurriyet Daily News
reports.

“Yes, the book obviously contains racist slurs. I have issued
instructions to halt the distribution of the book and to investigate
those people responsible for their distribution,” Minister Dinçer said
on March 9.

Dinçer added that he also felt annoyed after reading the book and
agreed that it contained racist comments.

Penned by Yunus Zeyrek, the book entitled “Bu dosyayý kaldýrýyorum:
Ermeni Meselesi” (“Closing this file: the Armenian Issue”) defines
Armenians as “dishonorable and treacherous” and vilifies novelists
such as Nobel Prize Laureate Orhan Pamuk and writer Elif Þafak.
History and literature teachers distributed the books to students of
their own volition after receiving them, according to reports.

Gas supply to Armenia halted as landslide damages pipe

armradio.am
10.03.2012 14:05

Damage of the major gas pipeline in Georgia on the night of March 9
caused suspension of Russian gas supply to Armenia.

Georgian Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Alexander Khetaguri
told journalists that the pipeline junction was damaged by a landslide
at 114th km of the major gas pipeline. Khetaguri and the general
director of Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation Zurab Janjgava arrived on
the spot.

`Corporation staff is already working, and the damage will be repaired
by March 13,’ the Minister said.

Water War on Northern Boulevard
Sona Avagyan

hetq
15:57, March 7, 2012

As we go to press, residents report that the building’s board office
at 6 Northern Boulevard is without water.

Hetq has already written about the complaints of building residents
regarding the water service and the high cost of their utility bills.

The boiler is owned by North Island Ltd. and has been leased to a
company called North Avenue.

The board has taken North Island to court and is demanding that the
boiler be transferred as property belonging to the building’s owners.

Gevorg Minasyan, an attorney representing the two companies, has
stated that the demand is baseless and a classical example of trying
to wrest property from its legal owner.

Khachatur Ohanyan, who represents the board, has stated that the
defendants had gone out of their way to prevent the creation of the
board, even to the extent of threatening to cut off water and heat.

Northern Island is owned by Harutyunyan and Partners Legal Services,
Ltd. 70% of the shares of North Avenue, CJSC are owned by Mezview,
Ltd., a company registered in the Bahamas.

Harutyunyan and Partners is owned by Davit Harutyunyan, President of
the RA National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Legal Matters.

Trend, Azerbaijan
March 7 2012

EU hopes to find swift solution to Nagorno Karabakh conflict
7 March 2012, 13:05 (GMT+04:00) Azerbaijan, Baku, March 7 / Trend E.Mehdiyev /

The European Union hopes to find a swift solution to
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Head of the EU
delegation to Azerbaijan, Ambassador Roland Kobia said at a press
conference in Baku on Wednesday.

“We are now working with the OSCE Minsk Group in order to propose new
initiatives, in order to support the work of the Minsk Group and
hopefully to find a swift solution to this long-lasting problem,” he
said.

At the same time Kobia reminded about High Representative of the
European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine
Ashton’s visit to Azerbaijan a few months ago, during which she
expressed her readiness to the President for the EU to be more active
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent 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 the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

EurasiaNet.org, NY
March 7 2012

Armenia Refuses to Sing at Eurovision

March 7, 2012 – 6:57am, by Giorgi Lomsadze

Dashing hopes for disco diplomacy with foe Azerbaijan, Armenia on
March 7 pulled out of the Eurovision song contest, the European pop
extravaganza to be hosted in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku this May.

No official reason has been issued yet for the move. The European
Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, said it was disappointed by
“this unfortunate decision,” which it attributed to “circumstances
beyond our control.”

The Armenian performance in the world’s most anti-Armenian city had
promised to be the biggest event at Eurovision — and not for musical
reasons. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at hammers and tongs with
each other ever since the 1994 cease-fire that ended their fighting
over the right of the predominantly ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno
Karabakh to independence from Azerbaijan.

But, amidst an arms buildup, frontline killings, and a dead-end for
international talks on Karabakh, the mood in Armenia has not exactly
been conducive to a sequined sing-off on enemy territory.

Earlier on, many famous Armenian singers demanded that Armenian Public
Television, which oversees Eurovision matters in Armenia, withdraw
from the show. The protesting singers said that the Armenians should
not perform in a country where `hatred of Armenians is state policy.’

Pop music, powerful a force as it is, may have been unlikely to heal
the deep scars left by the 23-year-long Karabakh conflict, but, now,
we’ll never know if Armenians and Azerbaijanis could have managed to
put aside their differences for at least the short space of a
syncopated beat.

Courier Mail, Australia
March 7 2012

Armenia to boycott Eurovision

From: AFP
March 07, 2012 11:54PM

ARMENIA has pulled out of the 2012 Eurovision song contest that will
be hosted by bitter enemy Azerbaijan.
“Armenia decided to refuse to participate in the 2012 edition of
Eurovision in Baku,” said Gagik Buniatyan, the director of Armenia’s
Public Television station which would have broadcast the popular song
competition.

However he declined to explain the reasons behind the decision yesterday.

The organiser of the European pop extravaganza, the European
Broadcasting Union (EBU), expressed disappointment over the
“unfortunate” decision.

“We are truly disappointed by the broadcaster’s decision to withdraw
from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest,” said the contest’s
executive supervisor, Jon Ola Sand, on EBU’s website.

“Despite the efforts of the EBU and the host broadcaster to ensure a
smooth participation for the Armenian delegation in this year’s
contest, circumstances beyond our control lead to this unfortunate
decision,” he said.

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Azerbaijani and Armenian forces fought a war over the disputed region
of Nagorny Karabakh in the 1990s which left some 30,000 people dead.
Despite years of negotiations since the 1994 ceasefire, no final peace
deal has yet been signed.

There are still frequent gun battles along the frontline. Azerbaijan
has repeatedly threatened to use force to win back Karabakh if talks
fail, while Armenia has warned of massive retaliation to any military
action.

The Azerbaijani authorities however had promised to ensure the
security of all Eurovision participants and fans travelling to Baku
for the event.

A group of Armenian pop singers launched a Eurovision boycott campaign
last month.

“We refuse to appear in a country that is well-known for mass killings
and massacres of Armenians, in a country where anti-Armenian
sentiments have been elevated to the level of state policy,” wrote 22
singers, including three former Armenian Eurovision contestants, in a
statement.

The campaign was launched amid anger over the reported shooting of an
Armenian soldier by an Azerbaijani sniper, but it ran into controversy
after officials announced that he had actually been killed by a fellow
serviceman.

One prominent Armenian blogger described the campaign and the boycott
as “a disgrace”.

“They could have announced it much earlier, with dignity, with a kind
of reasoning that would have gained them respect. Instead, they
resorted to stupid propaganda games and outright lies,” wrote blogger
Mika Artyan.

Another Armenian blogger however praised the decision to pull out.

“At last something right has been done. We have finished with this
thing,” wrote blogger Narek Galstian.

Eurovision deleted comments on the issue from its official website
shortly after the news was announced following a series of furious
exchanges between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

Azerbaijani singers Ell and Nikki won Eurovision in Duesseldorf in May
2011, giving the oil-rich ex-Soviet state the right to host the
contest this year.

The Azerbaijani administration sees Eurovision 2012 as a chance to
boost the international profile of a country until now mainly known as
an energy exporter on the fringe of Europe.

Kuwait News Agency
March 7 2012

EU, Armenia to begin talks on Free Trade Area
3/6/2012 11:10:00 PM | World News

BRUSSELS, March 6 (KUNA) — The President of the European Commission,
Jose Manuel Barroso met here Tuesday Serzh Sargsyan, President of
Armenia, and discussed EU-Armenian ties.
Speaking at a joint news conference after the meeting, Barroso said he
was happy to launch talks on a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area
(DCFTA).
“We are now ready to launch talks on a Deep and Comprehensive Free
Trade Area, which is part and parcel of the Association Agreement that
we are already negotiating with Armenia,” said Barroso.
Regarding the forthcoming elections in Armenia, Barroso said he was
reassured by the Armenian President’s commitment to held free and fair
elections.
On his part, Sargsyan said “the next step for us should be the start
of DCFTA negotiations.” “We also discussed questions related to
territorial importance. I presented to Mr. Barroso, the phase of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. The Armenian side only sees the
peaceful settlement to the conflict,” he added.
Sargsyan also met the President of the EU Council Herm Van Rompuy who
told journalists that the EU wants to see progress on the settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan and which remains a
high priority of the EU’s foreign policy. (end) nk.bs KUNA 062310 Mar
12NNNN

Ministry of education also promotes anti-Armenian propaganda in Turkey

19:09 . 07/03

Spreading of materials instilling hatred and hostility towards
Armenians continues in Turkey.

This time, the Turkish Ministry of National Education has distributed
free of charge books connected with the Armenian issue to the schools
of the region of Kartal, which include offensive expressions in
address of Armenians.

Some of the sub-titles of the book signed by Yunus Zeyker are `Anatomy
of a Betrayal’, `Such a Neighbour is an Enemy’, etc. Turkish
journalists, public and political figures and intellectuals
participating in the action `I bring my apologies to my Armenian
brothers’, historian Taner Akcham, winner of Nobel Prize in literature
Orhan Pamuk are also targeted in the book.