Author: Badalian Vardan

SLEIMAN SUPPORTS PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 9, 2011 – 14:31 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Lebanese President stands for Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement on the basis of principles of the international
law, specifically people’s right to self-determination.

As Michel Sleiman stated at a joint briefing with Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan, “despite Azerbaijan’s attempts to discuss Karabakh
conflict at Islamic Conference meeting, Lebanon’s position on the issue
remains unchanged: we were always opposed to adoption of resolutions
condemning Armenia in such organizations.”

In conclusion, President Sleiman urged the OSCE Minsk Group as well
as superpowers to take every effort to achieve establishment of peace.

On December 8, Mr. Sleiman arrived in Armenia on the invitation of
Armenian leader Serzh Sargsyan. A meeting with President Sargsyan,
Armenian officials as well as Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness
Karekin II are on the agenda. Also, agreements, to promote development
of bilateral relations will be signed during the visit.

DASHNAKS DIDN’T VOTE FOR LARISA ALAVERDYAN, BUT STILL IN FAVOR WITH HERITAGE PARTY

epress.am
12.09.2011

Journalists asked Heritage Party MP Armen Martirosyan in parliament
today to comment on the vote by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun, or ARF-D), which represents itself as an opposition
party, for the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) candidate and not
Heritage Party MP Larisa Alaverdyan (pictured) in the elections for
National Assembly chair.

Martirosyan said that that was the ARF-D’s belief and political will
and he can do nothing about it.

Recall, 102 MPs voted in favor of HHK candidate Samvel Nikoyan, while
opposition representative Larisa Alaverdyan received only 4 votes.

Alaverdyan, however, said she had no problems commenting on the
ARF-D move.

According to her, voting for Nikoyan in no way will affect Heritage
Party and ARF-D relations, when there is a fight for political and
public matters.

One of these issues is the ARF-D bill on expressing a vote of no
confidence to the RA Government, which, as Martirosyan noted, the
Heritage Party will be in favor of.

ATP PLANTS NEARLY 250,000 TREES IN URBAN AND RURAL COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT ARMENIA

11:55, December 9, 2011

Heavy snow and rapidly decreasing temperatures presented an added
challenge to Armenia Tree Project (ATP) programs this fall. Despite
a temporary delay in northern Armenia until the weather cleared,
ATP was able to plant a total of 87,143 trees this season. The total
number of trees planted by ATP in 2011 was 246,397.

“The unpredictable weather conditions forced ATP to finish planting
relatively early this fall. However, even during this short period,
ATP had significant achievements in its tree planting programs,”
notes ATP Forestry Services Manager Ani Haykuni.

This year, ATP’s SEEDS program (Social, Environmental, and Economic
Development for Sustainability) has been maintaining previously
planted sites to improve survival rates by clearing grass around
thousands of seedlings that survived their first growing season and
planting new trees.

A total of 62,728 trees were planted this fall on community lands
in Tsaghkaber and Jrashen in the Lori region. In spring, the SEEDS
program planted 124,057 tree seedlings.

“The challenges we faced this fall have mainly been related to
weather. On the other hand, we experienced significant improvements in
the quality and care shown by our seasonal work force,” states SEEDS
program manager Vardan Melikyan. “Since we have a group of workers
who have been with ATP for several planting seasons, they fully grasp
the standards of quality required by ATP in order to ensure the best
results. Nevertheless, we constantly monitor the quality of work to
make sure that everything meets the highest standards of quality.”

“The goal of our programs is not only to plant individual trees but
also to support further development of planted areas as ecosystems. In
a few decades, those planted areas will become community parks and
forests, and will hopefully meet the needs of local residents in
promoting community development. I believe the contribution of ATP
to social, economic, and environmental sustainability in Armenia will
be appreciated by future generations,” adds Haykuni.

The seedlings for ATP’s reforestation programs were grown in
the John and Artemis Mirak Nursery in Margahovit Village and in
Backyard Nurseries in the Getik River Valley. The Backyard Nursery
Micro-Enterprise Program has been one of ATP’s poverty reduction
initiatives since 2004.

“In addition to large-scale reforestation, ATP has worked with local
partners to create small ‘community forests.’ Villages that are located
far from forested areas are being given attention in this program,
since they are in need of green spaces,” explains Melikyan.

The SEEDS program provided 5,860 trees for community forests this fall,
and plans to provide additional seedlings next year to Teghenik and
Karenis in the Kotayk region.

ATP’s flagship Community Tree Planting (CTP) program has also
successfully finished its fall activities. A total of 24,415 fruit
and decorative trees were planted this season, in addition to 35,197
planted in the spring. New communities that partnered with ATP this
fall include the villages of Ptghunk, Agarak, Saralanj, Dzorap,
and Ferik.

Fruit trees have been provided for the rural communities of Aknaghbyur,
Teghenik, and Vardenut to restore orchards and backyards of poor
rural families. In addition, fruit trees were provided to the Fuller
Center for Housing in order to support the program’s beneficiaries
in the Aragatsotn and Lori regions. The total harvest of fruit from
ATP trees was 231,022 pounds from more than 200 community plantings
sites. Varieties included apricot, cherry, wild apple, peach, and pear.

ATP’s mission is to assist the Armenian people in using trees
to improve their standard of living and protect the environment,
guided by the need to promote self-sufficiency, aid those with the
fewest resources first, and conserve the indigenous ecosystem. ATP’s
three major programs are tree planting, environmental education,
and sustainable development initiatives.

ISABEL BAYRAKDARIAN, SEROUJ KRADJIAN TO PERFORM IN LA DEC 18

PanARMENIAN.Net
December 9, 2011 – 12:27 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A celestial performance awaits Los Angeles, as the
distinguished duo, soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and pianist/composer
Serouj Kradjian, take the stage for their debut performance on
December 18.

With Isabel Bayrakdarian’s remarkable dramatic instincts paired with
Serouj Kradjian’s fiery performance, it will be an unforgettable
night of music. The husband and wife collaborators are known to
have irresistible electricity flowing between them as they perform
selections from: Khachaturian, Babajanian, Komitas, Liszt, Chausson,
Berlioz, Gomidas, Obradors, Gardel and Piazzolla, Asbarez reports.

The international opera super-star Isabel Bayrakdarian’s has been
described by The Washington Post to have a voice that is ” a high,
bright soprano voice that she employs with a lithe and winning energy.”

While the equally acclaimed Serouj Kradjian has been described as
“a pianistic hurricane,” not only as a virtuoso but also causing a
sensation every time he steps to the ivory keys.

CONFERENCE A EREVAN CONSACREE AU 1050 ÈME ANNIVERSAIRE D’ANI
Stephane

armenews.com
vendredi 9 decembre 2011

Une conference de trois jours intitulee ” Ani comme centre politique
et la civilisation de l’Armenie medievale” a eu lieu a l’Academie
des Sciences d’Armenie.

L’evenement dedicace au 1050 ème anniversaire de la proclamation
d’Ani comme capitale du Royaume Bagratuni a reuni des chercheurs
venus d’Armenie, de Russie, de France, d’Allemagne, d’Italie, des
Etats-Unis et d’Autriche.

Un site web en trois langues dediee a cet anniversaire d’Ani a ete
lance (). Il fournit des informations sur la ville
et depeint des photos d’Ani.

L’historien Richard Hovhannisian a dit que meme aujourd’hui il est
impossible de visiter les lieux historiques sans ressentir la douleur.

Le president de l’Academie des Sciences Radik Martirosyan a pointe
l’importance geopolitique et historique de la capitale, ainsi que son
rôle culturel et religieux. Il a note, cependant, ” que les autorites
turques ne menage aucun effort pour deformer les faits historiques
et effacer la trace armenienne.”

CHARTER PANEL TO INVITE MINORITY SPIRITUAL LEADERS
by Göksel Bozkurt

Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 7 2011
Turkey

A parliamentary commission tasked with preparing a draft constitution
wishes to listen to the spiritual leaders of the minority communities
in Turkey instead of the represantatives of minority foundations

Parliament’s Constitution Conciliation Commission has decided to
invite spiritual leaders of the Armenian, Greek Orthodox, Jewish and
Syriac communities to hear their input for Turkey’s new constitution.

If the three patriarchs and chief rabbi do not wish to appear at the
panel, they will be asked to recommend appropriate non-Muslim minority
foundations whose representatives the commission should listen to.

“There are too many minority foundations, but we have little knowledge
about them. That is why we decided to invite their highest-level
representatives or to listen to those whom they would recommend,”
Altan Tan, member of the commission’s related sub-panel, told the
Hurriyet Daily News.

Greek Patriarch Bartholomew, acting Armenian Patriarch Episkopos
Aram AteÅ~_yan, Chief Rabbi Ä°sak Haleva and the spiritual head of
the Syriac Orthodox community Yusuf Cetin will be invited to avoid
any controversy over whom the commission should select on behalf of
the non-Muslim minorities. Over 200 minority foundations have been
listed by the commission, including 162 established according to the
1923 Treaty of Lausanne.

At a meeting of the commission held Dec. 6 under Parliament Speaker
Cemil Cicek’s chairmanship, experts assisting the lawmakers said they
had created a Twitter account to collect opinions from citizens and
give deputies a chance to respond. The commission, however, rejected
the idea on grounds that Parliament had already created a website for
the same purpose and a Twitter account might water down the process.

Commission members also raised objections to the method the experts
suggested to classify the input of proposals and demands that
citizens, civic groups and public institutions would make. They
decided the classification would be based on the sections of the
current constitution.

DINK LAWYERS ARGUE PHONE RECORDS SENT ARE INADEQUATE

Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 5 2011
Turkey

The Dink family’s lawyers yesterday said phone records pertaining
to the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink were
inadequate.

The records were recently sent to court by Turkey’s Telecommunications
Directorate (TÄ°B) after months of dawdling.

Records sent by the TÄ°B cover only a limited area in the vicinity
of the crime scene, lawyer Fethiye Cetin said, adding that they had
requested all records from an area measuring 500 meters long.

“The TÄ°B records are in the thousands. It will take time to go through
all these. We are going to present our statements regarding the issue
after we are done examining and scrutinizing,” she said.

The TÄ°B had initially refused to comply with a court request to
deliver the records, claiming the demand would amount to “violation of
privacy.” In recent months, the TÄ°B had continued dragging its feet
by advancing further objections to the request to obtain the records.

The TÄ°B finally agreed to the court’s request and sent the records
last week.

The Dink family’s lawyers said in court yesterday that the roles
played by all officials implicated in Hrant Dink’s assassination had
been exposed, from the Chief of Staff to the government, media and
the judiciary. The concerted harmony in which these officials acted
after the incident indicated the whole affair was coordinated from
a single center, they said.

The case was postponed to Dec. 26 for further investigation into the
phone records.

A group of demonstrators gathered in BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ and marched
toward the Istanbul Courthouse yesterday, protesting the failure of
authorities to bring the case to a resolution.

Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, was the chief editor
for weekly Agos, a paper published in both Turkish and Armenian. He
was shot in front of his office in January 2007; triggerman Ogun
Samast was sentenced to 22 years in prison last month for the murder.

STEVIE WONDER, MICHAEL STONE AND OTHERS SAY “NEVER AGAIN” TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

news.am
Dec 8 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – The “Never Again” peace concerts, which got underway in
Los Angeles on November 1, and whose organizers aim to bring together
world-renowned musicians, towards 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, will also continue in Russia, Europe, countries of the East,
and, in 2015, in Armenia. One of the concerts’ organizers, Armenian
People’s Artist, and “Artists for Peace” international charitable
organization’s founder Flora Martirosyan stated this during a press
conference on Thursday.

In his turn, FMS Media company’s co-founder Aram Sargsyan noted that,
at the Los Angeles concert, several renowned personalities, such as
famous recording artist Eric Benet, Hollywood actor and poet Michael
Stone (actress Sharon Stone’s brother), and international superstar
Stevie Wonder said “no” to the Armenian Genocide. He also informed
that during the concert Flora Martirosyan received US Congressman Brad
Sherman’s special certificate for her distinguished and invaluable
services rendered to the Armenian community, and calling for world
peace, through music.

ARMENIAN SCIENTIST TO PRESENT UNIQUE PROJECT

Tert.am
08.12.11

A presentation of the project entitled “Pilot production of magnesium
chloride and other compounds from serpentinous ultrabasic rocks” is to
take place at the Russian-Armenian Center for Innovative Cooperation,
Dec. 9.

Doctor of Chemistry, Head of the Physical-Chemical Laboratory,
Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Armenian National
Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Nshan Zulumyan will hold the presentation.

The project envisages an entirely new efficient, energy-saving and
environmentally friendly method of acid processing of serpentinous
ultrabasic rocks.

Among the advantages are time-saving (from several hours to
several minutes) easier mother-liquor elimination, money-saving,
environmentally friendly procedure.

Scientists, production managers, officials and journalists will attend
the presentation.

DASHNAKS : DE RETOUR AU PARLEMENT
ARMENIE

armenews.com
jeudi 8 decembre 2011

Les legislateurs de la Federation revolutionnaire armenienne
(Dachnaktsoutioun) ont vote pour elire le nouveau president du
parlement de l’Armenie et l’un de ses adjoints tries sur le volet
par le president Serge Sarkissian.

Le parti Zharangutyun (Heritage), le groupe d’opposition represente
a l’Assemblee nationale, a claque la porte mercredi après que les
candidats du Dashnaktsutyuns ont ete rejetees par la majorite du
parlement.

Stepan Safarian, chef du groupe parlementaire du parti Zharangutyun,
a pretendu que la FRA pourrait soutenir Sarkissian, qui dirige le
Parti republicain (HHK) pour l’election presidentielle 2013.

Les membres du HHK, Samvel Nikoyan et Eduard Sharmazanov, ont ete
elus respectivement comme President et Vice-President mardi.

Le quotidien ” Haykakan Zhamanak ” a fait l’eloge de l’un des
parlementaires Dachnaktsoutioun, Artsvik Minassian. Minassian a
declare que le nouveau president ne pourrait pas assurer de vrais
debats et l’adoption de lois a l’Assemblee nationale.

Minassian a egalement declare que Larisa Alaverdian, candidate du
parti Zharangutyun pour le poste de President, est inapte a conduire
la legislature dominee par les partisans du gouvernement.

Expliquant la position de son parti a Yerkir.am, Rustamian a minimise
la ” signification politique ” de l’election du President. Il a
affirme qu’il aura peu d’impact sur le travail d’une assemblee qui
va completer son mandat de cinq ans en mai.

Le Congrès national armenien (HAK) n’est pas represente par le
parlement actuel. Les representants du HAK ont affirme que les
politiques gouvernementales Dachnaktsoutioun en Armenie se sont
abstenus de s’attaquer personnellement au President Sarkissian.

Hrant Markarian, le chef de la FRA, a appele a un changement de regime
systemique e Armenie, lorsqu’ il a ouvert un congrès du parti au mois
de juin.