Author: Badalian Vardan

K. SARIBEKYAN: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY INDIFFERENT TO GROWING MILITARY BUDGET OF AZERBAIJAN

Panorama
Nov 11 2011
Armenia

“Azerbaijan intends hiding of its military expenses, thus releases
statements that Armenia obtains armaments or grows budget expenses,”
Karen Saribekyan, a member of NA standing committee on defense,
national security and interior affairs, told Panorama.am referring to
Azerbaijan’s critics in address to those countries that sell weapons
to Armenia.

The MP urged Azerbaijan to keep an eye on its own affairs and not to
intervene in those of others.

“Moreover, Azerbaijan’s military budget significantly grows every year,
and more funding is allocated to buy weapons. I’m not interested in
who owns the budget and how much is owned, but one thing is obvious,
funding is growing while the international community seems indifferent
to the fact,” said K. Saribekyan.

Asked if Armenia has also increased its military expenses, the MP said:
“Yes, and it’s quite natural, although unlike Azerbaijan we put forth
efforts to have quality, which we manage to.”

RUSSIA TAKES FAIR POSITION PROTECTING SYRIA FROM FOREIGN INTERFERENCE – AMBASSADOR

ARMENPRESS
NOVEMBER 11, 2011
YEREVAN

Russia took a fair position protecting Syria from foreign interference,
Syrian Ambassador to Moscow Riyad Haddad told a Friday press
conference. He said that the Russian position impeded the use of the
UN Security Council for certain moves of the West, Armenpress reports,
citing “Itar-Tass” news agency.

The reforms in Syria are relatively quick, the diplomat said.

Important steps have been taken: the work on the Law on Parties
is underway, the new parliament will be elected in February 2012,
a commission has been formed to review the constitution, and there
is a commission for the national dialog, he said.The reforms are on
schedule, but Syria also has to protect its people from terrorists
who are not interested in the reforms, Haddad said.

APPLE CO-FOUNDER SAYS HE’LL TELL AMERICANS ABOUT ARMENIAN INTELLECT

Tert.am
11.11.11

Visiting co-founder of Apple Computer Inc Steve Wozniak has said
he will tell Americans about the intellect of Armenians upon his
return home.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, he said that deprived of many things
Armenia, however, has declared the sector of internet technologies
as a priority and is sparing no efforts to reach that goal.

“Looking at Armenians I consider myself as one of you,” said Wozniak.

“Once I return home, I will tell them about the Armenian intellect.”

“It’s hard to say that ‘we are Armenia and we are declaring IT sector
as a priority’. But Armenia has aspirations,” said he.

Steve Wozniak is in Armenia to pick President Serzh Sargsyan’s award
for his contribution in IT sector worldwide. Wozniak is the second
person to be awarded by an Armenian president. The first award went
to former President of Intel Corporation Craig Barrett.

Further, Wozniak said it was symbolic for him that such an award has
been set up by Armenia.

“There is no Nobel Prize in computing. It is symbolic for me that such
an award has been set up by the Republic of Armenia. Why? Perhaps,
because here there are those youth who can create,” explained Wozniak.

“And the fact that it is the country’s president who awards the prize
underlines its importance,” said Steve Wozniak.

A slice of history left to crumble
By Patrick Dewhurst Published on November 13, 2011

THE FIRST THING you should know about the Armenian monastery of Sourp Magar
is that it exists.

This is an important point, because if you look at virtually any `TRNC’
map, or ask the locals in the north where it is, you might come away
thinking otherwise – and be tempted to return home after a long and
fruitless search.

Its existence is also important is because, through woeful neglect by the
`authorities’ in the north, this 1,000-year-old treasure and sacred
pilgrimage site could soon fall into rubble and succumb to nature, vandals
and the swathes of litter and used toilet paper that mar the area.

It is already half way there, as I found out when I visited last month.

Nestled deep in the Plataniotissa forest, 10 minutes drive beyond the
Pendadactylos range, Sourp Magar is thought to have been founded by Coptic
Christians in memory of Saint Makarios the Hermit of Alexandria in around
1,000 AD.

By 1425 it came into the ownership of the Armenian Church, becoming a
popular pilgrimage site and retreat for those en route to the Holy Land,
and by the time the Ottomans arrived it had taken on the name `Blue
Monastery’ after the colour of its wooden shutters.

Back then, pilgrims would have trudged through nearly 8,500 donums of
monastery owned olives groves from sea level to an altitude of 530m.

Its last use as a working monastery is thought to be around 1800, after
which it fell into a variety of alternate uses, including a school, a safe
house for Armenian refugees fleeing Ottoman massacres in the 1890s, a
summer camp for scouts and then, after the 1974 invasion, a mess for
invading Turkish officers and refuge for settlers.

Were any ancient Armenians to make the long hike today, however, they would
be surely be horrified by what it has become.

Instead of maintaining the site, locals have made several attempts to turn
it into a hotel – in 1998, 1999 and 2006 (each time caving in to pressure
to stop by Republics of Cyprus and Armenia, the Catholicosate, the Vatican
and the European Council) and it is now dilapidated ruin: unattended,
unmaintained and open to vandals.

A few traces remain of these commercial efforts; a rickety picnic bench
within the cloister, a basic kitchen in one room, visible through an open
window, and an incongruous satellite dish on perhaps the last bit of sound
roof.

An `out of order’ sign hangs aptly on a broken toilet door and a bin full
of rubbish, shamelessly dumped outside the main entrance are the only other
signs that this place has been visited recently.

Wandering around the rest of the ruin is a haunting experience. Where at
one time monks would stroll of the cloisters, only weeds grow. The stone
paths feel unstable and every wall seems cracked and on the verge of
collapse. I catch myself holding my breath as I pass under Gothic archways,
hoping my footsteps don’t cause the ancient keystones to collapse.

I’m especially wary as I enter the tumbledown chapel, on the north side of
the site. Its ornate tile flooring is still intact, but the room is bare,
the font smashed and Turkish (and curiously PKK) graffiti daubs the
whitewashed walls. The vestibule’s roof has gone, giving way to creeping
plants and weeds.

Aside from the church, only two other features confirm I am even in the
right place – they are two placards, written in Armenian script. The first
is intact – most probably because it is set high out of reach of vandals
and dated 1933.

Its tragically hopeful inscription, in Armenian script, reads: `Hail to you
hill, temple of nature, allow your heap obelisk to be a reminiscence that
preserves your novice name from century to century, long live the radiant
great Mekhitar.’

The second placard -within the monastery walls – has been less fortunate,
and has had mysteriously had the date of its placement scrubbed off.

In its heyday, this would certainly have been a highpoint on any pilgrim’s
journey, but today it is has a post apocalyptic feel, and its demise
another stain on Turkey’s legacy.

Yet there is a glimmer of hope that the building could be restored – if not
to a working retreat – then at least to safety- if funding is found.

While now might not be a good time to obtain funding, similar restoration
projects have taken place in Cyprus recently. For example, in 2009 the UNDP
began a =802.6 million project to restore the Armenian Church and Monastery
in northern Nicosia.

Asked about funding, Armenian community leader Vartkes Mahdessian said:
`There is no funding for Sourp Magar monastery because it is outside of our
parameters, and in our thinking, the church in Nicosia was more of an
inter-communal place.’

The Armenian community has reached out to `authorities’ in the north in the
past, but, as Mahdessian says, funding was the key issue: `We tried but
they didn’t have the money. There is virtually nothing left there and the
problem we now face is how to maintain what is left.’

This has not stopped local Armenians from resuming their pilgrimages,
however, and in 2007 Mahdessian began organising annual trips on the first
Sunday of May each year.

If you do decide to visit, there are a few more things you should know, the
most important probably being how to get there. When I went two weeks ago,
a no-doubt well meaning local told me it was near the Buffavento castle.

Ignore anyone who tells you this, but do follow their directions as far as
the Pendadactylos range. If you are approaching from the Nicosia (south)
side of the range, turn right at the pass, before the Buffavento
restaurant.

This will put you on a narrow road that weaves past the Pendadactylos and
through the Plataniotissa forest, which incidentally has several well
marked and beautiful hiking trails starting at several points along the
road.

After about ten minutes you should come to a clearing where you might spot
a faded sign saying `Ermeni Monastiri’ and you have arrived… well nearly.

To the north west, a tarmac road leads down the hill to the monastery.
This is now often closed to cars, in which case you will have to complete
the pilgrimage in the traditional way, and follow the road down the hill on
foot for around 20 minutes.

OSCE Rep: police must respect the rights of journalists

November 12, 2011 – 17:25 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media,
Dunja Mijatovic, today expressed concern about the increasing number
of journalists harassed by police while covering `Occupy Wall Street’
protests across the United States.

At least eight reporters and photographers have been detained while
covering the protests, including journalists who were clearly
identified as members of the working press.

`There is no question that reporters and photographers have the right
to observe, record and report on events that are in plain view,’
Mijatovic said. `Media coverage of public events is the backbone of
citizen oversight of government activities, and to detain reporters
covering these events jeopardizes freedom of the media.’

A spate of police encounters has ensued in the past month from the
ongoing demonstrations, including in Oakland, California, New York
City, Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia.

The latest arrests came just last week as two journalists for
university newspapers in the state of Georgia were jailed for 14 hours
and charged with `obstructing traffic’ while covering an `Occupy
Atlanta’ demonstration. They must return to court in March 2012.

In Milwaukee, Journal Sentinel photographer Kristyna Wentz-Graff was
detained as she photographed a demonstration at the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee. No charges were filed after video footage proved
she was identified as a working journalist.

`Journalists should not have to defend their right to report on
matters of public importance,’ Mijatovic said. `Violating one
reporter’s right affects all citizens. It is time for local officials
to demand that their law enforcement agencies respect the rights and
duties of media in covering public issues,’ The Financial reported.

Armenian banks to conservative in 2012

Samvel Chazmachyan is sure that the level of liquidity of the Armenian
banking system will allow it firmly resist the recession.

Russian economic Nikolai Kondratiev, known for his analysis and theory
of business cycles, predicted the global financial crisis back in
1920s. The current situation, according to Kondratiev, is the `winter
of economy’, which can last for some 20 years.
November 12, 2011
PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia’s economy again faces new challenges. The
new wave of crisis that hit Europe will inevitably affect Armenia and
entrepreneurs should be ready for this.

Anyway, Anelik Bank board chairman Samvel Chazmachyan does not succumb
to panic. He is sure that the level of liquidity of the Armenian
banking system will allow it firmly resist the recession.

It’s worth noting that unlike developed countries, where a large
number of banks went bankrupt, Armenian banks withstood the first wave
of crisis, without the governmental assistance. Moreover, many of them
decided to move forward, despite hard times.

According to the chairman of the Union of Banks of Armenia, Ashot
Osipyan, `crises implies changes and correct management is the most
important tool to tackle it.’

Meanwhile, credit markets are reducing along with the rise of lending
rates, what is certainly harmful for Armenia. The country should think
of alternative investments. `We should strengthen the risk management
and improve the capital adequacy, be conservative to manage these
changes,’ Osipyan says.

Partner relations with international financial institutions like the
International Monetary Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development help resolve the problems. `The more lending resources
the bank possesses, the lower will be the rates,’ Chazmachyan is
confident.

The Armenian banking sector is unlikely to see increase in lending
rates. With 21 commercial banks operating in the republic, competition
is too high, what even led to 2-3% decrease in lending rates in 2011.

Victoria Araratyan / PanARMENIAN News

Karabakh settlement is decisive for creating Great Caucuses -analyst

17:02 – 12.11.11

The most actual issues in the Transcaucasus region are its protracted
conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Azerbaijani
political analyst Rasim Aghaev has said in an interview with Regnum.

However, the settlement of the Karabakh conflict is decisive in the
implementation of the `Great Caucasus’ – a project Aghaev claims the
US is implementing to bring post-Soviet countries out of Russia’s
orbit of influence.

`If it is solved in Azerbaijan’s favor, it means it will be hard for
the Americans to solve those issues with Armenia, and vice versa,’
Aghaev said.

`I think the NK issue will be settlement together with the
Armenia-Turkey normalization. A lot is being done in Turkey over that
issue. We are at the threshold of major shifts,’ he explained.

Further, he said that in case the Karabakh conflict is settled the US
is planning to unite all the countries in the South and North Caucasus
at the Great Caucasus geographical area.
Once this is done, Russia will lose that region for ever.

Tert.am

CHOUCHI, CAPITALE HISTORIQUE FANTÔME DU HAUT-KARABAGH
Philippe Schaller

Le Monde

10 nov 2011
France

L’aire de jeux a piètre allure. Les nacelles deposees a terre
rouillent depuis des annees dans l’indifference generale. Plantee
sur un plateau, la ville de Chouchi a valeur de symbole. Capitale
historique du Haut-Karabagh, elle a a subi de graves dommages en 1992
lors du conflit entre l’Armenie et l’Azerbaïdjan. La ville representait
une position militaire cle, surplombant la plaine de la Koura.

Dans la petite ville devastee, les images du passe bousculent celles du
present. Chouchi recèle des vestiges de l’architecture russo-armenienne
du XIXe siècle. Bâtiments publics, hôtels particuliers ou residences
de notables melent la pierre et le bois.

Certaines vieilles maisons aux balcons ouvrages ont resiste aux
ravages du temps, comme le palais Natavan, surnomme le “palais de
la fille du khan”. La cathedrale Saint-Sauveur (Amènaprkitch), qui
avait servi d’entrepôt d’armes et de munitions par les Azeris, a ete
largement restauree. L’eclatante eglise blanche se dresse fièrement
au-dessus de la ville.

Les deux mosquees de Chouchi n’ont pas eu la meme chance. Très
deteriorees, videes de leurs meubles et ouvertes aux quatre vents,
elles temoignent de la mefiance des Armeniens a l’egard des Azeris,
musulmans.

Les voyageurs ont l’habitude de contourner le rocher de Chouchi pour se
diriger directement vers Stepanakert, la capitale du Nagorno-Karabakh
(“Karabagh montagneux” en russe). Mais la ville constitue un passage
oblige pour les Armeniens de la diaspora. Pomme de discorde entre
l’Armenie et l’Azerbaïdjan, le Haut-Karabagh est une republique
autoproclamee. Ce petit Etat de 11 000 km², enclave au c~ur de
l’Azerbaïdjan, n’est reconnu par personne, meme s’il entretient des
relations privilegiees avec l’Armenie, partageant la meme monnaie et
le meme peuple.

Ses paysages vallonnes, son altitude elevee, ses habitants rugueux
dans leur comportement mais d’une hospitalite comme on en connaît peu,
en font une destination hors du commun. A travers les murs delabres
de Chouchi, c’est l’histoire des Armeniens dans la region qu’il faut
voir. Ses puissants remparts du XVIIIe siècle, dont il ne reste pas
grand-chose, temoignent de son glorieux passe. Sous le giron russe au
debut du XIXe siècle, Chouchi connaît un developpement extraordinaire.

Elle s’impose meme comme l’un des principaux centres commerciaux et
culturels de Transcaucasie. Pour les Armeniens, c’est la troisième
ville phare après Istanbul et Tbilissi.

Difficile a croire, tant Chouchi n’est aujourd’hui plus que l’ombre
d’elle meme. Redevenue armenienne en 1992, elle paraît videe de
ses habitants. Une ville fantôme. Seuls 3 500 personnes y vivent
actuellement. “Chouchi a perdu 60 000 habitants en vingt ans, au
profit de la nouvelle capitale Stepanakert, toute proche et bien mieux
equipee”, raconte Armen, un Armenien de France rentre au pays. Lors
du conflit avec l’Azerbaïdjan, de nombreux residents sont partis a la
guerre. “Beaucoup y ont perdu la vie, d’autres ont prefere se tourner
vers l’Armenie, jugeant la situation au Karabagh trop difficile pour
eux”, poursuit Armen. Resultat, des dizaines de maisons abandonnees
en pleine ville s’effondrent au gre du temps. Dans le meme temps, des
projets immobiliers pharaoniques voient le jour, sans se preoccuper
de savoir qui pourrait bien habiter ces centaines de logements.

Mais des habitants reviennent, comme Armen. Il a fonde ici une sorte
de MJC où il propose, pour 5 000 AMD (environ 10~@), l’accès a une
table de ping-pong, deux ordinateurs, un billard… Non loin de la,
un centre d’art a vu le jour : les enfants peuvent s’initier a la
peinture, la danse, le theâtre ou la photographie. Dorenavant, les
habitants restent a Chouchi. Mieux, ce cadre paisible en attire de
nouveaux. Peu a peu, la ville renaît de ses cendres.

‘AZERBAIJANI INTELLIGENCE IS MORE SUPERIOR TO ARMENIAN’

news.az
Nov 10 2011
Azerbaijan

The idea behind the successful invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh by the
Armenian is fundamentally a false and misguiding notion. This response
came from the military expert Jasur Sumarinlu commenting on the
statements made by the Chief of the Department of Intelligence,
Major General Arshak Karapetyan.

According to Karapetyan, the victory of Nagorno-Karabakh by the
Armenian forces is correlated with the superior Armenian intelligence
over Azerbaijan’s.

Karapetyan even stated that the Armenian forces are so much more
superior to Azerbaijani that the military intelligence of Armenia
is aware of every step that Azerbaijan plans to take. He added that
although Azerbaijani military intelligence has had the chance to cross
over to the Armenian side, Azerbaijani military has yet to discover
and capture members of the Armenian intelligence force.

Azerbaijani military expert Sumarinlu responded to his remarks as
nothing but misinformation. Sumarinli said that the only reason why
Armenia has had any luck in the military development was only due to
the military and economic support provided to Armenia by Russia.

‘The role of Armenian intelligence in their own success is slim to
none. I know for a fact that the Azerbaijani intelligence is far
more superior, even during the Karabakh war. Last year we caught an
Armenian military intelligence officer, and by means of exchange he
was returned back to his own country. This is just one example from
dozens of stories that I have had personally heard about the captured
members of the Armenian intelligence,’ noted Sumarinlu.

Sumarinlu also considers the comments made about Turkey by the Armenian
general to be absurd.

“Turkey’s political, military, official and nonofficial circles have
repeatedly stated that the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia
cannot be compared. Azerbaijan is ahead of the Armenian military
development. The superiority is based on several aspects, such
as battle tactics, logistics, human and financial resources, and
economic development. Turkey is considered Azerbaijan’s number one
supporter, and up to this day they have provided more than $200m in
military assistance. Therefore, they know exactly how much development
Azerbaijan has experienced in the past decade,” stated Sumarinlu.

US FEDERAL APPEALS COURT REVISITS ‘ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’ LAWSUIT

Today’s Zaman
Nov 8 2011
Turkey

Armenians demonstrate to remember what they call the “genocide” for
tragic events in 1915 when up to 1.5 million Armenians are claimed
to be killed at the hand of Ottomans. (Photo: Reuters)

A federal appeals court on Monday took up the thorny issue of whether
California law declaring there was an Armenian genocide in Turkey
conflicts with US foreign policy.

At issue is a state law that labels the deaths a genocide, allowing
heirs of Armenians killed in the Turkish Ottoman Empire to pursue a
lawsuit seeking life insurance payments from three German insurers.

It’s the third time in two years the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals
has confronted the politically charged question. In a rare move,
the court reversed itself last year after a judge changed her mind
and turned a 2-1 ruling rendered in 2009 in favor of insurers into
a 2-1 decision supporting the heirs’ lawsuit.

On Monday, the court’s chief justice announced in a brief statement
that a majority of judges had voted to rehear the case – a move that
wipes out the 2010 decision.

The insurers, which include Munich Re AG, argue California’s law
should be struck down because it conflicts with US foreign policy,
which they say sides with Turkey in refusing to call the Armenian
deaths genocide. Turkey describes the deaths as resulting from civil
unrest that accompanied the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

The insurers point to decisions by former presidents Bill Clinton
and George W. Bush to defeat congressional legislation that would
have recognized an Armenian genocide.

Lawyers for the heirs argue those presidential views are not official
policy. They say the United States lacks a formal position, which
means the California law is not in conflict with any national policy.

Armenians claim that up to 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered at
the hands of Ottoman Turks in 1915, but Turkey rejects the allegations,
saying that the number is inflated and that both sides suffered
losses. Nearly a million ethnic Armenians live in California and
constitute large portion of the electorate in the southern part of
the state.