Author: Badalian Vardan

AZERBAIJANI DIASPORA IN POLAND COMPLAINS TO RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 10, 2011 – 20:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Azerbaijanis, living in Poland, sent a letter
of protest to the Russian ambassador to Poland Alexander Alekseev in
connection with journalist Vladimir Solovyov’s abusive accusations
against Azerbaijan’s multinational people on “Vesti FM” radio station,
State Committee on Diaspora said on Thursday.

“It is regrettable that insulting remarks and extremist appeals aimed
at inciting national hatred were voiced on the radio station, included
in the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company –
one of the largest media corporations in Russia,” the letter said.

The expressions, used by journalist Solovyov on air, are a provocation
aimed against neighborly relations existing between Russia and
Azerbaijan, a letter of the “Birlik” (Unity) association of the
Azerbaijanis living in Poland said.

They stressed that those who attempt to dispute the relations
between Russia and Azerbaijan will receive an adequate response. The
Azerbaijani diaspora of Poland appealed with a request to the
All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company and the
Russian corresponding state bodies to take the necessary measures in
respect of the journalist using abusive language against Azerbaijan
people, pda.trend.az reports.

STEVE WOZNIAK: WHATEVER I DO, I DO WITH INSPIRATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 10, 2011 – 18:04 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – At Nov. 9 meeting Apple co-founder Steve
Wozniak briefed representatives of Armenian IT sector on his past
accomplishments and story of founding Apple.

“I worked in HP Company, developed counters, later started studying
their chips. I believed in great achievements in IT world. I had a goal
to make computers accessible around the world. However, I lacked means
to implement my ideas. With the help of a pencil and paper I designed
chips. Every day I searched for recent inventions in IT world that
later inspired myself to create chips that were in great demand,”
Wozniak said.

Dwelling on Apple Production, he noted that it is very important for
everybody to make their own contribution to the business started.

“Steve Jobs was not a technologist, however, he knew how to turn
an engineering idea into money, I had special inspiration in doing
everything. Later Jobs made my works suitable for use. All technologies
are called to make our life easier and more interesting,” Wozniak said.

Wozniak later told about the first computers released by Apple,
Apple andApple 2.

Steve Wozniak, invited to Armenia by Presidential Award organizing
committee, will be receive IT Award by President Sargsyan for his
enormous asset to IT development.

AHI HAILS CONGRESSIONAL EFFORTS TO BLOCK SALE OF U.S. ARMS TO TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 10, 2011 – 10:25 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) welcomes the
effort of congressional lawmakers to block the sale of U.S. arms to
Turkey with the introduction of joint resolution that disapproves of
the issuance of an offer letter for the proposed $111 million sale
of the arms, AHI said in a press release.

“The American Hellenic Institute has long opposed military assistance
to Turkey in testimony submitted before Congress,” AHI President
Nick Larigakis said. “The flow of U.S. arms to Turkey only emboldens
Turkey’s intransigent stance when it comes to finding a diplomatic
settlement to the Cyprus issue and further encourages its bellicose
threats against U.S. allies Cyprus, Greece, Israel and Armenia. AHI
applauds the lawmakers’ effort to block this most recent proposed
sale of U.S. arms to Turkey.”

He continued, “Turkey’s aggressive behavior in the region is
well-documented, ranging from airspace violations of Greece, to its
invasion and occupation of Cyprus with 40,000-plus troops to its
sabre-rattling rhetoric as Cyprus and Israel explore for gas and oil.

The Obama Administration’s pushing of this arms sale during a time
when Turkey is acting belligerently in the eastern Mediterranean and
threatening U.S. allies is unacceptable and downright irresponsible
and disappointing.”

U.S. Reps. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Eliot Engel (D-NY), a senior
member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sponsored the
legislation, H.J.Res.83, which was introduced November 3, 2011. It
has the bipartisan support of initial co-sponsors: U.S. Reps. Gus
Bilirakis (R-FL) and Carolyn Maloney, co-chairs of the Hellenic Caucus;
Michael Grimm (R-NY), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and Ed Royce (R-CA),
a House Foreign Affairs Committee member. U.S. Reps. Steve Israel
(D-NY) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) have since co-sponsored the legislation.

In a joint statement issued by U.S. Reps. Berkley and Engel, “The
$111 million arms sale to Turkey proposed by the Obama Administration
late last month would include AH-1W Super Cobra Attack Helicopters,
engines, spare parts, training equipment, technical documentation
and support services.”

The American Hellenic Institute is a non-profit Greek American public
policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United
States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.

ARMENIAN IMAM KILLED IN RUSSIA

yerkir.am
11:00 – 10.11.2011

In Russian Yaroslavl city 29-year-old Armenian imam Arthur Manukyan
was killed in front of his house.

According to Russian news agency, the man died from the gun shot. The
killer shot 3 times to the direction of his chest and twice on his
head. The killer had probably used the deafened as no one heard
the shots.

Investigators think that the murder could have been on the racism
ground or it could also be an order.

Criminal case is launched. Investigation is ongoing.

THE COURAGE TO RESIGN
HAKOB BADALYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 11:09:10 – 10/11/2011

In the photo, three Armenian judges receiving the award. Hovsep
Bedevyan is between to female judges. Photo from the official website
of the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan

After a long break, Serzh Sargsyan filled the position of the president
of the Administrative Court of Appeals. This position was vacant
since the former president of the Court of Appeals Tigran Mukuchyan
resigned to take on the position of chairman of the Central Election
Commission. And Mukuchyan resigned after Garegin Azaryan, the ex-
chairman of the CEC died.

On November 9, Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on the appointment of
Judge Hovsep Bedevyan. The interesting thing is that Bedevyan received
the Freedom Defender’s prize on December 9, 2010. The ex-U.S.

Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch handed him the prize. Besides Mr.

Bedevyan, two other judges were awarded too. Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan was also present.

The Defender of Freedom is an annual award of the U.S. Department of
State which is conferred on individuals and NGOs. It is awarded
in different parts of the world to persons who encounter serious
challenges and are able to display exceptional courage and
determination to defend human rights, democracy and social justice.

The award is aimed to encourage implementation of fundamental freedoms
and respect for the rule of law in all the states of the world.

Hence, by appointing Judge Bedevyan who was awarded by the U.S.
Department of State to this important position, Serzh Sargsyan is
trying to display to the West, namely the United States, that it is
ready to take practical steps towards the judicial reform.

No doubt, this gesture is too little to consider a satisfactory reform
because the appointment still has to produce quality in the system.

Otherwise, the Armenian government has made a lot of similar
propagandist and demonstrative appointments who later assimilated
with the existing systems rather than distinguished themselves in
terms of the quality component.

Here, there are two aspects. Those appointments must get proper
political support to function properly, to be able to create at
least isles of quality within the system to enable building up a
brand new system later. However, judging by the results of the modern
appointments so far, Serzh Sargsyan does not provide proper political
support to those who bear this quality and these appointments have
so far served for pleasing Western partners rather than for systemic
change in Armenia.

The other aspect is that these officials have the courage to be in
quite a different quality platform but they must have the courage to
resign if their quality serves the cover-up of the existing system
rather than the coverage of the demands of the public, defaming the
idea of new quality and disappointing the public.

“I’LL STAND ATOP MASIS AND SPIT ON YOUR FOREHEAD”
Ararat Davtyan

hetq
17:21, November 9, 2011

In 2009, the well known businesswoman Silva Hambardzoumyan purchased
the Sipan-1 company.

This company had been the owner of the Litchkvaz-Tey and Terterasar
gold mines. However, RA Minister of Energy and Natural Resources,
Armen Movsisyan, subsequently stripped the company of its operating
license for these mines.

The company took the matter to the courts and the Court of Cassation
declared the minister’s decision “nullified”. But Minister Movsisyan
handed down the same illegal decision a second time and stripped the
Sipan-1 company of its Litchkvaz-Tey operating license.

Silva Hambardzoumyan again petitioned the courts but by that time the
Ministry had put the Litchkvaz-Tey gold mine up for auction. The mine
was obtained by the Sagamar Company.

The Administrative Court concluded that the decision by the minister
was legal. The case is now in the Court of Appeals but Hambardzoumyan
says she has lost all hope in getting a just verdict from the courts
in Armenia.

Hambardzoumyan’s lawyer, Karen Tounyan, describes the actions of
Minister Movsisyan regarding the judicial sytem in the following
manner – I’ll stand atop Masis and spit on your forehead.

The lawyer refers to last week’s environmental public hearings during
which the Sagamar Company’s presentation was videotaped. Tounyan notes
that in reality Sagamar presented a package belonging to Sipan-1 that
had been shown to government officials back in 2006.

“They were so negligent that the name Sipan-1 wasn’t erased on some
of the documents. Even some of the numbers didn’t correspond to the
Sagamar license and the name Sipan-1 shows up on some of the maps,”
says Tounyan.

The lawyer says he’ll leave it up to others to conclude how the package
wound up in the hands of Sagamar since the documents were being kept
by the Ministry of Energy.

Silva Hambardzoumyan says: “Sagamar purchased the Litchkvaz-Tey
gold mine at the ridiculously low price of 198 million AMD. No one
participated in the auction. It wasn’t permitted. I purchased the
mine for $25 million and also paid off the debt of $1.5 million.”

Hambardzoumyan says all of this was done in favour of Serop
Der-Boghossian. She says that when the American-Armenian businessman
was mired in the paedophilia scandal, he was forced out of Sagamar
and the company remained the sole property of the Russians.

“Then Serop’s wife said she would expose everything and so they were
forced to give Serop the Akhtala factory,” Hambardzoumyan says. “I
am quite familiar with what is going on. I follow their steps daily
and have met with Serop’s wife.”

As to what Serop’s wife was about to expose, Hambardzoumyan notes,
“His wife has a lot to say, about the events of 1999. She’s keeping
it to herself so that they let her husband off quickly. The wife
threatened to go to the press if they didn’t.”

Hambardzoumyan says she’s ready to battle till the end, all the way
to the European Court. And that she’ll leave Armenia with a nice sum
of money.

When asked if she believed that Armenia’s president would take an
interest in the matter once given the true facts, Hambardzoumyan
answered that she doesn’t personally know Serzh Sargsyan.

“It’s the president who should express a desire to see me,” said
Hambardzoumyan, “After all, I am the only big woman entrepreneur
in Armenia.”

STAFF DISMISSALS, RESHUFFLES IN THE RA POLICE

ARMENPRESS
NOVEMBER 10, 2011
YEREVAN

Chief of the RA Police Vladimir Gasparyan signed order dismissing
Colonel Suren Sarukhanyan from the post of head of staff of the police
chief and transferred to the reserve. With another order Colonel
Aram Ter-Tovmasyan was dismissed from the post of Chief of the Shirak
regional police department and transferred to the reserve. Vice head
of the Organized Crime Department Karen Babakekhyan was dismissed from
his post and appointed Chief of the Shirak regional police department.

Chief of the Division for Drug Trafficking Control, Organized Crime
Control Department Nazaret Mnatsakanyan was also dismissed. Chief of
the 4th division, Major Levon Khachatryan was appointed chief of the
Division for Drug Trafficking Control.

Speaking to Armenpress, spokesman of the Chief of the Police Ashot
Aharonyan said the reshuffles in the law enforcement system are
common phenomena.

ARMENIA, VIETNAM INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING BILATERAL TIES

armradio.am
10.11.2011 13:50

The newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Armenia, Fam Suan Sean (seat in
Moscow), presented his credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan.

The President noted that Armenia is willing to deepen its relations
with friendly Vietnam.

The interlocutors discussed the perspectives of expansion and
development of bilateral ties. In this context they attached importance
to the active cooperation within the framework of the International
Organization of the Francophonie and other international organizations.

The Ambassador noted that the reinforcement of relations with Armenia
was high on the agenda of his country’s foreign policy. According
to him, “Vietnam feels great respect and gratitude to Armenia and
the Armenian peoples,” adding that his country has been receiving
assistance and friendly attitude from Armenia starting from Soviet
times.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS TO DEVELOP YEREVAN ZOO MASTER PLAN

Tert.am
10.11.11

The development of a master plan of the Yerevan Zoo has got under way.

An international expert group arrived in Yerevan Nov. 9. The group
is ready to develop the master plan on a voluntary basis.

The group members are: Haig Balian, Director at Natura Artis Magistra,
Amsterdam Area, Netherlands; Bernard Harrison, the former CEO of
the Singapore Zoological Gardens; Zoo designer David Hancock; Janos
Szantho, General curator at Natura Artis Magistra , Artis Royal
Zoo Amsterdam; Willem Meijlink, Artis Royal Zoo Amsterdam; Bernard
Harrison & Friends co-owner Tina Lim Long; Landscape Architect Thijs
de Zeeuw and Lighting Designer Simon Corder.

HADJINIAN WINS MONTEBELLO CITY COUNCIL RACE
Jack Hadjinian

asbarez
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

MONTEBELLO-The Armenian National Committee of America-San Gabriel
Valley-endorsed candidate Jack Hadjinian won his bid for the City
Council during Tuesday’s election.

Hadjinian, speaking to the San Gabriel Valley News, attributed his win
to his positive efforts saying community rejected negative campaigning
efforts by other candidates.

“I ran a positive campaign, and I never wanted to resort to the
negative or mudslinging stuff,” Hadjinian told the SGVN.

“Jack Hadjinian has been a long-time activist for the Armenian
community and a homegrown community leader here in Montebello,” said
Viken Pakradouni, Chairman of the ANCA SGV when endorsing Hadjinian.

According to the SGVN, Hadjinian also raised the most money, collecting
$47,735 in contributions.

“The city needs to control its spending,” Hadjinian told the
newspaper. “And then work on increasing its revenues, so it can
sustain its spending.”

Hadjinian is a third generation resident of Montebello. He has also
served on the Montebello Civil Service Commission as well as the
City of Montebello’s Investment Committee and the Montebello Police
Department’s Public Safety Committee.

Hadjinian is currently a Los Angeles County Commissioner serving
on the Assessment Appeals Board. In the past, he has served as the
Chairman of the Board of the Montebello Chamber of Commerce.

The ANCA-SGV also endorsed incumbent candidate Alberto Perez, who
did not win the race. Incumbent Councilwomen Christina Cortez also
won the election.