Author: Badalian Vardan

YOUNG ASTRONOMERS TO HOLD CONFERENCE IN YEREVAN

Tert.am
19:17 ~U 13.10.11

A CIS conference of students and young scientists, “Real and virtual
sky studies”, is to be held in Yerevan Nov. 21-25.

The participants will discuss the latest astronomical research
results and scientific expeditions, data and activities of virtual
observatories.

The conference will be held as part of celebrations of the 50th
anniversary of the first space flight. Among the participants will
be 50 students and young scientists from Armenia, Ukraine, Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan,
as well as Russian and European lecturers, who will deliver reports.

Students will deliver reports on their post-graduate papers. Practical
work and visits to the Byurakan observatory will be organized. The
conference will be held in Russia and English. The Russian-Armenian
Cooperation Foundation is sponsor of the conference.

ASHOT HOVAKIMYAN WILL BE APPOINTED DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

Lragir.am News

16:29:52 – 13/10/2011

We have learned that the ambassador to Austria, Hungary and Slovakia
Ashot Hovakimyan who was recalled today will be appointed Deputy
Foreign Minister of Armenia. Our sources in the Foreign Ministry
confirmed this information. At the same time, our source did not
confirm the information that Ashot Hovakimyan was unaware of the
hearing on NKR included in OSCE PA agenda, and that the MFA learned
about it from other sources. Our source noted that the MFA has always
kept regular correspondence with the Armenian representation to the
OSCE .

NOT WAITING FOR SEYRAN OHANYAN: RELATIVES OF KILLED SOLDIERS PROTESTED UNDER THE RAIN

epress.am
10.13.2011 16:29

If a year ago, there were only 5 relatives of soldiers killed in
the army protesting outside the Armenian government building every
Thursday, well today this number has grown exponentially.

Tsovinar Nazaryan, sister of the late Artak Nazaryan, 30, commander
of a rifle platoon and head of a military base in Tavush, who
died suddenly in July 2010, today spoke to Epress.am about the two
non-combat army deaths in Nagorno-Karabakh reported this past week.

Recall, just as with Artak Nazaryan, the defense ministry has claimed
both cases were suicides.

“When we received the news, we were simply in shock – it’s very
frightening what’s happening, because yesterday they buried someone
then received news of the death of another serviceman, which the
defense ministry right from the beginning declares is suicide. You
don’t know how they decide this: they decide very quickly; they
have super-professional investigators; they say very quickly that
it’s suicide. This has to be stopped somehow and right now because
if two people from the same village are killed two days apart-this
has to be stopped right now. Tomorrow or the day after, someone else
will be murdered… we can’t wait a month, we can’t even wait a week,
because in that one week a few people might be tortured again, a few
more murdered,” she said.

Note that defense minister Seyran Ohanyan wasn’t participating in
today’s cabinet meeting.

However, Tsovinar said when the minister comes or when he leaves
doesn’t interest her. What’s important for her is that he does his job.

“I’m not waiting for him. I come here to express my public protest; not
for Seyran Ohanyan to come out [of the building] and again [projecting]
his good courteous image say remarks to calm us somehow and then until
the next government session a few more people are killed,” she said.

Tsovinar Nazaryan informed Epress.am that joining their group recently
are the parents of Tigran Hambardzumyan and the entire family of
Aghasi Abrahamyan, both men killed in the army these past two months.

Despite the light rain this morning, protestors stayed outside the
building till the end. They were holding posters and placards in their
hands with such inscriptions as “End the war against our children,”
“People unable to keep their own army will be forced to keep another’s
army,” “The army without murderers,” and “An unannounced war against
Armenian soldiers.”

WE MUST STRENGTHEN OUR INDEPENDENCE, HIS HOLINESS ARAM I SAYS
Armen Dilanyan

“Radiolur”
13.10.2011 16:32
Glendale

The visit of His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House
of Cilicia, to California has caused quite a stir among Diaspora
Armenians. The geography of the Patriarch’s visit is impressive; he
travels from San Francisco, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, visiting
all cities, where there are organized Armenian communities and Armenian
churches. The halls are overcrowded, wherever His Holiness visits.

The Armenian Consul General in Los Angeles, Grigor Hovhannisyan, held
a reception Wednesday in honor of Catholicos Aram I attended not only
by representatives of the Armenian community of California, but also
Lebanon’s Consul General, Mrs. Madonna Aoun Ghazal. She received a
warm welcome, given the support of her country to expatriate Armenians.

Speaking to the audience, His Holiness Aram I dwelt on the future
of the Motherland that revived 20 years ago and the tasks of All
Armenians.

“Armenia is our past, the demonstration of our dreams and ideals.

Armenia is our present and our rose-flooded dawn,” the Pontiff said,
thanking God for having independent Armenia.

“However, having independence is not enough. We must be able to
maintain, reinforce this independence, strengthen the state bodies
to have a stronger Armenia,” he said.

“Armenia within its current borders is just part of historic Armenia.

We dream of regaining our historic lands, this is the aspiration of
every Armenian,” the Catholicos said.

MORE QUESTIONS OVER ARMY DEATHS: ACTIVISTS DEMAND RESIGNATIONS AFTER NEW QUESTIONABLE SUICIDES IN THE RANKS
By Gayane Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow
13.10.11 | 14:12

Wednesday brought more unfortunate news about a soldier’s death in
the Armenian army – the second in the past four days. These deaths in
the ranks in peacetime have once again stirred public debate causing
widespread discontent in society.

A number of human rights organizations that in September put forth
the demand for “serious steps” to be taken to redress the situation on
Wednesday announced that the one-month period had expired and that the
taken steps were “insufficient”. Therefore, they said, based on that
they would demand the resignation of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief,
President Serzh Sargsyan and Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan.

Nineteen-year-old Yurik Nersisyan died on October 12 at a military
unit. According to officially released information, the soldier shot
himself with his own weapon.

On October 9, according to an official report, another 19-year-old,
Vladimir Asatryan, committed suicide at a military unit stationed in
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Martakert district.

Three soldiers have already been arrested on charges of driving
Asatryan into committing suicide. The victim had written their names
and nicknames on his arm before his death. But his parents do not
trust the official version, still they hope that it would be possible
to find the real culprits at least due to the names written on the
dead soldier’s arm.

In another incident a soldier survived, but alleged torture and
inhuman treatment against him left such a deep impact on him that
his parents doubt he will ever be able to return to normal life.

The 19-year-old soldier (his name is not mentioned at his parents’
request) was hospitalized with the diagnosis of “acute psychosis”
and with multiple injuries on his body.

According to his father Mkrtich Lazarian, his son is in an unbearable
condition, “almost dead” as he describes it.

“There is no healthy spot on my child’s body, his ear is the size of
his head so swollen it is, he has bruises all over his body, traces
of burns from cigarettes on his hands, he can’t even talk, all the
time doctors administer him some drug injection, trying to cause his
complete debility so that he cannot say anything, say who did those
atrocities to him,” says Lazarian. The man, who is a Karabakh war
veteran, is concerned as he has five children and his youngest son
is due to be called up for military service in a few months’ time.

“I don’t understand — if our army leaders cannot control the army
commanders, let them step down, other people will come. These beasts
put our children into a mincing-machine,” says the angry father.

There are no arrests in the case in question even though the incident
took place still a month ago. First, the solider was transferred
to a medical aid station at the military unit, then to Stepanakert
hospital and only then to Yerevan’s Kanaz military hospital. Only on
September 27 did the authorities tell the soldier’s father about his
son’s hospitalization.

The suspected hazing took place at a military unit called Yeghnikner
where on August 26 serviceman Aghasi Abrahamyan was killed. And last
year a video disseminated through social networking websites showed
a commander humiliating and beating a soldier. That commander later
turned out to be a Yeghnikner officer.

Eight human rights groups said in a statement on Wednesday that the
Defense Ministry has not made “a significant step” in the past month,
moreover “it has put pressure on relatives of the dead, urging them
not to participate in protests.”

“… The pressure used against relatives of deceased soldiers calls
into questions the political will to normalize the situation,” said
leading human rights activists.

However, the authorities do not agree with this kind of assessment.

Newly appointed Deputy Prosecutor General, Military Prosecutor Gevorg
Kostanyan calls it “not objective.”

“One should simply compare current figures with the figures for
previous years. It is obvious that the numbers are decreasing,
simply publicity has increased. Of course, our ultimate goal is to
solve the problem completely, but it can only be the result of long
systemic changes, and it cannot be done within a day, within a month,”
Kostanyan told ArmeniaNow.

EURO 2012 QUALIFYING PHASE: DESPITE LOSS IN IRELAND ARMENIA REMAINS THE MOST EXCITING SIDE TO EMERGE SINCE DENMARK IN THE 80’S

October 12, 2011

Republic of Ireland’s National Team secured a Euro 2012 play-off spot
as it held off Armenia, (2-1), in a tense final qualifier marred by
poor and disputable refereeing.

No amount of words can console the tens of thousands of Armenian
fans in Armenia and around the globe who, presented with a festival
of goals and three consecutive victories in the Euro 2012 qualifying
phase, stood witness to Armenia’s ability undermined by questionable
refereeing.

On Tuesday evening, what could go wrong did go wrong for Armenia.

Specifically, three major events went sour: 1) Costly refereeing
causing the loss of Armenia’s seasoned goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky;
2) Loss of a player; 3) Armenia’s heart-wrenching own goal.

The first misfortune came at the 25th minute when Armenia was dealt a
heavy blow as a result of a mistaken decision by the referee to call
“hand,” when in fact, Armenia’s goalkeeper Berezovsky, when outside
the penalty box, handled the ball with his chest – not hands.

Berezovsky was given a red card and expelled from the
game. Replays showed Berezovsky blocking the shot with his chest,
but the referee had committed his first major mistake. Click to
see:

The second misfortune came as a result of Berezovsky’s baseless
expulsion when midfielder Edgar Malakyan was unfairly sacrificed
in order to facilitate the introduction of a new goalkeeper, Arsen
Petrosyan, as replacement for Berezovsky.

The third misfortune arrived at the 43rd minute. Just a few minutes
before the completion of the first half, Valeri Aleksanyan marked
a horrific own goal thereby putting Ireland in the lead before the
break. Richard Dunne added a second at 59th minute.

I must hand it to Armenia’s players and head coach Vardan Minasyan
for continuing the match with an indomitable spirit and great talent.

Under adverse conditions, they overcame the short-handedness and
eventually penetrated Ireland’s defenses with Henrik Mkhitaryan who
shot a goal for Armenia bringing the result to 1-2.

The continuous Armenian attacks compelled the Irish to take illegal and
desperate containment measures causing the Irish players to be handed
eight yellow cards and one red card – Kevin Doyle was expelled at the
81st minute. Had Berezovsky not been unfairly expelled the results may
have been much different and most probably to the benefit of Armenia.

The Football Federation of Armenia should definitely make an appeal to
Federation de Football Association (FIFA) for a full investigation and
review of the match. Ultimately the head referee, Eduardo Iturralde
Gonzalez, should be disciplined for harshly sending-off Armenia’s
keeper. The world governing body of football (soccer), FIFA, should
also make amends to Armenia.

Ironically, the Republic of Ireland had fallen victim to a disputable
decision by the referee. That is to not call France’s Thierry Henry’s
handball against the Irish in the 2010 World Cup play-off. Thus,
Ireland’s fair opportunity to participate in the 2010 World Cup
Tournament was hijacked. In the past, several other cases have unfairly
cost many deserving national teams fair opportunities to qualify.

In this age of communication and instant recording and replaying,
it is high time for FIFA to adopt an on-the-scene video system to
review disputable or questionable referee calls and avert disastrous
mistakes such as Tuesday night’s problematic red carding and unexpected
dismissal of Berezovsky.

Regardless of the outcome of FIFA’s verdict, Armenia, and her fans,
must move on. We must aim high at the steering wheel and never lose
sight of the qualifying phase of the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The talented team is predominantly young; they have many bright and
triumphant years ahead of them. If the indomitable players keep their
cohesiveness, they will surely rock the world of football (soccer).

Despite the questionable defeat in Dublin, Armenians worldwide should
celebrate the transformational changes that took place in Armenia’s
National Team, such as immensely improved team performance, successful
finishing, high scoring, team cohesiveness, and an increased level
of confidence and amelioration of attitude among the players.

Fans in, Armenia, Artsakh, and all corners of the Diaspora, are
grateful for the arrival of quality Armenian football on the world
scene. In a sense, this national squad is reminiscent of Nikita
Simonyan’s 1973 Ararat Yerevan that won The Championship and The Cup
of the then existing Soviet Union.

It is noteworthy that before the Euro 2012 qualifying phase began in
late 2010, Armenia ranked 105th in the FIFA world ranking with 273
points. Armenia currently ranks 44th with 610.

In the Euro 2008 qualifying phase Armenia finished second to last,
just before Azerbaijan, with 9 points. They had a poor winning record
of 16.66%, and a goal differential of -9 based on 4 FOR vs. 13 AGAINST.

Armenia came out of this Euro 2012 qualifying phase with a highly
respectable third place finish, just behind Russia and Republic of
Ireland, with 17 points in a very difficult Group “B,” a winning
record of nearly 50%, and an astounding goal differential of +12
based on 22 FOR vs. 10 AGAINST.

Thanks to her three very convincing victories in four matches (3-0
against Andorra, 4-0 against Slovakia, and 4-1 against FYR Macedonia),
Armenia earned accolades in the international sports media. A
record number of positive articles, TV and Radio commentaries were
disseminated via print and electronic media. Nearly all of them were
presenting Armenia with kudos for her resilience and her creative
football. London’s The Guardian newspaper gave high praise. They
stressed: “Armenia are probably the most potentially exciting side
to emerge since Denmark in the early 80s.”

With Armenia’s current quality and dynamic football, fans may be
in for a good surprise during their team’s 2014 Brazil World Cup
qualifier campaign starting right after the completion of Euro 2012.

Armenia’s national squad has all the attributes to offer pleasant and
intelligent football along with a festival of goals and victories in
the coming years and tournaments.

ALMA TO HOST MARK MUSTIAN’S BOOK READING AND SIGNING EVENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 13, 2011 – 14:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Mark Mustian, author of the award-winning novel
“The Gendarme”, will read and sign books at the Armenian Library and
Museum of America The event is scheduled for Thursday, October 13,
2011 at 8:00pm, ALMA said in a press release.

The Gendarme, which portrays a 92-year old man who fought for the
Ottomans in World War I and only late in life begins to recall some
of the things that happened at the beginning of the war – including
the deportation of Armenians from Anatolia- is the 2010 Gold Florida
Book Award winner for general fiction, a finalist for the Dayton
International Literary Peace Prize, and has been published in eight
languages.

ENVOY WAS UNAWARE

Lragir.am News

12:25:18 – 13/10/2011

Already the former Armenian Envoy to the OSCE, Ashot Hovakimyan
has been replaced by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Arman
Kirakosyan.

We have learned an interesting story about Ashot Hovakimyan related to
the hearing on the NKR issue on the OSCE PA agenda. The Azerbaijani
representative informed his country about this hearing one month
before, and reports appeared in the Azeri mass media. Meanwhile,
the Armenian ambassador was unaware of the OSCE PA Agenda, hence he
did not inform anything to the Armenian MFA.

Armenia learned about the hearing from the letter of the OSCE PA
Chairman Efthymiou to the National Assembly of Armenia. Meanwhile,
prior to this letter, the Armenian foreign ministry refuted Azerbaijani
reports on the upcoming hearing.

This was not the first case but it became the last case for Ashot
Hovakimyan, and he was dismissed.

ANKARA TO PROVIDE MILITARY AID TO AZERBAIJAN

Tert.am
12:53 ~U 13.10.11

The Turkish defense minister has expressed his country’s willingness
to provide military aid to Azerbaijan.

Trend News has quoted Ismet Yilmaz as saying in Baku that the military
cooperation between the two countries will continue.

ARMENIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION APPEALS ITURRALDE GONZALEZ’S REFEREEING

Tert.am
11:43 ~U 13.10.11

On his Facebook page, President of the Football Federation of Armenia
Ruben Hayrapetyan reports that the Federation appealed the refereeing
of Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, who was the referee of the Republic of
Ireland’s 2-1 win over Armenia in the last Euro 2012 qualifying match.

His decision to send off Armenian goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky for
a handball early in the game was criticized by some reporters, who
believe the decision may have cost Armenia qualification.

Forward of the Irish squad Simon Cox admitted later that Roman
Berezovsky had not touched the ball with his arm.

Hayrapetyan thanked all the football fans supporting the Armenian team
even if it does not win. “We have appealed the referee’s decision. But
I am more concerned over Berezovsky’s red,” he said.

As to an alleged order by the United European Football Association
(UEFA), Hayrapetyan said that any order of out of the question. Michel
Platini is not the person to do such a thing, he added.